This episode was fascinating for me. It felt like a breath of fresh air as others have said. If Kyle were to let herself get close to Sutton and Garcelle, they would nurture her and care for her in a way she probably hasn't gotten in her life. But I don't know if Kyle will let herself have that level of emotional intimacy.
I feel like, just from the distance of viewing, Sutton's mom has no capacity for love in her. She is sadistic in the games she plays with Sutton; acting one way with her brother and another way with Sutton. I feel just from a casual distance that it's innate and not trauma-related, but I realize we're getting a sanitized snapshot of a whole person and I don't wanna or need to diagnose anybody. But it makes for interesting conversation. Would love to know your thoughts
@Mr.Arroz
I mean, like you said, we're only privy to so much based on how the distance that's part of this viewing experience - but for me, my paternal grandmother was from Mississippi, born in 1939, so not too far off from Reba. Though I'm sure race colors much of the difference in experiences between them, my grandmother still exhibited the same "toughness" and cool, cutting sarcasm/humor that Reba has. She is right in that that era of development for girls, especially as they matured into mothers, wives, and beyond, didn't really necessarily allow them to nurture their emotional capacity for themselves or others. Love wasn't necessarily shown to others in the ways that we may receive now. So on that front, I can understand her framing. Especially saying "only Northerners do that" or something to that extent to Kyle re: the sugar in grits. She had a model that was placed before her and she stuck to it because it was tried, true, and inherited from those that made her. People are often predictable in that sense.
However, her saying that she was her father's favorite child and it made her tough/determined/etc., I wonder how that factored into the relationship that she fashioned with Sutton because it was alluded to that Sutton had that same bonding with her father. So much of Southern familial structure can often stress the reverence of the male figure in the household, so it calls into question how much Reba's connection to her dad shaped her understanding and expectations of men, and how she might have interpreted the connection Sutton had to her father, who was also her husband. I see a woman so steadfast in what she chose to believe, accept, and follow, that turning from that model is unknown and likely uncomfortable. Her "toughness" is that idea of love given (in her eyes) simply because it is present even though mostly unspoken. It may be fair of Sutton to reflect on how not having that relationship with Sutton may have impacted Reba, too.
I don't know, just kinda thinking aloud. I see a lot of stuff at play but I just think she
is a product of the cultural norms that shaped her, as well as the navigation of dynamics that she maybe wasn't always a deciding factor in. I will say though that she had me cackling much like my nana would with how blunt and to-the-point she was. Their relationship is rather fascinating to see - they carry so much of each other within one another.
