Season 3 (2010)
Does Gus have Gale take over the lab?
Breaking Bad
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After Walter kills the gang members and Jesse goes on the run, he meets with Gus and Mike to negotiate for his and Jesse's safety. Walter gives Gus two options: (A) He can kill Walter right there on the spot, or (B) Consider Jesse's actions a "lone hiccup in an otherwise long and fruitful business arrangement", and both Gus and Walt can forget about Jesse. Gus leaves, but informs Walt that Gus will be choosing Jesse's replacement. Walter arrives at the superlab to discover Gale Boetticher's car in the parking lot. Gale has been reinstated as Walter's lab partner, and Victor has been installed to ensure the two are never left alone. Gus informs Gale later that night of Walt's ailment. Gus says he intends to keep Walter on as long as possible, but must prepare for the "worst case scenario". Walter, after Gale begins asking questions about the meth procedure, concludes that Gus is grooming Gale to replace him, and that he will be killed once Gale masters Walt's procedure. Mike visits Saul to find out Jesse's whereabouts. Saul refuses out of client-attorney privilege, but relents after Mike threatens him; Saul then allows Mike to look at a notebook containing a fake address for a trailer park in Virginia. Walter and Saul meet Jesse at a laser tag arcade. Walter informs Jesse of his situation, and explains that when Gale is confident enough to take over, they will be disposed of. Walt decides they must kill Gale. Jesse begs Walter to go to the police or the DEA, but Walt refuses; he reasons that Gus can't stop production, and with Gale out of the picture, Gus would have no choice but to keep him. Because Jesse refuses to kill Gale, Walt says he will do the job, and Jesse only needs to find Gale's address, as Walt's being heavily watched. When Walt goes to kill Gale, Victor arrives and informs him of a chemical leak at the lab. Suspecting a setup, Walter nevertheless has no choice but to go. Upon arriving at the laundromat, Walter notices Mike, confirming his suspicions. Pleading for his life, Walt offers to cook for free and even offers to take them to Jesse. Mike, upon hearing this, demands Jesse's location, but Walter says he needs to call him and set up a meeting. Walt calls Jesse and tells him he has a 20-minute head start. "They've got me at the laundry, and they're going to kill me. Jesse, do it now!" he screams, as Mike snatches away the phone. As Mike and Victor prepare to kill him, Walter tells them they might want to hold off and recites Gale's address, much to their shock. Jesse arrives at Gale's and pulls a gun on him. "You don't have to do this", Gale pleads. A tearful Jesse, shaking with emotion, pulls the trigger as the screen goes black. 
Victor (played by Jeremiah Bitsui) is Gus' loyal henchman. He first appears as an apparent fellow customer in Los Pollos Hermanos, when he suddenly confronts Walter and tersely conveys Gus' non-negotiable offer to purchase Walter's meth and arrange for delivery within the hour. In Season 3, he continues his work under Gus. Gus instructs Victor to give half of the money for Jesse's meth to Walter as a way to convince Walter to cook again. After Walt kills two of Gus' dealers, Walt tells Gus that Jesse is "at least two time zones away". Victor guards the lab at all times when Walter and Gale are present and monitors their conversations. Walt suspects Gus is preparing to kill him and conspires with Jesse to kill Gale, making Walt indispensable as the only remaining cook. Victor picks up Walt from his home, telling him there is a leak in the lab. Walt is greeted by Mike when he arrives, and deduces they plan to kill him. Walt begs Mike to spare him, offering to turn Jesse over. Under the pretext of contacting Jesse to lure him to a meeting, Walt convinces Mike and Victor to allow him to call Jesse using his cell phone. However, instead of arranging a meeting, Walt instructs Jesse to kill Gale before Mike kills Walt, leaving Walter as the only chemist available to Gus. Victor races to stop Jesse from killing Gale but arrives too late; he enters Gale's apartment and is seen by neighbors. He dies when Gus slices his neck with a box cutter. Later, Walt, Jesse, and Mike are forced to dispose of Victor's body using hydrofluoric acid, echoing Walt and Jesse's previous experience with Emilio. Walt later mentions to Jesse the reason Gus might have killed Victor is Victor's having taken inappropriate liberties (such as cooking meth while Mike held Walt and Jesse hostage) and " too close to the sun", as Walt put it. 
