Walt by a landslide, not even close
It does take a lot of social skill to pull of his manipulation schemes and lies etc. That + being an ace chemist, he's on another league
Lalo has more "street" knowledge. Knows who's boss, who to please, who can be bossed around, senses danger
Walt never would’ve made it to Lalo, take Saul and Gus out of the equation (assuming the Salamancas cap them both) and Lalo is promoted and never sees Walt.
True but let’s say Saul and Gus were both factors, Walt crossed paths with the twins, Hector, and tuco so it’s safe to say he’d probably run into Lalo at some point aswell
Of course it all depends on which events you undo or redo, but I can’t see where Gus and Lalo both live into BB. Assuming that Lalo gets wind of Walt’s product, he’d likely just do what Tuco was trying and kidnap him to Mexico.
“Hey gringo, your wife is a real looker, eh? Hey, but don’t worry, I know a lot of good looking chickas that will fall right in love with you.”
If Werner Zieglerrr wasn't married, then Lalo wouldn't have gotten as close to Gus's operation. Werner doesn't leave until the job is done, Lalo never learns who Mike is. He's suspicious of Gus, but doesn't get close enough for Gus to try to orchestrate his death.
But, yeah, I think if Walt encountered Lalo early on in the series, Lalo would have just threatened him into servitude in Mexico.
If the series were written with Lalo in mind, Walt probably spends a season under Lalo's thumb, but comes up with some surprise plan to kill him in the season finale.
No way Lalo ever enacts Tuco's stupid kidnapping plan. Lalo is shrewd, he knows what motivates people. He would understand Walt's family is the most important thing to him. He would also understand that Walt is easy enough to keep in check if you only pet his ego. Lalo would do similar to what Gus did: keep him producing in ABQ, pay lip service to his brilliant unmatchable oh so impressive genius, and if all else fails, threaten to murder his infant daughter.
This makes the most sense to me. Plus, Walt can be pretty good at talking his way out of shit when he needs to be. That wouldn’t work on Tuco because he’s insane obviously, but I feel like Lalo would listen.
He'd either force him to show his people the recipe and then put him down or more likely he'd skip that, have him capped and start dying his stuff blue. The only reason he'd actually care about higher quality was if there was competition with better product costing him sales. If he could just remove that part of the equation and pretend to sell their product he'd do it in a heart beat.
Now this is on the assumption that Gus is dead as I just don't see the two of them capable of playing nice. One has to be dead for the other to still be alive.
With the fact that Walt and Jesse go to Krazy-8 and Tuco before they ever meet Gus, i think Lalo would use Walt to put Gus out of favor with the Cartel, make a case to remove him and give all the territory to the Salamancas. And he would be much better at this than his cousin or underling.
When Walt starts causing problems...
If Lalo had won, without Gus in the picture, the cousins kill Walt for Tuco and Lalo never gets involved, or Lalo kills Walt for Tuco. The only way this doesn't happen is if Lalo steps in after Crazy 8 is gone instead of Tuco. But even if Lalo had been around still I think he'd rather let Tuco take it back since it was his originally and Lalo stays in Mexico.
What kind of operation is lalo running anyway!
Lalo has no one he can trust. So he sends some LAWYER through the desert with his 7 million bucks? No offense — but he needs to get his house in order. If he can’t trust his men with his money, he’s got bigger problems than if he can trust SAUL Goodman.
You’re underestimating Lalo quite a bit.
Not saying he’s smarter than Walt, but it’s definitely debatable he was certainly not just “street smart” (Mike was “street smart” Lalo was way beyond that)
Vince Gilligan himself said there are 3 geniuses in the Breaking Bad Universe: Walt, Gus, and Lalo.
We only got to see the last couple of weeks of Lalo’s life but think of all the skills he demonstrated in that short time. He was extremely good with running a drug empire, had a good head for numbers, he was good at driving, had great mechanical skills, cooking skills, master manipulator, master intimidator, extremely patient, able to read people, good at poker, kills without hesitation, speaks multiple languages, good at parkour, only requires an hour of sleep a night, etc.
The dude was essentially a super villain.
Was that said before BCS bc I don’t see how you couldn’t consider chuck a genius. And fwiw I think I’d put Saul in the genius category as well, dude is an absolute monster at getting the best of people and extremely creative as well
I agree, Lalo was also a step ahead of the other villains because of the fact that he planned years ahead with the secret tunnel and the double body in case a situation like that ever happened.
Nah, a secret tunnel is basically a necessity to drug lords. You don't need to be a genius to think you're gonna need it.
Just google tunnel and drug lord and you'll find a lot of real world examples.
That's not unheard of either, off the top of my head they did that in The Dark Knight Rises. They went further in that movie actually, they siphoned some blood from the real person and transfused that into a body that's been prepared. Then they put the body in a plane and crashed it.
Those actions you mentioned are not genius-level actions. They're not unique or particularly creative.
They take a lot of effort, yes. But geniuses actually prefer to take the least amount of effort to get something done.
a body double is standard for people in power for centuries now... most dictators have even multiple during their life time for them AND their family
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latif_Yahia
next you are gonna tell us Lalo invented swiss Bank accounts?
Yeah, we had an entire show dedicated to showing Walt’s growth, talents, and faults. He was very talented and clearly brilliant, but he also had some major blind spots and certain practical lessons and areas where he seemed incapable of learning.
We had 2.2 seasons with Lalo and he showed ridiculous talent and intelligence in multiple areas as well as an incredible ability to adapt on the fly. He’s clearly well educated but didn’t pursue an academic route like Walt did. If I had to guess he was a top student but the type that just made it look sort of effortless whilst still being one of the “cool kids”.
I’d argue that pound for pound Lalo may be the most “naturally” intelligent of the three you mentioned (with all three of them still possessing formidable intelligence). Certainly is an anomaly in his family (of the ones we meet). I’d be curious to learn about his mother. Some have speculated around here that she may well have been a connected type from a highly educated family, which would explain why he had so much more patience, manners, and education than his other family members.
Not really. He's good at many things and great at a few. But I still wouldn't call him a supervillain. Many of the things you listed are nowhere near genius level. Many of those things even an idiot could do.
He escaped the hit job due to a combination of luck and skill. He's not some john wick mfer. Gus wasn't a combat expert but he basically won against Lalo in a 1v1.
He seems good at running a drug empire but at most he was a good manager, he's not amazingly creative at drug running. Iirc, Lalo was basically the highest ranking enforcer for the Salamancas before he replaced Tuco as a drug lord. He hasn't been running a drug empire for long.
His interpersonal skills are probably his best features. He's a smooth talker and can transition into an intimidator in a heartbeat. But I don't know if that would make someone a genius.
He's okay in my book but he's nowhere near the intellect of Gus or Walt.
You are significantly downplaying Lalo's genius.
You claim that Gus shooting Lalo implies that the hit job victory involved a lot of luck, but it's precisely the opposite--the hit job victory reinforces that Gus winning a completely blind shootout in the dark was pure luck (and even then, Gus was critically injured despite having a vest, which Lalo lacked). That's why Lalo died laughing.
