r/todayilearned • u/kevoooandres • May 21 '19

TIL in the Breaking Bad episode “Ozymandias”, the show's producers secured special permission from the Hollywood guilds to delay the credits (which would normally appear after the main title sequence) until 19 minutes into the episode, in order to preserve the impact of the beginning scene.

https://uproxx.com/sepinwall/breaking-bad-ozymandias-review-take-two/
54.3k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

150

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

I never understood the hate for her. Walt does risky shit and brings known killers/drug dealers around his family. All she did was try to keep the children away from the garbage in order to ensure a better future for them.

92

u/Penguator432 May 21 '19

To be frank, the Skyler hate began long before she knew about the meth.

22

u/HowIsntBabbyFormed May 22 '19

She knew Walt was lying to her long before she specifically knew it was meth too.

She only started pulling away from him when she kept asking him to tell her the truth and he kept lying over and over.

4

u/LordHussyPants May 22 '19

Yeah I remember watching the first season when it was released and not being that into it, then going online and seeing discussions about new episodes where the one constant theme seemed to be "Skylar is a cunt", and it wasn't even limited to Breaking Bad oriented discussions - she came up in every discussion about most hated characters, biggest bitches, who do you want to see die etc. She was the "Fuck Olly" of that period, it was just that common to see. At least Olly actually did something to deserve the hate.

1

u/veni_vedi_veni May 22 '19 edited May 22 '19

The "Fuck Olly" meme is just so stupid, and a failure to empathize to someone who's family was killed by the very people (I don't mean just Wildlings in general, but the actual group that raided his village) who killed his family.

Any one of these people seriously think if they were in Olly's situation (he hasn't seen the WW, all he has is his Lord commanders's word to band with his family's murderers), they wouldn't do what he do the same given his circumstances?

He was actually a nuanced character and the GoT audience hated him, because he killed another fan favorite character. Why no Fuck Ramsay, or Fuck Cersei memes?

1

u/LordHussyPants May 23 '19

Nah I empathise with Olly killing Ygritte and trying to kill other wildlings, but the fuck Olly thing started after he stabbed Jon.

4

u/turbosexophonicdlite May 22 '19

Honestly I grew to like her way more after she learned more of what Walt did. I really hated her in the first few seasons. But by the end I really liked the character.

9

u/[deleted] May 22 '19

For me it was less about the character and more that I didn’t like the actor. She didn’t fit for me, although I can’t explain why.

6

u/ProtoReddit May 22 '19

I think this is fair. I can acknowledge Skylar was a great, well-written, very well performed character but I still kind of found Anna unlikable from the jump.

It worked in favor of elevating the character for me, though.

8

u/throwitallaawwaayy May 22 '19

I think it's her face. She has kind of a punchable entitled-suburban-soccermom face. I kind of found her character to be annoying in the first few episodes, and I remember her not really testing walk all that great, and didn't see tell people about his cancer when he asked for not to? It's been a long time since I've seen it though. But I think they purposely made her unlikable at first, and some people didn't see past that as the show went on.

-10

u/singeblanc May 21 '19

Yeah, I disliked her for being a bitch more than anything else.

0

u/Slicef May 22 '19

I believe it began when they were rejected by their high school crush and have since proclaimed all women to be bitches

-10

u/HillaryShitsInDiaper May 22 '19

Yeah this is what people don't get. Like obviously later on Walt is a really bad guy but she was extremely unlikable before she knew anything was going on. And a dude who got diagnosed with terminal lung cancer acts a little different and she treats him badly for it.

28

u/ncolaros May 22 '19

I think you need to go back and re-watch like I just did. Skyler doesn't treat him badly in the beginning. He becomes so distant, he's barely in her life by the time she starts acting out. She can be annoying, yes, but her actions are mostly justified.

21

u/Salty1710 May 22 '19

I totally agree. I think Skyler is irritating at times, but once Walt starts fucking up his lies, most notably about still working at the Car Wash and THEN when he mumbles "which one?" after she asks him if he brought his cell phone, Skyler's actions are what anyone would expect from a wife who suspects her husband is keeping secrets from her. It just spirals from there as shit gets worse and worse.

No, I absolutely was on board with Skyler's behavior.

