Gus Fring - How to Craft the Perfect Villain
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- čas přidán 17. 05. 2024
- This video essay analyzes Gus Fring from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Is Gus Fring the greatest villain in television or even cinematic history? This video examines, in detail, what makes Vince Gilligan and Giancarlo Esposito's creation work so well in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
PATREON: / justanobservation
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Music used:
(Vivaldi) Summer mvt 3 Presto
(Vivaldi) Summer mvt 1 Allegro non molto
by John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Players
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
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Link: freemusicarchive.org/music/Jo...
The original work has been modified with basic fades, cuts and loops
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Falling Rain by Myuu
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"Art of Silence - by Uniq" is under a Creative Commons license (Creative Commons - International Recognition 4.0 - CC BY 4.0)
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Waltz of the Flowers (by Tchaikovsky) by Tchaikovsky
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Timestamps:
0:00 First Impressions/Public Persona
3:03 Consistency/Hero of his Story
6:21 Mentor/Patience
10:06 Secrecy/Manipulation
14:31 Getting his Hands Dirty
#breakingbad #bettercallsaul #bettercallsaulseason6 - Zábava
It's a travesty that Giancarlo Esposito never got an Emmy for this performance
The Emmy’s are just not up to Pollos Standards
The entirety of Better Call Saul not getting one is even more shocking
@@WSendam he needs to assume the role again in order to get the award:
"I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter."
I love Aaron Paul but Giancarlo should've won the award for season 4
@@dipe6376 Agree. That was HIS season.
The Best part about Gus is that the audience makes the same mistake everyone else does with Gus. We all presume that he is strictly about business and doesn't let himself be swayed by emotion. However, we find out over time that he is a deeply vengeful, hateful, and brutal individual.
He stupendously efficient and functional though.
@@skillet9141 unlike your ability to craft sentences
Yes. He cares about business as a means to enact revenge.
Indeed. I know I didn't even notice Gus when he first appeared. I just thought he was just a waiter and dismissed him. Gus's method of hiding in plain sight is executed beautifully because the audience is fooled too. It's really convincing.
The cartel basically took him hostage after killing his partner. I don't think its strange that Gus had a long range plan to escape their control, get revenge and take over.
13:18 I also love the scene where Gus invites Walt to dinner at his house and you can see toys strewn about in the background, and Gus makes a passing reference to 'children'. But then when Jesse goes to Gus's house, the toys are gone and there is no mention of a larger family.
It's because there never were any children. Gus was just giving that impression to Walt to appeal to him as a family man, which he knew was his justification for cooking the meth.
I always wondered why Gus mentioned kids that one time but he's implied to be gay and no family is ever mentioned again. So yea I think you're right it was just a deception he orchestrated to manipulate walt
That's a great detail, I never caught that.
Bro you’re actually a genius
I wondered about this detail, thinking it might have been a dropped timeline. Good thinking!!
It kinda bugs me, I don't think that Gus would waste time or even money to pull that off.
"No hero is truly admirable unless the villan feels truly unbeatable"
But Walt ain't admirable or a hero
Walt is no hero, and
this entire "thesis" is nothing more than a ridiculously over-enunciated caca-doodle.
@@shaft9000 Hahahahahahahaha🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s why we love Gus, cuz Walt is unbeatable
@@kettlemypedals Walt is proably the worst enemy gus can have, a fucking looser, 50 years old, poor, idiotic, and a fucking DAD. And he went and killed him, outsmarting him. Simply lovely
Gus Fring is hands down one of the best villains ever put to screen, and it comes from the combination of his cold, callous, and inhumane approach to being a crime boss as well as the mask he puts on as the owner of Los Pollos Hermanos. His introduction to the audience in Breaking Bad is genuinely one of the most terrifying moments in TV history because Giancarlo Esposito effortlessly puts on and takes off the mask, making Gustavo Fring somebody you will never get a one-up on because he knows how to play the game.
I agree, Giancarlo really put Gus into life. He killed it!
@Unless you get a drop of luck like Walter did, and even then it’s a long shot.
How would he compare to Marlo Stanfield? For me he's the coldest tv villain ever. Gus maybe the best though. But there is Gyp Rosetti, Richie Aprile, Phil Leonardo, Chris&Snoop, and Stinger Bell. But Gus and Marlo are the best.
