Last April, just days before theBetter Call Saul Season 2 finale, a Twitter user seemingly decoded a mystery, unlocked by writing out all of the Season 2 episode titles. When arranged one below the other, the first letter of each episode spelled out “Frings Back,” which many theorized meant that the iconicBreaking Badvillain Gus Fring, played byGiancarlo Esposito, would return inBetter Call Saul, which is set long before the events ofBreaking Badunfold. Today that iconic character’s return was essentially confirmed, with the debut of a promo for the fictional Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant, which features Gus Fring alive and well. We also have another promo showing Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) getting booked, telling the cops he’ll be representing himself.
The Los Pollos Hermanos ad surfaced as an unlistedYouTubevideo on the Los Pollos Hermanos YouTube channel, which doesn’t have any videos posted for public viewing. You may recall that, in the final moments of theBetter Call SaulSeason 2 finale, a note was left on Mike’s (Jonathan Banks) windshield, warning him against taking any action against Hector Salamanca, theBreaking Badcharacter played byMark Margolis. Many fans assumed that it was Gus Fring, or at least someone associated with him, that left this note for Mike, and while we won’t know exactly how this plays out untilBetter Call Saul Season 3returns this spring, it seems clear with this trailer that we will see Gus Fring at some point this season. During an interview after the Season 2 finale, series creatorVince Gilliganrevealed he didn’t think fans would solve their “Frings Back” puzzle, teasing how he would have ideally liked to reveal Fring’s return.
“In a perfect world, in our mind’s eye, the way this would have worked is people would have said, ‘Oh, man, who left that note?’ And then weeks or months from now Peter would have tweeted out, ‘Hey, look for a clue,’ and people would have said, ‘Oh, was that Fring?’ Having said all of that, that doesn’t mean people should assume Fring put that thing on the windshield with his own hand. As we know fromBreaking Bad, Gus Fring is a man of great resources and is very much a long-term planner and he has some very skilled and cold-blooded folks working for him. It could have been through Gus Fring’s agency but not him personally. And furthermore, just because Fring’s back-technically speaking, if not literally-it doesn’t mean that folks should assume that they’ll see him at the beginning of Season 3. This is a character who is very circumspect. Very cautious. He does not reveal himself easily. He makes people work to get to him as we saw him makeWalter Whitework very hard and jump through a great many hoops to get to face-to-face with him inBreaking Bad. I don’t think anyone should assume that he’ll move in next door to Mike and borrow a cup of sugar. He’s going to stay Gus Fring, arguably the most brilliant person ever to appear on either show.”
Of course, that interview took place many months ago, and now with the release of this trailer, it’s safe to say that Gus is in fact back. Then again, we don’t know how much we’ll see of Gus, but he will become the latestBreaking Bad characterto surface onBetter Call Saul, following Tuco (Raymond Cruz) and Don Hector ‘Tio’ Salamanca (Mark Margolis). We haven’t seen much footage fromBetter Call SaulSeason 3 quite yet, and AMC hasn’t issued a specific premiere date yet, with the network only stating the show will return in the spring of 2017.
DuringBreaking Bad Season 2, the episode titles Seven-Thirty-Seven, Down, Over, ABQ foreshadowed the events of the season finale, ABQ, where a 737 plane went down over Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the show is set. Since theBetter Call SaulSeason 2 message of “Frings Back” has been confirmed, fans will certainly be paying closer attention to the episode titles this time around. While we wait for more onBetter Call SaulSeason 3, take a look at these new trailers below.
