: Complex dramas resist easy heroes or villains, instead presenting flawed individuals who often believe they are the hero of their own story.
Most sophisticated family dramas are built upon an "Original Sin"—a past trauma, secret, or betrayal committed by a patriarch or matriarch that ripples through subsequent generations. This is the essence of generational trauma
One of the most realistic tropes in family drama is the "hierarchy of suffering." This is the unspoken rule that the family member with the most visible pain gets the resources, while the "strong" one suffers in silence.