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Anyone else notice the look on Gus’s face when max dies is the same grimace WW gives when Hank dies. The shot even looks the same, parallels 🧐

Giancarlo Esposito's performance as this character is unrivaled. That subtle change to the look in his eyes when he's about to do something sinister is pure artistic performance. You know just what look I'm talking about.

I've always believed that gus was the ultimate antagonist in BB, when the antagonist shifted to the neo-nazis after his death; it felt more like an epilogue rather than the final antagonist. To me the whole gang of the neo-nazis felt less threatening than tuco by himself.

Damn, I'm going to miss Better Call Saul when it ends

He is really scary, if you put "amon" infront of his name it becomes super terrifying.

2:58 I love Mike's reaction to gus killing Victor, even he was extremely caught off-guard and shocked too, he even instinctually points his gun at gus

Gustavo Fring is the definition of "silent evil"

I can't help but love Gus. Yeah he's a really bad man who gets away with everything right up until his explosive death in 'Breaking Bad'. He's a villain who gets stuff done and will kill anyone who gets in his way. That makes a great villain.

Gus wanted to do to Hector exactly what Hector did to him; take away everything important to him while making him watch, powerless to do anything about it. In my mind, even though Hector blew him up Gus was successful. Hector was dead, and he had to watch his entire family die while he was a prisoner in his own body.

What I find amazing about BCS's portrayal of Gus is that he isn't the seemingly invincible force that he is in BB: Gus is constantly under the gun, frequently having to compromise, even resorting to sabatoging himself if it means keeping to his designs and schedule. I'm on pins and needles waiting to see the final steps Gus takes to becoming the person he is by the time Walt meets him.

Gus also seemed in some scenes to be fond of gale. That scene where gale is conducting an experiment while singing, and gus walks in and smiles with what seems to be affection. I think gus may have seen certain elements of max in gale

I also love the way BCS depicts Hector. In Breaking Bad, you have the feeling that in his prime he was some kind of unstoppable monster, but in the prequel we can tell how Hector was kind of stupid and pathetic, jealous of how successful Lalo and Gus were.

I like your analysis of Gus's fountain farm dedicated to Max being his "happy place," because it's also where some of his most loyal employees, such as the doctor and Mike, learn of his death.

Part of me would love to find out the backstory of Fring but at the same time I don’t want to know. Not knowing his full backstory makes him scarier.

I liked how Gus, when prepping the restaurant for the arson lifted the wire basket out of the oil and couldn’t help checking that it had been cleaned properly. Very well set up in the previous episode when he made Carl clean it again and again. A very small detail, but I found it quite fascinating

I think Gus is very idiosyncratic. It seems he truly cares about his Los Pollos Hermanos employees, disliking that Hector uses them as collateral that one time. But also he takes great pleasure in the suffering of those who he thinks deserves it. This shows a differentiation between innocent and not innocent, which I think drives his worldview. Max wasn't deserving of being killed and those who killed him were then guilty. His emotions are inseparable from his character and actions.

Honestly a Gustavo Fring backstory series would be the most logical next step if the creators decide to continue expanding the universe

He never directly says he tortured the animal he just says he kept it and it lived for many years. Given the context it can be inferred that like the tree he would not give up on Hector. From what I understand he was a pretty happy man up until his partner was killed. I'd like to believe that was the moment his humanity died and that he simply tamed a minor beast as a poor child often does.

Just from an editing perspective, that cut from Gus screaming as he realizes what's about to happen to Gus standing up normally from a previous meeting with Hector was flawless.

They way they wrote characters in these shows is so detailed. It’s perfection.

I always viewed Gus threatening Walt with the lives of his family was a bluff or a half measure. And Heisenberg, thanks to Mike, went full measure on Gus afterwards. Walt was his greatest underestimation since the day Max was murdered.

I'm also curious about just who Gus was before he moved to Mexico. There's whatever happened in Santiago, an event mentioned but we never see or hear much more about. Whoever he was whatever he did was notable enough to get the cartel's attention despite the poor record keeping under Pinochet.

Gus is the boss anyone would be lucky to work for. What cemented that for me was when he had an operating room with blood at the ready to look after those at the pool party that time

Gus Fring is my favorite character in any TV show ever and one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. Despite being a bad guy, you can't help but root for him and respect him

Gus Fring is such a cool character. He's like the ultimate professional and the two-faced aspect works really well. He seems like such a nice and caring guy when he's working at his store while destroying cartels in the drug world.

