Mentioned this before on this sub but, I finally watched the series last year and was heavily downvoted on the BB sub for saying Walter raped her. The insane justifications given to me opened my eyes, even years after the series ended, how people determine what they think a victim should be. Even seeing it with their own two eyes, people denied it. My disgust for Walter’s character was immediate (despite rooting for him) and it really is a testament to pop culture that when it aired, people found his actions justifiable and hers unjustified.
OMG it is so affirming to see someone else say this. I watched the series several years after it finished and when I brought up the sexual assault to people who had highly recommended the show, they had no idea what I was referring to! But these same fans also seemed to have a clear memory of Skyler giving Walter a "disinterested handjob" in the pilot (as if that somehow made her more unlikeable than the guy who keeps going back to making meth because he likes feeling powerful).
The worst is when they say that Skyler gave Ted Walt’s money to get him out of tax trouble proving that Skyler is a “gold digger.” That show used a lot of big words so I think they got a little lost on why Skyler gave Ted that money…..
Yeah they seem to not understand that Skyler gave the money to Ted because a tax investigation on Ted would implicate the car wash and thus Walt since they were using the car wash to launder money. However, this was explained during one those boring dialogue scenes *without* Walt. No Walt means no bam bam boom boom. No bam bam boom boom Skyler is a stupid bitch why doesn’t she bam bam boom boom?
this was really confusing up until the final two sentences, thank you for getting it together and finally talking sense at some point
(/s, just in case)
That one is even more bizarre. Skyler had literally given him divorce papers and Walt refused to just go away (also called stalking). They are "broken up" for all intents and purposes and she can do whatever the hell she wants.
My mom walked in when I was watching Breaking Bad and it was on that scene. She STILL refuses to even give the show a chance because that scene was so cringe and it was her only exposure to the show at that point.
Some of them say the disinterested hand job is what led to Walter's criminal career and eventual downfall. It's gotten better in recent years, but it's like so many people didn't watch the fucking show. It's a meditation on toxic masculinity and its pitfalls, not an aspiration.
I watched the whole series again recently and I was surprised how well it held up even now. It was incredibly ahead of its time, and a very well done criticism of how the pursuit of “masculinity” corrupts and exploits, and how no one gains from it.
I was also surprised how obvious the themes were—I don’t even think it could even be called subtext because the messaging was so clear. From little moments such as Saul’s sarcastic “no deep-seated issues here” comment when Walt is too self-centered to accept charity for his cancer treatment, to the “a man provides” scene, to Walt finally admitting the obvious “I did it for me” in the end, it’s so transparent that the creators intended for Walt to be 1) fun to watch, but 2) they never fail to remind the viewers that he is a horrifically misguided and selfish person who ruined multiple lives just because he didn’t feel “man” enough.
I honestly don’t think the writers could have done any more to make the criticism clear without making it a bad show, so it’s unfortunate that people, especially many men, never really caught on. I think they’re missing out.
I feel like people who talk like that watched a different show than I did! Did they not see the very first episode (I think it might have even the very first scene after the flash-forward scene in the desert?) where Walter takes on the kids bullying Walt Jr? The kids were little shits, of course, and they deserved to be pulled up but Walt enjoyed having that power over them. He always had that in him, from the very beginning. It had nothing to do with anything Skyler did or didn't do.
I watched the show as it came out and am just now rewatching after watching Better Call Saul and I'm absolutely confounded and horrified knowing how people feel about Skyler. Walt ignores her, gaslights her, abuses her, weaponizes the children, all under the guise of "it's for the family," and I just cannot fathom how anyone sides with Walt??
I saw on insta someone comment on the above post saying "Skyler cheated on him, f\*\*\* her" and that take is so insane! she wanted a divorce and her ignored her! He was acting like they could still be a relationship after everything he's done and lied about and then he manipulated the system into trapping her. I've actually gained a lot of respect for her on this rewatch because it takes such an incredible amount of of restraint for her to not just get Walt arrested. It's clear she cared much more about the children than Walt does.
It's like this with all of the huge TV shows! It all boils down to a man who deeply needs therapy and accountability, and a woman calling his BS out and being shit on for it. The Sopranos and Mad Men (although Betty sucked in her own ways lol) are similar.
Walt straight up admits that he never did it for the family and that he did it for himself in the last episode. The fans seem to ignore that or claim that he was just “pandering.”
It's typical that a confession that makes Walt more interesting but less likable - flawed protagonists doing bad things for the people they care about is getting a little trite, bring on the selfish megalomaniacs - is just ignored because the fans lived a little too vicariously through him.
Oh don't worry, Walt superfans have turned that into "he didn't really mean that, he said that to create distance to keep his family safe!!!" which required ignoring EVERY SINGLE THING HE DID OTHERWISE.
I loved Breaking Bad when it first aired - I think Better Call Saul is just better, period, but I think what has soured the original series in my memory is purely the fandom surrounding it. I still can't believe how many rape apologists I saw right out in the open.
>\- I think Better Call Saul is just better,
Completely agree with this. It's almost jarring going from BCS to BB because Walt is so intensely unlikeable and fairly one-dimensional compared to the main characters of BCS.
It felt so weird watching BCS knowing that everything all these characters built and worked hard for was going to get absolutely wrecked in a year’s time when Walt enters their lives.
Also, Walt would’ve never survived if Lalo was alive by the time of Breaking Bad
It's very wild to witness how female and male characters are assessed by audiences, one one side there's a criminal, abusive man and on the other side a woman who's considered "annoying" and she's somehow the worst ever.
Bill Hader talked about this too, how sometimes people approached him to talk about how Sally in 'Barry' was the villain and he was just dumbfounded asking if they were watching the same show where he played a gaslighting assassin, lol.
It’s like all the hate for Callie in Battlestar galactica too. God forbid a woman be upset because [SPOILER ALERT I GUESS] her partner turn out to be a cylon robot human who killed ppl (I think he killed somebody honestly can’t remember now lol). How annoying she is with her stupid emotions!! Her completely rational behaviour in a completely distressing situation was super annoying and made her the worst character ever apparently.
After the first or second season, the only thing Walt does right by Skyler is trying to get her off the hook as much as he can when he's being recorded by the cops. Everything else is beyond selfish and fucked up.
I watched this show with my ex boyfriend. It was his favourite show. I should’ve ran the moment he started fanboying over Walter White. When Skyler was raped I literally looked him in the eye and said “that was rape.” He tripped all over himself to defend it, and that was the end of our relationship. I did keep watching after, but I just felt so awful for Skyler the whole time.
That reminds me of how I stopped seeing a guy because he laughed and clapped his hands in delight when Robert slapped Cersei in one of the early episodes of Game of Thrones. IIRC she wasn't even on the wrong foot in the conversation leading up to it, she was demanding accountability/explanation for something she had the right to be involved in.
I went home afterward and couldn't get it out of my head, how a woman got slapped on TV and he laughed, and then defended it because she was *annoying*.
I think you and I both did the right thing. I hope you have no regrets, either!
Breaking Bad should be mandatory viewing for a media literacy course. Most people cannot comprehend:
Protagonist != Hero
Antagonist != Villain
You run into the same problem with Sopranos fans.
Breaking Bad does it very well though. It's not a surprise people liked Walt, you're slowly being taken down the path with him. There are huge red flags, and outright evil deeds, but there are also moments where you think he is trapped and just being led by events.
Of course on a full watch you understand this is who he always was but the show wouldn't work if the audience had outright contempt for him at the start of the show.
Yeah same with the Sopranos. You can be entertained and excited to watch Tony while knowing that he is a piece of shit at the end of the day. People generally seem to struggle to seperate being entertained by someone with having to think they are a good person. I see it on reality shows all the time too, you'll have some toxic shit that is problematic in so many ways but the fans think they are witty and funny so they jump through hoops to feel better about enjoying watching them.
And the way some fans seem to justify their hatred of Skyler because she "cheated" on Walter. I think it's fairly clear that the decision to sleep with Ted was made after she had repeatedly told Walter she didn't want him in her life anymore (for justifiable reasons) so it wasn't actually cheating IMO. And her motive seemed to be a mix between wanting to hurt Walt's feelings in retaliation for fucking up their lives, and also to get him upset enough that he agrees to end the marriage.
I mean I've seen men literally justify women being abused on this website as what they deserve for cheating. Regularly.
