Are the kids on Better Things supposed to be monsters?

Slate

"Are Sam’s daughters to-be-tolerated pains in the ass, or are they spoiled hellspawn whose mild sociopathy is never acknowledged by their mom?" Inkoo Kang asks of Pamela Adlon's FX comedy. She adds: "The majority of the scenes with Max, Frankie, and Duke—and Sam’s willingness to silently put up with whatever bullsh*t they fling at her—makes Adlon’s fictional persona less like the everymom she’s clearly intended to be and more a victim of her own making. We’re supposed to relate to Sam’s willingness to give until she’s got nothing left, but that’s hard when all I wanna do as a viewer lately is scream at her, Grow a spine! Learn what boundaries are! It won’t traumatize your kids if you yell at them once in a while!"