skipping and disliking because nobody wants to see a youtubers face for 40 minutes. Your beard is the subject of this video more than the show itself

You can’t forget the fact that walt broke up with gretchen purely because she had a rich family, so she would have been providing for him

Another scene that isn't talked about enough is when Walt goads his son into drinking so much he pukes into the pool just because Hank challenges his authority.

Yeah it's immature to hate Skyler but sending death threats to Anna Gunn is plain deranged

People forget that the best scene that is quoted all the time “I am the one who knocks” is about a man screaming at his scared wife. Like how do you look at that scene and not feel disgusted at this man.

If you're one of those that hate Skyler, congratulations, you've been manipulated by Walter too.

How dare Skylar not want a egotistical maniac in the house!

breaking bad fans pick which character is the worst challenge (IMPOSSIBLE): a- The child killer drug kingpin b- The child killer drug cook c- the woman

When i first watched breaking bad, i was asking myself "So, when does Skyler become hateabl" in every scene. She's not some evil villain. She's a woman who loves her kids and wants to protect them from the evil, narcissistic, mad man in her house

This is basically all perfectly summed up in a stupid four panel meme I saw Gretchen: take my donation money for cancer treatment Walter: stfu libtard I'm fine on my own Gus: cook meth and kill people for cancer money Walt: yes Gustavo, glory to Los Pollos Hermanos

a note on how Fring uses Walter's ego to manipulate him: when Walter is invited to Fring's house for dinner, there are children's toys strewn about the house. Fring even makes a comment on the dish they are eating, noting that he doesn't get to make it very often because the kids won't eat it. For a while i thought Fring's kids were some sort of dropped plot point, but of course the simpler explanation is that Fring doesn't have any kids. He's using the idea of providing for a family to manipulate Walter into continuing to cook for him.

The best thing about how Gus manipulates Walter with his speech at 13:50 about how a man must provide for his family is that it feels very genuine but is likely completely insincere. Given the high likelihood that Gus is gay and single, his entire bit about being a family man becomes this elaborate ruse he constructed in order to manipulate Walter. It really shows how well he could read Walter and how deeply manipulative he is.

To add to your point, Walter left Gretchen because she came from a rich family, and he felt emasculated by that.

The fact that before I watched the show I never heard anything about the rape scene but heard constant complaining about the Skyler Singing scene as "the hardest scene to sit through" speaks volumes about the fanbase.

Assaulting Skyler and letting Jane die are the exact moments Walt crosses past the point of no return from “I am trying to provide” to “I am maintaining control through any means necessary”

I like how (some) fans will praise the phenomenal writing of the show and then completely miss that Walter is the villain

What blows my mind about this is that even if you bought into the "Walt is just trying to provide" angle all throughout.... the show itself blatantly spells it out for the audience when Walt himself admits in the finale, "I did it for me. I liked it." Boom. That's it. That's all the evidence you need. The show is telling you what it's all been about in this one scene. It's not subtext anymore, it is just the text itself. Plain as day, irrefutable.

HOW THE HELL IS THIS EVEN CONTROVERSIAL?!?!? Walt destroys his entire family over pride, ego, and narcissism… Is it masculine? Yes. Is it healthy? No. So it’s toxically masculine.

The fact that they can literally see Saul mock Walt as he complains about how HE has to be the one to provide the money and STILL try to argue Walt is the good guy is insane to me. "Yeah there's no deep seated issues there" he said in a sarcastic voice. Jimmy knew Walt was full of it, absolutely weighed down by his pride of what it meant to be a "man." Gustavo saw that desperation to remain the "manly" figure of the house and manipulated him with it. It was always there. Seriously, how are people this blind?

