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When people think of overbearing mothers or an intrusive mother-in-law, they probably imagine Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond. She’s hard to please and she’s very opinionated. She clearly loves her family, but she’s sometimes hard to live with.
Brilliantly portrayed by Doris Roberts, Marie does everything for her family. Throughout the show’s nine seasons, viewers learn to have a love-hate relationship with her. But some of her storylines haven’t aged well since the show went off the air in 2005. There are qualities about Marie that wouldn’t be acceptable today. Take a look at 10 things about Marie that would be questionable in 2020.
Making A Big Deal About Thank You Notes
In the season eight episode “Thank You Notes,” Robert (Brad Garrett) and Amy (Monica Horan) recently returned home from their honeymoon following their wedding. They’re behaving like normal newlyweds—completely enamored with each other. They’re still in wedded bliss, but Marie is quick to remind them that they haven’t sent out thank you notes to everyone who gave them wedding gifts.
While it’s still proper to send thank you notes in 2020, it doesn’t have to happen as soon as the newlyweds return from their honeymoon. Today’s viewers would quickly acknowledge this and tell Marie to calm down.
Favoring Amy Over Debra
As soon as Amy starts dating Robert during the show’s first season, it’s obvious Marie favors her over her daughter-in-law, Debra (Patricia Heaton). This favoritism is the main storyline in the season two episode “Good Girls.” Ray (Ray Romano) finds out that Marie favors Amy simply because she’s a “good girl,” meaning she’s saving her virginity for the right person. Marie knows Debra wasn’t a “good girl” before she got married, which hurts Debra’s feelings.
Eventually, Frank (Peter Boyle) reveals that Marie wasn’t exactly a “good girl” before they got married either. In fact, Robert was conceived illegitimately, shocking the entire family.
When Debra Calls Her ‘Mom’
Debra and Marie have a complicated relationship. They’re not always loving towards each other, and viewers often feel bad for Debra. In the season six episode “Call Me Mom,” Debra tells Ray that he can start calling her mother “Mom.” Marie doesn’t like the sound of this because she’s Ray’s mother.
Ray wants Debra to return the favor and start calling Marie “Mom.” When Debra works up the nerve to finally say it, Marie surprises her by saying she doesn’t have to call her “Mom.” This episode leads to a long, cold feud between Debra and Marie.
Her Feud With Debra
Debra and Marie don’t always see eye-to-eye, and this is heightened in their dramatic feud that lasts several episodes during the show’s sixth and seventh seasons. They’re no longer speaking to each other, which causes more complications in the Barone family.
In the season six finale “The First Time,” a flashback scene shows viewers what happened the first time Ray and Debra had sex while they were dating. Frank, Robert, Marie, and even Father Hubley interrupted the date and Debra promised Marie that she wouldn’t have sex that night, but she didn’t keep the promise. Fifteen years later, Marie finds out that Debra lied to her, and the feud continues.
Constantly Insulting Debra
It’s difficult to please Marie, especially if Debra is trying to impress her mother-in-law. Marie constantly insults Debra. She loves to criticize her cooking, cleaning, and even the way she raises her children. According to Marie, she knows what’s best for the family, which is incredibly frustrating for Debra.
While there are perhaps plenty of mothers-in-law who share these same traits, today’s viewers would probably raise an eyebrow at Marie’s belittling behavior towards Debra.
The Vacuum Cleaner
In the season five episode “Humm Vac,” Ray purchases a new vacuum cleaner from a door-to-door saleswoman. Debra is enamored with it, so she can’t wait to show it off to Marie. When she finds out Marie sent the saleswoman to Debra because she needs help cleaning her house, Debra is insulted.
Marie always thinks her house is perfectly clean. Debra is determined to prove that she can use the new vacuum cleaner to find dirt—even a speck of dirt—in Marie’s home. The results aren’t what Debra had hoped.
Sabotaging The Meatballs
In the season two episode “Marie’s Meatballs,” Marie is more troublesome than ever before. Debra thinks Marie suddenly has a change of heart when she agrees to teach Debra how to cook her famous meatballs. Debra knows she isn’t a talented cook, so she hopes the lesson can be a bonding experience between the two.
Everything seems fine until Ray says the meatballs have a weird taste. Debra discovers that Marie disguised a bottle of tarragon as a bottle of basil. Marie didn’t want to take any risks that Ray would like Debra’s meatballs more than her own.
Making People Feel Guilty
Marie always knows just what to say to her family members, especially her sons, to make them feel guilty. Occasionally, she pretends she has a limp and can’t walk so someone can complete a house project for her. While it’s humorous, she shouldn’t make people feel guilty.
The Baron family puts up with Marie’s behavior throughout the show’s nine seasons. The behavior would still be acceptable for today’s television, but viewers would probably criticize Marie for her actions.
Interrupting Robert’s Wedding
Everyone couldn’t wait for Robert and Amy to finally get married in the season seven finale. They had an on-again, off-again relationship throughout the entire show, but now their wedding was destined to be a success. Well, that is until Marie decided to interrupt the ceremony when the minister asked for any objections.
Marie encouraged Robert and Amy’s relationship from the very beginning. However, she tells Robert that he doesn’t have to marry Amy if he doesn’t want to make that commitment. While her heart was in the right place, she humiliates everyone.
Constantly Favoring Ray
It’s obvious Marie favored Ray over Robert. On numerous occasions, Marie defends Ray and pampers him. Whenever he needs something (because let’s face it, Ray can be quite lazy), she gives him whatever he needs. She takes care of him, even though he is a grown adult.
Robert constantly feels left out in his family. In the season seven episode “Counseling,” Robert overhears that Ray told Debra that he wishes she was more like his mother. So, Robert brings Ray a giant cardboard cutout of Marie in a wedding dress, so Ray can feel like he’s married to his mother. This is an episode that today’s viewers would raise eyebrows at both Marie and Ray.
