The Becca Issue - Examining Californication's Most Hated Character - Character Analysis
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- This week we discuss if Becca Moody is just over hated or misunderstood and what writers could've done to fix her character arc in later seasons.
linktr.ee/lcth...
There was some issues with very low audio from my previous recording of the series. Apologies and it'll be corrected forward.
her voice is terrible. and i have no idea if she is a bad actor, or thats how the producers wanted her to act - lack of emotion, robotic etc etc
it makes her character 100% awkward.
Nail it !!! a pain in as* character amd terrible artist ... happy not seeing her in any other movie or show ....
I liked Becca for the first couple of seasons, because of the whole father-daughter dynamic. There was enough of those heartfelt moments with Hank that I could even tolerate her singing. But their relationship changed in season four as Becca became more of an annoyance than a source of solace.
Your analysis was spot on when you said that Becca is a “living embodiment of all Hank’s and Karen’s failures and triumphs.” Perhaps that accounts for the vitriol that spewed from her mouth every time she spoke to Hank in season five. Or maybe Hank’s three-year hiatus between seasons four and five had something to do with it.
I also agree that Becca should have had a more central role in the last couple of seasons, or at the very least, a few more of those genuine moments with Hank. The final episode of season seven should have been Becca’s wedding.
It's her voice. It's really high-pitched like a baby crying so many people instinctively want her to stop talking. Not everyone knows they have this genetic bias so they can only say "she's annoying/whiney" and those that not predisposed against high-pitched voices don't understand why other people don't like her. Maybe the writers realized why, since they choose to give her less opportunity's to speak instead of writing her differently.
Absolutely
Honestly, I hated her, too, without even knowing she is so hated. 😂 Finally, I feel understood!
what?? i had no idea people didn't like her, she's fantastic
No.
I think the reason a lot of fans react negatively to Becca is because she is a realistic character with subtle depth and a character arc of her own. When she shows up it shifts the spotlight off of Hank. That can be annoying if you are watching solely for the vicarious thrills. Most of the women in Californication (including Karen) exist primarily as a foil to Hank or Charlie, but Becca has her own thing going on. When she shows up acting and sounding like a real teenage daughter who has been off doing real teenage daughter stuff it shades the fantasy. Hank has to stop what he is doing and deal with her. As his daughter, she is immune to his bullshit. He looks clumsy when he tries to charm her. As Hank stans we don't like to see that, but Becca's arc and Hank's reaction to it gives the show a critical dimension of depth. At the end of the day, it's all about her. It's always been about her.
Excellent assessment! I'm glad to see someone else has the same outlook on her character as I do. She had alot of potential but it was never fully realized in later seasons.
2:34 If I'm not wrong then in similar scene Hank said to Becca 'Anybody can be cynical, dare to be an optimist' don't know why I like that statement
Good take on the character, aways good to find a new channel about cinema here on youtube, looking foward for more videos.
Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to check out the project!
My best friend through primary and high school was pretty much like becca. He was really nerdy, constantly read books and was really smart and always had a similar attitude. Compared to kid me who wasn't overly smart, and hated reading. We were the ying and yang. Yet we were thick as thieves and caused so much trouble 🤣
Her baby voice makes my blood curl
Her singing makes my ears bleed
AND ANOTHER THING... brilliant essay. Thank you!
Thanks for checking out the project!
Hank should have pulled out.
Tru dat
Why can't I find Becca's essay about her parents? I think it was the best "letter" of this amazing series.
I like Becca and what the dynamic between her and Hank brought to the show. As you said, it pretty much acts as the guiding star of the series. My problem with her and moreover most of the women in the show is that they don't actually speak the way women do in real life. The lines the female characters (especially Becca and Mia) have in the show are just so evidently the workings of a male writer who had to time to concoct clever dialogue rather than anything that would be said in a natural, impromptu conversation. I get that it's fiction, and there has to be some level creative liberty, but when teenage girls and the many random skanks that Hank encounters throughout the show all have an excessive degree of acerbic wit to their diction, it very much hinders their believability and thus likeability. Becca is a teenage girl. She should speak with the voice of a teenage girl, not the voice of a 30 something year old writer desperately trying to win an Emmy. I feel like TV writers always make the mistake of thinking that characters have to sound intelligent (especially female characters given the current social climate) in order to be good, well received characters.
