This is the first panel I’ve seen where Mrs. DeLuca is shown as just having acted in Leo’s best interests: 1. it worked, and 2. Alex is not being facetious when whe says “Good Call” - she’s smiling. As for where she may have learned about synapses, she HAS been at her son’s side, and talking with his doctors, since he was in the hospital in very serious condition. She also knew, from all these months of experience, that he WAS seriously over-tired and that a good 10 or 12 hours sleep was exactly what he needed. The proof - again, it worked.
Having said all that, yeah, she definitely has issues - she’s afraid to cut the cord, which will put Leo in the middle, ultimately. It’ll be interesting to see where Gary takes this.
PBS “News Hour”, anyone? Trust me - you’ll never go back