Anthony Caine: The Bio Preview
We got a preview of the new Beth Cruikshank bio for the first time and it's Anthony Caine. Lynn is desperate to change our minds about this guy. Let's see if it will work based on the preview
It was late one evening in December that Anthony came home full of music and high spirits from the elementary school Christmas Concert. For the first time, he had been given a small solo part. It had been scary, but he had done OK. Lots of people had praised him afterward.
I cannot speak for Canada, but in the States, separation of church and state eliminated the elementary school Christmas Concert. It has to be called Holiday Concert or something like that. Beside this point, we have an aspect of Anthony Caine which I have not seen before: Anthony Caine, the singer. However, this is elementary school, so that's not a big deal.
It was disappointing that neither of his parents had been there, though. His father worked long hours at year-end, so his absence wasn't a surprise. But Anthony had been unhappy when his mother decided at the last minute that she didn’t feel well enough to go. Now he was eager to tell her the story of his success.
The first thing I think is: How can a kid be in an elementary school concert without his parents there, especially with the mom deciding at the last minute she's too sick to go? This implies she planned to go and changed her mind, but that also means having to make arrangements with some other parent to deliver Anthony there and back. This is possible, but then the other element is that his dad isn't there because he is working long hours. Well, as it turns out, he's at home when Anthony gets back, so why isn't he at the concert? The way the story plays out, Anthony's mom and dad decided to have a knock down, drag out fight taking advantage of the fact Anthony was out of the house and at the concert. On the other hand, as bizarre as this situation is, it does bear a remarkable resemblance to when Anthony dropped his kid over with his mother, while his wife was at work, just so he could visit his ex-girlfriend to ask her to wait on him to end his marriage.
As for what we know about Anthony's dad, it is precious little. In the January 2002 strips, it was revealed that the New Years' Eve party attended by Anthony and Elizabeth was Anthony's dad's business associates. Later in 2002, it was revealed that Thérèse worked for Anthony's dad. So we know he runs a business of some sort. When Anthony gets married to Thérèse or has his baby shower, there is no father seen or mentioned. What is revealed here does not contradict that.
He stepped into the house to see his father slumped on the couch, hair and shirt rumpled and an empty glass in his hand. He was glowering at the unlit Christmas tree. Anthony stopped short in bewilderment. He'd never seen his father anything but neat and in control. The man slouched in their living room looked like a stranger.
Never anything but neat and in control. Does Anthony live in the house with his father? Is he saying that his father always dressed up before he would be around Anthony?
Something was wrong. He swallowed back his fear. "Where’s Mom?"
The first question out of Anthony's mouth, after seeing his father like this is, "Where's Mom?" It almost has the element of a kid afraid that his dad has hurt his mother. And yet, why would a man always neat and in control give young Anthony that impression?
"Gone." His father lifted his glass and almost casually flung it against the stone wall of the fireplace. It shattered, sending glittering shards flying to bury themselves in the deep blue plush of the carpet.
Hollywood movie. Who does this?
"G – gone? Where?"
"Who bloody cares?" His father heaved himself out of the chair and stood looking down at him, his eyes bleak. "She couldn’t stand it any more. That’s what she said. Couldn’t stand me." He shrugged and laughed bitterly. "She can’t stand you, either, because you’re turning out like me. How do you like that?"
British dad apparently with that "bloody". Mother has abandoned father and son, and the dad throws in a retort that Anthony is like his father, perhaps explaining why Anthony did not go into his dad's business and perhaps explains why, at some point Anthony and his mom reconcile; because she was taking care of little Francie for Anthony when he was beating up on Howard Bunt. There was a woman drawn in the strip who appeared both at Anthony's wedding and baby shower, which could be his mother (although we don't know for sure).
The setup is that Mother Caine is like Thérèse, who also abandoned father and child. The tricky part is going to be to find a way to justify Anthony Caine's behaviour with Elizabeth after the Howard Bunt attack. First Beth will have make it seem like Thérèse had already abandoned Anthony by the time the Howard Bunt attack occurred. She will need to stay away from the idea that abandonment occurred because Thérèse went back to work after Anthony agreed to take paternity leave, like it appears in the strip. That won't fly. It makes it seem like the story is condemning mothers who work. Most likely, Beth will go with the idea that Thérèse was already having the affair by that point. The problem with that idea is the timing. The Howard Bunt attack occurred 5 months after the baby was born and almost 8 months before Anthony reveals he has learned about the affair. Beth has placed fast and loose with timing in her bios before, so I don't think this will be an issue.
He stiffened as Anthony caught his breath. "No. Don’t you dare cry for her. You start bawling now, Tony, I swear I'll pitch you out of this house. There’s been enough dramatics around here to last me a lifetime."
