To be made fun of for things out of one’s control is one of the worst kinds of torment, and it lives on in Beth’s psyche by making her more anti-social and “unlikeable,” as other characters in the show tell her. And later, after Beth has been diagnosed with Trichotillomania and has pulled out clumps of her hair, she is made fun of for wearing a wig to school, and ends up eating her lunch alone in a classroom. The boys laugh at her and call her nipples “pancakes.” The next day at school, they make fun of her again, until Liz tells them to shut up and pulls Beth away. In one instance, Beth remembers when she thought that her and a few other girls were fully flashing the boys in exchange for beer, but they didn’t lift their bras. Other flashbacks that Beth experiences, and which partially explain her socially secluded behavior as an adult, are her repeated run-ins with bullies at school. Beth’s experiences surrounding the scar, though not necessarily as emotionally important as other events, clearly stuck with her in a visceral way. Beth’s mother also blamed Leonard for the boating accident that gave Beth a gnarly scar (he was probably drunk at the time), and that almost caused her not to go on John’s boat with him and Ann. This is likely because she is worried that it’s a sign of his unreliability, as Leonard is so unreliable in that memory. After John is rudely loud at Maya’s ( Yamaneika Saunders) father’s funeral, Beth remembers the time that her father showed up at the end of one of her volleyball matches, insisting that “they don’t start these things on time anymore.” Around the time of the flashback, Beth confronts John for his behavior at the funeral, upset that he would answer his phone during the service. That isn’t to say, though, that Leonard’s absence from Beth’s life didn’t have a negative effect on her. Though Leonard repeatedly messes up, his effort and love are noticeable. Shortly after, Jane allows Leonard to tuck the girls in for bed, and he presents Beth with the dress she’d wanted at the mall. Instead, they dine on free samples from the various food court restaurants, and he makes them lemonade from sugar packets and lemon wedges. In the flashback when Leonard takes Ann and Beth shopping at the mall, Leonard makes a clear attempt to provide a good time for the girls, even though he can’t afford Beth’s dress or to buy them a real meal. But, like with Jane, Beth has many good memories that allow her to forgive her father for all the problems he caused for her, Ann, and Jane. As Beth relives formative, mostly unpleasant moments from her pre-teen years, she reconciles with the falling out between her and Liz, and the fact that her mother was a very flawed woman.īeth’s relationship with her father, Leonard ( Michael Rapaport), is also very complicated, as Jane kicked him out of the house shortly after they were evicted, and he developed a drinking and memory problem. However, a new romance with the charmingly awkward farmer, John ( Michael Cera), as well as spending time with her childhood friends, brings things into perspective. So when her mom dies in a car accident, Beth is left reeling, unaware of how to proceed with her life. Many of the flashbacks involve moments with her mother, her father, her sister, bullies at school, and her ex-best friend, Liz ( Grace Power).įrom the first episode, it’s made clear that Beth’s relationship with her mother is complicated, and that Beth has a habit of concealing her anger. As Beth forgoes her Manhattan lifestyle and spends more time in her hometown on Long Island, she is confronted by flashbacks of events from middle school that she had mostly buried. In the new Hulu TV series Life & Beth, written by and starring Amy Schumer, a 30-something woman redefines her life following the sudden loss of her mother, Jane ( Laura Benanti). Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for the Hulu series, Life & Beth.
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