Season 4 of Breaking Bad – one of the most successful TV shows in recent times – threw fans off balance as Gus Fring killed his favorite henchman, Victor. This has left many with the question: “Why did Gus kill Victor in Breaking Bad instead of Jesse or Walt? If you also have this question in mind, read along to find the answer.
What Happened Before Gus Killed Victor?
Breaking Bad Season 3, the sequel before Gus killed Victor, sees Jesse and Walt entering the bad books of their boss Gus, and finalizing plans for their joint venture without informing him.
This was in addition to Walt murdering two dealers who belonged to Gus’s cartel and having to wait for Gus to decide his fate after being taken hostage. Gus decides to keep him alive while secretly making plans to replace him with another cook in the person of Gale Boetticher.
Walt somehow gets to learn about Gus’s plan to replace him and decides with Jesse to wipe Gale off the picture. Jesse has to be the one to pull the trigger on Gale since Walt is taken hostage by Gus.
Season 4 starts with Jesse successfully killing Gale but somehow gets entangled with Gus’s henchman Victor outside the murder scene. Victor takes him back to Gus’s lab at gunpoint and in his car.
Neighbors of Gale saw Victor exiting his apartment. Moreover, Victor left his vehicle outside Gale’s apartment as he returned to the lab with Jesse.
At the lab, Victor and another of Gus’s hitman Mike Ehrmantraut holds Jesse and Walt hostage as they await Gus. Gus arrives at the lab moments later and proceeds to grab a box cutter.
Victor and Mike watch as Walt and Jesse plead frantically for mercy while they anticipate Gus’s execution. Gus returns to the group with the open box cutter.
To everyone’s shock, Gus turns and cuts Victor’s throat, killing him on the spot. He later drops the cutter and exits the room after saying, “Well?…Get back to work”.
Walt and Jesse were then made to clean up the bloody mess and get rid of Victor’s body by dropping it in hydrofluoric acid.
Why did Gus Kill Victor in Breaking Bad?
Just like other viewers, we’re sure Gus killing Victor came to you as a surprise. Hence the million-dollar question: “Why did Gus kill Victor?”
Gus killed Victor for multiple reasons: first, as a means to save his own skin. Secondly, he intended it as a lesson for Walt and Jesse from there on out. I’ll tell you how.
Firstly, taking Victor out was the only way he could save himself from getting entangled with law enforcement. Victor had left his car around Gale’s murder scene and Gale’s neighbors had seen him enter and exit his apartment.
Witness statements and his car outside a crime scene in which he would have been a prime suspect were enough to bring the police on his tail, and by extension, Gus’s tail.
Secondly, Victor’s murder was supposed to serve as some kind of lesson to Walt and Jesse and as some sort of deterrent in case they ever think of making any shady moves around him again in the future.
Who Killed Gus Fring and how?
Walt masterminded Gus’s death using the help of Hector Salamanca, Gus’s enemy. To achieve the assassination, Hector attached a pipe bomb to Gus’s wheelchair.
Surprisingly, after the bomb detonated, Gus walked out of the room seemingly unharmed. Not until the camera showed the right side of his face, which appeared to be bare bone.
His face had been blown off. His right eye socket was empty. A dramatic effect was created when Gus adjusted his tie before collapsing dead.
Walt somehow learned that Gus greatly valued his skill and was planning his replacement, leaving him with no other option than to take out his all-powerful boss.
Final Words
There are multiple answers that address the question, “Why did Gus kill Victor?” in addition to the ones discussed above.
Gus was arguably the most powerful drug lord in the movie and killing Victor before Walt and Jesse was a move intended to reassert his authority before them.
He also wanted to make them understand that anyone was expendable if he could actually do away with his right-hand man Victor without thinking twice.
That way, they needed no one to make them rethink their stance if they ever thought of trying their hands with Gus.
Gus made his mark in the series and his imprint still could be felt long after Walt assassinated him. He also had an impact on how the series eventually played out in the end.