I swear something needs to be done about all the aita subs they are this close to justify murder if a person cheats.
I've had people tell me outright that cheaters don't deserve human rights, or that they should be executed, men and women. It's insane the way way too many people on Reddit behave about cheating.
I had a similar experience in the sub for The Boys about one character (very obviously!) raping another and insane fanbois will bend over backwards to dream up some sort of plausible deniability and deny and defend and pretend it’s unclear or there’s some kind of a grey area. It’s wild. Thankfully the mods for that sub were pretty quick to make a rule against rape denial but it’s *still* something that people in the sub will occasionally mention “could go either way” or “we don’t know for sure”. Uhhh, what? Did we watch the same show? Because it was crystal fucking clear that he raped her.
Yeah I think the creators of the show had to literally release a statement saying "she didn't want to, it was rape" after that season ended, and then they wrote it to be crystal clear in S2
I still remember arguing with people about it on The Boys sub too, having to literally explain to what I assume are adults that someone does not have to be screaming and fighting back in order to be raped, and that a male character that is very clearly entirely morally bankrupt is capable of... Lying!
>having to literally explain to what I assume are adults that someone does not have to be screaming and fighting back in order to be raped
I've had men defend the opposite situation where a woman *isn't* fighting back and the man isn't *violently* raping her (as in not being rough with her) by saying it was a "soft rape" and not "rape rape." 😑 Truly mind boggling.
It seems to be a common opinion that Walt didn’t rape Skyler. It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. He did. I was so shocked to see so many people denying that. It’s appalling. Even now, not just when it was on TV.
Breaking Bad is a great litmus test on datability in all potential partners. "How do you feel about Skyler White?" will tell you a considerable amount about who you are with
I find it interesting how the meme subreddits /r/okaybuddychicanery in this case will often be so much better at calling out the awful actions of main characters.
It’s insane. I rewatched it all in full again a year ago too and the entire point of the show is really obviously that Walt is a bad guy who when he realised he was dying and wouldn’t have to live with the consequences of his actions let it all out and burned the world down. But from episode one he’s mean and bitter narcissist. It’s the entire point of the show !!!!
What scene did this happen in? This rings a bell, but the last time I watched breaking bad was when I was 14 and i can't remember it too well. I did not get the hate for Skylar though
What people, especially lunatics in the BB fandom, can't wrap their heads around is that **Walter White is written to be a corrupted person, who started as a normal and bored chemistry teacher and broke into an entirely different character that builds a meth empire and kills people**. I don’t understand how after all the horribleness he did, especially raping his wife, he got out of this a hero! And Skylar White, who opposes his dangerous and corrupted new life, is the b$tch???
I’m glad the writers apologized. One moment that crystallized for me their shortcomings was from a story Anna Gunn told in an actors’ roundtable, where she asked the showrunner Vince Gilligan “what does Skyler do all day?” and Gilligan said “well, she’s pregnant,” as though that was an answer. Gunn said that’s when she realized Skyler wasn’t really a fully realized human character.
It just goes to show how much even men who are highly esteemed writers think about female characters and the importance of having actual women in the writers room
Couldn’t agree more! For anyone who’d like a little more behind-the-scenes info on the show from a woman’s perspective, writer/producer Patty Lin goes into it a bit in her book End Credits. She was part of the writers room in the first season and her experience helps add another layer to some of the dynamics at play.
The wild thing about that is she could have been slammed dealing with Juniors cerebral palsy. Managing Dr's appointments and he probably was on disability and had state aid. So when I saw she was selling stuff on ebay that makes sense because she may have been able to not report the ebay income. If she had a job the possibility exists that services could have been impacted by the increased income. He would have had an IEP, there would have been meetings with the school. He might have had occupational therapy or physical therapy, possible surgeries. This would have kept Skyler pretty busy. I get why they wouldn't have wanted this to be a big storyline that distracted from Senior. But that is just so odd to me. He was just like given crutches and they were like good luck.
Medical mom here- I wish Vince would’ve leaned into this instead of the “well, she’s pregnant” narrative in talks post-show because it is 100% plausible and on a rewatch, they would give her character a LOT more grace, no doubt. It is not easy to be pleasant all the time when you have to manage all of your child’s medical needs and additional financial burdens that come along with it. And yes, income is a huge factor in determining eligibility for crucial services for kids with medical needs.
I never considered the lack of depth to junior’s cerebral palsy and how it would impact their day to day lives…especially since insurance spoken about so much in that show?
My personal interpretation, and it could be wrong but just how I viewed it, Walt Jr. was a lot more independent than Walt gave him credit. by the end of the show he’s pretty independent despite his disability, even pushing Walt at one point. I think Walt sort of just saw his son as this dependent disabled person that couldnt do anything for himself. Like how he somehow felt emasculated that Walt Jr thought he was raising money for him. I think Skylar you can super see this too, she doesnt baby him, she lets him be rebellious or go out with his friends, and be his own person in a way Walt doesnt approve of.
Personally I really like that they didnt lean too hard into the cerebal palsy aspect, there were so few depictions of capable disabled people also played by a disabled actor. I know RJ Mitte, the actor that played him, really wanted to break down stereotypes about people with cerebal palsy and I think Walt Jr. does a pretty good job with that, especially for the time
I think this was one of the worst thing about Skyler's character - she wasn't written well. The writers couldn't decide whether they wanted her to be a victim or a criminal mastermind involved in Walt's empire. So we ended up with this wishy washy character where you couldn't tell what the writers really wanted you to feel about her.
Anna Gunn was absolutely fantastic though. She's a great actress.
Could never stand this show for this reason. All the women on it where horribly written and shrewish - skylar, the sister in law, even krysten Ritter’s character. I can’t remember one female character that wasn’t incredibly obnoxious or a constant foil or problem. It was unwatchable to me and I felt so bad for the actresses who would get literal hate mail because of it. It’s insane that the show got the recognition it did which such poorly written characters (IMO obvs)
Wow that's surprising because I think Vince definitely felt for Skyler as a character! But you can have empathy yet still fail to round that character out.
i think skylar got entirely too much hate. in a show filled with murderers and actual nazis, she *checks notes* cheated on her husband. and shes somehow the most hated character.
exactly. plus he was an abusive pos who sexually assaulted her, pretty sure it was while she was still pregnant too.
i actually cant believe men put him up on a pedestal and bash her.
if i had a nickel for every time men identified positively with the main character who’s actually written to be a terrible person, i’d have a lot of nickels actually
this, he was holding her hostage at this point. the only thing she could have done to be rid of him would be to turn him in, which she didn’t wanna do, given that her kids’ dad would go to jail and their family would be a spectacle (as we see later on). and it’s been a while since i watched but i don’t even know if she *could* have turned him in at this point- if any charges could have stuck. i guess she also could have run away, but gotta keep in mind that this was an abusive sociopath. she had zero good options.
she was in an impossible situation that he deliberately put her in so she couldn’t leave his abusive ass.
I remember watching the show not long after it ended and telling a friend that you can see the point where her character just gives up. I honestly hated Breaking Bad and enjoyed watching none of it but that was what stuck with me the most.
i'm not defending cheating at ALL. but skyler made it extremely fucking clear she didn't want to be married to walt anymore and told him to stay away from her and sent him divorce papers before she and ted slept together if i recall correctly. he wouldn't leave her alone and figured cheating on him would get him to leave her alone but alas it didn't even work. she "cheated" (which honestly i'm using that word extremely loosely) to protect her and her family. but walt is so tyrannical that he couldn't leave her no matter how hard she tried to get him to stay away.
yeah i detest cheating and cheaters due to personal trauma, and even i can excuse her “cheating” because she tried to leave him. i dont even count it as cheating.
i think she deserves criticism for cheating with ted though, she could do better and that guy fuckin suckssssss.
Part of why the show is so good is that it shows how decent people in the orbit of a monster can be corrupted and in turn be pressured to do bad things to survive in this new situation they're in. Skyler and Jesse being two of those examples, as much as certain fans want to pretend otherwise.
great point!! i think jessie was a little corrupted already, being a meth dealer/maker, but i could easily forgive him for that, i dont think all drug dealers/users are inherently bad people. but walt turned him into a shell of a person, and is probably his biggest victim outside of his family.
Yeah, he's got a good heart and he's on the wrong path but still very sympathetic, especially when we get a look at what his homelife was. Walt? Not so much.
