#nacho varga analysis

[themadknightuniverse]

Nacho Varga's outfit analysis and symbolism

Okay uh I just saw a gif set of the scene where Nacho gets rescued by the twins, and I had a revelation but I have no idea if this has been pointed out before. I gave myself like 1 hour of research through tags to see if it was and I didn't find anything. But if it has been, sorry! Anyway here is another very long post about BCS because I have no self control anymore.

! TW blood and heavy spoilers !

So the thing is after all that time spent looking for Nacho and Lalo's outfits yesterday combined to the gif set, I just got hit by the fact that in the scene he's shot and found by the cousins, Nacho is wearing the same kind of shirt as in the very first time we see him.

I even thought at first it was the same shirt, but they are different. And it's a very interesting choice to make considering the scene. It would have been awesome if it was the exact same shirt. Why? Because Nacho gets badly hurt in this scene, right after being caught up by all his choices. He takes a bullet in the shoulder and in the side, which can be compared to many christian representations. @seraphtrevs already did a splendid analysis of Nacho being a Christlike figure, so I wont be too long on that parallel, you can check out her post about it here . So here Nacho is left to die in the desert, covered in blood, and between all the blood and the shirt pattern itself he looks like he's been torn apart by hell hounds and he just came back from the Purgatory. He's caught up by his actions, his choices, he's suffering for it.

It even goes further than just him being badly hurt in this outfit tho. The shirt even gets shredded by the hands of the cousins, the previous version of himself symbolically destroyed by the hands of a Salamanca. And when Leonel removes it with the help of the vet, it even looks hard to get rid of it, like the second skin of a snake if I push the comparison to an extreme.

And of course we have Marco giving him the Salamanca blood afterward, which is still an insane thing in terms of symbolism, I can't believe it happened. It's just plain "you've been torn apart, stripped of a part of you, and now we fill the emptiness of it with a part of us". Wild.

But still, why is it so interesting that Nacho has the same kind of outfit? Because this exact scene happens when his traitorous side is revealed to one of the character that has a lot of power, Fring, and he's now to serve as a double agent. And so, putting him in a look alike outfit from the first apparence tells us that the Nacho we knew before has been killed. There is no way back. There is no healing from this. It's a permanent change. A permanent consequence to his actions. And after all this, Nacho's desire for power and money starts to disappear (and he's been going down this road for a while once his dad is threatened, but this whole situation seals it I believe). So Nacho doesn't wear the exact same shirt. It would have been great for the blatant symbolism of it all, BUT the fact that it's slightly different gives us the opportunity to actually see something more. We have 3 scenes with Nacho that happens in the desert and that kind of echoes each other with their similarities (multiple people gathered, all there to solve a problem, and there is at least one Salamanca in each one). And if we take a look at his outfits in the 3 scenes, that's where it becomes even more interesting than just the first comparison. So let's take a look at the 3 outfits during those 3 key scenes.

We have the first scene we meet Nacho. The pattern is blotchy, black and white (or maybe blue/green/grey something like that, it depends of the light). It's messy, a bit wild looking. It fits Nacho's personality at the beginning of the series. He's got more wit to him, he makes reckless decisions/have reckless ideas (Selling his own stuff on a cartel territory with the pills, terrible planning of a robbery, plotting Tuco's death, hiding his illegal activities to his dad, planning Hector's death, etc) Also black and white suits his personality and his double agent role pretty well. Nacho is stubborn, he has a strong personality. The heavy contrast of black and white fits the way he's capable to strike with his words as well as his fists. He's a sharp thing. He's also in a grey place when it comes to morals, like most of the characters in the show.

Then we have the scene where he's shot and found by the cousins. Like we said we still have a shirt that have some similarities with the first one. It's still a heavy black and white pattern, blotchy, it's irregular BUT there is more structure to it already. We can discern horizontal and vertical lines creating something like a grid pattern. Compared to the first shirt we could assume it represent his change of direction in life. At this moment he got scared of Hector killing his dad, so he acted to get rid of this menace. Nacho isn't looking for more money and power. He's trying to survive and keep his dad safe. He can't be as reckless as before, he has to think things through. So, more planification for survival, more restrain, more care into what he does.