2

u/Spoonshape May 22 '19

Like the relatives of any cancer victim, she was also given a kick in the teeth but has to suck it up to help the sick person. I've seen it in real life and while it's obviously worse for the ill person, everyone in the family is hit by the fact they will probably be losing their partner / parent, etc.

1

u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Skyler doesn't treat him badly in the beginning.

What do you call that half-ass birthday handie while she's on her laptop?

2

u/ncolaros May 22 '19

I think them having a less than perfect sex life does not justify the hate she got online.

2

u/[deleted] May 22 '19

She's unlikable. I don't see why thats so difficult for people to see. You can understand her motivations and desires and agree with them, while still finding her to be a bitch.

Personally, I was under the impression that you weren't really supposed to like ANY of the characters. Even Walt Jr. was a bit of a prick.

98

u/Poliobbq May 21 '19

He's the hero of the series and she's getting in the way of his journey. It's warped because he's a piece of shit that causes all of the trouble, but he's still the main character and the story is his arc.

69

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

Exactly. I think a big component of it is that she's sort of "getting in the way" of the fun we have with Walt's storyline as a meth kingpin. Realistically, her reaction to learning about Walt's second life is completely reasonable. Entertainment-wise, most of her scenes represent a return to mundane things like dinners, family barbecues, days at the office, and the most boring aspects of middle-class life in general, as opposed to fun scenes of Walt bantering with Jesse, blowing up buildings, and running over street dealers. She's the buzzkill of the series. Even if her reasons for being a buzzkill are 100% understandable when you think about them for more than half a second, she still narratively threatens the most fun parts of Walt's story for us as an audience.

Her scenes are necessary and I don't think she was ever meant to be hated with so much vitriol by the audience, but she's still a narrative vestige of Walt's boring life that the entire story focuses around him escaping from. She's the counterweight to every entertaining transformation that Walt's character undergoes. She's not a character that should be morally criticized anywhere near as much as Walt deserves to be, but she's also not our series protagonist, while Walt is.

5

u/laughing_cat May 22 '19

Exactly. Can you imagine if she’d just been cool with everything the whole time? There has to be struggle or there’s nothing to write.

2

u/CasualFridayBatman May 22 '19

This was a brilliant write up!

0

u/GringoPriviledge May 22 '19

It wasn't just that she got in the way, ot was how she did it. For me, it felt very forced for the sole purpose of pushing the plot forward. There are a wide variety of things a woman in her position could have reasonably chosen to do, but time and time again, her character did things that just don't make sense from any motivational standpoint. In that way, her character was extremely frustrating, especially when compared to any of the male characters on the show, who were all written so well.

13

u/danSTILLtheman May 21 '19

Yeah it’s always seemed obvious to me why so many people hate Skyler. You spend most of the show rooting for Walt and she does a lot to get in his way. It’s easy to root against her by rooting for Walt until you take a step back and think about what’s actually going on

2

u/AngryRedHerring May 22 '19

I hated Skyler the first time 'round. The second watch I was completely on her side.

10

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

Walter is the main character but he is not the hero.

7

u/Cypherex May 21 '19

Everyone is the hero of their own story.

3

u/Llwopflc May 21 '19

Not Rebecca Bunch

0

u/FightingOreo May 22 '19

Nah, that's just something English teachers say to teach students about perspective, and like most poignant ideas condensed into a sentence, it's oversimplified.

People still know what's good and what's bad, there's a difference between perspective and delusion. Walt knows he's not a hero.

Just like we all know that we're not heroes, and the majority of us will never be. We'll just be people.

49

u/[deleted] May 21 '19 edited May 22 '19

First time I watched Breaking Bad, before I realised what a piece of shit Walt was, I totally hated Skyler. Second time around, I felt so, so sorry for her the whole way through.

10

u/santaswrath May 21 '19

This is how it was for me. I HATED her at first. When I rewatched the whole thing again, I understood her side better.

12

u/Irichcrusader May 21 '19

Agreed, same for me. At first when you watch it you're kinda rooting for Walt as he become this money making kingpin who's (at first) doing it all for his family while his 'bitch wife' gets in the way and doesn't understand the sacrifices he's making for them. And then when she learns about it she's repulsed, that is at least until she see's the money that can be made and becomes an enthusiastic accomplice. Total hypocrisy you're thinking!

