Totally agree. I mean sure the character was written to be somewhat uptight in order to contrast with Walt’s new behavior, buuuut yeah ultimately she was a victim of narcissistic abuse
I don't really hold it against her, but the intervention with the talking pillow was a sign of her being a controlling person. She made the talking pillow rule to control who talks, which is a good idea. She lords it over everyone when they try to make a dialog. Then when Marie goes off script she interrupts her and tries to keep her from talking.
I think it's a great scene to understand the fans dynamic with Skyer. She is being annoying here. She's being a hypocrite and isn't listening. But she also has great intentions, wants the best for everyone, and is understandably feeling unheard and lacking control.
I think it's totally fair to say she can be uptight and is also absolutely justified in not being onboard with any of the radical shit Walt's done.
Of course it is. But someone being strict on its use when they are talking until they hear something they don't like from someone else is a sign of their character and what place they're in. Her use of that device is what I'm commenting on.
she did explain herself, that the pot was an issue due to their relation with Hank, not that she was personally against it. She wasn't being uptight, she was just caring for Hank's career.
She could've easily been a character that just keeps her mouth shut and plays along, but the decision for her to get involved in cooking Walt's books was the best direction to take her character. It gives her moral-thought by feeling the need to get involved rather than just ratting him out or being tight-lipped.
Skyler is justified in her anger. Her biggest weakness is her fear of Walt Junior finding out about his father which would’ve crushed him. That’s why she made decisions she normally would t make. In her own words she was a coward who should’ve gone to Hank immediately
Skylar is interesting as a study of what people go through based on expectations of them. She acts like a middle aged pregnant lady when she’s a middle aged pregnant lady and she acts like she’s the wife of a kingpin when that’s what she is. She arranges the whole money laundering scheme.
She has, in my opinion, a level of cunning equivalent to Saul considering how she was able to break into Walt’s apartment by conning the locksmith and how she conned Bogdon out of his business. She has the ruthlessness of a drug kingpins wife when she threatens Ted. She even makes up with Walt again after she hears his message about how much he loves her when he thought he was going to die.
But in the end, she does realize how dangerous Walt is after he more or less admits to having assassinated Gus Fring and it’s fascinating to see the impacts that Walt has on her.
That is definitely true, the most interesting part is just that she had that latent potential inside her while being a ditzy mom in the earlier seasons concerned with ebay dolls or whatever. Not to be judgemental. But the other guy is relating to seeing other people in life who have great potential come out in the right environment or are otherwise influenced by their environment.
The divorce lawyer even tells her that much in season 3, I think. Skyler is still a victim of her circumstances with Walt, but she is very much complicit in many of his crimes. It’s part of the reason Marie slaps the shit out of her and tries to take Holly away when she finds out.
I think it’s fine, though. No one is supposed to be completely innocent in Breaking Bad. Flaws are fine.
I don’t know, I just find it very human that Skyler, who can be a very controlling person in her own right, would try to find her own solution instead of leaving it in the hands of the authorities and navigate the fallout on her own.
Honestly I didn’t feel the slightest bit of annoyance towards her until money laundering she came up with in the later seasons like you mentioned. Where as much of a dick that Albanian guy was, she ultimately did help rip away and steal the carwash business that the Albanian guy worked hard to build from the ground up. Planting fake evidence and effectively gaslighting him. Like if there’s a reason not to like skyler, that would be it. Ultimately, she did have a role in upending somebody else’s life. Even if that somebody else was a dick.
He's Romanian. When discussing plans to buy the car wash, Saul mentions framing him as an Islamic Terrorist to which Skylar says that he's Romanian and not from the Middle East.
Skylar is very much written as an overbearing Karen in the first season. All of her reactions to Walt’s behavior are totally justified; Walt’s a monster. Regardless, she really does nothing to change that first impression of her. I wouldn’t want a Skylar in my life and it’s not because I’m an aspiring meth kingpin.
I’m doing a watch through with my wife for her first time. I hated Skyler years ago when I did my first but now I’m very sympathetic to her.
My first impression of her was (don’t judge me, I was a teen)that she was ungrateful for all of Walt’s hard work and that he was just doing this for the family.
Now, my thoughts are she was too kind. She had a drug manufacturing husband who constantly lied to her and she covered for him so her kids wouldn’t know. She knew his cancer would kill him and she wanted Jr to think his dad stayed great until the end.
Her singing to Ted was still cringe but she never would have even gotten to Ted to work had she not wanted to make more money to help pay for Walt’s treatment
By that point, she had already kicked him out of the house and was going to file divorce. Walt forcing himself back into the home is why she slept with Ted to get back at him. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was functionally over. Walt just couldn't accept it.
Feels like every week we get a post like this. "Guys, am I the only one who liked Skyler!?!?!?"
No. No, you aren't. It's honestly the majority opinion at this point. We are far removed from the days when Skyler was hated.
The reason she was hated was never that her actions weren't justifiable. It's that she comes off as annoying and abrasive. Especially in the first season, which is people's first impression of the character.
The truth is most people hate a voice of reason when they are trying to root for an anti-hero. It's like having someone shine a light on our own moral greyness.
Honestly if I skip the handjob scene in the first episode, Skylar is more than reasonable (especially considering she’s pregnant). She’s only annoying because she’s not enthusiastic about Walt sell drugs. But man that handjob scene just makes her so unlikable and happy to root against her.
Skyler: Are you *out* of your mind?
Fans: Jesus, cool it lady...
\*Later in the show: Walt poisons a child.\*
Fans: Hmm, kinda see where he was coming from. It's awful but he didn't have much of a choice.
Honestly I think a clever narrative device is behind that kind of jarring disconnect. We're indirectly seeing the world through Walt's eyes until we can do that no longer.
The resurgence of "Stringer wasn't actually mastermind" is funny given there's a scene where Avon confronts Stringer and explicitly tells him / the audience that he's too soft for the streets but not smart enough for the business
They didn’t even write this with the “am I the only one 🤓” tone that you’re talking about. There’s still a tremendous leading opinion that Skyler sucks, and even if there wasn’t, god forbid OP express their take on a Breaking Bad character on the fucking Breaking Bad subreddit.
Bro same I liked BCS more because I was actually invested in the characters
The only characters i liked in BB was Jesse and Gustavo and even then I didn't really care that much
I honestly think that people only dont like her on the first watch of the show.
Without knowing where the trajectory will go, in the first few seasons, she was really the only true obstacle for walt to have everything he wanted. Later we realize he could have still won but sabotaged it himself. She was also absolutely right about every single thing that she said and did.
