This has been brought up a bunch of times...but yes, finding a female character on a TV program annoying automatically means we hate women.

That depends on your reasoning for disliking her. Is it just that she's "annoying"? Is it because she isn't hot? Is it because she reminds you of your mother? Is it because she represents women trying to guilt-trip men into boring familial responsibilities instead of hookers and blow?

We're conditioned to want to have a villain to root against. The cartel guys are really the only consistent "villains" in BB, and they only appear sporadically, so it seems that Skyler has become the surrogate villain for some viewers.

This is already pretty great but why not go further? The answer is most likely related to deep-seated psychological issues stemming from early childhood.

The armchair psychologist bit may have been a little over the top, but I think it's an interesting question. I don't think BB is nearly as good if you're watching it on the level of "lol skailure", but maybe that's just me.

Skylar's character does a lot of cringeworthy things, so yes, she naturally becomes "hateable" by the audience. But it is always realistic and Anna Gunn acts her very well.

Edit: Baiscally what theginger45 said so much better than I could.

Isn't Walt the villain?

I mean, I know thats really base level thinking, but am I wrong?

Walt = villain

Saul = hero

The end

Saul is most definitely a hero, I'm sure there will be a consensus on that

Yes, without question. I'm amazed some viewers still try to even argue that he's not.

I think that's probably going to be the major theme of s5, that he's full villain now. He's come across a lot of "bad guys" or conventional antagonists in 4 seasons. Crazy 8, Tuco, the cousins, Hector Salamanca, Gus. They're all dead now because of Walt. Now to mention the innocent blood on his hands. That's how kingpins are born. He won. Just because we met him as the lame science teacher who was stepped on all his life doesn't change what he is now.

He is the one who knocks.

He's introduced as a good guy, and people start rooting for him, and struggle to change their position/opinion on him. People feel the urge to try and justify his actions, which is fairly natural if you you've built up an image of Walt in your mind as a hero from the start of S1.

Skyler.

I was listening to a podcast with Vince Gilligan. All of the writers hate Walt and think he is a terrible human being.

I'd bet 90+% of the audience, including me, still "roots for" Walt, which makes him a hero by that logic.

But its bad logic. The storytellers have done their job to this point. We should not be rooting for Walt (I'm not.) We should be rooting for his comeuppance to come and come hard. We shouldn't be happy until he is hurt as bad or worse than everybody he has destroyed to get to where he is right now. I've heard people call him an anti-hero. He isn't, he is a bad dude, the one that knocks, the villain of the story. Rooting for him is like rooting for Megatron, Skeletor, Gargamel, Dr. Claw, etc.

Is there a hero in this story?

Its hard to say, your best money is one of Jessie or Hank... though both have very obvious flaws. This last season is going to be incredible. I will be happy with the way the story was told no matter how it ends, but I'm curious as to whether Ill be satisfied.

I mean, you might be right about most of the audience rooting for Walt, but no, that does not logically make him a hero character. That's like saying Omar Little is a hero. A hero overcomes their circumstances, they don't succumb to them.

I've often facetiously accused posts/posters of being misogynist but I specifically included sexist and immature as equal possibilities because I was being sincere. I've read every post itt and I was basing the statement on my impression of the reasoning given. I also included the phrase "reeks of" because I'm not trying to claim there aren't valid reasons for dislike of the character and/or some of the character's actions, it's just that almost every single time there's been a comment after a specific Skyler scene I've disagreed with the comment and/or the reasoning.

Walt is a fully fleshed out character, it's fine to root for him it's just not fine to think he's a "good guy".


I don't disagree with your post but Omar is was closer to a hero then Walt is. I'm not sure what's wrong with you if you don't root for Omar...

Ya, this. I mean the whole point of the show was to watch protagonist became antagonist (Gilligan's own words), so if you're still "rooting" for Walt in the classic sense, then one of two things is true
1) You're rooting for a villain
2) The writers have failed you

If you want to root for someone who has become the villain of a story, knock yourself out. It doesn't turn him into a hero.

And I think Master is right, he's not an antihero either. That might have been a stepping stone on his path, the brief time in s1 and early s2 when he was cooking meth to leave something for his family. (The scene where he blows up Tuco's HQ would probably be his "antihero" moment). But that is loooong gone.

When I watched the show the first time, I kind of glossed over Walt letting Jane die...I excused him because, well, he's trying to save Jesse from her and she blackmailed him, right?

But watching it the 2nd time...it ****ing shocked the hell out of me.

He murdered her. Plain and simple. I know that wasn't his intent (or was it?) when he went over there, but he purposely lets the girl die. For what? To help Jesse?? BS. He lets her die because she is an impediment to his relationship - and controlling of - Jesse. Period.

Walt is the bad guy. He's a villain. And that moment is the tipping point in letting the audience know it.

Doesn't mean I don't root for him. I do.

Neither of them are "heroes" in the literary sense, is all I'm saying. Rooting for a character to accomplish something doesn't make them a hero.

There's been an order ITT to put a moratorium on The Wire talk, so we can just leave it at that, I think.

I'll admit it - 60% of my hatred of Skylar is because she is not hot and is annoying and I am not particularly ashamed of this.

Yea, I won't harp on it. I think your post was accurate it just seemed like a poor example to use. Omar and Walt have very little in common.

whats the other 40% because that just about sums up 100% of why i hate her


im gonna rewatch 1-4 again before 5 comes out this thread got me excited.

I think it's pretty pointless to discuss the idea of heroes and villains in a show which makes a fairly obvious point of highlighting the grey in every single character. It's far easier to talk about things in terms of protagonist and antagonist, but even then all you can really say is that Walt is the main protagonist.

The only really one-dimensional character is Saul, and that's partly because he's usually there to advance the plot and provide comic relief.