"I Am a Gun and I Am Loaded"

19 November 2009

"The best shot in San Antonio." This is a phrase that has been used to describe Pepa and with good reason. In Pepa's first scene with Silvia she landed six bullets dead center in the shooting gallery, and in S8 we learned exactly how proficient Pepa is with a gun - she has "a 9/10 accuracy in long distance shooting." But a gun is not just a weapon to Pepa; it is so much more than that to her. Pepa knows her gun so well that it has become an extension of her body and a metaphor for her personality.

In S7, Pepa gives Curtis some tips in the shooting gallery, and you can tell by her advice and they way that she talks about it that a gun is something she understands as well as any part of her body. Pepa knows that your center of gravity is important when preparing to fire a gun. She knows that you have to hold the handle with a firm grip while you have it pointed at your target. And she knows that "you have to let the barrel dance a little" before you fire the gun.
A gun is a dangerous weapon. It might look like a cool, fun "toy" but that doesn't change the fact that it contains bullets which can cause some serious bodily harm. Thus, one of the things you should keep in mind when handling a gun is to always assume that it is loaded. The same can be said for Pepa. As I stated in a previous lecture, it's Pepa's warm smile and fun personality that draws people to her. But that doesn't change the fact that behind that warm smile lies a bad-ass, gun-wielding fighter who won't hesitate to harm you should you try to harm those she loves. "Jota" saw this for himself when Pepa pointed her gun straight at his head and demanded to know where Paco's meeting with Bravante was being held, and two mafiosos saw this for a second before Pepa took them out with her rifle on her wedding day when they tried to breach the house.
When handling a gun, you should always keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. In other words, don't pull the trigger unless you mean it. Because once you do pull the trigger, a chain of events occurs that you can't stop. The hammer drops forward, striking the firing pin, which strikes the primer (aka the explosive cap) of the bullet. This ignites the gunpowder inside the bullet, causing an explosion that propels the bullet out of the barrel at a high speed towards its target.

Pepa operates in a manner very similar to a gun when fired. In other words, once Pepa's "trigger" is pulled, you better pray you're not her intended target. During Pepa's first assignment in San Antonio - the bogus stakeout with Silvia - an arrogant guy learned this first hand. He triggered Pepa's anger by refusing to "get lost" when she told him to and, instead, continued to taunt her with inappropriate sexual comments. Her temper ignited when he decided to moon Pepa and Silvia, and Pepa exploded. She was no longer concerned about her assignment. Her target was that guy, and if Silvia hadn't intervened Pepa might've done more than teach him a lesson on how to properly talk to a lady.
Pepa is very much like the guns she's always seen carrying in her holster, so you always have to assume that she's loaded. El Gordo made a huge mistake when he attacked Pepa's family and killed her bride, because in doing so, he pulled the trigger on a loaded gun. And like a bullet that's been shot out of the barrel of a gun, come S9 Pepa will (hopefully) be traveling at a high rate of speed towards her target - El Gordo - and I, for one, wouldn't want to be an obstacle in her way. I mean, would you want to be in the way of this:
I didn't think so. Because you don't mess with "the best shot in San Antonio" and get away with it - she'll take you down.

kalike

*The title for this lecture is based on lyrics from the song "Loaded Gun" by Hednoize.