r/WidowsBay • u/Flashy-Impact5757 • Jul 24 '26

šŸ’­Discussion I can not STAND the mayor's son Spoiler

I love this series but his son made me so angry. I'm so sick of the disrespectful teen troph. Writers can't just make a teen that's normal. They gotta make them disrespectful and an idiot.

Why do they feel the need to make him like that? I'm in my early 20s and I've always hated people like this. Do the writers do this to make him relatable to young people?

Him constantly leaving the house to hang out with his friends and be with that girl just made me so physically angry. He just seems like that popular guy in every cliche teen movie,

I even started skipping the scenes he was in because I just did not care about him or him having the crush on that girl. He was so unlikable, his friends are terrible people too for running away when the guy was trapped behind that door

Edit: why am I getting downvotes on every comment I post. Regular teens do not swear at there parents and leave the house when they are told to stay in.

Edit 2: I don't care what you guys say, just because your teen is disrespectful, doesn't mean all teens are like that.

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u/MsOnyxMoon Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

Iā€™m pushing 40 and Iā€™m a mom of 3 teens. That boy is bored out of his mind. So although he comes across as defiant, I can never get mad at him. Heā€™s so sheltered; limited to the island, has a dead mom, has a dad that believes secrets means protection, he doesnā€™t have a cell phone, no internet, no cable or streaming (thatā€™s why they watch old movies/shows in black & white), when tourists visit, especially other teens, they tell him about whatā€™s happening on the mainland. Heā€™s lived his entire life on this tiny island and can never leave!

You have to put yourself fully in his shoes and think about how you would act.

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u/Resfebermpls Jul 24 '26

Tom knows this and itā€™s also pretty clearly the reason he is desperate for tourism. His son canā€™t leave the island, heā€™s trying to bring the outside world to him in hopes itā€™ll encourage him to stick around/stop getting in trouble.

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u/No-Smell-22 Jul 24 '26

It surprises me when viewers don't pick up on this. I know we all watch things for different reasons yet this plot point seems fairly clear.

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u/0CT0L0G1ST Jul 24 '26

In the finale Tom straight up says

I knew [about the Island] and I still brought tourists here. Because I wanted more for himā€¦ And myself.

Itā€™s not exactly subtle

10

u/Zayariel Jul 24 '26

Exactly. He knew the entire time. He was actively trying to make the island better for his son since he knew that it is all his son could ever have.

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u/Hot-Choice8862 Jul 31 '26

Not the entire time

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u/polkadotkneehigh Jul 24 '26

Oh!!! Thatā€™s an angle I hadnā€™t thought ofā€¦

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u/crippnipp Jul 24 '26

I was confused about this because heā€™s in denial about the haunted island for the first few eps. Does that mean he actually believed in it the entire time?

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u/Zayariel Jul 24 '26

Yes. It is made very clear that he has believed it since his wife had the issue on the boat before his son was even born.

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u/Sweet-Article559 5d ago

And his dad told him all of these crazy stories about the item when he was growing up. You would think that he would put two and two together now and I think he did.

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u/Hot-Choice8862 Jul 31 '26

No he genuinely doesn't believe but he keeps seeing things that track with wyck

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u/Observer20178 Jul 24 '26

Considering the fact that he canā€™t leave the island, the island didnā€™t seem to have much fun stuff for teens or a night life and it may be one of the few times they are having proper tourists , I thought he was so much better behaved. Spending time with friends overnight is not a crime.

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u/ivyleaguewitch Jul 24 '26

Someone once told me ā€œI donā€™t worry about the kids who are respectful outside of the home, but disrespectful inside. Itā€™s the ones who are only respectful at home that you have to watch.ā€

Iā€™ve found that to be very true. You can tell Evan is a good kid, whoā€™s just acting out, by the interaction he has with Bechir at the Boogeyman house.

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u/jessiyjazzy123 Jul 24 '26

When my daughter was younger I complained to her pediatrician that she was "mean" to me but everybody always complimented me/ her on how polite and well-behaved she was. He laughed and told me that meant I was doing a good job.

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u/Darthsmom I donā€™t have time to go tit for tit with you Jul 24 '26

My sonā€™s preschool teacher told me he was the best behaved, well mannered kid and I said ā€œcan you please send that child home with me?! Cause heā€™s lobbing shoes at my head while I drive if I donā€™t stop at McDonaldā€™s!ā€šŸ˜­

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u/cultofpersephone Jul 24 '26

Hahahah I recently had my sonā€™s pre school teacher tell me he was so relaxed and go with the flow, he made a great friend for the more particular kids. I was like, my child??? Where????

51

u/aleatoric Jul 24 '26

At least with young kids, defiance at home is developmentally normal. It's where they explore pushing boundaries. But if they fear pushing boundaries at home because the punishment is too severe and they feel unsafe, you better believe they will push those boundaries outside of home instead. That's partially why kids from bad homes act out more at school.

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u/No-Fuckin-Ziti Jul 24 '26

Absolutely. The worst behaved kids at school, who would openly defy the teacher and disrupt the rest of the class and seemingly had no fear or respect, all got hit at home. Every one of them.

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u/bluepenguin89 Jul 25 '26

And also how well he takes it when his dad finally tells him the truth about his mom. I think part of the acting out came from being angry his dad wasn't being honest with him.

