- "Consenting adults want what they want. At least with me they’re getting exactly what they pay for."
- ―Gale Boetticher talking to Walter White
Gale Boetticher, B.S., M.S., was a German American chemist hired by Gustavo Fring to help set up the superlab and manufacture methamphetamine. Gus Fring hired Walter White after Gale praised a sample of Walt's blue meth as the purest he'd ever seen. Following this point, Gale became Walt's lab assisstant.
Gale holds an MS degree in organic chemistry and is a specialist in X-ray crystallography. He described his political views as libertarian, and had an open-minded attitude regarding meth. A self-described "nerd," Gale was single, vegan, apparently quite cultured, and was perhaps near to being an intellectual equal of Walt. As a side project, he was working on a process for brewing a superior cup of coffee, and impresses Walt with his results ("Sunset").
History
Background information
A young Gale
In 1994, after moving to the United States, Gustavo Fring established a college scholarship, known as the Max Arciniega Chemistry Scholarship, at the University of New Mexico Chemistry department. This scholarship honored Gustavo's dear friend, Maximino Arciniega. Gale was a recipient of the scholarship (perhaps one of three dozen), and this paid for his education ("Hermanos"). At UNM, Gale also received his Bachelor's degree, and graduated in 1999 ("Hermanos").
Gus visiting Gale as he unpacks the superlab.
Gus hires Gale with the original intention that Gale will be the only methamphetamine cook. Gale excitedly uses a box cutter to unpack the machinery and assemble the new superlab ("Box Cutter"). Gale informs Gus that the meth sample Gus had him analyze (synthesized by Walter White) was, by far, the best that he had ever seen (with a 99% pure quality). Thus, it was the urging of Gale that caused Gus to put aside his reservations and hire Walter.
Season 3
Gale with his coffee-making set-up.
Early in their collaboration, Gale impresses Walt with his résumé, his coffee brewing vacuum reflux/ distillation apparatus, and his recitation by memory of Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," about the exhilaration of experiencing scientific wonders first-hand. However, Gale and Walt's relationship sours abruptly. After Walter learns of Jesse Pinkman's intentions of pressing charges against Hank, Walter realizes he must fire Gale and re-hire Jesse as his partner. Walt, angling to install Jesse as his lab assistant, accuses Gale of making an error with the temperature on one of the tanks. Gale assures Walt that he was told to set it at 75 degrees as he had this written down in his notes, but Walt angrily tells him that he must have heard him wrong and that there's no room for this kind of negligence in chemistry ("One Minute").
The next day, Gale finds out that he is being replaced and is, understandably, confused as to what he has done wrong. Walt tells him that although he sees Gale as a promising young chemist, the two of them work at different frequencies. Using music types as an analogy, he refers to himself as "classical" and Gale as "jazz," saying that although there is nothing wrong with jazz, Walt requires classical. It's at this point that Gale meets his replacement, Jesse, who enters the laboratory wearing baggy clothing and emoting in slang, further confusing and dismaying Gale ("I See You").
Walt and Gale in the lab
Walt and Gus meet in the New Mexican desert to discuss future arrangements, in light of recent events (the killing of two of Gus' dealers at Walt's hands to protect Jesse). Since Jesse is on the run and in hiding, Gus informs Walt that he will require a new lab partner. Walt says he can get on it right away, but Gus informs Walt that this time, he, himself, will choose. Later when Walt returns to the lab to work, he notices Gale's Subaru Outback parked outside the laundromat. Walt seems to recognize it and its owner from the recumbent bicycle that is attached to the roof of the vehicle. Gale had been appointed by Gus to replace Jesse as Walt's lab assistant. Gale has seemingly forgiven Walt for letting him go previously and the two shake hands. Gale promises that there will be no mistakes this time.
Walt and Gale, wearing their yellow coveralls and ventilation masks, are working together in the laboratory and tend to contents of a large tank. Gale punches something into a console and Walt tells him that everything is good. They remove their ventilators and Walt tells Victor, who is now supervising all activity in the laboratory, that it is safe to remove his mask as well. As they're cleaning up the floor, Gale asks Walt if Victor ever leaves and Walt tells him that his presence is something new and that there was some drama with the person Gale replaced.
Gus asking Gale to learn Walt's formula as soon as possible to prepare for the "worst case scenario."
Later, as Gale is watering plants in his apartment and singing along to music, he receives an unexpected visit from Gus, whom he addresses as Mr. Fring. Gus inquires about his knowledge regarding Walt's medical condition. When Gale reveals that he is ignorant, Gus reveals Walt's cancer diagnosis and says that they must "prepare for the worst case scenario." He tells Gale that Walt has terminal cancer, and that the meth production cannot halt for even a week because of his business' high overhead. Gus tells Gale that if push comes to shove, he will have to take over the lab as soon as possible. Gale is visibly confused and reluctant to accept the offer. Gus pressures Gale to master the cooking process as quickly as possible; to learn Walt's method and formulas as fast as he can. Gale agrees to take over the lab full-time after one more "cook."
