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wherevenusholdssomeofficespace · 2 months

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How Murphy's Handle the Law

At the core of MML is how differently people handle Murphy's Law, both those who have and do not have it.

Martin - Martin I think is more sensitive about Murphy's Law than Milo. (Apologizing for his presence sobbing). He also seems more prone to exasperation with his condition than both his son and brother (as evidenced when he was left with the ponies on his roof). Martin I think is more aware of when it might be for the best for him to leave. He has his moments, but has avoided areas where Milo is to avoid doubling up on Murphy's Law. He owns Murphy's law by working in an industry perfectly suited for it, where his presence makes it easier to find safety hazards, his familiarity with dealing with problems makes his skills appreciated, and generally in an industry where people area already prone to trying to be safe, so he's not so out of place, and there's already safety precautions in place for things going wrong. To a certain extent I think he plays it safer than everyone else in their family. That isn't to say he lives in fear of his condition, he still goes on road trips, roller skates as a hobby, and played sports. But he tends to live a little more in the lines of his condition.

Milo - A lot of how Milo deals with Murphy's law goes without saying, as he is the titular character, but it's still distinct from everyone else's handling of it. I think Milo is one of the more proactive people when it comes to EHML. His backpack allows him to prepare and react to it. He doesn't seek out danger, per se, though isn't afraid of taking risks. He understands people's fear of him, and sometimes feels the need to apologize, or act in ways to minimize the effects he has on other people. But he takes nearly every chance to be present or to try something new, often having to be asked to take a step back for everyone else's sake. He grew up in a family not easily phased by Murphy's law. His mother a bit of a daredevil (not that she advertised it), who had a go with the flow attitude about life. His dad was calmer about Murphy's law, and as a safety inspector actively sought out ways of minimizing its effects. Obviously he admires his dad and models how he handles EHML in part after him, knowing the value of safety precautions, what is and isn't worth working with Murphy's law, and it's his dad who taught him its okay to be afraid but you have to keep going, which is probably the most important key in handling Murphy's law. But Milo does have his own way of doing things too. His mom's patience and endless support I think also contribute to Milo's optimistic attitude. But I think one of the biggest contributors to how Milo handle's EHML is his expansive support network beyond his parents. He started with a sister to act as a built in friend and non-EHML support aside from his mother which provided a baseline I think for how he interacted with non-EHML peers. Unconditionally loved, worth taking risks, but sometimes please give space. He had Veronica, who is just freakishly resourceful, as a babysitter to prove to him that Murphy's Law can be managed and isn't worth being afraid of, which I think gave him the confidence boost that he has over Nate and Martin. And last but not least, he had Melissa, who was someone he could count on in school, who was certainly not there out of obligation. Melissa was able to look out for Milo, we see her defend him against substitutes, but he was able to look out for her against Murphy's law. While we don't really get the social lives of any other Murphy's, judging how Milo had one real friend, who he's had since 1st grade, probably isn't a good sign for other Murphy's. He also, of course, has Diogee, who shows up to bail him out of some of his problems, and the value of a loyal, huggable friend cannot be understated.

Joey - We don't see much of Joey, but from what we do see he's hard to rattle and is a glass half-full kind of person, seemingly with almost the opposite attitude as Martin. While we don't really know about the exact situation of their childhoods, they were probably quite similar, so its notable how different their attitudes ended up being. He was just surrounded by a lot of Murphy's law. Between his brother and father, who he certainly spent a lot of time with, Murphy's law solo probably seemed much more manageable. Laura - We don't see much of Laura either, but she's clearly just as chill about the whole situation. Not very easily phased, which makes her a good fit for Joey. They can just deal with the problem, and move on. It is what it is.

Nate - I think Nate's Murphy's Law denial is an extension of just how unflappable his parents are about Murphy's law. Crazy things happen to him, and he just. Denies. I think he genuinely has a skewed sense of normal. XYZ happens, no big deal. (Definitely not Murphy's law) totally normal. Now this is more extrapolation, but I do think he's genuinely going through a bit of a phase, trying to sort out his own feelings about his family curse, which I think he may have struggled to do in a household of "this terrible thing isn't bad actually". So he wants to be able to be frustrated with stuff, but he feels he has to be okay with the bad things. And he's figuring out who he is outside of Murphy's law (and the Murphy family). We don't know much about his branch of the family, but it may be fair to say there was a bit less attempt to control Murphy's law, than on Milo's side, (based on what little we know about his parents) so Nate probably never felt particularly in control of his life in the way Milo has learned to gain some form of control. (It's also likely he didn't have the same level of outside support as Milo). Not to say Joey and Laura are necessarily bad parents, it can be exhausting trying to fight to control something uncontrollable, so just minimizing energy spent resisting is a valuable strategy. It just maybe didn't work out for Nate specifically.

