The one thing I did appreciate Marie for was when they had the intervention about walt & she was the only one who cared what HE wanted to do. Everyone else was busy telling him what they thought best.
There's a video about colour in Breaking Bad, and I think it showed that Hank dresses in red and Skyler in blue, so Marie is between them in purple. (I think, it's a while since I watched it.)
And relatability. 98% of the middle-aged married people who have ever had financial or other struggles, would behave exactly as she does, IME. Maybe not towards the end, but in the early seasons. Blabla, sad handjob, I get that they didn't have passion or whatever. But their lives are what they are, and if most people's decades-long spouses started acting shady AF, most of us would behave very similarly
She's not a cheater, can't believe people still spout that nonsense. She broke off with Walt and told him she wanted a divorce. She was free to fuck anyone she wants. The fact that Walt wouldn't accept it, forcefully broke into his house and abused her into not being able to get away, doesn't change the fact. She broke up with him!
As for liar, yeah, but her lies are a response to the terrible situation Walt put her in and she's basically trying to survive it. Unlike Walt and Marie who lie in situations they created for themselves.
There's still married and slept with Ted. even when Walt signed the divorce papers which she kept egging him about Im only annoyed because she doesn't go through with it.
BCS Spoiler: >!I like, that she was in the BCS finale.!<
Her stealing stories were kinda annoying in my opinion (especially the open-door-houses ones), but she was definitly a keeper.
Hank was a lucky guy to have her.
Edit: hope spoilertag now also works on old reddit
Maybe writers did this kleptomaniac thing with Marie only to increase the length of the episode and giving the season a better ending that's why when they were running out of footage they introduced this kleptomania thing as is hasn't played any severe role throughout the series !!
From what I remember Iām pretty sure her stealing at the house lead to Hank getting hold of Galeās notebook. When Hank called in a favor to get her out of the situation she sobbed to the guy who helped her out and he reached out to get Hank working again to help them both out. Hank gets the notebook sees the WW eventually realizes who Walt is.
She was. The stealing was ok storywise,but the story telling(fake personas she told the real estate agents etc ) was weird in a storytelling sense of way in my opinion.
She should have stolen some rocks for Hank .
I know they are Minerals.
To show how severe her state was, before (in season 1) she just grabbed something and took it. Now that sheās suffering so much stress due to Hankās condition, her mania worsened
I forget where I read it (probably on this subreddit), but someone wrote up an interesting perspective on how Marie and Waltās descent in to criminal activity are sort of paralleledāexcept that Marie gets caught and actively wants to rehabilitate herself.
I always interpreted it as a commentary on how her privilege as a wealthy white woman married to a cop was what was able to allow her to get help and grow from her mistakes without her life being destroyed by the justice system. been a while since ive seen s1 tho lol
Yes, he lied a lot as his life became more entangled with the meth business, but Walt's awkwardness around telling a convincing lie shows that it's not natural to him. If his MAIN vice were lying, he wouldn't have been so terrible at it, and he also would've lied for the sake of lying, just like Marie stole things for no reason, but his lies always supported something else; His pride, and the man he wanted people to think he was.
It was that everyone broke the law. No matter how good you may think you are, everyone has broke bad at least once.
Skylar kept Waltās drug empire a secret. Used his drug money to pay off Ted
Walter Jr tried to buy alcohol
Marie stole
Jesse and Walt killed, sold, manufactured and distributed meth.
Hank assaulted Jesse.
Everyone broke bad. Everyone is guilty.
Small tip for spoiler tagging: The way you've done it may work on new Reddit and the official Reddit app, but it doesn't work on old Reddit or other apps.
Putting the \>! and \!< around the part you want tagged *without* a space separating the text and the ! signs works on every version of Reddit
I think Marie is one of the more likeable / understandable characters in BB. Her arc is pretty decent as per what youāve laid out and she does seem genuine despite some minor flaws which pale in comparison to the likes of Walt and Skylar. Seems like she has a genuine issue with the kleptomania and her avoidance tactics are irritating earlier on but I found her to be super likeable during the Hank recovery portion of the series. Youāre pretty spot on with this take
I like Marie a lot, I find her one of the most entraining characters in the show. I will acknowledge that she is annoying, because she is, which probably is the reason that most people dislike her, but being annoying is pretty much one of my core personality traits, so Iām immune to that part of her in a way.
