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Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul's Gustavo "Gus" Fring, is without a doubt one of the best TV Villains ever to grace the small screen. Starting in Breaking Bad, and continuing through the prequel Better Call Saul, we saw a story of a man who would stop at nothing to achieve success. Gus Fring had an incredibly chilling presence in both shows. But what made Gustavo Fring so terrifying to begin with? How does such an unassuming character grow into one of the most chilling villains on TV?
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Hello, and welcome to the Los Pollos Hermanos family
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My name is Gustavo, but you can call me Gus. One of the most direct ways to engage an audience is by establishing a connection
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whether that presents itself as hero worship, empathy, or a simple idea we can grasp on too
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For some characters, that symbiotic relationship happens when a path is diverted
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In the case of Gus Fring, the simple act of seeing how his life changed and the lengths
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he would stride afterward made for one of television's most terrifying villains with
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an extremely unique character defining quirk. A dog who bites every owner he's had
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can only be disciplined with a firm hand or put down. Before we get too far, please be aware
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there are plenty of spoilers ahead. Debuting in season three of Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad
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Gustavo Fring, played by Giancarlo Esposito, was initially introduced as a replacement antagonist
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for Walter White. While White had been locked into a conflict with the maniac, uber-violent, drug-addicted Tuco Salamanca, played by Raymond Cruz
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the actor who played the kingpin had to be written out due to prior commitments
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Simply following in Tuco's path would have been redundant, akin to trying to recapture the magic of a trick to which we already knew the method
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Tight, tight, tight, yeah! Ah, blue, yellow, pink! Whatever, man, just keep bringing me that
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So Gilligan crafted Fring to be antithetical to Tuco, a button-down, calm, and collected businessman
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In contrast to the more stereotypical cartel outlaw, here was a man who owned and operated a fast food franchise
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and seemed to be a pillar of the community. Initially, that introduction was only supposed to be a guest role
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totaling a couple of episodes. According to Esposito, who played Fring in both Breaking Bad
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and its prequel Better Call Saul, he was initially only asked to be in one episode
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In an interview with Reuters, Esposito said, I think if you ask Vince Gilligan, they didn't think I would go four
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That wasn't in their consciousness. In that same interview, Esposito said, in the beginning, it wasn't defined
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The guy was a nice guy. He appeared to be the manager of this chicken restaurant, but I always read into it that he was keeping a very big secret even if he wasn Part of what makes Fring such a compelling villain is how he mirrors the protagonist When we first meet Fring he running a chain of chicken restaurants
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called Los Pollos Hermanos as a front for his growing drug empire. Not entirely unlike a science teacher
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turned car-washed mogul laundering their own drug money. Fring represents a dark reflection
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of what could become of White if he continues on the same path. When Fring learns of Walter and Jesse's skill
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with cooking and distributing narcotics, he wants them to work for him, to become employees he can manage
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That keen eye for talent is also exactly what set Fring on his current path when we meet him
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We learned that years before, Fring had met a man who would eventually become his professional
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and romantic partner, Max. Financing his education at university in chemistry, Fring was already thinking about his future
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always dozens of steps ahead. That plan was changed when Max was killed by a rival drug cartel
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specifically Hector Salamanca and Don Eladio. And there are lots of winding ins and outs to these families
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even tying into previously written off Tuco. It feels odd to say that Fring was maybe on a good path prior to the death of Max
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He was already running an illegal business and was rumored to have ties to larger cartels in Chile
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But this one moment flipped a switch in Fring, one that set him down a track where, in addition to expanding his empire
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he also wanted to ruin an entire family. This culminates in one of the show's most memorable moments at a pool party
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for the family led by Don Eladio. Arriving at the party with Mike and Jesse
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we see Fring take a pill shortly before toasting alongside the party with a bottle of tequila he
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brought. There's a slight beat where the crowd waits to see Fring drink himself and then follow
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suit after he does. Then, after he excuses himself to the restroom, he has a small moment to himself
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In the most calm and poised manner you can imagine, Fring sits on his knees in front of
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the toilet and gags himself. We watch him wash his hands, then gently dab the corners of his mouth
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with a neatly folded towel, and by the time he's finished, the man who had followed him into the
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bathroom has already died. The same goes for most of the party by the pool, save Don Eladio