Grandpa - It's kind of hard to gauge him due to his limited screentime and always talking over grandma. But he's proud of Murphy's law, and seems to think about it in an old fashioned sort of way. It's the basis of their family, the foundation of their identity and their traditions. He's who raised Martin and Joey. He has the unfazedness that seems to come from being a Murphy, the pride in their identity, and an appreciation of family that all Murphy's seem to have.

Grandma - Even harder to gauge than grandpa. But she raised 2 sons with Murphy's law, and has proven herself to be a tough old woman who doesn't take nonsense. I get the impression she's the kind who deals with Murphy's Law via brute force. So she's about as much of an expert on EHML as one can be without actually having EHML. She loves her family dearly, but still appreciates time without Murphy's law, which I guarantee she had very little of back in the day. I think it's worth noting that her hairstyle is reminecent of Sara's. Dare I say, she and Sara are the two woman in the family most accustomed to Murphy's Law but from opposite ends, where Grandma's is an acquired familiarity after decades building a family in its reach, Sara doesn't know any different than a life with Murphy's law.

Sheriff - Honestly, doesn't even seem to notice Murphy's Law, his outlook isn't unlike Joey or Nate's in that regard. (You think he married a time-traveler?)

Brigette - Brigette marrying Martin and her handling of Murphy's law makes sense with what little we know about her person outside her family. She's a daredevil, and she isn't a particularly decisive person (having changed careers several times). She's flexible and loves the thrill. So marrying a walking hazard zone makes sense. Obviously she gets frustrated with it sometimes, everyone does, but she never really seems to hold it against her husband or son, and tries to work with them to succeed.

Sara - She may not be born with EHML but she's lived with its effects her whole life. She's learned to prepare, what to prepare for, and lives her life around its ebb and flowing presence in her life (not unlike her mother), taking advantage of when her dad and brother are out or sick to work on more delicate work. She probably learned to dial 911 before she even knew how to write her own name. She's not unfazable in the same way Milo or Joey, or even Melissa often is. But she's not bothered by life threatening things. However she's bothered by things that are important to her (ie Dr. Zone and Neal from the Comic Shop) being damaged or ruined, but she doesn't blame her father or brother, and would rather they be there. With the Dr. Zone movie, she went to extremes to keep Milo from messing them up, but genuinely wanted Milo there more than anything (she wanted things to go well for him too), and with Neal, things worked out even with Milo showing up (she didn't want to scare Neal away from her and her absurd family). I think the biggest way Murphy's Law has effected Sara is that she is very independent. On some level its typical for a girl of her age, but to a certain extent its atypical of the very close knit bond the Murphy family has (probably due to being each others main form of emotional support in a world that isn't always the most welcoming). For instance during christmas she was watching Dr. Zone while her family ate, and got invested in Dr. Zone fandom shenanigans while her parents went shopping and her brother and his friends when horseback riding. And then her parents forgot about her. Part of this is just her being very absorbed in her own specific interest. (Dr. Zone). But it makes sense that growing up in a household with a brother (and to a lesser extent father), who needed a bit of extra support, Sara got relatively less attention, and figured out how to look out for (and entertain) herself. (NOT blaming the Murphy parents. It's just one of those things that happens). Milo is pretty independent too (not being able to count on anyone else to look out for Murphy's Law). I think both Murphy kids grew up needing to figure out how to fend against dangers. But for Milo the dangers were a more ever present problem, one that the Murphy family was built around, and for Sara she had to figure out her own identity outside of Murphy's law and the family (Though notably, it was her father who introduced her to Dr. Zone, and Milo himself is a Dr. Zone fan, even if he, isn't as huge a superfan of Dr. Zone. Their family is also a Dr. Zone family. That's just dwarfed by the Murphy's Law thing. And for Sara, having grown up in a family where basic things can be a battle, and a positive hardworking attitude is the only way to survive, Sara, without Murphy's Law, probably has a lot of energy, and no constant outlet the way Milo does. Neal says he admires how she has strong feelings about things. All the Murphy's have strong feelings about things, (the ocean, Murphy's Law, concrete), but Sara's strong feelings are just a bit more laser focused on Dr. Zone.