Its like American Psycho all over again. An incel parody so before its time incels took it unironically

I dont know how so many people could miss the point after "Im the one who protects the family from the one who protects the family" line from Skyler

It's very painful to see people watch something as incredible as Breaking Bad and completely miss the point(s), themes and messages

In regards to the rape scene, I think you're forgetting one of the most toxic masculine ideas: "women can't be raped by their husbands". I think many viewers are able to dismiss the scene as "a sexual mishap" or "he just misread the situation" instead of seeing it for what it actually is: rape. I've seen it repeatedly in media, wives having sex with their husbands against their will, husbands forcing themselves on their wives, and it is never called out by its true name. It is portrayed as "sad" ... you feel bad for her situation ... but it isn't called "rape" and it needs to be called out. When a person forces another into sex that is rape. Whether verbally, physically, psychologically ... it's all rape. I think even harder to watch than the rape scene in the kitchen is the scene later in Season 5 when Walt rapes Skyler and she is too terrified of him to fight him off. She wants to be nowhere near him ... she's imagining ways she can to get away from him ... and Walt is completely oblivious to her. She's not a person to him anymore. She's a concept, an idea, a possession ... and he rapes her, leaving her shivering and terrified ... and he whistles while he goes to take a shower. It's horrifying. Where is the outrage at Walt over that?

i feel like a lot of fans of the show don’t realize that you can like a show and still find the main character (or literally all of then) immoral and unpleasant. it’s not a dig at the show in the slightest. it’s actually amazing that we continue to watch it despite how awful the characters are.

It's the joker all over again. Men love the idea that there is an attainable version of toxic masculinity that lets them keep their wives, their conscious, and their relationships with their kids while doing the explosions and murder somewhere else, but there isn't. There never can be, and that's the entire message. So sad people miss it and just think "well if ____ hadn't happened it woulda worked out"

I feel like every murder Jesse committed was filled with regret and he was almost forced to do so. He’s one of the most moral characters in the entire show. You can’t help but feel bad for him.

“Women can’t be raped by their husbands” “A man can’t break into his own house” “A father can’t kidnap his own child” ••• “This show isn’t about toxic masculinity”

I love how you use the rotten egg example. Because you'd think no one would need to explain something so simple.

A scummy drug dealer in a scripted series: A man provides for his family no matter what! Half the internet: So true, bro 🤦‍♀️

BB fans disappoint me especially with how they view Skylar. She never wanted any of Walt’s drug money or the drama. She was trying to protect Walt Jr & Holly from Walt who could’ve got them all killed. She made bad decisions but unlike Walt, everything she did actually was for the family. I’m glad someone finally spoke about this.

I just finished watching breaking bad and I have something I wanna add: The first thing that caught my eye was Hank's own arc of toxic masculinity and how that got in the way of himself and eventually his family. He was the one making all the comments to Walter in the first episode and always seemed to have that tone of "look at me, im so big and strong." It all seems to come crashing down when his PTSD symptoms start to show. His determination to shove it down and "be a man" come out in the form of lashing out at his wife, struggling at his job, and worsening his overall mental state. I think we saw a glimmer of hope when he finally admitted to having some issues (mind you, after yelling at his wife for suggesting the same thing), but him getting shot definitely set him back a little (likely because he didn't feel very strong with this new disability and having his wife have to help him with everything) This is my first time actually putting this into words, but Ive been sitting with it since I started season 1. There's definitely more to this, but I'd have to think about it a little more

One overlooked line from Breaking Bad that reveals early on just how twisted Walt is comes when he's talking with his therapist after his 'fugue state.' Walt doesn't want to tell his therapist what's bothering him, but finally gives in and basically admits that he ran away for a while to escape the shame of what his life turned out to be. He hates that he's an underpaid teacher, and that his potential is wasted. But he says this about his family: 'My wife is having an unplanned baby and my son is disabled,' or something like that. He views his family as props in his 'ideal life' diorama, a piece meant to impress others with how perfect his life is. Walt thinks that Walter Jr being disabled reflects badly on HIM. Even though he's occasionally kind to his son throughout the series, that moment reveals that he doesn't really view Walter Jr as a person - he's a prop to make Walt look good. And a disabled son does not make him look good. It's an early glimpse into how twisted Walt's view of others really is.

I’ve seen those types of people come out whenever someone mentions “toxic masculinity” in breaking bad and it’s actually so weird to me. How is it NOT about toxic masculinity? A man so prideful he decides to cook METH over taking a chushy job from his rich ex business partner, the whole premise of the show is Walter ruining his and his families lives due to nothing but his own pride and refusal for “charity or handouts”, basically the definition of toxic masculinity 😂

my least favorite thing is when people say something like “if you hated skyler then that means that the actors/writers did a good job” like no if you hated skyler you were watching the show with your eyes closed because she’s supposed to be sympathetic and definitely not hateable

I like how they went on to flip things on their head when Better Call Saul started up by giving Jimmy his own, "I AM the danger!" scene. You can't even pretend it's badass like you do with Walter, where he's going on this cool rant about how he's a dangerous criminal genius intentionally juxtaposed against the fact he's actually just a scared man in over his head yelling at his wife. Jimmy's just a buffoon exploding with misplaced rage at a man calmly walking away from him while he shouts about shooting lightning from his fingers like a child.

