scottcleo as pearl's parents is a recurring theme throughout the life series. the three of them have spent multiple seasons entertwined with eachother to the point of familial closeness. they acknowledge it openly in wild life—a phenomenon that precedes the grigem daughtering incident of past life, and parallels it very closely. both situations are initiated and maintained by a characterization of pearl as the rebellious, troublemaking daughter in need of parental guidance, but the former far outweighs the latter in terms of canonical basis.
the scott/cleo/pearl trio starts in last life, establishing them as a stable, mutually beneficial dynamic. throughout the season, scott takes charge and makes almost all of the decisions, with pearl rarely if ever questioning his leadership. it's all very seamless and free of conflict, including cleo's entry into the dynamic. cleo, unlike pearl (and most other people), is able to assert themself socially as scott's equal, which puts them above pearl by default in the pecking order.
when the trio officially reunites as allies in the later episodes of double life, their relationship is significantly more fraught. the power dynamic becomes more pronounced as a result. pearl has been victimized by scott and cleo all season, but she's in need of allies and a place to belong, so they get to hold it over her head. they characterize themselves as generously taking in a wild thing in need of taming. pearl offers significantly more pushback this time around, but she's limited by the implicit social dynamic at play. with no other options for alliances, pearl is dependent on scott and cleo, and they repeatedly take advantage of that fact to control her behavior.
the fallout of double life takes two seasons of estrangement before they properly reunite—in real life, first, before wild life. this is where they acknowledge their tendency to group together time and time again. (and also where cleo calls pearl mom. this isn't really relevant to this post i just had to mention it)
finally, in wild life, the dynamic is openly acknowledged. it's treated as a running joke, with a basis in reality that remains unaddressed. in lml and sl, pearl starts to emerge as a team leader in her own right, but once she's back with scott and cleo, she returns to following over leading. she leans in to the misbehaving child archetype, this time for fun and with much fear of abandonment. both of them talk down to her and treat her like an unruly child, but they also care for her in a way they certainly didn't the first time.
the wl dynamic softens that of the dl one, which is why it comes with an overt acknowledgment of the familial parallels—to describe what happened in dl as familial would also inarguably be to portray it as abusive. which is what i'm doing here, to be clear. only once it's more palatable is it recognized for what it is. but scott and cleo have occupied these roles in pearl's life for a long time, especially given their unwavering cross-season partnership that takes priority to either of their relationships with pearl (and in fact predates her presence in the series).
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