Lalo Salamanca’s death in the final season of Better Call Saul set the stage for several key plot points in Breaking Bad, but the story would’ve turned out very differently if he’d survived. When Saul Goodman first appeared in Breaking Bad season 2, episode 8, “Better Call Saul,” Walt and Jesse kidnapped him and took him out into the desert to force him to take Badger’s case. There, Saul offhandedly asked if Lalo sent them. At the time, this was a throwaway line suggesting Saul had many past enemies. But it paved the way for one of TV’s greatest villains.

https://screenrant.com/better-call-saul-lalo-alive-walter-white-breaking-bad-changed-op-ed/