When Jackie’s mom came back what conversation do you think Jackie had with her? Or do you think Pam kinda pretended nothing ever happened? Do you think Jackie ever vented to Hyde about it or kept it to her self? I mean that’s gotta be pretty hard your mom disappearing then never even acknowledge she left. Plus everyone around Jackie kinda acting like nothing happened and Pam was just on a long trip was weird.
Pam's return wasn't handled very well in my opinion. The fact that the main focus was on how her presence basically drove every male character to act like a horny idiot for laughs, instead of her relationship with Jackie made the whole thing seem very shallow in terms of writing.
When Pam shows up in episode 6x15, she claims she came back to Point Place because she "missed" Jackie. She spends the entire scene nonchalantly dismissing Jackie's completely valid anger, preening over the attention she's getting, and making jokes about her "vacation" in Mexico.
When Jackie storms off, Pam makes no effort to follow her, and has a very "oh she'll get over it" sort of vibe. The show demonstrates the two of them trying to talk several times, but Pam's attitude comes across multiple times as "well, you have to forgive me, because I'm your mother and I love you". So I don't think it's necessarily her pretending nothing happened, but more so her just expecting Jackie to get over it.
Pam is likely a narcissist, and while this doesn't necessarily prevent her from loving her daughter (in her own self-absorbed way), she only seems to care about her own feelings in terms of their relationship. I don't remember if, in any of their scenes, Pam actually asked Jackie about what she went through or how she feels about having been abandoned. To do that would be to admit wrongdoing, take accountability, and show remorse. Pam is incapable of doing any of those things in my opinion.
I don't think whatever conversation(s) happened off-screen between them were much different from what we got on screen. I think Pam deflected a lot of the blame (likely towards Jack, since he's not around to defend himself and is the perfect scapegoat), and continued to insist that Jackie owes her forgiveness for the simple fact that Pam is her mother.
When Jackie runs off in 6x15, Hyde follows her and remarks about how he'll "see [his friends] tomorrow". I'm not a big fan of his tone and how the line is delivered since it can be interpreted in different ways. It could be that he's frustrated that his girlfriend is upset, but it also leaves an impression that going to comfort her is a chore he has to do. I don't think the latter sentiment is IC, just like I don't think Hyde joining the pack of idiots drooling over Pam is IC (side note: also ooc for Red).
That said, an IC Hyde would absolutely want to be supportive and comfort Jackie about her mom. I can see Jackie venting her anger to both Hyde and Donna, though I think she'd reserve her more vulnerable feelings for Hyde. So no, I don't think she'd keep it to herself. I think she confided quite a bit in Hyde, who she trusts and can understand her situation more than most people.
She acts tough and angry about it in public, but completely losing any semblance of stability at Jackie's age (and frankly inexperience with the world considering how sheltered she was) can be devastating. It's not an understatement to say that if she didn't have Hyde and Donna in her corner to bolster the support from the adults, Jackie's life could've taken a very bad turn after her father was arrested and her mother left.
I don't necessarily think everyone else was trying to act like nothing happened. It's important to remember that this particular plot arc is set decades and decades ago in the '70s. Certain family drama was often considered "impolite" to draw attention to, and people avoiding stating "Pam abandoned her daughter" outright is to be expected. It's also not dissimilar to how the Formans' sometimes verbally tiptoed around Edna abandoning Hyde, and I'm sure was more so done out of a desire to protect Jackie's feelings.
Nowadays, we would probably just call it like it is and state that Pam was a narcissistic mother living with a substance use disorder, that neglected and abandoned her child.
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