There is only one character in BB that is consistently reasonable and sympathetic through all five seasons. That character is Skyler.

Damn near every character in this show is morally grey.

Walt - Really, genuinely cares about Jesse and Hank, to the point of introducing idiotic risks to himself to save them. But is a lying, manipulative egomaniac who passed up multiple golden opportunities to get out with no suspicion and a healthy pile of money.

Jesse - Has a heart of gold. This one's tough. His greyness is not so much due to immorality as psychological weakness. He's such an impulsive dipshit at times, it threatens to ruin the entire gig for everyone. Tell me you didn't shake your head when he started tossing the cash out the window.

Hank - Exactly the jolly character this show needed to balance the ensemble. Very devoted to his work and straight edged. But he is an unbelievable asshole to Marie. He never shows the slightest appreciation for how much she does to help him recover from his injuries.

Marie - Yes, the kleptomania and the selfish solipsism. She's awful at times. But she does have one redeeming quality: she is a phenomenal wife to Hank. I mean, she almost approaches Mary Sue territory with how good she is to him. He honestly doesn't deserve her. When he told her to "Leave" in season 3, I didn't think she'd even come back.

Which brings me to Skyler. I cannot for the life of me understand why people hate her. Maybe on the first watch. But once you have the full picture, can you try to imagine yourself in that Kafkaesque situation? What decision did she ever make that was unfair or unwise? We can see that Walt's out making money for his family. The entire plot gets predicated on his idiotic rationale for not bringing her in on it. He could have told her back when he started exactly what he was doing and there wouldn't have even been a show to watch. He's a terrible liar, creating an environment like she's in some bizarre reality TV show. How you could even sleep like that, feeling like the cameramen are going to jump out and yell "Surprise! You were punked!" at any moment? Of course she grew increasingly irritated and suspicious.

You're mad at her for banging Ted? Her husband just pulled a power play to move himself into her house and keep their children under the same roof, endangering everyone. You feel like you have zero control over your life. You know that there is one thing you can do to pull his switch and get an angle on him. What do you do?

You're mad at her for laundering the money? Make up your mind! You hated her in Season 1 for being a killjoy to the crime action. You can't also hate her for joining it. And anyway, notice how well Walt gets her like a frog in a pot of water. She's always putting up with just one more step, and one more, and one more, until she's eventually asking Walt to murder Jesse after he tries to burn their house down.

Skyler is smart, resourceful, is a godsend with the carwash instead of Saul's idiotic laser tag plan, and does exactly what she has to do every step of the way. She is the strongest, most consistent character in the show.

Submitted June 27, 2017 at 08:10AM by AlchemyPhoenix http://ift.tt/2sPzCOV