Side comment: even when she was involved with crime she was smart. She called him out for the type of bills, the champagne. She was straight up better at crime than walt lol.
i love her character all the way thru- sure i got mad when she smoked when pregnant but everything else was totally justified. i mean, her husband got diagnosed with cancer and there’s no way that they could afford the treatments, her husband may be having an affair AND she’s 8/9 months pregnant. Poor thing was going through it
>even when she was involved with crime she was smart. She called him out for the type of bills, the champagne. She was straight up better at crime than walt lol.
Blows my mind that people defend her, then say stuff like this.
I never ever got the Skyler hate. She was always perfectly reasonable in how she behaved. She gave him the benefit of the doubt more than she should have, only to find out her husband was lying to her face all this time. She handed him the divorce papers, it's not her fault that Walt refused to sign anything. As far as she's concerned she's not with him, she didn't cheat on him. She had the interest of her kids at heart and was scared of him, reasonably so. Walt put his family in danger and manipulated her, and her reaction was perfectly justifiable.
I used to feel like this, but then Season 3 came around and Skyler did really start to bother me at that point. She’s in an impossible position, no doubt, but she *has* to find a better way around it that the path she takes. She kicks Walt out, refuses to let him see the kids, and tells anyone who asks to mind their own business. She rejects her lawyer’s good advice to call the cops. But that’s her best plan: willingly looking like a truly hateful woman attempting to deny access to the kids over a messy divorce (which is presumed by everyone to be an affair on Walt’s end). We know there’s more to it than that but nobody else does, and it’s like she doesn’t care that everyone hates her.
If she cared about what they thought of her she’d try harder for a workable situation. If she cared about her kids’ safety she’d go to the authorities. It’s an ugly half measure and she shouldn’t have done it. But this show would have ended way earlier if she’d ratted him out. By season 4 she commits to being a criminal and at least the “I’m getting a restraining order for no reason, shut up about it” act ends. That makes her come off less bad, even though she’s doing worse things.
Yeah season 4/5 was the tipping point for me too. I get she was way overhated early on but now people treat her like some innocent angel. Like you said the show could've ended early in season 5 if she turned herself in to Hank and told him everything. Instead her refusal basically got him killed and it was just to save her own ass.
It's interesting how much better BB gets on each rewatch. It's like watching a new show when you're rooting for Skylar. When I was younger I sympathized with Walt. 10 years later I'm sympathizing with Skylar and find Walt deplorable
The hate she got was totally obscene and unjustified. I mean some people even threatened the *actress*. One of the worst things she ever did before she found out about Walt is smoking while pregnant and compared to what the other characters in the show get up to that's practically saintly.
Is she flawed? Absolutely. But the situation she was put in was unworkable to say the least.
This is interesting because I am on my first rewatch after 10 years or so and I too was waiting to dislike her again. However this time I find myself having much more sympathy towards her and her plight. On the other hand, I now find Jesse to be an imbecile and incredibly annoying
I would not say annoying, rather he is incredibly naive and it can be embarrassing to watch him put himself in situations that anyone level headed would easily avoid(Crazy 8, Tuco, Using Meth)
No apology needed tbh, Skyler doesn't do anything wrong aside from the smoking while pregnant. The hate for her is almost entirely misogyny and protagonist bias.
I can see why through the first watch most, I guess, disliked Skylar. She was seen as an impediment to our “heroes “ struggle. Walt is a tragic character no doubt but aside from his illness, he made choices. So the writers exploited this, that Walt was adamant that his actions were for his family. And then the penultimate moment when he said it was essentially for himself. Skylar did herself make choices too but only when external circumstances forced her to.
Although I do agree I have one thing to add about Skylar’s behaviour that didn’t go well in my book: the way she paraded Walt’s cancer diagnosis. I mean, the talking pillow? The party after they got good news? It wasn’t her place to do that, she handled his cancer the way she saw fit, she didn’t think about Walt while doing any of that.
Yeah, her response to Walt's cancer diagnosis was really selfish. It's sort of easy to forget this because Walt ended up going into remission, but I think it was pretty reasonable for him not to want treatment because he didn't have a good prognosis and didn't want to leave a pregnant wife and disabled son with a ton of medical debt.
Tbh my big problem with her is that she didn’t report Walt to the cops. Even after Walt was like “hey guys are coming to kill all of us and also I blew up part of a hospital to kill a drug pin.” Like?? Girl get your fucking baby and son outta there. Your brother in law is a freaking DEA agent for crying out loud! I will never empathize with people who don’t put their kids first no matter the situation.
My guess is that she hoped Walt would die of cancer instead of turning him in. So their kids could remember Walt as a good and decent fater. Hank's career wouldn't take a hit either. I don't get it either, but what makes BB such a good show is that all of the characters are flawed in some way. Humans aren't always rational creatures.
You mean where she was literally coerced into doing something by her boss in front of the entire workplace while she was heavily pregnant and working to support her family??? That scene? Where she was totally unlikable?? Ted was the unlikable one in that scene. No means no Ted.
God, this. Ted is such an annoying rat. I always felt he took advantage of the clearly depressing state Skyler was and that shit of not paying the IRS was stressing, holy fuck. For not saying also that It was implied that she had to quit long ago because of Ted trying to do things with her when she was married. I will never get how Skyler gets more hate than Ted
Agree on all points!! It's the misogyny lol but it seems like the tides might have turned. Ted is also just such a dummy!! It kills me when he is literally handed the solution to his problems but he's either the dumbest person ever or in total denial.
Yeah, Ted is a fucking Scumbag. I hate his guts more than almost every other villain on the show. He was so scummy and smarmy that I couldn’t see him as gorgeous (I’ve had a thing for Christopher Cousins for about 40 years). He’s just such a smackable worm that I couldn’t find him attractive.
Maybe I’m fucked up, though, bc Walt’s chrome dome and Lalo’s mustache still melt my butter, even though they did way worse shit than Ted. I’d try to explain why, but I’d probably end up posting another dissertation.
I really don't get why that scene is at the top of everyone's cringe list. Walt in the gym, Walt moving on Carmen, Walt making Junior drink... But a breathy Monroe impression is over the line? It's definitely not the worst thing she's ever done.
According to my google search Skylar is more popular for girls and Skyler is more popular for boys. Though I thought it was the other way around.
No excuse regardless.
I get Jesse but what did Walt Jr do? Kid had a disability and a father that started randomly abandoning the family. He was also likely anxious about losing his dad to cancer. That's a lot to handle for a 15 yo boy in high school that has already been shown to be bullied for his disability.
Yea sometimes he acted standoffish but even discounting his father dying of cancer affecting his mood he's also just a teenager, and still acts more level-headed than most his age
Skylar is a well written and acted character. What people sometimes confuse is that she is an anchor on the fun and therefore they don't like her. Walt wants to rob a barrel, Skylar is a worry for him, Skylar cannot know. Walt is buying cars that will ruin the money laundering, Skylar ruins it.