But then, we get to his last scene. The pattern isn't blotchy at all anymore. Still black and white. We have the horizontal and vertical lines still present from the precedent shirt, and of course they look like crosses. But there is still a bit of wildness/irregularity to this pattern, with the way the lines doesn't all connect, it isn't just crosses all over it. Nacho has drastically changed. He's still himself deep down, but there is all the things that changed in him too. At this point he went through everything, and finds himself in a dead-end. He's been obeying orders but also staying alert to not fall into another manipulation, he's more sharp than ever in his perception, still playing his last cards thoughtfully. He's been stripped of so much, all his hopes for a new life, no more desire for power and money at all, he's even sick of all this cartel thing. There is almost no more wildness to him, he was forced to become more calculating and cold in order to survive and protect. And his last moments are spent to surviving long enough to make sure his dad will be safe, to punish the Salamanca once more by revealing what he did to Hector (and there we can see his wild side exploding, it's raw but controlled), and keeping the choice to take his own life instead of letting others have that power over him.

To me, these 3 shirts, using them for desert scenes, it just screams morphing patterns, and so his mind morphing too.

[brbabcs]

often times in the brba and bcs universe, we see grief and loss through the individual that remains in the aftermath of the actual death. but something that compels me about nacho’s trajectory is that we see his grief before he dies. we see this last phone call with his father, mourning not even just himself but the fact that this will be it. that the loss is not something he can avoid or navigate around, but instead something he just has to choose the best option from. he’s looking around at these future-dead men, hearing his father through the phone, knowing that there are only so many endings available to him — and more than that, that he is at the end of the line. he’s in these desolate landscapes, filled with disconnected individuals (who, only one truly is rooting for him in any capacity,) and knowing that the air he breathes, and the people he loves, and the world he’s surrounded by, will be something that, soon, he will no longer be able to see or hear or touch or love. grief is devastating when there’s this phantom image of a person in the aftermath that can never actually be there, of course it is. but grief before the actual loss has occurred is gutwrenching. we see grief for his father, grief for his life, grief for young nacho varga who, only a few years prior, was seemingly on top of the world and only climbing upward — and inevitably, now falling quite a long ways down. and all he can hope is that, afterwards, the impact he takes will be enough to stop the damage from shattering outward. that it can be his last act of love

[el-michoacano]

Ignacio Varga is literally the perfect character. He has the sad backstory, the toxic but super compelling relationship, the corruption arc, the gray morality. He has a good heart and he has blood on his hands. He has eyes like a sad puppy and more scars than any of us can count. He has everything. What more could anyone ask for in a character? 

[thatweirdguyinthebushes]

ignacio varga is a monument to swallowing your thoughts. when you look at him you can almost see the words just behind his teeth. his hatred is an animal he feeds but can never release, a creature that no one can know still has it's claws. he is kept alive only by virtue of swallowing every bit of pride he has ever managed to claw together and it is only when he knows he will die that he is able to speak. he cannot make them see him. he will never be more than an animal to them, never anything except a dog that forgot it's place. but he can make certain that they never forget him. that they know at last every thought that has paced the cage of his chest, that has tried to slip between his lips, that has waited coiled and angry inside of him for years. they can think him a dog all they want. but they will still remember his teeth. and at the end of the day, no matter what animal they thought him to be, he did not die like one. hot desert air in his nose, blood dripping down his palms, cold gun barrel on his temple, I am not a dog.

[corgoship]

look i like mike as much as the next person but i haaaate when people glorify him as this paragon of goodness. Is he miles better than walt and his ilk yes, of course. But he's still in the business, he still kills people, makes them disappear, and it doesn't really matter that he doesn't like it... (actually, there is a scene in brba where he says he loves his job but. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say he was being sarcastic). He still does it. Again and again. And if his backstory in BCS showed us anything it's that he's always compromised himself that way (he was a dirty cop) and he thinks of himself as already ruined but he sees hope in others, who haven't been as tainted yet - his son Mattie, Nacho, Jesse... but ultimately he doesn't actively do enough to help them get out for good. It's sad that he sees his dead son in other young misguided men but he's complicit in whatever happens to them. I don't think he's got any illusions after Nacho's death, because his dad lays it on Mike thick: he's no better than the drug dealers and gangbangers that he works with. At least they don't have a conscience/moral compass but he does and does it all anyway.