Honestly I wanna see the writers of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul create a show in a different universe, completely unrelated to the Breaking Bad universe. I bet it would still be gold

I would love to see a similar in depth analysis of Lalo’s character

Well, as a happily married man, if someone happened to shot my wife in front of me and force me to stare at it with a foot on my face, probably the only thing that would matter for me would be to destroy those people just like Gus did. I truly don't blame Gus for anything else he's done after that. Those people were despicable not because they were drug dealers, they were despicable because they didn't respect anybody and didn't care for anything besides themselves. Gus was also a drug dealer and yes he did some terrible stuff, however, his words still stand: he's not like them. One of the greatest characters in all TV history IMHO.

Psychopaths are often capable of feeling empathy and love, but these emotions are accessible in a manner akin to a tenuous switch. A new love can switch on the humanity, while hurt, rage, depression, obsession, and mood swings can trigger the monster. Gus's duality of emotion is a realistic depiction of severe psychopathy.

Giancarlo Esposito deserves to be much more well known. He's a great boon to ANY show or movie he's in. As soon as I see that he's in something I'm watching it. Been a fan for decades!

Gus turned into what is called a dark empath after max died, he is empathetic, and he understands what makes people happy and what makes them suffer. He has chosen to revel in the suffering of the cartel and specifically Hector Salamanca. He compartmentalizes this trait and only reveals and unleashes it on his enemies or adversaries, but he always has the aura around him of its dark potential which is what makes him so fearsome even to friends. For context, this new concept of a Dark Empath is something being explored in the study of anti-social personalities and is being considered one of the most dangerous ones because it's more or less a deliberate choice to cause harm when you know what that harm feels like, he's doing it specifically because it's harmful. Where Psychopaths and Sociopaths don't understand how to feel in your shoes and just do what they feel is best for them harmful or not.

Gus has been the greatest character of all of the BrBa universe. And it's by a thin margin. Every major character in this universe is unbelievable. I'm going to miss these 2 shows immensely when they're done...

I really like the theory that he was part of the Chilean junta under pinochet, perhaps a high ranking member of the military or secret police. Explains his connections, his talent for logistics and also his talent for clinical violence such as when he dispatches Victor with the box cutter and Hector's man with the plastic bag

As much as BCS made Gus more terrifying, the biggest change to how I viewed his story in BB is how much it sucks that Hector won in the end. I would definitely consider Gus the lesser of two very great evils there.

love your BB/BCS Postings, they are smart and well made! not just click bait.

Gus was a villain I could respect. Didn’t lash out randomly at people not in “the game”. As Omar use to say “man’s gotta have a code”. Plus he was an excellent business man and understood what low key really was.

I think Gus exemplifies the entirety of most main characters in the Breaking Bad Verse, duality. No one person is one dimensional. There’s light and dark in all of us. These characters are express the most exaggerated aspects.

There are theories Gus being an agent of Pinochet's regime and Peter Schuler, head of Madrigal Inc were together both in war crimes and drug businesses. So he did not have to find his penchant to cruelty after Max's death, as it was constantly present.

Gus Fring is one of the best villain in any TV show. Especially in Season 4 Breaking Bad

This riminded me a lot of "I have no mouth and I must scream", a story in which an all powerful AI keeps the last of humanities remamants in an altered form but yet conscious of their own suffering in order to in act his vengance upon his creators.

Not knowing his full backstory makes him scarier.

It's amazing that Walter was the one that saw Gus' weakness. The reason why Gus tried to get rid of Walter was not because Walter was incompetent but because Gus was afraid of Walter.

"Revenge." - Gus Fring

Giancarlo Espocito totally owned this role. The layers to his acting are impressive. An excellent character whether you love or loathe him.

The fact he can change his expression so easily between crime and not crime, the fact that his words when not in crime is so genuine and sweet, but is really just fake, makes him so terrifying.

A really elegant summary of a complex man. Enjoyed every minute of this.

Gus and Mike were always my favourite characters in the whole series. Gus’s war with the cartel was the most exciting part of the show, when he walks confidently into oncoming sniper fire was some S tier bad assery.

I positively LOVE Gus Fring. I wish there was a show only about him and his plans. I woudl be the very first to watch/subscribe and even take notes on his machiavellianism. The only problem with his character is that he's becoming a little too much of a super human caricature., 'sensing doom under the parked car,' speaking like a sort-of Columbian Hannibal Lecter. But I love him....his character is AWESOME.

