Belief
We didn’t get to see what Liz’s actual response was to Warren’s statement “I don’t want to mess up your life. I want to be a part of it.” However, I am impressed that this week’s For Better or For Worse storyline did not suddenly jump to Grandpa Jim or Elly. Even if we don’t get to see what Liz’s final response to Warren was, we do get to see what Liz tells Anthony about it and that is actually a significant amount – 3 solid panels of explanation.
The most interesting part of this sequence is what Liz does not tell Anthony. She does not tell him that Warren wants to be a part of her life. She does not tell him that Warren quit his job so that he could be a part of her life. She does not tell him that Warren wanted to stay the night. She does not tell him that Warren is in pursuit of her. Frankly, if I were Elizabeth, I wouldn’t say these things to Anthony either. When it rolls around to the final panel and Elizabeth thinks, “He doesn’t believe me!!!”, it would could well be because she knows she has not been honest with him about how she failed to tell Warren in no uncertain terms to leave her alone and stop pursuing her. I suspect that what Lynn Johnston is going for is that Anthony Caine does believe her and expresses that calmly, but Lynn is going with the laugh for Elizabeth suddenly becoming paranoid that he didn’t believe. Lynn enjoys writing hysterical females vs. calm males for comical effect.
The irony of the situation is that Liz has had two conversations with Candace Halloran where the point of the first was that Anthony trusts her and the point of the second was how at ease they were with each other. Rudy Dodd did a routine with Candace reading her mind, and as I viewed today’s strip I was reminded of the possibility that if Liz can read Anthony really well, then her viewpoint in the final panel could be one that (a) shows how great her relationship with Anthony is that she understands him so well and (b) shows how Anthony has not gotten over whatever trust issues he developed thanks to his dealings with Thérèse.
The most interesting part of this sequence is what Liz does not tell Anthony. She does not tell him that Warren wants to be a part of her life. She does not tell him that Warren quit his job so that he could be a part of her life. She does not tell him that Warren wanted to stay the night. She does not tell him that Warren is in pursuit of her. Frankly, if I were Elizabeth, I wouldn’t say these things to Anthony either. When it rolls around to the final panel and Elizabeth thinks, “He doesn’t believe me!!!”, it would could well be because she knows she has not been honest with him about how she failed to tell Warren in no uncertain terms to leave her alone and stop pursuing her. I suspect that what Lynn Johnston is going for is that Anthony Caine does believe her and expresses that calmly, but Lynn is going with the laugh for Elizabeth suddenly becoming paranoid that he didn’t believe. Lynn enjoys writing hysterical females vs. calm males for comical effect.
The irony of the situation is that Liz has had two conversations with Candace Halloran where the point of the first was that Anthony trusts her and the point of the second was how at ease they were with each other. Rudy Dodd did a routine with Candace reading her mind, and as I viewed today’s strip I was reminded of the possibility that if Liz can read Anthony really well, then her viewpoint in the final panel could be one that (a) shows how great her relationship with Anthony is that she understands him so well and (b) shows how Anthony has not gotten over whatever trust issues he developed thanks to his dealings with Thérèse.
posted by howard at 11:44 PM
6 Comments:
howtheduck:
I suspect that what Lynn Johnston is going for is that Anthony Caine does believe her and expresses that calmly, but Lynn is going with the laugh for Elizabeth suddenly becoming paranoid that he didn’t believe.
I, too, expect him to spend the rest of the week reassuring her that he trusts her, that she has indeed rid herself of the suddenly adhesive Warren. I also expect such reassurances to fall on deaf ears. That's because I remember the state she worked herself into last year when he announced he was taking Julia to Shawna-Marie's wedding.
dreadedcandiru2,
That's because I remember the state she worked herself into last year when he announced he was taking Julia to Shawna-Marie's wedding.
Excellent point and I think you are right on target. I think we may end up with a "Anthony loves me because he doesn't run away from me when I am shrieking hysterically, like most men would, except for Dad, of course" moment.
howtheduck:
His calm comes from knowing that Liz cannot quite say no to people. He's long hoped for the chance to prove he can tell one of Liz's exes to go away. I should think his proposal Friday will imply that the two of them can face whatever mess her reluctance to confront people who intimidate her made together.
Well, the story at CC is that the big proposal comes on Friday of this week. And with that in mind, I'm irritated like hell that here Lynn goes with the "will they-won't they" herring when she has every intention of slamming the cheater and the homewrecker together.
And the whole "Anthony has trust issues"--well he should. He certainly wasn't committed to the marriage from day one, so of course he should expect that everyone else is as devious as he is.
And again, at least Liz got to explain. She sure didn't give Paul one second to defend himself.
DreadedCandiru2,
His calm comes from knowing that Liz cannot quite say no to people. He's long hoped for the chance to prove he can tell one of Liz's exes to go away.
This could very well be. Anthony Caine has in the past, been remarkably aware of whom Liz is dating and intimate details of it, like how she moved in with Eric Chamberlain, etc. On the other hand, he has always been very quick to move onto someone else, the moment he learned Liz had gone to someone else. He practically said his engagement to Thérèse was because he found at that Liz had moved in with Eric, and then he also said that he asked Julia to be his date, because he learned that Liz had been going out with Warren Blackwood. The big difference here could be that Liz calls him and tells him immediately that there is no relationship with Warren. Whereas, similar calls were not made to Anthony after she broke up with Eric, Paul, or Warren before.
debjyn
And with that in mind, I'm irritated like hell that here Lynn goes with the "will they-won't they" herring when she has every intention of slamming the cheater and the homewrecker together.
To be honest, after the Another Chance showed up on the website, there was no doubt. Plus Lynn has thrown out so many red herrings with this storyline, the strip stinks of fish.
He certainly wasn't committed to the marriage from day one, so of course he should expect that everyone else is as devious as he is.
Especially his coconspirator Liz.
And again, at least Liz got to explain. She sure didn't give Paul one second to defend himself.
To be fair, Constable Paul Wright should have showed Liz the door on two occasions:
1. When she set up the meeting between him and Warren Blackwood in his home town, just as he was expecting her to meet his parents.
2. When she refused to compromise about moving from Mtigwaki and did not tell him about her plans until Vivian Crane forced her.
That’s when Paul Wright should have defended himself to Liz.
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