[iorekbyrinson]

bcs costume analysis notes

(live document to be edited, these are for me, but feel free to read)

Saul Goodman

Colour palette - Rainbow, brown. Who is the character Jimmy is trying to inhabit? Who is he trying to get across to, and be in opposition to?

Distinctive features - Suit, pocket square, garish colours

Wardrobe - Suits, pinky ring (from Marco), loafers

Hogwarts House - Snake (?) Badger

Kim Wexler

Colour palette - Black, grey, blue. Only character to prominently wear pink (innocence, romantic love), before Howard's death and in her promo pic.

Distinctive features - Ponytail, earrings and necklace

Wardrobe - Skirt suits, heels

Hogwarts House - Lion Badger

Mike Ehrmantraut

Colour palette - Black (death, of self, morality), Blue (police force, on side of law), Green (military background), Grey (of self, morality)

Distinctive features - Grey, black

Wardrobe - Jackets, shirts, civilian wear.

Hogwarts House - Lion (?) Bird

Nacho Varga

Colour palette - Red (impulsivity, cartel proximity, passion), black (proximity to death, intimidating, death of self w/regards to parental expectations and deadening effects of violence)

Distinctive features - Red and black colour scheme, snake earring, gold chains, shaved head

Wardrobe - Muscle shirts, leather jacket.

Hogwarts House - Snake Lion

Gus Fring

Colour palette - Yellow, civilian uniform. Black (death, of self, justice for dead partner) Purple (royalty, specialness) Blue (personal law, surface adherence to societal law)

Distinctive features - none yet

Wardrobe - Glasses frames, suits. Armour.

Hogwarts House - Snake Bird par excellence

Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca

Colour palette - Recurring colours (before S6) Purple (royalty, fun), Blue (personal law). Has worn dark red (leaving prison), yellow (sit-down with Gus and Bolsa), and orange (in prison). Has worn khaki green (carrying out recon on Mike). Wore a flesh-pink shirt to meet Gus (it's not really yellow, but it could be a case of mirroring to engender trust)

Distinctive features - Bright blue shoes, 70's adjacent fashion (the era of the drug barons, see Narcos). The 2000s were a spotty time for fashion, but I think there was a deliberate choice here to call to that.

Wardrobe - Shirts with a "buzziness", prints, swirls, etc, flashy belt buckle, narrow look.

Hogwarts House - Badger Snake

Howard Hamlin

Colour palette - Hamlindingo blue, shades of blue, white

Distinctive features - Hamlindingo blue, crisp pinstripe suit, knit tie

Wardrobe - See above

Hogwarts House - Air, Ravenclaw

Chuck McGill

Colour palette - Light, clear blue, stony grey, ozone colours. Veers into black. Often wears subtle stripes.

Distinctive features - Electromagnetic condition, silver tin foil

Wardrobe - Full suits.

Hogwarts House - Badger Bird

Rough colour spectrum notes

Red to orange to yellow is the criminal spectrum, with red being the most violent/leading to violence (Tuco, Nacho, characters that are about to commit violence or threatening violence) and yellow being the most uninvolved (Gus Fring's civilian uniform, the arms dealer, Dr Caldera).

Brown is the midpoint, trying to ride between the two spectrums. Grey is the midpoint between two absolutes - black, death, and white, innocence. That doesn't mean it's a moral good - it's the expression of lawful neutral, with a capacity to step into either. Jimmy wears brown at the beginning where he's trying to toe the line between "colourful" and following the letter of the law. Mike wears grey because he's committed murder and forfeited a part of his soul (black), but he's trying to keep clean for Kaylee and Stacey (white, innocence). The darker his actions and motivations, the darker the grey. And of course, by Breaking Bad, he's a consigliere and a man in black.

Black is death - literal death, past death, death of the self, death of one's conscience. Gus Fring wears black like a judge puts the black hat on when prescribing death - death is revenge, which is a form of justice for Gus. His mission is to take revenge for his dead partner.

