some thoughts on Thanksgiving Break
The Thanksgiving episode of AMOTI was one of my favorites for many reasons, and a large part of it was that I related a lot to Julie and her feelings towards her mother.
I think ultimately, the reconciliation worked because Julie DID miss her mother. That was why she was paying her to be a source, to keep Vanessa in her life in some way (at least that's how I interpret it). But had Julie not wanted that relationship then she had every right to keep her distance from Vanessa and maintain those boundaries.
That's also why Emily's talk with her frustrated me. It's perfectly valid for Emily to miss her mother, because they had a good relationship, a normal mother-daughter relationship. Julie's situation is not that. Vanessa ruined her childhood in many ways she cannot get back, and DNA, "you have only one mom" does not mean that no matter what your mother does you must forgive.
Julie had every right to have certain boundaries with her mother, and Emily's own relationship with her mother whom she misses very much is not justification to try and convince Julie to reconcile with her mother. DNA and "love" are not the end all be all of a relationship (just look at Charles, who I think we all see as a bit of a father figure for Julie. He's not at all biologically related to her, but care and affection is care and affection, biological or not).
Do I think Julie shouldn't have reconciled with Vanessa? Not necessarily. I think Julie ultimately DID want that positive relationship with her mother, and did miss having a mother. She had good memories of her childhood before the arrest, and eventually decided to move forward and work on her relationship with Vanessa. I just think that if she had decided reconciliation was not possible, or had decided to still maintain certain boundaries, it would be equally valid.
I would love to see a storyline in Season Three where Julie's sister actually has not reconciled with Vanessa, and does not plan to, and that being accepted. (well I would take ANY mentions of Julie's sister in Season 3, as I NEED more info, but this is a take on it I'd love to see.)