i was wondering, when she was total bitch, all the time becomes transformed sudden in to normal or good understanding wi
-
dmcreif — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 01:22 PM)
Off topic here, but did you know that when I look over at
Better Call Saul
, I notice that all the main characters there combine traits of
Breaking Bad
's main characters? Kim, for instance, I see as being like a combination of Skyler and Jesse, in that she's as willing as the protagonist to do amoral things, but draws a line at how far she'll go. So Kim is okay with doing something like con KEN WINS, but is not okay with Jimmy doing an unauthorized Davis & Main ad (in part because the fallout affected her, busting her down to the grunt work of doc review).
Likewise, Chuck is like a combination of Walt and Skyler. He's duplicitous like Jimmy, but he stays within the law whereas Jimmy will basically borderline break the law to achieve his goals (which is the Skyler comparison). But then there are hints that he's got shades of Walt's self-destructive pride. -
InglouriousSister — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 12:27 PM)
I think it's possible she did realize this on some level, but that this awareness was overwhelmed by her own need for power, similar to, although less extreme as his.
Yes. Skyler had a considerable amount of pride herself. She said she'd rather be seen as Bonnie than an idiot. So basically she didn't turn Walt in because she didn't want that to reflect badly on her, for people to think she was stupid for not noticing earlier what her husband was up to, and for her to lose face.
So yes, in hindsight she could have put a stop to everything much sooner, but decided not to partly for Walt but also for egoistical reasons.
Do you even know what honor is?- A horse.
-
dmcreif — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 12:36 PM)
Yes. Skyler had a considerable amount of pride herself. She said she'd rather be seen as Bonnie than an idiot. So basically she didn't turn Walt in because she didn't want that to reflect badly on her, for people to think she was stupid for not noticing earlier what her husband was up to, and for her to lose face.
By season 5A, it's pretty clear that Mike and Skyler are the only two characters willing to openly challenge Walt's pride and ego. Skyler got self-aware of what her pride had done to her A LOT earlier than when Walt realized it. Walt only realized and admitted it at the end, while Skyler seemed to have realized it after seeing Ted in the hospital (because sending Huell and Kuby to strong-arm Ted into signing the check was as much about covering her own ass as it was keeping any blowback from Ted's issues getting onto Walt's business, but she sure hadn't planned on Ted hurting himself in the process). That "blood on her hands" comment of Skyler's in Fifty-One might be a reference to Ted's injuries, which can be linked back for her, and broke whatever pride had kept her from turning Walt in. -
InglouriousSister — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 12:51 PM)
Skyler got self-aware of what her pride had done to her A LOT earlier than when Walt realized it. Walt only realized and admitted it at the end, while Skyler seemed to have realized it after seeing Ted in the hospital
Yes, definitely agree. Seeing what happened to Ted because of her wasI want to call it a wake-up call but honestly, her wake-up call came too late for her. Her situation in this regard is a bit similar to Jesse's, in that both considered themselves to be too far involved and unable to escape even when they were horrified at what their actions had led to which Jesse handled by wallowing in self-loathing (thinking of Gale here) and Skyler first by getting her children out of the house and then by simply resigning herself to waiting the situation out (=for Walt's cancer to come back and for him to die.) It was also almost as if she consciously decided to not care about any horrible things that may happen to her or because of her in the foreseeable future, to put her morals aside until nature had run its course.
Walt definitely took his sweet time in developing any kind of self-awareness. He was constantly defensive and delusional, justifying his actions by all kinds of reasons, which he would have realized were not really his motivations anymore (and even if they were his actions went way past justifiable) if he hadn't actively avoided even thinking about it.
Do you even know what honor is?- A horse.
-
dmcreif — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 01:06 PM)
Yes. Skyler had a considerable amount of pride herself.
She said she'd rather be seen as Bonnie than an idiot.
So basically she didn't turn Walt in because she didn't want that to reflect badly on her, for people to think she was stupid for not noticing earlier what her husband was up to, and for her to lose face.
I just had to requote that because I just noticed that Skyler's justifications sound pretty similar to Walt's justifications for turning down Gretchen and Elliot's offer back in season 1 -
dmcreif — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 11:32 AM)
But there is Walt-worshipping going on, whereby any character who understands, forgives, and generally allies with him witout question is seen as "good." Which is to miss what the show was about.
People have an unusual tendency to relate to the main protagonist and hate on anyone who goes against him. -
Whatlarks — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 01:00 PM)
Yes, the majority of the time, but that's not BB. We're encouraged to feel for Walt, but not necessarily to root for him under any circumstances.
We're also not encouraged to hate on on anyone who goes against him, because we are given alternative views apart from his own, including objective ones.
The episode
Fly
was evidence that even Walt was aware of his depravity. It took sleep-deprivation and psychotropic drugs - a mix of sleeping pills and caffeine - to pry that awareness out from its safe compartmentalization: "
It's all contaminated
."
For that reason, I think it's a safe bet that Walt-worshippers do not particularly like
Fly
.
"You must not judge what I know by what I find words for."- Marilynne Robinson
-
dmcreif — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 01:09 PM)
The episode Fly was evidence that even Walt was aware of his depravity. It took sleep-deprivation and psychotropic drugs - a mix of sleeping pills and caffeine - to pry that awareness out from its safe compartmentalization: "It's all contaminated."
It's a reflection of how when Walt feels things are out of his control (that is, when he's not the one driving the bus), he tends to fixate on little things that are no one's concern so he can feel like he's in control. The fly in the lab is just like Walt's fixation on that wobbly table leg after Hank got shot. -
Whatlarks — 9 years ago(October 10, 2016 02:32 PM)
Good catch/memory I have no recollection of the wobbly table leg!
That's faithful to life. Emotion so painful the mind escapes by dissociation. One way is to lock onto something. I've done it myself, many times.
"You must not judge what I know by what I find words for."- Marilynne Robinson