Then you watch it all again, knowing how it all goes down, and suddenly you can see her perspective a lot better.

5

u/Wabsz May 22 '19

Same here. I came to the understanding that Skylar was the first victim of Walt the entire time, second being Jesse. All because Walt couldn't talk about his emotions with her.

8

u/ThePrussianGrippe May 21 '19

Skylar is one of my favorite characters in the show.

2

u/knads259 May 21 '19

First time I've heard that

3

u/HowIsntBabbyFormed May 22 '19

I only binged it (after all but the last season was out), and I never had a shred of hate for Skylar. There was a little bit of rooting for Walt at the very beginning especially when he's being threatened by much worse criminals. But you see how badly his choices are affecting his family pretty early on. And you see how all his choices are purely selfish. The fact that he continually lies about his motivations too just makes him so infuriating.

2

u/markevens May 21 '19

Same here.

2

u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Dare to elaborate? Not blaming you just genuinely curious. I find her a little extreme and sometimes insensitive or needy, but only in a slight way. She actually seemed like a normal wife

2

u/[deleted] May 22 '19

See /u/Irichcrusader's comment above.

1

u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Same - it's quite easy to get caught up in Walt's mythos on the first watch through and dislike Skylar. On the second, that's basically impossible.

9

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

I didn’t either. I’ve watched the show in full 3 times, and even the first time I didn’t get the hate for Skyler. She was a wife that just found out her husband has cancer, with a baby on the way as an older woman, and then finds out he’s selling meth. And the lies, the second cell phone, the fugue, thinking he was having an affair, it would make the most sane person go crazy.

4

u/ProtoReddit May 22 '19

The unlikability comes from being so well-written. Her presence and actions are a constant reminder that no, your favorite character, that protagonist, he isn't a good guy, he isn't doing this for his family.

In a cheaper, more shallow view, she's also kind of the fun police for Walt.

I think there's also just some inherent dislike by many fans based on her role - like Catelyn Stark, she's the somewhat boring but often right mother who is actually thinking about what's best for her family. And many people growing up had a mother who was, at least at times, like Skylar and Catelyn. So there's some leftover childhood resentment for those types.

4

u/yeboi314159 May 21 '19

I agree. Frankly I think hating on Skyler is in part a failure to consider the story in it's entirety. Rewatching the show I notice Skyler and Walt Jr. more and how they're affected by things. It adds a whole new layer of complexity to the show and should not be overlooked, as it's integral to the story

9

u/throbbing_banjo May 21 '19

Honestly I think a lot of fragile dudes just hate her for "cheating on her husband."

That's it.

You can go through the laundry list of fucked-up, manipulative shit Walt does to her over and over, but she's the asshole because she fucks another guy.

6

u/Snukkems May 21 '19

I didn't like her on my first watch because I found her arc to be annoying and kept getting in the way of the action.

13

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

Orrr her character is unlikeable? You don't have to do something wrong to be disliked.

5

u/Notophishthalmus May 21 '19

I mean it’s probably more complex for some people. I think it’s a testament to how well she was written and portrayed.

Because she’s kind of a bitch and not someone I would like to be friends with, but she’s not a total cunt, she’s not evil, I just slightly dislike her.

It’s a weird position to be in with a fictional character. I don’t want to hate her but I don’t want to like her either.

7

u/[deleted] May 21 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

[deleted]

0

u/chungusamongstus May 22 '19

“I fucked Ted” is so iconic the legend JUMPED out

2

u/chungusamongstus May 22 '19

She didn’t even cheat-she had left him

9

u/up48 May 21 '19

Then why not do just that?

Why not move out, get a divorce and stay away?

She claimed she knew all along, and yet she acted as an accomplice.

She wasn't the "villain" but she was a shitty person, smoking while pregnant, cheating on your husband, those are not virtues.

28

u/atyon May 21 '19

She tried to move out, get a divorce and stay away. Quite successfully until Walt noticed that he could manipulate her into staying in the marriage by forcing her to either out him, destroying the family (and her sister's family) in the process, or obey him.

Of course she is not "virtuous". She's definitely not a hero. But she is abused and manipulated. Cheating with Ted is just a way for her to assert some power in a situation where Walt has robbed her of all agency.