Lalo Salamanca is great also.
Psssh. Go watch Night of the Hunter.
"Look at me Hector" (rips his shirt and exposes his throbbing, oiled chest)
Truly a magnificent scene. Bravo Vince
Vravo bince
Truly one of the scene in BCS and BB
Better Call Saul theme playing in the background
"throbbing, oiled chest"
@@chooky1413 unbased
@@UnderratedActorsEver seen your reflection? It is indeed gross
How the hell did they manage to create so many great characters? Walt,Jesse,Saul,Kim,Gus,Mike,Lalo,Nacho,,Chuck,Hank, Howard, Hector... maaan the list goes on. Almost all of them are among the greatest characters ever created and this only from two shows. Truly mind-boggling
Loving the BB/BCS output. Thank u for giving this show the deserved attention
You forgot one character…Skyler White. She is a phenomenal character played by a brilliant actress.
In my opinion, I even love her more than Kim.
Chuck is a great character too
@@nont18411 Nah, never liked Skyler or the actress playing her.
Greatest television writers and creators of all time. OF ALL TIME
@@suezuccati304 the fact that I forgot about Chuck (idk how lol considering he is one of the most complex characters) proves my point lmao.
I love the fact that Walt is the one that says he and Gus are a lot alike, and Gus is the one who says they're aren't alike, when in other stories it's usually the villain saying it to the hero
Gus says you are not upto Los Pollos standard
Walt is a villain...
@@lewisbensted7161 Mr White he's the devil
The funny thing is, deep down, they are alike in that they're fundamentally motivated by emotion, not rationality, which is how they present themselves. Gus is just far, far better at hiding it. But ultimately everything he does serves one of the most emotional motivations of all- vengeance.
they're both villians. instead, its the protagonist telling the antagonist they're alike.
The box cutter scene was additionally terrifying due to how Gus was completely silent THE WHOLE TIME. His mind was already made up about what he was going to do and Walts pleas were completely ignored because they wouldn't change what was about to happen. The silence secured the inevitable horror.
And the only thing he does say? After he's killed Victor, put his business attire back on, and is about to leave?
"Well? Get back to work".
The complete expression of corporate sociopathy, where efficiency and practicality trumps humanity and compassion.
that episode traumatised me for a week, it was way way WAY TOO fucking terrifying, gosh I love gus
Now GUS was scary.
For real, the way that he used one of his most reliable men just to make a point is insane.
The fact that Mike een draws his weapon on Gus when he does this just goes to show how shocking and terrifying it was to the characters as well. Gus is truly a menace.
@@bunnyhospital it was also because victor got himself seen at the scene of gale's crime. Walt suspects it was to send a message, which it was, and later that it was because victor flew too close to the sun with the cook, which is also possible, but victor was now on a wanted poster. Either way he had to go
I think Gustavo Fring was the character that really changed the way Giancarlo acted. When he played Moff Gideon and Stan Edgar for example, he had the same soulless look and coldness. I just can't keep thinking of Gus when i see him appear in any other show.
fr stan edgar is just gus fring in a different story
Similar story with Far Cry 6
@@XIIMMIV Stan Edgar expresses a LOT more emotion and snark than Gus does, although that's probably because he's stuck with cleaning up after Homelander.
@@ConcernedAlien
Also Moff Gideon can act goofy sometimes like when he taunts Baby Yoda with the Dark Saber.
I think it’s more because he got type-casted.
The cheapest tactics a writer can use in creating a villain, is to make them utterly repulsive and hated by the reader/audience, to the point where the character is an annoyance. Gus fring is the complete opposite of this, we never really felt any sort of resentment towards him, at certain points i even rooted for Gus, and respected him, all the while still viewing him as a formidable antagonist.
Gus is like the only character I hope gets what he wants
Never any resentment? Even when he threatened to murder a baby?
@@mankytoes he wasn't annoying in the way he said that. Like he didn't evily glare at Walt and start describing how he's gonna kill the baby while laughing. He's just emotionless, yet rageful at the same time.
Gustavo never made me angry in the sense of "OMG this character is so annoying can he just die already"
@@mankytoes pretty empty threat to be honest Gus never even killed a normal civilian let alone an innocent child so I don't really put much stock in that threat it was clearly only made to get Walter to fuck off.