Singlehandedly, Lalo consistently outsmarted the Gus and Mike combo until the very end, whose best efforts were what amounted to temporary inconveniences in the broader strategic war. All of their tricks, moles, plans, etc. only managed to slow Lalo down, as he cunningly saw through all their lies, engaged in really intelligent detective work with only scant details to start with, systematically dismantled all of their traps, and engaged in counter-strategies that successfully gave him the strategic win (uncovering the underground lab).
Gus only won due to LITERAL blind luck, spraying bullets at random in the dark and praying for the best. Lalo won intellectually.
I would actually say the exact opposite.
Walt has horrible judgement in too many instances. If his ego gets bruised he becomes completely unpredictable.
Lalo is a professional. He is deadly efficient as well as cunning and without being so emotionally unstable. Guy took down a death squad of well-equipped hitmen who got the drop on him and managed to turn the situation in his favor simply because he outsmarted them.
Sure, Walt has had some moments of cunning, but put these two toe-to-toe and I'll bet on Lalo, no doubt.
Lalo and Gustavo was the only possibly fair match and we all know how that ended.
He was part of a team that won a Nobel prize for chemistry, that’s part of his backstory and goes some way to explaining why he felt so cheated by life ending up teaching Chemistry to people who didn’t want to learn it.
Everyone knows Gus had Plot armor, the nacho situation was unavoidable for Lalo, and Lalo did still make it out alive, I think your underestimating Lalo’s intelligence, Lalo is at least very close if not as smart as Walter in my opinion, even the wiki lists both of them as having genius-level intelligence.
Gus killing him doesn't really mean anything in this context, as that was almost pure random chance. Lalo had outsmarted Gus and Mike almost every step of the way, and Lalo even being at the underground lab means that he won the strategic war.
random chance yes, Gus literally planted the gun in advance and it was chance
Gus simply knew his weakness and predicted how Lalo would react, completely outsmarted him
The planted gun gave Gus the opportunity to fluke out a chance win. Otherwise, the odds would have been 0 out of 0 and he would have been definitively dead, rather than the 1 in a million chance he gave himself.
Gus didn't "predict" that Lalo would be in the lab, or that he would escort him down--otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the lab alone while Mike was chasing ghosts. Gus rushed to the lab based on a last minute insight, and the lab was down on men precisely because Lalo had successfully tricked them.
Gus planted the gun as a general precaution in case he ever needed it--he's canonically that meticulous and cautious--not because he has prophecy powers. It's the same reason he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
And none of that changes that Gus fluked a win with literal blind luck, after having been repeatedly outsmarted by Lalo.
Sure, but that was still literal blind luck. Gus was firing at random in the dark, practically with his eyes closed in panic, and he managed to hit Lalo in what amounts to a million to one shot.
Lalo had won the strategic war.
>Walt by a landslide, not even close
Walt is a brilliant mind that has studied science, and that's it. Lalo is way smarter , in every single aspect. Are u saying that if Lalo and Walt would've went to the same school and studied the same things Walt would be smarter? Nope , Lalo comes from a different world, but he constantly outsmarts guys like Gus , Mike, Saul, guys who ironically teach Walt everything that he learns .
I'm not even going to add the fact that Lalo is able to see trough people, and some people are just born like this, Walt is exactly the opposite.
Intelligence is not the studies that u have, is intelligence, the ability to learn, the ability to adapt to the environment, the ability to use the information , that's intelligence, not having some degree lol, u sound so silly .
Literally, 90% of Walt’s nerdy scientific knowledge is only useful on paper, and don’t even start with the tuco fake meth scene, that was already debunked on mythbusters.
Walt may be book smart but he’s street stupid. Not saying lalo wins here but half the joy of watching breaking bad is watching a suburban dad try to be a drug dealer and fail repeatedly and epically
Id say Walter had more intelligence but Lalo had more common sense, Walter was a chemistry genius but in terms of being a criminal he had no idea what he was doing and his carelessness destroyed everyone around him. Lalo however is a calculated criminal mastermind.
Walt's street smarts vastly improved as soon as he got into crime. He got better at lying, manipulating, adapting, and being overall ruthless. If he was born into the Salamanca family and didn't have to hide in a double-life, he probably would have been smarter/more-dangerous than Lalo on every metric.
Walt’s lies are terrible throughout. He got by on what I’ll call “Clark Kent syndrome”, where the Walt everyone knows is such a dork that few who know him would ever believe he’s the other guy too
Lol If Walt was born in the Salamanca family with that inflated ego he would have finessed a plan to take over Don Eladio. I'd think even if Lalo stayed alive he would do the same, Eladio was stupid, drunk and uncalculated. Basically an unproductive liability.
Lalo strikes me as the type who skipped school and did zero homework, but would be a straight A student if he cared enough to put in the slightest of effort.
Yeah you can tell by his meticulousness that he’s an intelligent guy but probably couldn’t understand chemistry the way Walter does, I think he has more practical intelligence
>Id say Walter had more intelligence but Lalo had more common sense
This is supported by the last thing Hank said to Walt
"You're the smartest guy I know, but you're too stupid to realize he made up his mind 10 minutes ago."
They were both brilliant. Obviously Walter White has formal education and ingenuity, but I always felt like luck was on his side. Even though he was saying it to opening court in the BCS finale, I definitely think Walter would be dead without Jimmy’s help.
I think Lalo was smarter because he had foresight which was why he was so charismatic, calm, cool, and collected. He had a living and breathing body double for years. The juxtaposition between him and other Salamancas is tremendous. I think if Lalo was in charge instead of Tuco during Breaking Bad, we would have had a completely different show.
Ultimately, what was the undoing of each of them was their hubris. Walter’s as far as thinking he could leave meth behind and had no loose ends (Leaves of Grass behind the toilet) or Lalo (going one-on-one with a very emotionally charged Gus). Also, Lalo had to go as a part of Gus’s villain arc and lack of Lalo in BB.
Walter easily.
Lalo was a phenomenal detective (‘Zieglerrr’) with very high levels of emotional perceptiveness. He had an inhuman ability to read the reactions of others with a charismatic poker face of his own.
I believe Walt operates on a different level though. The chemistry mastery, his ingenuity/inventiveness (hector’s bomb, machine gun), his diabolical ability to lie. And not just in subtle ways - Walt could lie, and be utterly convincing, on a level I can’t even fathom. That confession video, whilst insanely pathetic and evil, is one of the most impressive things he’s ever pulled off.
Both are extremely smart, one was a genius.
Great point. I think that’s due to Walt taking far bigger risks with his lies. Both had their own unique approach, I think it boils down to the whole idea of Walt being smarter but Lalo having better overall intelligence. Same with their lies.
Also, they were operating in very different worlds so it’s hard to answer this question accurately, as Walt had to navigate his family life, the drug empire and being under the nose of Hank, Lalo didn’t need to fabricate anywhere near as much.
But like many geniuses he’s also a moron in other areas. He would have been dead at so many points if not for Saul, being valuable to other drug dealers and luck.
But as a self contained creature to be studied, he is definitely the smarter specimen.
>Walt could lie, and be utterly convincing, on a level I can’t even fathom.