Are you a wannabe writer yourself? English is not my first language I don't know the meaning of a bunch of words you threw in there, but in any language from my experience when you see someone dressing up their speech/comments with a bunch of unnecessarily complicated/unusual terms most of the times they re trying to sound smart while saying something really stupid. Apart from this I don't know why you associated the problem of the way dialogue is written with female characters or the writer(s) being male, the dialogue not sounding natural is not exclusive to Becca or to women in the show, I don't know if in your day to day you hear anyone talking like Hank or Charlie or Lew Ashby or any character in the show, I certainly don't, which is not necessarily an issue, there's still a lot of "real" dialogue and "real" moments throughout the show despite all the over the top stylized tone that most of the show has.
@@quase3 Hank's an intelligent writer. He's well read, witty, and worldly. These are the qualities that make him stand out, and it's completely believable that he talks the way he does. When the writers try and force these qualities on characters they don't mesh well with, it comes off as forced and ultimately detracts from Hank's uniqueness. I agree that there are many real, grounded moments in the show, but claiming that genuine writing oversights are part of the show's style is such a ridiculous cop-out. Even if I humor you and buy into this nonsense, it wouldn't even matter. It's cringe, unnecessary, and makes the quality of show suffer regardless (even if only mildly).
You make a good point
Up until season 4 I think her character is brilliant. Yes, she may be annoying but not more than the average teenager. I think she's a perfect recollection of everything Hank and Karen are (specially Hank's failures). Some of my favourite moments from the show surround her (when Hank's dreaming he's at the pool and he sees all the women in her life and Becca starts singing, the letter Hank wrote to her and everyone thought was a suicide letter, the article he wrote for Hel-LA magazine).
I did not like what they did with her character in the later seasons, but there are a lot things I don't like from the later seasons. Becca was not the worse thing there, that's for sure.
And, how can you say Becca is annoying when Levon is right there?
I love her, she is adorable
I liked Becca. Mainly because I saw alot of myself in her. From alt ascetic to her general demeanor. The one thing I didnt like or would have liked to turn out different. Was ironically writing Becca with the ambition of being a writer. I personally felt like she should have gone a different direction. Like maybe trying to be a writer and realizing it isnt for her or something. I dunno just wasnt feeling it.
Loved your take on the character. I always liked Becca and I could never understand the hate her character got. Yes, her character was overdramatic at times, but that's teenagers. I liked the notion of Becca becoming a writer. It reminded me of Jan Kerouac following in her father's footsteps, especially with her going on a road trip, which felt like a subtle nod to Jan's first novel, Baby Driver.
I actually found Karen to be the annoying, poorly written character with little growth or development.
Karen is the worst
Karen super annoying
She's the most destructive person snd fucked up shit from her more than anyone else
totally agree. So one-dimensional.
I didn’t miss her when she missed a season.
In an alt-universe where Jenna Ortega doesn't exist, this girl... well, woman now, but still, the way she started out in the show, would be a damn near perfect Wednesday.
I didn't like her but if my parents would act like that I would probably end up like her.
Lou Ashby " in the end, it's always about her"... ( Hank who) ... You know who. (Lou)... .
Always loved Becca. For her emotional maturity and her voice (Fionna from Adventure Time lol)
She's also JoJo's Circus as JoJo.
I think I've read somewhere that the reason Becca was sidelined in later seasons wasn't that the writers didn't know what to do with her, but that the actress herself, Madeline Martin, wanted to do other projects (possibly non-acting stuff)
That makes a lot of sense because it is clear in the earlier seasons, she was more of a plot device to make not be so much of a hedonist. Then when she got older, the storyljines for her are just awful.
Whatever she did, nobody heard about it.
If a character like Becca was never on Californication and the same actress played her on her own show that was similar but driven by her thoughts and unique adult outlook, then people would champion her. Almost like a live action Daria. The issue is they tried to match her quirk to Hanks, which is understandable because she is playing his daughter but at times, it came off more eye rolling than identifiable.
Great vid. The first thing to remember, besides the fact that it's FICTION, is that Becca has always been her father's daughter. She's a mirror. But she's also a CHILD, and she's written as such, even with the sometimes too wise for her age insights. Just a reminder of style vs. naturalism w/re to dialogue. As far as season 6... it was pretty solid. But not because of less Becca. I actually wished there was more Bates in that one. Particularly in terms of Becca. The season 7 thing with Levon was probably my least favorite aspect.
LOVED THAT GOTH GIRL...you have it exactly right her being like a miniature Hank, with the beauty of her mom, and the fact they wrote her as an aspiring writer as well, would have made for a humorous
"EASTER EGG", A "lYDIA DEETZ", sarcastic suicide note writing moment some where in there, it would have made her character more spot on, and the fact that she embodied the true nature of the environment she is growing up in there are kids who act exactly like that in the REAL, and most kids do turn out that way, as an attention getter, or just to rebel. i hated that i got to see less and less of her later on, but they probably did not know what more to do with her as they might have planned. it still all worked out i guess.
