#gretchen schwartz

[thekimspoblog]

It's time we talk about this.

Everyone's always like "Walt should have just taken Gretchen and Elliot's money. His pride got in the way. He could have just gotten his cancer cured and everything would have been fine"

And sure. That would work if Walt was a different person with a different brain.

But he loved Gretchen. More than he ever loved Skyler. And we don't get a lot of details about what exactly the blow up was between them, but the resentment is obviously still boiling.

If Walt depended on their money, that would mean TALKING to Gretchen and Elliot again. And if he didn't cook meth, Walt's midlife crisis could have taken the form of going back to work for Gray Matter. Elliot seems like a nice guy, but who can really say Walt is wrong, that Elliot would bring him back into the fold, use some of his ideas, and then try to cut him out when he (inevitably) becomes hard to work with?

I don't think Walt taking the money would have ended any better than the cannon timeline. In fact, I could easily see how it would end in a murder-murder-suicide.

So am I saying Walt had NO CHOICE but to do everything he did? No. There was another job opportunity Walt could have taken. But that's a post for another time.

[garadinervi]

Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960-1991, Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean / Kunsthalle Wien / Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, 2024

Artists: Rebecca Allen, Elena Asins, Colette Stuebe Bangert & Charles Jeffries Bangert, Gretchen Bender, Gudrun Bielz & Ruth Schnell, Dara Birnbaum, Inge Borchardt, Barbara Buckner, Doris Chase, Analívia Cordeiro, Betty Danon, Hanne Darboven, Bia Davou, Agnes Denes, VALIE EXPORT, Anna Bella Geiger, Isa Genzken, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Lily Greenham, Samia Halaby, Barbara Hammer, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Grace C. Hertlein, Channa Horwitz, Irma Hünerfauth, Charlotte Johannesson, Alison Knowles, Beryl Korot, Katalin Ladik, Ruth Leavitt, Liliane Lijn, Vera Molnár, Monique Nahas & Hervé Huitric, Katherine Nash, Sonya Rapoport, Deborah Remington, Sylvia Roubaud, Miriam Schapiro, Lillian Schwartz, Sonia Sheridan, Nina Sobell, Barbara T. Smith, Tamiko Thiel, Rosemarie Trockel, Joan Truckenbrod, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Ulla Wiggen

Contributors: Laura Amann, Sarah Beaumont, Michelle Cotton, Rhea Dall, Ramona Heinlein, Hannah Marynissen, Astrid Peterle, Carlotta Pierleoni, Andrea Popelka, Clémentine Proby, Tina Rivers Ryan, Margit Rosen, Jade Saber, Bettina Steinbrügge

Graphic Design: A Practice For Everyday Life

Exhibitions: Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, September 20, 2024 – February 2, 2025; Kunsthalle Wien, Wien, February 28 – May 25, 2025

Curators: Michelle Cotton, assisted by Sarah Beaumont

[osthatguy]

Currently working on a BrBa/BCS fic set around 2001.

Chuck and Rebecca are in the midst of separating and he’s still reeling from the idea of Jimmy being a lawyer, so his EHS symptoms are slowly ramping up. Walt is having money troubles after quitting Sandia Laboratories to take more care of Junior with his Cerebral Palsy getting worse, with Skyler also quitting Beneke Fabricators at this time due to the Mr Grabby Hands incident.

Walt secretly attends the courthouse twice a week trawling for a good lawyer. At one point he sees Jimmy defending Kenny the Neo-Nazi but decides against him due to not seeing him as a “real lawyer”. Then, he sees Chuck helping Howard argue a motion and decides they’re perfect. He approaches Howard in the bathroom and asks to talk with him at HHM about a big case, both civil and possibly criminal, to which He agrees. He asks him about fees to which Howard assures him he need only pay an industry-standard deposit and they’ll talk about further fees after they win.

At this time Walt also runs into Mike the parking attendant and they come to blows. Walt eventually pulls the same trick Jimmy does, pushing the button to open the barrier when Mike is distracted and speeding away. But then he realises he needs to get back to the courthouse to talk to Hamlin so he has to take a taxi and hide from Mike as they go in and leave.

