something I haven’t seen discussed in RNM, specifically for the Manes brothers, is how child abuse victims usually don’t have a frame of reference for healthy or “normal” development or parent/child dynamics, and that Alex possibly skidded by the as the most likely to work through shit sooner because he had such a close relationship with both Mimi and Jim, because he could see how adults should have taken care of him vs like Flint and Greg having no frame of reference (and they definitely were victims of emotional and verbal abuse as well as corporeal punishment), and just how that played into their relationships with each other, with Flint as a full grown man still trying to prove to his father that he was good enough- that he wasn’t like Alex, because his developing mind was built around the idea that Alex deserved what happened- which obviously isn’t true, but with how fucked up that idea being instilled into him at a young age even knowing that he’s gonna have to fight that trauma wiring for a really long time (if not forever), cause the brothers not subjected to being the scapegoat still were victims of abuse just like Alex said “what he did to you was abuse too” and just- the way it’s handled, with Greg citrin himself off from the whole family to do self introspection, Flint trying to earn love and Alex’s battle with self acceptance is very well handled, because the younger ones have more of a struggle with self and the older ones have more of a struggle with acceptance and that’s kinda how it works- because of child developmental stuff
anyways, fuck Jesse Manes or whatever and someone get my boy Flint into therapy or a loving relationship that forces him to crack himself open and really sit with himself