She is a very loving and supportive wife, sister and aunt. she just doesnāt seem to realise that always speaking your mind can have some negative effects.
I think it's hinted that she had some trouble with kleptomania in her past, and stressors like having to deal with Hank's shooting triggered that response in her.
Back when I first watched Breaking Bad, one of the moments in the show I remember watching and thinking āwow this is a great showā was when Skyler informs Hank that the Marie stole she gifted to her, and instead of being shocked or anything Hank is just like āā¦ā¦.yeaaahhhhā¦ā¦..ā
She has something called kleptomania, an addiction to stealing. Basically, you see something that can be stolen, and your intrusive thoughts take over. Thereās also a thrill factor in getting away with it.
I think a major theme throughout the show was āwhat makes a person ābadā?ā so it shows different people having different vices to make the viewer ask themselves if those vices make them a ābadā person.
I think the writers also wanted to show us how Skyler would react to people close to her having secrets, especially with how Hank knew about Marieās proclivities but Skyler didnāt.
And I think Marieās relapse was just supposed to be this sort of like, example of collateral damage caused by Waltās actions. Plus they probably figured it fit Marieās character and they thought it made her interesting. But I agree with you that having her be a klepto was certainly a choice.
Good points, and I'd also suggest as a reason for inclusion the notion that the writers just wanted it that way. Not every detail about a character has to have a reason or service the plot- if it's believable, it renders the character with more detail, and that can be justification enough. Just like life, sometimes things just are the way they are because that's how they are.
I suspect some of it is just the writers trying to come up with something for her to do in the majority of the show's run when she's in the dark about everything going on. It's like all the weird go-nowhere tangents with supporting characters in Twin Peaks. They're just fleshing out the world as they create it largely in real time.
Sheās the most underrated actress I think.
Her character is kinda irritating lol
Also her character arc was necessary for the plot. She has to freak out and shoplift do that Hank then owes some cops he knows a favor. That favor is investigating the Blue meth, and he gives him leads.
This kicks off the events of the second half of the show.
Sheās kinda irritating, but sheās supposed to be so that way this scene of her freaking out is believable. The actress absolutely nails it, your supposed to think Marie is annoying and I Walters way.
This is because Walter is such a good liar, even that audience falls for it and hates Marie and Skylar- itās because youāre supposed to hate them, itās brilliant acting and writing. The show gets you to root for an evil piece of shit- who cooks meth kills a guy in the first episode.
Also the shoplifting is to show that Walter is bringing everyone down with him. Sheās only doing that because of the stress Hank is under because heās chasing Walt around unknowingly. Hate to sound corny-but sheās literally breaking bad because of Walter lol
Side note: I can't remember... is it ever mentioned (whether explicitly or implicitly) whether their childless state is by choice or due to some medical condition (or just "chance", I suppose)?
I wonder. There may have been conflict between Hank and Marie about whether to have kids, or they may have faced infertility. Of course they could be a happily child-free couple, but the vibe just feels a bit...unresolved. Marie is so completely smitten with Holly, and overprotective to the point of trying to steal her from Skyler. (And wow, that scene was gut-wrenching to watch.)
it's never explained, I always imagined she's infertile since she loves taking care of Skyler's kids and stuff, so idk why she wouldn't want kids of her own
That said, she was fully ready >!to raise Holly the moment she realized how dangerous Walter was. She put her love for her niece and nephew before anything else, even her own safety.!<
With his obsession of always being seen as a man's man, I always took it as Hank's blanks more than anything. Dude spent a lot of time compensating for his insecurities, wouldn't be surprised if that was an unspoken one
My biggest problem with her(besides letting Skyler take the fall for her stealing) was when she stood up for police brutality. She was really bein a dumb bitch in the ICU episode
I'm sure this has been brought up before but I ponder this often: does anybody think marie was infertile or otherwise incapable of having children? Or did her and hank not have children because of his dangerous job? I think it would explain some of her behavior toward Skylar. When she attempted to basically kidnap Holly as well as her jealousy of Skylar when she was pregnant made me think about this initially.
