From Livia Soprano to Walter White’s unseen mom, powerful matriarchs loomed over TV’s antihero era.
No, they are the bus.
See, theyre the vehicle that gets us here.
They drop us off and go on their way.
They continue on their journey.
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) never speaks to his mom on-screen throughoutBreaking Badsfive seasons.
The other Golden Age shows also feature men in the creators seats.
Its hard to say for certain, but art such as these series is often quite personal.
Parenting is only a piece of the pie.
They all choose to travel on the less desirable path of their own accord.
Walters maternal influence in his upbringing is unclear at best and non-existent at worst.
Walt rebels against Skyler, choosing to liberate the confines of matrimony with methamphetamine.
Skyler is a moral person.
Being rigid isnt a crime, but poisoning children and bombing nursing homes certainly is.
Carmela shares some parallels to Livia, but shes also a distinctive character.
Both Carm and Livia knowingly go along with their husbands mob life.
They also victimize themselves while overlooking deeper sins committed by the men in their lives.
Whacking someone in the crime family?
All in a days work.
Cheating on your wife or putting your mother in a nursing home?
They lorded over their fates and used their mothers and wives as an excuse for wickedness.
