What happened to Skyler White after Breaking Bad is a question that's plagued longtime fans ever since the show concluded in 2013. The show's creator Vince Gilligan has already made the spin-off film El Camino and the spin-off show Better Call Saul, but neither Walt Jr. nor Skyler returned for either one. Actress Anna Gunn played the White family matriarch in all five seasons of the series. Skyler stood by Walt after his cancer diagnosis and remained a pillar for the rest of the family to lean on. Walt's constant disappearances and erratic behavior put a strain on his marriage with Skyler. Without her knowledge, Walt was distracted by his secret career as an emerging drug kingpin. Skyler was frightened and furious when she learned the truth.
However, Skyler White went on to mastermind a money laundering scheme for Walt's ill-gotten gains. The family dynamic changed when Walt got in too deep with his dangerous dealings. Breaking Bad's Skyler story ends with Walt spinning out of control and Hank dead, Skyler solely focused on protecting her son, Walt Jr., and her daughter, Holly. While there were hopes that El Camino would show what happened to Skyler after Walt died, it didn't. However, that doesn't mean nothing is known about where Skyler and Walter White's family end up. Here's what happened to Skyler White after Breaking Bad's last scene featuring the character.
Better Call Saul Revealed That Skyler Took A Plea Deal
While Skyler never appeared again, Better Call Saul season 6, episode 11, "Breaking Bad" confirmed that she got a plea deal. In one of Better Call Saul's black-and-white scenes, Jimmy (disguised as Gene Takavic) calls his former assistant Francesca, who tells him, "Skyler White got her deal," and that "the only ones left to go after are you and Pinkman." This foreshadowed the poignant ending of Better Call Saul, Skyler's last contribution to the Breaking Bad universe.
Moreover, while Better Call Saul's Gene Takavic scenes finally gave an answer to how the law dealt with Skyler, this only somewhat narrows down what really happened to Skyler White after Breaking Bad. Based on what happened to Skyler White towards the end of the series, there's room for some speculation about her fate. Originally, Breaking Bad had a Skyler suicide plan, but this didn't pan out. After Walt's secrets came to light, Skyler's life went downhill fast.
Skyler And Marie Might Have Broken Bad Themselves
When her life fell apart and Walt disappeared, Skyler lost her assets and moved in with her kids in a small apartment with a job as a taxi dispatcher. It was revealed that her sister, Marie, reached out for a truce, so it's likely that the two reconnected shortly after the series finale. Since they both lost their husbands in different ways, they only have each other to rely on. Notably, Betsy Brandt's Marie Schrader had a cameo in the Better Call Saul finale. Being witness to how Saul Goodman so easily manipulated the courts, Marie — along with Skyler — may have given up on the straight and narrow path entirely.
It's very possible that the previous events could have caused the two women to go down a very dark path. Breaking Bad's often hated character Skyler showed that she's willing to commit crimes if it benefited her family's well-being. Her family and the safety of her family would always be her top priority. Marie had issues with kleptomania in the past, so her dark state might've seen those urges resurface. Even Jimmy's final testimony in the Better Call Saul finale, which essentially redeemed the character, could've just inspired Marie Schrader to become a career criminal herself.
With that said, Skyler nor Marie would never go to the levels that Walt went to during his villainous stage. As Walt Jr.'s sole surviving parent, she would need to provide some sort of stability for Walt Jr. and Holly. But without an appearance in El Camino or Better Call Saul, it's hard to know what would have become of her exactly. Marie, on the other hand, got a more definitive ending that provides strong clues as to Skyler's eventual direction.
Better Call Saul Showed What Became Of Skyler's Sister Marie
While Skyler White's fate remains unknown, her sister Marie Schrader made a surprise appearance in Better Call Saul to seek some retribution. In the Better Call Saul series finale, Jimmy has been arrested and is in a hearing regarding his laundry list of past crimes while involved with the Albuquerque drug trade. Marie arrives to testify against him and confronts "Saul Goodman" about his role in her husband's death.
While this doesn't provide any concrete information about Skyler's fate, it does illustrate that the remnants of the White/Schrader family are probably trying to distance themselves from what happened as much as possible. Although the harm done can never be reversed, it offers a little closure to know that one of the people responsible for the wholesale destruction of Skyler and Marie's lives during the Breaking Bad timeline was brought to justice. After all, though Skyler and Marie have experienced the horrors of the criminal underworld firsthand, just like Kim Wexler, everything they've gone through have also prepared them for the game.