I actually met Giancarlo Esposito on his way to the Emmy's on monday. He's an amazing actor. He is very capable of putting on a badass performance when he needs to, and be the nicest celebrity I ever met behind the camera. He's truly awesome and I really want to see him somewhere big anytime soon. Man he's badass.
Until he rips his shirt and reveals his oiled, throbbing chest.
The DEA thought he was really nice too
That is the coolest thing ever, I can't believe you actually met him!! From the BTS clips I've seen he does seem like a nice guy :)
@@marshallkimmathers that video haunts me
I've heared that Giancarlo Esposito was 1st cast as an extra on Breaking Bad who given a few lines of dialoge. He was ment to be the owner of a fast-food chain and nothing more. However, Giancarlo desided to preform the role in such a way as if his character had something to hide, so when it came to test screening, the test audience really gravitated towards Gus. The showrunners than offered to give Giancarlo a few cameos in future episodes, but Giancarlo turned them down and each time the showrunners offered him more he said no. Eventually the showrunners gave him the oportunity to become part of the main cast, which Giancarlo excepted.
TL;DR: Giancarlo Esposito is a meta-gamer.
Damn...there's some real Gus in the dude xD
Accepted*
@@ghaleon1103 really😑🤨
@@cptsteele91 bro fr damn
then*
Read a book.
Gus is such a good villain that Giancarlo Esposito plays him in every series he appears on.
Or rather that every other series wants him to play that sort of villain.
He requested his role in the show, and now he's going to have it. Over and over.
ROFL
@@Demi_Purple I'd hate being typecast, but being typecast as Gus Fring is bloody awesome!
Have you seen him in Miami vice? He is a hyperactive drugdealer and womanizer.
Gus was everything Walter wished he was, except unlike Walt, Gus wasn't an egotistical narcissist that prioritised his ego over logic.
Maybe up until the end. His downfall was his visit to Hector which was all about his ego. He could have just killed Hector’s nephews and lived with the satisfaction of ending his bloodline. Instead, he chose to rub it in his face to prove that he “won.”
Gus managed to keep his drug empire hidden for 20 years. Walt was exposed as Heisenberg and his empire fell apart after only a year.
Although Gus was far from purely logical. At the end of BrBa and the entirety of BCS, one of his main driving motivations is revenge against the Salamancas
@@Dirtywalnuts205 nah Gus was making sure hector stayed quiet As he'd just gone to the DEA when he was blown up.
Gustavo isn't driven by his pride, but he's driven by his resentment towards Hector Salamanca and, in the end, that is what gets him killed. This is about as much of an ego-driven character as Walter.
I've heard Gus described as a reflection of corporate evil. Dispassionate, goal driven, competitive, and with strong performance expectations in subordinates.
That's only his facade though. Deep down he's extremely passionate, going to incredible lengths to get the most horrific revenge on Hector and the Cartel.
Atleast he treats his workers well.
@@byronsenior6499 Yes. He threatens to murder their infant children and slits their throats with a box cutter.
Except he isn't.
Gustavo's is not driven by profits and buisness. This is his work-facade, this is what he shows to Walter, Mike and Gale to present himself as their boss, this isn't the real him. But this isn't the real him.
The real Gustavo is driven by his immense resentment towards the Cartel and, more specifically, Hector Samalanca. That is why, even knowing for a fact that he has Walter trying to kill him, he decisides to personally kill Hector after Hector meets with the DEA. Had Gus been driven by profits alone, he would be patient, use his contacts to find out what exactly Hector told them and, after realizing he told them nothing, would go back to mentally torturing him. And even if he wanted him dead, he'd have someone do it. But no, Gustavo needs his revenge and now that Hector angered him once again, he needs to have it personally, that's why he makes the mistake of getting in a room with Hector and that's why he dies.
@@elgenerico6263 agreed. I hate how whenever people describe how Gus is the embodiment of corporate companies and business men, they blatently miss out that the only reason he's even doing all this is simply for revenge.