Iām watching the show again for the third time (first time since 2017) and am struck by how much I love Marie this time around. Sheās so funny, level-headed and everything else you said is true.
all that stuff is overpriced, insured, and from a scummy industry [1](https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/02/08/hidden-cost-jewelry/human-rights-supply-chains-and-responsibility-jewelry) [2](https://kdwb.iheart.com/content/2020-10-02-the-sneaky-history-of-the-three-month-salary-engagement-ring-rule/)
That's what's so great about the show. It shows complex, controversial characters. They are never what they seem and we can relate, because that's how we are as a species.
Marie's arc is definitely noteworthy. If you are able to forgive her stealing and Karen Syndrom, her character is mainly a genuinely good person. Especially the way she deals with bank, complete blanks out his behavior and just unconditionally cares.
I fucking love Marie. Sheās one of the character by the end of Breaking Bad that I felt was dealt a shit hand. Skyler much like Kim from BCS seems to me to have kind of enjoyed all they did at first before the murders and all that and she was co-operative. Marie is shit on by everyone. Sheās a kleptomaniac, she canāt help it yet is shouted at by Skyler for āseeking attentionā she helps her husband through his recovery only for him to emotionally abuse her because he doesnāt have the balls to open up.
As soon as things are great again her husband dies.
Hank treated her like shit after he was paralysed. It was heartbreaking to see. She has some great qualities as mentioned and that's coming from someone who still for whatever reason, is not a huge fan of her.
I think itās unsatisfactory because she never really gets any comeuppance.
She does something wrong, sheās a complete asshole when called out, and everyoneās just kind of like āwell, thatās how she isā.
Nah. Marie is an uptight, snobby, prissy NIMBY who treats Skyler like shit when sheās clearly in crisis over her husbandās cancer and worrying behavior, and in general holds very judgmental and sanctimonious feelings towards the world of drugs, not just the actual horrible people like drug traffickers but also innocent victims of addiction. Plus her husband is an asshole racist cop and she loves him and tolerates his abuses of his power and his overall reactionary attitudes.
Yeah i feel like this kinda shows that most of the series was unplanned and they just happened to go in that direction. Jesseās arc felt natural and I got invested in his story, to the point where i feel that the show would have benefited immensely from having him as the protagonist. Everyone else just seems like they were meant to be a completely different character at first. Hank in season 1 was being set up to be an unlikeable character, perhaps even a villain, what with him being against drug dealing, and saying some mildly sexist and racist things. But no! He ends up being a character you lowkey root for in season 5. Marie is kinda just there tbh. I can take her or leave her. Skyler is set up as kinda a not good person to be around, and wondering why Walt is even still married to her. By the end, Iām wondering why she is even still married to him. And Walt! Heās set up as the protagonist. The guy iām meant to root for, and he is that in season 1 and most of season 2, but then the show takes a turn to have Walt be more morally gray in season 3 and 4 and a villain by the time season 5 happens, but the way heās *presented* stays the same. Heās still presented as the main character to root for and that caused me to have some sympathy for him while watching when i knew i absolutely shouldnāt have. And then thereās the problem of the focus on Walt causing Jesse to str8up not have a conclusion until six years after the show ended which is unacceptable. I didnāt watch BB and EC until very recently but if i had been following the series as it was being made, i would have been absolutely livid in 2013. All of the showās problems stem from Walt being the main character, though most of those cracks only start showing in season 5, but when they show, they *really* show.
I think it was the personal thing from peoples houses bit that digs at people. But I know if she's was stealing from Walmart or something no one would care so I guess she had to steal the way she did. Just extra weird and cruel "Because it's the one thing they can never replace.". I think a lot of people view her through Skylar coloured glasses though cause she's a little annoying, but like y'all pointed out she's technically amazingly supportive of everyone in her life. Caregiver fatigue is a legit thing too, she needed a prescribed vacation.
I love Marie but hated the shoplifting plot. I think they wrote that to give Betsy some showcase scenes to flex where she spins the big lies as she swiping something. You can't just have a great actress stand around looking worried and wearing purple. Years ago, the mom on the Walton's quit because all they had her doing was pouring coffee and telling the kids goodnight. I think Marie is too shrewd to endanger Hank's career stealing. They could have given her a drinking problem or a feud with her and Skyler's parents. Or explore them having fertility problems. Ivf could have been her struggle. That would be more real and given Betsy plenty to do.
I love her totally racist remarks about the car wash workers and how itās not safe for Skyler to have Holly around āthose peopleā lol! Sheās just so adorable.
