Recap / Better Call Saul S6 E3: "Rock and Hard Place"

Fring v. Salamanca calls its key witness.

"Today you are going to die. But there are good deaths, and there are bad deaths."

— Juan Bolsa

Out of options, Nacho plays whatever cards he has to protect his father. Gus and his team arrange a callous act that Mike tries to soften. Kim and Jimmy's chicanery hits a bump when "Saul Goodman" draws increased scrutiny.

Tropes:

• Ambiguous Situation: When Nacho escapes his bonds and holds Bolsa at gunpoint, Mike is shown watching through the scope of his sniper rifle, and whispers "do it". It's never specified what "it" is. Given Mike's relationship with Nacho, he may be hoping that Nacho decides to spark a shootout and is willing to provide backup if he does. Mike's relationship with Gus is quite frayed at this point, and it's possible that Mike would be willing to kill even him to protect Nacho. However, he might also want Nacho to follow the plan, regardless of his own personal feelings, and might be preparing to shoot Nacho if he continues to deviate from that plan, which he obviously would very much prefer to not have to do.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • After getting paid for stealing and duplicating Howard's car keys, Huell asks Jimmy an honest question: Why he and Kim, legitimate lawyers with a stable living, are running this scam. When Jimmy tries to respond that they are doing it for the common good, Huell doesn't buy into it.
  • Kim asks Saul one of her own after telling him the DA is onto his involvement with Lalo, which gives him pause at how dubious her morals have become.
    Kim Wexler: Are you going to be a friend to the cartel... or are you gonna be a rat?
• Bathos: Nacho killing himself before anyone else can, followed by the Cousins awkwardly carrying Hector's wheelchair over to Nacho's corpse and placing a gun in his hand so he can shoot it.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: The plan was already set up for Nacho to die a quick, painless death rather than whatever slow and agonizing one was awaiting him at the hands of the Salamancas. Regardless, Nacho decides to forego even Gus's plans and puts the gun to his own head before anyone else can, dying by his own terms. This even has the bonus of being a final fuck you to Hector, denying him proof of implicating Gus in Lalo's assassination attempt and escaping further punishment at the Salamancas' hands.
• Birth-Death Juxtaposition: In the Cold Open, a single blue flower is seen sprouting in the middle of the Albuquerque desert, in the spot that's revealed at the end of the episode to be where Nacho died.
• Bittersweet Ending: Not by a lot, but the manner in which Nacho meets his end — honorably, defiant and on his own terms — takes a little of the sting out of the Downer Ending.
• Book Ends: In essence, Nacho's storyline in the show ends the same way it began: being part of an interrogation in the middle of the desert.
• Call-Back:
  • Victor tells Mike that he got an order from Gus that Nacho looks "too pretty". Realizing that he's about to be roughed up to fake a struggle, Nacho remarks "Gotta make it look real, right?"
  • The place where Nacho is brought to be killed is the same place where Ximenez Lecerda was executed.
  • Kim calls Ericsen reaching out to Jimmy a "fishing expedition" and more or less tells him not to go through with it, the same way Mike tells Pryce that he shouldn't take the police up on their "fishing trip".
  • Kim asked Jimmy in "JMM" if he was going to be a friend of the cartel, in a way that said she was disgusted with the possibility. Here, after her meeting with the DA, she would rather he be a friend than a rat, partly because of the danger involved in the latter.
• Call-Forward: To the parent series: every single person present at Nacho's death will also be dead by the end of the events of Breaking Bad.
• Cassandra Truth: When Bolsa asks Nacho if there was anyone else behind Lalo's assassination, Hector correctly points to Gus. Yet, not only Nacho dismisses that idea with derision for the "Chicken Man", but also goes the extra mile to demonstrate his personal hatred for the Salamancas and the Cartel as a whole and claim sole responsibility for Hector's current state, thus giving Gus a convincing alibi... for now.