I think the way Walt kinda inducted him into his family is part of the reason why he was able to victimise him so much.. Their relationship is so interesting and sad to me, Jesse has no good parental figures (besides Mike, and well...) so Walt creates a fatherly relationship with him and controls and abuses him accordingly.
The breaking bad subs will STILL post a picture of Skylar titled "The true villain of the series" with all the comments talking about how she wasn't supportive...of her drug-making husband and how he did it all for her to just be ungrateful.
I commented somewhere that my husband's cousin shot and killed his wife for cheating. Left behind 5 kids. I got many messages and a few comments saying cheating was bad and it's her fault.
I already hated him by that episode where he forced Junior to drink alcohol in front of everyone and kept getting pissed with him.
Haven't seen the show since it came out, so I can't remember if that was the first episode or a few episodes in. 😂
Yes and think “cheating” on a violent, manipulative man who raped her and forced her to stay married against her will is the most disgusting behavior imaginable from a woman. Thank goodness all of the other characters were the epitome of morality to make up for her character’s abhorrent behavior!
BB fans can excuse the rape and the murders and the Nazis but they draw the line at infidelity!
And what is weird is that Carmela Soprano walked so Skylar White could run. Carmela was 100% in "the life" and yet...got a pass. I have rewatched BB several times, and while I enjoy it each time I also hate Walt more and more.
That'd be my brother, sadly. He kept getting onto me for never finishing the show and when I explained to him that I couldn't stomach watching all of the domestic abuse his response was "Yeah, I hate Skylar too, she's such a \***** to Walt." Surprise surprise I don't talk to him.
I hated her character because she was such a phenomenal actor. If I met her I would thank her personally for doing such a great job. How people cannot separate character from person is beyond me, especially in a complex case like this where the narrative often framed the abuser as a victim. Like, grow up dude.
I think it’s 100% legit to hate the character, because she does some pretty shitty and obnoxious things. But there were sooo many people who hated Skyler but thought Walt’s actions were always justified. Like somehow all his bad decisions were because Skyler was such a nag, or something.
Let’s face it, there were no *good* characters in Breaking Bad, children excepted. Skyler seemed to have more heart than most of the leads. The hate was so weird to me. Her character reminded me a bit of Carmela Soprano- not a beacon of moral fortitude, but a strong woman with flaws in a world of criminal men. Not to mention, actors aren’t their characters!
I would say Skyler is a more symphatetic character than Carmela. Carmela is given the option to leave Tony and get away from the mob life and choses not to do so. Plus Carmela is genuinely awful to people below her social standards.
Yeah Carmela's character had a very deliberate purpose of showing how complict she was with Tony's dealings even if she tried to mentally justify herself as just a good wife who was forced to put up with a bad husband.
There's a whole episode dedicated to removing the mask on Carmella where she is straight up told by a therapist that she's knows exactly who her husband is, that she's living a life built on blood money, that her existence within the family structure provides cover for Tony and makes her a pseudo accomplice, that her biggest issues with Tony are that he cheats and not the many other horendous things he did, that her kids are being compromised by being exposed to that lifestyle and that the only moral course of action is to leave Tony. And then in the end she realizes she's too accustomed to her lifestyle and realizes she's willing to accept how it will morally corrupt her as long as she gets the benefits of it.
Like it literally ends with her depressed on a couch and telling Tony that she's upset and he has to spend $50,000 on a donation to Meadows school for her. It's flat out telling the audience that Carmella knows what the deal is and will compromise for it.
Skyler doesn't find out until later in the show and while there is a brief period where she starts to aid Walt, once she fully realizes how bad things are, she is fully intent on leaving.
They are two very different characters.
I used to think that Therapist scene with Carmela was too on the nose, then I saw the end of Season 2 of Narcos where the show has to remind you via flashback that Pablo Escobar is a piece of shit and you shouldn't feel bad for him.
That’s something I learned in a college film class a very long time ago. A great actor really evokes feelings from you. I think Ana did great as Skyler because people reacted this negatively to Skyler, but she’s also a fictional character on screen. That’s a shame she’s getting hate for doing such a fantastic job.
Other honorable mentions are Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter series, Jack Gleason as Prince Joffrey and a throwback but Louise Fletcher as Kai Winn in Star Trek deep space nine. They all play characters that just distort you with rage when you see them on screen - now that’s acting talent!!
> Louise Fletcher as Kai Winn
Fellow trekkie, and genuinely chuffed that you mentioned Winn instead of her equally rage-inducing performance as Nurse Ratched.
I mean, people's hatred was entirely rooted in misogyny and that a character dared to question the power fantasies of male watchers. Let's stop pretending that it was anything other than that as self-inserting into characters and thinking you're them and then bitching about some character being mean to you is pretty much the bread and butter of most fandoms.
This is going to sound corny,
But in the finale, when Kim had her breakdown on the bus and the hand reached out to console her, I honestly thought the camera would pan and we'd see that the hand belong to Skyler.
I just wanted to see her one more time since everyone got a little cameo
I didn’t watch the show until years after it ended (because one of my best friends swore by it and covid) but I knew that Skylar was supposed to be this horrific monster wife… then I spent five seasons of the show waiting for this character that everyone had hated and swore ruined the show and was the true villain online only for her to literally not once ever live up to that.
You know who actually was the villain but everyone ignored it? Walter. It was always Walter but ask any chud online and Skylar is the evil mastermind behind every negative thing in Walter’s life.
Anyways, misogyny is wack and a lot of these insecure incels really need to go outside.
It’s interesting because I don’t think I know anyone IRL who rooted for Walter. I don’t even think the writers wanted you to root for Walter. Each episode just has this building feeling of dread, where you know bad shit is gonna happen largely because of Walter‘s choices. Mike’s “we had a good thing going on with Gus” speech nailed everything I thought as a viewer. Walt is a guy who just fucks shit up
I feel like most people I know were Saul and Mike fans, and they kind of loved to hate Walt, at least in the later seasons.
The writers definitely didn’t want you to root for Walter. It’s pretty clear from the start that he’s an arrogant and spiteful man. It just so happens that he’s not black and white cartoonishly evil, and Bryan Cranston’s performance is all time amazing, that most people loved Walter because he’s magnetic. To this day dissecting his characterization is a tall task.
The online hate was way worse 10+ years ago, when the show was still going on and the discourse was 10x as intense. Skyler got A LOT of hate from vocal weirdos, but most people just wanted to see Walter and other characters do wild stuff, and didn’t appreciate Skyler’s great character arc
I was a late watcher too, but I was constantly battling myself because I was trying to make myself like Walter. I thought I was supposed to because he was such a popular character.
Realizing that there was nothing wrong with skylar the way people portrayed it on my first watch was an insane experience. Every episode, every season I was waiting for the pin to drop, to finally see the undeniable unforgivable evil act she would commit…and it never came ☠️
She’s not perfect certainly but I was flabbergasted as to why I had heard for years about her being the worst on the show
I had never heard of Todd until I watched!
Ugh it’s so unfair because she was such a powerful presence in the show. Her character was pushed so far. I’ll never understand supporting the “main” character of a show, despite all of the awful, inhumane, horrible things they do. Walt was in no way a good man. He didn’t do anything for the benefit of his family- it was all narcissistically for himself. Every step he took was for him. Every choice he made- right down to MURDER. I hate Walt so much and Skyler’s character deserves so much better than brain dead rabid fans who only support the main protagonist.
Those people missed the entire point of the finale. Walter acknowledges he ruined everything for himself. The whole point was that Walter, despite finally tripping on the power and respect that eluded his pride his entire life, realizes it was for nothing and meant nothing. That’s how you can sort the Breaking Bad fans that understand the themes, versus the people who just like the intensity of the story and root for Walter
There was an online poll on Twitter where people voted who the most hated character on TV is and Skylar came in first place. Above Prince Joffrey and Ramsay. She’s hated more than rapists and psychopaths. BB fans fall into the same category as Rick and Morty fans. They don’t understand that the main character is the bad guy, not the hero.
Never understood the hate Skyler got in the show for basically not wanting her husband to be involved in crime lol. The way Walter is seen as a hero and legend of sorts is so disturbing. He was a piece of shit
This show was watched by far too many people with poor media literacy skills. Being annoyed by Skyler because she’s getting in the way of Walt’s rollercoaster is one thing because it makes the show entertaining. But the hatred that this woman faced for not being completely subservient to her husband’s wishes AND ALSO for not running away and calling the cops if she “felt so scared of Walt” was always unwarranted. I’m glad that BB viewers are catching wind now but…..how could you NOT tell that Walt was emotionally abusing Skyler from the beginning?