I, like you, actually really liked Becca and was shocked that she was basically cut from the last two seasons.
the fruit does not fall far from the tree. I remember watching an episode when she blamed Hank not being a 'normal' dad who came from work at 6pm, kisses his wife and kids and sat in the couch watching TV, like every dad in the world.
She could have been written off the show and nobody would have noticed.
I personally love Becca. I was too young to watch the show when it first aired, so I watched it later. I related to her so much as a emo kid from LA with messed up parents lol.
She was beyond fantastic, she was 14 yrs old and could act that well. She acted just like many teenage girls do. I loved her!
Thank you i would love a series retrospect
Beka just cramping Hanks style
I didn’t ever have a problem with Becca she wasn’t my favorite character by far but also nothing to complain about l, sure she went downhill at season 3 but in reality the entire show did as well, sure it was more with familiar characters but the show was over when Karen found out about Mia, so I don’t even really count it.
My theory is a very hankcentric one in the fact that all the characters are just the projections or rather incarnations of Hank. Becca is Hanks Conscience. Hence the precocious and wise beyond her years insight. All of these other central characters only exist to Hank.
It's not really the character, it's rather the actress
If Hank was not balanced out by the Becca, and the few other voices of reason in his life on one side. And the crazy over the top shenanigans of many of the other character that hank shared his wisdom with, Hank would just come across as a jerk end of story. It's all those characters on both sides that made the show work, that made the character of Hank work.
I don't know, she seemed more grown-up than her parents in quite a few episodes. Karen really acted like a Karen in many episodes too.
I think Becca could have been less annoying and actually great if they had casted someone else because this girl cannot act. But she’s good at whining, even when she’s not trying to. I understand she’s suppose to be this bitter goth teenager but her character never develops over the 7 or 8 seasons. If anything, she gets more annoying towards the end of the show. I still hate how it ended with hank never working things out with karen and Becca randomly getting married to another boring character. If I remember correctly, they were all on a plane and then the show just ended.
Good analysis and well presented. Keep it up.
crazy how you write hated and I see only love when I look at the martin you know like a robin...
What's your take on Levon bro?
Its a total miscast. Even written badly. She should be a written in a way more sarcastic role. And the voice is so high pitched, it damages my ear. The actress though is very pretty and talented
Hank and Karen had their problems for sure but Becca was definitely unappreciative like most of the time.
I love becca. One of the best characters. The actress deserves an oscar for her role.
You are fucking with me, right ?
After watching her interviews… yeah she wasn’t acting. she’s just like that and her character is horrible. I use to love this show. but I can’t bring myself to rewatch it, it makes me cry so much. too relatable. that’s all. Bye
Becca was great in the first few seasons. It grounded the show and i would genuinely argue Becca (not the character but her existing in the first place) is why the show had real depth and is as great as it is. I doubt Hank would be as likeable, or likeable at all, if the audience was given no reason, other than him trying to get back with Karen, for Hank to try to be better. But after S3 the character was just ruined. I kind of liked the Guitar Arc in s4 but Becca should at least have been cut from the show after the timeskip between s4 and s5. have her go to college and do her own thing.
I loved her character early on, shes the cynical goth girl who grew up too fast. The common delivery ive seen amongst them is either exactly, like that. Or, innocent as fuck sounding. 🤷♂️i loved that show
Another great video! Becca was the best character imo. Maybe its because I relate to her so hard, but seriously the way she still always shows how much she loved Hank, regardless of what he did. Even when she was angry at him about the Mia case, she still went out of her way to make sure no one else said anything bad about him. I especially love the way she fought Chelsea for making her father out as a homewrecker. I also wish that they gave her more screentime, and had her fix her relationship with Hank. It's certainly a bit of a pipe dream to want the show to end with the Moody's all together again. All this to say, I absolutely cannot fathom anyone hating Becca the most when Levon is right there.
To me Becca perfectly embodies the child of divorce who so desperately just wants to see her family made whole again. The season 1 finale scene is my absolute favorite. She has so much realistic depth that you don't see on tv very often and definitely keeps Californication from feeling too far fetched, as it does at times. She also probably makes any fucked up dads who can relate to good ol Hank very, very uncomfortable. Anyone who knows a Hank also knows a Becca, but most people who can relate to Hank /hate/ that they have a Becca in their lives and don't wanna see that when theyr're trying to watch a tv show they can enjoy. Which I get , but its not a real reason to dislike a character if it just makes you uncomfortable to be reminded youre in the wrong. Becca could (Usually) not be more polite and on his side when it comes to the ways she criticizes him. She even says that this is intentional on her part! IN season 3 she tells him that she is "always on his side, even when she shouldnt be." and thats what I love about her and can absolutely relate to!
