Francie and Liz = Playmates?
I am not sure what to make of little Francie. She has been aware in the past that Lynn is taking attention from her father away from her, but she seems to be slow on the uptake that Liz plans to take over as her mom.
1. When we first had little Francie together with Liz, she asked Anthony if she could keep her, as if she was a stray dog they could adopt.
2. Francie went with Anthony and Liz to the Patterson barbecue, but she was pictured as with Anthony solely and not even playing with the other kids.
3. Then we had the whole jealousy over Liz getting attention and the business with Thérèse at the mall, where Francie ended up hugging Liz. However, Liz was almost a complete nonplayer in that business. She barely said a word as the drama played out between Francie and Thérèse.
4. There was the Christmas Dinner preparation, which was mainly Anthony playing his severed finger trick.
5. On Sunday, she said she didn’t want Liz to grow up so fast after she showed her eating habits.
When I review all these Liz and Francie interactions, there is not a one of them that puts Liz in a parenting role. If anything, a babysitter or a walking companion in the mall. There is no sense of authority. Given this, it makes perfect sense in today's For Better or For Worse that Francie would not equate Liz with her mom and that she would be sleeping with Anthony, where mom used to sleep. At some point, I hope Liz mentions to Francie that she will be Anthony's wife and her stepmother, instead of this "live with you forever" business.
1. When we first had little Francie together with Liz, she asked Anthony if she could keep her, as if she was a stray dog they could adopt.
2. Francie went with Anthony and Liz to the Patterson barbecue, but she was pictured as with Anthony solely and not even playing with the other kids.
3. Then we had the whole jealousy over Liz getting attention and the business with Thérèse at the mall, where Francie ended up hugging Liz. However, Liz was almost a complete nonplayer in that business. She barely said a word as the drama played out between Francie and Thérèse.
4. There was the Christmas Dinner preparation, which was mainly Anthony playing his severed finger trick.
5. On Sunday, she said she didn’t want Liz to grow up so fast after she showed her eating habits.
When I review all these Liz and Francie interactions, there is not a one of them that puts Liz in a parenting role. If anything, a babysitter or a walking companion in the mall. There is no sense of authority. Given this, it makes perfect sense in today's For Better or For Worse that Francie would not equate Liz with her mom and that she would be sleeping with Anthony, where mom used to sleep. At some point, I hope Liz mentions to Francie that she will be Anthony's wife and her stepmother, instead of this "live with you forever" business.
posted by howard at 10:13 PM
13 Comments:
Also, what was Liz going to do if Francie said that Liz marrying Anthony was NOT okay with her?
Is Francie still in her day clothing? Has she been playing in her room by herself while Liz and Anthony were discussing divorce and marriage? And where was she when they were in the car talking about Warren?
I’ve had a little excitement early this morning. At 1 am a fire broke out in the alley of our building and the building filled with smoke. Fortunately the fire department responded quickly and no one was injured. I suspect this was arson. Some neighbors ran out in underwear; no one was holding a laptop.
Anon NYC
howtheduck:
What bothers me is that, once again, a Patterson or Patterson-like person is engaging in an especially stupid form of short-term thinking. Anthony should have been honest about his plans instead of hiding behing the "We're just taking our time" excuse. What happnes when "someday" becomes "right now", huh? She'll get a lot angrier than if he'd been on the level from the get-go.
Has she been playing in her room by herself while Liz and Anthony were discussing divorce and marriage? And where was she when they were in the car talking about Warren?
I was wondering about all this myself. It's as if Lynn suddenly remembered, "Oh, yeah, Françoise." The die-hard Lynn defenders would probably tell us that we are supposed to guess that in between our seeing Liz and Anthony in the car and seeing them in the living room, they did an off-panel stop at Francie's daycare, got her a snack, and sent her to her room. Yeah, right. ;)
Anon NYC,
I suspect this was arson. Some neighbors ran out in underwear; no one was holding a laptop.
I suspect any person running back after their laptops would have been burnt to a crisp, so you wouldn't see them. I’m glad to hear that you’re OK, although the idea that someone would intentionally try to burn your home has to be pretty frightening.
DreadedCandiru2
Anthony should have been honest about his plans instead of hiding behind the "We're just taking our time" excuse.
It’s obvious from the way the way Anthony proposed, he had and still has no plans. He only proposed because Warren showed up. The only real question now is what Warren has to do in order to get Anthony and Liz to set a date and do the wedding.
aprilp_katje,
It's as if Lynn suddenly remembered, "Oh, yeah, Françoise."
It’s been since July, 2006 when Elizabeth got back to Milborough. Elizabeth and Anthony have gotten together several times over that period. He comes over to her house to mope about the trial, then the trial itself, the wedding, and then those car rides together, etc. Only the one time when Anthony picked up Françoise from the daycare did I ever get a sense that Lynn was considering things from the perspective of where Françoise would be while Anthony was doing these things.
You can tell it has been a long time since Lynn has been a mom of a small child. As for me, I can be at work, but I know where my kids are or are supposed to be at every moment of the day. There is a constant sense of responsibility in that area, where everything you do is done in consideration of where the kids or what it would take to get them there. For example, if I need to buy groceries, the first thing in my head is not, what I need to buy, but “Is there an opening in my schedule with the kids where I can take them and buy groceries or my wife can cover for me with them while I buy them?” This would be especially true with a single parent.
Excellent points, howtheduck. It's been a long, long time since Lynn has been the single parent of a toddler.
Francie is like a sitcom kid that the writers include in a scene when they want cute-child antics, but have missing and unmentioned when cute-child antics are not required.
aprilp_katje,
Francie is like a sitcom kid that the writers include in a scene when they want cute-child antics, but have missing and unmentioned when cute-child antics are not required.
Good example. And really a missed opportunity for good story-telling. Can you imagine how the business with Anthony and Liz talking about Warren would have worked if little Francie popped in and said, "Who's Warren?" or "Don't worry, Liz. Daddy tells me all the time which people I can talk to, and I just talk to them anyway."
howtheduck:
I wonder myself what he'll have to do. I almost think that Elly has him on retainer to spur her daughter into marrying beofre her thirtieth birthday.
dreadedcandiru2,
I almost think that Elly has him on retainer to spur her daughter into marrying beofre her thirtieth birthday.
It would be funny if that was true. However, I feel pretty sure Lynn has him on retainer. She did not have Liz give him a definite "don't call me", so I would be very surprised if he doesn't show up again, especially after quitting his job for Liz.
Well, I'm still hanging on to some hope.
April: Liz, what does it feel like to be in love?
Liz:
April: Liz?
Liz:
April: Liz?
Liz: Damnit! What did I just do?
anonymous,
Well, I'm still hanging on to some hope.
Me too. I hope that Lynn Johnston will make Liz and Anthony's wedding an event to remember, with new lows in art and writing she has never touched before.
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