25:00. Its also something I notice in the movies “Fight Club” and “American Psycho”. Those movies, along with breaking bad, condemn toxic masculinity. But at the same time, they attract toxic men like moths to a light. I think it has to do with lack of media literacy common in many conservative circles (obviously, not all conservatives. I’m not putting anyone in a box).

I'm very glad you brought up the scene with the mud mask. I often feel like people just conveniently forget about that as well. But it gets worse. It's not the only rape scene, it's only the first one, and the most explicit -- the only one that shows the whole thing, rather than just [insert stronger word than 'implying' idk lol it's past my bedtime] There is another time he does it, at least on-screen. I don't know the exact episode or whatever, but it's sometime after Holly has been born and during a time when Walter has fully assumed control over Skyler and over the household. It's not as um "violent" for lack of a better word which is probably why it can be missed if one isn't paying attention. But it's very disturbing because it's clear the abuse has gotten to such a point of hopelessness that Skyler has completely given up fighting back. And then later, I think sometime after the scene with Skyler in the pool, Skyler says to him, "I can't even keep you out of my bed." This part of her sentence is emphasized; there is cinematic and thespian weight to her words, and the creators of the show clearly wanted these words to be focused on. The implications are the same. They more than suggest that this is repeating violence from Walter. This means Skyler has been emotionally eviscerated and violated by Walter so many times that she has entered a devastating cycle of learned helplessness, a psychological state I would not wish on my worst enemy. As a survivor of a frankly ridiculous amount of abuse, and a childhood witness to years of domestic violence -- as a person who has very, very much BEEN Skyler more than once and for a god awful long time -- I have never been able to understand the Walter White stans, and I've almost never seen anything Skyler did or any of her reactions as unreasonable or thought that they didn't make sense. Walter repulses me in every sense (And I love Bryan Cranston... so this shows even more how amazing of an actor he is that he's just able to completely transform himself like that). He makes my skin crawl and he's not even real. To me, he's a symbol of every abuser I've ever had, because his manipulative and calculating behavior and his violent lust for power is so agonizingly accurate of real-life abusers. Breaking Bad is so visceral and personal that it can be very hard not to have opinions about it that one may not have as strongly about characters from other media. So all that being said, I personally feel like every time someone speaks out about Walter being an abuser and defends Skyler, it brings more and more mercy to real-life survivors of abuse.

I found myself being annoyed by Skylar, but also simultaneously feeling heartbroken for her

The ammount of ppl hating on Skyler even until after the show ended is insane. She was the sane one in the relashionship up until she went along with Walt's downward spiral.

When I first watched breaking bad, I read it as a bait and switch. It felt like they purposefully set it up for you to revel in Walt's actions early on, so they could slowly turn up the heat and by the time you realized how bad it was, you were complicit, which has a bigger impact than just framing all his actions as bad from the beginning. I also find it weird that you say (and apparently lots of people agree) that Skylar worked against Walt. I didn't get that at all. I thought her worst actions the whole show were her enabling of Walt. She went along with everything. She might have spoken ill about it, but she didn't really take any actions against him. She couldn't. She was basically a prisoner. That's why she was so freaked out when Hank finds out.

Funny how most of the hate Skyler gets comes from actual sexism and toxic masculinity.

One of the things about the show that immediately stood out to me on my first watch, is that after having his ego shattered from being weak, helpless and vulnerable post-injury, Hank ends up coming back as a pretty skilled detective. Once he stopped tripping over his own need to look tough, he was able to do his job much better.

