Better Call Saul, the fans’ theory: is Gus Fring gay?

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It’s a question that fans have been making for years, already in the Breaking Bad timeline, and now it’s even more actual, after the events that the last episodes of Better Call Saul are showing: is Gus Fring a gay character? The question is not trivial and can help us interpret many of the events we saw in the two series differently. Therefore, after episode 9 of the sixth season of Better Call Saul, it’s the right time to try to provide an answer.

Why do people think that Gus Fring is gay?

The theory started around 2017, during Breaking Bad, and there is a complete thread on Quora about this topic. The critical scene where all the doubts come up is when Hector Salamanca kills Max in Don Eladio’s mansion, in front of Gus Fring. It’s the scene you can see below.

Gus' Close Encounter With Hector & Don Eladio | Hermanos | Breaking Bad

The fans focused on the highly emotional reaction that Gus Fring had, probably the only moment we will ever see Gus out of control in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Max was his business partner, but the impression is that the two are closer than just partners. And that scene is the start of the hatred Gus develops against Don Eladio and the Salamancas: hate that will push him to become the new king of meth, kill Don Eladio, and exterminate the whole Salamanca family. He will leave no one alive and save Hector as the last one to die.

Can all this be justified only by the death of an early business partner? Maybe. But while the series developed, fans wondered if there wasn’t something more between Gus and Max: something more similar to a romantic relationship, which could justify how his life went after that. That, together with the elegance and precision of the character, made many wonder if Gus Fring wasn’t gay: if he actually were in love with Max, all the actions after his death would be more justified.

Therefore, the question is related to the interpretation of Gustavo Fring’s character as a whole: what drives his behaviors, what moves his motivations.

The doubt became actual again after Episode 9 of Better Call Saul season 6, Fun and Games, which shows an enigmatic scene where Gus Fring spends several minutes enjoying a conversation with the sommelier of his favorite restaurant. From this scene, we understand that there is a bond between the two, that they both missed seeing each other while Gus was hiding from Lalo. In the same episode, we see Gus looking at Don Eladio’s pool, which recalls the moment when Max dies in Breaking Bad.

Did the episode hint at the emotional connections that Gus has? Nothing in Better Call Saul happens by chance, and it may even be that the writers were aware of the theory we are talking about and wanted to offer a supporting element to it. The ending episodes of Better Call Saul may give more answers: we will see them together.