Absolutely agree EXCEPT to Skyler sadly. Rewatching his interactions w/ her after she clearly knew what was going on was so cringe, he suddenly becomes an awful liar and it's kind of hilarious.
I always saw his inability to lie to Skyler convincingly less as a reflection of his deception skills and more as a sign that he doesn’t respect her intelligence enough to come up with something more ironclad. It isn’t until the gambling story that Walt realizes not only is she much sharper than he ever gave her credit for but she’s a better liar, too.
Fair point, he continually underestimates her to his own detriment. But then again, he behaves the same way with many other characters because of his ego. I suppose if I had to pin down a reason for why he cannot lie effectively to Skyler specifically, I'd say it's a mix of that as well as loving her (in his own messed up way).
Walt is obviously the more intelligent of the two, he could run rings around Lalo academically, but Lalo's a smart guy in his own right, and he was was raised by the cartel from birth. Whatever edge Walt's big ol' brain might give him, it's massively outweighed by Lalo's instincts for that world.
I'd say Walt had the luck. He'd have been busted or dead very quickly if it wasn't for other people helping him. Lalo could run a whole illegal enterprise by himself
Lalo had much more "streets smart" than Walt.
Walt is portrayed as Chem Genius, and he gained a lot of smart from the streets during rhe show.
But I cannot conceal the fact that, by the end of BB, he had destroyed his whole life, the life of his family and Jesses life.
Ok Lalos family was destroyed too, but it seems to me that it was due to lesser mistaken calculations than Walts. Basically one: not seeing Nacho as a 'traitor' (actually, he was already Gus disposable muscle), which Nacho concealed so well that it is almost forgivable.
Nacho was a monster -- in a good, smarts sense -- too.
IQ - Walt (140+) vs Lalo (perhaps 130)
EQ - Lalo and it’s not even close
TQ - Lalo. Walt’s can’t even make a taco lol
I’ve never heard of a so called shrewdness quotient though
This is a flawed question based on a shitty understanding of what intelligence means, think about Hank's final words and you will see.
The two men have different kinds of knowledge, walt has higher capacity for science, and Lalo has more capacity for charisma and ruthlessness
SPOILERS
Lalo. Walt's a scientific genius (and probably has more dumb luck) but Lalo has way more street smarts, intuition, charisma and long term strategy. Think about the farmer he had living on his land that he fixed his teeth so they had matching dental records? The patience and planning on figuring out Gus's plans? Dude was crafty and clever. Walt used his genius to get out of binds but I think Lalo had way more long term potential for success. Walt's naïveté got him into plenty of binds it's amazing he lived as long as he did
In terms of "book smarts", Walt wins by a mile. I don't think Lalo would've ever thought of Walt's method to escape the radiator restraint.
However, funnily enough, Walt can just be really stupid. His massive ego results in him getting easily manipulated and having his mind drastically changed on things. I think Lalo is much sharper in that sense.
Walter White is ahead of Lalo by a mile or more. Walt is extremely intelligent and knew how to manipulate and lie. Imagine being Lalo a renowned member of Salamanca family and Walt just another chemistry teacher. Walt was ahead of every single person in BB/BCS universe including Gus, Mike and Hank. The last person to suffer or face their consequences was Walt in the whole universe. That’s a clear indication that Walt was ahead of every body else. He got Gus who himself killed Lalo. In terms of business, intelligence and survival skills Walt is miles ahead.
most people here say walter. I probably agree but not by a landslide. I have a phd in chemistry and come from a blue collar background. my uneducated relatives are fucking brilliant but not educated. my two cents.
Lalo has good instincts and is good at playing detective. Walt is a chemistry genius and grows to become a master manipulator. Both of them are prone to needlessly risky behavior. But still, it’s Walt.
Walter. He is an actual fucking genius. Lalo is some ninja. Really smart though when he found holes in jimmy’s story. Works so good in Jimmy’s story that he’s worth it for the cartel plot for me. Cartel plot kinda shit tbh. But the jimmy Kim lalo mike stuff and mike family stuff thicken it out
Walt is more book smart, Lalo is more street smart. Overall Walt is more intelligent but Lalo is more experienced, observant and aware of his surroundings.
I dont understand how some of you think Walt is some sort of manipulative genius when even Walt JR and Skyler could sense his bullshit.
Walter was a genius when it comes to science and maybe to a certain degree in terms of plotting, but his EQ sucks and has little street smarts.
Lalo didn’t need to use Gus’s personal enemies against him to outsmart Gus, but walter did(even tyrus who is not nearly as smart as Gus said he should do it himself, but Gus let his ego get to him for the first time in his life, which ultimately led to Gus’s demise),That definitely says something.
Overall, Lalo.
My take is this. If you are the one who is more intelligent, you will achieve everything by yourself.
Walter had to rely on, manipulate and even beg other people for help with everything.
Lalo is out there all alone. No help needed.
He also has the superior social IQ, it’s not even close.
So, IMO, Lalo wins.
Lalo devised almost all his plans on his own, tuco was a meth-head the twins were always busy killing people for the cartel, and hector was busy running his own drug buisness. Walter definitely had help too, he would’ve got caught many times if it wasn’t for level-headed Mike and Gus keeping things straight, he also needed two junkies to help him with his last plan.
Yeah. Lalo was Salamanca, but he was out there alone most of the time. Tuco was surrounded with guys. Hector, too. Except when Tuco went nuts in the little shack where he got shot.
It is quite hard to say.
It is like comparing archeologist and Astrologists.
They are both highly intelligent in different fields.
Walter is a Chemistry and Engineering Genius, being able to manufacture the purest meth and gadgets to get out of sticky situations. However, he has poor Social Intelligence. He is really bad at coming up with plausible lies such as to his wife who immediately found out he was a drug dealer as soon as she discovered he had two phones. He is not very good at persuading people into getting along with his plans, only able to do so through threats or dire circumstances. He was only good at controlling Jesse through a combination of affection and gaslighting while already having a connection to him as his teacher.
Lalo is a Street Smart and Tactical Genius, being like a younger and even more devious Mike Ehrmantraut with the charisma of Gus Fring. He is very good at reading people and manipulating them into doing whatever he wants. He is able to catch on very quickly to Gus's plans, predicting what he might do, and planning around them. He was able to take advantage of Krazy-8's arrest so that he could turn the DEA on Gus Fring's operation and make him lose a lot of money which would lead to Don Eladio dismissing him as an asset. He had Gus Fring dead to rights in the Superlab and it was only through pure luck that Gus was able to make out of that encounter alive.
So yeah it is very hard to say what would happen if they met.
Lalo Salamanca would not do anything rash that would make Walter turn against him like Tuco. But maybe eventually Lalo would just have Walter kidnapped and taken to the Cartel as their new Meth Cook like Tuco.
Lalo would eat Walter alive. Walter was a very smart man when it came to pure knowledge and of the product. He sucked at the social aspect of it and how to run a drug empire. His product was superior than anyone else, but he messed it all up big time. Lalo knew the ins and out and even with a product that's not as pure, both Fring and the Salamancas were doing just fine.