• Chekhov's Gun: The piece of glass that Nacho used to break free is from the glass that Gus broke the prior episode after learning Lalo was still alive.
• Continuity Nod:
  • While ADA Suzanne Ericsen tries to level with Kim about Jimmy and the past cases he might have taken unknowingly with members of the cartel, Kim reminds her that she once referred to Jimmy as a "scumbag".
  • Ericsen claims that Jimmy/Saul Goodman is a cartel lawyer because he represented "Jorge De Guzman" and Ignacio Varga after they were arrested. He was also Mike's counsel when Mike recanted his statements against Tuco Salamanca.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Invoked in universe when Huell questions why Jimmy still bothers with all of his various plots and schemes, when Jimmy AND his wife make good legitimate money with their respective law practices.
• Dead Star Walking: Michael Mando was billed as a main cast member alongside everyone else for Season 6, but Nacho ends up meeting his death in only the third episode.
• Death Glare: Regularly thrown around in this episode:
  • Nacho sports this look several times whenever around Gus and his men, finally tired of the crap that they put him through for their schemes. He only loses the look around Mike, since he actually does give a damn about Nacho's predicament. This returns in full force when dealing with Juan and the Salamancas, especially for Hector.
  • Gus throws a subtle one at Nacho when it looked like Nacho was about to renege on their deal.
  • Hector is a master of this, given that it's just about the only way he can convey his anger and frustration with his Angry Eyebrows. If looks could kill, Nacho would be struck dead from the rage filled look Hector directs his way after Nacho's confession.
• Desecrating the Dead: Hector has the cousins bring him to Nacho's corpse and he unloads a pistol into the body. He's still shooting as Mike walks away in sadness and disgust at Nacho's fate.
• The Dog Bites Back: After spending the last two seasons firmly under the thumb of Gus, forced to do all manner of difficult, painful, and risky stunts to serve Gus's goals without being able to protest or fight back in the slightest, Nacho finally gets a little bit of a shot back at him. When Bolsa asks Nacho who was behind the assassination on Lalo, Nacho glances over towards Gus, looking like he might be about to implicate him. He does it again when Bolsa asks if anyone besides Alvarez was involved in the plot. Gus looks terrified both times. Ultimately, Nacho can't do it for the danger he'd put his father in, but he probably managed to age Gus a couple years.
• Doomed by Canon: If it wasn't already apparent what was going to happen to Nacho at the end of the episode, the final scene shows him along with Gus, Victor, Tyrus, Hector, the Cousins, and Bolsa (with Mike watching on in the distance). Nacho is the only one who was never shown in Breaking Bad.
• Double-Meaning Title: Nacho is stuck between the titular "Rock And Hard Place," with the Salamancas hunting him and Gus attempting a double cross, leaving him friendless on the other side of the border. On the other hand, he points out Gus is now in the same position; if the Salamancas catch Nacho, they'll force him to admit Gus sent the assassins after Lalo, and if he's murdered and disposed of by Gus the cartel will still suspect him, which is almost the same as proof.
• Downer Ending: The whole episode was implicitly building up to this, and unsurprisingly it shows. Left with no possible way out of his fate, Nacho opts to shoot himself in the head, and the episode solemnly ends with Hector desecrating his corpse.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Nacho calls his father Manuel one last time before making arrangements with Gus to die for his secrets. Manuel ends the call by pleading with Nacho once more to go to the police, saying it isn't too late. Unfortunately for him, it’s far too late for Nacho at this point. (The corrupt Federales would just bring him to Cartel, and Gus has connections to the New Mexico police and prisons.)
  • It would seem Nacho trusted Mike in a way that goes past just business; when on the phone, he angrily tells Mike he must have known about the plan for him to die at the motel and just let it happen, to which Mike dispassionately claims wasn't his call to object to. While Mike was not aware of Gus' intentions there, he has been fighting for Nacho since the day he was enslaved by Gus, infrequently imploring his boss to treat him better in a way that goes past mere professionalism.
