Here's why Lalo kills Howard in the Better Call Saul season 6 midseason finale. The final season of AMC's acclaimed drama has followed two distinct storylines so far

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Vince Gilligan and the creative team have taken Better Call Saul down an unpredictable path, with this latest episode, "Plan and Execution," serving as a shocking merging of the two narratives.

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Murdering Howard in cold blood was also a play on Lalo's part to demonstrate his power over Jimmy and Kim in this situation.

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It was a ruthless way for Lalo to illustrate to Jimmy and Kim he isn't going to take "no" for an answer - unless they want to suffer the same fate.

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It's clear whatever Lalo has in mind for Gus, he felt it necessary to enlist Jimmy and Kim as unwilling help. Especially after Nacho's betrayal, there's a very limited number of people Lalo can trust.

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