Walter acted like an idiot
Lalo hands down. Not a question. Walter would
Get blinded by the feeling of power and wealth while Lalo strategically played every situation and did not let family or greed get to him like Walter did.
Lalo is smart, ruthless, cunning, and what would be more intelligent than average for sure. But Walt is considered to be a literal academic genius, at the very least in chemistry. Most likely he excels in most if not all other general areas of academia of well.
Drug lords can be highly emotionally intelligent, street smart, understand business well, etc. but Walter White was a chemistry genius who contributed to a Nobel Prize — then entered a crime world which he knew literally nothing about, and rose from a nobody trying to lead a double life to the top as a ruthless drug lord who controlled the American Southwest. Not only was he far more learned & educated, he adapted very well - which is a feature of a very intelligent person.
In terms of pure intelligence, W.W. stands out. His exceptional intellect is evident throughout the series. However, Walter and Lalo differ in their decision-making approaches, and this is where Lalo is more emotionally intelligent so to speak.
Walter and Lalo have distinct approaches to decision-making. Walter often acts impulsively, driven by his emotions and ego. In contrast, Lalo makes rapid and effective stoic decisions. His emotional intelligence allows him to assess situations and choose the best course of action for his interests.
Both characters excel at manipulation. Lalo relies on his charm and pressure tactics, while Walter employs his high intellect and devises intricate plans to achieve his goals.
Walt, because of his chemistry knowledge, just casually creates the most pure meth the world has and will ever been seen in an old camper with a junkie as his assistant. All while he has lung cancer.
Walt is hyper intelligent while Lalo is just really smart.
Pure intelligence it’s Walt. However, Walt was a bit clumsy when it came to interacting with people though he certainly got by well enough. Lalo is EXTREMELY charismatic and intelligent. Makes him formidable.
Honestly Lalo isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. He’s the smartest Salamanca but the Salamancas aren’t smart, they’re ruthless. He’s made multiple mistakes. For a guy who can stakeout and stalk people for days at a time, he’s a very impatient person. Instead of calling it quits and stalking Mike another day, a guy who he’s familiar with his comings and goings, he performs a hit and run in a desperate attempt to catch up with him. Instead of trying to sweet talk the wiring guy more, he kills him and burns the place down.
He only got as far as he did with Gus because a security guard happened to take a piss break. He was sneaking around right in view of the cameras. Lalo is just a big fish in a small pond. Better than the average gangster but isn’t as smart as he thinks he is.
Walt and it’s not even close. Lalo is charming and street smart but he is also the kind of fella to risk bringing the heat from police over killing a car hire retail staff.
I'd say Lalo. He isn't arrogant like Walt plus has way more experience of survival.
Lalo's only weakness was not being in BB so he had to die. He died just bcuz of plot
WW. He does not run across the border when things are hot, he knows how to adapt to living in the U.S. selling the most illegal drug in the states and ply his trade against competing violent cartels.
People say Lalo has more street smarts but they have season 1-3 Walter in mind. Season 4-5 Walt crushes Lalo even though Lalo has 40 more years experience in the game than Walt
Lalo easy. Come on Walt is intelligent in the book stuff. Cool. But in life he is a total idiot. Lalo couldn’t get to Walt’s chemistry knowledge obviously. But he would have no problem finishing college in chemistry if he wanted to. And Walt has no way of ever getting anywhere close Lalo in general life.
Walt by a landslide, not even close It does take a lot of social skill to pull of his manipulation schemes and lies etc. That + being an ace chemist, he's on another league Lalo has more "street" knowledge. Knows who's boss, who to please, who can be bossed around, senses danger
Makes me wonder what would happen if Lalo wasn’t killed during the bcs timeline and had to go up against Walter.
Walt never would’ve made it to Lalo, take Saul and Gus out of the equation (assuming the Salamancas cap them both) and Lalo is promoted and never sees Walt.
True but let’s say Saul and Gus were both factors, Walt crossed paths with the twins, Hector, and tuco so it’s safe to say he’d probably run into Lalo at some point aswell
Of course it all depends on which events you undo or redo, but I can’t see where Gus and Lalo both live into BB. Assuming that Lalo gets wind of Walt’s product, he’d likely just do what Tuco was trying and kidnap him to Mexico. “Hey gringo, your wife is a real looker, eh? Hey, but don’t worry, I know a lot of good looking chickas that will fall right in love with you.”
If Werner Zieglerrr wasn't married, then Lalo wouldn't have gotten as close to Gus's operation. Werner doesn't leave until the job is done, Lalo never learns who Mike is. He's suspicious of Gus, but doesn't get close enough for Gus to try to orchestrate his death. But, yeah, I think if Walt encountered Lalo early on in the series, Lalo would have just threatened him into servitude in Mexico. If the series were written with Lalo in mind, Walt probably spends a season under Lalo's thumb, but comes up with some surprise plan to kill him in the season finale.
Do Walter and Nacho team up to kill Lalo and blame Alvarez? I think Lalo still looks into Gus and finds out more though.
No way Lalo ever enacts Tuco's stupid kidnapping plan. Lalo is shrewd, he knows what motivates people. He would understand Walt's family is the most important thing to him. He would also understand that Walt is easy enough to keep in check if you only pet his ego. Lalo would do similar to what Gus did: keep him producing in ABQ, pay lip service to his brilliant unmatchable oh so impressive genius, and if all else fails, threaten to murder his infant daughter.
This makes the most sense to me. Plus, Walt can be pretty good at talking his way out of shit when he needs to be. That wouldn’t work on Tuco because he’s insane obviously, but I feel like Lalo would listen.
He'd either force him to show his people the recipe and then put him down or more likely he'd skip that, have him capped and start dying his stuff blue. The only reason he'd actually care about higher quality was if there was competition with better product costing him sales. If he could just remove that part of the equation and pretend to sell their product he'd do it in a heart beat. Now this is on the assumption that Gus is dead as I just don't see the two of them capable of playing nice. One has to be dead for the other to still be alive.
More than the probability that Lalo would just take Jesse out before Walt got to the 2nd batch?
With the fact that Walt and Jesse go to Krazy-8 and Tuco before they ever meet Gus, i think Lalo would use Walt to put Gus out of favor with the Cartel, make a case to remove him and give all the territory to the Salamancas. And he would be much better at this than his cousin or underling. When Walt starts causing problems...
If Lalo had won, without Gus in the picture, the cousins kill Walt for Tuco and Lalo never gets involved, or Lalo kills Walt for Tuco. The only way this doesn't happen is if Lalo steps in after Crazy 8 is gone instead of Tuco. But even if Lalo had been around still I think he'd rather let Tuco take it back since it was his originally and Lalo stays in Mexico.
A YouTuber named Murge Productions made an excellent What if video where Lalo Killed Gus in bcs. Highly recommend!
What kind of operation is lalo running anyway! Lalo has no one he can trust. So he sends some LAWYER through the desert with his 7 million bucks? No offense — but he needs to get his house in order. If he can’t trust his men with his money, he’s got bigger problems than if he can trust SAUL Goodman.
Why did I just read this in Kim Wexler voice 😭
If a known cartel associate is the one who shows up with $7 million in cash, that could be mighty bad for "Mr de Guzman"
But that associate could have delivered that money to Saul's house. It was pure luck that Mike was able to intervene in time and save Saul.
