You know one thing that bugged me for a while is how both Skyler and Junior turned on Walt for basically no reason, neither had any reason to believe Walt wanted to hurt them.
Skyler knew everything so it seemed bizarre that she would suddenly think Walt was going to murder her so she pulls a knife on him, and Junior knew basically nothing at all but he is on the phone with 911 in a blast making up false claims.
Junior is the one that makes the least sense, I mean I’d want explanations and more info not holy shit I have 5 seconds to frame my dad.
Odd scene, kinda got lost in the rush of the ending there.
It’s pretty obvious from Walt’s babbling and weak attempts at denial that he has killed Hank, and then he assaults his Skyler. This, after Walt Jr. was told by Marie and his mother that his father is a drug kingpin.
Walt was telling Skylar and Flynn that they had to abandon their lives and run off RIGHT NOW. Like Tarwater says, it was obvious to them that he killed Hank (although he technically didn’t), and Walt’s decision to flee is the straw that breaks the camel’s back — and that makes Flynn realize that everything his Aunt Marie said about Walt is true.
They both believed that Walt was responsible for Hank’s death (which of course he ultimately was, even if he tried to prevent it at the last minute). They also knew he was a drug kingpin and possibly responsible for more than a dozen other murders (Gus Fring and his henchmen at least). Even if they weren’t in fear for their personal safety there’s no way they would go with him.
Seriously, in real life people visit relatives in prison and send them money regardless of what type of crimes they committed. Also, family members who still hate one another have been known to hide a sibling or a parents from the authorities. Most families take care of each other.
Even if we presume that Flynn (Walter Jr.) believes that his father murdered his uncle (who BTW wasn’t a blood relative) he is still his father. And he’s dying of cancer. Unless Flynn, a poorly written character anyway, received more than his fair share of Skyler’s selfishness genes, he would at least try to process what has happened while trying to protect his loved one.
As far as Skyler goes:Apparently the writers of BB hate their ex-wives as most practical women wouldn’t hate a husband who at least was concerned enough about his family to try and leave them some money after his death. Whatever Skyler’s feelings about Walter and Hank,she married him and bore two of his children.
That would have to count for something.
IMO, the writers and the producer got caught up in the narrative flow and painted themselves into a corner. To make the ending more poignant, they had to have Walt rejected by everyone and alone making his denouement even dramatic when it occurred. While this is common in television and films, real life is rarely so “tidy.”
Skyler and Junior both asked Walt point-blank what had happened to Hank, and he wouldn’t answer. So they understood Hank was dead and Walt (stupidly) refused to say he hadn’t killed him. So here is a man who’s acknowledging a murder and acting like a crazy person, and he’s advancing on Skyler in a threatening way. He cuts him after she insists he stay away from her and he ignores it and keeps coming closer. On top of that, Junior has had just a few minutes to deal with the shock of learning that his father was a drug manufacturer and his mother was laundering money for him.
If you’d just found out he was a big time drug dealer who probably killed your uncle and then he attacked your mom? No, you probably wouldn’t want more information at that time. This is a little like the viewers who said at the time that maybe Junior would be cool with everything when he found out the truth. Few to zero human beings would react that way.
Not to mention that Junior continually stuck up for his dad against Skylar. In addition to his shock at learning who Walt really is, he’s feeling an intense sense of betrayal (which comes out particularly well when Walt calls him at school in “Granite State”).
It’s not practical at all. Skyler thought it was right up until Hank died. Hank’s death is what snapped her back to reality and made her denounce Walt’s behavior in the most forceful way possible.
I think Lakai & Nonsuch (among others) have very good points. She lied to herself that she wasn’t harming anyone, when the meth was hurting many, many people. I think it did take Hank’s death to really jolt Skylar. And yes, Flynn had supported his father so often - I’m sure he felt very betrayed when he realized where the money for his fancy car came from.
If I can tweak this a little, I wouldn’t say Skyler thought the meth-dealing was OK. She felt she had to tolerate it for the sake of their family and she convinced herself it was an evil that could be managed and contained. That was her mistake, and once Hank was gone and Junior learned the truth, she realized that.
That was in the third season, after Walt confessed he was making meth. He’d also lied to her countless times and been pretty much the worst husband he could be without beating her. It’s true she was flirting with Ted long before that, partly because of the pressure she was under and partly because Walt was just being horrible.
I quit watching the show partway through season 3, and just read summaries of the other episodes/seasons, but one reason I really ended up disliking the show is that I felt Skyler to be completely unbelievable. I didn’t get enough into it to see Junior flip but that too strikes me as odd.
I never really thought of Walt as a jerk, but I can see how that can be said.
As the series went on, we saw how he became the master manipulator he ultimately turned into. They way he had friendly conversations with Jesse that nudged him to do what Walt wanted.
Skyler, at the beginning was trying to stay by her husband’s side. She was pregnant and he had inoperable lung cancer. With a newborn baby and her husband in poor health, she stuck by his side, although knowing he was lying to her, but she didn’t know what the lies were.
Remember she did kick him out and file for divorce.
When she finally found out the truth of what he was doing, he manipulated her into believing that is was for the good of the family, and that she was safe.
Near the end of Season 4, when he found out that Skyler gave a ton of his stash money to Ted, he started with the threats. “I am the one who knocks”
She was pretty much living in fear behind closed doors, but her public persona was to have Walt’s back.
Skyler was always in above her head…and didn’t seem to have the strength to get out of the situation until Walt gave her no other option.
(I really need to re-watch this to refresh my memory…this seems like as good an excuse as any)
After all the unexplained absences and bullshit (when he admitted to the second cellphone), yes, she eventually decided she’d had enough. I’m not sure how that’s supposed to mitigate things. But I’m not sure how you can watch the show and not think Walt is a jerk. He’s fascinating to watch and the viewer gets a really good understanding of why he does what he does, but he lies to everyone, sucks everybody in, and destroys everything he touches.
Myself, I’m a fan of the series.
However, having re-watched it again on Netflix, the plot holes and logical errors are astounding. Also, Skyler White was written as a lazy,complaining and slatternly woman. I again have to state that I think the writers must have all gone through painful divorces as their depictions of Skyler, Marie and even Lydia were so over-the-top that they are almost comical.
It was good while it was on the air. However, unlike other shows ( The Sopranos and The Wire as two examples) I don’t foresee future generations finding BB to be that good of a program.
