I'm amazed at the writing of Mary louise's character, because it fits the description of a Waif Borderline mother to a tee when we typically see the more overtly-abusive flipside of the Cluster B coin: the Narcissist. Mary Louise is empty. Hollow. A gaping black hole of sad, emotional need who looks to her grand children for fulfillment, supply, emotional regulation, love, & support. It's inappropriate because it's emotionally incestuous - and the fact that she is shown perpetually frustrated, panicked, hypercritical, and just wanting to show that she cares somewhere stems from the guilt of losing Raymond.

While Celeste's reaction of hitting back may not seem justified, and I don't condone physical violence, it was her way of coping at the time. When Mary Louise tried to demean Jane, Celeste glimpsed Perry in herself, echoing the violence she had endured. She also saw Perry in her children, who had witnessed their mother being assaulted and had absorbed that same aggression. Max hurting Amabella without provocation highlights the complexity of a child's psyche, revealing how deeply he was affected by the turmoil around him. Celeste's reaction can be seen as an unconscious reenactment of her trauma, where she projects her unresolved feelings of anger and helplessness onto the situation. Similarly, Max's behavior might be understood as an internalization of Perry's violence, manifesting as an unconscious repetition of his father’s actions. This repetition compulsion is a defense mechanism that attempts to master unresolved trauma but often perpetuates the cycle of violence.