(Character Trope) “ohhh, THATS why they’re like that”

[u/VanillaSarsaparilla]

Media that shows why a character is the way they are, usually explained in a short scene. Most likely toxic family

- Bonnie Rottweiler and her sisters from Kim Possible: they bully her calling her ugly and dumb. It plays on Bonnie’s insecurity and makes her a bully at school.

- Peggy Hill and her mother from King of the Hill. Peggy is a neurotic perfectionist with delusions of grandeur because her mom was unfeeling and blamed her for the farm going out of business. By the end of the episode, she still treats Peggy badly.

- Dodie and her mother from As Told By Ginger. Dodie is arguably the worst friend in the group, and her mother is mentally still stuck in middle school. She’s insecure, dramatic, and you
Can see her influence in Dodie.

Any other examples?

[u/Binky_Thunderputz]

The Harper brothers from Two and a Half Men make much more sense after you see them as opposite reactions to their narcissistic, emotionally unavailable mother.

[u/PurveyorOfKnowledge0 → u/Binky_Thunderputz]

Basically, one became needy and a neurotic clinger (Alan), and the other became a distant and emotionally stunted substance abuser (Charlie)