The next day at the laboratory as the two are scrubbing out a large tank, Gale begins to ask Walt a question, but seems to hesitate as Victor appears and stands by them. After a short pause, Gale asks Walt if there is any trick to purging the catalyst bed and Walt replies that it is a quick and straightforward procedure. Gale seems perturbed by Victor's presence. The two continue scrubbing and as Victor leaves, Gale turns around and looks towards Victor's direction and then looks at Walt.
Gale Boetticher in the superlab.
Walt, knowing that Gus needs at least one chemist who knows the "Blue Sky" formula to continue cooking, proposes to Jesse that they must kill Gale and since Walt is under constant surveillance, Jesse has to be the one to do it. Jesse declines, but assists in the plan by tracking Gale back to his apartment and gives Walt the address so he can do the job himself. As Walt is leaving his house, he is confronted by Victor and is told that he must go to the laboratory at once, since there has been a leak. Arriving at the laundromat, he is led to the lab and encounters Mike who instructs Walt to go down and fix the problem. Walt, who by now has realized that this is a ruse to get him down into the lab where he is going to be killed, pleads with Mike and tells him that he "...doesn't have to do this."
Failing to negotiate and fearing for his own life, Walt tells Mike that he will work for free and pleads for his life. He offers to give up Jesse in exchange for his life. Walt phones Jesse, and tells Jesse that he hasn't killed Gale yet. Walt tells Jesse that he must kill Gale now or Victor and Mike will kill him. He tells Jesse that he has a twenty minute head start. Mike and Victor seem puzzled and question Walt as to what the phone call meant and Walt reveals to them Gale's address. Mike and Victor realize that Walt and Jesse know where Gale lives and that they are planning to kill Gale. Mike stays at the laundromat holding Walt at gunpoint and Victor is seen leaving and attempting to call Gale.
On Wednesday the 23rd, at around 8:00 p.m., Gale is at his apartment when Victor calls to warn him, but Gale's loud music muffles the sound of his cellphone, which is vibrating atop a stack of CDs on a table. Gale is also preoccupied with a kettle of water on the stove which had begun to boil. Gale methodically raises an infrared thermometer to measure the surface temperature of the kettle. He removes the kettle from the stove to prepare a glass of tea when he hears a knock at his door. Gale walks towards it, not noticing that his cell phone is vibrating anxiously along the table. Gale answers the door to a distraught Jesse, who appears to have been crying. It is not immediately clear if Gale recognizes Jesse as his former replacement at the lab since when the two had met, Jesse's face was severely swollen and bruised after being beaten by Hank Schrader.
Jesse moments before he kills Gale
He greets Jesse and asks how he can help him. Jesse reaches into his waist and pulls out a gun, aiming it at Gale's head. Gale steps backwards into his apartment, unable to speak any words at first, but finally tells Jesse to take whatever he wants. Gale begs for his life, offering Jesse his possessions and money. Jesse, who is on the verge of tears, walks towards Gale still pointing the gun at his head but doesn't reply to Gale's offers. Gale looks down and implores Jesse to not kill him, and tells him that he doesn't have to do it. A gunshot is heard as the screen fades to black ("Full Measure").
Season 4
Gale's dead body in his apartment. His Lab Notes book can be seen on the table to his right.
In the season 4 premiere, Gale is found dead by Victor while a group of Gale's neighbors are surveying the crime scene from the hallway. Victor enters the apartment, causing the neighbors to become suspicious. He then escorts Gale's killer, Jesse, to the lab. It is confirmed that Gale was indeed killed by a gunshot wound to the face, just below his eye and to the left of his nose ("Box Cutter"). Gus kills Victor for bringing suspicion upon himself at Gale's apartment, slicing his throat open with a box cutter in front of Jesse, Walt and Mike. Gale's Lab Notes are shown close to his body, on a table, during the crime scene investigation, at the end of the episode.
While investigating Gale's murder, the police discover Gale's notebook that provides intimate details on the superlab and Walter's meth formula. Later, an Albuquerque police detective named Tim Roberts gives Hank Schrader copies of the evidence taken from Gale's apartment so that he can provide some input, considering his previous work history regarding the blue meth ("Open House").
Gale sings Major Tom
After reviewing it, Hank then shows Walt and Walt Jr. a DVD amongst the evidence. The DVD shows Gale singing karaoke of the song "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by German musician Peter Schilling in front of images of rockets and wildlife while the song is captioned in Thai script ("Bullet Points").
Walter is shocked to learn that Hank is investigating Gale's murder, Hank believing that Gale was the elusive Heisenberg and expressing regret that he was not able to arrest him. Walt assures him that Gale was just a novice, opposed to the idea of somebody other than him taking credit for his work. When asked by Hank to read about a chemical process written in Gale's lab notes, Walt notices a Walt Whitman poem and a dedication: "To W.W. My Star, My Perfect Silence."
The phrase "To W.W. My Star, My Perfect Silence" along with the Heisenberg formula.
When Hank chuckles at the initials matching Walt's, Walt jokingly admits "you got me" before explaining to Hank that "W.W." refers to the poet ("Bullet Points"). When Walt asks Hank about the investigation, he learns that the only leads are some fingerprints and an eyewitness spotted at the scene. Hearing about this evidence, Walt is spooked and worries that the police will connect Jesse to the murder.
