Why Christy's Exit From Mom Makes No Sense To Fans

The announcement of Anna Faris' surprising decision to exit Mom in September 2020 left the writers of the Chuck Lorre produced CBS comedy with a serious dilemma: How should the show address Christy's departure? Ultimately, it was revealed that Christy received a full ride scholarship to Georgetown University to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a lawyer, but fans are skeptical about the logic behind the character's new path.

In a thread started by Dolphoodle, Reddit users pointed out that Christy had already finished her first year of law school, and previously, she struggled to get accepted to a community college. Her sudden acceptance to a prestigious school like Georgetown left viewers confused. Redditor cassandracurse suggested that the scholarship storyline could have been improved with the addition of a few more details. "IMO the show could have come up with a smoother explanation for her departure," they wrote. "Like she did a summer internship at a law firm in DC, and one of the partners who taught at Georgetown was so impressed with her and what she has done with her life that she was recommended for a full ride at Georgetown."

Even though the Georgetown storyline doesn't entirely make sense given that Christy was already well on her way to becoming a lawyer, it does end the character's onscreen journey on a positive note. And that sense of hopefulness is something the show's writers were committed to conveying to viewers, especially those who may be in recovery from alcohol or drug dependency issues just like Christy and her mom, Bonnie.

The Georgetown storyline may require a bit of suspension of disbelief from viewers, but it was important to the writers to show just how big Christy's future has become since she became sober at the start of the series. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mom showrunner and co-creator Gemma Baker revealed that the decision to send Christy to one of the best schools in the country was all about honoring just how hard the character has worked since the show began.

"It was important to us that Christy moved on to bigger things," she said. "Quite often when people are in recovery their lives get bigger in ways they couldn't before have imagined. And so that will be the case for Christy."

Even though Georgetown wasn't on the table for Christy at the end of season 7, her acceptance into the famed law school and her move to D.C. shows just how much the character has grown since season 1. Fans are right to question the logistics of Christy's acceptance, especially since she was already in law school, but as endings go, this one is hopeful and it honors the hard work that the character has put into her recovery journey — and just as important, it leaves the door open for Faris to return before Mom ends its run, if she so chooses.