No actually you're so right. When I watched this show as a kid I totally sided with Walt on everything. Now that I'm 29 and watched the show again...I can't believe that he put so many people through all that pain all because he didn't want help with his cancer treatment. *Bombastic side eye*

I always felt bad for Skyler. I never understood where the hate was coming from, I figured she was simply trying to keep her family safe and healthy, but Walter kept screwing all of that up by doing what he thought was the same thing. Yes she made some questionable choices, but at the end of the day, she’s a saint compared to her monster of a husband.

These people know what toxic masculinity is. They like it and want it to be the standard. That's why they don't want it being critiqued.

Something I've noticed everytime I speak to someone condemning Skyler for cheating is that they never seem to remember the rape scene. I dont think that's intentional on their part, I think it's simply a product of their biases and their misreading of the show as walt being a good guy, which has them write off many of the indefensible things walt does.

I actually never knew that Skyler was a fan hated character. Granted, I literally just finished Breaking bad a few weeks ago and now I'm three seasons into Better call Saul, but even if she was portrayed as annoying in some episodes, I never found her hate worthy. She made a lot of bad choices for sure, but she tried her best to keep the family whole despite everything that was going on.

"Sort by Newest" disappoints again

And there will be people saying that he "saved" Jesse.. Jesse's life got ruined because not only did Walter coax im into working with him, but he also couldnt stand the thought of Jesse surpassing him. He didnt save Jesse. He merely stopped what he caused before it got worse.

when it comes to being the true family "protector/provider", i'd say that skyler comes a lot closer to that archetype than walt does. she goes back to her old job, with a boss who's kinda incompetent, while highly pregnant to fund her family's needs, she covers for walt in front of their son so he won't get scarred for life by finding out his dad is a meth manufacturer, she lets herself be seen as the bad guy again and again just to protect walt's image and not ruin his bond with their son, she comes up with the plan to buy the carwash in order to make their money "clean", etc etc. sure, she makes mistakes, but throughout the show she becomes more and more comfortable with getting her hands dirty just to protect her family. she rarely does anything for her own pride and ego, yet the brba fandom constantly makes her into a selfish bitch who doesn't do anything for the family. even if gus' speech about providing (which is just gus manipulating walt to get to his meth) is more seen in skyler than in walt: "a man provides, even when is not appreciated or loved, he simply bears up." which is exactly what skyler does, while walt gets mad when his role as the provider is ignored/when his actions aren't appreciated.

Skylar is consistently one of the most reasonable characters in the show; she still makes some bad choices, but even when she does it is usually because she doesn't have all the facts or is being manipulated, lied to, or gaslit by Walt

Tbh, this feels like something that everyone who saw the show should know.

that 'rotten eggs' explaination slapped im going to remember that and use it if I get the oppurtunity

On the flipside of "toxic masculinity", I think an example of non-toxic masculinity was Jesse standing up for Andrea's little brother out of pure sympathy, who was more or less cornered into joining gang life, which that in and of itself 2 strong examples of toxic masculinity, 1: (probably) for Tomas needing to reassert feeling like a man despite being a child by being in a gang, and 2: Gus's men reasserting their masculinity by holding power over this kid and having him do their dirty work just because they can. Jesse was the only one who realized Tomas shouldn't be in the gang life and made the effort to keep the peace. It's only after the two guys gun Tomas down does Jesse snap back into being trigger-happy, another example of how toxic masculinity doesnt develop in isolation, it spreads.

even as a young goober when i first saw the series, without knowing all of the series' nuances, every time skyler did something because of walt's actions, I just thought "well, yeah I'd kinda do the same thing"

I literally just saw the TITLE in my recommended whilst watching the show, and then as i got on i was like "wait people think this show ISNT about toxic masculinity??"

Just one thing. Walt left Gretchen. It was established during the conversation where she confronts him on lying to his family. It was explained that Walt left her after meeting her rich family. Which again wounds his pride causing him to leave her confused and then ending up with Elliot

Both Breaking Call Saul and Breaking Bad emphasizes choices in main characters doing bad things. Without exceptions, the bad things are done out of self interests no matter how much rationalizations they throw around. Walt cooking meth, not saving Jane, Jimmy forging Mesa Verde documentaries, Kim plotting the whole scam against Howard, they do them to benefit their own ego when there are clearly altenatives to their bad choice roads right there. It's frustrating that some viewers are coated in layers of deflections to recognize maybe it's good that those shows they supposedly love point out the personalities they identify with in the main characters might be bad.