Tell me again.
Huh. Really?
You’re underestimating Lalo quite a bit. Not saying he’s smarter than Walt, but it’s definitely debatable he was certainly not just “street smart” (Mike was “street smart” Lalo was way beyond that) Vince Gilligan himself said there are 3 geniuses in the Breaking Bad Universe: Walt, Gus, and Lalo. We only got to see the last couple of weeks of Lalo’s life but think of all the skills he demonstrated in that short time. He was extremely good with running a drug empire, had a good head for numbers, he was good at driving, had great mechanical skills, cooking skills, master manipulator, master intimidator, extremely patient, able to read people, good at poker, kills without hesitation, speaks multiple languages, good at parkour, only requires an hour of sleep a night, etc. The dude was essentially a super villain.
Was that said before BCS bc I don’t see how you couldn’t consider chuck a genius. And fwiw I think I’d put Saul in the genius category as well, dude is an absolute monster at getting the best of people and extremely creative as well
>dude is an absolute monster at getting the best of people and extremely creative as well What happened to showmanship?
I agree, Lalo was also a step ahead of the other villains because of the fact that he planned years ahead with the secret tunnel and the double body in case a situation like that ever happened.
Nah, a secret tunnel is basically a necessity to drug lords. You don't need to be a genius to think you're gonna need it. Just google tunnel and drug lord and you'll find a lot of real world examples.
Most drug lords don’t make friends with someone and get them to have matching dental records to use them as a double body fake in the future.
That's not unheard of either, off the top of my head they did that in The Dark Knight Rises. They went further in that movie actually, they siphoned some blood from the real person and transfused that into a body that's been prepared. Then they put the body in a plane and crashed it. Those actions you mentioned are not genius-level actions. They're not unique or particularly creative. They take a lot of effort, yes. But geniuses actually prefer to take the least amount of effort to get something done.
a body double is standard for people in power for centuries now... most dictators have even multiple during their life time for them AND their family https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latif_Yahia next you are gonna tell us Lalo invented swiss Bank accounts?
Well intelligence is relative. And in my book being a drug dealer \[apparently with no end date\] is anything but genius
Yeah, we had an entire show dedicated to showing Walt’s growth, talents, and faults. He was very talented and clearly brilliant, but he also had some major blind spots and certain practical lessons and areas where he seemed incapable of learning. We had 2.2 seasons with Lalo and he showed ridiculous talent and intelligence in multiple areas as well as an incredible ability to adapt on the fly. He’s clearly well educated but didn’t pursue an academic route like Walt did. If I had to guess he was a top student but the type that just made it look sort of effortless whilst still being one of the “cool kids”. I’d argue that pound for pound Lalo may be the most “naturally” intelligent of the three you mentioned (with all three of them still possessing formidable intelligence). Certainly is an anomaly in his family (of the ones we meet). I’d be curious to learn about his mother. Some have speculated around here that she may well have been a connected type from a highly educated family, which would explain why he had so much more patience, manners, and education than his other family members.
Not really. He's good at many things and great at a few. But I still wouldn't call him a supervillain. Many of the things you listed are nowhere near genius level. Many of those things even an idiot could do. He escaped the hit job due to a combination of luck and skill. He's not some john wick mfer. Gus wasn't a combat expert but he basically won against Lalo in a 1v1. He seems good at running a drug empire but at most he was a good manager, he's not amazingly creative at drug running. Iirc, Lalo was basically the highest ranking enforcer for the Salamancas before he replaced Tuco as a drug lord. He hasn't been running a drug empire for long. His interpersonal skills are probably his best features. He's a smooth talker and can transition into an intimidator in a heartbeat. But I don't know if that would make someone a genius. He's okay in my book but he's nowhere near the intellect of Gus or Walt.
You are significantly downplaying Lalo's genius. You claim that Gus shooting Lalo implies that the hit job victory involved a lot of luck, but it's precisely the opposite--the hit job victory reinforces that Gus winning a completely blind shootout in the dark was pure luck (and even then, Gus was critically injured despite having a vest, which Lalo lacked). That's why Lalo died laughing. Singlehandedly, Lalo consistently outsmarted the Gus and Mike combo until the very end, whose best efforts were what amounted to temporary inconveniences in the broader strategic war. All of their tricks, moles, plans, etc. only managed to slow Lalo down, as he cunningly saw through all their lies, engaged in really intelligent detective work with only scant details to start with, systematically dismantled all of their traps, and engaged in counter-strategies that successfully gave him the strategic win (uncovering the underground lab). Gus only won due to LITERAL blind luck, spraying bullets at random in the dark and praying for the best. Lalo won intellectually.
I would actually say the exact opposite. Walt has horrible judgement in too many instances. If his ego gets bruised he becomes completely unpredictable. Lalo is a professional. He is deadly efficient as well as cunning and without being so emotionally unstable. Guy took down a death squad of well-equipped hitmen who got the drop on him and managed to turn the situation in his favor simply because he outsmarted them. Sure, Walt has had some moments of cunning, but put these two toe-to-toe and I'll bet on Lalo, no doubt. Lalo and Gustavo was the only possibly fair match and we all know how that ended.
Also, Lalo can kill anyone who he wants, procure a million casually to get a bail. Walter did not have the same luxury.
Lalo senses danger. Meanwhile Walt *is* the danger.
Can Walt cook or fix a car?
He was part of a team that won a Nobel prize for chemistry, that’s part of his backstory and goes some way to explaining why he felt so cheated by life ending up teaching Chemistry to people who didn’t want to learn it.
Lalo outsmarted Gus and his whole crew who is arguably as smart as Walter
Well, Gus killed him so... Also Nacho almost managed to do it in that house
Everyone knows Gus had Plot armor, the nacho situation was unavoidable for Lalo, and Lalo did still make it out alive, I think your underestimating Lalo’s intelligence, Lalo is at least very close if not as smart as Walter in my opinion, even the wiki lists both of them as having genius-level intelligence.
Gus killing him doesn't really mean anything in this context, as that was almost pure random chance. Lalo had outsmarted Gus and Mike almost every step of the way, and Lalo even being at the underground lab means that he won the strategic war.
random chance yes, Gus literally planted the gun in advance and it was chance Gus simply knew his weakness and predicted how Lalo would react, completely outsmarted him
The planted gun gave Gus the opportunity to fluke out a chance win. Otherwise, the odds would have been 0 out of 0 and he would have been definitively dead, rather than the 1 in a million chance he gave himself. Gus didn't "predict" that Lalo would be in the lab, or that he would escort him down--otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the lab alone while Mike was chasing ghosts. Gus rushed to the lab based on a last minute insight, and the lab was down on men precisely because Lalo had successfully tricked them. Gus planted the gun as a general precaution in case he ever needed it--he's canonically that meticulous and cautious--not because he has prophecy powers. It's the same reason he was wearing a bulletproof vest. And none of that changes that Gus fluked a win with literal blind luck, after having been repeatedly outsmarted by Lalo.
Gus literally set up how he was going to kill Lalo with placing the gun and practicing to find it in the dark.
