‘Breaking Bad’s’ Anna Gunn and the triumph of hero over anti-hero

It's hard out there for a hero.
Anti-heroes have it easy. Their sinful existence satisfies our basest desires. We love them for being the kind of reckless, selfish people we would despise in real life. They get away with it, whatever it may be: an affair, a secret identity, a criminal enterprise, murder. If they don’t like what’s being said, they change the conversation.
For the heroes, though, it’s a tougher game. It’s all crustless sandwiches and catchphrases for the man who protects this family. It is much, much harder — often a thankless task — to be the one who protects this family from the man who protects this family.
Anna Gunn, whose suckerpunch-to-the-solar-plexus of a performance as Skyler White on “Breaking Bad” was rewarded last night with an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama, has both spoken and written about the way her character is regarded by a certain unsavory segment of the show’s fan base.
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