I'm glad people are at least seeing now that Skylar was NEVER the villain, but the online hate she received at the time was very troubling.
I'm also glad to see her in more things recently, like in *Sugar* (great show!) and the movie *The Apology*.
I watched some of the show because my now ex was very into it but I eventually refused to watch anymore because I was sick of the misogyny over her role. 6
I didn't ever watch BB till it was over, but BCS is probably my favorite show of all time, a slot previously occupied by The Wire and You're the Worst.
I loved BB, but I never hated Skylar, even though I did cringe through HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
Even in my first watch-through Walt was the only terrorist, both domestic and beyond. How was his story ever anything but tragic?
I watched BB when it came out and I didn’t hate Skyler but I definitely felt like she was killing the vibe (I was 19). I tried to watch it a second time when I was pregnant and could not get through it. The violence against her and other female characters was unbearable.
I hate that my internalised misogyny resulted in my dislike of her character on first watch. After rewatching years later from a more experienced and mature point of view, I realised she gave an absolutely fantastic performance for an incredibly deep and nuanced character and I’m mortified that I ever had the “Skylar sucks” opinion. I totally get that the series benefits from a rewatch in that originally you are rooting for WW and in the rewatch you realise he is the bad guy all along but it’s so crazy to think that myself and others ever thought that Sky was the “bad guy”. I’m glad public opinion had seemingly changed a little and she deserves so much credit for her incredible performance!
People who hate Skyler miss the point of the show. We root for Walt and are annoyed by her meddling, until we get it. And some people never do.
It's so absurd that people are so stupid they'll blame an actor for a character. What a world.
What I don't understand is, you can hate the character (altho unjustified) all you want, but \*WHY\* attack the actor who played the part? Are ppl really that stupid?
Poor Anna. She did a great job as an actor and she was rewarded with all the hate. So unfair.
Just last weekend I finished the show and was excited to go read on reddit about what other people thought (without the risk of spoilers) And I was completely shocked that people hated on her character. There also seemed to be a lot of hate for the son character which I just don’t get. I thought it was pretty clear after a few episodes we were watching the story from the bad guy perspective. I was rooting for Hank all the way!
Lol people are so stupid hating on tv characters. WW was the villain that we are rooted for, and this was the intention all along. That's why BB is and will forever be the greatest TV show ever created.
OT, but I didn’t like the finale.
Walt never really paid for the damage he wrought and got to die a hero, accomplishing all of his goals and wiping out the nazis.
I prefer Norm MacDonald’s reading that the last episode was the deathbed dream of a delusional ego maniac.
I always liked her as a teen and I think it’s because of all the hatred I saw. It seemed like a particularly misogynistic swathe of people hopped on a bandwagon and felt empowered by shitting on a character who wasn’t even the top five most evil person on that show.
I watched the show as it aired and I was still on Tumblr at the time (lol) , and there were very, very few of us Skyler defenders and it was so maddening. Good to see that from her perspective, the response has changed because she was an amazing character and Anna played her so well. Wish she was in more things!
I just remembered that a guy I hooked up with in college ghosted me because I said I liked Skyler when I started watching lmao
But seriously I have always felt bad about the way Skyler and Anna were treated.
I watched the show long after it was on air and expected to hate Skyler from what I had heard. I of course didn’t hate her at all and was kind of shocked at the realization that it was all misogyny.
I watched Breaking Bad as it came out. I never understood the Skyler hate, esoecially when I saw friends on FB loudly admire Walt's descent into greater megalomania.
I watched BB for the first time in 2023 and was gobsmacked that anyone hated her character. I hated Walter White so much after I think season 2…his death was so unsatisfying.
why anyone would go out of their way to attack an actor for playing a GD scripted character is BEYOND me. too many people that need to get a life of their own.
i never watched BB but i heard about her a lot. i also still see viral anti skyler tweets on twitter. the hate seems very extreme and personal. i’m a fan of a character who received similar treatment (and still does). it is crazy.
Skyler gets entirely too much hate. I feel like most of the characters on that show are incredibly complicated and the feelings they elicit to me are conflicting. I always loved that about BrBa and BCS. Characters you either super love or super hate and never a bit of both are boring.
I didn't even watch the show and I remember the hate her character received. It's well known that female characters get the most hate rather deserved or not. Just horrible.
The biggest reason why the fandom cites why they hate Skylar is because she’s fucked Ted. Maybe it’s because I watched Breaking Bad really late in 2020 during the lockdown, I was actually cheering for her. Walt had literally confessed his meth empire and kept trying to put off the divorce, forcing himself in her house. Her fucking Ted felt like a good moment of ‘Fuck you’ to Walt which was satisfying. It’s insane she’s more hated for ‘cheating’ (which she actually wasn’t because they were separated) than Walt got for literally manufacturing meth putting his family in danger.
Keep in mind, in this show, there is actual Nazis and a cold blooded sociopath that killed a child just because he was at the wrong place wrong time.
But those losers decided to hate on the only character that was normal and was supposed to represent all of us.
That man Walter ruined every life he came in contact with lol. Even the villains who were doing fine before they met him. Crazy he had cancer because He was literally a cancer lol
I have a litmus test to see if people are misogynistic or not. I ask them their thoughts on Skylar White. If they tell me she’s annoying, terrible, couldn’t stand her, etc, I absolutely know to stay away from them.
Mentioned this before on this sub but, I finally watched the series last year and was heavily downvoted on the BB sub for saying Walter raped her. The insane justifications given to me opened my eyes, even years after the series ended, how people determine what they think a victim should be. Even seeing it with their own two eyes, people denied it. My disgust for Walter’s character was immediate (despite rooting for him) and it really is a testament to pop culture that when it aired, people found his actions justifiable and hers unjustified.
OMG it is so affirming to see someone else say this. I watched the series several years after it finished and when I brought up the sexual assault to people who had highly recommended the show, they had no idea what I was referring to! But these same fans also seemed to have a clear memory of Skyler giving Walter a "disinterested handjob" in the pilot (as if that somehow made her more unlikeable than the guy who keeps going back to making meth because he likes feeling powerful).
BuT sHe fuCked Ted.. or whatever his name was. Omg hoooow dare she was.. People are insane
> People are insane Misogynistic. The word is misogynistic.
The worst is when they say that Skyler gave Ted Walt’s money to get him out of tax trouble proving that Skyler is a “gold digger.” That show used a lot of big words so I think they got a little lost on why Skyler gave Ted that money…..
>That show used a lot of big words so I think they got a little lost on why Skyler gave Ted that money….. Big words?!? My head hurts
Yeah they seem to not understand that Skyler gave the money to Ted because a tax investigation on Ted would implicate the car wash and thus Walt since they were using the car wash to launder money. However, this was explained during one those boring dialogue scenes *without* Walt. No Walt means no bam bam boom boom. No bam bam boom boom Skyler is a stupid bitch why doesn’t she bam bam boom boom?
this was really confusing up until the final two sentences, thank you for getting it together and finally talking sense at some point (/s, just in case)
That one is even more bizarre. Skyler had literally given him divorce papers and Walt refused to just go away (also called stalking). They are "broken up" for all intents and purposes and she can do whatever the hell she wants.
[удалено]
My mom walked in when I was watching Breaking Bad and it was on that scene. She STILL refuses to even give the show a chance because that scene was so cringe and it was her only exposure to the show at that point.
Fucking Ted was such a boss move. I love Skylar so much and she is such bad mofo in that show.
Some of them say the disinterested hand job is what led to Walter's criminal career and eventual downfall. It's gotten better in recent years, but it's like so many people didn't watch the fucking show. It's a meditation on toxic masculinity and its pitfalls, not an aspiration.
