Breaking Bad Fans Can't Help But Cringe Over Walt's Terrible Lies
Throughout "Breaking Bad," characters regularly lied to advance themselves or conceal truths that would lead to moral reckonings in their personal lives. Whether it was Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) lying to the DEA or the Mexican Drug Cartel or Marie (Betsy Brandt) lying to Skyler White (Anna Gunn) about her kleptomania, lies form a large part of the "Breaking Bad" story. But no character comes near the number of falsehoods told by Walter White (Bryan Cranston).
On a thread on the show's subreddit page discussing the most cringeworthy scenes, u/BimmerJustin said, "Pretty much anytime walt lies." Redditor u/magichead269 added context to this highlight by stating, "He is a bad liar in terms of his content of lying. He just lies so shamelessly that everyone around is too embarrassed to call it out."
Many of Walt's lies are downright despicable, but others are so terrible they become laughable, such as many of his lies to Skyler. Fans also point out how Walt's inability to fool his wife represents one of the only people he could not manipulate or shroud his dishonesty in front of.
Fans point out that Walt couldn't easily lie to Skyler
Walter White was a master manipulator and an expert liar to many people in his life. On Reddit, a deleted user explained this by pointing out how he was superb at lying, including the moments he called the bluff of a jock who was tormenting his son Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte), lied about having the RV, and lied to Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in Season 4. But his deceptions did not stand the test of time regarding Skyler White.
Skyler is always quite perceptive in picking up many of Walt's deceiving actions early in the series. This includes investigating whether Walt is still working at the car wash only to discover he was fired and never told her. Redditor u/theinfecteddonut commented, "What I hate is the excessive detail. His lies were believable in the beginning because of his 2 jobs. His overselling makes me nearly look away from the screen. It's so cringe."
On a subreddit thread specifically discussing his lies to her, u/Practical-Purchase spoke about how he was terrible at trying to fool her. The poster observed how Walt had a terrible tendency to over-emphasize his falsehoods to Skyler, so she picked up on his misleading statements. They also shared how the drug kingpin would immediately try to deceive his wife when she caught him sneaking around to take phone calls.
Overall, fan responses show how the high school teacher turned drug manufacturer was skilled at manipulation but terrible at lying.