Gus has gotten way too much of a anti-villain treatment. because the subtext goes over the viewers heads. For many viewers, Gus seems rather sympathetic, as his enemies wronged him greatly, and his enemies are more horrible than he is. But Let's not forget the important fact that Gus was a drug trafficing general in a dictatorship. A role that you can not hold, without getting your hands dirty. Even before Max was killed, Gus most likely got his hands dirty and executed people (explaining why slitting his own goons throat, comes so naturally to him). I'm more than sure that Gus was a monster back in Chile, and the Salamanca's only killed Max, to show Gus that this is no longer Chile, and he is no longer a generalisimo, thus he needs to learn his place.
100% agree
Did the cartel know Gus's full back story though? Killing Max was to send a message anyway, not really necessary that they know Gus's full backstory.
@@mikespearwood3914 well yea obviously cartel knew abt him they wouldnt meet with him without searching him up at all otherwise. And remember that after Max got killed Eladio told Gus in that same scene that hes only alive because he knows who he is, and that hes not in Chile anymore
The chile connection is so stupid. Pinochet never would have let an afro-chilean rise so high.
@@ju44_0 Gus doesn't seem like the type who the glass ceiling could hold down for very long. I could see him blackmailing his way to a high rank for example
He was an incredible villain, his calm persona carefully crafted to hide his soulless gaze. Acting and writing at its best.
7:32 WOW I never thought of their conflict like that. They're feeding off of each others strength until only one of them remains. Their relationship is both symbiotic and parasitic. They need each other to achieve their goals, but those goals also include the destruction of the other.
My favorite villains are the ones that have presence, they steal the show just by being in a scene, without needing to say a word, and Gus Fring is perfect in this regard, and any other metric you want to judge villains by
It couldn't be done without Giancarlo's immense talent. Perfect casting. Bravo to all involved.👏🙌👐
When I first watch the part where Gus gave the speech about how a man provides for his family, I thought that he was genuinely giving Walter an advice base on his personal experience, because maybe he was also a family oriented man and I thought that perhaps he was what Walter could've become if he was on the criminal empire business on the earlier stage of his life. Like an evil mirror of Walter or something. But as the show progress I realized that it was all but a tactic to take advantage of Walt's ego and pride, it just shows that how far and different Gustavo is to Walter, although given how it turns out in the end of the season, didn't really expect Walter to be as evil or far worse than him.
One thing to mention about Gus and Jesse's relationship is that Gus is shown actively growing to appreciate Jesse more when he starts independently showing traits he respects, like high standards of hygiene in cooking.
Gustavo deserves his own spin off show. It would be epic seeing an antihero's rise and concur like that.
The very importance of Gus's lover getting killed in front of him / not being able to properly mourn (in the closet?) was the simmering underground city fire that made him so ruthless. Its fascinating how throughout the 12 years- they gave him NO romantic partner- until the hint of one at the end of better call saul with the wine guy. Even with that he was like bye felicia. Fascinating the lack of actual personal life he had- like what DID he do for a hobby. I think the most terrifying idea about him is that he was like this 24/7 and only did what he did for himself.
Now I'm just imagining Gus actually say "Bye felicia"
I feel I (and a lot of viewers of BB before a few years ago) got to experience the very first Pollos scene in a really unique way that I'm not sure many people will get to have a similar experience on first viewing nowadays. Let me elaborate
When I was a kid I didn't know Giancarlo Esposito as an actor at all. I started watching BB at like 13/14 maybe. Flash forward to the first Pollos scene. Gus, to me, is truly just a background character in my first-time-viewing eyes. Exactly as he's meant to be percieved by the people around him as just a non threat fast food manager. If you remember, Pollos was just the meeting place for the person Saul set up for Walt. No one knew it was the manager. It was just really cool, being decieved by something like that on your first view.
Fast forward to nowadays when everyone knows Giancarlo and memes about Gus. On first view for most people, there's no mystery. Obviously a famous villain in everything else (The Boys, Far Cry, Mandalorian, etc) they'd know Giancarlo was the person Walt would meet. Plus, so many Gus memes make sure even some people that have never seen Breaking Bad know about Gus because of the memes.