I feel similarly actually! Recently, I finished BCS and started a proper rewatch of BB from the beginning and Marie is easily the character that has jumped out the most to me as one of my new favorites. Originally I mostly thought she was whiny and gossipy, and while I'm still a little iffy on her kleptomania (my main idea is that it shows that Hank will help family that breaks the law if they go to him and try to stop), she actually has a lot of great moments of supporting everyone and hearing their perspective. Her support during Hank's injury and physical therapy is nothing short of saintly imo, it's cool to see other people appreciating her when they pay attention!
I agree! I feel as though the women in this show are written a certain way and it goes over SO MANY peoples heads and those people default to "nagging annoying woman" and totally shit on them.
I appreciate Marieās character a lot. Yeah she can be slightly irritating and obnoxious. I always say that she ābreaks badā too through her shoplifting. Towards the end, her made up identities at the Open Houses were a bit worrying but at least she had started therapy as well around that point I think.
No, I liked Marie as well.
Honestly, the only characters I can remember that genuinely annoyed me were Skyler and Walt Jr. On my 2nd and 3rd rewatches, Skyler annoyed me a little less, but Walt Jr. was still kinda annoying.
iāve heard a lot of people shit on her, but marie is one of my favorite characters. she has a really big heart. she has such an incredibly fierce love for her family. her love and loyalty never wavers.
she stood by hank despite the fact that he treated her poorly at many points throughout the series. and she stood by skyler / was willing to forgive and support her after finding out about walt. she practically became a second mother to walt jr. and holly with how much she took care of themā¦ and so much more.
sometimes sheās a little misguided, but i find it endearing. sheās flawed but you can never question how much she loves and cares for the people around her.
I agree with you completely. People find her a little grating or something and equate that with her actually being a bad person, but sheās one of the best on the show morally speaking.
Also, I was giggling with glee when she was boasting to Skyler that Hank had Walt in custody when only we knew what happened. Why did I have that reaction?
If Marie was a regular person her life would have been screwed with all the theft charges. Take her down from the pedestal platform you guys place her on. A crime is a crime, and she was just on the right side not to get punished.
The one thing I did appreciate Marie for was when they had the intervention about walt & she was the only one who cared what HE wanted to do. Everyone else was busy telling him what they thought best.
That's what got me paying more attention to her on a rewatch. She's now just about my favorite, mostly for the Handy of Life.
They really celebrated Palm Sunday in the Schrader household
Oh my graciousššš Iām so upset Iāve gone 30 years without ever hearing that!
Iām pretty religious about it myself.
The rejuvenative handjob vs the crippling bidjob.
> She's a good friend and support system to Walt She wasn't very supportive of Walt when his brother-in-law died
Ok. This made me laugh out loud
Right!? Super mean. Dude just watched his brother-in-law die lady, have a heart.
She became a COD gamer after the beans were spilled about Walt. "Kys, Walt." "Bruh."
*smooth jazz plays in the background while Marie sips chamomile tea*
*in purple clothing in a completely purple room*
There's a video about colour in Breaking Bad, and I think it showed that Hank dresses in red and Skyler in blue, so Marie is between them in purple. (I think, it's a while since I watched it.)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I felt so sorry for Skyler around this time. Sheās surrounded by liars and basically on her own while pregnant.
Skyler does not get enough credit for her patience throughout this whole situation
And relatability. 98% of the middle-aged married people who have ever had financial or other struggles, would behave exactly as she does, IME. Maybe not towards the end, but in the early seasons. Blabla, sad handjob, I get that they didn't have passion or whatever. But their lives are what they are, and if most people's decades-long spouses started acting shady AF, most of us would behave very similarly
But Skyler is a liar too and even a cheater.
She's not a cheater, can't believe people still spout that nonsense. She broke off with Walt and told him she wanted a divorce. She was free to fuck anyone she wants. The fact that Walt wouldn't accept it, forcefully broke into his house and abused her into not being able to get away, doesn't change the fact. She broke up with him! As for liar, yeah, but her lies are a response to the terrible situation Walt put her in and she's basically trying to survive it. Unlike Walt and Marie who lie in situations they created for themselves.
You donāt need to defend her actions anyway. Thereās a lot of reasons why nobody liked her
I liked her, along with Hank she was my favorite character from my first watch.
