Why Gus Fring Was Breaking Bad's Most Terrifying Villain

hello and welcome to the Los poos aranos family 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 whether that presents itself as hero worship empathy or a simple idea we can grasp on two for some characters that symbiotic relationship happens when a path is diverted in the case of Gus Fring the simple Act of seeing how his life changed and the links he would stride afterward made for one of television's most terrifying villains with an extremely unique character defining Quirk a dog who bites every owner his hand can only be disciplined with a firm hand or put down before we get too far Please be aware there are plenty of spoilers ahead and make sure you're subscribed to the channel in order to stay up to date with all our latest videos debuting in season 3 of Vince skill against Breaking Bad Gustavo Fring played by Jean Carlo es bazito was initially introduced as a replacement antagonist for Walter White while White had been locked into a conflict with the maniac Uber violent drug addicted Tuco Salam Mona played by Raymond Cruz the actor who played the Kingpin had to be written out due to prior commitments simply following ino's path would have been redundant AK kinda trying to recapture the magic of a trick to which we already knew the method tight tight tight yeah oh blue yellow pink whatever man just keep bringing me that so Gilligan crafted Fring to be antithetical to Tuco a button- down calm collected businessman in contrast to the more stereotypical cartel Outlaw here was a man who owned and operated a fast food franchise and seemed to be a pillar of the community initially that introduction was only supposed to be a guest role totaling a couple of episodes according to Esposito who played Fring in both breaking bat and its prequel Better Call Saul he was initially only asked to be in one episode in an interview with Rutter Esposito said I think if you ask Vince Gilligan they didn't think I would go for that wasn't in their Consciousness in that same interview Esposito said in the beginning it wasn't defined 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't part of what makes Fring such a compelling villain is how he mirrors the protagonist when we first meet Fring he's running a chain of chicken restaurants called Los poos Hermanos as a front for his growing drug Empire not entirely unlike a science teacher turned Car Wash Mogul laundering their own Drug Money Fring represents a dark reflection of what could become of white if he continues on the same path when Fring learns of Walter and Jesse's skill with cooking and distributing narcotics he wants them to work for him to become employees he can manage that key knif for talent is also exactly what set Fring on his current path when we meet him we learned that years before Fring had met a man who would eventually become his professional and romantic partner Max financing his education at University in chemistry Fring was already thinking about his future always dozens of steps ahead that plan was changed when Max was killed by a rival drug cartel specifically Hector Salamanca and Don Eladio and there are lots of winding ins and outs to these families even tying into previously written of Tuco it feels odd to say that Fring was maybe on a good path prior to the death of Max he was already running an illegal business and was rumored to have ties to larger cartels in Chile but this one moment flipped a switch in frame one that set him down a track where in addition to expanding his Empire he also wanted to ruin an entire family this culminates in one of the show's most memorable moments at a pool party for the family led by Don Eladio arriving at the party with Mike and Jesse we see Fring take a pill shortly before toasting alongside the party with a bottle of tequila he brought there's a slight beat where the crowd waits to see Fring drink himself and then follow suit after he does then after he excuses himself to the restroom he has a small moment to himself in the most calm and poised manner you can imagine Fring sits on his knees in front of the toilet and gags himself we watch him wash his hands then gently dabed the corners of his mouth with a neatly folded towel and by the time he's finished the man who had followed him into the bathro bathroom has already died the same goes for most of the Party by the pool save Don Eladio who watches Fring exit the house knowing this is the man's doing there's a look of recognition in eladio's 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's a satisfying moment satisfying to us as the viewers anyway there's nothing resembling joy in fring's expression just a cold stare from his eyes that demands AO just die already then his knees begin to give and he has to catch himself on a nearby table it's here we're reminded of the determination an act like this truly takes despite the pill and the induced vomiting we are reminded that he just ingested poison poison that is knocking down folk who have probably been ingesting narcotics in some form or fashion for decades and here Fring stands he shouts off camera to the remaining guards still full of vigor and threatening death all while still standing the fact that Fring is always still standing follows all the way to his end when white finally arranges the man's death with an explosive strapped to Salam Mona's wheelchair just as we had always seen him Fring walks out of the room calm and poised he adjusts his tie briefly and the camera pans to show the real duality of Frank one of the more interesting aspects of him as a character isn't just the chess game he played with real human lives it was how he chose to hide that game the service industry can I help you sir D Coke please while he also used laundry mat in arguably still a customer facing industry he was much more active in his fast food restaurant if you have ever worked in the service industry at all be at franchise or not you have worked with someone like Fring at least the one he presents to the public a man who donates to Civic service is a stickler for procedures and is all about the most efficient way to please the public this entire aspect of Frank's character is one of the most terrifying and poignant commentaries on the correlation between legal work for the public and illegal services that the public still partakes in there's a sense of pride in the way he presents his restaurants and he wants the same for his employees he continues that same work ethos in his drug Empire as well 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 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's 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 dark in us but in case the more we knew the more compelling the character became part of that is due to Jean Carlo Esposito's incredible performance Esposito has since made a career portraying restrained Terror from his turn as Stan Edgar in the boys to voicing Lex Luther and Harley Quinn he has crafted a poised monstrosity in the vein of Hannibal Lector or Anton shagar the world will recognize you for the pitiful disappointment you are you are not worthy of my respect that composure was evident throughout all of Breaking Bad most famously in the colloquially known box cutter scene where Fring executes one of his own henchmen in order to intimidate white and Pinkman while much has been said about this scene's ratcheting tension and shocking horror we'd be remiss to not mention the display of power at hand while that power was incredibly evident in Breaking Bad there's a moment in Better Call Saul that might be his most powerful it's not an order given a throat cut or a single threat made it's a choice one that cements fring's life going forward in a favorite Wine Bar Fring engages in what is quite simply a lovely and endearing interaction with his favorite Somalia David it's a striking moment of normaly both actors play with lingering glances and engaging conversation when David gets up to grab a perfect bottle of wine for a special occasion Fring makes a choice one that takes him away from a happy relationship and a normal life running a restaurant with someone he loves he chooses a path of darkness and destruction the Brilliance of this moment is that we the audience see Fring have a definitive chance at a happy ending a life that does not require Strife violence or ego but Fring is so committed to the path he's on that even when there's a clean exit strategy he refuses it and Soldiers on we see the true conviction behind the madness we usually associate these types of criminal Enterprises with a sense of impassioned impulsiveness men with no choice but to go into illegal Affairs much like how Walter wght was introduced to the drug tradeit but this moment shows us that Gustavo Frank's choices were anything but last resort and that might be the most terrifying thing of all so what do you think who are some other villains who held such a tight strangle hold on their own henchmen let us know down in the comments below and as always thank you for watching nerdstalgic

Channel: Nerdstalgic

Views: 137,708

Keywords: Breaking Bad, Breaking Bad Gustavo Fring, Breaking Bad Walter White, Breaking Bad Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad TV Show, Nerdstalgic, Breaking Bad Final Season, Breaking Bad Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad Spin Off, Breaking Bad Los Pollo Hermanos, Better Call Saul, Better Call Saul Gus Fring, Better Call Saul Saul Goodman, Better Call Saul Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul Final Season, Better Call Saul Kim Wexler, New Rockstars, Screen Crush, IGN

Id: 7xcUBuPddkU

Length: 8min 48sec (528 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 17 2024