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Breaking Bad: Let's discuss early season Skyler (spoilers)

Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:29 am
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:29 am
I'm doing a rewatch so I'm in full on BB mode. I know it is a universal opinion that skyler sucks and is awful and a megabitch. And I mean I'm not really going to argue against that. I know the flip side of that is "well look at what walt put her through, he's a meth dealer of course she's gonna act crazy". Also valid. But in doing my rewatch (I'm currently a few episodes into season 2, so very early still) I can absolutely see her side of the story. Let's break it down:

-Walt works long hours at a car wash and often stays late. Nothing wrong with this, but it can be tough on a pregnant spouse. Speaking of, they're both aging and didn't plan on this new one so emotions are already on edge from the outset.
-Skyler realizes walt is somehow, someway involved with a druggie loser although she doesn't know how. She (reasonably, in this scenario) assumes he sells walt pot. For a guy that has never touched a drug, I can see how this would be alarming.
-Walt is extremely devious. He is out late, and upon telling her another lie about why he is coming home late from working, she tells him she knows he was fired 2 weeks ago. At this point, skyler knows that walt is not working but is out late and not being forthright, and is also involved with a drug dealer. She has every right to be upset.
-When walt finally comes clean and tells her about the cancer (yet another reason for her to rightfully be upset...hiding this massive secret from her for weeks) she is supportive and finds great medical care. Problem is that walt now has to empty his pension (to her knowledge of course) to pay for it, leaving them basically dead broke.
-grey matter offers him a position. He would actually get to put his smarts to work and make a bundle to boot. He turns it down.
-They go one step further; gretchen and elliot offer to simply pay for the treatment. What a miracle! Walt turns it down.
-they have a baby shower where she gets the jewelry from marie. She isn't happy with it so returns it to the store where she is held by authorities for theft bc of her bitch sister's actions.
-walt continues to be aloof and nearly rapes skyler in the kitchen before she has to make him stop
-after tuco kidnaps walt and jesse, he is missing and nobody knows where he is. It's around 2 days or so and they have literally no clue where he is, he simply vanished without a word
-hank tells skyler that the phone company looked at the records and walt did not receive a phone call when skyler knew he did, thereby informing her he has a 2nd cell phone



Now, I realize that later on she does ramp up the bitchiness and I want to say that I am 100%, no exceptions, vehemently opposed to cheating. Her fricking ted is more unforgivable to me than walt cooking. But we aren't there yet in the story. At THIS point, early on in season 2, I'm going to defend skyler and say she is absolutley well within reason to act the way she does. Can you really blame her?
This post was edited on 1/25/17 at 11:53 am
Posted by craigbiggio
Member since Dec 2009
31805 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:35 am to
quote:

When walt finally comes clean and tells her about the cancer (yet another reason for her to rightfully be upset...hiding this massive secret from her for weeks) she is supportive and finds great medical care. Problem is that walt now has to empty his pension (to her knowledge of course) to pay for it, leaving them basically dead broke.
-gretchen and elliot offer to pay for the treatment. What a miracle! Walt turns it down.


Add to this that Walt rejects the treatment and is prepared to die, making Skyler a widow with a handicapped son and newborn.

Obviously we the audience knows that Walt is cooking to leave nest egg behind, but Skyler is completely oblivious to that, which is why she reaches out to Gretchen and Elliot for help. So for all Skyler knows Walt is just giving up on life and leaving Skyler and the children to fend for themselves.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89476 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:48 am to
With just a little bit of perspective and time, Skyler looks a lot better. Is she perfect? Not by any stretch. This is illuminated by her efforts to cover up her own indiscretions at work.

First time through, I had Skyler up there with Janice Soprano and Betty Draper in the terrible ranks - she looks a lot better than they do over time.
This post was edited on 1/25/17 at 11:49 am
Posted by theunknownknight
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2005
57230 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:50 am to
she acts like a typical wife/woman to me. Maybe that's why you all find her annoying?
Posted by timbo
Red Stick, La.
Member since Dec 2011
7298 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:51 am to
quote:

Can you really blame her?


No. Walter White is a horrible, horrible human being. He could have gotten a cush job with Grey Matter and had Cadillac health insurance. Instead, he chose to make poison because he had too much pride to take assistance from a friend who was in a position to give it to him. Not only that, but the fact Walter was cooking meth put his family at the risk of having the feds seize everything they owned and torpedoing his brother-in-law's career as a DEA agent.
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:51 am to
quote:

she acts like a typical wife/woman to me. Maybe that's why you all find her annoying?


well she is pretty annoying, but my whole point is that though 1.5 seasons she acts like any normal human being would in her situation. Everyone is all "omggg skyler is sooo awful!!!" but at THIS point in time she's being completely normal, IMO.
Posted by nes2010
Member since Jun 2014
6752 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:55 am to
I think Walt was going to tell her what he was doing, but when he asked if she would turn him in to the police if he did something illegal she said she would. She then proceeds to put her family on the line to protect her embezzling boy toy. So she gave far more leeway to some douche who wants to keep his heated bathroom floors than to the man trying to earn some money for her and the kids before he dies of cancer.
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 11:58 am to
quote:

She then proceeds to put her family on the line to protect her embezzling boy toy. So she gave far more leeway to some douche who wants to keep his heated bathroom floors than to the man trying to earn some money for her and the kids before he dies of cancer.




did you read the OP? None of that has happened halfway through season 2.
Posted by LSU alum wannabe
Katy, TX
Member since Jan 2004
26963 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 12:08 pm to
quote:

Walter White is a horrible, horrible human being. He could have gotten a cush job with Grey Matter and had Cadillac health insurance. Instead, he chose to make poison because he had too much pride to take assistance from a friend who was in a position to give it to him. Not only that, but the fact Walter was cooking meth put his family at the risk of having the feds seize everything they owned and torpedoing his brother-in-la


I forget that piece to his puzzle. He goes with a plan of meth cooking that gets a ton of people killed who don't need killing.