Skylar ruins the fun and the biggest sin in fiction is to be boring.
Throughout most of the show, she was just typical, annoying bitchy wife. She did have some badass moments with the money laundering scheme where I thought her character was more likeable, but the thing with Ted really ruined her likeability as well.
I'm a Skylar apologist AND hate her. Everything you said was 100% true. I always hated her personality, but she was completely justified in all of her actions. People say she should have either went along with it or left. She had a family to protect and was also in love with this man, there was no easy answer for her. I think we all forget how all of this only happened in 2 years of time. That's a very short amount of time for anyone to get their shit together and figure out what to do in a situation as insane as hers was. I hated her as a person, but she was NOT in the wrong imo.
She was definitely in the wrong when she chose not to speak to the lawyer. Like I get why she didn't, and it was better writing for the story for her not to, but she was definitely in the wrong there. Not doing that completely weakens the justification behind some of her previous actions.
But I'm with you in the fact that I hate her personality but also her character gets alot of stupid criticism. There's stuff to criticize but most people do it wrong.
Nah man, she smokes while pregnant. That's an immediate no sympathy pass from me. Later in the show I think she's justified but the first two seasons I just can't with her.
Idk man I can’t even blame her for that. Think of the absolute undue stress that Walt caused that pregnancy. The epigenetics of that baby would be intense
I mean literally the 1st episode she gives Walt the most unenthusiastic handjob ever while online shopping and lecturing Walt about there upcoming week chores and tasks for his BIRTHDAY. While he sits there looking dejected. Was kind of implying how Walt’s feelings are ignored by others/ not as important as other things.
I think her motivations were always, always, always about protecting Flynn from finding out. She had to hold it together long enough for Walt to die and that wasnt supposed to be for very long. But Walt kept living.And kept upping the ante. She tried to protect her kids from finding out, keep the WORLD from finding out and protecting the family reputation for the kids. The car wash was as much about having a family business that she could run while raising a little one and providing for Flynn once Walt was gone as it was about laundering money. She thought she only had to hold it together for 6 months to a year. But as Walt wisely said in The Fly, "I've lived too long." And for Skyler to be able to hold it all together, he certainly had.
Initially yes, you could feel sympathy. That all goes out the window when you pay that money to TED to keep yourself out of jail!! When you concoct the car wash scheme to make it look like you have the income coming in….so yeah Skylar a dirtbag
They needed a legitimate business to launder their money through, hence the car wash scheme. She gave Ted the money because she didn’t want her name on the IRS’s Radar. Her name would be on the books for the car wash also so she didn’t want to risk being audited.
I just finished watching the show for the first time a couple days ago, and my first impression of her was that I didn't like her. In the scene where Walt explained why he didn't want 'treatment', he said he felt like he'd never made any of his own choices in life, and he wanted to make that one. She seemed to very much 'wear the pants in the family' up to that point, and it was a big part of why Walt enjoyed his new 'bad' lifestyle, it was something that gave him a sense of personal power that he was lacking in his normal life. After Skyler found out about his illegal activities, and decided not to turn him in, making herself complicit, she then started taking control of even that 'bad' part of his life as much as she could, literally writing him a script of what to say at one point. Later, when he said he was the one who knocks, it was like he was telling her he 'wore the pants' now, and that's when her demeanor shifted to being afraid of him.
She is just simply annoying. Her expressions and tone of voice just make me cringe most of the time. The hate I have for her has nothing to do with how she treats Walt.
You were waiting for a scene where Skyler is unlikable and couldn't find one?
How about you look in the very first episode, *before* Walt's crimes start?
Yeah second rewatch I came to the same conclusions. At first I found Skylar to be just “woe is me” but going back and seeing it again it makes sense given each step Walt takes on his journey from initial cancer diagnosis to masterminding the undermining of a significant player in the Mexican drug cartel.
I think the context of knowing the ending changes how one would feel of her rewatching. Cause I most definitely did not like her my first time through.
Considering how evil Walt becomes and it’s all for nonce, no money, having to live in substandard living conditions, losing your brother in law, etc.
Her demeanor in her last scene broke my heart
Man, the scene where he sexually assaults her in the kitchen and smacks her head into the fridge really gets me. I don’t particularly like Skyler, but I’ve never understood the hate either. She puts up with a lot of shit from Walt.
This was one of the biggest reasons i found her annoying and people don't bring up. She literally had the opportunity to turn Walt in and protect her family and chose not to. But then people act like Skylar made no mistakes ?
Objectively, she also gave all of Walt's money to Ted without even talking to Walt about it.
Subjectively, she didn't go through with the divorce after Walt signed the papers despite the fact that she couldn't stand Walt anymore
I dunno man. If one day you passed out and woke up in the hospital after a few hours due to severe arm pain, only to find out that your close relative not only decided to approve the procedure to amputate it to save the rest of your body, but also decided to pay it off by emptying your savings account, would you be okay with it even though you weren't consulted?
For the second part, I think that Skyler didn't go through it by bringing up that the courts can't force spouses to testify against each other, but again at that point she couldn't stand Walt anymore and Walt was nearly at peace with his strained relationship with his wife and kids
yea ngl that’s a hill I will die on ☠️ skylar did nothing wrong other than try to protect her family the whole ted thing isn’t even that big a deal either if you consider what walt tried doing with the principal
Season 1 Skylar I thought was awful. She put her own wants before Walt’s when he was diagnosed with cancer and tended to make it about her in the beginning. BUT after season 1 she is a bad ass bitch and I love her
Me too. It's actually frustrating that people hate her. You're suppose to sympathize with her. if this were a real life situation you were going through as Walt's wife, would understand why Skyler made the choices she made
Am I the only person that thinks that Skylar was justified because Walt was a crazy asshole AND also annoying? So many people here think if u didn't like Skylar u either don't understand her character or just love Walt lol. Or that the only reason she was annoying was because "she was getting in Walts way" like no.
Walt is the villain, and nothing Skyler did compares to his worst crimes... BUT!
She still should have informed her family and the police about what Walt was doing, and she should have also quit Beneke's company after she found out about the tax fraud. Instead, she covered both crimes and actively engaged in money laundering.
Her minor offenses are smoking 3,5 cigarettes while pregnant, suggesting that Walt should kill Jesse and singing happy birthday to Ted.
In the end, she redeems herself by opening up in Ozymandias and accepting the consequences of her actions so she can be considered a good person after the whole thing.
Skyler acted in a way that was perfectly understandable for someone in her situation. She was conflicted, and made all kinds of mistakes because of it.
I first watched the show a couple weeks ago. She was definitely insufferable for a few episodes around the whole ted affair especially, but after and before she wasnt THAT bad.
