During the past year, her parents separated. We know she blamed her mother for that. Then with no warning, her mother went away. For a couple of months, her mother was just--gone. Because of the prior separation, Paige thought the reason Elizabeth left was that her mother was having an affair. Thanks to the KBG's careful planning, Paige thinks her mother was in Pennsylvania with "Aunt Helen." Although, since it was just a few hours away, I can't imagine what excuse Philip came up with for not going up to visit on the weekends.
I think part of the issue with Paige is that it's not just the events that are happening... it's that her life has been so remarkably normal... almost boring, up to this point, and then suddenly she's getting hit with all of these things out of left field. It's the instability of it in combination with how unprepared she was for it. I can see the argument for drama queen too. Because really, a lot of kids have it a LOT worse. But part of the problem with Paige is the degree to which her parents have always sheltered her and she's never had reason to worry.
Her parents argued, but then some people are just loud/arguers. My grandparents were like that and were married 50 years, very happily for the most part. Paige's parents had been like that as long as she could remember, and nothing had changed in 13 years. But suddenly, they tell her over fried chicken dinner that they're separating. To viewers, it seems like the next obvious step, but to Paige who has no idea why anything is different or even THAT anything is different, this came hugely out of left field and had to turn her radar up to a state of constant alarm with "how the hell did I miss this and what else could I miss if I don't pay attention???" Them being spies and being so good at pretending to be perfectly fine over the years made it that much worse for the kids. And then suddenly Philip is moving back in, mom has disappeared without even saying goodbye or calling, and then is gone for 2 months. Even if the thing itself is not the end of the world (which it's not, really), the effect on Paige is that much sharper because she's just simply unprepared for it.
Re: Paige's "Crazy Life"
I think part of the issue with Paige is that it's not just the events that are happening... it's that her life has been so remarkably normal... almost boring, up to this point, and then suddenly she's getting hit with all of these things out of left field. It's the instability of it in combination with how unprepared she was for it. I can see the argument for drama queen too. Because really, a lot of kids have it a LOT worse. But part of the problem with Paige is the degree to which her parents have always sheltered her and she's never had reason to worry.
Her parents argued, but then some people are just loud/arguers. My grandparents were like that and were married 50 years, very happily for the most part. Paige's parents had been like that as long as she could remember, and nothing had changed in 13 years. But suddenly, they tell her over fried chicken dinner that they're separating. To viewers, it seems like the next obvious step, but to Paige who has no idea why anything is different or even THAT anything is different, this came hugely out of left field and had to turn her radar up to a state of constant alarm with "how the hell did I miss this and what else could I miss if I don't pay attention???" Them being spies and being so good at pretending to be perfectly fine over the years made it that much worse for the kids. And then suddenly Philip is moving back in, mom has disappeared without even saying goodbye or calling, and then is gone for 2 months. Even if the thing itself is not the end of the world (which it's not, really), the effect on Paige is that much sharper because she's just simply unprepared for it.