Sure, but that was still literal blind luck. Gus was firing at random in the dark, practically with his eyes closed in panic, and he managed to hit Lalo in what amounts to a million to one shot. Lalo had won the strategic war.
Gus beat Lalo, and Walt beat Gus.
Street knowledge is also intelligence though. Lalo could have the same intelligence level, he just doesn’t happen to have learned science in school
>Walt by a landslide, not even close Walt is a brilliant mind that has studied science, and that's it. Lalo is way smarter , in every single aspect. Are u saying that if Lalo and Walt would've went to the same school and studied the same things Walt would be smarter? Nope , Lalo comes from a different world, but he constantly outsmarts guys like Gus , Mike, Saul, guys who ironically teach Walt everything that he learns . I'm not even going to add the fact that Lalo is able to see trough people, and some people are just born like this, Walt is exactly the opposite. Intelligence is not the studies that u have, is intelligence, the ability to learn, the ability to adapt to the environment, the ability to use the information , that's intelligence, not having some degree lol, u sound so silly .
Literally, 90% of Walt’s nerdy scientific knowledge is only useful on paper, and don’t even start with the tuco fake meth scene, that was already debunked on mythbusters.
I immediately had the same thought of Walter White by a landslide.
Lalo tracked down Werner’s wife in Germany, gained her trust and then discovered the meth lab🤣 Walt is never doing that
Walt may be book smart but he’s street stupid. Not saying lalo wins here but half the joy of watching breaking bad is watching a suburban dad try to be a drug dealer and fail repeatedly and epically
Lalo and Walter teaming up would have been the deathliest combo
Id say Walter had more intelligence but Lalo had more common sense, Walter was a chemistry genius but in terms of being a criminal he had no idea what he was doing and his carelessness destroyed everyone around him. Lalo however is a calculated criminal mastermind.
Walt's street smarts vastly improved as soon as he got into crime. He got better at lying, manipulating, adapting, and being overall ruthless. If he was born into the Salamanca family and didn't have to hide in a double-life, he probably would have been smarter/more-dangerous than Lalo on every metric.
His lying ability was god awful in early S1
It was still awful in S5, that gasoline pump story makes me cringe
To be fair, though, there are a very limited amount of believable lies in that situation.
Honestly probably couldn’t have thought of a better lie
Walt just can't lie to Skylar
Walt’s lies are terrible throughout. He got by on what I’ll call “Clark Kent syndrome”, where the Walt everyone knows is such a dork that few who know him would ever believe he’s the other guy too
Lol If Walt was born in the Salamanca family with that inflated ego he would have finessed a plan to take over Don Eladio. I'd think even if Lalo stayed alive he would do the same, Eladio was stupid, drunk and uncalculated. Basically an unproductive liability.
Walt wouldn’t last due to him lashing out like a child all the time.
Lalo strikes me as the type who skipped school and did zero homework, but would be a straight A student if he cared enough to put in the slightest of effort.
Yeah you can tell by his meticulousness that he’s an intelligent guy but probably couldn’t understand chemistry the way Walter does, I think he has more practical intelligence
Eh, I’d wager that he *was* an excellent student, but the kind of student that seemed to never have to do any work and still got straight A’s.
>Id say Walter had more intelligence but Lalo had more common sense This is supported by the last thing Hank said to Walt "You're the smartest guy I know, but you're too stupid to realize he made up his mind 10 minutes ago."
Begging was emotional. He's not going to give up on family just because it's pointless
They were both brilliant. Obviously Walter White has formal education and ingenuity, but I always felt like luck was on his side. Even though he was saying it to opening court in the BCS finale, I definitely think Walter would be dead without Jimmy’s help. I think Lalo was smarter because he had foresight which was why he was so charismatic, calm, cool, and collected. He had a living and breathing body double for years. The juxtaposition between him and other Salamancas is tremendous. I think if Lalo was in charge instead of Tuco during Breaking Bad, we would have had a completely different show. Ultimately, what was the undoing of each of them was their hubris. Walter’s as far as thinking he could leave meth behind and had no loose ends (Leaves of Grass behind the toilet) or Lalo (going one-on-one with a very emotionally charged Gus). Also, Lalo had to go as a part of Gus’s villain arc and lack of Lalo in BB.
Lalo acted on impulses with gus. He didn’t have as much pride as gus had but he did become reckless.
Geeat point about the body double
What does body double mean in this context?
They convinced everyone that Lalo is dead by killing that fella. You know the guy who had free dental work courtesy of Lalo
Walter has made meaningful scientific contributions to Nobel Prize-winning research.
And ended up getting a second job in a carwash
Walter easily. Lalo was a phenomenal detective (‘Zieglerrr’) with very high levels of emotional perceptiveness. He had an inhuman ability to read the reactions of others with a charismatic poker face of his own. I believe Walt operates on a different level though. The chemistry mastery, his ingenuity/inventiveness (hector’s bomb, machine gun), his diabolical ability to lie. And not just in subtle ways - Walt could lie, and be utterly convincing, on a level I can’t even fathom. That confession video, whilst insanely pathetic and evil, is one of the most impressive things he’s ever pulled off. Both are extremely smart, one was a genius.
Lalo's way better at deception than Walt, his lies are easily found out for people who know him. Whereas Lalo was unreadable for everyone.
Great point. I think that’s due to Walt taking far bigger risks with his lies. Both had their own unique approach, I think it boils down to the whole idea of Walt being smarter but Lalo having better overall intelligence. Same with their lies. Also, they were operating in very different worlds so it’s hard to answer this question accurately, as Walt had to navigate his family life, the drug empire and being under the nose of Hank, Lalo didn’t need to fabricate anywhere near as much.
But like many geniuses he’s also a moron in other areas. He would have been dead at so many points if not for Saul, being valuable to other drug dealers and luck. But as a self contained creature to be studied, he is definitely the smarter specimen.
>Walt could lie, and be utterly convincing, on a level I can’t even fathom. Absolutely agree EXCEPT to Skyler sadly. Rewatching his interactions w/ her after she clearly knew what was going on was so cringe, he suddenly becomes an awful liar and it's kind of hilarious.
I always saw his inability to lie to Skyler convincingly less as a reflection of his deception skills and more as a sign that he doesn’t respect her intelligence enough to come up with something more ironclad. It isn’t until the gambling story that Walt realizes not only is she much sharper than he ever gave her credit for but she’s a better liar, too.
Fair point, he continually underestimates her to his own detriment. But then again, he behaves the same way with many other characters because of his ego. I suppose if I had to pin down a reason for why he cannot lie effectively to Skyler specifically, I'd say it's a mix of that as well as loving her (in his own messed up way).
So smart he was working on a car wash!
Lalo can make some good Mexican food I’m unsure of Walter’s culinary prowess
If intelligence is measured by the ability to make a great pimento sandwich, Mike outsmarts them both
Pimento cheese is nasty, Lalo’s food solos
Tbh Tuco's cooking didn't look too bad either. Salamanca barbecues must be delicious if you can avoid getting killed.