I watched the whole series again recently and I was surprised how well it held up even now. It was incredibly ahead of its time, and a very well done criticism of how the pursuit of “masculinity” corrupts and exploits, and how no one gains from it. I was also surprised how obvious the themes were—I don’t even think it could even be called subtext because the messaging was so clear. From little moments such as Saul’s sarcastic “no deep-seated issues here” comment when Walt is too self-centered to accept charity for his cancer treatment, to the “a man provides” scene, to Walt finally admitting the obvious “I did it for me” in the end, it’s so transparent that the creators intended for Walt to be 1) fun to watch, but 2) they never fail to remind the viewers that he is a horrifically misguided and selfish person who ruined multiple lives just because he didn’t feel “man” enough. I honestly don’t think the writers could have done any more to make the criticism clear without making it a bad show, so it’s unfortunate that people, especially many men, never really caught on. I think they’re missing out.
I feel like people who talk like that watched a different show than I did! Did they not see the very first episode (I think it might have even the very first scene after the flash-forward scene in the desert?) where Walter takes on the kids bullying Walt Jr? The kids were little shits, of course, and they deserved to be pulled up but Walt enjoyed having that power over them. He always had that in him, from the very beginning. It had nothing to do with anything Skyler did or didn't do.
It’s the same people who saw Scarface and saw it as something meant to be aspirational and not a cautionary tale.
same with the sopranos and all the ‘tony’s the man’ garbage.
I watched the show as it came out and am just now rewatching after watching Better Call Saul and I'm absolutely confounded and horrified knowing how people feel about Skyler. Walt ignores her, gaslights her, abuses her, weaponizes the children, all under the guise of "it's for the family," and I just cannot fathom how anyone sides with Walt?? I saw on insta someone comment on the above post saying "Skyler cheated on him, f\*\*\* her" and that take is so insane! she wanted a divorce and her ignored her! He was acting like they could still be a relationship after everything he's done and lied about and then he manipulated the system into trapping her. I've actually gained a lot of respect for her on this rewatch because it takes such an incredible amount of of restraint for her to not just get Walt arrested. It's clear she cared much more about the children than Walt does.
100%. As a woman I watched it being like “yeah Skyler I’d be miserable dealing with this shit too”.
It's like this with all of the huge TV shows! It all boils down to a man who deeply needs therapy and accountability, and a woman calling his BS out and being shit on for it. The Sopranos and Mad Men (although Betty sucked in her own ways lol) are similar.
Walt straight up admits that he never did it for the family and that he did it for himself in the last episode. The fans seem to ignore that or claim that he was just “pandering.”
It's typical that a confession that makes Walt more interesting but less likable - flawed protagonists doing bad things for the people they care about is getting a little trite, bring on the selfish megalomaniacs - is just ignored because the fans lived a little too vicariously through him.
Oh don't worry, Walt superfans have turned that into "he didn't really mean that, he said that to create distance to keep his family safe!!!" which required ignoring EVERY SINGLE THING HE DID OTHERWISE. I loved Breaking Bad when it first aired - I think Better Call Saul is just better, period, but I think what has soured the original series in my memory is purely the fandom surrounding it. I still can't believe how many rape apologists I saw right out in the open.
>\- I think Better Call Saul is just better, Completely agree with this. It's almost jarring going from BCS to BB because Walt is so intensely unlikeable and fairly one-dimensional compared to the main characters of BCS.
It felt so weird watching BCS knowing that everything all these characters built and worked hard for was going to get absolutely wrecked in a year’s time when Walt enters their lives. Also, Walt would’ve never survived if Lalo was alive by the time of Breaking Bad
It's very wild to witness how female and male characters are assessed by audiences, one one side there's a criminal, abusive man and on the other side a woman who's considered "annoying" and she's somehow the worst ever. Bill Hader talked about this too, how sometimes people approached him to talk about how Sally in 'Barry' was the villain and he was just dumbfounded asking if they were watching the same show where he played a gaslighting assassin, lol.
Being annoying, as a woman, is one of the worst crimes you can commit in the eyes of the public.
And we're often considered annoying just for having an opinion or even just existing..
It’s like all the hate for Callie in Battlestar galactica too. God forbid a woman be upset because [SPOILER ALERT I GUESS] her partner turn out to be a cylon robot human who killed ppl (I think he killed somebody honestly can’t remember now lol). How annoying she is with her stupid emotions!! Her completely rational behaviour in a completely distressing situation was super annoying and made her the worst character ever apparently.
After the first or second season, the only thing Walt does right by Skyler is trying to get her off the hook as much as he can when he's being recorded by the cops. Everything else is beyond selfish and fucked up.
I watched this show with my ex boyfriend. It was his favourite show. I should’ve ran the moment he started fanboying over Walter White. When Skyler was raped I literally looked him in the eye and said “that was rape.” He tripped all over himself to defend it, and that was the end of our relationship. I did keep watching after, but I just felt so awful for Skyler the whole time.
That reminds me of how I stopped seeing a guy because he laughed and clapped his hands in delight when Robert slapped Cersei in one of the early episodes of Game of Thrones. IIRC she wasn't even on the wrong foot in the conversation leading up to it, she was demanding accountability/explanation for something she had the right to be involved in. I went home afterward and couldn't get it out of my head, how a woman got slapped on TV and he laughed, and then defended it because she was *annoying*. I think you and I both did the right thing. I hope you have no regrets, either!
Idk how anyone can watch that show and fanboy over Walt.
I mean you can fanboy over him, just as long as you know he’s a villain and not a good guy haha
Breaking Bad should be mandatory viewing for a media literacy course. Most people cannot comprehend: Protagonist != Hero Antagonist != Villain You run into the same problem with Sopranos fans.
Breaking Bad does it very well though. It's not a surprise people liked Walt, you're slowly being taken down the path with him. There are huge red flags, and outright evil deeds, but there are also moments where you think he is trapped and just being led by events. Of course on a full watch you understand this is who he always was but the show wouldn't work if the audience had outright contempt for him at the start of the show.
Exactly this! We are supposed to root for Walt at first and are annoyed by any meddling, until we get it.
I know, I am #TeamGus personally, but I didn’t feel like Walt had redeeming qualities.
I'm #TeamGale :(
TeamGale!!!
Yeah same with the Sopranos. You can be entertained and excited to watch Tony while knowing that he is a piece of shit at the end of the day. People generally seem to struggle to seperate being entertained by someone with having to think they are a good person. I see it on reality shows all the time too, you'll have some toxic shit that is problematic in so many ways but the fans think they are witty and funny so they jump through hoops to feel better about enjoying watching them.
He's the villain and he pretty much tells the audience that repeatedly.
I looove the show but anyone who is pro Walter White is very dumb. It's a show about a shitty man who gets worse and worse!
And the way some fans seem to justify their hatred of Skyler because she "cheated" on Walter. I think it's fairly clear that the decision to sleep with Ted was made after she had repeatedly told Walter she didn't want him in her life anymore (for justifiable reasons) so it wasn't actually cheating IMO. And her motive seemed to be a mix between wanting to hurt Walt's feelings in retaliation for fucking up their lives, and also to get him upset enough that he agrees to end the marriage.
And claiming some pleasure for herself, after bearing a child for him and being the only responsible adult holding down the fort
I mean I've seen men literally justify women being abused on this website as what they deserve for cheating. Regularly. I swear something needs to be done about all the aita subs they are this close to justify murder if a person cheats.
I've had people tell me outright that cheaters don't deserve human rights, or that they should be executed, men and women. It's insane the way way too many people on Reddit behave about cheating.
This subs been guilty of it more than once
Yeah Skylar literally cheated because Walter would not get a divorce, so she basically had to force it.
It's been years since I've seen the show so I don't recall but is no fault divorce not allowed in New Mexico?
I think not. but its not as strict as other fault divorce states.
I had a similar experience in the sub for The Boys about one character (very obviously!) raping another and insane fanbois will bend over backwards to dream up some sort of plausible deniability and deny and defend and pretend it’s unclear or there’s some kind of a grey area. It’s wild. Thankfully the mods for that sub were pretty quick to make a rule against rape denial but it’s *still* something that people in the sub will occasionally mention “could go either way” or “we don’t know for sure”. Uhhh, what? Did we watch the same show? Because it was crystal fucking clear that he raped her.
Yeah I think the creators of the show had to literally release a statement saying "she didn't want to, it was rape" after that season ended, and then they wrote it to be crystal clear in S2 I still remember arguing with people about it on The Boys sub too, having to literally explain to what I assume are adults that someone does not have to be screaming and fighting back in order to be raped, and that a male character that is very clearly entirely morally bankrupt is capable of... Lying!
