You need to ask yourself a few questions before draining the bath water:
1) How is the character to be portrayed? And 2) Did the performer hit the desired portrayal?
I have to disagree with the negative reviews regarding "Skyler," who is a well played character by Actress Anna Gunn.
A few of my reasons:
From the start of the series, Skyler was a "upbeat" wife to Walter, and things seemed to be "all good at the home front"
As the series evolved, Skyler was not told about the nefarious activities her busy-bee hubby Walt was up to. So she is a mistrusting, "along for the ride" wife who has no idea who Walt has morphed into; before her eyes, and without any explanation. But also remember, she is a mother who is protective over her children all the while, Walt just happens to bring drama into the household.
I think we all agree that Walt is a very like able character. And you would think that the pairing of a wife who is like able would be the right thing to do. But Skyler is not like her sister, Hank's wife, who walks on egg shells to do her best to please Hank. No, Skyler is a strong character who is not likeable like her hubby Walt. And this upsets many viewers - I believe.
The actress behind Skyler:
So, if you have seen Anna's many other works, you would see that she definitely can act. And act she does - in a wide range of roles. I had the opportunity to advise on a production where I worked with Anna in the mid 90's. It was a fun job to interact with the actors, with Anna being one of them. It also gave me a perspective into Anna, and the character she brought to life. Two completely separate people!
So in closing, let me say that I don't like Skyler that much. I like Walt, and wish that they could just get along. But that's not how the show was written. So I'll continue to enjoy Walt and his complex role that weaves the viewer's mind through a 45 minute journey you don't want to end. And I'll continue to see how Skyler continues to change (you have to have noticed the change in Skyler especially within the confines of seasons 4, and even more with the second part of 5) as the series takes us all on the final roller coaster that is on its apex of the first proverbial drop!
Btw, I'm not judging those who hate the character Skyler. I am just trying to open the discussion and take it to an area that I haven't seen discussed. I may start a thread which addresses many things that most viewers don't actively see in a scene, but the editing and effects are there to subconsciously play out the scenes with awesome brilliance. I learned to catch this/these seemingly small "things" as I took a college course titled "Film as literature." Just one example is when Walt is in the desert on his knees with Gus Fring threatening him, if you go back and review that scene, look at the dark cloud over Walt, which isn't there when cutting to Gus. You may also notice that the cloud's shadows play their own supporting roles in this and other scenes. Remember this, with all of the footage filmed and edited down to the time needed, if something you notice to be odd is in a scene, it was included for a reason; barring poorly done productions, which Breaking Bad" is not.
See you at the movies!
Dave K., III
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