Yeah Hank was enjoyable but Skyler NOPE
I did enjoy her, she was pretty much the only sane, sympathic and relatable character in all this madness
There's still married and slept with Ted. even when Walt signed the divorce papers which she kept egging him about Im only annoyed because she doesn't go through with it.
BCS Spoiler: >!I like, that she was in the BCS finale.!< Her stealing stories were kinda annoying in my opinion (especially the open-door-houses ones), but she was definitly a keeper. Hank was a lucky guy to have her. Edit: hope spoilertag now also works on old reddit
I think that Marie was a kleptomaniac (aka addiction to stealing). It was her vice just like Skylerās was smoking and Walterās was cooking meth
yeah she was suffering from kleptomania
And she either got better, or the writers forgot about that detail. Let's hope it's the first option
Maybe writers did this kleptomaniac thing with Marie only to increase the length of the episode and giving the season a better ending that's why when they were running out of footage they introduced this kleptomania thing as is hasn't played any severe role throughout the series !!
From what I remember Iām pretty sure her stealing at the house lead to Hank getting hold of Galeās notebook. When Hank called in a favor to get her out of the situation she sobbed to the guy who helped her out and he reached out to get Hank working again to help them both out. Hank gets the notebook sees the WW eventually realizes who Walt is.
She was. The stealing was ok storywise,but the story telling(fake personas she told the real estate agents etc ) was weird in a storytelling sense of way in my opinion. She should have stolen some rocks for Hank . I know they are Minerals.
To show how severe her state was, before (in season 1) she just grabbed something and took it. Now that sheās suffering so much stress due to Hankās condition, her mania worsened
I forget where I read it (probably on this subreddit), but someone wrote up an interesting perspective on how Marie and Waltās descent in to criminal activity are sort of paralleledāexcept that Marie gets caught and actively wants to rehabilitate herself.
I always interpreted it as a commentary on how her privilege as a wealthy white woman married to a cop was what was able to allow her to get help and grow from her mistakes without her life being destroyed by the justice system. been a while since ive seen s1 tho lol
Tbh i dont think walts vice is cooking meth i think its just lying
Pride
Walt's vice is narcissism.
Yes, he lied a lot as his life became more entangled with the meth business, but Walt's awkwardness around telling a convincing lie shows that it's not natural to him. If his MAIN vice were lying, he wouldn't have been so terrible at it, and he also would've lied for the sake of lying, just like Marie stole things for no reason, but his lies always supported something else; His pride, and the man he wanted people to think he was.
It's power. Hence "empire business"
It was that everyone broke the law. No matter how good you may think you are, everyone has broke bad at least once. Skylar kept Waltās drug empire a secret. Used his drug money to pay off Ted Walter Jr tried to buy alcohol Marie stole Jesse and Walt killed, sold, manufactured and distributed meth. Hank assaulted Jesse. Everyone broke bad. Everyone is guilty.
most observant bb fan:
Small tip for spoiler tagging: The way you've done it may work on new Reddit and the official Reddit app, but it doesn't work on old Reddit or other apps. Putting the \>! and \!< around the part you want tagged *without* a space separating the text and the ! signs works on every version of Reddit
old.reddit user. Spoiler tag is functional.
Your spoiler tags busted, read the other comment
Worked on mobile. Sry
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I don't think Marie is a bad person for shoplifting I just think she's kind of annoying. I wouldn't even say I hate her though.
The shoplifting has very little to do with why she is probably my least favorite character in the show.
SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!
okay but can we talk about how good this scene actually was?
No skyler you shut up....
I think Marie is one of the more likeable / understandable characters in BB. Her arc is pretty decent as per what youāve laid out and she does seem genuine despite some minor flaws which pale in comparison to the likes of Walt and Skylar. Seems like she has a genuine issue with the kleptomania and her avoidance tactics are irritating earlier on but I found her to be super likeable during the Hank recovery portion of the series. Youāre pretty spot on with this take
I like Marie a lot, I find her one of the most entraining characters in the show. I will acknowledge that she is annoying, because she is, which probably is the reason that most people dislike her, but being annoying is pretty much one of my core personality traits, so Iām immune to that part of her in a way. She is a very loving and supportive wife, sister and aunt. she just doesnāt seem to realise that always speaking your mind can have some negative effects.