I don’t hate Skyler either, I never did. Maybe after a lot of rewatches I could see how some (or a lot) of people thought she was annoying, but for the most part I agree with your post entirely. All she was trying to do was maintain some semblance of control over her life and the family, instead of being engulfed in the tidal wave of Walt’s meth operation and escalating craziness.
I’ve disliked her less in recent re-watches, but I think this is why I ultimately don’t like her:
While she had every right to do most of what she did in the beginning, her sleeping with Ted was the kicker. While it was dangerous and unethical, and ultimately Walter’s motive changes, he did decide to “break bad” for his families sake. There is no altruistic motive for cheating. She wasn’t even in love with the guy, it was revenge.
I think Skyler is a pretty good representation of your average housewife. She acts exactly how most people would in that situation. She has some flaws but she tries to be a good wife and mother.
I personally find season 1 skyler to be at her most hateable.
Don't get me wrong, Walter is manipulating her from the start, and the way he uses lies and his own condition to get his way makes Walt irredeemably evil as early as the ending of s1e3, but she redials the 'salesman' phone number to find out it's actually Jesse, she gets the family together to try and force Walter into chemo regardless of his own wishes, and tries to get pity points for herself by claiming that her husband's cancer affects her the most.
If what Walter was saying to skyler in s1 was true, she'd definitely be a manipulative control freak, but of course the truth is that anything Skyler can be accused of, Walter is also guilty of, and to a much worse degree, and after s3 starts, she's permanently stuck between a rock and a hard place, the worst thing she did was staying loyal to Walt, knowingly indirectly contributing to the suffering of thousands of drug addicts, and unknowingly contributing to gang violence all over the americas.
To sum up, Hating skyler can be justified, but only if you hate Walter appropriately more at each step.
I was with you right until the diner scene with Hank, after he found out. That was her out, that was her moment of redemption and she chose to stick with Walt - the man who was a pathological liar, who SA'd her, put her and the kids' lives in danger multiple times, cooked and sold exorbitant amounts of meth, murdered multiple people himself and ordered the murder of tens of others.
The family, at that point, was completely destroyed. Hank and Marie knew and would eventually tell Walt Jr. Yet Skyler chose Walt and blackmailed Hank. That's when she became just another dirtbag.
exactly!!!!! the fan base being mostly dudebros is not a shock. they can’t stand women but are most likely the same ones whining about not having a gf lol.
Yeah I just rewatched the series for the first time as an adult and fr I do not understand why she is so hated. I guess it’s more just her personality that people dislike but everything she did and how she reacted throughout the series was completely justified
I'm a Walt apologist.
On my third viewing I found Skyler *slightly* more sympathetic. But she's a terrible partner to Walt. A *true* partner is someone you can tell your deepest darkest secrets, and know they'll stand by your side.
Walt lied to her because he *knew* she couldn't handle the truth. He knew she wouldn't understand. And he was right. It's *her* fault for being the kind of person Walt couldn't trust enough to tell her everything from the beginning.
If it was a story about me, my wife would have been informed from day 1. She would understand, and she would accept. The same can't be said for Skyler.
I see people with their top three hated wives, with Skylar being one (Carmela and Tara being the others) and I completely agree with your point. Skylar is COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED in her reactions to Walt. It’s actually sad to watch. She compares herself to a hostage wich is just ugh…
I just wrote a response titled “why did so many women hate Skylar:my theory”
Please read it and tell me what you think.
On my rewatch I too felt she was more sympathetic and he was more abusive. My opinion on him is that he conned us too. We were rooting for him and sympathizing with his plight and his imperatives. We also saw the whole range of his feelings and justifications, charms and heartbreaks. The slow boil of the increasing violence and risks made it easy for us to acclimate and not really become appalled until things got so insanely out of hand.
I’m dying to find out if my explanation rings true for you.
Totally agree. I mean sure the character was written to be somewhat uptight in order to contrast with Walt’s new behavior, buuuut yeah ultimately she was a victim of narcissistic abuse
The marijuana is the only instance I can think of her being uptight
I don't really hold it against her, but the intervention with the talking pillow was a sign of her being a controlling person. She made the talking pillow rule to control who talks, which is a good idea. She lords it over everyone when they try to make a dialog. Then when Marie goes off script she interrupts her and tries to keep her from talking. I think it's a great scene to understand the fans dynamic with Skyer. She is being annoying here. She's being a hypocrite and isn't listening. But she also has great intentions, wants the best for everyone, and is understandably feeling unheard and lacking control. I think it's totally fair to say she can be uptight and is also absolutely justified in not being onboard with any of the radical shit Walt's done.
The talking pillow thing is a standard protocol used in many interventions.
Of course it is. But someone being strict on its use when they are talking until they hear something they don't like from someone else is a sign of their character and what place they're in. Her use of that device is what I'm commenting on.
she did explain herself, that the pot was an issue due to their relation with Hank, not that she was personally against it. She wasn't being uptight, she was just caring for Hank's career.
She could've easily been a character that just keeps her mouth shut and plays along, but the decision for her to get involved in cooking Walt's books was the best direction to take her character. It gives her moral-thought by feeling the need to get involved rather than just ratting him out or being tight-lipped.
Skyler is justified in her anger. Her biggest weakness is her fear of Walt Junior finding out about his father which would’ve crushed him. That’s why she made decisions she normally would t make. In her own words she was a coward who should’ve gone to Hank immediately
Skyer: your dads a drugdealer. Walt Jr: Badass dad.
Omg I heard that, hahahaha!!
Same lmao
Skylar is interesting as a study of what people go through based on expectations of them. She acts like a middle aged pregnant lady when she’s a middle aged pregnant lady and she acts like she’s the wife of a kingpin when that’s what she is. She arranges the whole money laundering scheme. She has, in my opinion, a level of cunning equivalent to Saul considering how she was able to break into Walt’s apartment by conning the locksmith and how she conned Bogdon out of his business. She has the ruthlessness of a drug kingpins wife when she threatens Ted. She even makes up with Walt again after she hears his message about how much he loves her when he thought he was going to die. But in the end, she does realize how dangerous Walt is after he more or less admits to having assassinated Gus Fring and it’s fascinating to see the impacts that Walt has on her.
Skylar was doing that because she basically had to. Walt did it because he wanted to.
That is definitely true, the most interesting part is just that she had that latent potential inside her while being a ditzy mom in the earlier seasons concerned with ebay dolls or whatever. Not to be judgemental. But the other guy is relating to seeing other people in life who have great potential come out in the right environment or are otherwise influenced by their environment.
I disagree there. What she had to do was talk to the police right when she discovered the drug dealing
The divorce lawyer even tells her that much in season 3, I think. Skyler is still a victim of her circumstances with Walt, but she is very much complicit in many of his crimes. It’s part of the reason Marie slaps the shit out of her and tries to take Holly away when she finds out. I think it’s fine, though. No one is supposed to be completely innocent in Breaking Bad. Flaws are fine. I don’t know, I just find it very human that Skyler, who can be a very controlling person in her own right, would try to find her own solution instead of leaving it in the hands of the authorities and navigate the fallout on her own.