******************************************
During that tumultuous fall and winter, Liz became the fixed centre of Anthony's world, the one person he could count on for steadfast friendship. Even though he was growing again, getting taller and skinnier and more geeky and beaky, despite the humiliation of being hassled by some of the jocks at school as a nerd and a loser, even if he felt like an outsider in his own home, Liz seemed to like him just the same. He came to rely on her so much that it scared him.
This story simply does not match Anthony, the easy-going guy who sometimes liked working on cars with the guys more than going out with Liz. It also doesn't match Anthony, the guy who lost contact with Liz in university and broke up with her for that reason. However, what Beth is headed for is an explanation of Anthony's behaviour. Why did Anthony give Elizabeth so much attention around his fiancée and wife, when it clearly upset her? Well, because he had come to rely on Liz to replace his absent mother figure, of course.
I don't know about this preview. I think Beth has too much to overcome to try to make Anthony Caine look good. In my opinion, Lynn Johnston should have given up on trying to make Anthony look good and simply gone with the idea that both he and Elizabeth have been playing this "I love you when you're with someone else" game and they have finally grown up.
As for today's strip, Elizabeth's speech makes me think of "The Wizard of Oz".
Dorothy: Well, I - I think that it - it wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?
On the plus side, we get to hear Elizabeth finally say, "I love you" directly to Anthony Caine's face and then they kiss--2 things the fans have been complaining were missing ever since these two got engaged. Of course, we still don't hear Anthony say, "I love you"to Liz, and after this biography preview, when he says, "Another chance", I am creeped out that he may be thinking of his mother and that December elementary school Christmas concert so long ago.
It was late one evening in December that Anthony came home full of music and high spirits from the elementary school Christmas Concert. For the first time, he had been given a small solo part. It had been scary, but he had done OK. Lots of people had praised him afterward.
I cannot speak for Canada, but in the States, separation of church and state eliminated the elementary school Christmas Concert. It has to be called Holiday Concert or something like that. Beside this point, we have an aspect of Anthony Caine which I have not seen before: Anthony Caine, the singer. However, this is elementary school, so that's not a big deal.
It was disappointing that neither of his parents had been there, though. His father worked long hours at year-end, so his absence wasn't a surprise. But Anthony had been unhappy when his mother decided at the last minute that she didn’t feel well enough to go. Now he was eager to tell her the story of his success.
The first thing I think is: How can a kid be in an elementary school concert without his parents there, especially with the mom deciding at the last minute she's too sick to go? This implies she planned to go and changed her mind, but that also means having to make arrangements with some other parent to deliver Anthony there and back. This is possible, but then the other element is that his dad isn't there because he is working long hours. Well, as it turns out, he's at home when Anthony gets back, so why isn't he at the concert? The way the story plays out, Anthony's mom and dad decided to have a knock down, drag out fight taking advantage of the fact Anthony was out of the house and at the concert. On the other hand, as bizarre as this situation is, it does bear a remarkable resemblance to when Anthony dropped his kid over with his mother, while his wife was at work, just so he could visit his ex-girlfriend to ask her to wait on him to end his marriage.
As for what we know about Anthony's dad, it is precious little. In the January 2002 strips, it was revealed that the New Years' Eve party attended by Anthony and Elizabeth was Anthony's dad's business associates. Later in 2002, it was revealed that Thérèse worked for Anthony's dad. So we know he runs a business of some sort. When Anthony gets married to Thérèse or has his baby shower, there is no father seen or mentioned. What is revealed here does not contradict that.
He stepped into the house to see his father slumped on the couch, hair and shirt rumpled and an empty glass in his hand. He was glowering at the unlit Christmas tree. Anthony stopped short in bewilderment. He'd never seen his father anything but neat and in control. The man slouched in their living room looked like a stranger.
Never anything but neat and in control. Does Anthony live in the house with his father? Is he saying that his father always dressed up before he would be around Anthony?
Something was wrong. He swallowed back his fear. "Where’s Mom?"
The first question out of Anthony's mouth, after seeing his father like this is, "Where's Mom?" It almost has the element of a kid afraid that his dad has hurt his mother. And yet, why would a man always neat and in control give young Anthony that impression?
"Gone." His father lifted his glass and almost casually flung it against the stone wall of the fireplace. It shattered, sending glittering shards flying to bury themselves in the deep blue plush of the carpet.
Hollywood movie. Who does this?
"G – gone? Where?"
"Who bloody cares?" His father heaved himself out of the chair and stood looking down at him, his eyes bleak. "She couldn’t stand it any more. That’s what she said. Couldn’t stand me." He shrugged and laughed bitterly. "She can’t stand you, either, because you’re turning out like me. How do you like that?"
British dad apparently with that "bloody". Mother has abandoned father and son, and the dad throws in a retort that Anthony is like his father, perhaps explaining why Anthony did not go into his dad's business and perhaps explains why, at some point Anthony and his mom reconcile; because she was taking care of little Francie for Anthony when he was beating up on Howard Bunt. There was a woman drawn in the strip who appeared both at Anthony's wedding and baby shower, which could be his mother (although we don't know for sure).