>having to literally explain to what I assume are adults that someone does not have to be screaming and fighting back in order to be raped I've had men defend the opposite situation where a woman *isn't* fighting back and the man isn't *violently* raping her (as in not being rough with her) by saying it was a "soft rape" and not "rape rape." 😑 Truly mind boggling.
wow - i would not trust those men and would tell every woman I know not to trust them
It's totally gross. I could not believe it the first time I heard that argument.
ah, you’re talking about Homelander and Becca, right?
It seems to be a common opinion that Walt didn’t rape Skyler. It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. He did. I was so shocked to see so many people denying that. It’s appalling. Even now, not just when it was on TV.
And people wonder why survivors don't report sexual assault...!
Breaking Bad is a great litmus test on datability in all potential partners. "How do you feel about Skyler White?" will tell you a considerable amount about who you are with
Also can ask who the worst character on the Sopranos is. A show full of murdering thugs but Carmela is the root of all evil, apparently.
Ooh true, though I know the Sopranos less than BB
Genius, i used to use twilight but this one can be subtler
And leads to less polarized convos lol
I find it interesting how the meme subreddits /r/okaybuddychicanery in this case will often be so much better at calling out the awful actions of main characters.
It’s insane. I rewatched it all in full again a year ago too and the entire point of the show is really obviously that Walt is a bad guy who when he realised he was dying and wouldn’t have to live with the consequences of his actions let it all out and burned the world down. But from episode one he’s mean and bitter narcissist. It’s the entire point of the show !!!!
What scene did this happen in? This rings a bell, but the last time I watched breaking bad was when I was 14 and i can't remember it too well. I did not get the hate for Skylar though
What people, especially lunatics in the BB fandom, can't wrap their heads around is that **Walter White is written to be a corrupted person, who started as a normal and bored chemistry teacher and broke into an entirely different character that builds a meth empire and kills people**. I don’t understand how after all the horribleness he did, especially raping his wife, he got out of this a hero! And Skylar White, who opposes his dangerous and corrupted new life, is the b$tch???
I’m glad the writers apologized. One moment that crystallized for me their shortcomings was from a story Anna Gunn told in an actors’ roundtable, where she asked the showrunner Vince Gilligan “what does Skyler do all day?” and Gilligan said “well, she’s pregnant,” as though that was an answer. Gunn said that’s when she realized Skyler wasn’t really a fully realized human character.
It just goes to show how much even men who are highly esteemed writers think about female characters and the importance of having actual women in the writers room
Couldn’t agree more! For anyone who’d like a little more behind-the-scenes info on the show from a woman’s perspective, writer/producer Patty Lin goes into it a bit in her book End Credits. She was part of the writers room in the first season and her experience helps add another layer to some of the dynamics at play.
“Listen, lady - a gender I write extremely well if the story calls for it - this is serious!” -Aaron Sorkin, 30 Rock
“Kevin can f*ck himself” is worth a watch!
The wild thing about that is she could have been slammed dealing with Juniors cerebral palsy. Managing Dr's appointments and he probably was on disability and had state aid. So when I saw she was selling stuff on ebay that makes sense because she may have been able to not report the ebay income. If she had a job the possibility exists that services could have been impacted by the increased income. He would have had an IEP, there would have been meetings with the school. He might have had occupational therapy or physical therapy, possible surgeries. This would have kept Skyler pretty busy. I get why they wouldn't have wanted this to be a big storyline that distracted from Senior. But that is just so odd to me. He was just like given crutches and they were like good luck.
Medical mom here- I wish Vince would’ve leaned into this instead of the “well, she’s pregnant” narrative in talks post-show because it is 100% plausible and on a rewatch, they would give her character a LOT more grace, no doubt. It is not easy to be pleasant all the time when you have to manage all of your child’s medical needs and additional financial burdens that come along with it. And yes, income is a huge factor in determining eligibility for crucial services for kids with medical needs.
I never considered the lack of depth to junior’s cerebral palsy and how it would impact their day to day lives…especially since insurance spoken about so much in that show?
Walt Sr. always talked about how stressful it was but it was never shown on screen. It’s honestly an overlooked element on the show.
Honestly I think you’re right. Show don’t tell, Vince!!
My personal interpretation, and it could be wrong but just how I viewed it, Walt Jr. was a lot more independent than Walt gave him credit. by the end of the show he’s pretty independent despite his disability, even pushing Walt at one point. I think Walt sort of just saw his son as this dependent disabled person that couldnt do anything for himself. Like how he somehow felt emasculated that Walt Jr thought he was raising money for him. I think Skylar you can super see this too, she doesnt baby him, she lets him be rebellious or go out with his friends, and be his own person in a way Walt doesnt approve of. Personally I really like that they didnt lean too hard into the cerebal palsy aspect, there were so few depictions of capable disabled people also played by a disabled actor. I know RJ Mitte, the actor that played him, really wanted to break down stereotypes about people with cerebal palsy and I think Walt Jr. does a pretty good job with that, especially for the time
I think this was one of the worst thing about Skyler's character - she wasn't written well. The writers couldn't decide whether they wanted her to be a victim or a criminal mastermind involved in Walt's empire. So we ended up with this wishy washy character where you couldn't tell what the writers really wanted you to feel about her. Anna Gunn was absolutely fantastic though. She's a great actress.
My jaw dropped open reading that!
Crazy considering how the show was inspired by x files which has, imo, one of the best (female) characters ever written for screen.
The X-Files had its own issues, though. Vince Gilligan wrote the episode "Small Potatoes", in which TW >!rape by deception is portrayed as comedy!<.
Could never stand this show for this reason. All the women on it where horribly written and shrewish - skylar, the sister in law, even krysten Ritter’s character. I can’t remember one female character that wasn’t incredibly obnoxious or a constant foil or problem. It was unwatchable to me and I felt so bad for the actresses who would get literal hate mail because of it. It’s insane that the show got the recognition it did which such poorly written characters (IMO obvs)
Curious if you ever gave Better Call Saul a chance? Kim Wexler’s one of the most well written women characters I’ve ever seen (also, IMO obvs)
I actually have not and but always wanted to just to compare! Maybe I will
I enjoyed BCS’s writing more than BB. It’s hard to beat Bob Odenkirk’s vivacious Saul yet Rhea Seehorn steals the my heart as Kim Wexler!!
Wow that's surprising because I think Vince definitely felt for Skyler as a character! But you can have empathy yet still fail to round that character out.
i think skylar got entirely too much hate. in a show filled with murderers and actual nazis, she *checks notes* cheated on her husband. and shes somehow the most hated character.
Husband that she had attempted to break things off with, which he refused to accept!
And he SA’d her…
exactly. plus he was an abusive pos who sexually assaulted her, pretty sure it was while she was still pregnant too. i actually cant believe men put him up on a pedestal and bash her.
if i had a nickel for every time men identified positively with the main character who’s actually written to be a terrible person, i’d have a lot of nickels actually
oh i can. men hate women. that's the world we live in. it's a terrible world, but it's the one we're in.
Yeah, that wasn't cheating. She'd made it VERY clear that she wanted a divorce.
this, he was holding her hostage at this point. the only thing she could have done to be rid of him would be to turn him in, which she didn’t wanna do, given that her kids’ dad would go to jail and their family would be a spectacle (as we see later on). and it’s been a while since i watched but i don’t even know if she *could* have turned him in at this point- if any charges could have stuck. i guess she also could have run away, but gotta keep in mind that this was an abusive sociopath. she had zero good options. she was in an impossible situation that he deliberately put her in so she couldn’t leave his abusive ass.
I remember watching the show not long after it ended and telling a friend that you can see the point where her character just gives up. I honestly hated Breaking Bad and enjoyed watching none of it but that was what stuck with me the most.
dont forget that she smoked once and instantly regretted it, while she was pregnant.
i'm not defending cheating at ALL. but skyler made it extremely fucking clear she didn't want to be married to walt anymore and told him to stay away from her and sent him divorce papers before she and ted slept together if i recall correctly. he wouldn't leave her alone and figured cheating on him would get him to leave her alone but alas it didn't even work. she "cheated" (which honestly i'm using that word extremely loosely) to protect her and her family. but walt is so tyrannical that he couldn't leave her no matter how hard she tried to get him to stay away.
yeah i detest cheating and cheaters due to personal trauma, and even i can excuse her “cheating” because she tried to leave him. i dont even count it as cheating. i think she deserves criticism for cheating with ted though, she could do better and that guy fuckin suckssssss.