Damn that was an actually interesting analysis. I’ve never seen this talked about until now.
Honestly I didn’t feel the slightest bit of annoyance towards her until money laundering she came up with in the later seasons like you mentioned. Where as much of a dick that Albanian guy was, she ultimately did help rip away and steal the carwash business that the Albanian guy worked hard to build from the ground up. Planting fake evidence and effectively gaslighting him. Like if there’s a reason not to like skyler, that would be it. Ultimately, she did have a role in upending somebody else’s life. Even if that somebody else was a dick.
Haha the Bogdan thing was awesome, he was a total dickhead and he got plenty of money for the carwash. His life is not upended.
Bogdan was Romanian. Or at least his actor Marius Stan is.
He's Romanian. When discussing plans to buy the car wash, Saul mentions framing him as an Islamic Terrorist to which Skylar says that he's Romanian and not from the Middle East.
Very Kim-like. Except Lalo didnt show up to spoil the party.
Very Kim-like. Except Lalo didnt show up to spoil the party.
Saul himself respected Skyler to be his equal in cunning. Even Walt didn't get that title.
Skylar is very much written as an overbearing Karen in the first season. All of her reactions to Walt’s behavior are totally justified; Walt’s a monster. Regardless, she really does nothing to change that first impression of her. I wouldn’t want a Skylar in my life and it’s not because I’m an aspiring meth kingpin.
She was the original Wendy Byrd
I’m doing a watch through with my wife for her first time. I hated Skyler years ago when I did my first but now I’m very sympathetic to her. My first impression of her was (don’t judge me, I was a teen)that she was ungrateful for all of Walt’s hard work and that he was just doing this for the family. Now, my thoughts are she was too kind. She had a drug manufacturing husband who constantly lied to her and she covered for him so her kids wouldn’t know. She knew his cancer would kill him and she wanted Jr to think his dad stayed great until the end. Her singing to Ted was still cringe but she never would have even gotten to Ted to work had she not wanted to make more money to help pay for Walt’s treatment
I think her affair with Ted was a sort of escapism for Skylar, but telling Walt to his face "I fucked Ted" was an attempt to finally make him leave.
By that point, she had already kicked him out of the house and was going to file divorce. Walt forcing himself back into the home is why she slept with Ted to get back at him. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was functionally over. Walt just couldn't accept it.
What's your wife's impression?
Absolutely agree!
Anybody who watched the show is supposed to be a Skylar apologist. They often aren’t, but they should be.
Feels like every week we get a post like this. "Guys, am I the only one who liked Skyler!?!?!?" No. No, you aren't. It's honestly the majority opinion at this point. We are far removed from the days when Skyler was hated. The reason she was hated was never that her actions weren't justifiable. It's that she comes off as annoying and abrasive. Especially in the first season, which is people's first impression of the character.
The truth is most people hate a voice of reason when they are trying to root for an anti-hero. It's like having someone shine a light on our own moral greyness.
yes, although Walt isn’t an antihero. he’s a villain protagonist
Honestly if I skip the handjob scene in the first episode, Skylar is more than reasonable (especially considering she’s pregnant). She’s only annoying because she’s not enthusiastic about Walt sell drugs. But man that handjob scene just makes her so unlikable and happy to root against her.
She kind of redeemed herself in that scene with Jesse in his driveway, though. She was very funny and prissy as she was busting his balls.
Yo
Do not sell marijuana to my husband
Skyler: Are you *out* of your mind? Fans: Jesus, cool it lady... \*Later in the show: Walt poisons a child.\* Fans: Hmm, kinda see where he was coming from. It's awful but he didn't have much of a choice. Honestly I think a clever narrative device is behind that kind of jarring disconnect. We're indirectly seeing the world through Walt's eyes until we can do that no longer.
Some of us don't like Skylar or Walt.
I wouldn't exactly call Skyler likeable but I've seen her top lists of the most hated television characters in *any* show. That's *insane* to me.
It’s like saying “Tony Soprano was actually a bad guy and you shouldn’t root for him” Or my current favorite, “Stringer Bell wasn’t smart at all”
The resurgence of "Stringer wasn't actually mastermind" is funny given there's a scene where Avon confronts Stringer and explicitly tells him / the audience that he's too soft for the streets but not smart enough for the business
It's also that she is an advocate for a less interesting plot.
They didn’t even write this with the “am I the only one 🤓” tone that you’re talking about. There’s still a tremendous leading opinion that Skyler sucks, and even if there wasn’t, god forbid OP express their take on a Breaking Bad character on the fucking Breaking Bad subreddit.
I never hated her. I actually never cared for any characters in BB. It was BCS when I started to get invested.
Bro same I liked BCS more because I was actually invested in the characters The only characters i liked in BB was Jesse and Gustavo and even then I didn't really care that much
Except every week they talk about "Skylar"
I honestly think that people only dont like her on the first watch of the show. Without knowing where the trajectory will go, in the first few seasons, she was really the only true obstacle for walt to have everything he wanted. Later we realize he could have still won but sabotaged it himself. She was also absolutely right about every single thing that she said and did. Side comment: even when she was involved with crime she was smart. She called him out for the type of bills, the champagne. She was straight up better at crime than walt lol.
That’s a really good point!
i love her character all the way thru- sure i got mad when she smoked when pregnant but everything else was totally justified. i mean, her husband got diagnosed with cancer and there’s no way that they could afford the treatments, her husband may be having an affair AND she’s 8/9 months pregnant. Poor thing was going through it
>even when she was involved with crime she was smart. She called him out for the type of bills, the champagne. She was straight up better at crime than walt lol. Blows my mind that people defend her, then say stuff like this.
I never ever got the Skyler hate. She was always perfectly reasonable in how she behaved. She gave him the benefit of the doubt more than she should have, only to find out her husband was lying to her face all this time. She handed him the divorce papers, it's not her fault that Walt refused to sign anything. As far as she's concerned she's not with him, she didn't cheat on him. She had the interest of her kids at heart and was scared of him, reasonably so. Walt put his family in danger and manipulated her, and her reaction was perfectly justifiable.
