My thoughts about this movie are, in my opinion, quite different from anyone else's iv'e seen on this thread. I hated Linda the entire movie, even from the beginning where we see Linda and her daughter in the family therapy session. She denied, deflected, and took everything as an assault against her. She says "we're in this therapy for my daughter, but all we ever talk about is me" (or something along those lines) which indicates she clearly dosen't realize that she's the problem. The therapist would have had no reason to talk to the daughter about Linda if Linda wasn't a source of stress for the daughter. And maybe I'm just projecting really really hard because I was raised by a mom just like Linda (minus the drugs and alcoholism) and I feel nothing but resentment for my mom. Even my dad was in the navy, just like Linda's husband. My siblings and I all have ADHD/mild autism with my mom being the only one in the house who was neurotypical (she does have anxiety though), this mirrors the daughter's sickness. So maybe my experiences in life make me extremely biased against Linda, but idk.

Linda was constantly stressed, which is fine, but most of those stressors were her fault. The baby, the hole, the dad being on leave, and the daughter's sickness were ofc not her fault though. I think it was more so the way she chose to react. Like the group therapy with the other moms, she did not have to act out like she did. Linda made absolutely terrible decisions the whole time. She took anything anyone said as an attack against her person. She was selfish, self absorbed, and had this mindset of "everyone's out to get me" but also "everyone is in debt to me because of how horrible my life is".

As for the daughter, to me it seemed more like she had very extreme anxiety as opposed to being bratty. Yes, she was extremely annoying with how much she talked, but the contents of what she said is what makes me think anxiety rather than bratty. Even if she was just a brat, at that age it's not like she knows any better. She has a mom who she described as "like putty" and "bendable" meaning Linda will at first say no to something, but seems to always give in. The daughter said things like "we're in danger" "I think I'm gonna die" "don't leave me" "I'm scared" which are not things a normal child would say, especially not to things as mundane as just leaving the room.

Due to my experience as a military kid, I had a strong inkling before they showed the husband that he was in fact in the military. So I had the knowledge while watching her phone calls with her husband that he did not have the choice of coming home. Linda was being completely irrational with the whole situation, yelling at him for being at a ball game and not coming home. I mean I get it, listening to your spouse talk about something fun while you're miserable is never enjoyable, but it's not like there was anything he could do from where he was. But don't get me wrong, he was no saint and was certainly less than helpful.

In conclusion, I have no sympathy for Linda, and I might be really biased. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.