His character in the show is just less covert nowadays than what he was 10 years ago or what year the show first featured him.
for me the surprise was replaced with pure hype
Yeah, the memes low-key ruined breaking bad but at the same time, I won't discover breaking bad without the memes 😔
In some ways I think this ruined the reveal but in others I think it somewhat enhanced it. Now, instead of wondering who it is they're going to meet, you wonder immediately why he acts this way, why he chooses to be so secretive yet also so open to the public eye. You immediately have hype mixed in with fear and mistrust because you know that's the big bad but if nothing else has been spoiled for you, you can only tell that there is something out of place about him.
I had the same experience. BB was my first introduction to Giancarlo Esposito as well
Catch him in the movie "Fresh". That is when I first saw him perform. He also had 2 other notable roles in Spike Lee movies; "Do The Right Thing" and "School Daze" Culture Classic Films.
Did Giancarlo win an award for this performance? He most certainly should have!
No Emmys but I'm now sure Abt other awards
They scammed him from his well-deserved Emmy’s
I must be one of the few BB/BCS fans who actually liked Gus. He was always fair- until he was crossed. He was far kinder to Walt than Walt deserved, and it was his kindness toward Walt that got him killed.
He wasn't fair to Nacho or Jesse.
"few" my brother in christ he is one of the most liked characters tied only between mike, jesse and nacho
bro he was onyl kind to walt cause walt was a perfectionist like him. he really really valued competence. there's a reason why he trusted Mike so much. The only reason Gus took Walter was cause walter just had that 99.1% purity. And Gus is a perfectionist proabbly to one up the cartel who murdered his boyfriend. Like see i am 100x more efficient than you are
Walter is stil N1@@Josuh
@@mojewjewjew4420 maybe
"Gus' greatest strength... Is patience." Perfectly put 👌
Gus killing Victor also eliminates the possibility of him getting caught after showing his face at the scene of Gales murder
He's magnificent and genuinely scary. And he is in many ways the man Walter White is evolving into. It's almost like Heisenberg is there in front of Walt in another body.
Fax
@@fishmasterdisaster3713 no cap on g
The 2010’s were such a fantastic time for villains, Gustavo, Handsome Jack, GLaDoS and Wheatley, and about a dozen other just truly amazing villains
"No hero is truly admirable, unless the villain feels truly... unbeatable"
God, I loved that pause
It’s the freaking writing from these scary talented writers and directing from Vince Gilligan that just captured everything to its highest potential. Nothing about BB and BCS needs change. Most shows you always think “what ifs” because of inconsistent writing or they do the wrong opposite of what the audience expects. This show gives you what you expect but better. You expect things to go wrong, yet they still surprise you when something does. Absolutely love everything about the breaking bad universe and truly hope Vince Gilligan and Gould fill another project with this much precision and love.
I always felt that Gus was a villain like no other. You articulate well why that is the case. This is becoming my new favorite channel
What i love about the Breaking bad and Better Call Saul universe is that the villians are more rooted for than the heroes.
You can say that even the main character is also a villian.
Gus is right up there with Emperor Palpatine, then you remember Giancarlo Esposito worked for him in Mandalorian
Gus and Emperor Palpatine actually have a lot of parallels now that you mention it.
There's a similar story there of building an empire and pulling off seemingly impossible feats of manipulation, only to be killed in a moment of power when he least expects it by a crippled broken man he thought he had utter control over.
Gus is one of my favorite villains ever. I remember the scene where he's talking to Juan. You think it really is Feds outside his house. I remember yelling at the TV, for Gus to get back inside. I expected to see someone come out of nowhere, and assassinate em. Then Juan is threatening to pay him a visit, and then comes the surprise. It's not Feds outside his house, it's Gus's guys. He beat them to the punch. The exact opposite of what I expected. I still love that scene. That's only topped by exacting revenge on the cartel. Then there's the way he played the DEA. Bringing them all lunch just as a distraction, so Mike could finish off the surviving twin. Gus rocked as a villain.
They say that the ability to delay gratification is a key element in predicting success. And by that metric, Gus is certainly one of the most successful villains ever.
AWWWW HELL YEAH! It's my boy Sustavo Fring!
He's not SUS anymore he's straight (but he's gay ) up IMPOSTER
4:22 Walt's chemistry skills probably reminded Gus of Max too.
Who was his business partner and gay partner
I love how gus seems to be the exact opposite approach to being a villain as tuco
Biggest shock with the box cutter scene was seeing the look on Mike's face. Clearly even he is unsettled which makes it even scarier.
