Better Call Saul is the prequel show to Breaking Bad, following the trials and
tribulations of off-beat criminal lawyer Saul Goodman, back when he was known by his real name
Jimmy McGill. Better Call Saul expands on many of the characters of the Breaking Bad universe,
giving them backstories and further depth. One such character is Gus Fring. Gustavo
Fring is a primary antagonist of Breaking Bad, a notorious drug kingpin who fronts
as an owner of the Los Pollos Hermanos chain of restaurants. Calculating, calm, sharp, low-key,
notoriously cautious and aging in reverse, the chicken man is a true criminal mastermind,
though he comes to an explosive end when former chemistry teacher and part time
drug kingpin Walter White utilises Gus’ rivalry with archnemesis Hector Salamanca to kill Gus.
Hector, along with other cartel members, murdered Gus’ business partner many years ago, and though
the Salamancas and Fring are in the same business together, working under cartel boss Don Eladio.
In Better Call Saul, Hector thinks very little of Gus and would very much like to see him taken out,
or at the very least, his business disrupted so Don Eladio sees no benefit in keeping him around,
and this Hector will be given the OK to pull the trigger on the chicken man. However,
Hector’s plans are cut short when one of his minions, Nacho, poisons Hector to protect his
father from the gangster’s wrath, reducing Hector to an invalid in a wheelchair with only his finger
and a bell to communicate with. Ding! Enter Lalo Salamanca, Hector’s charming,
intelligent but ruthless nephew, who steps into Hector’s place and continues the plan to destroy
what Gus has worked for. Don Juan constantly asks for peace and co-operation, but Lalo and Gus often
butt heads with Lalo very interested in finding out what construction project Gus has going on.
If the Salamancas, and by extension Don Eladio, were to find out Gus was building his own meth
lab and essentially going independent, it would spell death for Gus, so Lalo has to go, and Gus
sends mercenaries down to Mexico to take out Lalo. Nacho is Gus’ man on the inside, who starts a fire
as a distraction and leaves, opening the gates for the shooters. However, Lalo survives the
assault and goes into hiding, with no one, not even the Salamancas knowing he survived,
until Lalo calls Hector and tells him he is alive and well and is going after Fring,
and tells Hector to keep this a secret. So Gus is informed by Don Juan that Lalo
was killed; Gus’ men like Mike confirm this, using information from the mercenaries and the
cops in Mexico. But Gus is sus, and eventually he phones Mikes and declares, with a hint of
rare fear in his voice “Lalo Salamanca lives!” So how did Gus know Lalo was still alive? It
seems incredible that he would have all this evidence of Lalo’s death piled up in front of
him and still refuse to accept Lalo’s death. Well, even with the evidence, we know that Gus
is an extremely careful man, verging on being a paranoid individual. A great example is him
choosing not to enter the car in Breaking Bad, the car which Walter White rigged with explosives,
something which I’ve made a video on. Gus’ calculating mind is on full display in that scene,
as it is in the series of events before he declares that Lalo is alive. He is so cautious,
going through different scenarios in his head that could play out if this happens, if that happens,
that he plants a gun in the soon-to-be meth lab which he ends up actually using to kill Lalo.
So its definitely reasonable for Gus to be weary regarding the news about Lalo’s death, suspicious
even. As he says “the mercenaries are dead to a man and yet their mission was a success”.
When have you ever heard of a team managing to take out their target but they all die
in the process. The odds are very unlikely. “It has been known to happen” as Mike says,
but that is not good enough for a man like Gus. He has the incident report. Autopsy report.
Site map. Dental records. But even still, the suspicion looms. Perhaps Gus suspected the fire
was a cover story of sorts, that Lalo had a man who looked like him burnt, which is more or less
what happened. And its after asking about the fire that he suggests a meeting with Hector to maintain
the peace and offer him his condolences, but of course the real reason is for Gus to sus him out
and work out what the situation really looks like. And this, the meeting with Hector and Don Juan,
is where Gus is beyond doubt that Lalo is alive. Before this he only suspected it.
