Do you hate Breaking Bad's Skyler White? In a recent New York Times editorial, actress Anna Gunn describes that there are now Facebook pages dedicated to hating the character and in some cases, these sites have mentioned death threats against the actress. Personally, I would not be eager to attend a barbecue at the White's pool, but isn't a death threat against an actress for her character going a little too far?
No one threatens James Earl Jones for playing the voice of Darth Vader.
I was extremely impressed by the quality of the writing in her editorial. Anna Gunn is a tremendous writer as well as a great actress. I'm not going to wade into the debate over the reasons behind the hatred. I definitely agree with her point that "I finally realized that most people’s hatred of Skyler had little to do
with me and a lot to do with their own perception of women and wives."
When I was writing Rattlesnake Lawyer, some of the rejections and bad reviews were a little too personal especially when they found that the main character too unsympathetic. When you put a lot of yourself into a fictional creation, and people respond with vitriol, you can take it personally.
I'll be watching the next few episodes to see where Skyler goes.I do hope she lives. I definitely hope that Anna Gunn will be able to put the character behind her.
Breaking Bad could have featured a rival for Skyler-- a sort of Michell Pfieffer in Scarface that Walter could take away to his mansion. That might have actually created more sympathy for Skyler.
The recent confrontation between Skyler and Lydia gave a taste of what might have been.
I was on Team Skyler by the way. Still, I would rather watch a spin off featuring Lydia.
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