White is innocence, removal from the cartel or criminal worlds. Lawyers, especially Howard Hamlin, and honest working man Papa Varga frequently have white accents in their clothing. The exception is Eladio Vuente, king on Olympus, who doesn't need to get his hands dirty at all.

Pink is another form of innocence, but more closely connected with love. Kaylee and Stacey Ehrmantraut wear pink, and Rebecca wears it in her scarf when coming to Chuck's trial.

Blue in all its shades is the legal spectrum. Note: not the morally good spectrum, just the law. Personal law, literal law, adherence to the law, belief in one's law. It often crops up with members of the police and nearly every lawyer we see on screen. Lalo Salamanca's blue shoes show how committed he is to familial law ("la familia es todo") and to the laws of the cartel. He is a main beneficiary and upholder of those laws. He sees himself as fundamentally just and mission-focussed (his behaviour with his underlings at the estate or the people smugglers show this character streak).

Purple is an interesting colour, in that it is worn often by those in (or perceiving themselves to be in) positions of high status. Gus, the dignified man who would found an empire and has a "protected" status, wears purple, as does Lalo, the cartel prince. Its historical associations with royalty and specialness explain this. As a mix of red and blue, one can also view it as a midpoint.

[hausofmamadas]

FANFIC

✸ TELL ME SWEET LITTLE LIES | Kathy Cross x Danny Lyon (The Bikeriders) -> Part 1, Part 2

✸ FOR THOSE THAT SEEK THE JUNGLE'S FORGIVENESS | Mika Camarena & Connie Murphy + Mika x Javier Peña (Narcos/Nmx crossover) -> Part 1, Part 2

✸ ONE LAST SECRET OF DESOLATION | Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham (Fic in a Box 2023)

✸ SO MUCH FOR MY NINE LIVES | David Barrón & Benjamín Arellano Félix (Narcoctober - Horror)

✸ HARD TO HATE UP CLOSE | Andrea Núñez & OC! Julián “Bugsy” Barrón Corona (Narcoctober - Monsters)

✸ THE OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS OF LIVING | David Barrón & Rustin “Crash” Cohle & OC! Ziggy Morenas & OC! Chato Quintana Colmenaro - Nmx/True Detective Crossover (Narcoctober - Cross Pollination)

✸ TO LIVE AND LEAVE FAST | Andrea Nuñez x Horacio Carrillo (Narcoctober - Surprises)

✸ IN DEFENSE OF WONDERBREAD WHITE | Eureka! Character Moments - Analysis of garbinge’s Foldin’ Clothes (Narcoctober - Support)

✸ TU CÓMPLICE | Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada x Benjamín Arellano Félix (Narcoctober - Firsts)

✸ WHAT’S WAITING DOWN ZUNI ROAD | Gabrielle Castillo x Ignacio “Nacho” Varga (Mayans/BCS Crossover - Rarepairs 2023)

✸ OUR MAN IN MEXICO | Andrea Nuñez x Horacio Carrillo (NFF Smut Alphabet - ✷ ✷ 18+ NSFW ✷✷)

✸ ONLY GOOD FOR A GOOD TIME | Isabella Bautista x Enedina Arellano Félix - ✷DRIVEL DRABBLE✷

✸ THIS IS WHY THE EARTH EATS THE DEAD | Rafa Caro Quintero x María Elvira

✸ EVERY ALLEY IN MEXICO HAS ITS OWN GHOST | David Barrón x Ramón Arellano Félix

Dinarrón:

✸ CHASING GHOSTS AND CHOICES | David Barrón x Enedina Arellano Félix (Narcoctober - Life)

✸ THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US | David Barrón x Enedina Arellano Félix (NFF Smut Alphabet - ✷✷ 18+ NSFW ✷✷)

✸ ALWAYS SHORT TO THE GATE | David Barrón x Enedina Arellano Félix (Candyhearts Exchange 2023)

✸ OJITOS ANOCHECIDOS | David Barrón x Enedina Arellano Félix (aka Dinarron, ft. AU Barron)