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who watches Fring exit the house, knowing this is the man's doing. There's a look of recognition
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in Eladio eyes where he knows the killer where he recognizes the weight of every choice that brought him here to floating face down in a pool It a satisfying moment satisfying to us as the viewers anyway There nothing resembling joy in Fring expression just a cold stare from his eyes that demands Eladio
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just die already. Then his knees begin to give and he has to catch himself on a nearby table
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It's here we're reminded of the determination an act like this truly takes. Despite the pill and
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the induced vomiting, we're reminded that he just ingested poison. Poison that is knocking down folk
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who have probably been ingesting narcotics in some form or fashion for decades. And here
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Fring stands. He shouts off camera to the remaining guards, still full of vigor and
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threatening death, all while still standing. The fact that Fring is always still standing
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follows all the way to his end when White finally arranges the man's death with an explosive
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strapped to Salamanca's wheelchair. Just as we had always seen him, Fring walks out of the room, calm and poised
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He adjusts his tie briefly, and the camera pans to show the real duality of Fring
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One of the more interesting aspects of him as a character isn't just the chess game he played with real human lives
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it was how he chose to hide that game, the service industry. Can I help you, sir
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Diet Coke, please. While he also used a laundromat in arguably still a customer-facing industry
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he was much more active in his fast food restaurant. If you have ever worked in the service industry at all
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be it franchise or not, you have worked with someone like Fring, at least the one he presents to the public
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a man who donates to civic service, is a stickler for procedures, and is all about the most efficient way to please the public
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This entire aspect of Fring's character is one of the most terrifying and poignant commentaries
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on the correlation between legal work for the public and illegal services that the public still partakes in
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There's a sense of pride in the way he presents his restaurants, and he wants the same for his employees
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He continues that same work ethos in his drug empire as well
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He runs both as efficiently and professionally as possible. It is horribly accurate in a way not many other television shows touch upon in either
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regard to the service industry or the illegal business. And between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul we were able to see more and more of Fring world Villains are more often than not more terrifying the less we know about them It allows our imaginations to fill in the dark corners usually reflecting something
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dark in us. But in Fring's case, the more we knew, the more compelling the character became
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Part of that is due to Giancarlo Esposito's incredible performance. Esposito has since
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made a career portraying restrained terror. From his turn as Stan Edgar in The Boys to voicing Lex
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Luther in Harley Quinn, he has crafted a poised monstrosity in the vein of Hannibal Lecter or
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Anton Chigurh. That composure was evident throughout all of Breaking Bad, most famously
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in the colloquially known box cutter scene where Fring executes one of his own henchmen in order
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to intimidate White and Pinkman. While much has been said about this scene's ratcheting tension
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and shocking horror, we'd be remiss to not mention the display of power at hand. While that power was
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incredibly evident in Breaking Bad, there's a moment in Better Call Saul that might be his most
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powerful. It's not an order given, a throat cut, or a single threat made. It's a choice, one that
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summons Fring's life going forward. In A Favorite Wine Bar, Fring engages in what is quite simply
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a lovely and endearing interaction with his favorite sommelier, David. It's a striking moment
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of normalcy. Both actors play with lingering glances and engaging conversation. When David
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David gets up to grab a perfect bottle of wine for a special occasion, Fring makes a choice
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one that takes him away from a happy relationship and a normal life running a restaurant with
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someone he loves. He chooses a path of darkness and destruction. The brilliance of this moment
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is that we, the audience, see Fring have a definitive chance at a happy ending, a life
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that does not require strife, violence, or ego. But Fring is so committed to the path he's on
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that even when there's a clean exit strategy, he refuses it and soldiers on. We see the true
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conviction behind the madness. We usually associate these types of criminal enterprises
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with a sense of impassioned impulsiveness, men with no choice but to go into illegal affairs
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much like how Walter Wright was introduced to the drug trade. But this moment shows us that
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Gustavo Fring's choices were anything but last resort, and that might be the most terrifying thing
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of all