Warning: my opinion ahead.
So, fuck Chuck. Chuck is universally hated. Possibly even more universally hated than Skyler was in Breaking Bad. As a result, I've seen these two characters compared a lot, and it irritates the hell out of me.
So here's the difference: you are supposed to hate Chuck. You are not supposed to hate Skyler. This much is abundantly clear. Michael McKean has described Chuck as an awful and vindictive character. Anna Gunn wrote a New York Times op-ed describing in detail how disturbing the vitriol for Skyler is. Both characters work in opposition to the protagonist- in some sense making them antagonists. But in my eyes, the fundamental difference is this: Chuck opposes Jimmy because of his attempts to change for the better. Skyler opposes Walt because of his attempts to change for the worse. And because of this, the hatred for Chuck is justifiable in a way that the hatred for Skyler absolutely isn't. So I'll explain.
As Walt progresses down his character arc in Breaking Bad, we see him behave in a way that is more and more morally unjustifiable. At first his intentions appear noble- providing for his family- but as time goes on, his good intentions become a transparent justification for purely selfish behavior. Walt has multiple opportunities to get out of the meth business, but chooses to put his family in danger instead. He has the opportunity to provide money for his family through the help of Gretchen and Elliot, but refuses to take it. And the more Walt transforms into Heisenberg, the more we see him make decisions that hurt others at the expense of his personal satisfaction. Most immediately apparent is Walt's constant manipulation of an undeserving Jesse (sacrificing Jesse's happiness for personal gain in cruel moments like Jane's death or Brock's poisoning). But Walt's continued insistence on meth cooking also irreparably harms his loved ones- including Skyler- not because of anything they did wrong, but because Walt puts his needs ahead of theirs.
Jimmy is a different animal. The Jimmy McGill we see at the beginning of the series is not on the straight-and-narrow and headed down a dark path, as Walt is. Instead, the path from Jimmy to Saul is about Jimmy reverting to a version of himself that, from episode one, Jimmy is trying to leave behind. Jimmy has a dirty streak, sure, and he is a natural con man, but many of Jimmy's actions as his character develops through the first few seasons are not at the expense of his loved one's (like Walt's) but for their benefit, at the expense of himself. Jimmy slaves away to take care of Chuck even though he knows that Chuck's disease is not wholly real, in spite of the fact that he has every opportunity to take advantage of Chuck's resources for himself. He turns the Kettlemens away and hands their money over to the DA in order to return Kim's clients to her. He sabotages Chuck- knowing full well that his actions would risk disbarment- in order to return Kim's client to her (again). Most damningly, he confesses this to Chuck just to make him feel better, something he would never have done in a million years if not for the benefit of someone he loves.
Skyler resents Walt, and Chuck resents Jimmy. But Skyler's resentment for Walt grows from the fact that he refuses to change- to right himself- even though he has the opportunity to, and she has plead with him to. Chuck's resentment for Jimmy, on the other hand, is deep-seated and pathological, and as a result is the only thing standing in the way of Jimmy changing- even though Jimmy wants to change; wants to right himself. Walt could have left the meth business- he could have put his family's needs first. If he had, Skyler would not have been held hostage by his actions. She would have had no reason to resent him. Jimmy, on the other hand, tried to go on the up-and-up (tried incredibly hard, putting himself through law school while working!), but was prevented from doing this, because Chuck resented him from the start. Now, you can argue that Chuck had some basis for not trusting Jimmy because of the Slippin' Jimmy days, but I think it's pretty well understood by now that the real reason for Chuck's hatred of Jimmy is that Jimmy has a natural way with people that Chuck never did (illustrated by flashbacks to Jimmy's interactions with Rebecca), which is not only cruel but morally unjustifiable.
Skyler has been painted as a hypocrite, but I consider that extremely misguided. Skyler did eventually participate in the meth business, and did make moral compromises of her own, but only when she was left with no other options as a result of Walt's refusal to back down. Skyler was left with so little agency that her only recourse was trying to get Walt to divorce her. And yeah, she fucked Ted to do it. But honestly- and I truly believe this, wholeheartedly- if you honestly believe that Skyler's infidelity even scrapes the top ten of morally inexcusable actions in Breaking Bad, it's because you're being sexist, plain and simple.
Chuck, on the other hand, was never harmed by Jimmy. He didn't always approve of Jimmy's behavior, but Jimmy never forced his hand- and Jimmy truly loved and cared for Chuck, despite the fact that Chuck basically did not reciprocate it at all. And in spite of Jimmy's love and respect, Chuck's irrational hatred just continued to balloon out control to the point where he would rather concoct an elaborate story about transposing numbers than just accept the tiniest blow to his pride and admit that he made a mistake. (And yeah, Chuck may have been right, but that doesn't make him any less hateful or paranoid.) And at the end of the day, just as Kim put it, Jimmy's shortcomings- those shortcomings that are leading him down the path to Saul Goodman- are Chuck's fault. Chuck made him this way.
So, to summarize- long-winded ramblings aside- please stop comparing Chuck to Skyler. Their choices and their relationships to the protagonist- they're not the same. Chuck deserves your hate. Skyler doesn't. Thanks for reading.
...But yeah, Chuck was a bastard.
Submitted October 01, 2018 at 03:53AM by Amendment50 https://ift.tt/2DLY23z
No comments:
Post a Comment