And unlike "Married with Children," which presented family life as a zero sum game, it is not cynical. The characters get their little victories, even if the lesson is just one of acceptance, of other people, of one's own circumstances and nature. The Hecks are forever coming to understand, and admit, what they mean to one another. As episodic television, there is a big reset button at the beginning of nearly every episode, where the old emotional order is reasserted. But it also seems that this is how the world really works — we are continually forgetting and remembering to pay attention, to care.

Source: Los Angeles Times May 22, 2018 10:52 UTC