A line of dialogue can change everything

*SPOILER ALERT*- (Except for the fact that probably no one watches this show because it's been off the air for fifteen years and was never very popular but still... spoiler alert.)

Sometimes, just one line of dialogue can change everything, whether it's your perspective on a character, on the show itself, etc.

In My So-Called life, a television show aired in 1994, Angela Chase, a fifteen year old, is beginning to have trouble with her mother. "Sometimes, I think that if my mother wasn't so good at pretending to be happy, she would be," Angela contemplates, watching her mother greet party guests for her grandparents anniversary party.

Patty Chase, (Angela's mother) drives me crazy sometimes, but the show shapes her as a real person, instead of the average one dimensional parent on television. I know that all she's trying to do is make a good life for her husband and two daughters, although some of her choices may make her seem uptight.

Angela's two new friends, Rayanne and Ricky, have made a couple of impressions on her mother. Patty never seemed to like Rayanne, who is a 'wild child', a compulsive liar, and, although Patty doesn't know it quite yet- a drinker. Ricky makes Patty uncomfortable because of his style of clothes and the fact that he wears eyeliner.

Angela goes to Rayanne's house, meeting her girlish mother Amber, who does tarot cards and treats Rayanne's friends like her own. Angela feels more at home in Amber's positive energy, making Patty a tad jealous and insecure.

Meanwhile, Patty's is trying to plan a 45th anniversary party for her parents, much to her annoyance, so she is already stressed enough. Rayanne decides to throw a party on her own, inviting practically everyone in the school. Both parties are on the same night, and during Angela's grandparents party, Angela tries to convince her mother to let her go to Rayanne's.

Patty: Rayanne is not your best friend.

Angela: Mom, she is so my best friend, I'm sorry you hate her.

Patty: Well I'm just sorry that our house cannot measure up to the joy of being at Rayanne's, where your friend Ricky can guzzle beer and that Amber woman can read your tea leaves.

Angela: Stop being so hypocritical, you hated her on sight, just admit it!

Patty: Alright I admit it. I don't like her. I don't think she's the right friend for you!

We watch Rayanne's party take place, which includes her guests making out, dancing promiscuously, and drinking... a lot. Rayanne is doing so herself. We follow her into the bathroom, where she takes two hits of ecstasy. Ricky walks in, shocked. "What? It's a PARTY," laughs Rayanne, before stumbling out.

As the party goes on, Rayanne becomes more and more out of it, the drugs really beginning to take effect. "I've never seen her like this," Ricky says to Angela. And then, Rayanne's mother came home.

"Alright, party's over!" Rayanne's mother screamed, pushing everyone out. She storms into the room finding Rayanne making out with some random guy. "Get the hell off of my daughter! You said you're going to have a few friends over? Look at this place, it's a pig sty! You look like an old drunk." She doesn't even notice that Rayanne has fallen off the bed and is about to barf, or cry, or pass out, or possibly all three. "You pull yourself together Rayanne Marie," she says, storming out. After that, Rayanne looks up, "It's so cold," she moans, trying to breathe. "Why is it so cold?" Ricky hugs her and begins rocking her back and forth, and Angela calls the one person she knows will help- her mother.

Patty comes immediatly after Angela calls. She proceeds to call an ambulance, slap Rayanne and splashes water on her face, ask Ricky what she was taking and other important questions, without even a flinch or a hesitation. Rayanne is rushed to the hospital, and Patty drives Ricky and Angela to their house. She tells Ricky to go on inside and get something to eat, leaving her and her daughter alone in the car.

Angela: So how did you know all that stuff, like what to do?

Patty: I had this room mate in college... who was actually a lot like Rayanne, now that I'm remembering.

Angela: You're kidding. So did you like her?

Patty: A lot.

Angela: Well, what happened?

Patty: Well, pretty much what happened tonight. Except she died.

As you may have guessed, this is the line that changed everything. I realized here that Patty was not only trying to prevent her daughter from becoming Rayanne. It was mostly preventing Angela from having to endure what she did- having to constantly worry about what your friend was getting into, worrying if they were okay, and if worst comes to worst, losing them. I think part of how Patty acts as a mother is about preventing her daughter from going through what she went through in her life.
I really do think Patty is a good mother. Amber didn't even check to see if Rayanne was alright during their brief encounter before leaving the house again, but Patty didn't even hesitate to help Angela and her two friends as soon as she called.
Some lines of dialogue, thought, or exchanges are just so natural, but can still reveal so much.