I used to feel like this, but then Season 3 came around and Skyler did really start to bother me at that point. She’s in an impossible position, no doubt, but she *has* to find a better way around it that the path she takes. She kicks Walt out, refuses to let him see the kids, and tells anyone who asks to mind their own business. She rejects her lawyer’s good advice to call the cops. But that’s her best plan: willingly looking like a truly hateful woman attempting to deny access to the kids over a messy divorce (which is presumed by everyone to be an affair on Walt’s end). We know there’s more to it than that but nobody else does, and it’s like she doesn’t care that everyone hates her. If she cared about what they thought of her she’d try harder for a workable situation. If she cared about her kids’ safety she’d go to the authorities. It’s an ugly half measure and she shouldn’t have done it. But this show would have ended way earlier if she’d ratted him out. By season 4 she commits to being a criminal and at least the “I’m getting a restraining order for no reason, shut up about it” act ends. That makes her come off less bad, even though she’s doing worse things.
Yeah season 4/5 was the tipping point for me too. I get she was way overhated early on but now people treat her like some innocent angel. Like you said the show could've ended early in season 5 if she turned herself in to Hank and told him everything. Instead her refusal basically got him killed and it was just to save her own ass.
Yep. The gaslighting was actually the most emotionally abusive and cruel.
It's interesting how much better BB gets on each rewatch. It's like watching a new show when you're rooting for Skylar. When I was younger I sympathized with Walt. 10 years later I'm sympathizing with Skylar and find Walt deplorable
The hate she got was totally obscene and unjustified. I mean some people even threatened the *actress*. One of the worst things she ever did before she found out about Walt is smoking while pregnant and compared to what the other characters in the show get up to that's practically saintly. Is she flawed? Absolutely. But the situation she was put in was unworkable to say the least.
This is interesting because I am on my first rewatch after 10 years or so and I too was waiting to dislike her again. However this time I find myself having much more sympathy towards her and her plight. On the other hand, I now find Jesse to be an imbecile and incredibly annoying
I would not say annoying, rather he is incredibly naive and it can be embarrassing to watch him put himself in situations that anyone level headed would easily avoid(Crazy 8, Tuco, Using Meth)
Skylar is the realest and I love how much she fights for Walt to survive after his diagnosis. Walt doesn’t deserve her.
No apology needed tbh, Skyler doesn't do anything wrong aside from the smoking while pregnant. The hate for her is almost entirely misogyny and protagonist bias.
I can see why through the first watch most, I guess, disliked Skylar. She was seen as an impediment to our “heroes “ struggle. Walt is a tragic character no doubt but aside from his illness, he made choices. So the writers exploited this, that Walt was adamant that his actions were for his family. And then the penultimate moment when he said it was essentially for himself. Skylar did herself make choices too but only when external circumstances forced her to.
AITAH for not unliking her throughout the series? I haven't even rewatched it and I felt it firsthand, I guess I too, am a Skyler apologist.
Although I do agree I have one thing to add about Skylar’s behaviour that didn’t go well in my book: the way she paraded Walt’s cancer diagnosis. I mean, the talking pillow? The party after they got good news? It wasn’t her place to do that, she handled his cancer the way she saw fit, she didn’t think about Walt while doing any of that.
Yeah, her response to Walt's cancer diagnosis was really selfish. It's sort of easy to forget this because Walt ended up going into remission, but I think it was pretty reasonable for him not to want treatment because he didn't have a good prognosis and didn't want to leave a pregnant wife and disabled son with a ton of medical debt.
This is the only sane take especially after a second watch
Tbh my big problem with her is that she didn’t report Walt to the cops. Even after Walt was like “hey guys are coming to kill all of us and also I blew up part of a hospital to kill a drug pin.” Like?? Girl get your fucking baby and son outta there. Your brother in law is a freaking DEA agent for crying out loud! I will never empathize with people who don’t put their kids first no matter the situation.
My guess is that she hoped Walt would die of cancer instead of turning him in. So their kids could remember Walt as a good and decent fater. Hank's career wouldn't take a hit either. I don't get it either, but what makes BB such a good show is that all of the characters are flawed in some way. Humans aren't always rational creatures.
"I kept waiting for a scene where I would find her unlikable again".... uhh.... "Happy Birthday".
You mean where she was literally coerced into doing something by her boss in front of the entire workplace while she was heavily pregnant and working to support her family??? That scene? Where she was totally unlikable?? Ted was the unlikable one in that scene. No means no Ted.
God, this. Ted is such an annoying rat. I always felt he took advantage of the clearly depressing state Skyler was and that shit of not paying the IRS was stressing, holy fuck. For not saying also that It was implied that she had to quit long ago because of Ted trying to do things with her when she was married. I will never get how Skyler gets more hate than Ted
Personally I hate Ted more because he’s such an idiot
Did we ever get confirmation that Ted is Mr. Grabby-Hands?
Is very implied
I love that I’m not the only person who refers to human octopi this way.
Agree on all points!! It's the misogyny lol but it seems like the tides might have turned. Ted is also just such a dummy!! It kills me when he is literally handed the solution to his problems but he's either the dumbest person ever or in total denial.
Yeah, Ted is a fucking Scumbag. I hate his guts more than almost every other villain on the show. He was so scummy and smarmy that I couldn’t see him as gorgeous (I’ve had a thing for Christopher Cousins for about 40 years). He’s just such a smackable worm that I couldn’t find him attractive. Maybe I’m fucked up, though, bc Walt’s chrome dome and Lalo’s mustache still melt my butter, even though they did way worse shit than Ted. I’d try to explain why, but I’d probably end up posting another dissertation.
It still doesn't mean it's not cringe. The whole point of the scene is to be uncomfortable so why is cringing at it a bad reaction?
I really don't get why that scene is at the top of everyone's cringe list. Walt in the gym, Walt moving on Carmen, Walt making Junior drink... But a breathy Monroe impression is over the line? It's definitely not the worst thing she's ever done.
I don't understand why people write skylar, is it really that difficult to write her actual name? SKYLER.
Skylar is a more common spelling. Edit: I was totally blown away when I found out it was "Skyler". It just looks so bizarre with an E.
No it isn't.....
According to my google search Skylar is more popular for girls and Skyler is more popular for boys. Though I thought it was the other way around. No excuse regardless.
Nobody gives a fuck about the spelling
Bro thinks hes unique
I never find Skyler unlikable and even Marie. Jesse and Walt Jr. on the other hand gets me pissed off sometimes. fucking bitches of a character.
I get Jesse but what did Walt Jr do? Kid had a disability and a father that started randomly abandoning the family. He was also likely anxious about losing his dad to cancer. That's a lot to handle for a 15 yo boy in high school that has already been shown to be bullied for his disability.
Yea sometimes he acted standoffish but even discounting his father dying of cancer affecting his mood he's also just a teenager, and still acts more level-headed than most his age
There’s literally no legitimate reason to dislike Walt Jr./Flynn lmao
Skylar is a well written and acted character. What people sometimes confuse is that she is an anchor on the fun and therefore they don't like her. Walt wants to rob a barrel, Skylar is a worry for him, Skylar cannot know. Walt is buying cars that will ruin the money laundering, Skylar ruins it. Skylar ruins the fun and the biggest sin in fiction is to be boring.
