The Brady Bunch: 10 Things That Never Made Sense About Carol

For five seasons, The Brady Bunch brought entertaining family stories to primetime, and it has lived on through cable reruns and streaming. Not all of the humor has aged well, but the show is still a favorite vintage program for many. Carol Brady is the “lovely lady” with “three very lovely girls.” As the story goes, Carol and Mike fell in love and brought their families together in the late 1960s.

The late Florence Henderson played the golden-haired mother, giving Carol a gentle touch and a kind heart. As much as viewers love the sitcom mom, there are still some confusing things about Mrs. Brady.

10 Who She Hangs Out With

Carol Brady loves to spend time with her family and her husband, but viewers never hear much about her friends. She runs errands here and there and mentions people on occasion, but the mother doesn’t make many lunch dates with acquaintances.

She must need some time to herself, so fans have never understood how the mother manages to relax with so little social interaction outside of the family.

9 What She Does During The Day

Yes, obviously Carol is the mother of six children. She is sometimes seen parenting them, but they are often outside playing together or indoors talking (with Carol out of sight).

Carol doesn’t do much housework or cooking, either. Alice does all of that. Fans just wonder what all Carol is doing when she is at home.

8 How She Fell In Love With Mike

The Brady Bunch opens with Carol and Mike getting married and starting their new life with their combined six children. There isn’t one definitive origin story for how they met and fell in love.

In some ways, it is nice that the series skips right to the bunch’s family life. But other times, it would be really helpful to see Mike and Carol getting to know one another, kind of like Frank and Helen Beardsley when they are still dating in Yours, Mine, and Ours.

7 Why Alice Has To Do Everything

Maybe it’s a good idea to have a little help when going from three kids to six kids, but why does Mrs. Brady need Alice to do everything? In addition to keeping the house spic and span, Alice does the majority of the cooking.

Carol seems to cook only when she is in the mood.  She does help Alice with cleaning projects once in awhile, but it would be considerate of Carol to pitch in a little more often. And while she’s at it, the mother should do away with Alice’s uniform. If Alice is going to have to clean up after all those kids, the least the Brady parents can do is let the housekeeper wear whatever she wants.

6 Where Carol’s Women’s Liberation Goes

“The Liberation of Marcia Brady” is a later episode of the show’s second season. Marcia is all about Women’s Lib, and Carol gets in on the action, too.

Carol is basically supportive of Marcia’s endeavors within the context of this specific story. Gender roles don’t come up in a serious way all the time; The Partridge Family handled discussions on feminist issues much more often.

5 What She Thinks Of All Those Kids

Mrs. Brady confides in Mr. Brady about her worries, but she isn’t too in-depth with her thoughts on the children’s activities. Those Brady kids go through a lot of identity crises, often revolving around their hair.

Carol shows concern and tries to help Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy, but she is pretty private when it comes to the deeper psychological developments of the children. Mike usually handles the one-on-one disciplining, and he zeroes in on underlying issues pretty well. It would be nice to know more of what Carol’s thinking in all those episodes, though.

4 Her Hair Transformation

Speaking of hair, Carol Brady has some beautiful locks. She gets her hair restyled as the fashions change throughout the show, which is understandable.

The poofy bob of the early days gradually turns into the signature shag of the 70s. Meanwhile, Mr. Brady lets his hair morph into a curly ‘do. The confusing thing is that the other kids usually garner attention if they alter their hair significantly, but no one says much about it to Mrs. Brady.

3 Her Relationship With Mike

Carol and Mike Brady are a nice couple, but they don’t have many deep conversations. They talk about their kids or their house or Mike’s job. Carol doesn’t completely lack autonomy, but Mike calls most of the shots around there.

Carol is a smart lady who sometimes speaks her mind, so one would think she could be even more assertive as she walks the halls in her bold fashions.

2 Her Past

Carol doesn’t get much of a backstory once she becomes Mrs. Brady in the first episode. Fans get a very limited window into relationships with extended family members, like Aunt Jenny.

There also are not too many stories regaling the parents’ youth or childhood years. It is clear that the show’s focus is on the blended family at hand, but further background information would really fill out Mrs. Brady’s characterization.

1 Her Spin-offs

The Brady Bunch ended in 1974 and the kids grew up, but alas, Carol just couldn’t stay away. The television mother returned for additional movies and dramas, like The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, The Bradys, A Very Brady Christmas, and more.

After living through half of the 1970s on screen, the character must have been tired. But Mrs. Brady forged ahead with her singing and dancing, even taking on the task of becoming fit for an hour-long drama. She must have missed the more innocent Brady Bunch days, but fans appreciate her dedication.

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