Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is quick to draw parallels to the original Russo siblings in its first two episodes of season 2, which sees Billie and Roman kick into competitive mode surrounding the Family Wizard Competition, a narrative choice that continues to set up Billie and Roman's parallels to Alex and Justin. However, if Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is not careful, it could travel down that road a little too closely, as in character parallels, it appears as if Milo is being set up to be the equivalent of Max.
Granted, these traits in the characters were completely visible before Roman and Milo got wizard powers, but, by amplifying the competitive nature between Roman and Billie while showing Milo being goofy on the sideline, it sets up this show to follow down the exact same road as Alex, Justin, and Max, which could be repeating some of the most emotionally damaging parts of the Russo family.
Following wizard lessons, Justin is quick to see himself in Roman, a young academic coming into his wizard powers and finding himself to be a natural at learning spells. Meanwhile, Billie is the clear main competitor, having spent her life experiencing and growing up with magic, as well as sharing a mischievous streak with Alex. Yet, as Justin tells Giada all about his wizard lessons with Roman and Billie, he is leaving out one key person: Milo. This is made abundantly worse when Giada has to remind Justin multiple times that Milo is involved in wizard training as well. However, from the way Justin spends the entire time discussing Milo's wizard training, it appears that Milo has already been written off and disregarded as the one who will definitely become mortal by the conclusion of the Family Wizard Competition. This formula is extremely familiar, as it is exactly how Wizards of Waverly Place treated Max.
Spending most of the show's run being ignored or disregarded, Max was never considered to be a serious competitor for the Family Wizard Competition. The only time the show did take him seriously was when Professor Crumbs knocked Alex and Justin down a few levels, leaving Max in the lead, a set of details from the original series that appeared to be written in specifically for stakes, as it had never been mentioned previously.
Justin's behavior and statements about Milo revive this mindset. Justin is quick to write off Milo's magical capability and already makes references to how, if Milo loses, Justin does not have a sandwich shop to give Milo in the event that he returns to being a mortal. After Justin directly tells Milo to be more like Roman, it is once again Giada who has to highlight to Justin why that was wrong. Yet, witnessing these events through the eyes of being an adult and parent, and seeing his kids prepare for the competition, does create the opportunity for a new emotional arc for Justin that could allow him to see his own competitive spirit between his siblings in a new light, especially how Max was viewed.
Allowing Justin to view similar behavior as the parent could give him the chance to see things differently in terms of if Roman and Billie begin disregarding Milo. It could definitely add another layer to Justin's character, as Wizards Beyond Waverly Place's season 2 reference to Max also somewhat contradicts what the series has already established. In season 1, Max is described as having turned the Waverly Sub Station into a billion-dollar franchise and lives on a yacht. However, in season 2, Giada refers to Max as having "been stuck with" the sandwich shop, as if even here, as adults, Max's accomplishments are being written off as not being given any weight by a character that audiences have never seen Max interact with.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place needs to see Justin, as an adult, break the cycle of comparing the kids to each other, as well as see the value in Milo that he struggled to find in Max. Max's more serious moments had a way of being ignored, and if Justin is not careful, Milo could be going down the same path. This time, Milo has to be more involved to be looked at as a real competitor to win the Family Wizard Competition. Otherwise, it is basically rehashing the exact same story again, even if the circumstances and stakes surrounding the prophecy aim to distinguish Wizards Beyond Waverly Place from its predecessor.
Milo should be more involved in wizard training, developing as a young wizard, and being shown as having the opportunity to be on equal footing with Billie and Roman. In a competition like this, it is not necessarily fun to see one person so far behind, especially seeing as Roman and Milo started learning magic at the same time. Allowing Justin to participate in being at the helm of viewing the Family Wizard Competition in a new light could allow Justin more growth as an adult and see different dynamics emerge from Roman, Billie, and Milo.