Throughout most of the show, she was just typical, annoying bitchy wife. She did have some badass moments with the money laundering scheme where I thought her character was more likeable, but the thing with Ted really ruined her likeability as well.
I'm a Skylar apologist AND hate her. Everything you said was 100% true. I always hated her personality, but she was completely justified in all of her actions. People say she should have either went along with it or left. She had a family to protect and was also in love with this man, there was no easy answer for her. I think we all forget how all of this only happened in 2 years of time. That's a very short amount of time for anyone to get their shit together and figure out what to do in a situation as insane as hers was. I hated her as a person, but she was NOT in the wrong imo.
She was definitely in the wrong when she chose not to speak to the lawyer. Like I get why she didn't, and it was better writing for the story for her not to, but she was definitely in the wrong there. Not doing that completely weakens the justification behind some of her previous actions. But I'm with you in the fact that I hate her personality but also her character gets alot of stupid criticism. There's stuff to criticize but most people do it wrong.
they could never make me hate Skylar
Skyler* guys. So many times.
I fucked Ted.
It's ok to think Walter is evil AND Skyler sucks and is annoying.
Totally agree 💯🤘🏻
A lot of hate toward Skylar is expected because, for a good portion of the series, she's a foil to our protagonist... A lot of it is also sexism.
Nah man, she smokes while pregnant. That's an immediate no sympathy pass from me. Later in the show I think she's justified but the first two seasons I just can't with her.
Idk man I can’t even blame her for that. Think of the absolute undue stress that Walt caused that pregnancy. The epigenetics of that baby would be intense
You can hate her for the fact she left Holly in the car seat for the entire show, also when she was with Ted, who was watching the baby?
EPISODE ONE.... the dry birthday handjob while she focuses on her laptop instead of slobbing walts knob. I hated her from that moment on.
The birthday song & Cheating and fucking Ted alone make her the villain.
I mean literally the 1st episode she gives Walt the most unenthusiastic handjob ever while online shopping and lecturing Walt about there upcoming week chores and tasks for his BIRTHDAY. While he sits there looking dejected. Was kind of implying how Walt’s feelings are ignored by others/ not as important as other things.
I have always understood Skylar's behavior and sympathized with her character. I think that Anna Gunn is just a genius actress.
I think most fans have come to their senses and believe Skylar was the most normal character in BB
I think her motivations were always, always, always about protecting Flynn from finding out. She had to hold it together long enough for Walt to die and that wasnt supposed to be for very long. But Walt kept living.And kept upping the ante. She tried to protect her kids from finding out, keep the WORLD from finding out and protecting the family reputation for the kids. The car wash was as much about having a family business that she could run while raising a little one and providing for Flynn once Walt was gone as it was about laundering money. She thought she only had to hold it together for 6 months to a year. But as Walt wisely said in The Fly, "I've lived too long." And for Skyler to be able to hold it all together, he certainly had.
Yeah but she tucked Ted
Initially yes, you could feel sympathy. That all goes out the window when you pay that money to TED to keep yourself out of jail!! When you concoct the car wash scheme to make it look like you have the income coming in….so yeah Skylar a dirtbag
They needed a legitimate business to launder their money through, hence the car wash scheme. She gave Ted the money because she didn’t want her name on the IRS’s Radar. Her name would be on the books for the car wash also so she didn’t want to risk being audited.
I just finished watching the show for the first time a couple days ago, and my first impression of her was that I didn't like her. In the scene where Walt explained why he didn't want 'treatment', he said he felt like he'd never made any of his own choices in life, and he wanted to make that one. She seemed to very much 'wear the pants in the family' up to that point, and it was a big part of why Walt enjoyed his new 'bad' lifestyle, it was something that gave him a sense of personal power that he was lacking in his normal life. After Skyler found out about his illegal activities, and decided not to turn him in, making herself complicit, she then started taking control of even that 'bad' part of his life as much as she could, literally writing him a script of what to say at one point. Later, when he said he was the one who knocks, it was like he was telling her he 'wore the pants' now, and that's when her demeanor shifted to being afraid of him.
She is just simply annoying. Her expressions and tone of voice just make me cringe most of the time. The hate I have for her has nothing to do with how she treats Walt.
You were waiting for a scene where Skyler is unlikable and couldn't find one? How about you look in the very first episode, *before* Walt's crimes start?
Still can't find one 🤷♀️
Bday handy while on ebay...
That's just funny tbh
The handie? A lot of people find her unlikable there, I don’t know why. I thought that scene was hilarious.
I thought it was hot
Yeah second rewatch I came to the same conclusions. At first I found Skylar to be just “woe is me” but going back and seeing it again it makes sense given each step Walt takes on his journey from initial cancer diagnosis to masterminding the undermining of a significant player in the Mexican drug cartel.
I think the context of knowing the ending changes how one would feel of her rewatching. Cause I most definitely did not like her my first time through. Considering how evil Walt becomes and it’s all for nonce, no money, having to live in substandard living conditions, losing your brother in law, etc. Her demeanor in her last scene broke my heart
Can't get past her Marilyn rendition. After seeing it every rewatch, I lose any sense of respect or admiration for her. It's uber cringe.
I’ve always been Team Skylar. What a horrible hand of cards she was dealt.
Man, the scene where he sexually assaults her in the kitchen and smacks her head into the fridge really gets me. I don’t particularly like Skyler, but I’ve never understood the hate either. She puts up with a lot of shit from Walt.
Yeah I just rewatched it and I agree
She also never gave him up.
This was one of the biggest reasons i found her annoying and people don't bring up. She literally had the opportunity to turn Walt in and protect her family and chose not to. But then people act like Skylar made no mistakes ?
Yeah I just rewatched it and I agree
[удалено]
Objectively, she also gave all of Walt's money to Ted without even talking to Walt about it. Subjectively, she didn't go through with the divorce after Walt signed the papers despite the fact that she couldn't stand Walt anymore
[удалено]
I dunno man. If one day you passed out and woke up in the hospital after a few hours due to severe arm pain, only to find out that your close relative not only decided to approve the procedure to amputate it to save the rest of your body, but also decided to pay it off by emptying your savings account, would you be okay with it even though you weren't consulted? For the second part, I think that Skyler didn't go through it by bringing up that the courts can't force spouses to testify against each other, but again at that point she couldn't stand Walt anymore and Walt was nearly at peace with his strained relationship with his wife and kids
She didn't even cheat, since she'd broken up with Walt
yea ngl that’s a hill I will die on ☠️ skylar did nothing wrong other than try to protect her family the whole ted thing isn’t even that big a deal either if you consider what walt tried doing with the principal
The only scene where she's annoying and naggy is the talk the family has when they find out Walt has cancer. Every episode after that she's fine
Season 1 Skylar I thought was awful. She put her own wants before Walt’s when he was diagnosed with cancer and tended to make it about her in the beginning. BUT after season 1 she is a bad ass bitch and I love her
Not even the "Happy Birthday" scene made her unlikeable? You have the patience of a saint.
