Plot points from Sunday's episode of Breaking Bad will be discussed below.
Skyler White has spent much of Breaking Bad vexed with her husband/meth chef Walter White. She was at first concerned for his health. Then she was worried he was catting around. Then she thought he was spending too much time with the drug dealing youth. Then, when she discovered he was making and dealing meth, she was worried about the safety of her family: she forced him to move out and then when he moved back in she sent the kids to live with their aunt and uncle. Finally, she accepted the corrupt bargain—but only after becoming an integral part of the deal.
Skyler, like Walt, wasn't worried about the law. She's not worried about morality. She is worried about her family. Perhaps most importantly: She's worried about losing control.
She is Mrs. Heisenberg.
Critics have often described Skyler as a shrew, a roadblock standing in Walt's way. And that's true, kind of. I spent much of the first three seasons being annoyed with Skyler. But what most of us have missed—and what became blindingly obvious as she stared down Hank, repeatedly asking if she was under arrest, maintaining her poise and remembering her legal rights under the bum's rush—is that Skyler craves control every bit as much as Walt does. It's why she plotted out the blackjack story for Walt to tell. It's why she walked into the pool when Walt was hamming it up with Marie and Hank: She needed to seize back the narrative. It's why she only truly became comfortable with Walt's lifestyle after they purchased the car wash and she could ply her trade to launder the millions pouring in.
I may be misreading the situation, but it seem obvious her evolution is mirrored in Walt's. If Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White choosing to take control—to not rely on charity; to build an empire; to become Scarface—it is equally the story of Skyler doing the same. Whereas Walt was laid low by cancer, Skyler was laid low by Walt's newfound assertiveness. It's obvious in those early episodes that she is the master of the household. That mastery was stripped from her as her husband became uncontrollable; she has spent five seasons getting it back.
And she's not going to willingly give it up any time soon.