Superior take 👏
Everyone talks about how scary Lalo was (he absolutely was of course) but I will never forget the scene where Gus cuts Victor's throat, it lived with me all during BCS, despite Gus' becoming that monster, I sh!t every time he's onscreen. I'll remember Gus Fring forever
Gus is just inspiring because of how coldblooded he has become. The evolution of his character trough out better call saul and breaking bad is astonishing.
one day we all want to have the mind of Gus, not the meth and killing people, but the sheer dedication of completing our goals, and efficiency when doing it.
I discovered this channel yesterday and watched all of the videos uploaded, your analysis on my favorite shows is mindblowing, this one was no different 👏
It's always a good day when Just an Observation releases another BB/BCS video
great to see that just when i'm getting into the brba universe you start posting more videos on it. great stuff man!
I just love the writer who coined the term, "email system".
Gus is by far the best villain in breaking bad. Lalo is definitely a close second.
So is it close or far? Lol
@@onelyfemusic6213 lmaoooo
Totally agree.
Gus is my fav character in the entire Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul universe.
The best show on television EVER.....my friends and I still talk about it years later.....I felt like an addict, just couldn't get enough of it!!
Both better call Saul and breaking bad are gop ten shows ever without question. The best show ever though is hands down the wire
One of the best scenes is the fact that Mike pulls the gun on gus in Boxcutter, and that wasn’t even in script. The scene was so dramatic and intense, he pulled his gun and pointed it at Fring.
It’s almost painful to watch silent scenes of this show. So unbelievably good.
The actor Giancarlo Esposito excels in his role as Gus Fring and I wish he gets all the plaudits that the profession of his craft can bestow. Meanwhile Vince Gilligan and his team of creators, writers and directors are true geniuses and I look forward to what they shall do next.
Excellent work as always
Really great analysis of characters in all the videos I've watched on your channel JAO, Hats off.
The character he played in Revolution was the most relatable character ive ever seen in a dystopian wasteland setting
Hey man I’m glad to see you get the engagement and views you deserve! I think you’re channel has better analysis and insight compared to 90% of other film channels and it’s cool to see you grow so fast! Best of luck in the future and keep up the good work
Gus Fring truly is one of the greatest villains of all time.
absolutely beautiful video, amazing work
victor's death was definitely the most shocking moment for me.
"Gus is an empire-builder and a great inspiration and motivation to Walter White - whether Walt would admit it or not." ―Vince Gilligan
ALERT SPOILERS
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A defining characteristic of Gus is the friendly and low-key exterior he maintains; he takes an active role in managing his front businesses and personally supervises employees and serves customers at his Los Pollos Hermanos restaurants. Quiet and humble, he is incredibly cautious about with whom he does business and keeps a very healthy distance from the product he sells in order to appear almost invisible. Despite being a multi-state meth distribution mastermind, Gus carefully maintains a public profile of propriety: noticeably, he is. a major booster for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and has made large donations to the agency's Albuquerque office. Gus is so successful, in large part, because of his cautious nature - he plans ahead and has the patience to let his business grow slowly. As part of his scheme to "hide in plain sight", he drives a modest dark blue 1998 Volvo V70.
However, Gus is ruthless and machiavellian in managing his vast drug empire, keeping the entire operation under his icy control. Gus admires professionalism and caution in his colleagues, and is generally calm and calculated. He employs a number of enforcers and has personally killed rivals and associates, making him a dangerous, cold-blooded murderer. In interviews, Giancarlo Esposito said he made the choice to make Gus "graceful." He described him as "someone who is poised to take over the cartel, someone who is poised to manipulate other people into doing what he needs them to do." Gustavo doesn't trust anyone who isn't as cautious as he is, as they are too unpredictable, and he prides himself on being several steps ahead at all times. Gus is thus controlled, cold, powerful, and menacing. Even someone like Walter White, at its moment, was terryfied about what Gus could do to both himself and his family due to having proven it before by killing Victor, one of his closest and most reliable employees, right in front of his eyes without any hesitation.
