Originally published at: An ode to the wives of television anti-heroes | Boing Boing
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Apologies in advance if you’re about to get dogpiled-on for this remark, but I think I would disagree with that.
Breaking Bad is notorious for a segment of its fans violently hating Skylar, to the point that Anna Gunn herself got hate mail, death threats, and stalkers.
That is definitely not most fans though. I think most people realize the whole point of her character was to act as contrast and make it clear that Walt had become a raging psychopath (I mean, it’s right there in the title, people). The problem is that the aforementioned small vocal segment people think Walt was the good guy in the story. He embodied their own petty white male power fantasies and Skylar was the wet blanket on it all, in their minds.
The fact that men don’t generally realize how much the women around them are cleaning up their shit (sometimes literally) and holding their universe together is just the baseline within which such power fantasies and hatreds could fester.
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See, that’s a sane reading of the character. I’ve only encountered Breaking Bad fans that hate her with searing rage. I suppose it is anecdotal evidence to say most fans hate her, but I thought the article Anna Gunn wrote addressing the revile she experienced spoke for a large swath of the fandom. I reckon I got that wrong.
I watched Breaking Bad WELL after the hype, and I cheered when she took a knife to Walt to defend her family. It was shocking for me to discover that she was hated by fans.
I love Walt as much as any diehard Breaking Bad fan, but I don’t like him. Walt is an interesting character, ergo he’s compelling to watch, but he damn sure isn’t a good person. I’ll never understand how people confuse the two just because he’s the protagonist of the story.
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Right? Fucking misogyny strikes again.
True. and it’s that same, loud and vocal segment that thinks Walter White is a masculine hero. Just what he did to his family and Jesse alone shows what a terrible person he was and became.
I think @VeronicaConnor’s correct that they are thought to be the audience because they are so loud about their fandom. And since the media often loves drama, these voices always get elevated in the public discourse. Same with the “controversies” over casting John Boyega and Kelly Marie Trans in Star Wars… They tried to do that complaining about “wokeness” with Star Trek, but how can you really do that when the whole series was in part meant to show a future where humanity has conquered racism and bigotry and gone to the stars… It was literally Roddenberry’s goal to embody a color blind society, and so anyone trying to complain about Trek embracing diversity just because they are falling victim to the “woke police” just falls flat. Roddenberry was the woke police!!!
No… god no. Walt’s an asshole.
They are probably assholes just like him… 
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That’s pretty much a perfect summary of him. 
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I’m just glad Carmela Soprano was able to summon the courage to finally leave Tony and pursue a career in nursing.
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No Mrs. Howell?
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Does “Derwood” from “Bewitched” (Dick York preferably) count as an anti-hero?
I mean, he’s no hero. . . not by a long shot.
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I’ve always seen Darrin as the straight man whose presence (and antics) keeps the show grounded and reminds us how fantastical Samantha and her family are.
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Deja vu any time the topic of Breaking Bad surfaces. He’s not a folk hero.
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