That night, Walt reveals to Skyler that he’s going to sue Gray Matter as a Hail Mary. Wrongful termination, intellectual property theft, patent fraud, all the things Jimmy would come up with in Saul Gone. Skyler thinks this is an insane idea and would only serve to drive a wedge between them and Gretchen & Elliot, as well as drown them in fees. Walt tries to assure her, but she comes up with another idea: suing Sandia Laboratories for negligence after that incident with the gas masks she mentions in Cancer Man. Walt reluctantly agrees with that idea instead to make her happy but we all know he doesn��t really mean it.

Walt meets with Howard and Chuck at the HHM building and they get along superbly. Walt outlines what he wants, telling his version of his exist from the company and they agree to take his case enthusiastically, Howard leaving to get the proper forms. With Walt and Chuck sitting in silence, Ernesto enters out of turn and in his rush drops soda cans everywhere. Chuck berates him but Walt calms them down and teaches them the spinning the soda can trick Chuck would go on to teach Howard.

A receptionist calls Chuck out of the room to see Howard and Clifford Main. It turns out Cliff knows Elliot Schwartz and the real story of how and why Walt left and tells them, but they rule to carry on with the suit as it will make a name for them, subtly changing some of the language, dropping the wrongful termination part and resolving to break the news to Walt gently.

However, Walt gets a call from Hank that Junior is very sick and that he needs to hurry home. Chuck offers to walk Walt out, and they get into the elevator to the car park together. It then gets stuck, between the two floors. There’s no cell reception and Chuck remembers there’s no maintenance staff in that day due to a strike (Howard encouraged them to unionise as a PR move).

Chuck can’t touch the landline phone to call the office due to the EHS so he makes Walt do it. He’s told they’re going to make some calls and that they’ll probably be out in an hour or so, meaning they’ll just have to enjoy each other’s company until then.

At first they begin bonding, Walt talking about Junior’s condition and his mother being put into a home, revealing his concerns about being able to provide for his family. Chuck related and talks about his brother’s struggles to start a practise and Rebecca’s unavailability due to a world tour and his work leading to their separation.

However, as the time passes, Walt slowly starts to tear into the concept of EHS, completely deconstructing Chuck’s arguments and delusions. Chuck responds by revealing his knowledge of Walt’s bogus story and begins psychoanalysing him as an arrogant egotist concluding by saying he thinks Skyler can do much better. Offended beyond belief, Walt determines to drop the suit entirely and never work with HHM or anyone named McGill again, which Chuck says is no loss.

Walt has finally had enough and resolves to fix the elevator himself, messing with the wires until the doors open. He crawls through the small opening at the bottom into the car park and leaves. Jimmy watches all of this, as he’s been waiting to pick Chuck up from work. He runs to get some help from a guy he knows and they drive home.

Chuck manages to delude himself into Walt’s scientific expertise being inaccurate or irrelevant due to his personal faults and he and Jimmy laugh about how much of an asshole Walt is.

Calamity with Junior is averted and labelled a false alarm, and Walt double-checks with Marie about EHS being impossible. Walt then vents to Skyler in bed about how much of a dick Chuck is and an idiot Howard is and that from now on he will never speak about this endeavour again or even broach the subject of lawyers to her as long as they live.

We then cut to Walt and Saul in Ed’s bunker during Granite State. Saul’s making himself and Walt tea. As they drink, they start talking about their preferred alcohols, Saul reminiscing for the Moscow Mules and Zafiro Añejos of the old days, while Walt talks up the Dimple Pinch. He mentions his brother-in-law would brew his own lager and Saul mentions how Chuck and Howard would share a Macallan after every big victory, and sometimes Chuck would let him have the rest the next day.

Walt recognises those names and realises this McGill is Jimmy, brother of that asshole Lawyer he got stuck in an elevator with almost a decade ago. He’s surprised he never put 2 and 2 together before. He and Saul share a rare moment of grace shitting on Chuck together before Walt says that, knowing his brother, he’s surprised Jimmy didn’t turn out even worse.

