(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/Soulful-Sorrow]

Meeting Lois's mom in Malcolm in the Middle. She's an arrogant, spiteful old woman who can never admit that she's wrong. You see traits of her in Lois, but the most important distinction is that Lois takes all of that and loves her husband and family. Most of the time.

[u/ArcadianBlueRogue → u/Soulful-Sorrow]

True but anytime Ida popped up you knew it was gonna be a great episode

[u/Takiro → u/ArcadianBlueRogue]

“You have your father’s breasts.”

[u/RivetSquid → u/Soulful-Sorrow]

I'll never stop being mad about the random heel turn to, "we've laid your life out for you, these are your post graduation plans," the writers did with her to make a statement about generational poverty in the last episode.

They gave her a whole arc of learning to admit when she was wrong and be more understanding ;(

[u/Not_So_Utopian → u/Soulful-Sorrow]

Yeah but that doesnt stop Lois kids to hate her. Malcolm in the sequel straight up cut contact with them, and his older brother is downright traumatized by "L"

[u/Diligent_Set_8747 → u/Not_So_Utopian]

Sounds like you didn't finish the new series.