The Kelly Clarkson Show: Season 5, Episode 23 - Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Laverne Cox (2023)

Monica goes back to the Midwest after living on her own for about 20 years because her mother is in her last days and her medical condition has worsened. The discussion emphasizes that Monica is trying to see whether there is still any connection or reconciliation possible with her family, even though the return is emotionally complicated for her.

Their relationship is strained and painful from the start. Eugenia is described as being in hospice with memory loss and brain cancer, and Monica is not happy to see her there because Eugenia does not fully recognize her as the daughter who is returning to care for her.

Eugenia's memory loss and brain cancer mean that she does not remember Monica, which creates the central emotional conflict in their reunion. That lack of recognition turns their encounters into a difficult, intimate process of two women trying to find a new way to relate to each other.

The film discussion indicates that Monica had been estranged from her mother for years, and that Eugenia had previously kicked her out of the family home. That history makes the return home feel less like a simple visit and more like a confrontation with old hurt, rejection, and the possibility of forgiveness.

They describe it as a relationship shaped by family, forgiveness, love, and hope, with unconditional love becoming the key emotional question. The mother-daughter story is framed as a kind of pas de deux, or delicate emotional dance, between two people trying to come to terms with what has happened between them.