I'm sure you didn't address this because the video was already too long and mentioning Hank would take away from the streamlined nature of this video, but I think Hank is just as much a prominent figure of toxic masculinity in the show. That is not to say Hank is as immoral as Walt, but that he is as affected and motivated by societal expectations of how men are supposed to behave. Hank, more than even Walt I'd argue, has the horrible habit of bottling up his emotions. Hiding them behind jokes, venting them through violence (Jesse, the scene at the biker bar), being ashamed of himself for his panic attacks, rejecting compassion from his wife and closest friend(Gomey) because accepting that compassion means accepting he is vulnerable. Effectively, Walt with Grey Matter and Hank following the Tortuga explosion with Marie and Gomez are the same thing. Misguided toxic masculine pride would not allow them to accept the help they clearly need. All of this because he feels like he failed as a man for having PTSD from one of the most horrific things you could imagine(Tortuga). His whole identity was built around being strong and unbreakable, but I think most men reach an inflection point in their life where this frame of mind becomes self destructive due to shame from its unsustainability. Hank, especially after having to learn to walk again, learns as the show goes on to lessen these tendencies(although they never go away), whereas Walt as the show goes on basically attempts to subscribe to the same mindset of early season Hank. Which is why I think Breaking Bad's narrative is so intertwined with toxic masculinity, Hank and Walt are parallels against one another. Great video though. I think a lot of these people leaving those stupid comments on the original video need to do the same soul searching that Hank needed to do.

Did anyone really NOT see this as one of the themes? The entire show was just Walter repeatedly letting his pride and ego destroy his life, his family, and countless other lives.

God I remember when heisenberg said "That's what you think Tuco! HEISENBOMB, GO!"

Walter White is up there with Tyler Durden and Rick Sanchez in terms of characters that most people watching the show absolutely do not understand. I will never understand how anyone can watch BB and come away with it wanting to tattoo the Heisenberg logo on themselves.

I watched this show for the first time recently and was incredibly startled by the fan reactions to Skyler and the hatred for her. To me the whole point was to show how Walt became a monster and how that affected his family, and how Skyler did everything she did to get away from him and keep her kids safe. Not only does he assault her but especially towards the end he treats her like a possession. You can see the fear in her eyes and the way she freezes and goes silent every time he touches her. Imagine living with “the one who knocks”, wouldn’t you be afraid too?

Minor note- It isn’t that Walt has learned his lesson when he gives the money to Gretchen and Elliot in the final episode: It is literally the only way he can get any of his money to his family, because with his crimes now known, if there’s any trace of the money being Walt’s drug money, it will get confiscated and Skylar, Walt Jr and Holly are out of luck. Additionally, Skylar and Walt Jr have both made it clear that they don’t want the money from Walt, and Walt knows it, so he realizes it can’t seem to come from him. So who could it come from? The rich friends who feel guilty because they got rich off Walt’s work. So I disagree that this shows Walt learning his lesson, but rather it was one last brilliant move by Heisenberg (the toxic side of Walt) finding a way to trick his family into letting him provide for them (which his ego still needs.) I agree Walt shows genuine remorse when he acknowledges to Skylar his crimes were not for his family but for himself, but even then he is also saying what Skylar wants to hear because he knows saying anything else will probably result in her immediately calling the police and refusing to accept the ticket he wants her to take so she can make a deal to end her potential criminal liability as Walt’s accessory. He is using his genuine remorse as a weapon, to get what he wants, namely for Skylar to not face consequences for his actions.

Breaking bad is so heavy on its theme of toxic masculinity that it's hilarious that so many people miss it, or more likely, they willfully ignore it

b- but I thought... breaking bad was about the friends we made along the way...

Great video. I think though that Walt wasn’t jealous of Gretchen and Elliot dating. I think he was emasculated when he found out Gretchen was a lot richer than he was. In 2x06, Walt goes to dinner with Gretchen, she talks about how Walt was packing his bags on their family vacation, without a reason why. But I think it’s implied that her wealth scared Walt in a way, he wasn’t the clear provider if they got together. To me, he was emasculated by her wealth. And that contrasts with Skyler, when he’s talking about how they first met, she’s a hostess at a bar or something like that, clearly not rich and someone, in Walt’s eyes, that is lower than him, and lower than Gretchen, and someone that he can provide for. Which boosted his masculinity.

added to my "good ass videos" playlist

Men choose violence because they want to, rarely because they must.