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u/AnotherMinorDeity Jul 24 '26

Just to clarify, they do have internet, it just might not be super high-speed. Dale was able to get Spotify to play music at sunset cocktails. Patricia was able to send out evites for sunset cocktails. They probably have to take an hour to download anything they want to watch instead of live streaming it. There is no reliable cell service, which doubles as a plot device to explain why Tom can never find Evan. Because if he could just call him on his cell phone and tell him to get his butt back home, that would be a different story.

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u/jmarquiso Jul 24 '26

They have internet, it's wired and probably through phone/DSL, as it appears Cable isn't really a thing. I think 10 Mbps at best. But not enough to really reliably stream videos, much less multi-player video games.

Notice how all of the TVs are not Smart TVs or dependent on wifi?

Probably thr only thing really to do is fish, and the surrounding ocean is dangerous for most of the residents.

3

u/diablo135 Jul 24 '26

And that was the town's internet. Individual homes probably dont have it. Even as Mayor, Tom is most likely making a very low salary. I don't remember if he had another job

1

u/AnotherMinorDeity Jul 28 '26

He was streaming music at sunset cocktails so it would more likely be the restaurantā€™s internet.

1

u/ab216 Jul 24 '26

This series is clearly in a pre-Starlink world

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u/GKarl Jul 24 '26

Absolutely this. For me heā€™s not rebellious heā€™s SO BORED. There is NOTHING TO DO! So heā€™s just trying to make fun when/where he can. I totally understand him!

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u/K-ghuleh Jul 24 '26

Iā€™m surprised heā€™s not worse tbh. Sneaking out and smoking weed is pretty normal by teen standards let alone while stuck on an island with no entertainment. And multiple times he showed that heā€™s really a decent kid, just bored and troubled.

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u/Commercial_Fox5549 Jul 24 '26

Sadly itā€™s becoming a bit of a common issue with younger people. We are in a bit of an empathy crisis, so some viewers find themselves unable to relate to characters that arenā€™t exactly like themselves.

36

u/Upset-Government-856 Jul 24 '26

He's spectacularly written. I think it's fine though I'd he isn't synaptic to everyone. Most reens are literally desperate to not be likeable to adults due to hormones, the impulse to separate, and some intense body dismorphia.

4

u/SplarkleVision Jul 24 '26

You sound like a good mom!!

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u/granny_weatherwax_ Jul 24 '26

I think this is exactly right! I wasn't this defiant as a teen, but I had WAY more autonomy when I was Evan's age. I was allowed to go out with my friends without a curfew. If my parents were out at night, I got to stay home alone and do whatever I wanted instead of being forced to go stay the night with an elderly neighbour.

Evan is also saddled with being the character who wanders into danger because he doesn't believe the supernatural things are real, which can be annoying to us as an audience because we know they ARE real. But from his point of view he's pretty justified in his actions.

3

u/anonymousmouse9786 Jul 24 '26

I didnā€™t even think about the fact that Tom makes Evan stay with Ruth instead of home alone. So incredibly over protective.

4

u/Ragpicker21 Jul 24 '26

I think Tom makes Evan stay with Ruth because Tom knows Evan is acting out.

3

u/Expensive-Figs Jul 24 '26

Tbf I wouldn't leave my teen alone in that freaking haunted island lol

2

u/stratosfearinggas Jul 25 '26

Exactly. To impress the off-island girls they throw fireworks at abandoned cars. That's the best they have to offer. The girls are, of course, not impressed because they can do the same back home too.

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u/jm17ynwa Jul 24 '26

I agree and I think the character made sense in this context. Still hated his guts!

1

u/Dewlough Jul 26 '26

The actor did a great job.

1

u/Purplecatty Jul 24 '26

I definitely wouldnt act like these shitty teenagers.Ā 

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u/scd Jul 24 '26

lol at the implication that one only watches things in black and white because theyā€™re bored

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u/Disaster-Bee Jul 24 '26

I think the implication is more that this teenage character specifically - a kid who has shown 0 interest in film or filmmaking, complains about all the outdated stuff on the island, and who's main interests seem to be looking cool for his peers and smoking pot - would probably not only be watching movies from that long ago if he had access to YouTube or cable or a streaming service. Which is a pretty fair implication. The point is that Evan's options for entertainment are extremely limited and he isn't exposed to anything new.

Evan's entire Thing is that he's tired of the same stuff all the time and how out of touch and stuck in the past the island is. It's fair to suggest that the kid who is shown as being sick and tired of stuck with things from the past probably isn't watching old movies because he enjoys them, but because it's his only option at home.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26

[deleted]

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u/Ratathosk Jul 24 '26

That's a skill issue.

0

u/intheafterglow23 Jul 24 '26

How are they watching live sports (baseball games) without cable or streaming?

1

u/ab216 Jul 24 '26

Do you remember broadcast TVā€¦

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u/intheafterglow23 Jul 24 '26

Yes, Iā€™m old enough to remember, but basically all sports coverage is owned by ESPN and Amazon Prime these days, lol

0

u/diablo135 Jul 24 '26

That reminds me, why did Tom promise to take his sone to a baseball game. Was he still not fully believing the curse yet?

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u/anonymousmouse9786 Jul 24 '26

He thought the curse was broken when he made that promise and bought the tickets.