There is a fair amount of information that is unknown about Gus's past. Gus left Chile in 1986, the same year in which the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front attempted to assassinate Augusto Pinochet. Although there are no existing Chilean records of Gus, there are two instances which demonstrate his possible involvement in the Pinochet government: Hector Salamanca refers to Gus as "Grand Generalissimo" in a flashback, and Don Eladio tells Gus that he is "not in Chile anymore", but spares his life because he knows who Gus really is. A possible interpretation of Don Eladio's line is that they spare Gus because killing him could put them at risk of being subject to retaliation that their association with the cartel cannot protect them from. Gus appears to be quite proud of his Chilean roots, even preparing Paila Marina, a traditional Chilean seafood dish, for both Walt and Jesse. He tells Walt "it's just like my mother used to make it."
Gus has shown to possess an obsessive-compulsive disorder, in this case that would be his tendency to have everything perfectly clean and controlled by himself. Gus does not tolerate when something is not going as he planned it to be. Right after learning about Gale's death, he went to his meth lab, where at that moment Walter and Jesse were restrained as hostages, and before killing Victor, he is seen changing completely his outfit to avoid getting it dirty and covered with blood, and right after Victor's demise Gus changed again his outfit and even took a shower to put his suit again and cleaned up his glasses. His obsession with cleanliness is probably due to his childhood, which was strongly marked by poverty. This is further seen in Better Call Saul, when Gus was being threatened and scared by the posible return of Lalo Salamanca, to keep himself in calm he begins to clean up his own house and the kitchen of Los Pollos Hermanos attempting to leave them perfectly clean. Also, before going to his laundry and face Lalo, Gus takes off the tye he was wearing to ensure it doesn't get covered by blood or anything elsw.
Gus is also a man of honor as he reimburses any damages done to the property of his employees such as their cars when performing duties he requires them to. He is even seen emphatic with Jesse due the suffering he was going through because of Brock's condition, offering to Jesse use his influence to give the kid the best medical treatment and letting him return to the lab the next week. While having no problem killing someone, Gus seems to not enjoy doing it and only enjoy killing people that did something to him, like Eladio Vuente. Even in dangerous situations, he keeps his apathetic head. The only times that Gus did lose his cool, however, was moments before his death when he discovered Hector was a suicide bomb to kill him and when he fought Lalo in the superlab, repeatedly pulling the trigger on his gun even after running out of bullets and looking terrified.
However, Gus has been shown to genuinely care about people, noticeably Max Arciniega (the other "hermano" of the Los Pollos Hermanos brand name), who Gus took off the streets of Santiago, put through school, cared for and was interested in developing his potential. The humanity of Gus' personality played an integral role in his development, especially the very deep business and romantic relationship that Gus had with Max. The brutal loss of Max at Hector and Eladio's hands is partially what turned Gus into a ruthless villain, who is not above anything when it comes to avenging Max's death, including the murder of children (like Tomàs Cantillo) and the gradual killing of Hector's entire family. However, his dedication to avenging Max's death would ultimately be Gustavo's one and ultimate weakness which would lead to his own violent demise and the destruction of his drug empire.
“What does a man do, Walter? A man provides for his family. (...) When you have children, you always have family. They will always be your priority, your responsibility. And a man... a man provides. And he does it, even when he's not appreciated. Or respected. Or even loved. He simply bears up, and he does it. Because he's a man."― Gustavo Fring manipulates Walter White into working for him.
New Just an Observation video? Just take my Like already while I watch this on my lunch break. Great stuff as always!
4:58 never noticed how beautiful the background is here. That’s a dope ass view
it speaks loud how I haven't watched any of Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad series but I adore your videos.
These are the best types of villains imo! I actually thought the best scenes were when Walt visited Los Pollos Hermanos without knowing that Gus was his man. Oh, I hope you do a video essay on the King Pin and portrayed by Vincent D'onofrio. The hero/villian dynamic in that show was intensely interesting as well.
Clicked on this video, got an ad for KFC... They're becoming self aware
:0
KFC is not upto Pollos standard
Phenomenal video for a phenomenal villain. Gus is up there with Palpatine, Joker, and Frieza.
man you're a genius what a masterpiece video like how do you even think in this much detail great job
Gus Fring was a terrifying villain because he looked so unassuming. If you ran into him in a dark alley, you wouldn't feel threatened at all, but if you criss him, God help you
Bravo just an observation, this was an amazing video!