So what at the meeting made it clear for Gus? Well, he says his piece, as does Don
Juan. Hector looks downcast and in mourning, but after hearing Gustavo out, even in his condition,
he offers his hand in friendship and shakes Gus’ hand, even smiling at him as he does so.
Aww, pretty sweet isn’t it? Well no, because if the sinister music and Gus’ reaction wasn’t enough
to signal to you, what has actually happened here is that Hector has oversold his Machiavellian
intentions and his emotions, and given the game away, blowing Lalo’s cover. The first mistake he
makes is offering a handshake anyway. Hector, in any situation, would have never shaken Gus’
hand. He thinks so little of him he often doesn’t even look at him when talking to him. With their
history, there’s no way he’d shake Gus’ hand. On top of this he’s supposed to be in mourning,
and as Nacho hasn’t been caught yet and it is not known who had Lalo killed, Gus is currently
a suspect. Hector was way too calm and not his usual, sniffing angry self. If he looked furious
at Gus, rang that bell like an alarm clock, and sh*t himself, he might’ve sold it to Gus.
Gus knows Hector, he’s known him for years and knows how he acts. And family is everything for
the Salamancas – there is no way Hector would shake Gus’ hand in this situation – even if
Lalo’s killers had been something else, Hector would find a way to blame Gus. If he had the
ability to walk he’d get up and stab Gus if Lalo actually died – instead, you have him offering
his hand to the chicken man. Not a chance. Plus, Hector doesn’t actually have anything
to gain by mending his relationship with Gus. In this sit down, Gus knows Hector knows Gus
knows Hector knows Lalo is alive. And Juan meanwhile knows nothing.
And then there’s the smile. If there’s any facial expression that telegraphs “My man ain’t dead and
you’ve got a nasty surprise coming your way” is this guy’s mug. This ain’t the warm smile
of a grandpa; if someone smiled like this at your kids, you’d call the cops. It isn’t a happy smile;
its an evil one. He’d be a **** poker player, that’s for sure. Hector can’t even talk, and he
still gives the game away, he makes it so obvious that you’d think he did it on purpose. In fact,
it’s so obvious, that he probably DID do it on purpose! Maybe he wanted Gus to know that
he had not won, and that Lalo was coming for him and his death was inevitable. It certainly
had the desired effect, with Gus’s underwear hygiene currently in a state of sus given his
reaction. And it goes onto have a further effect with Gus becoming more unfocused and sloppy
as he has Lalo on his mind with his paranoia. Maybe Hector saw no issue with letting Gus know
what was up. He underestimates Gus and doesn’t think he’s a match for Lalo and the Salamancas,
so he wouldn’t have thought it would be a big deal for Gus to know. Rather, he wanted him to
live in fear, took this opportunity to flex on Gus, and was confident Lalo would take Gus out.
And if Hector did indeed do this on purpose, well it’s a bit of a slap in the face to Lalo, who
specifically told him to keep things shtump. He’s exposed his lack of foresight, his simple nature.
He’s not calculating enough – with Hector, it’s all just about violence, intimidation and ego,
and it was a really dumb move on his part even if he thought Lalo would easily get to Gus.
Hector is not calculating enough. Too simple. Just violence, intimidation and
ego. Really dumb move on his part even if he thought Lalo would easily get Gus. Sure,
Gus would have been careful anyway, but he would, and did, up his security after this scene.
But I suppose you do have to give him this little victory. With him
confined to the old people’s home, its not every day he’s able to get one over Gus.
Hector would go onto learn from his mistake, in the scene where he eventually kills Gus by
blowing both he and Gus up. In Gus’ death scene, there is no pre-emptive gloating expression;
Hector doesn’t even look Gus in the eye – maybe he didn’t trust himself to do
so without giving the game away again like he did in Better Call Saul, knowing surely
that he contributed to Lalo’s death. He avoids looking at Gus until Gus is in
inescapable range, and even successfully feigns being scared. Then he can hardly contain himself
as he looks like he has the world’s funniest joke in his head, an expression which immediately turns
to rage and hatred as he furiously dings his way to some sweet Salamanca revenge.
So I hope you enjoyed this video, Stay tuned for more vids on the Breaking Bad universe, and
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