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Better Call Saul S4: Gus's Super-Lab
Apr. 27th, 2025 09:46 amI've written a number of times now about how Better Call Saul succeeds on the strength of its multiple character-driven plots. It's a show with not just an ensemble cast but an ensemble of interwoven stories. At first that seemed concerning. I worried that laconic cop-turned-criminal Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) was upstaging Jimmy McGill's transformation from struggling small-time attorney to swaggering consigliere Saul Goodman. But the showrunners' continued strong writing has made the ensemble of subplots enjoyable.
Season 4 of the show sees a number of these subplots deepening and maturing. The show moves more away from a classic episodic structure. For that reason I've chosen not to write about Season 4 episode by episode— except for calling out the fantastic Sales lesson Jimmy demonstrates in 4.02— but instead discuss it plot by plot. This blog is about the plotline of drug lord Gus Fring (a very chilling Giancarlo Esposito) and Mike Ehrmantraut working together.
People who've watched Breaking Bad will recall the underground meth super-lab Fring introduced Walter White to. It was a major set-piece for a few season. In BCS season 4 we see the start of how it got built.
Gus and Mike interview lead construction engineers (ep. 4.05). The first, a Frenchman, is polished and sophisticated but possibly too optimistic. Then he makes a deal-killing mistake of bragging about another thing he built for a different criminal enterprise. Gus wants total secrecy and tells Mike to send him back overseas.
The next architect, Werner, has a more earthy demeanor but clearly an engineer's mindset and humility. He identifies specific aspects of the project that will be extremely difficult and shares his thinking on how to solve them. This impresses Gus, who judges character not by polish but by earnestness and skill. Plus, Werner will bring a trusted crew from Germany, who'll all go back to Germany when the project is complete. Gus hires him.
To keep the construction secret, all the work is done at night. But that's only the start of the degree to which the project is cloaked. The crew is all from overseas— and they're housed in a warehouse at the edge of town. Inside the warehouse are a few trailer homes plus various R&R facilities, including a bar! The men never see the outdoors, though. They're locked in this huge warehouse by day, and escorted in a closed van to the worksite after dark.
As much as Gus spares no expense— at Mike's recommendation— to make the workers' lives livable for this 8+ month long project, it does wear on them. At near 8 months they're only half done, and they know it. Tempers start to flare. And the chief engineer, Werner, wigs out from missing his wife. He engineers a clandestine escape from the secured quarters and tries to meet his wife at a resort for a weekend tryst.
In Gus's coldly calculating mind, the cardinal sin is to break trust. Werner had a small slip earlier, which Gus agreed to overlook. But Werner circumventing the security measures, sneaking out, and inadvertently slipping a bit of information to a rival gang spy in the process, is too much. In an emotional scene near the end of ep. 4.10 (the season finale), Mike shoots Werner on Gus's order.
In the next scene, Gus gives his chemistry protege, Gale Boetticher, a walkthrough of the half-completed underground space. Work has stopped as the crew have been sent home. Gale sees what the space it can become, though, and is impressed. But a quick glance at the story's calendar reveals it's going to be slow going from here. It's 2004 when work is stopped halfway through on the lab. We know from Breaking Bad it's only completed in 2009. That means Gus, who's a master at playing the long game, is going to be playing this particular long game for several more years before it bears fruit. And that, in turn, means Gus is likely to face a setback soon in this series. Likely it will come from new rival Lalo Salamanca, whom I'll address in another blog.
Season 4 of the show sees a number of these subplots deepening and maturing. The show moves more away from a classic episodic structure. For that reason I've chosen not to write about Season 4 episode by episode— except for calling out the fantastic Sales lesson Jimmy demonstrates in 4.02— but instead discuss it plot by plot. This blog is about the plotline of drug lord Gus Fring (a very chilling Giancarlo Esposito) and Mike Ehrmantraut working together.
People who've watched Breaking Bad will recall the underground meth super-lab Fring introduced Walter White to. It was a major set-piece for a few season. In BCS season 4 we see the start of how it got built.
Gus and Mike interview lead construction engineers (ep. 4.05). The first, a Frenchman, is polished and sophisticated but possibly too optimistic. Then he makes a deal-killing mistake of bragging about another thing he built for a different criminal enterprise. Gus wants total secrecy and tells Mike to send him back overseas.
The next architect, Werner, has a more earthy demeanor but clearly an engineer's mindset and humility. He identifies specific aspects of the project that will be extremely difficult and shares his thinking on how to solve them. This impresses Gus, who judges character not by polish but by earnestness and skill. Plus, Werner will bring a trusted crew from Germany, who'll all go back to Germany when the project is complete. Gus hires him.
To keep the construction secret, all the work is done at night. But that's only the start of the degree to which the project is cloaked. The crew is all from overseas— and they're housed in a warehouse at the edge of town. Inside the warehouse are a few trailer homes plus various R&R facilities, including a bar! The men never see the outdoors, though. They're locked in this huge warehouse by day, and escorted in a closed van to the worksite after dark.
As much as Gus spares no expense— at Mike's recommendation— to make the workers' lives livable for this 8+ month long project, it does wear on them. At near 8 months they're only half done, and they know it. Tempers start to flare. And the chief engineer, Werner, wigs out from missing his wife. He engineers a clandestine escape from the secured quarters and tries to meet his wife at a resort for a weekend tryst.
In Gus's coldly calculating mind, the cardinal sin is to break trust. Werner had a small slip earlier, which Gus agreed to overlook. But Werner circumventing the security measures, sneaking out, and inadvertently slipping a bit of information to a rival gang spy in the process, is too much. In an emotional scene near the end of ep. 4.10 (the season finale), Mike shoots Werner on Gus's order.
In the next scene, Gus gives his chemistry protege, Gale Boetticher, a walkthrough of the half-completed underground space. Work has stopped as the crew have been sent home. Gale sees what the space it can become, though, and is impressed. But a quick glance at the story's calendar reveals it's going to be slow going from here. It's 2004 when work is stopped halfway through on the lab. We know from Breaking Bad it's only completed in 2009. That means Gus, who's a master at playing the long game, is going to be playing this particular long game for several more years before it bears fruit. And that, in turn, means Gus is likely to face a setback soon in this series. Likely it will come from new rival Lalo Salamanca, whom I'll address in another blog.
