For decades, the cinematic family was a monolithic structure. Whether it was the wholesome Cleavers of Leave It to Beaver or the chaotic, blood-bound household of The Royal Tenenbaums , the unspoken rule was clear: family meant shared biology or a long, unbroken legal history. The step-parent was a fairy-tale villain (Cinderella’s Lady Tremaine), and the step-sibling was a source of awkward, often comic, rivalry.
Chloe doesn't hate Maya; she just feels Maya is an "interloper" in the private, grieving world she shared with her father. Maya, trying to avoid the "wicked stepmother" trope, overcompensates by being too friendly, which only makes Chloe retreat further. This mirrors the realistic portrayal in mypervyfamilystepmomservicesmystuckpacka fixed