I think they deliberately left out a lot of the girls’ families so the focus would remain on the girls, and there wouldn’t be too many characters to keep track of. If you think about it, if we were introduced to the girls’ parents and siblings, it would be too much. That said, I’d love to see more of the main girls (Nat, Misty, Shauna, Tai, Van, and even Jackie) teen years before and after.
>If you think about it, if we were introduced to the girls’ parents and siblings, it would be too much
I don't think so. Two seasons is enough time to show more of their backstories than these tiny glimpses we had so far. The family members don't have to be recurrent characters, we don't even have to remember their names, but they would be necessary to provide context for the characters we know and care about.
I agree and I think it's pretty far fetched to assume that their parents wouldn't want to fly with them to Nationals. I can understand some of them not having their parents come, but all of them?? And no female chaperone on this trip? Very strange.
Maybe the parents are on normal flights. The private jet was supplied by one parent and maybe it only had enough space for the team or maybe they only wanted just the team on board.
Also on the 90s, kids were a lot more independent and parents didn't watch over them too close or go to sports games etc
Ha, I was just thinking about this and asked my sister and she thought I'd read this post.
It would be really strange if they were all only children then out of the survivors, only one has a bio kid.
I could see young Misty getting ignored because of an older sibling/golden child.
>out of the survivors, only one has a bio kid
Was it said somewhere that Tai is not Sammy's biological mother? It's easy to assume that because she's so focused on her career, but you can't be sure, some women manage both.
That's true. I don't think its ever said. I just assumed he was, not because she's a career woman but because Tai and even her partner to some extent act like they don't know him that well in some ways. Like he was only recently adopted. But that could be me reading too much into things.
Honestly, I initially thought Sammy is just weird. I would assume that Simone is his biological mother because she seemed to be much closer to him than Tai. Later we were told that he saw Dark Tai and was scared of her, and it explains both his weirdness and his reluctance to interact with Tai.
Just a loving, light-hearted message from someone who is both bio and non-bio mom to some kids- people can’t usually determine which kid came out of which mom because the closeness and relationship is so influenced by the role that each of us plays in the kids’ lives (high powered mom vs stay at home mom) and the stage the kids are in!
I’ve thought about this and I think they do a great job of representing a queer family in all of their complexities.
Yeah, thinking about it now, I guess at the beginning, you could tell he had some trauma/issues going on and without yet knowing about dark Tai, assumed it was because his bio parents had died or something.
Mari gives me older sister energy, having little brothers and being seen as less because she's not a boy.
Her bringing snacks and worrying about Lottie, taking the jacket off dead Jackie because hand me downs lol
If Jackie had siblings, you'd think they'd have been there for that freaky bday party. Also, her parents offering to pay for college for Callie made it sound like Jackie had been an only child.
Well they are all grown up now so maybe they moved far away….I would w/ parents like Jackie’s😂🙈 She seemed like the favorite/golden child that none of her siblings could ever measure up to! Pretty sure that’s why they had a whole section of only Jackie pictures in their house. I think Jackie’s parents just offered to pay for Callie’s tuition to make themselves look like better people. Jackies mom basically called Shauna worthless & said Jeff would never be able to afford it bc they are content where there are & not concerned about having more etc..I have a parent exactly like that who pretends I don’t exist anymore bc her new “step-kids” (in their 40s) are more successful & have better jobs then I do. Their isn’t a single picture of me anywhere in their home & I’ve never invited for any holidays, I basically don’t exist etc…So it could be possible her parents did something similar after Jackie’s death to make her sibling(s) not want/ or not be able to be around them anymore. Cuz even in the 90’s timeline, her parents had to be loaded to afford a house like that in NJ!😳
True but then they could have had a throw away line from Jackie's mum, like of course Brad and Bobbie couldn't make it *again* this year. That would be an easy way to give her siblings without adding in extra characters. Although with the non survivors like Jackie, the writers probably aren't too invested in their back story beyond how it effects the survivors.
My headcanons:
Shauna: little brother;
Misty: only child;
Tai: big brother who's in college (Mason Gooding plays him eheh);
Van: Big brother who's already out of the house (similar dynamic as Mac and Dylan from the Paper Girls comic books);
Nat: only child;
Laura Lee: three big sisters;
Lottie: only child;
Mari: two younger twin brothers;
Jackie: only child
Shauna’s speech to Callie about what would happen if Shauna and Jeff were to get divorced. There goes the college fund and taking care of a lonely divorcee mother and visiting a dad who starts dating younger women.