  • Hector is the only person not on Gus's side at the meeting who is aware not just that Lalo is actually alive, but straight-up knows that Gus was involved in his attempted assassination. Of course, he cannot say anything to prove it and can only point accusingly at Gus's direction. What's more, Nacho proceeds to reveal in just a matter of seconds that he is the reason Hector's in that position in the first place.
  • It is known to the audience, but not the characters, that all the men assembled for Ignacio's execution will die in various violent ways in the following years.
  • Related to the above, of all the men present at the execution it is the two with the least amount of power and agency in the situation — Nacho, the prisoner, and Hector, physically trapped by his condition — who will come the closest to meeting their deaths on their own terms. Everyone else has their fate decided due to the actions and machinations of another person.
• Dying Declaration of Hate: Nacho's last words before he kills himself to tell Hector that he was responsible the crippled state that leaves Hector confined to his chair and unable to communicate beyond his bell:
  And you know what else, Hector? I put you in that chair. Oh yeah, your heart meds? I switched them for sugar pills. You were dead and buried, and I had to watch this asshole [Gus] bring you back. So when you are sitting in your shitty nursing home and you're sucking down on your Jell-O night after night for the rest of your life, you think of me, you twisted fuck.
• Enemy Mine: Implied to be one of the main reasons (along with ensuring the safety of his father) why Nacho agrees to carry out his part in the ruse to frame Alvarez for the hit on Lalo, despite having two clear opportunities to finger Gus as the true culprit. For as much reason as he has to hate Gus at this point, Nacho just hates the Salamancas (especially Hector) that much more.
• Et Tu, Brute?:
  • Compared to Hector's escalating expression of pure wrath, one of the Twins has an expression of utter disbelief when Nacho expresses his hatred for them, his mouth agape and shoulders slung slow.
  • Nacho has spent the last two seasons counting on Mike to curb Gus's cruelty and recklessness in using him as a mole, feeling like Mike was the one actual ally he still had. After escaping the death trap at the hotel and getting in contact with Mike, he accuses him of knowing about Gus's plan and doing nothing to stop it. Mike doesn't deny it, just saying that it wasn't his decision to make. Nacho gets over it quickly, as he affirms that Mike is the only one he trusts to keep his father safe, and his faith in Mike is the only reason he gives himself up to Gus.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Gus mentions Bolsa has no patience for the Salamanca's brutal torture methods when discussing with Nacho about his impending fate. Somewhat lending credibility to this, he bluntly mentions Nacho is going to die when starting the interrogation, but sincerely promises him a painless death if he is honest in his last moments.
  • Mike was willing to at least look the other way when Gus planned to get Nacho killed after he had no further use for him (when Nacho takes him to task on this, he just impassively states it wasn't his call). But when Gus tells him to kidnap Nacho's father and use him to force Nacho's compliance, Mike flatly refuses, even when Tyrus pulls a gun on him. While Nacho is responsible for his current situation under Gus (Mike even warned him about going after Hector), Manuel is an honest civilian, and Mike won't have him be dragged into this.
• Evil Is Petty: After Nacho has already shot himself and is dead on the ground, the Cousins place a gun in Hector's hands and assist him so he can pop off a few shots on Nacho's lifeless body. It's about the only thing Hector can do to Nacho at this point; Nacho has confessed that he crippled Hector (itself fairly petty) but is already dead, escaping further torture at his hands and from Hector's point of view, is laughing at him from beyond the grave.
• Face Death with Dignity: Knowing he can't outrun the cartel and Gus's betrayal, Nacho manages to wrap up his affairs with honor. He gets a final conversation with his father, leaves his remaining money with a stranger who helped him, negotiates his surrender to Gus (and sells a story about being paid by a third party to assassinate Lalo when he'd be perfectly justified in diming on Gus), and gets the upper hand on Bolsa and the Salamancas before going out on his own terms, denying them the satisfaction of torturing and killing him. Through it all, Nacho faces everything with zen-like calm, knowing his bloody story is finally over.
