4d ago

What's a character who was meant to be liked in a show, but who everyone ended up hating?

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Haven't seen it posted yet, but I wanna get ahead of the inevitable mention...
Skylar White went above and beyond for Walt, she was a queen put in an impossible situation where she did the best anyone could've. People hate on Sky but however she was (just another) woman trapped with a violent and dangerous man trying to stay afloat to protect her kids.
If you think Sky was the worst part of Breaking Bad, then you didn't understand the show.
- Not sure I agree about Skylar being meant to be liked.
  Despite being an anti-hero, Walter was the protagonist, and the show was presented in such a way that you're generally rooting for him, even if you don't really like Walter as a person.
  On the other hand, Skylar is pretty much doing the sane and rational thing of trying to make the best of an impossible situation (as you noted), but she's still impeding or opposing the protagonist for much of the story. Since the story is being told from Walt's POV, it's hard to truly like Skylar as a character to the point where you are rooting for her. And that contradiction is part of what made the show interesting IMO.
  100% agree though, if you actively dislike Skylar or think she was the worst part of the show, you've missed the entire point.
- This one frustrates me so much. Skylar wasn't perfect, but she gets so much hate. It's so stupid.
  
  Isn't that like a Joffrey situation where he just played the role so well that people legit hated him
  
  1 I'm talking about the character, Skylar White, not the actress, Anna Gunn, though the actress doesn't deserve hate either. 2) My first point is that the character doesn't deserve the hate she gets. She reacts (mostly) rationally to the hurricane of shit her husband brings down on their family. The character isn't perfect, no, but none of the characters in the show are. The only context in which Skylar is "hateable" is if it's from a position that considers Walter a good guy, which is fucking insane.
- I mean in her case, I like to think the actress is so damn good I hated her character..... Vs someone I think cannot act.
  But she was written that way, just like Hank (oops Walter...) was written to appeal to us, despite him being a literal fucking monster and Skyler being the best wife she could be in that situation.
  
  You meant Walter was the monster, right? Or did I miss something with Hank?
  
  Yup ..I definitely botched that one
- Please feel free to correct me because it will give me new details to watch for when I eventually binge the show again, but I don't really like Skyler because she's boring. Like I get you with people hating her because they think Tyler Durden is the hero of the story, but she feels like a serviceable cardboard wife to fill a niche in the plot.
  Marie has fun details like her entire life being coated in purple for absolutely no reason, or how annoying she is. Lydia has anxiety, cowardice, and a lack of morals to make her interesting. So why did they make Skyler so boring? I have to assume it was on purpose because they can obviously write women.
  
  She's not boring, dude, she's simply a decent human being in a dark story full of evil, sad and twisted people.
  I hate that people hated her because she was always the ONLY one I related to.
  
  I mean, she gave a passionless birthday handy while reading a magazine. Pretty boring unless that's what you're into.
  
  A persons character isn't defined by their sexual relationship with their partner
  
  More so defined by their sense of humor, indeed.
  
  Kim Wexler is a decent human being and she's not boring.
  But if you related to her then maybe it's a matter of taste. I don't tend to like very realistic stories because I think they're boring. Like I can't get into the Wire even though everyone else loves it.
  
  Your point falls flat when you see Kim. Different shows but Kim is also like something you described but she's not boring.
  I agree there's a unnecessary hate boner for Skylar in bb fanbase but her character is not that interesting. Even Walter is a pussy 99% of the show but for some reason he's portrayed as some tuff sigma male xD. Unrelated, we are still here talking about these characters after more than a decade. Vince Gilligan is truly talented.
  
  The thing I love about Walter is that in his head he's this hardened criminal genius, but in reality he waffles between being a bland nothingburger of a man and a huge asshole. The sigma Heisenberg character is a completely fictional alter-ego that he consistently fails to embody. It's unfortunate that there's such a widespread culture of seeing toxic characters as aspirational badasses because characters like this should be a lesson in being more self-aware about your own moral code and how your behavior affects others.
  
  I agree. It's also quite funny how the meme started. The sigma meme started as a Satire while also being a tribute to old movies, then became the whole mess and bow it's back to being satire again. Gotta love the internet.
- I'll watch it again someday. I've had friends make the same argument, but I could not fucking stand her.
  
  I hated walt so much more on the second watch through
- BCS > BB
  … and I’ll die on this hill.
- Skylar cheated on Walt with the man he hated lol Thats one way to define "above and beyond"
  
  Omfg. Yes! Yes it literally is!
  This is exactly what I am talking about. By the time Sky fucked Ted she had already served Walt divorce papers, changed the locks and got a job to support herself as she was leaving her gaslighting, lying and violent husband. And even then she didn't actually fuck Ted until Walt admitted he was selling Meth. Sky could/should've gone to Hank right that moment, but instead she kept Walts secret and did something for herself. Exactly like Walt had been doing for months starting his bloody empire. That is without a doubt going above and beyond what Walt deserved or what would've been best for her.
  Honestly even that was only the most technical form of "cheating", they were divorcing. But even so, if you want to focus on Skylars 1 body count of cheating then remember Walts body count of 3-4 murders. It's such a double standard to place her in the wrong.
  
  To be somewhat fair to Walt, he wasn't doing it only for himself, the point was to make money for his family so when he's gone they have a better life.
  Can't say there's anything helpful to the family with her situation lol, while understandable to seek that sort of thing given the crazy circumstances he had put her in (if nothing else a sense of control) its not "Exactly like Walt had been doing"
  Edit: To be clear, Walt obviously went overboard and it was no longer just for the family, he was doing it for his own self worth as well.
  
  Sure, absolutely. But personally I think the money was more excuse than anything for Walt. Right off the bat we see him refuse a job at Grey Matter, which would've covered his treatment and provided substantial wealth for his family. The other founders lived in mansions and were worth billions. From the moment Walt realized his mortality in the first episode he was all about crafting his empire, no matter how much it hurt all of the people around him. Poor Sky didn't sign up for any of this.
  
  I think the point on not doing Grey Matter was that it was a handout, not to mention the interpersonal issues between the three of them lol. He wanted to prove to himself and his family that he could provide for them even though he had cancer.
  Absolutely agree tho
  
  To be somewhat fair to Walt, he wasn’t doing it only for himself, the point was to make money for his family so when he’s gone they have a better life.
  No, Walt was doing it for himself. The first attempt at cooking and the shit-show with Crazy 8 I can accept as a terrible mistake, but he was given a blank check by Elliott and Gretchen which he turned down because he felt powerful making drugs. The whole point of the show is watching a prideful, narcissistic man bring entirely avoidable ruin on himself, his family, and everyone around him.
  
  Basically same response I gave to the other commentor.

95 comments