Throughout the season, Jesse is continually racked with guilt for murdering Gale. As he plays the incredibly violent first-person shooter video game "Rage," he is disturbed by brief, recurring glimpses of him shooting Gale as he shoots the mutants in the game ("Problem Dog"). He presses the restart button on the game, further tormenting himself. Later, in his NA meeting, Jesse euphemizes Gale's killing as taking care of a problem dog - not one who bit anybody, not one who's sick, just one whose existence was a problem - and lashing out at the group leader (and the universe) for refusing to pass judgement on him. Jesse says, "The thing is, you just do stuff and nothing happens - what's it all mean, what's the point? No matter how many dogs I kill, I just do an inventory and I accept?" ("Problem Dog")
Season 5
Hank reading Gale's inscription in Walt's copy of "Leaves of Grass"
When Walt is trying to convince Jesse they've done things just as bad as Todd Alquist shooting the kid, he brings up Gale.
During a lunch by the pool at the White Residence, Hank leaves to use the bathroom. Rummaging for reading material, he finds Walter's copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass under some magazines in the bathroom, the same copy given to Walter by Gale Boetticher ("Gliding Over All"). As he thumbs through the pages of the book, Hank finds a handwritten dedication: "To my other favorite W.W. It’s an honour working with you. Fondly, G.B." Flashing back to a much earlier conversation, in which Walter jokingly admitted to being the "W.W." found in a handwritten dedication in Gale's lab notebook, Hank becomes visibly shocked.
Personality and traits
Gale Boetticher
- "Now this Gale Boetticher is a bonafide chemistry genius. I mean, he's got degrees up the wazoo, right. And, uh, as you might expect, he's a nerd's nerd, right - vegan, sandals and socks kind of guy. As it turns out, he's also an A-number 1 meth cook."
- ―Hank Schrader to Steven Gomez and ASAC George Merkert
Gale was an extremely intelligent libertarian with an open-minded attitude about drugs: since somebody was going to cook meth anyway, it might as well be him because the quality would be better and the product (relatively) safer than any alternatives available locally in New Mexico. In Gale's "Lab Notes," book, a Ron Paul sticker can be seen on one of the pages, confirming his libertarian political views. A Ron Paul bumper sticker is also seen on his Subaru Legacy.
Gale has been described as mild-mannered, polite, fastidious, and quirky. The possessions in Gale's apartment, located at 6353 Juan Tabo Boulevard, Apartment #6, also reveal facets of his character: these include vintage cameras, a mask, a potato battery, a water pipe, a copy of Stephen King's Everything's Eventual, Jane Austen in BOCA, The Waverley Novels, The Magnificent Activist": The Writing of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Fundementals of Marxism Leninism. Gale has a variety of interests: his apartment contains a pair of skis, a surfboard and even a picture of him on Mt. Everest. He also enjoyed drinking tea. In Gale’s Lab Notes, along with the Heisenberg formula, he included a list of top ten recumbent bikes, a recipe for vegan s'mores, indoor composting tips, and a Far Side cartoon where the scientist is about to pop a paper bag behind the one working on the nuclear warhead.
A Far Side cartoon Gale put in his notebook.
Gale's music choice is also demonstrative of his idiosyncratic and peculiar personality. He is a fan of foreign language music and apparently speaks fluent Italian. As an example, as he waters his plants in his apartment, he sings along with Quartetto Cetra's "Crapa Pelada." A jazzy song, the Italian lyrics of Crapa Pelada are a bit of a tongue-twister because of its incredibly fast tempo. On a trip to Thailand, Gale created a film version of himself performing a camp karaoke version of Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Coming Home)."
Gale expressed his delight with experiencing the magic of scientific wonders. His favorite poet is Walt Whitman, and has a particular fondness for the Whitman poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." He also wrote this poem down in his Lab Notes book, along with a sketch of Walt Whitman. Gale recited this poem from memory to Walt, who was intrigued. At some point, Gale gave Walt a copy of Whitman's Leaves of Grass with an inscribed note as a gift. This copy was later discovered by Hank Schrader, making it an incriminating piece of evidence linking Walter White to Gale, a known methamphetamine manufacturer.
Quotes
- "I can guarantee you a purity of ninety-six percent. I’m proud of that figure… However, that other product is ninety-nine. Maybe even a touch beyond that."
- ―Gale talking to Gus Fring
- "Alright, let's talk about Gale Boetticher. He was a good man and a good chemist. He didn't deserve what happened to him. He didn't deserve it at all. But I'd shoot him again and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. When you make it Gale versus me, or Gale versus Jesse, Gale loses! Simple as that. This is on you, Gus, not me, not Jesse. I mean really, what'd you expect me to do? Just simply roll over and allow you to murder us? That I wouldn't take measures - extreme measures - to defend myself? Wrong! Think again."
- ―Walter White talking to an incensed Gus Fring
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- "...like Scarface had sex with Mr. Rogers."
- ―Hank Schrader commenting on the personality that Gale's notebook evokes
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Lab Notes Gallery
