[rating=9.00] “Dedicado a Max”
One of the most interesting twists of Better Call Saul has been the recasting of Gus Fring as a tragic character. I suppose that was always implicit in his background, at least since Breaking Bad’s season four episode “Hermanos,” where we saw Fring’s business partner, Max, murdered by Hector at the behest of Don Eladio.
Actually, “business partner” doesn’t seem to accurately describe their relationship anymore. Hints have been dropped throughout Fring’s Better Call Saul stint that Max and Gus were, in fact, romantic partners on top of business partners. Which of course reframes his entire character—not because he’s gay, but because the terror Gus inspires is, in fact, righteous.
We first met Gus as his decades long plan of revenge was reaching his zenith, with the attack against Juan Bolsa and the murder of Don Eladio. He was finally in a place where he could rest, perhaps find a measure of peace in the fact that he avenged his lover’s murder and established an empire worthy of his name. And Walter ruined it all.
More and more it looks as though the wrong man won and the emotional devastation of Walter White is coming more and more into focus. We saw that last night as Mike tried to figure out where he was and why he was there. He awoke in a small how in a small town following his confrontation with the street gang in Albuquerque, somehow brought to Mexico for recuperation from his wounds.
Mike being Mike, he’s obviously not happy about this. For one, his plan for self-destruction—which has grown increasingly dire since he killed Werner—was foiled. For second, he’s no longer interested in being under Fring’s thumb. His eventual acceptance of his fate isn’t without an attempt to get out of his situation.
It’s during one of his sojourns away from his recovery room that we get our next look at the depths of Fring’s tragic nature. Mike finds himself in a small town with a beautiful black fountain in the town center. What Mike doesn’t see, but we do, is the plaque engraved “Dedicado a Max.”
We learn later that Fring keeps this town operational through a serious of anonymous donations. Perhaps it is the town where Max grew up; we don’t know for sure but it’s the only thing that really makes sense. And it is here, at this fountain, where Gus makes his final push to recruit Mike—a push we know to be successful. “I need a soldier,” he tells Mike, unveiling the nature of his plans in a single word. “Revenge,” says Fring, when asked why he’s doing this.
It’s difficult not to look back at Gus Fring in Breaking Bad without the air of sadness with which Giancarlo Esposito plays him now. Oh sure, he’s still terrifying—arguably one of the scariest villains on modern TV—but we know now where that comes from. This displays what Better Call Saul has been so brilliant at since episode one. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould aren’t just mining Breaking Bad for the sake of it, they’re reframing everything we already knew and creating a deeper world that sends ripple effects through the original series.
Which is what makes Jimmy’s descent into Saul all the more fascinating. In another context, watching him pull one over at Mesa Verde last night would have been hilarious. And to be fair, it was, thanks in part to a brilliant performance from guest star John DiMaggio (best known as the voice of Bender on Futurama) as the foreman in charge of demolishing the house where obstinate Mr. Acker lives.
This plot has been a wild ride since its introduction several episodes ago, especially as it exists to show the internal conflict Kim has been feeling this entire season (if not longer). Now, with Jimmy representing Mr. Acker, we’re coming closer and closer to a collision point that I’m not sure Kim will be able to survive. Her boss already suspects subterfuge on her part and it feels like only a matter of time before the New Mexico bar will have something to say.
But, for now, the focus has been on how Jimmy operates as Saul Goodman, throwing up fake roadblock after fake roadblock for the purposes of costing Mesa Verde time and money. Which seems to work until it doesn’t. But Saul Goodman has one more trick up his sleeves, which for the first time gives Kim a glimpse at just what her “criminal” lawyer boyfriend is willing to do.
Which brings us back to the context of Jimmy’s confrontations. Hilarious as it was, we know it portends to another tragic downfall, which is something we cannot afford to forget as Better Call Saul moves on. Jimmy’s fast and loose interpretations of law and rules puts him on a direct collision course with Walter White. Yeah, a part of us wants to cheer as we hear Jimmy’s goon describe how he gained access to Mesa Verde’s CEO’s house looking for dirt, but that’s just another inch of pavement along his path to Hell.
Even while Kim seems ultimately pleased by something she found in the photos from the operation, whatever win they gain from this will pale in the face of their eventual decline. There will no happily ever after at the end of this series, and so all of our positives are necessarily fleeting. All of our gains are short lived.
At the end of the day this is a series that is, in more ways than one, careening towards calamity. But through the carefully designed machinations of Gilligan and Gould, we can’t help but be riveted by the wild and twisting ride. Somehow knowing where this ends up makes it all the more tense and all the more frightening, not just for Jimmy and Kim, but for Mike and Gus as well. All we can do is hold on tight and try to enjoy the ride.
Better Call Saul airs Monday nights at 9/8c on AMC.
