It’s fitting that so much of this episode centered around Gustavo Fring because it is very much like him in a lot of ways. On the surface it seems to be a standard (though especially tense) episode of Breaking Bad, just as Gus appears to be a standard chicken peddler and philanthropist. However, if we “keep digging”, we’re sure to find a whole lot of meaning and implication just under the surface; meaning which can best be summed up with one word:
Control
While Walt is most certainly correct that we’re all born with a death sentence, he’s sadly mistaken about who’s in control of his life. The director makes it very clear who that is with a shot of Walt pulling his chemical suit on immediately after telling us that he’s in charge. He’s very much a subject in King Gus’ empire.
That said, Walt and Gus are not as different as we’d like to think. On the surface, Gus is a man who is unflappable, always in control of both himself and the situation. For instance, it’s a fairly accepted public speaking rule that you need 1 hour of preparation for every minute of presentation. So what’s the ratio of 15 years to 5 minutes? Gus has been preparing for this meeting for a decade and a half since setting up a chemistry scholarship all those years ago. Gale’s acceptance into the lab was no accident. Gus had already built the alibi should anything go wrong. A true master! But he’s not completely in control. His tapping fingers in the elevator betray the worry building inside him.
The nature of his relationship with Tio “Hector” Salamanca reveals some very different traits that we have not seen in Gus until now, excepting, perhaps, when he murdered Victor. Gus wants to see Hector crushed, not because it would be a smart business move or to tie up a loose end, but to avenge the death of his “brother.” This much is clear in the He apparently lets his emotions influence him more than he lets on. It’s likely that all his current troubles are due to his similarities to Walt.
And it’s those small small cracks in Gus’ control which are driving Hank to pursue his super-cop intuition down the rabbit hole no matter how deep it goes. I’m fairly certain that nothing can shake Hank from the scent at this point and it’s a lock that Gus will have to dispose of him (perhaps not by death) or face the music at his hands. Look for an official prediction on this topic in our full podcast tomorrow.
Tio “Hector” Salamanca is the other control player here, though in a very different way. Over the past 2 seasons we’ve seen Tio lose everything that’s important to him. It might not be so devastating if he were able to take control and “live life on his own terms” as Walt states. But that’s not his fate. Instead, he must sit in his chair and squirm as the head of the mexican cartel and his nephew are murdered and Gus holds up his lack of control to his face and forces him to look at it.
The layers are there if you take a close enough look to peel them back. I have SO many theories, questions and other things to say on this episode but they’ll have to wait until tomorrow. We cover some slightly different ground in our Breaking Bad Instant Review podcast so check that out if you just can’t control your craving for our silky smooth voices. We’ll be back with a full length “Hermanos” podcast tomorrow so get your feedback to us via Twitter, Facebook or email and you’ll probably hear it on the show.