Day 103: MitM

I think a lot of people misunderstand some of these characters from Malcolm in the Middle. Perhaps it’s me misunderstanding them but I feel like each character has some kind of force willing them to behave one way or another. Not always a force but sometimes a goal or something. With Hal it’s his impossibly large amount of love for his family. Lois wants to see her children succeed no matter if it makes them hate her, she has plans for them but in that same way she’s willing to let go of those plans like nothing. It’s bizarre and I’d blame it on writing from the creatives but it’s realistic in a sense. She’s an imperfect person who doesn’t know everything and goes back on what she says. Same thing with Hal, his power is to forgive and always come back, not necessarily endless love.

With the kids, it’s different. Francis is deeply traumatized to me, he feels this need to prove things to his mother and it’s like she’s the source of all evil to him. He clashes with Lois and that’s fine but since she’s his mother, they’re always going to be next to one another. He feels compulsions to destroy or generally self-sabotage, much like Reese. I think Reese is arguably one of the most tragic characters in the show. His parents acknowledge the fact he needs help and they give it but Lois’ parenting is so explosive when it comes to him. He destroys out of a compulsive need, he admits there’s something fundamentally wrong with him and I think it’s sad they truly never get him the counseling he needs. He has an idea of what’s normal and what he thinks is normal is obviously “no therapy” and the like. Half of him sees himself as normal and the other knows it to be false. In the early seasons, there’s an episode where Malcolm goes to the school therapist to get out of doing Krelboyne things. Reese tries to do the same and makes things up when I really wish he’d just gotten the opportunity to seek actual help. He’s not a good person but neither is he scum. Also, while they play it off for jokes, it is implied Reese hears voices on multiple occasions. I believe it’s likely he suffers from some kind of disorder but I’m not gonna speak on that because I’m not a doctor or anything.

Dewey, Jamie and Kelly are a different thing. In the case of Dewey, he’s searching for a normal childhood. His life is filled with these maelstroms of loudness incarnate and he’s left flying under the radar in most cases. His parents do not take photos of him in his youth, his brothers torment him and while he’s in many ways highly intelligent, it often goes unnoticed. It’s likely he would’ve been a Krelboyne if Malcolm didn’t help him fail. He’s remarkable and in a normal childhood, that would’ve been noticed. Jamie is destructive like all of his brothers and in the ends turns out to be relatively normal. Due to his impulses, he goes into a career with the military. He’s pretty normal, probably because of Dewey mainly being his sibling in the house till Kelly came in. Kelly is honestly the most normal, they’re a lot more well adjusted and due to the less time we have with them, there’s not a lot to know. These 2 are what I’d call the products of Lois and Hal learning from mistakes with the prior 4.

Malcom is complex. He is insecure, angry, loud and struggles with his emotions I’d say. He’s like a firework and his family is a spark. The way his family treats him, especially Lois, is the cause of a lot of his problems. I think he’d have a lot less of an ego without the pressure inflicted on him by his parents, leaving him always trying to match expectations. He doesn’t know how to interact with a lot of people and his attitude, probably picked up from his family, is non-conducive to friendly interactions. It’s only when he distances himself from the rest of his family that he begins to learn self-restraint, emotional control and to a degree the way to not be trying to prove himself 24/7. When his family finds out about his new life and he’s forced to reconnect, it all comes back. To me, it’s seems like he did learn some things but more so they were buried. Mostly ignored and kept under the rug. It’s no doubt that a lot of these traits are just Malcolm himself and not blamed on his parents, just intensified by his family. He’s desperate, insecure and an asshole but most of all he’s stubborn. He can’t help but blame it on someone else, a lot like Francis blames things on Lois.

I’ll probably make a post for other characters but Leah is who I’ll write about briefly. She reminds me of a lot of the original cast, mostly Reese and Malcolm. She’s a lot like Reese in attitude, unintentionally but still. She comes off as mean, but unlike Reese she learns to think, reflect and ultimately not act on bad things. Basically Malcolm, just with more control. Bit of both

I am likely wrong about a lot of things but these are just my thoughts after watching all 7 seasons of the show again and the reboot tonight. Stevie rocks too. I also like that Dabney, Kevin and Lloyd had a kid together. Anyway, these characters all have trauma and I blame it all on Ida.

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I didn’t do much today, just played Smash and watched MitM. Then I played Tomodachi Life with my sister. Scrotum still hurts, getting a bit better though. Pain is worse but visually is improving.

Food: Chicken, rice and avocado with tortilla then goldfish crackers in the evening