Becca isn't whiny or annoying. She's just a teenager. Part of the thing that bothers me about Mia is that she's never showed to act like a teenager. Becca is intellectually mature, and is mature outside of her family, but she really is just searching for that validation and comfort from her family. I don't think calling her whiny, or her actress ugly, is fair and frankly it's kind of mean, and I definitely see that a lot. I was kinda scared when I clicked this video because she is my favorite character and I really wish that more people appreciated her. On top of that, Duchovny only wanted the show to continue with the express purpose of building and expanding on Hank&Beccas dynamic. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise that she's anything BUT the heart of the show.
Thank you for this video and thank you for taking the time to read my comment if you do!
In the early seasons, she talked like a robot. Very annoying.
Great vid need more californication content
I always thought that Becca was a phony attempt at making the show seem grounded.
She comes across to me as a character who both joins the fantasy world and pretends it's bad at the same time.
Also, whenever a character becomes a test case example of societies "views" on a specific set of actions (hank's carousing), it seems disengenous.
Ex: She did drugs just in time for Hand to be not held to account for his drug use.
Ex: She ran away long after it made sense for her character to be trying that sort of thing and with zero buildup.
She's just the automatic attempt at "pulling the wild back" right when the audience is starting to care less for realism.
Essentially, the director never made a firm choice: Stark Realism vs LA Droggies (if you follow the droggie reference from clockwork). 😊
The character becca was strung up on a cross she built herself that no one asked for, even Becca.
She was a good plot vehicle in S1, but after that, the plot vehicle never evolved into a real human.
I think Hollywood uses the expression: "Test Audience Mannequin"
The character is just fine and she's a talented actress, but her whiny monotone voice is so bad that every time I rewatch the series I have to skip parts that she's in. It's that bad that I can't even fight through it. Still, I feel bad that she most likely knows about this criticism and is probably self conscious about it. Still not as bad as a smoke alarm with a low battery though.
for me most hated is KAREN
I happen to like Becca. Why do people hate Becca?
I like Becca; she's very overdramatic in a lot of her scenes but I like that she brings Hank down to Earth and calls out his faults.
She is great for the role however the writers made her too scripted. Think of that shitpile show Gilmore girls. Every line is spoken as if it’s speed reading time from a horrible script. I don’t care how smart and advanced she is for her age, no 12 year old is going to speak the way Becca spoke. Way too scripted, methodical, and robotic. She did a great job with the characters, it’s the writers that ruined her character.
Sincerly disliked this character
Beccas situation I think was better for her in the end. She was wise beyond her years and was heavy early on and brutally honest. She's the best and worse of both Hank and Karen but she learned how to be better then them and she turned out extremely well adjusted considering her life spiraled out if control time and time again
How is she hated more than Heather Graham's character that got shoehorned in the final season? As far as child actors go, I was impressed with Becca. She is the kind of daughter any father should want to have. She is smart, independent, and talented. People seem to complain most about her voice, as if her voice is more annoying than Heather Graham's or Rob Lowe's Eddie Nero, who started off fine and then became an annoying over the top comic relief celebrity guest presence. Neither his character or Heather Graham's had any depth whatsoever. Please reevaluate.
The fact that some people hated Becca blows my mind !
I always thought that she was one of the fan favourites (Not for me precisly, I neither liked her nor hated her). She did a pretty great job at being a supporting actor and I respect the actress's acting in such a non-child TV Show.
Also, her relationship between her and her father was so realistic that at some point I've seen myself there...
I mean... What would you expect her personality to be?
An Unwanted Child that has a Sexeholic and messy father and a Karen Like Mother ( The fact that her name is Karen always makes me laugh)
I am glad that she is like that and not worse!
She was interesting in the first three seasons. Then she became a whining station and little more.
Yep absolutely hated her. This has to be a Nepo Baby right? Absolutely terrible, terrible actress. Zero talent at all, the voice, and the fact that they. tried to make her lead singer in a band? I mean it just didn't fly.
Wait, what? Why Incels? She was really good.
She s UzBeccastan!!!!!)))
I thought she was pretty cool
Eh, I feel like good actors can take a mediocre role and make it great, but his actress took a great role and made it annoying.
I'm pretty sure she is the character that the whole story is about
I wish I had a daughter like her
i liked her, but there was plwnty of times she was annoying as hell.
W VID
I don’t agree
She is just a bad actor. That's it