After rewatching Breaking Bad years later, I'm convinced that Skyler & Walt were not too dissimilar even if they had apparent differences

On the surface, Walter White and Skyler White seem to be in conflict throughout Breaking Bad. He becomes a drug kingpin; she resists him, argues with him, and tries to protect her family. She is surprised when Walter says, "I am not in danger, Skyler, I am the danger."

But recently, when I rewatched Breaking Bad after a long time with a fresh perspective, I noticed these characters in a nuanced way. These characters are not too dissimilar, even if they have apparent differences.

Want to dive deeper? Here’s how they mirror each other more than people often acknowledge.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's personal opinions.

Here is how Skyler and Walter White are not too dissimilar as they appear in Breaking Bad

Just like Walt, Skyler doesn’t start out unethical, but slowly compromises her values over time. When she gets to know that her husband is cooking meth "for the family," Skyler initially tries to sheild her family but soon when she witnesses the amount of money Walter has made, she starts to launder the money for Walt, lying to her sister and even threatening people like Ted.

They both rationalise their actions. Skyler even tells Walt at one point:

"Someone’s gotta protect this family from the man who protects this family."

The show, in its early episodes, features a breakfast scene where we can sense a quiet, stagnant dissatisfaction in their marriage. Both characters are intelligent, underappreciated, and unfulfilled, stuck in lives that don’t reflect their potential.

Walt is a brilliant chemist who is reduced to teaching uninterested teens and washing cars. Skyler, once an aspiring writer, now sells items on eBay and does bookkeeping to make ends meet. Walter and Skyler both have an unfulfilled past, which fuels them at present.

Grey Matter Technologies is a company Walter co-founded and then left, but it is now valued at over $2 billion. Walter became a broke high school teacher with a genius mind. Skyler, on the other hand, also feels unfulfilled with talents and ambitions that went unrealized. The only difference is that she doesn't turn to violence and crime, while Walter does.

If Walter built the empire, Skyler stabilized it in Breaking Bad

After Breaking Bad originally aired, many fans disliked Skyler because of her actions, not just because she opposed Walt. Skyler didn't fully align with Walt or fully oppose him, and that ambivalence made people uncomfortable. She could have either left him when she found out about the second phone and drug business or joined him fully, using her skills to help grow his empire and take control.

But she did neither, and that tension — her refusal to pick a side definitively — became a major source of drama. And frustration. But I think this also shows that Skyler is written realistically. She is scared of Walt but also loves him. She is furious but also wants to protect her children, and she is repulsed by the drug business but also feels drawn to the power and money it provides. That is what makes Breaking Bad and its characters so rich and resonant.

It is during the rewatch that I realized that Skyler is not just an obstacle in Walter's story but a reluctant participant and a deeply flawed survivor trying to deal with an impossible situation.

It becomes obvious: Walt didn’t break bad because he had to — he did it because he wanted to matter, to be feared, respected, remembered. His famous confession in the finale is the final, honest unravelling of his excuses.

“I did it for myself. I liked it.”

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Walt seeks domination through empire-building. Skyler seeks control through order — managing accounts, orchestrating lies, and covering tracks. But it’s still about control. When Skyler sees how effective she is at laundering money through the car wash, she becomes more assertive. She orchestrates the fake gambling story. She handles IRS audits.

If Walt built the empire, Skyler stabilized it in Breaking Bad.

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