Christmas is Coming and April’s Getting Fat
Please put a penny in the old Foob’s hat. Having gotten that Thérèse trouble-making out of the way, it’s time for Lynn Johnston to officially and completely establish the “circle of life” which has caused Deanna and Mike to move into the old house. Deanna is now the hostess. By listing the number of people attending as 14, I feel pretty certain we will get to see the Sobinskis again, who attended Christmases in Milborough from 2003 – 2006 and Grandpa Jim and Iris will reappear, after having been left out last year. Also appearing will be Anthony Caine and Frànçoise, with a very real possibility we will have a big, public, proposal to Elizabeth. Those are my predictions. Of course at the summer picnic, the Sobinskis were not there and the Mayes’ were; but if that were the case, then the total number would be 16 and not 14. Therefore, I pick Sobinskis.
Ever since Deanna and Mike moved to Milborough, and thus thwarting Mira Sobinski’s long time desire for them to live close to her, I have been curious what Mira’s opinion on the move would be. She may also have an opinion on Mike quitting his Portrait Magazine job, which would allow Mike to throw a sales statistic of Stone Season at her. However, the Sobinskis have traditionally been very well-behaved in Milborough. After that last week with Thérèse’s reappearance, I expect nothing less with the Sobinskis but the same quality of writing from Lynn Johnston. In other words, Mira and Elly are sit down to finally have it out and then we cut to something else completely unrelated.
Ever since Deanna and Mike moved to Milborough, and thus thwarting Mira Sobinski’s long time desire for them to live close to her, I have been curious what Mira’s opinion on the move would be. She may also have an opinion on Mike quitting his Portrait Magazine job, which would allow Mike to throw a sales statistic of Stone Season at her. However, the Sobinskis have traditionally been very well-behaved in Milborough. After that last week with Thérèse’s reappearance, I expect nothing less with the Sobinskis but the same quality of writing from Lynn Johnston. In other words, Mira and Elly are sit down to finally have it out and then we cut to something else completely unrelated.
posted by howard at 10:21 PM
15 Comments:
It does seem obvious that the business with Thérèse will have to be finished at a later date. As you said yesterday, we're in for something totally unrelated to Elizabeth's struggle to form an instant family this week. Having a repentant Mira apologize to Mike and Dee for trying to 'run their lives' seems as good a way as anything else to wrap up Mike's part of the Patterson saga.
Unless the Sobinskis sit quietly in the background like living scenery. Isn't that what happened last year?
I think Mira gets kicked to the curb, showing that Deana is finally a Patterson through and through.
Does Therese interrupt the Lizthony wedding all drunk, proving she's a ne'er do well Quebecois?
James
Does Therese interrupt the Lizthony wedding all drunk, proving she's a ne'er do well Quebecois?
Possibly. Unless she's been sufficiently humbled in advance of the wedding.
DreadedCandiru2
It does seem obvious that the business with Thérèse will have to be finished at a later date.
Unless Lynn Johnston changes her mind and does any stories after the Anthony / Elizabeth wedding story, then I would be very surprised if we see Thérèse again. Lynn covered all her planned points:
1. Show Elizabeth having problems with Françoise.
2. Show Anthony blaming Françoise’s difficulties on the absence of Thérèse.
3. Show Elizabeth with her master plan to be patient (i.e. she will be there long enough for Françoise to eventually come to her).
4. Show Anthony supporting Elizabeth over his daughter.
5. Show Françoise appealing to Thérèse.
6. Show Thérèse turning Françoise away.
7. Show Françoise in Elizabeth’s arms after Thérèse leaves.
8. Show Elizabeth claiming victory (with a pun) because she was there, when Thérèse was not.
The points Candace brought up back in August were:
1. Are you ready to take on the responsibility of a child?
2. What if the ex-wife shows up and causes problems?
3. What if angelic little Francie pulls the “you can’t boss me around-you’re not my mom!” thing?
In my mind, Lynn Johnston has not answered any of these questions. We have still yet to see Liz taking care of Françoise; Thérèse did not show up and cause problems, since they kind of accidentally ran into her; and Françoise did not refuse Elizabeth something on the basis she was not her mother. My impression is that in Lynn Johnston’s mind, all these things have been covered; she has satisfied her critics of Liz and Anthony and Françoise’s relationship; and Liz and Anthony are ready to be engaged. To which I can only say, “Bring on the engagement!!”
aprilp_katje,
Unless the Sobinskis sit quietly in the background like living scenery. Isn't that what happened last year?
There was no Christmas gathering strip last year. The Sobinskis only mention in the strip was when Deanna called her mother to let her know where she was staying.
In this strip is the pre-Christmas gathering where you can see 8 stockings on the mantle for the Pattersons living all in the same house at the time. Clearly, Grandpa Jim, Iris, and the Sobinskis are not expected.