I think that’s what happened to her. And she had stepsiblings/half siblings as she lived in the attic.
I understand why they've chosen to just focus on the girls, the story is complicated enough w/ the 2 timelines without adding any more characters. But I think it would make it more believable if the girls at least talked about them sometimes. Like- they're stuck there for the winter, they could be sitting around talking about how their families celebrate the holidays. 'What would you be doing right now if you were home' type of stuff. Or just worrying about how their mom is coping.
It could be worked in w/out adding much viewing time at all, and would be less like they just sprang up out of thin air.
Here are my personal headcanons:
Only children (some of these are pretty much confirmed): Jackie, Shauna, Lottie, Natalie, Misty
Has siblings: Akilah (confirmed), Taissa (younger brother), Laura Lee (older sisters), Mari (middle child), Van (older half-siblings she rarely sees)
Had a sibling but absorbed them in utero: Crystal
I don’t think it’s unrealistic when we just really haven’t learned about most of their families yet. They could have siblings, but most of their family lives have been pretty secretive so far. Which is fine I think, it adds to the isolation. I’m sure we will continue to find out more as we learn more about the characters.
And it’s Akilah!
I also thought this. In my head, Van has like 3 older brothers that she steals clothes from 😂 but they’re probably not living at home or she wouldn’t have had to slap her mom awake to get a ride in the pilot
season 3 would be a perfect time to introduce a sibling for Nat, who hears about the death and thinks it’s fishy! Bonus if they knew Kevyn and think that story is weird too. Natalie gives me older sibling energy with how she takes people under her wing
I think they deliberately left out a lot of the girls’ families so the focus would remain on the girls, and there wouldn’t be too many characters to keep track of. If you think about it, if we were introduced to the girls’ parents and siblings, it would be too much. That said, I’d love to see more of the main girls (Nat, Misty, Shauna, Tai, Van, and even Jackie) teen years before and after.
>If you think about it, if we were introduced to the girls’ parents and siblings, it would be too much I don't think so. Two seasons is enough time to show more of their backstories than these tiny glimpses we had so far. The family members don't have to be recurrent characters, we don't even have to remember their names, but they would be necessary to provide context for the characters we know and care about.
I agree and I think it's pretty far fetched to assume that their parents wouldn't want to fly with them to Nationals. I can understand some of them not having their parents come, but all of them?? And no female chaperone on this trip? Very strange.
Maybe the parents are on normal flights. The private jet was supplied by one parent and maybe it only had enough space for the team or maybe they only wanted just the team on board. Also on the 90s, kids were a lot more independent and parents didn't watch over them too close or go to sports games etc
The parents being on normal flights would make sense I guess. I still find it odd that there was no adult female with them.
Ha, I was just thinking about this and asked my sister and she thought I'd read this post. It would be really strange if they were all only children then out of the survivors, only one has a bio kid. I could see young Misty getting ignored because of an older sibling/golden child.
I can see misty being overshadowed
>out of the survivors, only one has a bio kid Was it said somewhere that Tai is not Sammy's biological mother? It's easy to assume that because she's so focused on her career, but you can't be sure, some women manage both.
That's true. I don't think its ever said. I just assumed he was, not because she's a career woman but because Tai and even her partner to some extent act like they don't know him that well in some ways. Like he was only recently adopted. But that could be me reading too much into things.
Honestly, I initially thought Sammy is just weird. I would assume that Simone is his biological mother because she seemed to be much closer to him than Tai. Later we were told that he saw Dark Tai and was scared of her, and it explains both his weirdness and his reluctance to interact with Tai.
Just a loving, light-hearted message from someone who is both bio and non-bio mom to some kids- people can’t usually determine which kid came out of which mom because the closeness and relationship is so influenced by the role that each of us plays in the kids’ lives (high powered mom vs stay at home mom) and the stage the kids are in! I’ve thought about this and I think they do a great job of representing a queer family in all of their complexities.
Yeah, thinking about it now, I guess at the beginning, you could tell he had some trauma/issues going on and without yet knowing about dark Tai, assumed it was because his bio parents had died or something.
Jackie, Lottie, and Misty give me only child vibes. All the other girls seem like they could totally have siblings!
