In the Likely Event

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses domestic abuse and mental health conditions, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which feature in the source text.

In the first scene in which Izzy’s parents are introduced, they choose to remain on a cruise vacation rather than returning home after learning that Izzy has survived a plane crash. Izzy’s reaction to this decision shows that this sort of indifference on her parents’ part is something that she and her sister Serena have come to expect. This behavior continues when Izzy’s parents fail to visit her on her birthday in 2014 despite promising to do so. Yet even as Izzy’s parents neglect her life, they also expect her to conform to their selfish wishes. This pattern becomes evident when they make it clear how disappointed they would be if she were to marry a mere soldier. This behavior has caused Izzy a great deal of disappointment throughout her life and has caused her to develop abandonment issues. Faced with repeated disappointments from her parents, Izzy struggles with the conviction that people will always choose to abandon her for their own convenience, and this fear leaves her with an inability to trust others. The one exception to this, however, is Nate.