Jumping off of the sexual assault bit in s2, it’s implied he goes the full way with that in season 5 when the kids aren’t home, when Skyler says she can’t keep Walt out of her bed. IIRC it was confirmed outside the show that it means Walter was assaulting her, not just jumping in bed without her okaying it

I literally never hated skyler, she was almost always in the right and took the decision to actually protect her family. Unlike walt. So many people find the "i am the one who knocks" scene badass, but holy fuck its not badass, its showing him super abusive. He IS the bad guy but hes the protagonist so a lot of people see him as the good guy because the protagonist is always good riiiiiight?

Thank you so much for mentioning the SA scene bc you're right, it's rarely ever brought up. Ive brought this up to people who watch the show and they're always like "oh well, we don't see anything we don't know if he got that far and it ends as fast as it starts". Like, no. Even if Skyler beat Walt off in time for him NOT to r*** her, the writing was intended to show that he was TRYING to. And all of the bullshit excuses of him being so traumatized he didn't know what he was doing makes me so mad

Finally. Someone who understands the need for a "Better Email Gale" spinoff and is willing to say it.

im so glad someone finally spoke about the rape scene. the first and second time i watched that was with my partners of the time (both men) and neither seemed particularly uncomfortable, or even acted like it was a wrongful action, and that was absolutely bewildering to me

Dudebros: Walter White is so great because he is so good at everything. Walter White: Incompetent at everything he does, only kept afloat by extreme luck and lack of conscience. Skyler White: Good at everything she does, also does everything Walt pretends to do. Dudebros: She suuuucks. Because... reasons...

ALSO, Walt left Gretchen when he found out she was wealthy and he wouldn't possibly be able to hold the 'provider' role for her and he felt emasculated by that.

"Masculinity: Providing for your family", "Toxic Masculinity: Needing to be the one who provides for your family".. These are the most important concepts in this video.. Kudos!

i never hear men talk about the rape scene, when i bring it up they dont know what im talking about. i almost think they dont recognize the scene as rape which is disturbing so thank you for being so clear that thats what it was

same mfs who whine and weep about you saying 'toxic masculinity' one time r the same mfs who complain about this generation being too sensitive

I’ve always seen Breaking Bad as a tragedy-a man who had everything, gets cancer, breaks bad, then loses everything.

TW: SA One thing you didn't mention/missed was that while the scene in season 2 is the only time they truly show him raping her, there is a scene in episode 2 of season 5 where it is implied that he rapes her. Basically the entire scene is one close up of Skylar as she laid, turned away from Walt. Over the course of the scene Walt gets ready for bed by taking off his clothes as he would normally do, but the entire scene is darkly lit and the camera never focuses on Walt. While he does so he explains to Skylar how (paraphrased) "everything that's going on, Gus and ted, it gets easier, you start to get used to it. Don't feel bad about what you do if you did it for family. We have nothing, are nothing, but family." As he says this during the scene he feels Skylar up and keeps kissing her head neck and shoulders...the scene ends but not before lingering for a good 30 seconds. It relates to what you're talking about because although I don't see it mentioned as much online, for me personally it is one of the most uncomfortable wand well acted scenes by Gunn in the entire series.

Imagine if history repeated itself, and 40% of the comments on this video were about him calling water wet.

"i was in eighth grade and immature and frankly a bit sexist." so real lmao. every young male becomes a victim of toxic masculinity at one point in their lives. it simply depends on how they respond to it and what their support system is like. in middle school, i gave into toxic masculinity. I was sexist, homophobic, and a trump supporter unfortunately. Today, I am 18 and look back at that boy i was with disgust and sadness. I am happy that my friends never gave up on me and educated me to become the man i am today. I an see the flaws within masculinity and try my best to address them. and obviously i still struggle with elements of it, ie. being too protective over my siblings and girlfriend, struggling to allow myself to cry when i know that i need to, and believing i need to make myself intimidating to succeed. However, i have come a long way and i hope to continue improving

I am not sure if toxic masculinity is the the main point of the show or not, but it's definitely there. I thought that it was pretty obvious how Hank had to act tough in front of his friends and refuse to show his vulnerability, which lead to him being stressful and all that. Not to mention Walt's ego and pride. the fact that some people can't see it is insane.

