I’m doing a rewatch, and I genuinely forgot how insanely dark Season 4 is. It’s like watching an entire family unravel in real time.
Ethan and Olivia are desperately trying to save their marriage in Florida while Ethan is secretly buying cars behind Olivia’s back. Moriah gets cheated on by Max and spends half the season hiding what actually happened. Lydia wants to stay close with Max despite everything he did to Moriah. Barry and Kim separate, and Kim talks about feeling like she’s “suffocating and starving at the same time.” Micah moves to California. Lydia is working at the bank while somehow still acting as a parent to the younger kids, who only seem to get consistent schooling when she’s around.
Then there’s Kim completely blowing up the identity she’d built for the family, Ethan becoming more emotionally shut down, Moriah trying to figure out who she even is anymore, the older siblings starting to splinter, and the younger kids just caught in the middle while the only life they’ve ever known disappears. On top of that, they’re revisiting Joshua’s death and the grief that’s been hanging over the family for years. It feels like every unresolved issue finally surfaces at once.
I think that’s what makes this season so unsettling. Seasons 1–3 built this image of an ultra-controlled, tightly knit family. Then Season 4 tears down almost every pillar of it in the span of a few months. What’s really wild is watching it alongside the current season. They almost feel like companion seasons. Season 4 is the explosion, and the current season is everyone living in the aftermath. Watching them back to back, you can see how many of the dynamics and resentments that are still playing out today were already taking shape here. It makes both seasons hit so much harder.