Extremely inciteful. I already appreciated the character of Gus Fring. But you explained the character so that I appreciated him even more. Incredible writing and acting. Great show! Thanks for your observations. :)
I agree with this great analysis! Your videos on this show are always top notch.
I have to say, I was confused/dissapointed when they didn't fill in more of his backstory in S6, but now I get it.
Gus would (probably) lose much of his terror and mystery if his entire backstory was spelled out.
Another banger of a video.
This was so well thought out.
Simply brilliant ❤
The police friendly image with his donations is the perfect play for gus. since he is showing every criminal on live TV how he is even in control of the police is the perfect shield.
For me it was an odd feeling watching BCS (finished first five seasons) as I saw Gus more as the villain than I did in BB where he already had established everything and just wanted to keep it save and grow.
Do you actually doubt that his partner was "more than just a partner"? Gus executed Victor just to make a point, yet he carried out a prolonged, excruciating revenge on Hector over years just for doing the same? Let's not be willfully naive.
Very well done. Thank you for the comprehensive and elegantly presented study.
My all time favorite tv character. A cool, calm and collected business man menace.
I agree that Gus Fring is among the all time great villains. He ranks with Michael Corleone of The Godfather movies. Both share many traits, although I still think Michael is better as we watch his full transformation take place from naive youngest son of the Don to irredeemable monster at the end of Godfather 2. Even his failure at redemption in Godfather 3 adds to his story arc. But Fring is truly exceptional. For television Tywin Lannister may be his only peer.
Actually my favourite character in the BrBa universe next to Lalo and Walt
This was truly excellent analysis.
So much to learn here! Great video Brother 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
17:11 Calling Walt a "Hero" is a bit of a stretch
Great video brother! I'm so early!
Giancarlo Esposito needs ALL HIS FLOWERS for objecting to the predictable, disposable villain that was originally written for him and instead crafting this masterpiece character for the ages!
Great video as always
I know the greatest villain thing is just for clickbait. He’s certainly one of the best villains though, but personally for me, while extremely well executed, his character is too basic conceptually for him to truly be the best of the best. Also it depends if you count morally righteous antagonists as a “villain” technically, and main characters cause it further opens the pool of characters. If you include morally bad protagonists as villains then he does compare to some of the best there. I personally don’t rank them all together because it’s too difficult. Regardless amazing videos as always, you’re so underrated.
Darth Vader is the Perfect Villain, Gus Fring is the Perfect Antagonist.
Amazing Video btw
I feel like Gus' mindset is an ideal one, especially for writers
"Nothing is completed until everything is at the right place"
That and patience, you will need to take your time to understand how scenes work or why they work, you rush a scene and it will be bad, leaving a mess for you to fix after what you have learned which in itself isn't that bad
But at times this may lead to alot of rewrites, idk I just find this very interesting and makes me appreciate Gus as not only a character but a role model in some ways
Strongest villain even in his death. Is like sending a message to you that yea you killed me but you didnt beat me
As psychotic Gus was he was a pretty reasonable guy for a drug dealer
Evil aside, I think Gus is the perfect boss.
When I watched Better Call Saul, there was a significant sense of dread for me in the beginning as to when Gus would start showing up and getting involved
Gus Fring is one of the 3 fictional villains I’d be honored to work for.
We never do find out who Gus was in Chile’ in spite of TONS of foreshadowing in both the BB universe based TV series. This bothers me, and I’m sure it bothers Vince Gillian too. I guess we’ll see how much it bothers him sometime in the near future. We all know he said the BCS finale was the end to the Breaking Bad saga, but an El-Camino type feature length story about Gus Fring before he was Gus Fring, coming to prominence if some type in Chile’ before having to leave and start a new life for some reason. Wouldn’t that be cool!!
As much as I want to know more about Gus, I think that's sort of the point. I worry that adding more context to Gus would make the character much less impactful as part of what makes him so terrifying is his mysterious history.
The only problem i have with gus is the fact that we’re supposed to believe hes chilean while hes speaking broken gringo spanish
no he dont
Broken sure but not gringo Spanish 😂😂😂 im Mexican and i can tell u gringo Spanish is way worse than Gus accent