Mel and Becca King are so important to me
As someone who has a sibling with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Mel and Becca’s plotline is a piece of representation that feels so huge to me. Growing up, representation of the family I have is few and far between. When it does appear, it’s often inaccurate and belittling to the family member with disabilities.
I personally have more support in my life than Mel does but having talked with a lot of other care giver siblings, the nuance with which her character is written — someone who sees intellectually disabled people and listens to them, yet still struggles to apply the same principles in her own life — is so real. The way in which the sense of routine with your sibling may seem special or unique to you only to feel betrayed when your disabled sibling decides to share that routine with someone else (watching Elf with Adam in this case) is so deeply painful at times. In my personal experience, it can be difficult to introduce my sibling to new things, so bonding together/routine change usually happens on her terms, not mine. I wouldn’t change her for anything, but I do have to admit that it can be difficult sometimes and it’s nice to see that represented outside of my own experience.
In season 2 I love that they chose to make Becca’s relationship with Adam highlight how Mel has lost her sense of self outside of the caregiver role instead of making it a tragic story of Becca being taken advantage of. On the flip side, it shows that Becca has an independent sense of self that is not often represented in intellectually disabled characters, as their stories often heavily rely on their perceived deficits.
I can’t wait to see how the story continues in season 3!