Gus Fring Supremacy

7. Do you have particular niche takes on this character? Defend those takes. (Openly controversial takes are permitted, but also: hyper-specific headcanons which you believe in and no one else has considered enough to disagree with yet. Pick a hill to die on.)

I don’t think any of my takes are controversial, so here’s a bunch of random headcanons that are supported by nothing and also contradicted by nothing.

1. Gus used to smoke. He once had an argument with Max about their customers; Gus expressed disdain towards addicts (both fast food and drugs), a sentiment Max disagreed with. Max pointed out that Gus was not one to speak, as he, a smoker, also lacked self-control in that way. Gus was immensely offended by this accurate comparison and immediately pledged to quit smoking. He did so successfully, and then forced Max (also a smoker) to go outside whenever he wanted a cigarette. Max won the argument, but at what cost…

2. Unbeknownst to them, Gus and David actually met before. 1982, south of France: David was on his college trip around Europe, whereas Gus had travelled there on some business involving Peter. They met at a bar and chatted in a broken mix of French and English. Though they were to each other’s taste, not much happened. David was busy with friends and Gus had Max waiting for him in Chile. They parted and, twenty years later, neither of them remembered the stranger they’d met that one time.

3. Sometimes, when he works late, Gus sleeps in his office.

3b. Gus snores. He thinks he doesn’t because he didn’t back in his youth, and now no one is telling him otherwise.

4. Gus needs glasses from lurking in the shadows all the goddamn time. If he’d just turned on the lights in his office to fill out his paperwork, his eyesight would’ve been fine.

I've never understood it. Skyler has the most realistic reaction and even tries to cooperate with Walter to keep the peace, but everyone acts like she's some annoying Karen who caused all of the negative events in Breaking Bad, when they were actually consequences of Walter's own actions. From the beginning of the series, his actions were all on him, and Skyler didn't even intervene with any of this. She was trying her hardest to keep Walt's double life a secret and keep the family functioning, yet her entirely realistic breakdowns are apparently what make her the worst character in the entire show.

Sure, she had some cringy scenes like the happy brithday scene, but she is FAR from the most annoying character in the entire show like everybody claims she is.

I believe anyone who says Skyler is the worst or most annoying character in the series, or tries to claim that she ruined Walt's career and caused all of the negative events in the show watched the entire show with an immature lense, and refuse to think any deeper about the show. If you thought for even a moment about the show objectively, you'd realize Walt was in the wrong from day one. I do think, however, that this is an indicator of how amazingly written this show is when a large portion of the audience can't remove themselves from the perspective of the main character and view it more objectively. I believe Breaking Bad does an amazing job at twisting the viewers' moral compass to sympathize with the true villains and dislike those who get in their way. However, it's still beyond me how some people are unable to detach themselves from this perspective and think critically about the series. No, Breaking Bad was not supposed to be a show where Walt and Jesse continue cooking meth with zero consequences, it's supposed to be a commentary on toxic masculinity, greed, narcissism, and how removed Walt feels from any consequence once diagnosed with cancer. I've had people genuinely tell me that they think Breaking Bad's a horrible show because it didn't "go the way they wanted it to" and "Skyler kept getting in the way." This immediately tells me how immature and stupid you are if you misinterpret Gilligan's intentions THIS horribly. Not to mention, (in my experience at least) it's only ever misogynists who hate Skyler and the show this much, probably because they got excited thinking the show was going to be some awesome action series where Walt keeps manipulating everyone and cooking meth with zero repercussions, then get disappointed when things go more realistically.

Anyways, rant over! (For now)