In the aftermath of Gale's murder, Walter and Jesse are taken before Gus in the superlab, while Victor tries to clean up the murder scene but is forced to flee after being seen by Gale's neighbors. Gus calmly changes into a hazmat suit and, in a gruesome show of force, fatally slashes Victor's throat with a box cutter, to everyone's horror. Walter and Jesse are spared a similar punishment, although Walter knows that he has fallen out of favor with Gus and fears that he will eventually be killed. Walter decides to pre-emptively strike against Gus, illegally purchasing an untraceable snubnosed revolver for the task. In response to Mike's concerns that Jesse's guilt-ridden recklessness could attract unwanted attention, Gus instructs Mike to take Jesse along as a passenger on a series of seemingly mundane pick-up runs around New Mexico. Aware that Jesse can't be scared into behaving, Gus instead orchestrates a fake robbery for Jesse to foil, thereby boosting his loyalty and self-esteem. Later, Jesse helps Mike retrieve stolen meth from a pair of junkies. Impressed with Jesse's mettle, Gus deems him ready to take on a greater role in the operation. Meanwhile, Gus' conflict with the Cartel escalates. The Cartel sends several men to kidnap Gus' chemical supplier, but the operation is foiled by Mike. They also attack Gus' delivery trucks and distribute his meth to local junkies. Gus arranges a meeting with the Cartel where he offers a one-time payment of $50 million in exchange for a settlement of grievances and a complete severance of their partnership. The Cartel refuses, reiterating its demand that Gus hand over Walter. In a flashback scene, the origin of Gus' animosity toward the Cartel is revealed: twenty years earlier, Gus' partner Max was executed by Hector during a meeting with the Cartel's boss, Don Eladio Vuente. Hank begins to suspect that Gus is involved in "blue sky" when he finds a Los Pollos Hermanos napkin among the evidence collected from Gale's apartment, knowing that Gale was a vegan. Hank retrieves Gus' fingerprints during a visit to Los Pollos Hermanos and matches them with prints found in Gale's apartment. Gus is questioned, but his explanation satisfies both the DEA and the police. Hank remains suspicious and investigates Gus on his own. Still handicapped from injuries inflicted by Leonel and Marco, Hank obliviously asks for Walter's help in attaching a tracking device to Gus' car at Los Pollos Hermanos. Gus is warned by Walter and removes the device before driving anywhere but home and the restaurant. In an attempt to defuse tensions with the Cartel, Gus agrees to share Walter's formula. Because he does not trust Walter, Gus and Mike take Jesse to Mexico, where Jesse cooks a batch of "blue sky" in the cartel's own superlab. To Jesse's alarm, Gus seemingly agrees to have Jesse work for the Cartel on a permanent basis. However, during a party celebrating the agreement, Gus kills Don Eladio and the rest of the Cartel's leadership with a poisoned bottle of tequila. To convince Don Eladio and his crew that the tequila is safe, Gus drinks the first shot, having taken capsules that delayed the poison and allowed him to purge. Gus, Jesse, and Mike shoot their way out of Don Eladio's compound and drive to an elaborate medical tent that Gus arranged for in advance. There, Gus is treated by his private doctors and quickly recovers. Gus deems Jesse fit to cook Walter's formula and run the superlab on his own. However, Jesse insists that he will not cook for Gus if Walter is killed. Gus' henchmen kidnap Walter and take him out to the desert, where Gus fires him, tells him that he intends to neutralize Hank, and threatens to kill his entire family if Walter attempts to interfere. Believing Gus will make good on his threat, Walter plants a car bomb in Gus' Volvo, but Gus manages to evade the trap. Meanwhile, Gus visits Hector in his nursing home and tauntingly informs him of the deaths of the rest of the Salamanca family members and the end of the Cartel. Walter learns from Jesse about Gus' visits to Hector's nursing home. Realizing that Gus and Hector are enemies, Walter visits Hector and offers him an opportunity to exact revenge on Gus. The two hatch a plot to lure Gus back to Hector's nursing home, starting with Hector paying a visit to the DEA. Gus learns about Hector's visit from Tyrus and, assuming Hector has become an informant, decides that he must be eliminated. Against Tyrus' advice, Gus visits Hector and prepares to inject him with a lethal poison. However, Hector begins ringing his bell frantically, activating a homemade bomb Walter had attached to his wheelchair earlier. Gus realizes this too late and the subsequent explosion immediately kills Hector and Tyrus. A dazed and horribly disfigured Gus walks out of Hector's room, calmly adjusts his tie, and collapses dead outside the doorway. 