Jimmy feels guilty for ragging on Chuck quite so much and tries to go to sleep. Walt puts the teacups away and is about to call Ed to ask if he has any Whiskey but he’s distracted by a mysterious clicking noise from the water heater.

Credits.

What do we think?

[gilligould]

GRETCHEN SCHWARTZ SUCCESSION???

[bell-swamp-fitzjames]

2024 Book Review!

I read/listened to 78 books this year!

This is in no small part to 3 things: reading the Redwall series, the Animorph series, and getting into the Terror. I'm not counting redwall or animorphs books for this top 6, but I wanted to share the books I found the most fun. I can send u my least favorite book if u message me bc maybe its a little controversial (not actually, i just know ive heard ppl liked this book and im like hmm. well. maybe i didnt). SO below will be my list and a little blurb for what I loved

To A Darker Shore by Leanne Schwartz (5/5) 

This book was the one that made me go "I HAVE to make a top 5 list". It had everything I love, autistic queer ppl who become monstrous and think themselves so sinful and monstrous but they are not they are perfect how they are even if yeah sure its ugly or whatever, but also its beautiful.

2. Ada Blackjack: A True Story Of Survival In The Arctic by Jennifer Niven (5/5)

What can I say about Miss Blackjack? I love this book so much, also the book The Ice Master by the same author. Fred Maurer is constantly on my mind. I really need to look more into Ada Blackjack bc I love reading this book so much.

3. Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin [audiobook] (4.5/5)

This is what Stephen King's IT and whatever that stupid peacock slasher They/Them or whatever WANTED TO BE. It's sooooo good, I loved it a lot. I will be looking for more work by Gretchen Felker-Martin bc I also loved the book Manhunt. Literally such good horror.

4. Uncomfortable Labels by Laura Kate Dale (5/5)

This book I really need to read again bc 2024 has been the year I am accepting I am autistic and whether or not I get a diagnosis, it's ok so say I am bc it makes so much sense. I related to so much of this book, making me realize how I cope with the noise of the world & explains a lot of my childhood behaviors, both those I did only in high school but also some I do now (some I even started to do again bc I forgot I'd listen to music constantly at home to drown out. Well the horrors but we needn't go into it).

5. Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey Into The Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton (4.5/5)

If you know, you know, that's all I'm gonna say about her. <3

6. The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister (4/5)

I'm including this one for any polar followers who want a good fiction read. Lady Jane Franklin sends a select group of women into the Arctic to go find her husband and his lost men. It's a quick read, an incredible read, and I loved it so much. There's a pair of twins, man and woman, who have switched lives. Moreso for one then the other, but at least she can practice medicine and her sister can be her authentic self. BUT someone also died on the expedition and now the leader is on trial. It's really good.

[jxrm]