I just today, literally today about 1 hour ago completed the last episode. Holy smokes, we (with my friends) have started watching this since the Oct-2022 and it is today 8th Sep-2023. BB has shared all seasons, be it winter, summer or monsoon we used to watch it on the terrace in the home projector under the open sky. This one is one of my most memorable moments in life 🤟

There is nothing about Gustavo Fring I didn’t absolutely admire. He was incredible. …and what a way to go out -exploding with Hector. 🤯👍🏼🥰

I do think empathy is necessary to enjoy the suffering of others. Otherwise, how would it bring you emotional satisfaction to torture someone?

I always found it odd that Gus spoke to the unconscious Hector in English, considering they are both native Spanish speakers, and that he paused his coati story to explain what a coati was. Since they are an animal found not only in Chile but north into Mexico as well, Hector likely would already be familiar with them. It would be like if someone from South Carolina were telling a person from Pennsylvania a story and paused the narrative to explain what a deer or squirrel was, two well known animals found widely in both states, vs just saying “deer” or “squirrel” and moving on.

I didn't imagine at the start of Breaking Bad Season 2, that the old mute guy in the wheelchair would be one of the most important characters in the franchise.

Gus Fring is the Tywin Lannister of Breaking Bad, in that he does not seem to lack the ability to experience empathy or to understand social norms, but rather chooses to be ruthless for the sake of his ambitions. Both characters are also implied to have been somewhat softer before the death of a loved one who previously curbed their worst impulses.

Rage without impulsiveness can persist and even grow. Never piss off someone with patience.

How do you love and despise a person at the same time? In everything I have seen Giancarlo Esposito do, I have been totally enthralled by his performance. A lot of these big-shot actors/actresses could learn a ton about acting from this guy!!

Thanks for reminding me how great Breaking Bad was, I had nearly forgot.

Gus fring the way he was able to blend in normally really truly makes him the IMPOSTER AMONGUS

I wish they hadn't included the scene where he tells his sinister story from his childhood. To me it seems out of character. Based on BB it appeared to me that Gus was living a happy life before Max got killed. I'm sure he was up to stg nasty back in Chile but I imagined him as a young fanatic, not a full-blown sociopath who does it for the sake of hurting people. I imagined that his fiendish silent murderer demeanor developed after his soul got crushed when Max died. But the story suggests that he was always like this. Which I can't really imagine in light of his relationship with Max.

That scene where he started walking towards the sniper was probably the most badass scene besides Walt jr calling skylar a bitch 😈

I hope they'll make a spin off about Gus. He's my favorite character of this universum.

He may be 'vengeful', but not without justification in his perspective, and remember what he said when trying to convince Mike to work for him, "I'm not like them" (the murderous Salamanca cartel).

Interesting idea about Gus being mentally off even as a child. The problem with seeing it as true is twofold: One we get the sense that Gus is spared because he is from a wealthy family with powerful connections not a poor family selling fruit from a tree. His refined manners and culinary skills suggest that. Two, he is not emotionally empty because he loved his partner and is forever scarred after that. We are suppose to see his killing as the transformational act that changed Gus. The true brilliance of the combination of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is how these people are transformed into monsters because of the violent environment they live in. This is well documented with Walt but it occurs in most of the other characters if we get a look at their backgrounds. Crazy 8, Nacho, the Salmanca Twins, Hank, Jesse, Mike, Skyler. All of these people are psychologically altered by stress and violence. That is what makes the Gus story to an unconcious Hector feel not real.

There are no coaties here in Chile , it was so weird to me that Gus found a coati in Santiago noneless, even in the outside rural parts of the metropolitan region.

Man Gus really is something else as a character...

I love the synopsis! That was awesome! Thank you so much!

They could do a spin-off series of Gustavo too. They did such a good job building the characters I’d happily watch any extra content they would grace us with.

Gus & Ghost my two favorite iconic characters in television history, the shaprness & patience it takes to overcome the ones who doubted them made them the antihero’s they were

I always thought Max had been Gus's brother .___. I mean, they called the restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos

im so glad you made this video - thank you !

Gus was my favorite character and he didn't ever get enough recognition for the brilliance of his performance.

The Lucuma tree story reminds me a lot of actual accounts told about people with psychopathy in their youth. Starting out small with something like an animal and eventually torturing and murdering humans. That said, Gus's thirst for revenge against Hector could almost just be understood, since if we have someone dear to us, and they are taken away abruptly and without reason, I'm sure a lot of people would go to such lengths to sate their need for closure.