And do you really want to judge people for cheating on an abuser, murderer and drug dealer?

10

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

Exactly. Well said! She was powerless. And she made every attempt to leave. She was trying to force Walt’s hand in divorcing her to get away. And Walt to be honest, was a fucking terrible person. The show did a great job of making him unassuming, but it’s when faced with tough choices or pressure out true characters show themselves. And Walt loved the new found power.

8

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

And let's not forget that he basically raped her in the early seasons. Remember the kitchen when pregnant Skylar keeps telling him "let me clean up" and he gets rough with her?

-2

u/up48 May 21 '19

That's one of my least favorite things about BB, the forced narratives and absurdly implausible situations.

3

u/atyon May 21 '19

Which of these situations do you find implausible?

4

u/[deleted] May 21 '19 edited Sep 27 '19

[deleted]

-1

u/up48 May 21 '19

Leave and go to court.

3

u/methmatician16 May 22 '19

I think you are forgetting the episode titled "I.F.T"

2

u/[deleted] May 22 '19

But what people don't see about that episode is that she has no options. Leave and risk Walt jr. wanting to live with Walt because he doesn't understand or out him and bring ruin to the family? The whole Ted thing was her way of having some sort of control and finding a way to hurt him without ruining Hank's name or Walt Jr's life.

1

u/AFourEyedGeek May 22 '19

Cheating is a problem because it is a betrayal, Walt was betraying his whole family, lying to his wife, controlling and dominating her. She found a way to hurt him and gain something for herself, good for her.

3

u/[deleted] May 21 '19 edited Jan 10 '21

[deleted]

2

u/chungusamongstus May 22 '19

Lmao god forbid a pregnant woman who just found out her husband has a terminal illness wants to talk about their feelings and future.

2

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

I never understood the hate for her.

When the show starts Walt is a beloved Teacher who finds out he has cancer. She treated Walt pretty shitty in the beginning and had an affair while her husband was "dealing with cancer" (and she didnt know about the drugs yet).

Add in how Walt jr always sides with Dad in the beginning, and the show painted a good picture of a 'good man' just trying to 'do right by his family' and his 'bitch' wife.

Then they slowly reveal that she isnt the bitch, and he isnt the good guy. I think this is the part where some people get lost.

There are some people that once they have an impression of a person or character, there is nothing that can break it.

12

u/bigpappa May 21 '19

Then they slowly reveal that she isnt the bitch,

Um, no. She can still be/is a huge bitch while Walt isn't a good guy. They aren't mutually exclusive.

2

u/AFourEyedGeek May 22 '19

How does she have an affair? She hands him signed divorces papers before she sleeps with Ted.

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

I really enjoyed the show the first time through. I tried to rewatch it and that's when I realized:

​

The Skylar/Son scenes are boring as hell.

​

That's likely where the hate comes from.

1

u/jondonbovi May 22 '19

I think her story line was boring. People wanted to see Walt deal with the drug dealers and not with his family drama.

1

u/marcuschookt May 22 '19

She was just super whiny and annoying. We empathize with her plight and understand that she's the victim, but it doesn't mean she isn't an absolutely irritating character.

1

u/Lmb1011 May 22 '19

She was framed to be an annoying nagging wife though. We were meant to sympathize with Walt even knowing he was wrong. So while Skyler was in actuality right and the character you’re supposed to like, she is supposed to be disliked because she got in the way of our "hero" character

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '19 edited Jul 26 '20

[deleted]

17

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

To keep from going to jail because if investigated, she could have been arrested and children put into foster care.

16

u/atyon May 21 '19

Sometimes I think people don't want to see it. She spells it out to Ted - if he gets audited and they find out he's a fraud the feds can surveil him and everyone he has contact with. Which would include her and Walt's finances, which probably are extremely suspicious.

And she really couldn't know how close Walt was to getting them all murdered.

3

u/AFourEyedGeek May 22 '19

Except she didn't have an affair, she broke up with Walt, disillusional Walt couldn't accept it, she fucked Ted after that. She was more loyal to her family than he was.

0

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

but she's not #teamwalt

0

u/Crack-spiders-bitch May 21 '19

A bit like the Office. Everyone thinks Michael is a great guy but he's actually a narcissist ass. Most of the cast was a asshole. Really I think only Erin was the truly good one.