Mike's Letter, January 2007 described Christmas Day, 2006.
We had a happy Christmas Day. In my parents' living room, the tree was decorated with the same ornaments I remembered from when I was a child. Parcels were opened and the kids watched TV as we prepared lunch and Mom got the turkey on. It was as if nothing had happened. It was like any other Christmas day except we had no home to go back to. Well, we had a home but we had no idea what was left in it.
Convincing Meredith and Robin that everything had changed was difficult. Treasured toys, blankets, furniture, and many other things would be ruined. There was no question. We would have to move to a new place.
Deanna's parents came by later on in the day. They brought more stuff than their small sedan could safely carry. They had blankets and tea towels, cutlery, clothing. They had emptied every closet of extraneous household goods and were kindly bringing them to us.
We carried it in shifts to the rec room and piled it around, beside and on top of the rabbit hutch, the bookcase and the television.
Grandpa Jim and Iris, knowing our world was in chaos, wisely changed their plans and declined our invitation to share the yuletide feast. Exhausted, we all went to bed early. Dee's folks, courteously, went home.
James
I think Mira gets kicked to the curb, showing that Deana is finally a Patterson through and through.
I would be surprised if this doesn’t happen. Lynn Johnston has been leading up to that idea since she turned Mira evil during their wedding preparations.
Does Therese interrupt the Lizthony wedding all drunk, proving she's a ne'er do well Quebecois?
I believe going to weddings of your exes, with the intent of humiliating the married couple is an idea only a Patterson would think of doing.
This is why I sort of miss the monthly letters. Lynn, you see, likes to tell the story on her home page instead of her strip. If we had the retcons, we could well have seen a monthly leter that had Liz taking care of Françoise, battling Thérèse and transcending the whole you're-not-my-Mommy issue. Granted, we'd tear it to pieces on the LiveJournal but at least Lynn would have done more than what she did.
And as you said, of course Francoise and Granthony will have Christmas with the Pattersons. Which is just something, considering Francoise has two sets of grandparents, there hasn't been anything formal (yet) in the Lizthony non-relationship, and (except for the cook-out where Granthony and Francoise didn't interact with anyone)Francoise hasn't been seen spending time bonding with any of the clan.
You once mentioned the lack of Granthony's background in this strip. I believe you questioned how Lynn could have such a prominent character exist in a vacuum; well, she does! Which, again, shows how amateurish she is as a storyteller.
There was no Christmas gathering strip last year.
Right you are. I was going by this:
By listing the number of people attending as 14, I feel pretty certain we will get to see the Sobinskis again, who attended Christmases in Milborough from 2003 – 2006
But I realize that you were thinking of the excerpt from the monthly letter describing a Sobinski visit.
The strip that I had in mind was not from last year, but from 2005. Mira's appearance in the foreground is our one clue that the Sobinskis were included.
I guess now that Granthony is dating Lizardbreath, he has no need for his own immediate family for Christmas. Maybe that's what he meant when he said "I have no home!"
Frankly, I doubt his parents will miss his whining, mealy-mouthed approach to life.
DreadedCandiru2,
This is why I sort of miss the monthly letters. Lynn, you see, likes to tell the story on her home page instead of her strip.
I miss them too. Aside from giving me so much material to snark, I must admit that there were many times those monthly letters were the only means by which I could understand what had transpired in the comic strip. I must also admit that some of the John Patterson monthly letters were hilarious. I especially loved the one where he talked about his ideal woman was skinny, wrinkly, and carried a chainsaw. Also, if it weren’t for the monthly letters, we would have never gotten an idea of what Stone Season was about. That, by itself, made it worth reading them.
Anonymous
You once mentioned the lack of Granthony's background in this strip. I believe you questioned how Lynn could have such a prominent character exist in a vacuum; well, she does!
I do think it is a real shame that Lynn Johnston has not inserted Anthony’s parents into this. The little tidbits like Thérèse and her lover both working for Anthony’s dad, would have made for a great side story.
aprilp_katje,
Sorry I was not clear I was including the monthly letters in listing 2006 as a Sobinski year. If you don’t consider the monthly letters as canon, then it would be the foreground appearance in 2005 as their last Christmas, as you have pointed out.
James,
I guess now that Granthony is dating Lizardbreath, he has no need for his own immediate family for Christmas.
If he is a good little Patterson mate, then definitely not. The first Christmas after Meredith was born, there was a strip sequence where the Pattersons complained mightily that Mike and Deanna were going to Christmas with them, and then going from there to spend a day with the Sobinskis. After that, the Sobinskis came to have Christmas at Elly’s house, and never more at their own. Mike and Deanna learned how things are to be done. Fortunately, Anthony is probably going to be even smarter and not include his family at all. I wonder if we will even see them for the wedding.
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