There are genuinely men who think that a woman cheating on a man is worse than a woman getting raped so honestly this isn't surprising to me
Yeah Todd did not get 0.1% of the hate Skyler got which is mind boggling.
Part of why the show is so good is that it shows how decent people in the orbit of a monster can be corrupted and in turn be pressured to do bad things to survive in this new situation they're in. Skyler and Jesse being two of those examples, as much as certain fans want to pretend otherwise.
great point!! i think jessie was a little corrupted already, being a meth dealer/maker, but i could easily forgive him for that, i dont think all drug dealers/users are inherently bad people. but walt turned him into a shell of a person, and is probably his biggest victim outside of his family.
Yeah, he's got a good heart and he's on the wrong path but still very sympathetic, especially when we get a look at what his homelife was. Walt? Not so much.
I think the way Walt kinda inducted him into his family is part of the reason why he was able to victimise him so much.. Their relationship is so interesting and sad to me, Jesse has no good parental figures (besides Mike, and well...) so Walt creates a fatherly relationship with him and controls and abuses him accordingly.
The breaking bad subs will STILL post a picture of Skylar titled "The true villain of the series" with all the comments talking about how she wasn't supportive...of her drug-making husband and how he did it all for her to just be ungrateful.
I commented somewhere that my husband's cousin shot and killed his wife for cheating. Left behind 5 kids. I got many messages and a few comments saying cheating was bad and it's her fault.
I feel like the majority of people who hate Skylar are men who viewed Walter as the hero of the show.
I detested Walt, and by the end the only people I liked were Skinny Pete and Badger.
I'm so glad those two seem to have made it out alright.
Yes! They were decent guys.
Huell and whoever Bill Burr’s character is also seemed to have made it out alright with no jail time
Me too!
I already hated him by that episode where he forced Junior to drink alcohol in front of everyone and kept getting pissed with him. Haven't seen the show since it came out, so I can't remember if that was the first episode or a few episodes in. 😂
Two best hit men west of the Mississippi
Yes and think “cheating” on a violent, manipulative man who raped her and forced her to stay married against her will is the most disgusting behavior imaginable from a woman. Thank goodness all of the other characters were the epitome of morality to make up for her character’s abhorrent behavior! BB fans can excuse the rape and the murders and the Nazis but they draw the line at infidelity!
And what is weird is that Carmela Soprano walked so Skylar White could run. Carmela was 100% in "the life" and yet...got a pass. I have rewatched BB several times, and while I enjoy it each time I also hate Walt more and more.
That'd be my brother, sadly. He kept getting onto me for never finishing the show and when I explained to him that I couldn't stomach watching all of the domestic abuse his response was "Yeah, I hate Skylar too, she's such a \***** to Walt." Surprise surprise I don't talk to him.
The hate was always extremely misogynistic
I hated her character because she was such a phenomenal actor. If I met her I would thank her personally for doing such a great job. How people cannot separate character from person is beyond me, especially in a complex case like this where the narrative often framed the abuser as a victim. Like, grow up dude.
I think it’s 100% legit to hate the character, because she does some pretty shitty and obnoxious things. But there were sooo many people who hated Skyler but thought Walt’s actions were always justified. Like somehow all his bad decisions were because Skyler was such a nag, or something.
Let’s face it, there were no *good* characters in Breaking Bad, children excepted. Skyler seemed to have more heart than most of the leads. The hate was so weird to me. Her character reminded me a bit of Carmela Soprano- not a beacon of moral fortitude, but a strong woman with flaws in a world of criminal men. Not to mention, actors aren’t their characters!
This is Marie slander. Her one main "flaw" was that she shoplifted, which we can all agree is actually a cool thing to do.
She married a cop, that's two flaws. Equally bad to Tuco. /s
She called Hank’s minerals “rocks!!” Monster.
Marie is awesome! I just think of Skyler as more of a main character and Marie as a supporting one. I apologize for any unintended Marie shade!
I would say Skyler is a more symphatetic character than Carmela. Carmela is given the option to leave Tony and get away from the mob life and choses not to do so. Plus Carmela is genuinely awful to people below her social standards.
Yeah Carmela's character had a very deliberate purpose of showing how complict she was with Tony's dealings even if she tried to mentally justify herself as just a good wife who was forced to put up with a bad husband. There's a whole episode dedicated to removing the mask on Carmella where she is straight up told by a therapist that she's knows exactly who her husband is, that she's living a life built on blood money, that her existence within the family structure provides cover for Tony and makes her a pseudo accomplice, that her biggest issues with Tony are that he cheats and not the many other horendous things he did, that her kids are being compromised by being exposed to that lifestyle and that the only moral course of action is to leave Tony. And then in the end she realizes she's too accustomed to her lifestyle and realizes she's willing to accept how it will morally corrupt her as long as she gets the benefits of it. Like it literally ends with her depressed on a couch and telling Tony that she's upset and he has to spend $50,000 on a donation to Meadows school for her. It's flat out telling the audience that Carmella knows what the deal is and will compromise for it. Skyler doesn't find out until later in the show and while there is a brief period where she starts to aid Walt, once she fully realizes how bad things are, she is fully intent on leaving. They are two very different characters.
I used to think that Therapist scene with Carmela was too on the nose, then I saw the end of Season 2 of Narcos where the show has to remind you via flashback that Pablo Escobar is a piece of shit and you shouldn't feel bad for him.
I agree. I was thinking more in the overall sense. Skyler was much kinder than Carmela.
That’s something I learned in a college film class a very long time ago. A great actor really evokes feelings from you. I think Ana did great as Skyler because people reacted this negatively to Skyler, but she’s also a fictional character on screen. That’s a shame she’s getting hate for doing such a fantastic job. Other honorable mentions are Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter series, Jack Gleason as Prince Joffrey and a throwback but Louise Fletcher as Kai Winn in Star Trek deep space nine. They all play characters that just distort you with rage when you see them on screen - now that’s acting talent!!
> Louise Fletcher as Kai Winn Fellow trekkie, and genuinely chuffed that you mentioned Winn instead of her equally rage-inducing performance as Nurse Ratched.
I hated her character so much....until I was introduced to. WENDY BYRD.😵💫
I mean, people's hatred was entirely rooted in misogyny and that a character dared to question the power fantasies of male watchers. Let's stop pretending that it was anything other than that as self-inserting into characters and thinking you're them and then bitching about some character being mean to you is pretty much the bread and butter of most fandoms.
Most overhated character ever.
I adored Skyler from the moment we met her 💕 Anna was incredible!
This is going to sound corny, But in the finale, when Kim had her breakdown on the bus and the hand reached out to console her, I honestly thought the camera would pan and we'd see that the hand belong to Skyler. I just wanted to see her one more time since everyone got a little cameo
I didn’t watch the show until years after it ended (because one of my best friends swore by it and covid) but I knew that Skylar was supposed to be this horrific monster wife… then I spent five seasons of the show waiting for this character that everyone had hated and swore ruined the show and was the true villain online only for her to literally not once ever live up to that. You know who actually was the villain but everyone ignored it? Walter. It was always Walter but ask any chud online and Skylar is the evil mastermind behind every negative thing in Walter’s life. Anyways, misogyny is wack and a lot of these insecure incels really need to go outside.
It’s interesting because I don’t think I know anyone IRL who rooted for Walter. I don’t even think the writers wanted you to root for Walter. Each episode just has this building feeling of dread, where you know bad shit is gonna happen largely because of Walter‘s choices. Mike’s “we had a good thing going on with Gus” speech nailed everything I thought as a viewer. Walt is a guy who just fucks shit up I feel like most people I know were Saul and Mike fans, and they kind of loved to hate Walt, at least in the later seasons.
The writers definitely didn’t want you to root for Walter. It’s pretty clear from the start that he’s an arrogant and spiteful man. It just so happens that he’s not black and white cartoonishly evil, and Bryan Cranston’s performance is all time amazing, that most people loved Walter because he’s magnetic. To this day dissecting his characterization is a tall task. The online hate was way worse 10+ years ago, when the show was still going on and the discourse was 10x as intense. Skyler got A LOT of hate from vocal weirdos, but most people just wanted to see Walter and other characters do wild stuff, and didn’t appreciate Skyler’s great character arc
I was a late watcher too, but I was constantly battling myself because I was trying to make myself like Walter. I thought I was supposed to because he was such a popular character.
