TELEVISION / An Ode to Anna Gunn, or "The One Thing Skyler White Was Wrong About" / Brian Sheridan
Image © AMC
I didn’t watch Breaking Bad when it was airing. It was one of those shows that I’d told people was “on my list,” meaning that I’d watch it either in two months or five years. Other entries of the list include Squid Game, The Great British Baking Show, and something called Bluey, which I believe is just the Australian version of Blues Clues. I’m also one of those people who refuses to do something if everyone is telling me to.
Breaking Bad used to dominate video stores. I couldn’t take two steps into an F.Y.E. without being confronted by a cardboard cutout of Bryan Cranston’s scowl and Aaron Paul’s innocent looking puppy-dog-eyes. I guess I just wasn’t that drawn into the show because of the two of them alone. I also didn’t have cable.
For the most part, the only context I had about the series came from Tumblr. Though there were plenty of gif-sets that circulated the site, there were also plenty of essay length posts dedicated to the analyzation and critique of the characters. I also recall seeing many people speak out against the misogynistic tendencies of the fandom in defense of a character named Skyler White. I didn’t know how the character was involved in the series at all, and I don’t remember seeing a lot of promotional material for her either.
Skyler is portrayed by actress Anna Gunn known (outside of Breaking Bad) for her work on shows like The Practice and Deadwood. Gunn is the only mainstay actress in the series (because quite honestly Betsy Brandt’s Marie Schrader doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test outside of some of her conversations with Skyler) and more than pulls her weight when it comes to keeping the audience’s attention. There’s an intensity about the way Gunn plays Skyler, one that makes viewers interested in what she’s going to do.
Like most of the other characters in the show, the most motivating things for Skyler are survival and family. All she wants is to protect herself and her loved ones. Anything that gets in the way of that is a threat. Initially kept in the dark about Walter’s (Bryan Cranston) drug dealing, Skyler threatens to expose him if he doesn’t divorce her. Their relationship fluctuates throughout the series, and she eventually finds herself drawn into his schemes. She helps launder Walter’s money through a car wash he used to work at, using her experience as a bookkeeper to legitimize her position. Without Skyler, Walter would have had no way to “legalize” his earnings, and she often helped him think two steps ahead. She demonstrates an often-ruthless tenacity to further her goals, a trait which earned her the ire of fans.
The timing of the show’s creation, airing, and production coincided with that of more widespread fandom interaction and engagement on social media. Before the late 2000’s and early 2010s, fan content for shows, movies, and video games was largely underground. It existed mainly on sites like Fanfiction.net, Archive of Our Own, and on personal blogs. However, thanks to Facebook and Twitter’s growing user bases, media quickly became globally discussed and debated. Anyone who wanted to share their opinion could do so, about whatever they wanted, even directly towards actors and actresses themselves. Anna Gunn was no exception.
The separation of fiction and reality is something that was and still is blurred for many people (apparently). Gunn often found herself on the receiving end of harassment and death threats because of Skyler. It escalated to the point where Gunn felt concerned for her well-being, and even wrote an Op-Ed about the misogyny she faced because of Skyler’s characterization. While I watched the show, I made sure to keep track of everything Skyler did. I was curious, what could she have done that made her so hated?
Skyler’s incredibly intelligent, resourceful, loving, and—when she needs to be—cold and cutthroat. She shares these qualities and traits with Walter, but Cranston seldom (if ever) was on the receiving end of the fandom’s hatred. Why? Because he’s a man. Plain and simple. Even though Walter morphed into a more unsympathetic character as the show progressed, Skyler (and Gunn) continued to face unprecedented and unreasonable amounts of hate.
One of the show’s most powerful quotes comes from Skyler but it’s often forgotten because it comes from the same episode as Walter’s infamous “I am the danger” monologue. When Skyler expresses concern for both her and Walter’s safety, he goes off about how there’s no threat to their family because he is the threat in the drug world. Terrified, she debates fleeing New Mexico with her infant daughter, Holly, but ultimately decides to return home. When she arrives, she quickly puts her foot down again. If she’s going to be a part of Walter’s life (that she arguably couldn’t even get out) she was going to make sure the cover story she crafted for him was followed seamlessly. She would not let his ego and pride’s importance outweigh their family’s.
