Rewatching her scenes and… somehow Grace Zabriskie gives Sarah Palmer such intense “wish I had a son” resentful daughter mom vibes. Like Sarah’s jealous of Laura. And she’s afraid for her. And she’s uneasy. She blames Laura for what Sarah subconsciously (or consciously?) knows of Leland’s sexual abuse of Laura because to blame Laura moves the blame further away from Sarah (who chose to marry, have a kid with, and stay with Leland). She is already mourning Laura. How she boils that down is she wishes she had a son. She never says it but you can see it. Her distance from Laura. Her tense little spats with her over smoking or trivialities are the most they interact. It’s a studied distance. Sarah is always tense around her eyes and even moreso when she’s anywhere near Laura, who in turn has written off her mother as something like Leland’s talking furniture.
"I figured one day I'd just wake up and and find out what the hell yesterday was all about. I'm not too keen on thinkin' about tommorow. And today's slipping by."