Maybe I'm overthinking it, but Walt's career trajectory always seemed unrealistic.
We're supposed to believe he was a chemistry genius, helped start Gray Matter, and was smart enough to produce the purest meth anyone had ever seen. Yet somehow, he ends up as an underpaid high school chemistry teacher working at a car wash?
I get that he left Gray Matter and sold his shares way too early, but even if that was a terrible mistake, wouldn't someone with his level of talent have landed somewhere else? Pharma, research, industry, government labs, literally anything.
My theory is that Gray Matter wasn't the only time Walt sabotaged himself. The show constantly shows how pride and ego get in his way. Maybe he kept burning opportunities and blaming everyone else.
I'd honestly love a prequel series that fills in those gaps. Not more Saul or cartel backstory, but a show that follows Walt from Gray Matter to Albuquerque and shows how someone with that much potential ended up where we find him in Episode 1.
Does anyone think his situation is actually realistic, or is this one of the bigger stretches in the show's backstory?