Hector Salamanca’s final words inBetter Call Saulperfectly teased the rise and fall ofBreaking Bad’s Gustavo Fring. By the time ofBetter Call Saul’s ending, the show had added engrossing context toBreaking Bad’s characters as any prequel should. Not only this, butBetter Call Saulalso went beyondBreaking Bad’s timelineto serve as an effective pseudo-sequel, truly proving why both are considered among the very best TV shows in history.
By exploring one of theBreaking Baduniverse’s best characters,Better Call Saulprovided endlessly intriguing insights into the world of the Cartel and the drug trade. The primary supporting characters through which this exploration took place were Gustavo Fring and the Salamanca family, most of whom appeared inBreaking Badtoo. In what is often regarded as one ofBetter Call Saul’s best seasons, season 3 ended with the feud between Gus and Hector Salamanca continuing, with the latter’s final words foreshadowing the many victories yet ultimate defeat of the former that was to come inBreaking Bad.
Hector’s Final Line Before His Stroke In Better Call Saul Was “It Is Personal”
Hector Sums Up The Basis Of Gustavo Fring’s Actions
In the season finale ofBetter Call Saulseason 3, Hector Salamanca and Gustavo Fring are brought together by Juan Bolsa, a high-ranking member of the Cartel. Juan states that the boss of the Cartel, Don Eladio, has insisted that drugs are only to be transported across the border by Gus' chicken trucks. Hector, unable to let his long-standing feud with Gus go, flies into a rage, stating that it was Salamanca money and blood that built their business and that Gus should not receive the credit he does.
As Juan Bolsa tells Hector that the decision is not personal, the latter utters his final words in the entireBreaking Baduniverse.Hector screams"It is! It is personal!“before suffering a strokethat renders him permanently immobile and mute until his death inBreaking Badseason 4. Knowing these events betweenBetter Call SaulandBreaking Bad,these words become the last Hector Salamanca ever speaks, perfectly teasing the rise and fall of Gus Fring from the latter TV show.
The Cartel Failed To Realize Gus Fring’s Actions Were Personal In Better Call Saul
They Only Realized When It Was Too Late
Firstly, it is worth exploring how Hector’s final words set up Gustavo Fring’s future victories. InBetter Call SaulandBreaking Bad, every action Gus takes to further his own trade is simply to garner enough power to challenge members of the Cartel.Breaking Badestablished this via the flashback to 1989 in which Gus and his partner Max presented their idea of a meth trade to Don Eladio. Don Eladio has Hector kill Max, much to Gus' dismay. Since then, Gus bided his time until he elevated himself to a position where he could exact his revenge on Hector and Don Eladio.
10 Breaking Bad Scenes That Hit Different After Better Call Saul
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Therefore, Hector’s words that"It is personal"inBetter Call Saulwere correct, only the Cartel declined to believe him. ThroughoutBetter Call SaulandBreaking Bad, Gus has many victories due to his personal feud with the Cartel; not only does Gus kill several members of the Salamanca family, but he is also responsible for keeping Hector in a wheelchair and the eventual poisoning of Don Eladio and his many henchmen. All of these acts were committed by Gus as a means of exacting his personal revenge against the Cartel, something Hector’s final words inBetter Call Saultypify.
Gus Eventually Failed To Look Beyond His Need For Revenge
Despite being the reason for many of Gus' success stories, his personal vendetta against Hector is what also caused his downfall. This came in one ofBreaking Bad’s best episodes: season 4, episode 13, “Face Off.” In this episode, Walter White tries to kill Gus before the same can be done to him, using Hector as a means to that end. Walter establishes a truce with Hector and promises the latter revenge. With Gus thinking Hector will rat him out to the DEA, he visits the old man’s home, unaware of the bomb strapped to the bottom of his wheelchair.
If Gus did not have such a personal desire for revenge against Hector, it is unlikely he would have visited the care home inBreaking Badseason 4’s finale…
The bomb explodes and kills Gus, rendering him and his empire destroyed. If Gus did not have such a personal desire for revenge against Hector, it is unlikely he would have visited the care home inBreaking Badseason 4’s finale. Instead, he would likely have finished the job of killing Walter, thus securing his own survival as well as that of his drug empire. However, his personal vendetta drove him to confront Hector, meaning the latter’s final words inBetter Call Saulteased Gustavo Fring’s downfall as much as it did his rise to power.
Better Call Saul
Cast
Better Call Saul follows small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill as he navigates the legal world to make ends meet. The series, set six years before his encounter with Walter White, chronicles Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, with notable interactions alongside fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