book log - 2022

his last wife by gia pere

a very merry bromance by lyssa kay adams

behind the messages by ella-may williams

the wife upstairs by rachel hawkins

pride, prejudice, & turkish delight by k.c. mccormick ciftci

the long way to a small, angry planet by becky chambers

honeymoon for one by rachel bowdier

let it snow by beth moran

resting scrooge face by meghan quinn

window shopping by tessa bailey

the family upstairs by lisa jewell

poster girl by veronica roth

x by sue grafton

queen bee by nina manning

the vibrant years by sonali dev

untamed by glennon doyle

book lovers by emily henry

the zookeeper's wife by diane ackerman

daisy darker by alice feeney

mating in captivity by esther perel

miss meteor by tehlor kay mejia

carrie soto is back by taylor jenkins reid

a good girl's guide to murder by holly jackson

the lesbiana's guide to catholic school by sonora reyes

fat chance, charlie vega by crystal maldonado

lakelore by anne-marie mclemore

you love me by caroline kepnes

happiness for beginners by katherine center

not my daughter by barbara delinsky

last tang standing by lauren ho

no filter and other lies by crystal maldonado

the southern book club's guide to slaying vampires by grady hendrix

does my body offend you? by mayra cuevas

i'm the girl by courtney summers

the expatriates by janice y.k. lee

emily, gone by bette lee crosby

after hours on milagro street by angelina m. lopez

i'm glad my mom died by jennette mccurdy

my best friend's exorcism by grady hendrix

#murderfunding by gretchen mcneil

looking for jane by heather marshall

midwife murders by james patterson

final cut by s.j. watson

darling rose gold by stephanie wrobel

all the pretty people by barbara freethy

when i was you by minka kent

been there, married that by gigi levangie

malibu rising by taylor jenkins reid

covery story by susan rigetti

the paris apartment by lucy foley

stiletto sisterhood by fallon demornay

her perfect secret by t.j. brearton

take a chance on me by beth moran

the watcher girl by minka kent

no conscience by phil m. williams

reminders of him by colleen hoover

her last move by john marrs

we were dreamers by simu liu

the book of cold cases by simone st. james

all i stole from you by ava bellows

violeta by isabel allende

once of us is next - karen m. mcmanus

just the way you are by beth moran

the latecomer by jean hanff jorelitz

klara and the sun by kazuo ishiguro

the sorority murder by allison brennan

one italian summer by rebecca serle

what lies between us by john marrs

the maid by nita prose

sex and vanity by kevin kwan

funny you should ask by elissa sussman

the seven day switch by kelly harms

three perfect liars by heidi perks

everything must go by camille pagan

no ex before marriage by portia macintosh

the other mother by carol goodman

california girls by susan mallery

one little secret by cate holahan

apples never fall by liane moriarty

the promise by teresa driscoll

ghost boy by martin pistorius

close to you by ana jolene

oona out of order by margarita montimore

the stepson by jane renshaw

all adults here by emma straub

his & hers by alice feeney

mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia

anatomy by dana schwartz

the resting place by camilla sten

will by will smith

good me, bad me by ali land

while we were dating by jasmine guillory

the lion's den by katherine st. john

when we left cuba by chanel cleeton

left neglected by lisa genova

the suspect by fiona barton

park avenue summer by renee rosen

group therapy by b.b. easton

the half sister by sandie jones

shipped by angie hockman

when we were sisters by emilie richards

the chain by adrian mckintu

not a happy family by shari lapena

clap when you land by elizabeth acevedo

if the shoe fits by julie murphy

the girlfriend by michelle frances

let me hear a rhyme by tiffany d. jackson

death by dumpling by vivien chien

yoga pant nation by laurie gelman

the cousins by karen m. mcmanus

in a holidaze by christina lauren

people we meet on vacation by emily henry

the candy house by jennifer egan

you've been volunteered by laurie gelman

broken by jenny lawson

you can't be serious by kal penn

the final girl support group by grady hendrix

home before dark by riley sager

one of us is lying by kate m. mcmanus

the vanishing half by brit bennett

the cross and the switchblade by david wilkerson

the henna wars by adiba jaigridar

the fashion orphans by randy susan meyers

the good girl by mary kubica

the comeback by ella berman

the magician's nephew by c.s. lewis

the bright lands by john fram

[kitty-the-wizard]

emo jimmy mcgill/saul goodman au storyline (by me) FLASHING GIF

It's 1960, Jimmy is born. this same year, The Beatles are formed and (obviously) go viral across the universe (lol). Jimmy grows up listening to The Beatles and in 1967 he hears "I Am The Walrus" on the radio. Young Jimmy totally loves this weirdcore ass song and jams every time he hears it. Fast forward to 1984, Jimmy is 24, and Gray Matter forms. They release a post-hardcore "emo" album called "Food For Thought". Jimmy has been going crazy for a few years, getting into trouble, and listening to music that Chuck wouldn't agree with. He stumbles upon Food For Thought at the music store and buys a cassette. He dances all the way home. He gets to song 10 and hears a familiar sound...

