Breaking Bad: Why Skyler Walked Into The Pool
Skyler White (Anna Gunn) staged a suicide attempt with the help of the family's pool in Breaking Bad season 5, but the scene had a deeper meaning.
Skyler White staged a suicide attempt in Breaking Bad season 5 when she walked into a swimming pool before willingly sinking to the bottom, but the scene held an extra significance. Anna Gunn portrayed the complicated character for all five seasons of Vince Gilligan’s AMC series. As the wife of central figure Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and the mother of the pair’s two children, Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) and baby Holly, Skyler was put through the wringer during the show’s two-year setting. Rather than turn in Walt for his meth-making endeavors, Skyler accepted his actions before embarking on a money-laundering scheme. Despite her initial consent, the situation became overwhelmingly dangerous, leading to boiled over tension among Skyler and Walt in the show’s final season
In Breaking Bad season 5, Skyler fell into a deep depression when she realized how fearful she was of her husband. Her terror stemmed from the death of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) at the hands of Walt, which proved the great lengths Walt went with his growing drug empire. While celebrating Walt’s 51st birthday in “Fifty-One,” Skyler’s sister, Marie (Betsy Brandt), and brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris), came over for an annual celebratory gathering. The small birthday dinner was more somber than in recent years, but it was made worse when Skyler put her big plan in motion.
As Walt reminisced about passing the one-year mark since his cancer diagnosis, Skyler got up and walked toward the family’s swimming pool. As her family members chatted, Skyler walked fully clothed into the pool, sinking to the bottom as the others watched in horror. After she was pulled out, Skyler was taken to her bedroom to rest. Meanwhile, she asked her sister if she would look after her kids as she and Walt worked on her marital problems. In reality, the suicide was a staged event concocted by Skyler to get Walt Jr. and Holly out of the White house. As long as Walt was a dangerous meth dealer and Skyler was actively money laundering, she wanted her children out of the equation. The actual pool, however, was significant in and of itself.
The Significance Of Swimming Pools In Breaking Bad
Pools were known for being present throughout key moments of Breaking Bad. The flashforward scenes featured in Breaking Bad season 2 followed the teddy bear floating in the family’s pool. The item landed in the backyard due to the plane explosion over Albuquerque inadvertently caused by Walt. He also had a habit of staring in the blue waters of pools as he contemplated his life since turning 50. Oddly enough, the pool was never used by the White family for fun. If they did, it wasn’t shown during the events of the series. By allowing herself to be fully swallowed by the pool’s water, it was almost as if Skyler was briefly letting her overwhelming guilt and dread overtake her.
While some viewers thought Skyler was legitimately trying to end her life, the suicide scene was meant to prove how far Skyler was willing to go to outsmart Walt. Gilligan almost considered giving Skyler a true suicidal ending by the conclusion of season 5, but it was deemed too dark for the character. She remained at odds with Walt until Hank’s death fully broke the White family. Skyler may not have been completely innocent throughout Breaking Bad, but her calculated decision-making in dire situations proved that she deserved more credit.
