For me, Max's character arc was that he went from being a completely self-absorbed, immature kid who thought his mother existed solely to comfort and protect and feed him, to finally recognizing her as a fellow human being who was also struggling and worrying and doing her best. It is the ultimate in character development - from being fixated on oneself to being concerned about another. In the beginning, like any kid, all Max cares about is himself - wanting his sister to pay attention to him (and not to her friends), to have his mother all to himself (with no boyfriend), to be fed exactly