He flashes back to being 7 years old, listening to "I Am The Walrus" by The Beatles for the first time. He hears Gray Matter shred the cover and he is fully converted to emo-ness. No more messing around...he will show Chuck who is slippin'!!!!! Meanwhile...a trio of scientists named Walter White, Elliot Schwartz, and Gretchen [Schwartz] are forming something...magnificent...Gray Matter Technologies...

[I OWN THIS SPECIFIC THINGY!!!!!!]

[aokozaki]

Speaking of, all this talk of "high quality animation" just being "when there's more frames the more quality it is" is a lot like this excellent Drew Gooden video how he talks about "good acting" montages on youtube that are just actors doing a good job yelling and crying.

And those are impressive skills!

But his example of good acting is a scene in Breaking Bad where Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Gretchen Schwartz (Jessica Hecht) are talking over lunch and like.

These characters, these actors, have shared one (1) scene together in the show thus far. But the way Cranston and Hecht play it you 100% believe these two have years of unstated history together.

btw the term that sakuga fans that i know use to describe the "high quality animation" (not actually good, i just don't know how else to describe it) is sabunga

https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/273705

solo leveling clip for an example, btw

Wow this is ass.

[thekimspoblog]

My WIPs (or at least the ones I can remember)

Portal:

"Opera Beneath Aperture": Where the Geekenders version is vaudeville, mine is more pop-opera in the style of "Phantom" or "Wicked". Basically just remixing the soundtrack and adding lyrics. There will be comedy, but at the end of the day, playing the melodrama of "Portal 2" straight is just easier. (Progress 30%)

"Rat Race": An homage to the US "The Office", but one by one the characters are axed off as Aperture becomes a more and more dystopian place to work. (Progress 10%)

"Portrait of a Lady: A Romanticized Horror": Prequel character-study on Caroline, obviously. She's preppy like Kim, but being born in the 1930's she's more sexually repressed, and therefore even more of a manic-pixie-nightmare-girl. She blacks out and murders her gynecologist for malpractice in Chapter 3; yeah it's that kind of a story. Also she's pretty racist? To the extent that any person from that era running a dystopian secessionist megacorporation would have to be. (Progress 50%)

Better Call Saul:

"Sheepdog": A traumatic event causes Kim to question the nature of her own reality. We the fans love Kim... but we do not respect her. (Progress 50%)

"Slippin Kimmy": This is my SERIOUS entry for what I think should happen next in the story. Basically a lot of white-hat Heisenberging around. She stops a shooting at a Planned Parenthood in episode 2; yeah it's that kind of a story. If that's what "WYCARO" ends up being, I'll be happy. If not? Hey it's free money, Vince. I'll just leave it on the table 'til you're done being done again. (Progress 5%)

"Last Clear Chance Doctrine": In 6x05 Jimmy calls Kim to say he's going to be late; Howard wants to fight him in the ring. Kim says she'll be right over. (Progress 0%)

"Just Take the Money": Parallel "Breaking Bad" timeline, where Walt accepts Eliot's hand-out. It'll make you wish he had stuck to cooking meth. I'm probably going to include a subplot where Saul bangs Skyler cus it makes me smile. (Progress 0%)

Crossovers/Other:

Steven Universe: "Warp Congestion": Steven figures out how to remove his gem and live as a normal human for extended periods of time. And if you think this sounds like a contrivance to write Rose Quartz back into the story... it is! Pearl was supposed to hold onto the gem for the day, but as the administrative headaches of helping to keep Little Homeworld organized pile up, Rainbow Quartz starts to revert back to v 1.0. (Progress 5%)

Steven Universe: "Roughhousing": You ever have those moments with your spouse, where one minute you're joking around and everything seems fine, and then one little comment gets taken wrong and suddenly everything gets a bit ugly? Even Ruby and Sapphire have those moments. And it made for one hell of a night at Beach City Underground Wrestling. (Progress 100%... but it's in the format of a Torts practice exam. Yes really)

