Lillian is a recurring character in the third season of the Netflix comedy drama series Atypical. She’s the mother of Elsa Gardner, the mother-in-law of Doug Gardner and the maternal grandmother of Casey Gardner and Sam Gardner. Lillian is portrayed by actress Jenny O'Hara.
Biography[]
In the third Season, Lillian runs into her daughter, Elsa, in town, acting friendly to her. However, Elsa displays her hatred towards her own mother, since Lillian resents her son-in-law, Doug (a working class or a middle class EMT paramedic), for not being rich as another man, who she thinks that her daughter should’ve marry instead for an easier and a happier life. Elsa doesn't care about that and she prefers a husband who cares about her very much, other than caring about only wealth and status. Lillian witnesses her daughter leaving the conversation to avoid her.
Later on, Lillian continues to harass Doug constantly, but her daughter stands up for him and she removes Lillian from the Gardner family's life. Although, Lillian states that she is trying to redeem herself by apologizing to them, and that she is a changed woman now, not convincing her daughter to give her another chance. Lillian is avoided by her daughter for the rest of this season until the fourth and final Season.
In the final Season, Lillian is visited by her daughter once again, mostly for her daughter to face and overcome her fears. On the contrary, on one meeting where they have tea together, things end weirdly when Lillian tells Elsa to greet her parents. It is likely that Lillian suffers from dementia, which is about her having trouble remembering familiar things in her old age. Despite that, she doesn't seem to show enough signs of dementia until Doug is on EMT duty in the last episodes of the show.
On the streets at night, Doug's ambulance gets a call about an old woman roaming the town, and he finds Lillian in her nightgown by a bus stop, being bare-footed without her shoes on. He calls his wife and she rushes home to find Lillian and Doug eating ice cream and laughing together. It appears as if Lillian can't remember her daughter's difficult past with her. As they put Lillian to bed, Lillian admits it's nice to have them back in her life. Regardless of her mother's positive attitude due to dementia, a major part of Elsa is hurting, since she finds out that Lillian remembers only good times of her. Sadly, Lillian's good memories may fade as well, converting her into a vegetable state.
Elsa is comforted by Doug after they rescued her mother from the streets. Doug then says he doesn't care about what happened in the past between his wife and his mother-in-law. Doug also says that his kids are happy as well, the Gardners are finally being able to care about each other again, and he believes that Lillian makes them more whole. Lillian is eventually been placed in a nursing home by her daughter and her granddaughter to live her final years there in peace. It becomes a great closure for Elsa to repair her damaged identity as part of the Gardner family, dating back to the time when she cheated on her family for Nick to feel accepted, since she was abandoned by her husband for 8 months, ignored by her son to become independent and her daughter picking on her.
Trivia[]
- Lillian is most likely the oldest character in the show.
- She doesn't seem to like her daughter's husband, Doug, very much.
- She’s the only character to suffer from dementia.
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