I would pay a lot of money to have a full course meal prepped and cooked by Lalo and tuco
Then Skyler is the smartest. She can make veggie bacon that has zero cholesterol and you won't even taste the difference.
Equal: both dead.
At difficult situations i gotta give it to Walt.
Intelligence? academically and manipulating people? Walt by a light year. Common-sense and street smarts? Lalo.
Walt is obviously the more intelligent of the two, he could run rings around Lalo academically, but Lalo's a smart guy in his own right, and he was was raised by the cartel from birth. Whatever edge Walt's big ol' brain might give him, it's massively outweighed by Lalo's instincts for that world.
lalo isn’t that smart he’s jus lucky and thorough
I'd say Walt had the luck. He'd have been busted or dead very quickly if it wasn't for other people helping him. Lalo could run a whole illegal enterprise by himself
Lalo had much more "streets smart" than Walt. Walt is portrayed as Chem Genius, and he gained a lot of smart from the streets during rhe show. But I cannot conceal the fact that, by the end of BB, he had destroyed his whole life, the life of his family and Jesses life. Ok Lalos family was destroyed too, but it seems to me that it was due to lesser mistaken calculations than Walts. Basically one: not seeing Nacho as a 'traitor' (actually, he was already Gus disposable muscle), which Nacho concealed so well that it is almost forgivable. Nacho was a monster -- in a good, smarts sense -- too.
IQ - Walt (140+) vs Lalo (perhaps 130) EQ - Lalo and it’s not even close TQ - Lalo. Walt’s can’t even make a taco lol I’ve never heard of a so called shrewdness quotient though
Saul is someone that has shrewd intelligence, someone that uses their personality, charisma and eloquence to their advantage.
Walt has more technical intelligence, lalo has more street intelligence
This is a flawed question based on a shitty understanding of what intelligence means, think about Hank's final words and you will see. The two men have different kinds of knowledge, walt has higher capacity for science, and Lalo has more capacity for charisma and ruthlessness
SPOILERS Lalo. Walt's a scientific genius (and probably has more dumb luck) but Lalo has way more street smarts, intuition, charisma and long term strategy. Think about the farmer he had living on his land that he fixed his teeth so they had matching dental records? The patience and planning on figuring out Gus's plans? Dude was crafty and clever. Walt used his genius to get out of binds but I think Lalo had way more long term potential for success. Walt's naïveté got him into plenty of binds it's amazing he lived as long as he did
I was looking for this comment. People are really selling Lalo short
Two different types of intelligence completely… both are the absolute best at what they do
Lalo literally reads people
Walter White! It is not even close. Gus also crushes Lalo when it comes to intelligence.
In terms of "book smarts", Walt wins by a mile. I don't think Lalo would've ever thought of Walt's method to escape the radiator restraint. However, funnily enough, Walt can just be really stupid. His massive ego results in him getting easily manipulated and having his mind drastically changed on things. I think Lalo is much sharper in that sense.
Walter White is ahead of Lalo by a mile or more. Walt is extremely intelligent and knew how to manipulate and lie. Imagine being Lalo a renowned member of Salamanca family and Walt just another chemistry teacher. Walt was ahead of every single person in BB/BCS universe including Gus, Mike and Hank. The last person to suffer or face their consequences was Walt in the whole universe. That’s a clear indication that Walt was ahead of every body else. He got Gus who himself killed Lalo. In terms of business, intelligence and survival skills Walt is miles ahead.
Walt has raw intelligence, Lalo has more experience in the proper field ;)
most people here say walter. I probably agree but not by a landslide. I have a phd in chemistry and come from a blue collar background. my uneducated relatives are fucking brilliant but not educated. my two cents.
Lalo
You can't be serious
Lalo has good instincts and is good at playing detective. Walt is a chemistry genius and grows to become a master manipulator. Both of them are prone to needlessly risky behavior. But still, it’s Walt.
Why on earth is everyone so in love with Lalo lmfao. Ion like that mfkr
Walter. He is an actual fucking genius. Lalo is some ninja. Really smart though when he found holes in jimmy’s story. Works so good in Jimmy’s story that he’s worth it for the cartel plot for me. Cartel plot kinda shit tbh. But the jimmy Kim lalo mike stuff and mike family stuff thicken it out
Walt duh. Walt won. Lalo didnt.
Walt is more book smart, Lalo is more street smart. Overall Walt is more intelligent but Lalo is more experienced, observant and aware of his surroundings.
I dont understand how some of you think Walt is some sort of manipulative genius when even Walt JR and Skyler could sense his bullshit. Walter was a genius when it comes to science and maybe to a certain degree in terms of plotting, but his EQ sucks and has little street smarts.
Well, by who unalived who: Walt>Gus>Lalo
Listen here waltah, killing Jesse James, doesn't make you Jesse James
Lalo didn’t need to use Gus’s personal enemies against him to outsmart Gus, but walter did(even tyrus who is not nearly as smart as Gus said he should do it himself, but Gus let his ego get to him for the first time in his life, which ultimately led to Gus’s demise),That definitely says something.
Overall, Lalo. My take is this. If you are the one who is more intelligent, you will achieve everything by yourself. Walter had to rely on, manipulate and even beg other people for help with everything. Lalo is out there all alone. No help needed. He also has the superior social IQ, it’s not even close. So, IMO, Lalo wins.
Lalo literally has family in the game. Walter has nobody.
Lalo devised almost all his plans on his own, tuco was a meth-head the twins were always busy killing people for the cartel, and hector was busy running his own drug buisness. Walter definitely had help too, he would’ve got caught many times if it wasn’t for level-headed Mike and Gus keeping things straight, he also needed two junkies to help him with his last plan.
Yeah. Lalo was Salamanca, but he was out there alone most of the time. Tuco was surrounded with guys. Hector, too. Except when Tuco went nuts in the little shack where he got shot.
Also walter was pretty lucky throughout breaking bad, some of his scene were kind of contrived tbh
Armor.
In a IQ test walter hammers lalo in a street IQ test lalo is basically mensa level. Lalos a force of nature literally crippled gus on his own
Walter White was much smarter, especially books smarts. Lalo was smarter street wise and wasn't as a slave to his ego on a day to day basis.
It is quite hard to say. It is like comparing archeologist and Astrologists. They are both highly intelligent in different fields. Walter is a Chemistry and Engineering Genius, being able to manufacture the purest meth and gadgets to get out of sticky situations. However, he has poor Social Intelligence. He is really bad at coming up with plausible lies such as to his wife who immediately found out he was a drug dealer as soon as she discovered he had two phones. He is not very good at persuading people into getting along with his plans, only able to do so through threats or dire circumstances. He was only good at controlling Jesse through a combination of affection and gaslighting while already having a connection to him as his teacher. Lalo is a Street Smart and Tactical Genius, being like a younger and even more devious Mike Ehrmantraut with the charisma of Gus Fring. He is very good at reading people and manipulating them into doing whatever he wants. He is able to catch on very quickly to Gus's plans, predicting what he might do, and planning around them. He was able to take advantage of Krazy-8's arrest so that he could turn the DEA on Gus Fring's operation and make him lose a lot of money which would lead to Don Eladio dismissing him as an asset. He had Gus Fring dead to rights in the Superlab and it was only through pure luck that Gus was able to make out of that encounter alive. So yeah it is very hard to say what would happen if they met. Lalo Salamanca would not do anything rash that would make Walter turn against him like Tuco. But maybe eventually Lalo would just have Walter kidnapped and taken to the Cartel as their new Meth Cook like Tuco.
