Oh I see what you're saying and I loved that confidence in her daughter, no doubt. And thematically it fits I was speaking from my experience watching it for the first time last year, when I wasn't really away of the thematic resonances; as a divorced daughter I could relate to their dynamic and I wanted more Joyce in the story. Perhaps even more so now that I'm a *gulp* mature woman; there were plenty of father figures on the show, but precious few mature women, and I know that women the most important people in my life growing up.

So it was a "this is what I wanted to see" thing, as opposed to "this is what it is" which is how I try to view the show now.