US: Breaking Bad question - sorry!

Soldato
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After loads of people recommending this series i have started watching; now up to S2 ep 10. But there is one thing bugging me (apart from his whiney wife that is) and it's the money offered for his treatment.

Gretchen and new hubby (ex girlifriend and ex work colleagues) are minted and offer to pay for Walts treatment when the insurance won't cover and with no strings attached - yet Walt refuses! He later gives one reason as he is bitter about them making money on his research, but that is ******. He would rather move to a life of crime and risk jail and his family?

Fair enough crime AND the free money, but the whole idea of that just seems unrealistic - do we get a better explanation later, or are we just expected to go along with that?

(No later spoilers please! ;))
 
Even though Walt later explains to Skyler why he does what he does - I can also see how his pride would stop him from taking Elliot's charity. If you're someone with those sorts of principles I can't see how that's such an unbelievable reason for not accepting the money.
 
I see your angle, however, if you look at what he has actually done INSTEAD of accepting the 'charity' then his principles have clearly gone out of the window.

He has worked hard all his years as a teacher and stayed on the right side of the law and is dealt a crappy hand in getting cancer and his insurance not covering the bills.

Hi concern is for providing for his family when he is gone - no issues with that. However, his means of doing this is criminal, knowingly breaking the law, knowingly putting drugs out onto the street (i won't even mention the after effects of that!) and i have just watched him instruct Jesse to sort the problem of them been ripped off by Spooge and the Skank (lol!) while handing him a gun.

Yet his principles stop him taking offered money with no strings from a couple of millionaires? Does not compute.
 
Fair enough but you will learn more about his relationship with the billionaires and the business and also walt's personality which will help reconcile why.
 
I see your angle, however, if you look at what he has actually done INSTEAD of accepting the 'charity' then his principles have clearly gone out of the window.

He has worked hard all his years as a teacher and stayed on the right side of the law and is dealt a crappy hand in getting cancer and his insurance not covering the bills.

Hi concern is for providing for his family when he is gone - no issues with that. However, his means of doing this is criminal, knowingly breaking the law, knowingly putting drugs out onto the street (i won't even mention the after effects of that!) and i have just watched him instruct Jesse to sort the problem of them been ripped off by Spooge and the Skank (lol!) while handing him a gun.

Yet his principles stop him taking offered money with no strings from a couple of millionaires? Does not compute.

He doesn't care about the addicts, those aren't the sort of principles I'm talking about. Clearly he isn't put off by breaking the law and in fact seems to get a big kick out of the fact that what he's doing is illegal.

His issue with Elliot is down to the fact that he feels Elliot has cheated him out of billions of dollars, using Walt's research to earn that money. Walt won't take the money from him because he sees it as Elliot pitying him, almost rubbing Walt's face in the fact that money is no object to him.

There's also a couple of other angles, the fact that Walt wants to leave money behind for his family, and also his own personal ambitions to become richer/build an empire bigger than Grey Matter.
 
I don't think it's a spoiler to say that almost all of Walters actions/decisions are consequences of his psychological issues, rather than his health/financial problems.

His Cancer is more a catalyst for his mental state to change and to be dominated by those existing neurosis.

The rejection of Elliot's offer reflects this.
 
Started watching this 2 weeks ago and nearly dusted with Season 3 :) Wife loves it , its bloody good. Compelling viewing once you get into it.
 
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