Barry: "A Plan for Sally": My OC, Rita, has been going around to various netflix shows and selling life-insurance and family planning policies to the love-interest characters in crime dramas. Well, Rita will call them "insurance policies"; what they really are are Faustian bargains. If you thought the ending to "Barry" was weird, rushed, or maybe even a little saccharine, Rita is why. (Progress 0%)

Midnight Mass: "The Girl Who Ate the World": Erin Greene wakes up lying in the grass to find herself - not just alive - but sparkling in the sun like a million little diamonds. It's a miracle! Second only to the bad-miracle of news that the Angel survived and is transforming people in the Portland subway system as we speak. Rita is in this one too. (Progress 50%)

"Crack Fic: Torts and Torts": Kim Wexler, Dolores Abernathy, and Love Quinn attend a mobwives convention in Napoli. After a few drinks, Kim and Love get into a tense conversation about dead brothers, and more specifically when/how a spouse is at-fault for the death of a brother-in-law. Kim forgets the argument after she sobers up, but Dolores warns her to watch her back. Sure enough, Love attacks Kim with a katana and they must battle it out as frenemies. (Progress 2%)

"300 Million Cowboys": I re-write Better Call Saul as a pulpy beach-read about vampires. With enough changes to the plot that it can be legally sold on Kindle. Kim is now named Jean Troy. Jimmy is now named Sammy McCormick. Mike and Chuck have been merged into one character. Kevin and Howard have been merged into one character. (Progress 2%)

[garadinervi]

Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960-1991, Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean / Kunsthalle Wien / Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, 2024

Artists: Rebecca Allen, Elena Asins, Colette Stuebe Bangert & Charles Jeffries Bangert, Gretchen Bender, Gudrun Bielz & Ruth Schnell, Dara Birnbaum, Inge Borchardt, Barbara Buckner, Doris Chase, Analívia Cordeiro, Betty Danon, Hanne Darboven, Bia Davou, Agnes Denes, VALIE EXPORT, Anna Bella Geiger, Isa Genzken, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Lily Greenham, Samia Halaby, Barbara Hammer, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Grace C. Hertlein, Channa Horwitz, Irma Hünerfauth, Charlotte Johannesson, Alison Knowles, Beryl Korot, Katalin Ladik, Ruth Leavitt, Liliane Lijn, Vera Molnár, Monique Nahas & Hervé Huitric, Katherine Nash, Sonya Rapoport, Deborah Remington, Sylvia Roubaud, Miriam Schapiro, Lillian Schwartz, Sonia Sheridan, Nina Sobell, Barbara T. Smith, Tamiko Thiel, Rosemarie Trockel, Joan Truckenbrod, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Ulla Wiggen

Contributors: Laura Amann, Sarah Beaumont, Michelle Cotton, Rhea Dall, Ramona Heinlein, Hannah Marynissen, Astrid Peterle, Carlotta Pierleoni, Andrea Popelka, Clémentine Proby, Tina Rivers Ryan, Margit Rosen, Jade Saber, Bettina Steinbrügge

Graphic Design: A Practice For Everyday Life

Exhibitions: Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, September 20, 2024 – February 2, 2025; Kunsthalle Wien, Wien, February 28 – May 25, 2025

Curators: Michelle Cotton, assisted by Sarah Beaumont

[corgoship]

1×03 // 3×06

[38snub]

walt: fuck elliot and gretchen schwartz

jesse: Who

walt: exactly

unbelievably hilarious how walt went his entire life seething and obsessing about gray matter and the fortune they supposedly cheated him out of and probably looked up the net worth of the company like every night before going to bed and then pitching a fit about it in front of jesse only for him to say he's never even fucking heard of gray matter before

[anelimjolie]

“But what about the soul?”

“There’s nothing but chemistry here.”

[mellowgelo]

Misconceptions about Walter White and Grey Matter

Everytime I see a post/video about Walter White’s backstory before the events of Breaking Bad, there’s always dozens of comments from people slagging off his former business partners, Gretchen and Elliott Schwartz. As far as I can see, a lot of the criticisms are completely unfounded. After finishing my 2nd rewatch of the series, I feel compelled to talk about and examine some of these criticisms

1: “Gretchen dumped Walt to fuck his best friend!!”