[seraphtrevs]

when papa varga visits nacho at his house, do you think nacho quickly grabbed the blazer amber's wearing from his closet and just shoved jo in there? i know it was probably bc jo was high and/or he tried to present himself as more respectful with only one girl but what do you think? and then in the deleted scene with lalo, both of the girls are there cooking for him yet every other time we see jo, she's been high. could jo have been high while lalo was around, or since they knew they were preparing food for him, nacho made amber tell jo to lay off the meth? i just wish we had that scene! so much analysis could be done from their body language

I don't think she'd stay very quiet if Nacho shoved her in the closet, and then Nacho really would have a lot of explaining to do! I'm sure he grabbed her toys and set her up in the bedroom. I think he would have liked to hide Amber too, but she'd already spoken to papa over the intercom, so putting a jacket on her was the best he could do.

Even the most hardcore junkies are sober on occasion. I would say that she probably wasn't high in that scene, but I don't think it matters much either way. It's not like Lalo is going to disapprove.

[jeremyfrail]

If you needed more proof of what I like to call the Varga-Pinkman Foil, think of the use of trains and oil tanks in both shows. Jesse, during the train robbery in 5x05, has to hide and in fact stay under tha tracks to save his life as the train is actively moving. And Ignacio, has to hide in the old tank full of oil in 6x03, that is steady and abandoned. Both men are hiding to save their own lives but having seen both scenes, there is an extra level of symbolism that is created as a result of BCS.

Pinkman, is forced to hide under the train and on top of the train tracks because he could not get out in time. He didn’t get out from under the train at the right time, nor did he get out from Walter White’s business. Not yet anyways. He’s forced to do this in order to save his life and in fact risk it at the same time.

The train is speeding up, and as it does so, it makes the scene very tense and we possibly worry for Jesse. Will he survive? Yes.

Varga, running for his life, spots a steady, unmoving abandoned oil tank, presumably one that at one time, could’ve been transported via train. He sees this as an opportunity to hide himself, by climbing in and submerging himself within the oil below, narrowly escaping the men who were after him. He too didn’t escape the drug business. He is holding out hope though. But the viewers are aware of his fate.

The scene is once again very tense, we worry for Ignacio. Will he survive? Yes. But not for much longer.

This is where I add the extra layer of symbolism, just because I can. The train that Jesse encounters is actively moving, it’s continuing, just as his life is about to continue, but not without encountering a few bumps in the road. It will be stalled and it will encounter problems, just as the train did. Both as a result of Walter White.

The tank that Ignacio encounters is still, dead, abandoned, it does not have a future that implies that it will be used, or needed. Just like him, Ignacio has been left alone, abandoned by those he trusts. He’s had his problems and share of horrible experiences, just like Jesse. However, he will not continue on, just as the old oil tank won’t. 



[singingninja4]

what’s that? another music analysis?!

lmao I had this afternoon off because I had a small procedure done, so when I got home from the doctor, I was finally able to work on this analysis that I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks 😅

anyway…this analysis is comparing two cues in season 6. the first is the “Motel Shoot Out” from 6x02: Carrot and Stick (x) and the second is “It Was Ignacio” from the 6x11: Breaking Bad teaser (x)

my analysis is under the cut!

bcs/brba music analysis 8/??

Dave Porter introduces the motif transcribed below in the 6x02 cue:

the tempo and the rhythm are quick, and the note are moving in a descending chromatic pattern before suddenly switching to move the opposite direction in an ascending chromatic pattern (chromatic movement in music is when a melodic line moves through every half step in the scale. for example: c, c#, d, d#, e, f, f#, etc. this is similar but slightly different from chromaticism for the music theory nerds out there. if you want any clarification feel free to dm me!)

this quick half-step motion heightens the tension and anxiety in the scene as Nacho is trying to escape from the motel as the cousins try to hunt him down. the intensity is dialed up even further as Porter transposes the motif up by half steps. the motif is originally introduced in e minor and then he quickly modulates to f minor and then f# minor:

in 6x11: Breaking Bad, Porter uses this motif again. this time the tempo and rhythm are a bit slower--he uses quarter notes instead of eighth notes--and he sticks with only using the descending chromatic movement. however, the intensity isn’t dialed down at all because of his use of the rapid rhythm in the percussion

another notable element in this cue is that the types of drums used in this cue (which I didn't transcribe here 😔) are similar to the ones use in the Breaking Bad theme, further blending the two timelines together!