Too high and mighty to take money and a job and insurance, but cooks meth? Then when it starts spinning out of control he keeps doubling down. With time you continue to flip flop on all of these characters.
Posted by nes2010
Member since Jun 2014
6752 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 12:16 pm to
She told him she would turn him in for stealing or breaking the law in the first season so she was a hypocrite right off the bat. I guess she didn't prove it until later though.
Posted by rebelrouser
Columbia, SC
Member since Feb 2013
10573 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 12:23 pm to
This is not fair to say when you don't know the background of Grey Matter. We only know Walt pretty much was the start of and brains behind the company before it fell apart.


quote:

He could have gotten a cush job with Grey Matter and had Cadillac health insurance. Instead, he chose to make poison because he had too much pride to take assistance from a friend who was in a position to give it to him
Posted by WG_Dawg
Hoover
Member since Jun 2004
86434 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 12:27 pm to
quote:

He could have gotten a cush job with Grey Matter and had Cadillac health insurance.


quote:

This is not fair to say when you don't know the background of Grey Matter. We only know Walt pretty much was the start of and brains behind the company before it fell apart.




I think what that poster was referring to was the part when walt and skyler go to the elliott's bday party at gretchen/elliot's house. Skyler secretly told them about walt's cancer, so elliott offered Walt a job with the company. Basically helping out and putting his knoweldge to work but not doing a full time Mon-Fri grind. And of course, would have insurance through the company.
Posted by JollyGreenGiant
The Help Board
Member since Jul 2004
24915 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 12:27 pm to
I hated her throughout, but often a thought harder about it and realized she was acting pretty reasonably.

I know you haven't gotten there yet, but even when she was "cheating", it was pretty clear her and Walt were separated.

I just ignored that part of my brain and went along hating her anyway though.


Unrelated sidenote: why the frick would Walt keep that gift from Gale in his own home, let alone out for anyone to find on the shitter? Idiot.
Posted by H. E. Pennypacker
Louisiana IceGators Fan
Member since Mar 2013
880 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 1:05 pm to
I still blame Skyler and her cigarettes for Walter's cancer. It was all her fault.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89476 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 1:07 pm to
quote:

Unrelated sidenote: why the frick would Walt keep that gift from Gale in his own home, let alone out for anyone to find on the shitter?


He always thought he was the smartest guy in the room - it was his tragic flaw. He also looked down on and disregarded Hank's intelligence - he thought of Hank as a couple of notches above an ape (if that).
Posted by dnm3305
Member since Feb 2009
13546 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 1:23 pm to
quote:

He could have gotten a cush job with Grey Matter and had Cadillac health insurance


Correct me if I'm wrong but, but isn't Gretchen the love of his life that was stolen from him by Elliot. Wasn't Walt the brains behind the entire operation of Grey Matter from the start? It is OK to have pride and not want their help. frick them.

quote:

Not only that, but the fact Walter was cooking meth put his family at the risk


Yes, he was a piece of shite for this but not because of the feds, because of the drug dealers that could potentially murder his family.

quote:

torpedoing his brother-in-law's career as a DEA agent.


The DEA is chickenshit and shouldn't exist to begin with. If drugs are legalized as they should be, then Walt either has a job as a professional chemist in a high end lab making meth or never gets into it in the first place. The money is what lured him in to begin with. Then he fell in love with it. If there is no illegal market for meth, then the money was never their in the first place.
Posted by LanierSpots
Sarasota, Florida
Member since Sep 2010
61555 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 1:36 pm to
She has great cleavage...


That is all



Posted by TheCaterpillar
Member since Jan 2004
76774 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 2:04 pm to
quote:

Let's discuss early season Skyler


Why don't we just skip a few steps and ram a sharp pencil in our eyeballs?

Posted by oleyeller
Vols, Bitch
Member since Oct 2012
32015 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 3:54 pm to
quote:


She has great cleavage


yea i was gone say she went from nice bod, milf kinda sexy. to flabby and ugly
Posted by timbo
Red Stick, La.
Member since Dec 2011
7298 posts
Posted on 1/25/17 at 4:06 pm to
quote:

Correct me if I'm wrong but, but isn't Gretchen the love of his life that was stolen from him by Elliot. Wasn't Walt the brains behind the entire operation of Grey Matter from the start? It is OK to have pride and not want their help. frick them.


No, it later came out that Walter dumped Gretchen. (Had to do with insecurities he had over money) She ended up with Elliot as a result of that - he didn't steal her from Walter.
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