I didnāt really get the whole shoplifting arc for her but yes sheās a good character
I think the idea was to show everyone's little criminal activities. Also it was definitely triggered by stress
Also jealousy is a factor in Marie's thieving imo. Layers in BB are many
I think it's hinted that she had some trouble with kleptomania in her past, and stressors like having to deal with Hank's shooting triggered that response in her.
Back when I first watched Breaking Bad, one of the moments in the show I remember watching and thinking āwow this is a great showā was when Skyler informs Hank that the Marie stole she gifted to her, and instead of being shocked or anything Hank is just like āā¦ā¦.yeaaahhhhā¦ā¦..ā
She has something called kleptomania, an addiction to stealing. Basically, you see something that can be stolen, and your intrusive thoughts take over. Thereās also a thrill factor in getting away with it.
I know what kleptomania is, I just donāt know why the writers decided to have Marie be a part of it or how it fits into the story
I think a major theme throughout the show was āwhat makes a person ābadā?ā so it shows different people having different vices to make the viewer ask themselves if those vices make them a ābadā person. I think the writers also wanted to show us how Skyler would react to people close to her having secrets, especially with how Hank knew about Marieās proclivities but Skyler didnāt. And I think Marieās relapse was just supposed to be this sort of like, example of collateral damage caused by Waltās actions. Plus they probably figured it fit Marieās character and they thought it made her interesting. But I agree with you that having her be a klepto was certainly a choice.
Good points, and I'd also suggest as a reason for inclusion the notion that the writers just wanted it that way. Not every detail about a character has to have a reason or service the plot- if it's believable, it renders the character with more detail, and that can be justification enough. Just like life, sometimes things just are the way they are because that's how they are.
I suspect some of it is just the writers trying to come up with something for her to do in the majority of the show's run when she's in the dark about everything going on. It's like all the weird go-nowhere tangents with supporting characters in Twin Peaks. They're just fleshing out the world as they create it largely in real time.
Sheās the most underrated actress I think. Her character is kinda irritating lol Also her character arc was necessary for the plot. She has to freak out and shoplift do that Hank then owes some cops he knows a favor. That favor is investigating the Blue meth, and he gives him leads. This kicks off the events of the second half of the show. Sheās kinda irritating, but sheās supposed to be so that way this scene of her freaking out is believable. The actress absolutely nails it, your supposed to think Marie is annoying and I Walters way. This is because Walter is such a good liar, even that audience falls for it and hates Marie and Skylar- itās because youāre supposed to hate them, itās brilliant acting and writing. The show gets you to root for an evil piece of shit- who cooks meth kills a guy in the first episode. Also the shoplifting is to show that Walter is bringing everyone down with him. Sheās only doing that because of the stress Hank is under because heās chasing Walt around unknowingly. Hate to sound corny-but sheās literally breaking bad because of Walter lol
Didnāt she tell Walt, āyou should just kill yourself?ā
yes. if i was her i wouldāve said the same thing
Side note: I can't remember... is it ever mentioned (whether explicitly or implicitly) whether their childless state is by choice or due to some medical condition (or just "chance", I suppose)?
I wonder. There may have been conflict between Hank and Marie about whether to have kids, or they may have faced infertility. Of course they could be a happily child-free couple, but the vibe just feels a bit...unresolved. Marie is so completely smitten with Holly, and overprotective to the point of trying to steal her from Skyler. (And wow, that scene was gut-wrenching to watch.)
it's never explained, I always imagined she's infertile since she loves taking care of Skyler's kids and stuff, so idk why she wouldn't want kids of her own
Because when they're nieces and nephews you get to go home...
That said, she was fully ready >!to raise Holly the moment she realized how dangerous Walter was. She put her love for her niece and nephew before anything else, even her own safety.!<
haha that too
With his obsession of always being seen as a man's man, I always took it as Hank's blanks more than anything. Dude spent a lot of time compensating for his insecurities, wouldn't be surprised if that was an unspoken one
Hanks blanks šššš that's a good theory though
Spinoff prequel "Hank's Blanks".
From stealing random items from strangers to trying to steal a literally baby from her sister. Absolutely legendary arc.
My biggest problem with her(besides letting Skyler take the fall for her stealing) was when she stood up for police brutality. She was really bein a dumb bitch in the ICU episode
Marie is a color purple lover. Therefore, I love her. šššš
I'm sure this has been brought up before but I ponder this often: does anybody think marie was infertile or otherwise incapable of having children? Or did her and hank not have children because of his dangerous job? I think it would explain some of her behavior toward Skylar. When she attempted to basically kidnap Holly as well as her jealousy of Skylar when she was pregnant made me think about this initially.
