The Skyler White Hate is Forced. And Her Hollywood TV Husband Doesn’t Stand for It
It’s a tale as old as time: People misunderstanding the purpose of Skyler White in Breaking Bad. The internet is is no short supply of fetid takes regarding her character, from her being the real villain of the show to criticizing her for…checking up on her incredibly suspicious husband as he begins to act very strange? Bryan Cranston deserves the laurels he has gotten for his approach to the true villain in Walter White, but Anna Gunn, who portrayed Skyler White in the series, has often been sidelined by fans and treated as if she was the one who was breaking bad.
The most recent perpetrator of this behavior is none other than Frankie Muniz, Cranston’s onscreen son in Malcolm in the Middle. Recently appearing on Hot Ones to promote Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, Muniz confessed to Cranston that he loves Breaking Bad. He followed it up by saying, “I wanted to kill Skyler. All she did was complain!”
Gunn has been open in the past about the amount of hate that she would get while the show was airing, and it is not a stretch to say that her being a woman is a large part of why fans hate her, especially those who idolize Walt. To be called judgmental and hypocritical for her actions when Walt is right there is not the take to have. It is disingenuous to try to consider her a true villain, which is more or less Cranston’s response to Muniz.
“Let me get this straight,” he replied. “Her husband leaves without any explanation, she’s pregnant, he’s making crystal methamphetamine, and people have died, and she’s the bitch?”
You can dislike a character, but you cannot blindly hate them and expect to be taken seriously
A true literary litmus test is to see what people’s opinions on Skyler are. She is not a perfect character (everything with Ted, including giving the money away, absolutely make her culpable), but you can’t really compare her wrongdoings to her husband’s. Walt is arrogant and prideful. He spends the entire series manipulating not only Skyler, but also his partner, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). He never takes accountability for his misdeeds; rather, it is everybody else’s fault.
Skyler’s sin is, more or less, caring. She wants Walt to get treatment for his cancer because she doesn’t want him to die. She traces his calls and internet history because she doesn’t know what is wrong with him and he refuses to talk to her about it, leaving her entirely in the dark about what’s going on. If my husband started acting the way Walt does while I was pregnant with an unexpected baby, I’d be suspicious and angry, too. And the fact that a lot of men can’t see that heightens the disparity in how male and female characters are viewed.
Breaking Bad is a show that, as you rewatch it, you begin to see the characters differently. On your first watch, you may see Skyler in this way because we are instinctively following Walt, since he’s the main character. But as you rewatch it and you see the way Walt’s actions escalate and how he has a complete disregard for others, it’s much clearer that he is somebody you should not be sympathetic toward. (He says he did all of it for him! Come on!)
Even creator Vince Gilligan doesn’t view her as a villain
Gilligan has said before in an interview with Variety back in 2022 that he was surprised that so many people hate her.
“Back when the show first aired, Skyler was roundly disliked,” he said. “I think that always troubled Anna Gunn. And I can tell you it always troubled me, because Skyler, the character, did nothing to deserve that. And Anna certainly did nothing to deserve that.”
Repeat after me: An actor is not their character and they are undeserving of any hatred you may feel towards said character.
Having Cranston also defend her should hopefully be a wake-up call to those who blindly vilify her. Gunn deserves so much more praise for her work in that role. It is also so incredibly interesting watching her own journey as she goes from being unaware of the budding meth empire to helping Walt because she has no choice to finally standing up for her family towards the end.
If you dislike Skyler because of how Gunn portrayed her, then that’s props to Gunn for her work. If you dislike her because you think she’s “annoying,” then do I have news for you about the nuances of human beings, especially ones who don’t exactly want to see their spouse die.
(Featured image: AMC)
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