I get what you're trying to do and it is admirable. I don't have the patience to deal with reactionaries lol. As a the sopranos fan, that fan base mostly doesn't get the show either.

the way you explained toxic masculinity was so effective and i genuinely commend you for that. this was a really great video with really good points!

I'm glad you talked about the kitchen scene. Its emblematic of other parts of the conflict. And even right after, Skyler tries to maintain Walts narrative, She hides what happened from Flynn and tries to let him still respect his dad. For the toxic masculinity thing, I also think the scene where Walt is fixing up his house is notable. he sees someone else preparing to cook meth at the hardware store and does a lil power play, and he instantly doesn't care about those projects anymore. Meth making makes Walt feel powerful, that's the thing that matters more than convention or duty to his family. Great essay!

Your "rotten eggs" example alone is really well done. I love hearing little ways to get points across.

its so stupid too how a lot of the skylar hate is "justified" by people arguing that she cheated on walt. its actually astonishing how many people justify hating skylar because she fucked ted, as if a woman cheating on a man is even nearly comparable to the things walt did. it seems like the toxically masculine traits of walt have carried over to a lot of media-illiterate fans.

Skylar is such a well written character. She’s a badass, and no one fucking gets it.

It’s amazing how conservatives and liberals has so many of the same ideas but due to in group and out group vocabulary they immediately throw up defensive walls. I remember after the finale having a long conversation at a bar with some church buddies that went over this exact topic just using different vocabulary. It’s amazing how much language shapes thought, and how defensive the human mind is to protect group identity.

The breaking bad community is so so toxic. I loved the show but the fandom is down right scary

I definitely felt an underline of toxic masculinity in the show, especially with how Hank (as an example) was portrayed when it came to the expression of emotions and the lack there of after a serious event-it seemed like he kept his negative/depressed feelings to himself so he could look stronger than he felt

I noticed that this show was dominant with messages about toxic masculinity on my recent rewatch, and I'm really happy to see that other people are able to see that same signs as I am (especially when it comes to both Hank and Walt's character arcs)

I would like to thank you for this very insightful essay, it made me realise so many things that I knew but never really acknowledged. When I watched BB for the first time I was annoyed by Skyler meddling with Walter’s mission and trying to stop him at every opportunity, but I didn’t hate her. This was almost a decade ago, then I watched the entire series a few months ago. My opinion changed drastically. Skyler was, if anything, the more badass of the two. With limited resources, a young baby to look after, a disabled child and a very sick husband, she does the best she can do, given the circumstances. Walter gaslights, lies, manipulate, and abuse her and instead of wilting like a flower and cry herself to sleep, she doesn’t take no BS and fights back. At the end she realises that she can’t win it , so she joins it, making the best out of a bad situation. That takes strength, determination and an intelligent brain capable of knowing your limits. She is the hero (albeit flawed, like all of us) of the whole series. I loved every minute of your analysis, thank you again.

"name me one thing walt did that wasnt justified" EVERYTHING??? HELLO????

you have to love how gus is so good at manipulating Walter by abusing his weakness, the same way Walt manipulates Jesse

the way you read all those comments, went "huh, okay", made an EVEN BETTER VIDEO written like it could be a god damn thesis paper politely thanking them for their response. absolute fucking legend

The unreasonable number of dislikes... genuine "they hated jesus because he told them the truth" type moment

Skylar is an antagonist in the show. She is not a bad guy. The protagonist is the focus of the story. They’re the one who’s meant to be humanized, the one you’re supposed to root for. But the bad guy can absolutely be the protagonist. For another example, think of Bojack Horseman. The antagonist is the character that goes against what the protagonist wants. They will oppose whatever the protagonist does in an attempt to pump the brakes on the plot. This person can be a good guy and still go against what the main character wants. Skylar is a mom who wants to protect her children from a narcissistic drug dealer who actively invites danger and violence into their home. He is a man who will kill whoever gets in his way. He will lie again and again to manipulate everyone around him. He is the bad guy. Skylar is just trying to do what’s right to the best of her ability.