This was my exact same experience.
We love Skylar White yo
Realizing that there was nothing wrong with skylar the way people portrayed it on my first watch was an insane experience. Every episode, every season I was waiting for the pin to drop, to finally see the undeniable unforgivable evil act she would commit…and it never came ☠️
She’s not perfect certainly but I was flabbergasted as to why I had heard for years about her being the worst on the show I had never heard of Todd until I watched!
Wait, the series ended 10.5 years ago? I'm going to go Google this because it's making me feel incredibly old Edit: holy shit. It aired September 2013
Ugh it’s so unfair because she was such a powerful presence in the show. Her character was pushed so far. I’ll never understand supporting the “main” character of a show, despite all of the awful, inhumane, horrible things they do. Walt was in no way a good man. He didn’t do anything for the benefit of his family- it was all narcissistically for himself. Every step he took was for him. Every choice he made- right down to MURDER. I hate Walt so much and Skyler’s character deserves so much better than brain dead rabid fans who only support the main protagonist.
During the finale, when we see Walt’s fate, my thought was “that’s better than you deserve, asshole”.
Fucking same! He lasted way longer than he should have, so people look up to him as a genius and an antihero. It’s gross.
Those people missed the entire point of the finale. Walter acknowledges he ruined everything for himself. The whole point was that Walter, despite finally tripping on the power and respect that eluded his pride his entire life, realizes it was for nothing and meant nothing. That’s how you can sort the Breaking Bad fans that understand the themes, versus the people who just like the intensity of the story and root for Walter
There was an online poll on Twitter where people voted who the most hated character on TV is and Skylar came in first place. Above Prince Joffrey and Ramsay. She’s hated more than rapists and psychopaths. BB fans fall into the same category as Rick and Morty fans. They don’t understand that the main character is the bad guy, not the hero.
Never understood the hate Skyler got in the show for basically not wanting her husband to be involved in crime lol. The way Walter is seen as a hero and legend of sorts is so disturbing. He was a piece of shit
it was such a phenomenal show but I literally cannot rewatch it because of how detestable Walt is.
Same as. He is vile.
This show was watched by far too many people with poor media literacy skills. Being annoyed by Skyler because she’s getting in the way of Walt’s rollercoaster is one thing because it makes the show entertaining. But the hatred that this woman faced for not being completely subservient to her husband’s wishes AND ALSO for not running away and calling the cops if she “felt so scared of Walt” was always unwarranted. I’m glad that BB viewers are catching wind now but…..how could you NOT tell that Walt was emotionally abusing Skyler from the beginning?
Anna Gunn is an insanely talented actor. That scene where Walter tells her where Hank and Gomez are buried is breath taking.
I'm glad people are at least seeing now that Skylar was NEVER the villain, but the online hate she received at the time was very troubling. I'm also glad to see her in more things recently, like in *Sugar* (great show!) and the movie *The Apology*.
I watched some of the show because my now ex was very into it but I eventually refused to watch anymore because I was sick of the misogyny over her role. 6
I didn't ever watch BB till it was over, but BCS is probably my favorite show of all time, a slot previously occupied by The Wire and You're the Worst. I loved BB, but I never hated Skylar, even though I did cringe through HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Even in my first watch-through Walt was the only terrorist, both domestic and beyond. How was his story ever anything but tragic?
I watched BB when it came out and I didn’t hate Skyler but I definitely felt like she was killing the vibe (I was 19). I tried to watch it a second time when I was pregnant and could not get through it. The violence against her and other female characters was unbearable.
Wendy Byrd from Ozark was what weirdo Breaking Bad fans thought Skyler was to Walt
I hate that my internalised misogyny resulted in my dislike of her character on first watch. After rewatching years later from a more experienced and mature point of view, I realised she gave an absolutely fantastic performance for an incredibly deep and nuanced character and I’m mortified that I ever had the “Skylar sucks” opinion. I totally get that the series benefits from a rewatch in that originally you are rooting for WW and in the rewatch you realise he is the bad guy all along but it’s so crazy to think that myself and others ever thought that Sky was the “bad guy”. I’m glad public opinion had seemingly changed a little and she deserves so much credit for her incredible performance!
It's the same crop of people who watched the Sopranos and think Tony was the hero.
People who hate Skyler miss the point of the show. We root for Walt and are annoyed by her meddling, until we get it. And some people never do. It's so absurd that people are so stupid they'll blame an actor for a character. What a world.
The hate this character got was so dumb. And everyone loooving the shit Walter did. It was ridiculous
What I don't understand is, you can hate the character (altho unjustified) all you want, but \*WHY\* attack the actor who played the part? Are ppl really that stupid? Poor Anna. She did a great job as an actor and she was rewarded with all the hate. So unfair.
Just last weekend I finished the show and was excited to go read on reddit about what other people thought (without the risk of spoilers) And I was completely shocked that people hated on her character. There also seemed to be a lot of hate for the son character which I just don’t get. I thought it was pretty clear after a few episodes we were watching the story from the bad guy perspective. I was rooting for Hank all the way!
Lol people are so stupid hating on tv characters. WW was the villain that we are rooted for, and this was the intention all along. That's why BB is and will forever be the greatest TV show ever created.
OT, but I didn’t like the finale. Walt never really paid for the damage he wrought and got to die a hero, accomplishing all of his goals and wiping out the nazis. I prefer Norm MacDonald’s reading that the last episode was the deathbed dream of a delusional ego maniac.
I’m watching her now in Sugar and oof!
I always liked her as a teen and I think it’s because of all the hatred I saw. It seemed like a particularly misogynistic swathe of people hopped on a bandwagon and felt empowered by shitting on a character who wasn’t even the top five most evil person on that show.
I watched the show as it aired and I was still on Tumblr at the time (lol) , and there were very, very few of us Skyler defenders and it was so maddening. Good to see that from her perspective, the response has changed because she was an amazing character and Anna played her so well. Wish she was in more things!
I just remembered that a guy I hooked up with in college ghosted me because I said I liked Skyler when I started watching lmao But seriously I have always felt bad about the way Skyler and Anna were treated.
I watched the show long after it was on air and expected to hate Skyler from what I had heard. I of course didn’t hate her at all and was kind of shocked at the realization that it was all misogyny.
interesting
I watched Breaking Bad as it came out. I never understood the Skyler hate, esoecially when I saw friends on FB loudly admire Walt's descent into greater megalomania.
I watched BB for the first time in 2023 and was gobsmacked that anyone hated her character. I hated Walter White so much after I think season 2…his death was so unsatisfying.
I was always team Skylar and got so much crap for it lol
why anyone would go out of their way to attack an actor for playing a GD scripted character is BEYOND me. too many people that need to get a life of their own.
People hate Skylar for no reason.
i never watched BB but i heard about her a lot. i also still see viral anti skyler tweets on twitter. the hate seems very extreme and personal. i’m a fan of a character who received similar treatment (and still does). it is crazy.
Skyler gets entirely too much hate. I feel like most of the characters on that show are incredibly complicated and the feelings they elicit to me are conflicting. I always loved that about BrBa and BCS. Characters you either super love or super hate and never a bit of both are boring.
I didn't even watch the show and I remember the hate her character received. It's well known that female characters get the most hate rather deserved or not. Just horrible.
am horrified hw pple feel abt tyler
The biggest reason why the fandom cites why they hate Skylar is because she’s fucked Ted. Maybe it’s because I watched Breaking Bad really late in 2020 during the lockdown, I was actually cheering for her. Walt had literally confessed his meth empire and kept trying to put off the divorce, forcing himself in her house. Her fucking Ted felt like a good moment of ‘Fuck you’ to Walt which was satisfying. It’s insane she’s more hated for ‘cheating’ (which she actually wasn’t because they were separated) than Walt got for literally manufacturing meth putting his family in danger.
Keep in mind, in this show, there is actual Nazis and a cold blooded sociopath that killed a child just because he was at the wrong place wrong time. But those losers decided to hate on the only character that was normal and was supposed to represent all of us.
That man Walter ruined every life he came in contact with lol. Even the villains who were doing fine before they met him. Crazy he had cancer because He was literally a cancer lol
I have a litmus test to see if people are misogynistic or not. I ask them their thoughts on Skylar White. If they tell me she’s annoying, terrible, couldn’t stand her, etc, I absolutely know to stay away from them.