• Get Out!: Mike tells Victor to get the hell out when he informs him Nacho has to be roughed up, stating he'll be the one to do it.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: This may not be an unfair assessment of Manuel. He's certainly going to adhere to his own moral code no matter what. But he may also exhibiting a certain degree of naivete in stubbornly insisting to Nacho that going to the police is the only solution. It seems likely he doesn't know just how boxed into a corner Nacho really is. Going to the police may not be an option for Nacho if either of Gus or the Salamancas have connections there, which means it isn't the simple solution that Manuel holds it out to be. He may also be unaware that he himself is being used for leverage over Nacho, and just how determined the Cartel factions now are to get their hands on Nacho.
• Good Samaritan: A mechanic notices Nacho washing the oil off himself outside his garage and clearly on the run. Rather than turning him in, the mechanic gives Nacho a clean rag to use and a spare boilersuit to wear while his clothes dry, then lets him use the garage phone to call his dad (and refuses to accept payment for this). Nacho is touched enough to leave all his remaining cash for the mechanic before going to meet his fate. He's even credited as "Samaritano".
• A Good Way to Die: Invoked verbatim. While Bolsa solemnly notes Nacho will die, he assures him with a brief speech saying there are good ways to die...and bad ways, as the scene cuts to a shot of the nearby shack filled with torture tools. Rather than go out the quiet way Gus and Bolsa have in mind, Nacho dies on his own terms in a rather awesome way.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Huell, who has only ever been presented as a ditz at best, and a thug at worst, demonstrates surprisingly profound insight into other people when conversing with Jimmy about the foolishness of his morally dubious activities.
  • Bolsa demonstrates shades of almost being a Noble Demon, being reasonable and promising Nacho a dignified death instead of what the Salamancas have in store for him. This is ironically in complete contrast to how he was depicted in Breaking Bad, where he had a rat brutally decapitated and his head paraded on a tortoise — albeit this time Nacho has information that Bolsa wants, giving him a reason to offer Nacho a quick death in exchange for it (as opposed to in Breaking Bad, where he already knew full well about Tortuga's treachery).
• Homage: If Nacho's remains were permanently left on the spot where he died, the wildflower growing there may be a Shout-Out to the desert wildflowers growing on the spot of the murder victim's remains in Bad Day at Black Rock.
• I Die Free: Rather than die how Gus, Bolsa, or Salamanca wish he would, Nacho chooses to fake an escape attempt in order to shoot himself in the head, thus denying all of them the chance to end his life.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Before roughing up Nacho to make their cover story look plausible, Mike pours Nacho some scotch in order to take the edge off of the upcoming beating, and also pours himself a glass, which he gulps down much quicker than Nacho does.
• Interface Spoiler: The Netflix version of the episode has a content warning against suicide at the beginning of episodes this season, and given the strong focus on Nacho, it can be easily inferred from the beginning that he ultimately takes his own life.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Suzanne Ericsen informs Kim about "Jorge de Guzman"'s trial and how the DA's office has uncovered his true identity as Lalo Salamanca, who (supposedly) died in a gunfight in Mexico. Kim also learns that they know about Jimmy's previous representations of Tuco and Nacho, and thus that Jimmy is under suspicion as a cartel lawyer.
  • Before he meets his fate, Nacho spitefully informs Hector that he was the one responsible for putting him in the wheelchair by switching his heart medications.
• Irony:
  • A retroactive example. Bolsa attempts to soothe Nacho from his impending death by saying there are good ways to die and bad ways to die. Bolsa himself will eventually die a horribly undignified death, being trapped in his mansion and unceremoniously gunned down by assassins.
  • Every single man gathered for Nacho's execution has only a few years to live themselves, and almost all of them die far more violently than Nacho. Additionally, several will be responsible for killing at least one other man present, while four will die at the hands of two men they don't even know exist yet. ^note Gus sets up Bolsa's assassination from the Federales and slits Victor's throat open. Mike gives Leonel a lethal injection. Hank shoots Marco in the head. Walter sets up the bomb that kills Gus, Hector, and Tyrus (which Hector willingly detonates), and he shoots Mike dead.