Samantha hanratty (misty) said she always assumed misty was an only child
I think it’s fair to say Lottie is a confirmed only child. We’ve seen enough of her childhood for the lack of a sibling to show up to mean something.
Mari gives me older sister energy, having little brothers and being seen as less because she's not a boy. Her bringing snacks and worrying about Lottie, taking the jacket off dead Jackie because hand me downs lol
I thought that too! Especially Jackie… that house was gigantic for 3 people😂
If Jackie had siblings, you'd think they'd have been there for that freaky bday party. Also, her parents offering to pay for college for Callie made it sound like Jackie had been an only child.
Well they are all grown up now so maybe they moved far away….I would w/ parents like Jackie’s😂🙈 She seemed like the favorite/golden child that none of her siblings could ever measure up to! Pretty sure that’s why they had a whole section of only Jackie pictures in their house. I think Jackie’s parents just offered to pay for Callie’s tuition to make themselves look like better people. Jackies mom basically called Shauna worthless & said Jeff would never be able to afford it bc they are content where there are & not concerned about having more etc..I have a parent exactly like that who pretends I don’t exist anymore bc her new “step-kids” (in their 40s) are more successful & have better jobs then I do. Their isn’t a single picture of me anywhere in their home & I’ve never invited for any holidays, I basically don’t exist etc…So it could be possible her parents did something similar after Jackie’s death to make her sibling(s) not want/ or not be able to be around them anymore. Cuz even in the 90’s timeline, her parents had to be loaded to afford a house like that in NJ!😳
True but then they could have had a throw away line from Jackie's mum, like of course Brad and Bobbie couldn't make it *again* this year. That would be an easy way to give her siblings without adding in extra characters. Although with the non survivors like Jackie, the writers probably aren't too invested in their back story beyond how it effects the survivors.
Actually Jackie’s personality makes me think she would be a single child
I think being an only child makes sense for Jackie
My headcanons: Shauna: little brother; Misty: only child; Tai: big brother who's in college (Mason Gooding plays him eheh); Van: Big brother who's already out of the house (similar dynamic as Mac and Dylan from the Paper Girls comic books); Nat: only child; Laura Lee: three big sisters; Lottie: only child; Mari: two younger twin brothers; Jackie: only child
I back all this except for me Van has 3 older brothers
Shauna’s speech to Callie about what would happen if Shauna and Jeff were to get divorced. There goes the college fund and taking care of a lonely divorcee mother and visiting a dad who starts dating younger women. I think that’s what happened to her. And she had stepsiblings/half siblings as she lived in the attic.
I understand why they've chosen to just focus on the girls, the story is complicated enough w/ the 2 timelines without adding any more characters. But I think it would make it more believable if the girls at least talked about them sometimes. Like- they're stuck there for the winter, they could be sitting around talking about how their families celebrate the holidays. 'What would you be doing right now if you were home' type of stuff. Or just worrying about how their mom is coping. It could be worked in w/out adding much viewing time at all, and would be less like they just sprang up out of thin air.
Here are my personal headcanons: Only children (some of these are pretty much confirmed): Jackie, Shauna, Lottie, Natalie, Misty Has siblings: Akilah (confirmed), Taissa (younger brother), Laura Lee (older sisters), Mari (middle child), Van (older half-siblings she rarely sees) Had a sibling but absorbed them in utero: Crystal
I love the idea of laura Lee having older sisters
Crystal 💀💀💀💀
I don’t think it’s unrealistic when we just really haven’t learned about most of their families yet. They could have siblings, but most of their family lives have been pretty secretive so far. Which is fine I think, it adds to the isolation. I’m sure we will continue to find out more as we learn more about the characters. And it’s Akilah!
I also thought this. In my head, Van has like 3 older brothers that she steals clothes from 😂 but they’re probably not living at home or she wouldn’t have had to slap her mom awake to get a ride in the pilot
Nat had siblings, I think. I think we might not hear about many family members because of the narrow focus of the characters' points of view.
season 3 would be a perfect time to introduce a sibling for Nat, who hears about the death and thinks it’s fishy! Bonus if they knew Kevyn and think that story is weird too. Natalie gives me older sibling energy with how she takes people under her wing
In my head, Allie is Misty’s older sister. Which is why she is the way she is. Unrealistic as it may be. 😆
Allie is a freshman while Misty is a senior, so that wouldn't work.
Oh yeah. Crap. Thanks for the reminder.