Dana's presence shows signs that the Freelings weren't always the stable family unit that they currently seem: she's noticeably older than the two other kids, and fairly old even in comparison to her mom Diane (if Diane is 35 and Dana is 16, that means she had her when she was 19 at the latest). Dana also looks a little different from the rest of the family and could possibly be a stepdaughter.
Throughout we're shown signs that Diane harbors regrets about her family life. She openly misses the days when she and Steve were carefree pot-smoking hippies, to the point where she isn't alarmed at discovering bizarre supernatural activity in her house but rather excited, and instead of getting out (even temporarily) they stick around and end up getting their youngest daughter kidnapped.
The moral of the story is to not let regrets about your past take away what you have in the present. It's important to the story that Diane be the one to go in and rescue Carol Anne, showing she's let go of her lost youth and fighting for the family she loves.
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Clapstick (137)
a year ago
Pretty solid response. To add on, Steven was reading the book about Reagan, insinuating they were trying to adapt to the new more conservative 80’s.
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