    Michael Mando: There’s an ominous thing to this scene, where these are all dead men walking, watching the first man die. But they’re already dead, they just don’t know it yet.
  • The first time Mike and Nacho met outside of the drug deals with Wormald, Nacho accuses Mike of showing himself at his father's store in order to threaten to hurt him if Nacho didn't cooperate. Since that meeting, Gus has been threatening to hurt Nacho's father if Nacho doesn't cooperate, and in this episode we see that Mike is the only person that Nacho trusts to protect his father once he's gone.
• Jerkass: Unlike everyone else, Victor actually seems to be having fun through the whole ordeal with Nacho, smugly smiling when he's set to rough him up. When Mike tells him to scram, he still doesn't lose his grin. He can even be seen smirking after walking away from Nacho's death scene.
• The Kindness of Strangers: Nacho washes himself at the repair shop of a stranger and gets caught. Instead of chasing him away, the man offers him a towel to scrub himself. Later, Nacho asks him if he can use his phone and offers to pay him money to do so. The man refuses the money, and Nacho decides to leave his cash next to the phone before he secretly leaves.
• Manly Tears:
  • Nacho is barely holding himself together during his last conversation with his father. He only cries in earnest when the call is over.
  • Mike is clearly holding back tears after watching Nacho shoot himself.
• Morton's Fork: After he's pulled out of Mexico by Gus, Nacho quietly accepts the fact that he's a dead man walking and there's absolutely nothing that can change it now. The only choice he has in the matter is how quick his death is and the only solace in his situation is that Nacho's father will be safe from both Gus and the Cartel.
• Nerves of Steel: Bolsa is notably very level-headed and softspoken throughout Nacho's execution. Even after getting stabbed in the leg and held hostage at gunpoint by a man with nothing left before he blows his brains out right next to him, he never loses his calm during or after the crisis.
• Not Afraid of You Anymore: Knowing that he's going to die, Nacho loses his fear of Gus and the Cartel, talking to them with sheer disrespect and telling them what he really thinks of them.
• Not So Stoic:
  • It's subtle, but from his facial expression and posture, it's clear on some level that Nacho's Final Speech is shaking Gus to his core.
  • Much more obvious is how much Mike is affected by watching Nacho's suicide as he packs away his rifle and leaves.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Gus visibly pales when it looks like Nacho is going to reveal him as the mastermind, before Nacho brushes him off: "The Chicken Man... what a joke."
  • Gus again a short time later. It's easy to miss since he doesn't flinch, but Gus' eyes slightly widen when Nacho shoots himself, indicating a level of surprise at his death.
• Once More, with Clarity:
  • A subtle one: The Cold Open takes place in an unknown spot in the desert, where a flower has grown next to an unknown object in the dirt (which only is made apparent when it starts raining). It is only at the end of the episode that we learn what we were shown: this is the spot where Nacho died, and the object was a shard of glass he used to cut through his zip-ties, as well as jabbing Bolsa so he can take him hostage for his Final Speech.
  • The phone conversation between Mike and Nacho at the end of the last episode is repeated. This time, we see the events leading up to Nacho's call, and get to hear his side of the conversation.
• Out of Focus: Saul and Kim occupy only the subplot, with Saul enacting a plan that will involve Howard's car and Kim facing the DA about Lalo. Neither interacts with Nacho's story, which takes up the bulk of the episode.
• Pet the Dog: Mike promises to take care of Nacho's father when he goes off to die, saying that anyone going after him will have to go through Mike first.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Gus has had zero qualms about using Nacho like a disposable tool or threatening his father to keep him in line, but once Nacho agrees to submit to whatever Gus wants from him, including dying, he sees no need to do anything to Papa Varga. The fact that Mike is still loyally working for Gus years later indicates that Gus indeed backed off.
