I think Skylar may be in her early forties. She is the older sister. And I figure Jess to be around 19. Not too long out of high school or he'd be in jail by now.

I am not sure on Hank. I think they are close in age.

Oooh, this is one of my favorite hobbies! I imagine Skyler to be right around 40 and Marie, a few years younger. I think Jesse is about 22 or so. Hank is a little harder to figure out. I think he's a few years younger than Walt.

So we're agreed on most but Jessie seems to be a gray area.

19? 22?
While it doesnt seem like a big difference it could be a huge one when it comes to the things he's done after leaving school and heading out into the world on his own.
Hmmmmmmmmmm?
It's a tough call cuz its pretty pivitol in the just how far gone is my boy Jessie.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, now I need to know.

Dear BB writers,
Since you guys gotta be working on pounding out the season two scripts right about now you think maybe you can slip in a lil something on this point, a lil hint in passing would do the trick, to save me from the trying to piece it together madness that sure to come and come soon?

Thanks :o)

What an intriguing topic of speculation, Pamala!

Herewith, my two cents.

You're right about Skylar's pregnancy and the age thing; I hadn't thought of that before. Thing is, I'm hesitant to drop her too many years below Walt, because, after all, wasn't he in grad school when he met her? (memory is fuzzy) So unless he met her near the end of his education, banking on a ten-year spread puts Walt dangerously close to being a statutory rapist.

Ah, heck. I'll join sparroweyes and settle for "early forties". That seems fairly safe.

You all think Marie is the younger sister but fail to provide a rationale. ;) I happen to agree with you, and here is my reason, which may not be all that credible: birth order theory posits that older children are more "responsible" than their younger siblings; and Skyler offhand strikes one as being more "responsible" than Marie. But, first, many psychologists think BOT is bunk... so there's that. Plus, I'm hesitant to characterize Marie as a flighty ne'er-do-well just because she speaks her mind and has kleptomaniac tendencies. This is an awfully lengthy prelude to admitting that I simply don't have a clear idea WHICH is the elder sister.

Hank?

Not the slightest clue.

I hope Vince reads your note, Pamala.

I'm torn with Jessie. He can't be TOO old, partly because he just doesn't act like it, and partly because, well, Walt reMEMbers him. I know Jessie must have been a remarkably terrible student, but Walt has seen so many pass through his grade book and out of his memory. On the other hand, Jessie's parents

Whoops. Clicked the wrong button. To conclude,

On the other hand, Jessie's parents act as if they've been taking him back and getting disillusioned all over again many, many times. What's more, Jessie seems fairly well inured in the demimonde. Even if he started him criminal career in high school (and I'm sure he did), I just get the impression that he's been around the block for some time. I'm gonna go with DR and say 22.

You know, this forum really really needs a "Modify Post" function. It really does.

We need to be able to modify, it would be nice to have it all threaded and it would be great if there were email alerts on comments for everyone like you get when you are a topic starter.

I can almost hear someone at AMC groaning as they say "Here she goes again!" because I put up a post about the format here not being user friendly during the season.

I know change is a pain but the easier it is to talk about the show the better the buzz.

Enough of that... sorry for being such a pain AMC.

I agree on Skylar's age being somewhere in her early 40's which makes the gap doable.

Not sure on the sisters althought my instinct is Skylar being older as well.

As for Jessie I think early 20's seems about right.

As far for how long Jessie's been heading down the wrong path I tend to think from the comment on his old paper * Apply yourself* that perhaps Mr. White was witness -- he had reason to believe at that point Jessie could do the work easily if he tried and bothered to say something about it which is something you don't do for a long lost cause -- to Jessies fall from grace.

Which would be oh so fitting as Jessie is now witness to Walts fall.

On Jessies parents with the over and over stuff if he was the golden boy pushed toward excellence like his lil brother is now , something I firmly believe, then his parents could be talking about all sorts of problems leading up to what Jessie has become.

Jessie's age is a really tough call.

Thanks for the interesting chat.

The reason I think Jesse is a bit past the teen years is that he seems a little "worldly" to just be right out of high school.

I'm speculating, of course, but I have the feeling that Jesse's parents tried to understand him (in their way) and when he failed to conform to their standards, they sent him to live with his aunt. Or the aunt offered to take care of him. Then she got cancer and he took care of her and inherited her house. It'd be a stretch for him to get that all done while still a teenager.

I've known at least a few people who went through something like that.

AMC may groan, Pamala, but you are right on about the awkwardness of this forum.

It would be nice if we could quote one another, for instance. (Maybe we can and I'm not aware of it.)

I've thought (dreamed) about starting up a proper discussion forum like other shows (Sopranos, for instance) have - an independent fan website. But that would be SO much work.

Your livejournal is pretty cool but I'm thinking along the lines of something even bigger.

Oh well.

Anyway, I like your perspective on the "Apply Yourself!" comment. I was only thinking of it in the most literal way - i.e., Jessie was a sh*tty student. But right, why would Walt bother to make a comment like that if he didn't think Jessie had some potential? Nice.

But I'm not sure I can go along with the idea that that moment in time marked the beginning of Jessie's "fall from grace". If teenagers are gonna break bad they usually do it pretty early on - at least, in my experience. You may counter that we don't know at what age Jessie took Walt's class. But isn't chemistry usually reserved for the upper grades - junior and senior years - of high school? It was in my school.

But I bet you're definitely right about the Pinkmans: they are an overachieving family and it would defy belief to think that they made their eldest son an exception to their Ivy League ethos. And that may very well have been what drove him over the edge. He just wasn't made for that lifestyle and his parents refused to understand that until it was too late - until he was a dyed-in-the-wool rebel without a clue.

I think all the characters' ages are a really tough call - except Walt's, of course. :D

DR, that's an interesting speculation about Auntie Pinkman. There must be some reason she left him that house! That's a pretty generous bequest for a juvenile delinquent! They must have had some kind of special bond.

Or maybe the aunt was as crazy as he is.

MAYBE SHE GOT HIM INTO THE DRUG BIZ!

Okay, I'm logging out now. :P

Never thought about Jessie and his Aunts relationship but you're likely right about him going to her when he got the family boot. She got ill and left him the house. She must have meant a lot for him and likely cared for her in her during her illness.

Hmmmm Jessies having been around the block when comes to cancer should make for an interesting dynamic between the two fellas.

As for Jessie while I doubt he was a clean cut kid when he crossed paths with Walt in school I doubt he was too far gone at that point simply because a really wasted case wouldn't be taking Chemistry.

Plenty of basic science courses available to squeak out the needed science graduation requirements without having Chemistry to me means Jessie wasn't too big a mess yet!

I have this nagging feeling -- I'm huge fan of the writing and know little things can mean a lot -- that paper was a intentional hint and we'll be getting more background on the Jessie/Walt story of the past as they move forward next season.

Either way can't wait to see it :o)