Breaking Bad Fans Are Split On Whether Skyler Actually Cheated On Walt
Has there ever been a character more maligned than Skyler White (Anna Gunn) on "Breaking Bad?" The jury may still be out on that one, but there is no question that poor Skyler was the most hated character in the series. Wife to morally reprehensible, meth-cooking Walt (Bryan Cranston), Skyler somehow got the wrong end of the stick. Skyler's husband continued to lie to her, gaslight her, and even steal her baby from her. And that isn't even the worst thing Walt did on "Breaking Bad." But somehow, the fans of the series pinned Skyler as a nagging shrew who was always getting in the way of Walt's fun.
This odd dichotomy may stem from viewers misunderstanding Walt's character trajectory. Creator Vince Gilligan's vision of "Breaking Bad: said it best. "You take Mr. Chips and turn him into Scarface," Gilligan told NPR about how he pitched the series. Walt is not the hero. His calculated negligence that allows Jane (Krysten Ritter) to die should be more than enough evidence of that. But yet the Skyler vs. Walt debate continues. That may be the main reason why many fans are still split on the Season 3 episode "I.F.T." Did Skyler cheat on Walt? Or was it just an argument over semantics?
Cheating on your drug dealing spouse crosses a line for some fans
For five seasons, Skyler endures what no partner should have to. Walt lies again and again and admits in the final episode that everything he did was out of pure enjoyment. But even with that in mind, many fans hold her marriage to Walt as sacred. Some Redditors maintain that destroying the bond between married partners is not easy to forgive.
"Skyler did cheat, and I don't think cheating is ever justified, just like Walt being a sociopathic killer is not justified," noted u/isuckatmusictheory. To the Redditor's credit, they can no more forgive Skyler for her crimes as they could Walt for his. But other fans are not so easily swayed. Many viewers conclude that it doesn't matter what the circumstances are. There is no excuse for infidelity.
"[C]heating on your spouse is the ultimate betrayal," posted u/gee_izzy. "Seriously, she cheated in her marriage," argued u/naxx78. "[T]hat's a BFD bigger than lying." Whether viewers stand with Skyler or not seems to coincide with their personal feelings about the character. It is no secret that a vocal minority enjoys insulting Skyler on the internet, and a large part of this seems to track with their feelings about Walt. In an interview with The New Yorker, Vince Gilligan concluded that fans' love for Walt negatively impacted Skyler's reception.
Other fans reason that Walt's crimes against Skyler were too great
Marriage is about an equal partnership. Although Skyler and Walt were legally married, an alternative faction of fans agrees that it has been a long time since either of them regarded each other romantically. Walt treats his marriage like a game to be won. He continues to pull power plays to stay in the house and weaponizes her relationship with Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) against her. Though Skyler doesn't ultimately file for divorce, no one can argue that she is a willing participant in this marriage. And if Skylar is no longer emotionally invested in the marriage, she can't very well cheat on Walt. The relationship is over for all intents and purposes.
"Skyler did not cheat. She no longer wished to be with Walter; she made this explicitly clear to him," explained u/Key_Island5631. Redditor u/diosexual hopped on board to elaborate further on the situation. "Skyler didn't cheat; she separated from Walter because he kept lying and lying and being shady af even after she asked him to come clean time after time," they wrote. "She slept with her boss only after Walter forced himself back into her life to make it clear she didn't consider herself his wife anymore." Especially in the realm of marriage, there are no easy answers. Relationships are never black and white, especially when you are trying to get a drug dealer out of your house.