TMC
05-13-2023, 08:31 PM
https://www.looper.com/1280374/better-call-saul-missed-a-key-opportunity-to-have-skyler-white-appear/
Skyler's story is left unresolved at the end of Breaking Bad
In "Saul Gone," Saul bargains a potential life-plus-190-years sentence for multiple charges — including accessory to the murders of DEA agents Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) and Steve Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) — down to 85-90 months. He then throws himself into the proverbial woodchipper to keep Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) from facing any consequences for the death of Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), and his sentence is bumped back up to 86 years.
While Saul's self-sacrifice means Skyler White's involvement in his legal proceedings ultimately would have had little effect on his eventual prison term, there was a missed opportunity to add an additional storyline wrapping up Skyler's arc, which was left mostly unresolved at the end of "Breaking Bad." Walt gets one quick report from Ed (Robert Forster) in "Breaking Bad" Season 5, Episode 15, "Granite State," learning that Skyler has taken a job as a taxi dispatcher and is using her maiden name.
We last see Skyler in the "Breaking Bad" finale, "Felina," when Walt pays her one last visit in the run-down apartment she rented for herself and her children while he fled to New Hampshire. There he gives her a lottery ticket with the coordinates of Hank and Steve's final resting place.
While Walt always kept her shielded from the specifics of his more violent crimes, Skyler had intimate knowledge of his drug manufacturing business and fully controlled the money laundering aspect of Walt and Saul's destructive partnership.
Skyler and Marie also have some work to do on their relationship
With this one very valuable piece of information in her hands and the her memories of Walt's business partners and dealings, Skyler finally has enough information gathered to strike a deal with prosecutors, potentially securing immunity for herself and maybe even convincing federal authorities to allow her to keep some of Walt's money — if any of it can be recovered.
A "Skyler turns state's witness" storyline would also have given Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould plenty more space to highlight Skyler and Marie's complex and sometimes contentious relationship, as Skyler would undoubtedly have been pressed by her sister for details on that last visit from Walt and any further information she might have about Hank's murder.
Marie, who never seemed to be able to see or draw appropriate boundaries with any of her family members, would likely not have believed Skyler's claims that all she knew was limited to the numbers on that lottery ticket, likely leading to another outburst like the repeated shouts of "shut up" Skyler unleashed on her sister in Season 5, Episode 3.
Anna Gunn has speculated that perhaps Skyler and Marie have been able to run away to the tropics with some of Walt's money and are living happily ever after, and admirers of the star-crossed sisters can only hope that is the case.
Skyler's story is left unresolved at the end of Breaking Bad
In "Saul Gone," Saul bargains a potential life-plus-190-years sentence for multiple charges — including accessory to the murders of DEA agents Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) and Steve Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) — down to 85-90 months. He then throws himself into the proverbial woodchipper to keep Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) from facing any consequences for the death of Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), and his sentence is bumped back up to 86 years.
While Saul's self-sacrifice means Skyler White's involvement in his legal proceedings ultimately would have had little effect on his eventual prison term, there was a missed opportunity to add an additional storyline wrapping up Skyler's arc, which was left mostly unresolved at the end of "Breaking Bad." Walt gets one quick report from Ed (Robert Forster) in "Breaking Bad" Season 5, Episode 15, "Granite State," learning that Skyler has taken a job as a taxi dispatcher and is using her maiden name.
We last see Skyler in the "Breaking Bad" finale, "Felina," when Walt pays her one last visit in the run-down apartment she rented for herself and her children while he fled to New Hampshire. There he gives her a lottery ticket with the coordinates of Hank and Steve's final resting place.
While Walt always kept her shielded from the specifics of his more violent crimes, Skyler had intimate knowledge of his drug manufacturing business and fully controlled the money laundering aspect of Walt and Saul's destructive partnership.
Skyler and Marie also have some work to do on their relationship
With this one very valuable piece of information in her hands and the her memories of Walt's business partners and dealings, Skyler finally has enough information gathered to strike a deal with prosecutors, potentially securing immunity for herself and maybe even convincing federal authorities to allow her to keep some of Walt's money — if any of it can be recovered.
A "Skyler turns state's witness" storyline would also have given Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould plenty more space to highlight Skyler and Marie's complex and sometimes contentious relationship, as Skyler would undoubtedly have been pressed by her sister for details on that last visit from Walt and any further information she might have about Hank's murder.
Marie, who never seemed to be able to see or draw appropriate boundaries with any of her family members, would likely not have believed Skyler's claims that all she knew was limited to the numbers on that lottery ticket, likely leading to another outburst like the repeated shouts of "shut up" Skyler unleashed on her sister in Season 5, Episode 3.
Anna Gunn has speculated that perhaps Skyler and Marie have been able to run away to the tropics with some of Walt's money and are living happily ever after, and admirers of the star-crossed sisters can only hope that is the case.