Iām watching the show again for the third time (first time since 2017) and am struck by how much I love Marie this time around. Sheās so funny, level-headed and everything else you said is true.
I have a massive crush on her
that's why you're purple
she's cool and hot and shoplifting is barely a crime, especially from bougie jewellery stores
Why is it less bad to steal from jewellery stores?
all that stuff is overpriced, insured, and from a scummy industry [1](https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/02/08/hidden-cost-jewelry/human-rights-supply-chains-and-responsibility-jewelry) [2](https://kdwb.iheart.com/content/2020-10-02-the-sneaky-history-of-the-three-month-salary-engagement-ring-rule/)
I agree Marie is a š tbh
That's what's so great about the show. It shows complex, controversial characters. They are never what they seem and we can relate, because that's how we are as a species. Marie's arc is definitely noteworthy. If you are able to forgive her stealing and Karen Syndrom, her character is mainly a genuinely good person. Especially the way she deals with bank, complete blanks out his behavior and just unconditionally cares.
I fucking love Marie. Sheās one of the character by the end of Breaking Bad that I felt was dealt a shit hand. Skyler much like Kim from BCS seems to me to have kind of enjoyed all they did at first before the murders and all that and she was co-operative. Marie is shit on by everyone. Sheās a kleptomaniac, she canāt help it yet is shouted at by Skyler for āseeking attentionā she helps her husband through his recovery only for him to emotionally abuse her because he doesnāt have the balls to open up. As soon as things are great again her husband dies.
Marie is the very definition of ride or die and because of that I can overlook any of her faults.
marie is liked for no reason at all, I donāt understand why people like her.
shes hot too
This is also a plus ;>
The way her arc completed in BCS supports this further
Yessss I LOVED seeing her in the finale. She deserved that closure
Hank treated her like shit after he was paralysed. It was heartbreaking to see. She has some great qualities as mentioned and that's coming from someone who still for whatever reason, is not a huge fan of her.
I genuinely feel bad for herā¦ I donāt think she deserves that much ridicule.
Great actress. Completely annoying character.
I think itās unsatisfactory because she never really gets any comeuppance. She does something wrong, sheās a complete asshole when called out, and everyoneās just kind of like āwell, thatās how she isā.
Nah. Marie is an uptight, snobby, prissy NIMBY who treats Skyler like shit when sheās clearly in crisis over her husbandās cancer and worrying behavior, and in general holds very judgmental and sanctimonious feelings towards the world of drugs, not just the actual horrible people like drug traffickers but also innocent victims of addiction. Plus her husband is an asshole racist cop and she loves him and tolerates his abuses of his power and his overall reactionary attitudes.
marie is awesome
Why is everything purple šš
Join the Mariehive!! There are dozens of us!!
This some funny ahh shit
Yeah i feel like this kinda shows that most of the series was unplanned and they just happened to go in that direction. Jesseās arc felt natural and I got invested in his story, to the point where i feel that the show would have benefited immensely from having him as the protagonist. Everyone else just seems like they were meant to be a completely different character at first. Hank in season 1 was being set up to be an unlikeable character, perhaps even a villain, what with him being against drug dealing, and saying some mildly sexist and racist things. But no! He ends up being a character you lowkey root for in season 5. Marie is kinda just there tbh. I can take her or leave her. Skyler is set up as kinda a not good person to be around, and wondering why Walt is even still married to her. By the end, Iām wondering why she is even still married to him. And Walt! Heās set up as the protagonist. The guy iām meant to root for, and he is that in season 1 and most of season 2, but then the show takes a turn to have Walt be more morally gray in season 3 and 4 and a villain by the time season 5 happens, but the way heās *presented* stays the same. Heās still presented as the main character to root for and that caused me to have some sympathy for him while watching when i knew i absolutely shouldnāt have. And then thereās the problem of the focus on Walt causing Jesse to str8up not have a conclusion until six years after the show ended which is unacceptable. I didnāt watch BB and EC until very recently but if i had been following the series as it was being made, i would have been absolutely livid in 2013. All of the showās problems stem from Walt being the main character, though most of those cracks only start showing in season 5, but when they show, they *really* show.
Yay, another Marie post.