• Precision F-Strike: Nacho's final words in the series and last insult to his former boss, Hector.
  Nacho: So when you are sitting in your shitty nursing home and you're sucking down on your Jell-O night after night for the rest of your life, you think of me, you twisted fuck.
• Pre-Sacrifice Final Goodbye:
  • Knowing that whatever happens next, he's probably not long for this world, before he phones Gus, Nacho makes one last call to his father Manuel, telling him he "just wanted to hear his voice" and tearfully says goodbye.
  • Nacho and Mike exchange a nod of respect before Nacho is driven to the meeting with Bolsa and the Salamancas.
• Silent Credits: The usual credit song that happen for a Better Call Saul episode is a jovial music that is upbeat with some drums. However, the credits that roll in the aftermath of Nacho's death is silent and has an eerie tone as to how it is played.
• Smug Smiler: Victor is giddy with a grin when he shows up to rough up Nacho and leaves with the same smile when Mike tells him to get out. Although he isn't smiling during the events of Nacho's execution, he is sporting a wide grin when leaving, evidently finding the whole thing hilarious.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • Nacho gets caught by the cartel. They know he's a rat. In that situation there's no escaping with your life, and unfortunately Nacho has too many enemies and too few friends to plot twist his way out of his certain death. The best he can do is try to make it happen on his own terms.
  • From literally the first episode, Jimmy has been, mostly against his will, working for and very publicly representing cartel enforcers, dealers, and even high ranking shot callers like Lalo. The viewers know that this is a gruelingly unpleasant situation for him (not to mention he rarely had the chance to refuse); the authorities, on the other hand, have a very clear picture of what looks like an Amoral Attorney rising through the ranks of a brutal criminal organization, not to mention that he directly helped an extremely dangerous individual escape.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Nacho delivers an absolutely scathing one to the Salamancas, and to Hector, in particular before his final gambit:
  Nacho: Alvarez has been paying me for years. Years. But you know what? I would have done it for free. Because I hate every last one of you psycho sacks of shit. I opened Lalo's gate, and I would do it again, and I was glad what they did to him. He's a soulless pig, and I wish I killed him with my own hands. And you know what else, Hector? I put you in that chair. Oh yeah, your heart meds? I switched them for sugar pills. You were dead and buried, and I had to watch this asshole [Gus] bring you back. So when you are sitting in your shitty nursing home and you're sucking down on your Jell-O night after night for the rest of your life, you think of me, you twisted fuck.
• Taking You with Me: Subverted. It would seem a part of the script only known to Mike and Nacho is Nacho would at least take Bolsa out this way. Nacho doesn't go through with killing Bolsa, and ultimately chooses to take his own life rather than Victor or Mike doing the deed.
• Torture Technician: Gus notes the Salamancas are unsurprisingly experts at torture. When Bolsa mentions the unpleasant ways to die when promising Nacho a painless one for compliance, the scene cuts to a shot from the shack of a table loaded with all manner of horrible instruments of torture.
• Trailers Always Lie:
  • Mike's line "Anyone who goes after him will have to come through me" was shown a lot in the pre-release trailers in conjunction with shots of Nacho fleeing, making it appear to be a threat against Gus for Nacho's safety. Instead, he says it to Nacho himself after Nacho has already agreed to give himself up, promising it instead towards Nacho's father Manuel.
  • Kim's line "Are you building a case against Jimmy?" was similarly prominent in the pre-release trailers, followed by Howard saying, "I'm just getting warmed up", making it appear as if Howard has caught on to their scheme against him. Instead, Kim is saying it to ADA Suzanne Ericsen when she explains how Jimmy has fallen in with the cartel. Howard's line is then used in the trailer for the next episode, "Hit and Run".
• Villainous BSoD: As opposed to the reactions of everyone else, Mike genuinely looks heartbroken as he's packing up and leaving the scene of Nacho's death.
• Wham Episode: Nacho takes his own life in order to escape the wrath of the Salamancas and the cartel.