GUSTAVO "GUS" FRING
also referred to as "the chicken man" not-so-affectionately by the cartel
portrayed by: Giancarlo Esposito
traits: careful, genius, patient, cold-blooded, ruthless, calculating, professional, graceful and very motivated
first and last appearance: episode 2x11, episode 4x13
crimes: Mass murder, Organized crime, Drug trafficking, Kidnapping, Torture, Abuse, Blackmail, Conspiracy, Smuggling, Animal cruelty, Arson, Racketeering, Sabotage, Corpse desecration, Corruption, Child murder by proxy (presumably)
it is revealed in a flashback that his hatred for the cartel and the reason why he is even in "the game" in the first place is because of his desire to avenge the death of his partner (max) who was murdered by hector salamanca. unfortunately for gus, he does not get to fully complete his revenge, rather ends up dying a humiliating death in the hands of his arch-nemesis hector, the very man who killed max. all in spite of his efforts in carefully building his drug empire for 20 years and living a loveless life of misery.
whether he "won" in the end or not is greatly debated by fans, but it is of my personal opinion that he lost. i do not think the writers would willingly let one of their biggest villians "win" as one of the main themes in breaking bad is everyone being punished for their evilness. especially after the wine scene in better call saul season 6x07, we see first hand how he is devoiding himself of any human affection due to him being so devoted to revenge and not able to get over his previous partner. sure, he killed off all the cartel and emotionally tortured hector, but gus went through all of this just to be beat by a high-school chemistry teacher right, which is a loss in my book!
it is also hinted that he held some sort of position in the chilean army before emmigrating to mexico and founded los pollos hermanos with max, then finally crossing the border into new mexico where he started his drug operation with los pollos hermanos as a front. unfortunately details about gus' backstory are little, but the bits and pieces we do have paint him as a very interesting character to further explore.
a tragic backstory coupled with being well-written and acter makes gus, in my opinion, one of the best villians and characters to ever grace hollywood.
QUOTES
"A bullet to the head would have been far too humane." - better call saul 3x04
"It fought me, but I was stronger. The merciful thing would have been to kill it. I kept it. It lived for some time." - better call saul 4x06
"I don't think we're alike at all, mr. white." - breaking bad 2x11
"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."- breaking bad 3x05
"Never make the same mistake twice." - breaking bad 3x11
"This is what comes of blood for blood, Hector. Sangre por sangre." - breaking bad 4x08
"Don Eladio is dead. His capos are dead. You have no-one left to fight for..." - breaking bad 4x10
"I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter." - breaking bad 4x12
"Last chance to look at me, hector." - breaking bad 4x13 (his last words)
and finally...."The doctor tells me your fever has gotten worse. They say this infection may kill you. Even if it doesn't, my doctor tells me again and again that you may never wake. And yet, I wait. I grew up quite poor. We lived in the hills. In a place my brothers built from things they found. Metal sheeting, plywood. When it rained, it smelled like hay. We were always hungry. But there was a lucuma tree. Scrawny. Barely alive. My family had given up on it years before. Never bore fruit. When I was seven, I became fixated on it. I watered it, tended to it. It took a long time, but the buds grew into green fruit. I was so proud. I didn't tell anyone. I plucked one and hid behind our shack. I ate the whole thing, I'd never tasted something so sweet. It was like caramel. At first, we ate the fruit ourselves. And then I began taking it to the village to sell. One day, much of the fruit was gone from my tree. Pieces were scattered on the ground, half-eaten. I thought it was probably a coati. Have you ever seen one? About the size of a large house cat. Opportunists. I built a snare, using branches and wire. It didn't take long for the animal to set it off. But the coati trashed so hard it broke out of the snare. Broke its leg as well. I tried to grab it, but it slipped away. It ran under the house. I knew it would show itself sooner or later. So I waited, for hours, into the night. When my brothers called for me, I did not answer. I didn't make a sound. I was so still. Finally, it came out. It knew I was there, but it was hungry. This time, I was ready. I caught it. It fought me, but I was stronger. The merciful thing would've been to kill it. I kept it. It lived for quite some time. I believe you will wake, Hector." - better call saul 4x06
look no piss filter...