I mean, I don’t even know why I need to refute this one? In the restaurant scene with Walt and Gretchen, (’Peekaboo,’ 2.06) she clearly describes the events of their breakup: they were both staying at her family home one weekend until Gretchen caught him secretly packing his bags. She asked him what he was doing but he refused to explain and then simply left. 

In the scene, Gretchen asks 'did I dream all of that?!’ and Walt does not dispute her version of events. Pretty clearly, he was the one who ended their relationship.

2: “Gretchen was cheating on Walt with Elliott!!”

Again, I’m not sure why this has become such a prevalent idea? At no point does Walt accuse Gretchen of cheating on him (and you don’t think that if she had, he wouldn’t have brought it up during their argument?) and although he talks about Gretchen and Elliott bitterly several times in the series, the fact that they became a couple is never mentioned as the cause of his anger. It’s not specified when Gretchen and Elliott first became a couple or when they got married. Potentially, their relationship might have started years after Walt left the company. 

So...it’s not impossible? But there’s no facts to support this idea and Walt’s reactions to the couple don’t suggest that any infidelity took place.

3: “Gretchen and Elliot made their billion dollar company by stealing Walt’s ideas and cutting him out of the business!”

Okay, so this is the big one! The main cause of Walter’s grudge against his former colleagues! The first betrayal that set him on the path to eventually becoming Heisenberg!

And...it’s kind of bullshit.

He first accuses Gretchen of ‘cutting him out’ in Season 2, implying that some shady business deal took place which forced Walt out of the company and denied him his fair share of the profits. However, in ’Buyout’ (5.06) Walt seems to contradict this by telling Jesse that he chose to leave Grey Matter for ‘personal reasons’ and sold his share in the company for $5000. 

Now, with the benefit of hindsight, this was clearly a bad financial decision! But there’s no evidence of coercion or manipulation being used against Walt in this situation and as seen in point 1, he’d already begun severing ties to the company by breaking up with Gretchen. Much as he came to regret this choice later, it was a choice that he made freely.

But! What about Walter’s grand contributions to Grey Matter Technologies while he was there? He seems very eager to claim responsibility for the company’s success, telling Gretchen that they built their empire on his work. And in the penultimate episode ’Granite State’ (5.15) watching Gretchen and Elliott claim that his sole contribution to Grey Matter was providing the company name makes Walt furious. He clearly wants to be given the credit as the man who’s research turned a small grad school company into a billion dollar organisation.

But....is he really? 

Walt’s status as a brilliant chemist cannot be denied. Neither can the fact that before co-founding Grey Matter, he was a contributor to a Nobel Prize winning experiment! However, when he tells Jesse about his time with the company, he only mentions ‘potential’ and a few insignificant pending patents. Walt gives no specific examples of his achievements at Grey Matter, only vague references to ‘my work’ and ‘my research.’ What exactly is he taking credit for?

Moreover, by the time the series begins, it’s been approximately 20 years since Walter left Grey Matter. Is it really possible that a company this successful would still be riding the coattails of a man who hasn’t worked there in two decades?

None of this is to say that Walt didn’t provide crucial research during his time at Grey Matter, only that we have no idea what this work was. This missing information could just be a case of the writers not wanting to bog the show down with scientific jargon etc, but I think the lack of specific detail was a clue about Walt being an unreliable narrator.

4: “They only offered him the job because they feel bad for ripping him off!”

This is often linked with the previous argument, making the claim that they must have ripped him off back in the day because that’s why they offer him the job in Season 1, out of guilt. 

Walt certainly seems to think that this is their motivation. He describes Elliott’s job offer as ‘face-saving bullshit’ in ’Grey Matter’ (1.05) and directly accuses Gretchen of ‘waving her chequebook around like a magic wand’ to make amends for stealing his work. In both instances, he makes these accusations in a fit of anger, showing how much inner resentment he holds towards them both. However, as mentioned above, when he makes his speech to Jesse in ‘Buyout’ he places the blame on himself for leaving the company. In this scene, he is calm, suggesting that he is talking about his past more objectively than in his previous statements.