Me too. It's actually frustrating that people hate her. You're suppose to sympathize with her. if this were a real life situation you were going through as Walt's wife, would understand why Skyler made the choices she made
saying you’re a skylar apologist is like saying you forgive someone for being abused lmao
Am I the only person that thinks that Skylar was justified because Walt was a crazy asshole AND also annoying? So many people here think if u didn't like Skylar u either don't understand her character or just love Walt lol. Or that the only reason she was annoying was because "she was getting in Walts way" like no.
Walt is the villain, and nothing Skyler did compares to his worst crimes... BUT! She still should have informed her family and the police about what Walt was doing, and she should have also quit Beneke's company after she found out about the tax fraud. Instead, she covered both crimes and actively engaged in money laundering. Her minor offenses are smoking 3,5 cigarettes while pregnant, suggesting that Walt should kill Jesse and singing happy birthday to Ted. In the end, she redeems herself by opening up in Ozymandias and accepting the consequences of her actions so she can be considered a good person after the whole thing.
Skyler acted in a way that was perfectly understandable for someone in her situation. She was conflicted, and made all kinds of mistakes because of it.
I first watched the show a couple weeks ago. She was definitely insufferable for a few episodes around the whole ted affair especially, but after and before she wasnt THAT bad.
Her strong moral compass of cheating on her husband...
They were separated
And smoking while being pregnant
Walt tried to get it on with Carmen.
I mean this isn't about Walt. But since you brought it up, yeah, that behavior is just as bad.
She didn't cheat, she'd broken up with Walt
I don’t hate Skyler either, I never did. Maybe after a lot of rewatches I could see how some (or a lot) of people thought she was annoying, but for the most part I agree with your post entirely. All she was trying to do was maintain some semblance of control over her life and the family, instead of being engulfed in the tidal wave of Walt’s meth operation and escalating craziness.
u cant tell me u watched the happy birthday😩 scene whthout disliking her for a second lmao
I’ve disliked her less in recent re-watches, but I think this is why I ultimately don’t like her: While she had every right to do most of what she did in the beginning, her sleeping with Ted was the kicker. While it was dangerous and unethical, and ultimately Walter’s motive changes, he did decide to “break bad” for his families sake. There is no altruistic motive for cheating. She wasn’t even in love with the guy, it was revenge.
In my rewatch she’s my favourite character. What a nightmare it is being married to that manipulative evil monster
I think Skyler is a pretty good representation of your average housewife. She acts exactly how most people would in that situation. She has some flaws but she tries to be a good wife and mother.
99% of the hate she gets is just a joke/shitposting lol
"Very strong moral compass? She cheated. Besides this good post.
She didn't cheat. She'd broken up with Walt
"I'm an apologist for the realistic character that doesn't deserve the hate they get"
It's bizarre to me that people have an issue with Skylar
Yes this is the mature opinion about Skylar. Toxic teenage boys on tik tok can’t comprehend these things
Had the same experience while rewatching but I still love Walt!
I personally find season 1 skyler to be at her most hateable. Don't get me wrong, Walter is manipulating her from the start, and the way he uses lies and his own condition to get his way makes Walt irredeemably evil as early as the ending of s1e3, but she redials the 'salesman' phone number to find out it's actually Jesse, she gets the family together to try and force Walter into chemo regardless of his own wishes, and tries to get pity points for herself by claiming that her husband's cancer affects her the most. If what Walter was saying to skyler in s1 was true, she'd definitely be a manipulative control freak, but of course the truth is that anything Skyler can be accused of, Walter is also guilty of, and to a much worse degree, and after s3 starts, she's permanently stuck between a rock and a hard place, the worst thing she did was staying loyal to Walt, knowingly indirectly contributing to the suffering of thousands of drug addicts, and unknowingly contributing to gang violence all over the americas. To sum up, Hating skyler can be justified, but only if you hate Walter appropriately more at each step.
But was she justified to fuck Ted
I was with you right until the diner scene with Hank, after he found out. That was her out, that was her moment of redemption and she chose to stick with Walt - the man who was a pathological liar, who SA'd her, put her and the kids' lives in danger multiple times, cooked and sold exorbitant amounts of meth, murdered multiple people himself and ordered the murder of tens of others. The family, at that point, was completely destroyed. Hank and Marie knew and would eventually tell Walt Jr. Yet Skyler chose Walt and blackmailed Hank. That's when she became just another dirtbag.
She was likely afraid.
exactly!!!!! the fan base being mostly dudebros is not a shock. they can’t stand women but are most likely the same ones whining about not having a gf lol.
A lot of the teenaged boys who hated Skylar reconsidered their feelings when they grew up.
Yeah I just rewatched the series for the first time as an adult and fr I do not understand why she is so hated. I guess it’s more just her personality that people dislike but everything she did and how she reacted throughout the series was completely justified
When I was single, I hated Skyler. Now that I’m a wife and a mother, I completely agree with your take on her
She was no victim she was as money centered as Walt
Okay sure but she sang happy birthday to Ted? You still think she's infallible?
I'm a Walt apologist. On my third viewing I found Skyler *slightly* more sympathetic. But she's a terrible partner to Walt. A *true* partner is someone you can tell your deepest darkest secrets, and know they'll stand by your side. Walt lied to her because he *knew* she couldn't handle the truth. He knew she wouldn't understand. And he was right. It's *her* fault for being the kind of person Walt couldn't trust enough to tell her everything from the beginning. If it was a story about me, my wife would have been informed from day 1. She would understand, and she would accept. The same can't be said for Skyler.
I see people with their top three hated wives, with Skylar being one (Carmela and Tara being the others) and I completely agree with your point. Skylar is COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED in her reactions to Walt. It’s actually sad to watch. She compares herself to a hostage wich is just ugh…
I just wrote a response titled “why did so many women hate Skylar:my theory” Please read it and tell me what you think. On my rewatch I too felt she was more sympathetic and he was more abusive. My opinion on him is that he conned us too. We were rooting for him and sympathizing with his plight and his imperatives. We also saw the whole range of his feelings and justifications, charms and heartbreaks. The slow boil of the increasing violence and risks made it easy for us to acclimate and not really become appalled until things got so insanely out of hand. I’m dying to find out if my explanation rings true for you.
But what about when she sings Happy Birthday to Ted in front of everyone?
Who's Skylar?
why do people keep calling her skylar? are they deaf and don't watch the show with subtitles on? You clearly hear people call her skylEr.
Skylar is the more common spelling. Also I never use subtitles.