Anna Gunn truly was the best performer on the show, hands down. The rest of the cast certainly wasn’t lacking, but the complexity of Skyler’s character required the absolute most from Gunn pretty much 24/7.
“Someone has to protect this family from the man who protect this family.”
It’s the final dialogue of the episode, fueled by a resentful, sorrowful anger. Skyler picks up Holly’s basinet, physically separates herself from Walter, and walks down a darkened hall in their home. The camera stays on Walter for a few seconds before the shot cuts to black. There’s little that Walter won’t do to win, but the repercussions of crossing Skyler become something he fears. Still, the quote – for one reason or another – is not something often remembered and associated with Skyler (or the show).
For most fans, Skyler’s most memorable moment comes from the episode “Ozymandias.” As one of the final episodes of the show, it’s perhaps one of the most widely discussed and controversially analyzed. Almost everything that had been set up in the show since its first season was starting to come to a head. From the start, there had always been the inevitable reality that Skyler and Walter would fully turn on each other. Following the murder of Walter’s brother-in-law Hank Schrader (who’d been investigating Walter’s drug-lord persona since the beginning of the series), Walter arrives home in a panic. Skyler, believing Walter had killed Hank, threatens Walter with a knife and demands he leave. When he tries to force her to comply, she defends herself. After a brief scuffle, Walter kidnaps Holly and leaves a distraught Skyler screaming in the street.
When we see Skyler next, she’s surrounded by police and her sister Marie. The phone rings. Going to voicemail, Walter asks Skyler to pick up the phone. Skyler answers the call and firmly demands Holly’s return. Skyler shouts through the phone when Walter stays silent. Completely disregarding her question, he begins to angrily go off about how Skyler never does what she’s told.
Walter (at least at this point) understands Skyler can be just at crafty as him. He does a good job of riling her up, denying her any information about Holly. Skyler grows increasingly angry and alert, willing to do whatever it takes to get her daughter back. Walter gets her full, unbridled attention and rage. He knows she’s listening intently to every word he says.
During this phone call—possibly for the first time since the first season—Skyler is caught off guard. Throughout the entire series, Walter never changed the way he spun a story. It got to the point where all Skyler had to do was look at him and he’d shut up. His delivery was finally different. Painting Skyler as an innocent and trapped bystander, Walter claims everything he did was of his own volition. He further berates Skyler for never helping him.
Skyler’s full expression is only visible to the viewer, and every single thought she’s thinking throughout Walter’s rant registers on her face. Still high on her emotional roller roaster when Walter starts lying, Skyler composes herself in a matter of seconds.
It’s truly at this point that Gunn is at her best. Skyler’s scared that Holly is missing, she’s still hurting from what Walter is saying, and she knows this will probably be the last time she ever gets to speak to him. She feels so much in such a small amount of time, but she doesn’t let her emotions control her. She wouldn’t allow herself. Getting Holly back is all that matters. Skyler will do anything, even if it means selling one last lie with Walter. The episode won Gunn her second Emmy for the role, and rightfully so.
I went into the series trying to be as unbiased as possible. That being said, I also went into the show completely prepared to excuse Skyler’s actions. Anytime a group of men dislike a woman I’m largely inclined to be on her side. It’s usually because she’s just there, existing. Still, I kept an open mind. No character (or person) is perfect, so surely, I’d disagree with something that Skyler would do, right? Wrong.
Skyler was justified in every action she made. Maybe except for getting mad at Walter when she thought he was smoking pot. The man had just been diagnosed with cancer; she should have allowed him a little treat.
Brian "Brie" Sheridan is a writer and educator currently traveling through the cosmos of creation. In their free time, they can be found being a nerd and drinking a lot of coffee. They are currently trying to publish their first chapbook.