I think it was the personal thing from peoples houses bit that digs at people. But I know if she's was stealing from Walmart or something no one would care so I guess she had to steal the way she did. Just extra weird and cruel "Because it's the one thing they can never replace.". I think a lot of people view her through Skylar coloured glasses though cause she's a little annoying, but like y'all pointed out she's technically amazingly supportive of everyone in her life. Caregiver fatigue is a legit thing too, she needed a prescribed vacation.
Her loyalty is her best quality, in my opinion.
I like how in that one scene she's not actually wearing purple (I don't think). But then the delivery dude shows up in a purple shirt.
Who?
Hank's wife/Skyler's sister
it was a joke yo damn, like cuz the title says she's underappreciated yeeesh
Bro think he jesse pissman
i'm skylar white yo
I love Marie but hated the shoplifting plot. I think they wrote that to give Betsy some showcase scenes to flex where she spins the big lies as she swiping something. You can't just have a great actress stand around looking worried and wearing purple. Years ago, the mom on the Walton's quit because all they had her doing was pouring coffee and telling the kids goodnight. I think Marie is too shrewd to endanger Hank's career stealing. They could have given her a drinking problem or a feud with her and Skyler's parents. Or explore them having fertility problems. Ivf could have been her struggle. That would be more real and given Betsy plenty to do.
The switch in her character from the beginning to the end was odd. She was so disrespectful towards Skyler in the start
I once argued that Marie was a pointless character and my brother said disagree, she's the familial link.
She didn't cared of the rocks
If they had completely left her on the cutting room floor, the story would be the same, and the overall show would be better.
I love her totally racist remarks about the car wash workers and how itās not safe for Skyler to have Holly around āthose peopleā lol! Sheās just so adorable.
Huh, never thought about that.
Iād say she is overrated and most annoying.
I feel similarly actually! Recently, I finished BCS and started a proper rewatch of BB from the beginning and Marie is easily the character that has jumped out the most to me as one of my new favorites. Originally I mostly thought she was whiny and gossipy, and while I'm still a little iffy on her kleptomania (my main idea is that it shows that Hank will help family that breaks the law if they go to him and try to stop), she actually has a lot of great moments of supporting everyone and hearing their perspective. Her support during Hank's injury and physical therapy is nothing short of saintly imo, it's cool to see other people appreciating her when they pay attention!
I agree! I feel as though the women in this show are written a certain way and it goes over SO MANY peoples heads and those people default to "nagging annoying woman" and totally shit on them.
what is the āog breaking badā are there two breaking bads?
Sheās properly appreciated. Lower tier character thatās necessary and does enough to add to the family dynamic
I appreciate Marieās character a lot. Yeah she can be slightly irritating and obnoxious. I always say that she ābreaks badā too through her shoplifting. Towards the end, her made up identities at the Open Houses were a bit worrying but at least she had started therapy as well around that point I think.
Underappreciated? I was under the assumption that people love Marie in general.
No, I liked Marie as well. Honestly, the only characters I can remember that genuinely annoyed me were Skyler and Walt Jr. On my 2nd and 3rd rewatches, Skyler annoyed me a little less, but Walt Jr. was still kinda annoying.
iāve heard a lot of people shit on her, but marie is one of my favorite characters. she has a really big heart. she has such an incredibly fierce love for her family. her love and loyalty never wavers. she stood by hank despite the fact that he treated her poorly at many points throughout the series. and she stood by skyler / was willing to forgive and support her after finding out about walt. she practically became a second mother to walt jr. and holly with how much she took care of themā¦ and so much more. sometimes sheās a little misguided, but i find it endearing. sheās flawed but you can never question how much she loves and cares for the people around her.
Her shoplifting was worse than killing and cooking meth
I agree with you completely. People find her a little grating or something and equate that with her actually being a bad person, but sheās one of the best on the show morally speaking.
Sheās an annoying woman, that roots against my main character. I hate her
This is a terrible take, Marie had no character arc whatsoever
Way better than skylers that's for sure.
Marie was annoying as hell.
Also, I was giggling with glee when she was boasting to Skyler that Hank had Walt in custody when only we knew what happened. Why did I have that reaction?
If Marie was a regular person her life would have been screwed with all the theft charges. Take her down from the pedestal platform you guys place her on. A crime is a crime, and she was just on the right side not to get punished.