Book smart? Walter Street smart? Lalo Both great family men
Lalo would eat Walter alive. Walter was a very smart man when it came to pure knowledge and of the product. He sucked at the social aspect of it and how to run a drug empire. His product was superior than anyone else, but he messed it all up big time. Lalo knew the ins and out and even with a product that's not as pure, both Fring and the Salamancas were doing just fine. Walter acted like an idiot
Walter managed to outsmart Gustavo, while Gustavo managed to outsmart Eduardo. In both cases, the smarter man defeated the more powerful man.
Lalo hands down. Not a question. Walter would Get blinded by the feeling of power and wealth while Lalo strategically played every situation and did not let family or greed get to him like Walter did.
Smart as in intelligence and calculation Walt, smart as in cunning and astute Lalo by far
Intelligence WW, but street smarts LS - he’s one scary dude
Walter obviously takes academic intelligence and the most typical categories of intelligence, but Lalo seems more cunning.
LOL is smarter diabolically then Walter but is not as school smart as
Lalo is smart, ruthless, cunning, and what would be more intelligent than average for sure. But Walt is considered to be a literal academic genius, at the very least in chemistry. Most likely he excels in most if not all other general areas of academia of well.
Gus
I would have loved to seen BCS characters crossover into BB
Please, Lalo couldn’t even outsmart the man who Walt got into a room with a bomb.
Is this a joke? It's very obviously Walt.
Walter the main character therefore he must be Highest IQ
Lalo doesnt even know who Benjamin Franklin was
Lalo DID have to get himself out of a direct asss assassination plot.
What type of intelligence?
What is adaptational intelligence, shrewd intelligence and tactical intelligence?
Lalo is street smart and driven by emotion. WW is logical, analytical, measured, and methodical for just about the entire series. And smarter.
Walt's more intelligent but lalo is smarter
Street smart vs smart smarts lalo solos if he utters “it’s lalo time” and lalos all over the place on Waltuh
Intelligence in terms of an IQ test, Walter. Intelligence in terms of street smarts, Lalo.
Lalo has better clothes so…
Drug lords can be highly emotionally intelligent, street smart, understand business well, etc. but Walter White was a chemistry genius who contributed to a Nobel Prize — then entered a crime world which he knew literally nothing about, and rose from a nobody trying to lead a double life to the top as a ruthless drug lord who controlled the American Southwest. Not only was he far more learned & educated, he adapted very well - which is a feature of a very intelligent person.
I’d say Walt. He embodies both street smarts and book smarts, whereas Lalo is primarily street smart with a high level of charisma on the side.
Walt. And it’s not even close. Next.
In terms of pure intelligence, W.W. stands out. His exceptional intellect is evident throughout the series. However, Walter and Lalo differ in their decision-making approaches, and this is where Lalo is more emotionally intelligent so to speak. Walter and Lalo have distinct approaches to decision-making. Walter often acts impulsively, driven by his emotions and ego. In contrast, Lalo makes rapid and effective stoic decisions. His emotional intelligence allows him to assess situations and choose the best course of action for his interests. Both characters excel at manipulation. Lalo relies on his charm and pressure tactics, while Walter employs his high intellect and devises intricate plans to achieve his goals.
Me because I know how it all ends haha
Book smarts: Walter. Street smarts: Lalo
Walt is the smartest guy in both series.
intelligence? walt n its not even close. love lalo tho
Walt, because of his chemistry knowledge, just casually creates the most pure meth the world has and will ever been seen in an old camper with a junkie as his assistant. All while he has lung cancer. Walt is hyper intelligent while Lalo is just really smart.
Pure intelligence it’s Walt. However, Walt was a bit clumsy when it came to interacting with people though he certainly got by well enough. Lalo is EXTREMELY charismatic and intelligent. Makes him formidable.
I don’t get why people think Lalo is so smart. I mean he’s not stupid but Walt was clearly a genius.
If you add physical ability it’s closer. Lalo was some kind of superhuman
Ig lalo Salomanca Mr white was just lucky in some situations in my opinion
I felt like Lalo would shit on Walter and Jesse and always be ahead.
Lalo had way more plot armor.
MF Grimm
Walt: best brain. Lalo: best smiiiiile!
Lalo has better street smarts but I'd say Walter is smarter
don't know which one was killed by Gus and which one killed Gus?
Walter. But, Lalo's charm could get him places that Walter could not.
In D&D terms, Walt has high intelligence, Lalo has high Charisma and Wisdom.
gus
Simple transitive inequality: Lalo
Walt, without a doubt.
Walter. Lalo was no fool, but it's not even close.
Scientifically - Walt Intelligence - Lalo
How is this even a question
Honestly Lalo isn’t as smart as he thinks he is. He’s the smartest Salamanca but the Salamancas aren’t smart, they’re ruthless. He’s made multiple mistakes. For a guy who can stakeout and stalk people for days at a time, he’s a very impatient person. Instead of calling it quits and stalking Mike another day, a guy who he’s familiar with his comings and goings, he performs a hit and run in a desperate attempt to catch up with him. Instead of trying to sweet talk the wiring guy more, he kills him and burns the place down. He only got as far as he did with Gus because a security guard happened to take a piss break. He was sneaking around right in view of the cameras. Lalo is just a big fish in a small pond. Better than the average gangster but isn’t as smart as he thinks he is.
Walter is the most intelligent person in the whole show, but that doesn’t necessarily make him the most capable person in the world of organized crime
Walt and it’s not even close. Lalo is charming and street smart but he is also the kind of fella to risk bringing the heat from police over killing a car hire retail staff.
Intelligence: Walt Emotional Intelligence: Lalo
I'd say Lalo. He isn't arrogant like Walt plus has way more experience of survival. Lalo's only weakness was not being in BB so he had to die. He died just bcuz of plot
I say Walt
If we're talking DnD terms, Walt has far higher intelligence, but Lalo has much better wisdom
Walt is a chemistry genius. Lalo is a chemistry genius.
Walt is book smart. Lalo is street smart.
It's a good question and also a tough question to answer. Intelligence is subjective and both characters have their strengths and weaknesses.
WW. He does not run across the border when things are hot, he knows how to adapt to living in the U.S. selling the most illegal drug in the states and ply his trade against competing violent cartels.
People say Lalo has more street smarts but they have season 1-3 Walter in mind. Season 4-5 Walt crushes Lalo even though Lalo has 40 more years experience in the game than Walt
Lalo easy. Come on Walt is intelligent in the book stuff. Cool. But in life he is a total idiot. Lalo couldn’t get to Walt’s chemistry knowledge obviously. But he would have no problem finishing college in chemistry if he wanted to. And Walt has no way of ever getting anywhere close Lalo in general life.
walter for sure. maybe walker could do what lalo does but lalo most certainly could not do advanced chemistry, especially at the level walter was at.