Upon learning about the role Jane's death played in the plane crash, Walt is guilt-ridden and attempts to burn the money he has made from the meth business, before changing his mind at the last second. During a discussion about a possible divorce, Skyler accuses Walt of dealing marijuana with Jesse, believing it to be the only way he could have paid his medical bills. When Walt admits to manufacturing methamphetamine, a stunned Skyler says she will not tell anybody if he grants her a divorce. He refuses, but moves out of the house. Meanwhile, Gus offers Walt $3 million to cook meth for three months. Walt declines, still despairing over the loss of his family. Walter breaks in to his house and stays there despite Skyler's insistence he stay away. Shortly afterward, while Walter is showering, the Mexican drug cartel hitmen Leonel and Marco Salamanca (Daniel and Luis Moncada) break into the house and wait with an axe to kill Walter to avenge their cousin Tuco's death. Walt is only saved by the last-minute assistance of Gus, who insists he needs Walter's help producing meth. Skyler threatens to turn Walter in to the police when she realizes he is home, but she fails to go through with it. Later, Skyler reveals to Walter she has had sex with her boss, Ted Beneke (Christopher Cousins). Growing frustrated by Skyler's affair, Walt attempts to kiss assistant principal Carmen Molina (Carmen Serano), who places him on indefinite suspension as a result. Gus offers Walter a state-of-the-art meth lab concealed beneath an industrial laundry facility. Although Walter initially continues to resist, he eventually accepts Gus' offer, then reluctantly signs Skyler's divorce papers. After Walter and Jesse get into a physical altercation, Walter is given a new lab assistant, Gale Boetticher (David Costabile). When Hank asks Walter if he remembers whether his former student Jesse used a recreational vehicle, Walter realizes Hank is closing in on Jesse and tries to have the RV destroyed. Hank follows Jesse to the repair yard where the RV is kept, and knocks on the RV's door with Walt and Jesse still inside. Guided by Walt, Jesse tells Hank that he has no legal grounds for breaking in. Hank plans to order a search warrant, but Walt arranges for Saul's secretary to call Hank's phone, pretending to be a nurse telling him Marie was involved in a car accident, prompting Hank to leave. Walter and Jesse subsequently have the RV destroyed. Later, a furious Hank beats Jesse to the point that he is hospitalized. Walter convinces Jesse not to press charges and the two make amends after Walter makes Jesse his full partner, resulting in Jesse's replacing Gale as his lab assistant. When Hank is shot by Leonel and Marco Salamanca, Skyler insists that she and Walter will pay for Hank's medical bills, and she claims to Marie that Walter made his money by gambling. Skyler gradually starts to become more involved in the dark side of Walter's life and proposes they buy the car wash where he previously worked for a front business to launder his drug money. She also reveals she never filed the divorce papers Walter had signed. Eventually, Jesse learns the drug dealers who killed his friend Combo work for Gus, and that the dealers forced Tomas (Angelo Martinez), the 11-year-old brother of Jesse's girlfriend Andrea (Emily Rios), to commit the murder. Jesse, with Walter's albeit reluctant help, plans to murder the drug dealers himself. Gus finds out about his plans, and Jesse's attempt is interrupted by Mike, who then takes him to a meeting of Walter, Gus, Jesse and the drug dealers, during which Gus warns Jesse not to harm the dealers and tells them to stop using children in their business. Shortly afterward, however, Tomas is murdered by unknown gunmen, prompting an angry Jesse to seek revenge. Upon hearing local news broadcasts about Tomas' death, Walter realizes how Jesse will respond and seeks to find him. Just before Jesse is about to confront the dealers, Walter arrives and runs them down with his car. One is killed instantly and Walter executes the other by a gunshot to the head. Walter places Jesse into hiding, then later tells Gus that he has fled the state. Although Walter insists he wishes to continue cooking meth for Gus, he quickly realizes Gus is grooming his former lab assistant, Gale, to eventually replace Walter. He correctly predicts Gus will try to kill Walter once Gale is ready, so Walter tells Jesse they must kill Gale to prevent this. Jesse does not want to do it and suggests Walter turn himself in to the DEA, but Walter refuses and says he will kill Gale himself. However, before he can do so, Walter is abducted by Gus's henchmen, Mike (Jonathan Banks) and Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui), who plan to kill him. Walter claims he will arrange to turn Jesse over to them, but when they allow him to call Jesse, Walter quickly informs Jesse he must now kill Gale himself, or else Mike and Victor will kill him. Jesse arrives at Gale's door and tearfully shoots him. 
Gale Boetticher (played by David Costabile) is a German American chemist hired by Gus Fring to help set up the new laboratory and serve as Walt's "lab assistant". He held an MS degree in organic chemistry, with a specialty in X-ray crystallography. He described himself as a "nerd" and a "libertarian". He is single, vegan and apparently cultured. He is a fan of foreign language music, appears to speak fluent Italian, and is fond of Walt Whitman. As a side project, he is working on a process for brewing a superior cup of coffee and impresses Walt with his results. After Walter learns of Jesse's intentions to press charges against Hank, Walter is forced to fire Gale and re-hire Jesse as his partner. After Jesse's "disappearance", Gus re-hires Gale and instructs him to learn everything he can from Walt. He tells Gale that Walt has terminal cancer, and the meth production cannot halt for even a week because of his business' high overhead. Gale agrees to take over the lab full-time after one more "cook". Walt realises that Gus plans to replace him with Gale as soon as Walt has outlived his usefulness, and sends Jesse to locate Gale's address so that Walt can kill him to ensure Gus still requires their services. Walt is subsequently lured to his execution by Mike and Victor but is able to convince them to let him speak to Jesse under the pretence of leading him into the trap as well. However, Walt orders Jesse to kill Gale as quickly as possible before Gus can prevent it. Jesse reluctantly kills Gale. During the crime scene investigation, Gale's lab notes are shown close to his body, on a table. Later, an Albuquerque police detective gives Hank copies of the evidence taken from Gale's apartment. After reviewing it, Hank shows it to Walt and Walt, Jr. A DVD amongst the evidence shows Gale singing karaoke of the song "Major Tom (Coming Home)", by German musician Peter Schilling, in front of images of rockets and wildlife, with captions in Thai script. Hank investigates Gale and discovers Gus's fingerprints inside the apartment, causing him to suspect Gus of being connected to the meth trade. 