And then we have how Gretchen and Elliott react to him throughout the series.  When he attends Elliot’s birthday party, the atmosphere during their conversations is slightly awkward....but this is all coming from Walt’s end. When Walt and Skylar first arrive, Walt’s pleasantries are clearly forced but the Schwartzes look genuinely pleased to see him again. Walt is embarrassed by his cheap present of a Yum Good Ramen packet but Elliott is visibly moved by the momento of their college days. And when Walt and Elliott are alone reminiscing about their old professors, they’re both laughing enthusiastically and it’s the first time Walt looks comfortable ...until Elliott suggests that Walt come back to Grey Matter.

You would expect that if the Schwartzes had knowingly ripped off Walter’s research, or had an affair behind his back, there would be some embarrassment/shame from both of them upon seeing the man they screwed over at their party. In fact, you’d imagine they’d want to keep as much distance from him as possible! Why would they invite this man, this innocent victim of their manipulations, to their house where he could tell all their guests about how they ripped him off? 

As well as their behaviour, Walt’s reactions to Gretchen and Elliott don’t make sense either. After arriving at Elliott’s party, it’s clear that Skylar has met them both before, showing that the two couples have maintained contact throughout the years, and Skylar seems unaware of any bad blood between the trio. When Walt bumps into another former classmate, he introduces Walt to his friends as a co-founder of Grey Matter and encourages him to describe his role in the company. However, upon getting this perfect opportunity to brag, Walt only mentions how he came up with the company name. And although his cheery facade at the party is not very convincing, he still accepted the invitation to a party he knew he wouldn’t enjoy and does his level best to appear happy. Why would he bother to do all this for a couple who ripped him off so badly? Why did he not completely sever contact with them as soon as he left the company?

Walt’s resentment towards his college friends is clear to the viewer but Elliott and Gretchen seem oblivious to his anger. When Elliott floats the idea of working together, he asks ‘why not?’ and ‘what’s stopping us?’ When Gretchen calls Walt at the end of 1.05 encouraging him to take their offer, she assumes that his reluctance is due to their former romantic relationship, not because of any professional jealousy. And when Walt argues with her in 2.05, she is completely shocked to hear his version of events, furiously responding ‘that cannot be how you see it!’

Walter seems to hold Gretchen and Elliott responsible for ruining his life but they never show signs of guilty behaviour towards their former partner. Perhaps they are sociopaths who are incapable of feeling remorse...or perhaps they’ve done nothing to feel guilty about.

Conclusion

Apart from one flashback where Walt and Gretchen discuss the elements of a human body, we don’t see any of the events regarding the early days of Grey Matter firsthand. It’s all conveyed by characters discussing the past through their own potentially biased perspective and it’s impossible to regard either Walt, Gretchen or Elliott as a definitive source. However, as you can see from this post and my conclusions, a lot of information can be gleamed from reading between the lines and paying attention to what is not being said.

Given the lack of direct evidence, a lot of this debate comes down to whose perspective is more reliable and the series demonstrates over and over again that Walt is not a trustworthy person. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a single episode of the show that doesn’t show Walt telling at least one lie. Despite this, many fans who identify with Walt take his version of events at face value, without really examining how his arrogance and sense of victimhood have clouded his perspective.

After rewatching the show and getting a very different perspective on several characters a second time round, I’d encourage any fan of the show who strongly identified with Walter White to rewatch the series and this time, focus on getting into the heads of the characters he comes into conflict with. You might come away with a very different opinion. And a renewed sympathy.

Thanks for reading, this is my 1st post so any constructive criticism is welcome and any likes/reblogs would be very much appreciated :) 

[heisenbergchronicles]

Breaking Bad by Marcello Restaldi in Turin, Italy

Links: ArtStation / DeviantArt / Twitter / Facebook

[bbadlab-blog]