Gus Fring is definitely my favorite character in the BB/BCS universe besides Saul.

Great piece you have done here!!

Learning about Gus much more in BCS I have noticed Gus has OCD. Also in Breaking Bad Walt always tried to understand why Gus killed Victor with the box cutter. I think Gus killed Victor because he was seen at Gale's crime scene!

was his relationship with Max really only implied? I think it was very obvious and a main reason Max was killed.

Dude, great analysis!

Gus is such a brilliantly written character

I rarely ever hate and love a character this much simultaneously

I feel like BCS not digging too deep into Gus Fring's past is paving the way for a future "Rise of Gustavo Fring'' spin off series. There must be a reason they aren't attempting to shed much light on his backstory. We are at our final season if they were going to delve deeper into his life in Chile we would have seen it by now..

Fantastic video! I loved this analysis and how you explained it by breaking it down that made it easy to understand. Great job, yo! 😁👌

Didn't learn one thing from this video but I liked it!! Good job.

This character deserves his own series.

I have a lot of respect for Gus's character. He said he "saw something" in Jesse, of which I think he saw loyalty. Loyalty to the wrong man, as Mike said. I am the same way. I've been searching my entire life for someone I could devote my undying loyalty to, and have been continuously disappointed. Gu's attention to detail and respect for the little things like clearing trash from a table. You're never too rich to do small tasks, always remain humble in your work. I wish I could take that hurt of losing a loved one to the cruel, animalistic ways of the cartel and nurture his loving, warm side. Forget revenge, as you will only ever live in that dark head space. Never freeing yourself from the pain. A young girl whom I am an acquaintance of, had her arm ripped off by a drunk boyfriend over a decade ago. While I could never say I understand her pain, I've often spoke about not putting down anchor in that part of her life. It had nothing to do with anyone but her. Her happiness. She lives with him, even though her goal is to "make him suffer everyday for taking her arm." In doing that, she's only hurting herself in the long run. Sorry for going off about that, but I feel like Gus's character has so much potential to do so much good and one day love again, if he would only let go of the stupid cartel family, as they typically lack the empathy to learn from their mistakes, anyway.

This is impressive content. Really impressive. Instant sub.

Better Call Saul is the definition of prequel. In the way it's giving you more of the same just happening before but also elevating the material happening after it.

Gus Fring is a phenomenally amazing villain, perhaps the best example of a psychopath that I have ever seen. He's normal enough to be believable, and crazy enough to scare. The creators did a great job. And after watching the awesome "Better Call Saul", I am now even more impressed that Walt was able to defeat such a terrible opponent. Thank you for your video, it was very interesting to watch. 😏

Am I the only one who sees irony in a fast-food guy with the name "Fring?"

I always thought Gus was supposed to be the son of Agusto Pinochet and the German guy was a rich nazi who was hiding in Chile after world War 2. They took off from Chile in 1989 when it was falling apart. I could be wrong but the fact he was some huge big shot in Chile always made me think of that possibility.

Another excellent video.

I really needed this Gus Fring update it really helped

It's been so long, I've already forgotten how season 5 ended. I will need to rewatch season 5 again just so I can be up to speed on season 6.

Yeah, but I never knew they implied he and Max were lovers. Went WAY over my head.

Normally, the most hateful people are the ones who loved the hardest.

I swear, Giancarlo plays the same character in everything he is in, and he absolutely nails it every time.

Gus is still a nurturer. don't forget that. He's just a very balanced one. He still cares for his community back in Mexico. he still earnestly supports his community in New Mexico and employees at Pollos Hermanos. he offered them free therapy. the guy did not lose a part of his soul when Max died. they were literally meth dealers. the Lucuma Y Coati story is the perfect illustration for who Gus truly is. he's a nurturer through and through. but whether he nurtures you to death or nurtured you to life is his choice. he nurtured a lucuma tree from near death, and used it to feed his family and community. He loves to feed people. he cooked for Walt and Jesse and truly opened himself up to them about his joy for cooking. the way he savors/plans killing people is the flip side of the same coin. it's not even always about making someone suffer. it's about precision and efficiency a lot of the time.

I always thought gus was evil. And he became worse due to maxes death. But interesting. And a mastermind. Scariest villian on either show.

I am right in the middle of binge-watching Better Call Saul!! Life is good.

Damn that was deep. Gus has always been my top 3 fav characters in the show