Breaking Bad Episode 41: Hermanos

In "Hermanos," Gus Fring survives a DEA investigation into his fingerprints at Gale Boetticher's murder scene while a flashback reveals the origin of his war with the Salamanca family, and Walter White is forced to help Hank plant a GPS tracker on Gus's car.

**The DEA Investigation** Gus meets with DEA agents and Albuquerque police, where investigators inform him his fingerprints were found at a homicide scene. Gus deduces the crime is Gale's killing and offers a calculated explanation: Gale was a recipient of a chemistry scholarship Gus created at the University of New Mexico, and Gus had visited Gale's apartment recently to give him money after Gale invited him over. When Hank Schrader questions if "Gustavo Fring" is his real name, noting no records exist in Chile, Gus claims the Pinochet dictatorship destroyed poor records. The investigators accept his story, but Hank remains suspicious.

**Walt and Hank's Trap** Hank recruits Walter to drive him to a mineral show, but reveals en route he is actually heading to Los Pollos Hermanos to plant a GPS tracker on Gus's car. Walter pretends to plant the tracker but enters the restaurant first, where he assures Gus that he did not place it. Gus tells him to do it anyway, so Walt plants the tracker on his way back to his car. Later, Walt warns Jesse Pinkman about Hank's investigation and again urges him to kill Gus. Walt also discovers via Jesse's text messages that Jesse has seen Gus but has not killed him as promised.

**Skyler's Solution** Skyler White begins hiding Walter's drug money in a crawl space beneath the house to manage the financial problem.

**Gus Visits Hector** Gus visits Hector Salamanca in a nursing home, where Hector is watching news footage of the Cousins' (Leonel and Marco) deaths. Gus coldly fills Hector in on the details of the killings, playing innocent while Hector clearly knows he was involved. Gus tells Hector to look him in the eyes, but Hector refuses.

**The Flashback: Max and Hector** A flashback shows a younger Gus and his partner, Max, meeting with Hector, Don Eladio, and other cartel members in Mexico. Gus (the businessman) and Max (the chemical engineer) pitch a meth scheme to Eladio, using their restaurant, Los Pollos Hermanos, to distribute samples to Eladio's men. Eladio is furious that they are dealing on his turf, but they insist they only wanted to attract his attention. Max defends his partner, but Hector suddenly shoots Max through the head. Gus is held down by Eladio's thugs while Hector taunts him, forcing Gus to watch as Max bleeds into a nearby swimming pool. As Max's blood spills into the pool, a terrified Gus weeps, and Hector tells him, "My advice – stick to chicken".

**The Present Conclusion** Back in the present, Gus decides to spare Hector's life despite the memory of Max's death. The episode ends with the revelation that the restaurant's name, "Los Pollos Hermanos" (The Chicken Brothers), refers to Gus and Max, who were effectively brothers before Hector killed Max.