Notably, while Brigette and Sara don't have EHML, that doesn't mean they only suffer its effects when Milo and Martin are around. Several incidents have involved Murphy's Law basically finding them, when they were nowhere near them. Cast Party shows this is true for… multiple people, but Brigette's archetectial work and Sara's date were still ruined by Murphy's Law, even though they started far apart in Toboggan of Love. (And its still Danville, Murphy's Law isn't the only weird stuff going on in town).

Diogee - Has no idea what Murphy's Law is probably. Just knows that if he helps Milo when he's in trouble he'll get praised! And maybe treats! (And told to go home).

Non-Murphys Melissa - Melissa may not be a Murphy, but as the one non-Murphy ever invited to Murphy events (pre-Zack), she might as well be. In many way's she'd kind of the anti-Sara. Unlike Sara who was born into a cyclone of calamity that orbited her loved ones, Melissa saw it, and decided she wanted on the ride. And unlike Sara who lives with Milo, but has her own separate day to day, Melissa lives apart, but spends most of her day to day with him, due to being classmates. And it's probably fair to say that Melissa spends more time with Milo now that their both older (as opposed to Sara who probably spends less time with Milo). Sara and Melissa I think fit complementary niche's in Milo's support system. Melissa has been exposed to Milo's EHML since she was very young. Melissa's a naturally fearless person, but I think being exposed to EHML at age 6 before she fully developed risk assessment probably helped. So while she probably fears death a bit more than Sara "called an ambulance multiple times by age 4" Murphy she's been along for so many of Milo's adventure's that she doesn't start to panic easily. Despite being with Milo all this time, she still doesn't get everything he does, as helping him finish a race is still an accomplishment. Melissa is also a nerd. A huge nerd. Just a nerd. And her main area of curiosity is Murphy's law. She wasn't born into Murphy's law, so it wasn't something she intuitively understood like Milo and Sara. But she's passionate, and curious, and so when she saw Murphy's law, she was driven by curiosity to figure it out. This intellectual approach to Murphy's Law has lead her to being the most able to predict the otherwise unpredicable condition, and the most able to figure out how to weaponize it.

Amanda - Amanda has an amazing arc where she starts out fearing how Murphy's Law interferes with her schedule, to respecting how Milo can get things on track when the set up breaks, to turning into someone who has back up plans on back up plans. So turning from micromanaging in the sense of knowing what every moment is, to micromanaging in the sense that she always has a backup plan. It's like a challenge to her. Which if you think about it is not unlike Milo's backpack, as a preventative measure against Murphy's Law consequences. I can definitely see her fitting right in with the Murphy's as the one who plans gets togethers and keeps everything running smoothly despite the chaos.

Zack - I'd almost call Zack the Candace of MML. He's not the real main character, but I think he demonstrates some of the most growth in the show. Milo's grown up with EHML, he's experienced with it and has accepted it and knows how to manage it. And Melissa's grown up with him. This is all new to Zack so he's an audience surrogate, and gives an opportunity to show someone learning to accept EHML. He's an ordinary kid, whose putting in the effort to befriend the near unbefriendable, whose learning how to do the unusual. To brave through the scary parts of life. To learn how to deal with Milo's life re-contextualizes Zack's life. It goes both ways of course, Zack brings more normalcy to Milo's life: Football games, birthday parties, and a band. But to Zack, Murphy's Law is a new way of experiencing life and a lifestyle that requires him to better himself.

Milo's other schoolmates - Most of Milo's classmates have grown p with him. They may not understand Murphy's law. But they know if you sit too close to him your asking for a broken bone. Some complain about it, most are friendly but will sit far away from him. And probably bring some PPE with them. All of them have a bit more familiarity with it than the average person, and therefore are more capapable of dealing with the unexpected than the average person, even if it's nowhere near Milo's level.

Veronica - It's her skill with dealing with Murphy's Law: Preparedness, calmness in the face of danger, and being clever enough to use what she has on hand that made Milo who he is. She's just a babysitter absurdly competent enough to deal with it, but it sure shaped Milo.

#mml #milo murphy's law #literally every character in this show I swear #well not really #none of the Time-Travel alien characters subplot #I could add how people deal with Orguluth's law but this is already too long #whatever

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