the reason for the reprise of this motif is obvious—Nacho’s influence in the scene. in 6x02 the cousins are hunting down Nacho because they think he is responsible for Lalo’s death, and in 6x11 Saul thinks he’s been kidnapped by Lalo’s men and he yells out to Walt and Jesse, “It wasn’t me, it was Ignacio!”

this motif is short and easy to miss, but once you hear that it’s there it strengthens the merging of the bcs and brba timelines.

as always, feel free to leave a comment, ask a questions, or give your own thoughts on the cues! 💕

[themadknightuniverse]

So, I'm watching the commentary of BCS S5E3

And I'm only understanding something they did here and it's ruining me completely. So I stop to write about it, because when am I not. Also maybe this point has already been analyzed by someone before, I absolutely didn't look for it so if it has been done, sorry!

The thing is : What they explain in this commentary is that the garage in which Jimmy meets Lalo, brought there by Nacho and Blingy, is the same place where Nacho gets taken care of by the vet and the twins. So okay, same place. But, there is a parallel I had yet to make here.

What they specify in the commentary is "We wanted to show Lalo working on his car, and even though we don't really feature it, he is replacing a part in his car". So Lalo, is replacing a piece of his car by another one, just like Nacho has been given the blood of a Salamanca to replace a part of his own.

And now when I see Lalo, bent over his car in that garage, hands stained with oil, it's impossible for me not to see a direct parallel to that surgical operation. It looks like a symbolic representation of him doing the change to Nacho. And it just makes my brain explode.

And if I push my point, having Nacho patiently waiting there, looking as Lalo works on his car, perfectly composed and calm, holds something very strange. Some kind of a distance to what happened to him maybe? I dono, I can't really pinpoint why it makes me feel how I feel.

Also, I tried to see if the spot Lalo is repairing his car is the exact same one Nacho has been treated, but it's hard to tell. I think Nacho was in the other half of the garage, since we can't see the sink along the wall (judging by the distance with the wall he's either where Blingy's car is in S5E3 or before the white tiny room in the far corner beside Lalo's car. So he wouldn't have been treated in the exact same spot anyway)

Also the square ray of light reminds me of the one used to make x-ray in radiology (many broken bones person here hello). So, something also linked to medicine. This is purely a personal analysis tho, they don't say anything about specific the light precisely in the commentary. But the fact that it illuminate Nacho during the entire scene or so, uh. Interesting.

Of course it also has that theater performance light to it. Nacho and Lalo both performing an formidable act of synchronicity and complicity during this whole scene. God I could speak about their synergy in this scene for hours but I will not make this any longer, it's a very different points from this surgical parallel anyway.

Anyway, one of my absolute favorite scene from BCS, given yet another layer of analysis, I'm delighted.

[el-michoacano]

Do u think lacho could have truly been in love

In canon? I don't think so.

Nacho is definitely physically attracted to Lalo, that much is obvious. He hates himself for it, and he hates Lalo for it. He's aware of Lalo's interest in him, and he also hates the fact that he wants to reciprocate. He wouldn't, though. He would never. He has too much pride for that.

Lalo, though, is smitten. He's absolutely infatuated. Nacho is gorgeous, yes, but it's more a personality thing with him. Nacho is ambitious and loyal (So Lalo thinks) and cunning, and Lalo values that greatly in a lieutenant. It's definitely the parkouring on the roof thing that tipped him from infatuation to "oh my god, I would do anything for this man." And he means anything, too. He would drop to his knees in worship the moment Nacho asked it of him.

I think, if Lalo wasn't a Salamanca, and if Nacho had met him earlier in the series, when he was softer, they could have had a chance as a couple. I think the thing with Hector would always stand in their way, though. I don't think there's any way they could end well in canon.

[jeremyfrail]

Oh would you look at that Mike Ehrmantraut is taking a bald young man on a drive through the desert. A man who is at the end of his rope not caring if he lives or dies.

A man who has killed, and done horrific things for those he calls his family.

A man Mike cares deeply about, even if he refuses to show it.

A man who will come out alive, he parallels another man just like him, who was not so lucky.