The setup is that Mother Caine is like Thérèse, who also abandoned father and child. The tricky part is going to be to find a way to justify Anthony Caine's behaviour with Elizabeth after the Howard Bunt attack. First Beth will have make it seem like Thérèse had already abandoned Anthony by the time the Howard Bunt attack occurred. She will need to stay away from the idea that abandonment occurred because Thérèse went back to work after Anthony agreed to take paternity leave, like it appears in the strip. That won't fly. It makes it seem like the story is condemning mothers who work. Most likely, Beth will go with the idea that Thérèse was already having the affair by that point. The problem with that idea is the timing. The Howard Bunt attack occurred 5 months after the baby was born and almost 8 months before Anthony reveals he has learned about the affair. Beth has placed fast and loose with timing in her bios before, so I don't think this will be an issue.
He stiffened as Anthony caught his breath. "No. Don’t you dare cry for her. You start bawling now, Tony, I swear I'll pitch you out of this house. There’s been enough dramatics around here to last me a lifetime."
******************************************
During that tumultuous fall and winter, Liz became the fixed centre of Anthony's world, the one person he could count on for steadfast friendship. Even though he was growing again, getting taller and skinnier and more geeky and beaky, despite the humiliation of being hassled by some of the jocks at school as a nerd and a loser, even if he felt like an outsider in his own home, Liz seemed to like him just the same. He came to rely on her so much that it scared him.
This story simply does not match Anthony, the easy-going guy who sometimes liked working on cars with the guys more than going out with Liz. It also doesn't match Anthony, the guy who lost contact with Liz in university and broke up with her for that reason. However, what Beth is headed for is an explanation of Anthony's behaviour. Why did Anthony give Elizabeth so much attention around his fiancée and wife, when it clearly upset her? Well, because he had come to rely on Liz to replace his absent mother figure, of course.
I don't know about this preview. I think Beth has too much to overcome to try to make Anthony Caine look good. In my opinion, Lynn Johnston should have given up on trying to make Anthony look good and simply gone with the idea that both he and Elizabeth have been playing this "I love you when you're with someone else" game and they have finally grown up.
As for today's strip, Elizabeth's speech makes me think of "The Wizard of Oz".
Dorothy: Well, I - I think that it - it wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?
On the plus side, we get to hear Elizabeth finally say, "I love you" directly to Anthony Caine's face and then they kiss--2 things the fans have been complaining were missing ever since these two got engaged. Of course, we still don't hear Anthony say, "I love you"to Liz, and after this biography preview, when he says, "Another chance", I am creeped out that he may be thinking of his mother and that December elementary school Christmas concert so long ago.
posted by howard at 9:25 PM
12 Comments:
howard,
I think Beth has too much to overcome to try to make Anthony Caine look good. In my opinion, Lynn Johnston should have given up on trying to make Anthony look good and simply gone with the idea that both he and Elizabeth have been playing this "I love you when you're with someone else" game and they have finally grown up.
When you consider how easy it would have been to present Anthony as the poster boy for arrested development, you have to ask yourself why Lynn didn't do it. Does she honestly think that having him admit to having screwed up his and Therese's lives because he was too damned young to know what he was doing would somehow make him unlikable? If so, she's off base. I wouldn't mind a penitent Anthony who wanted to make sure he got it right this time. The Anthony that can't admit to failure she presents is not worth returning home to.
Long time lurker, first time commenter, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to point out, shouldn't the last panel of today's strip have Blandthony saying "Elizabeth, welcome hoooooommmeee:?
numbskull72
LOL. "Elizabeth, welcome hoooooommmeee" would have been perfect.
Yes, indeedy. Another illustration that in trying to make Anthony the "tragic hero" they only succeed in making him look worse or making readers say "Huh? He sure wasn't like that in any of the strips."
But at least this fits into making Anthony even creepier. He now fixated on an "image" of Liz when he was in elementary, obsesses about her throughout their relationship, can't interact appropriately with her or any other woman, and hasn't dealt with his abandonment issues in twenty years. In addition to subjecting his own child to the same guaranteed life, wherein he can repeat the same dynamics for another generation.
Oh well. Good thing Liz is looking for a daddy figure and has totally regressed back to being "mommy's good little girl".
debjyn,
But at least this fits into making Anthony even creepier. He now fixated on an "image" of Liz when he was in elementary, obsesses about her throughout their relationship, can't interact appropriately with her or any other woman, and hasn't dealt with his abandonment issues in twenty years. In addition to subjecting his own child to the same guaranteed life, wherein he can repeat the same dynamics for another generation.
The sad thing is, of course, that the Inmans of the world will go out of their way to miss the point. The way they look at it is that since he was always 'loyal' to Liz, even when he should not have been, he's a hero.
Dreadedcandiru2 yesterday said, As people on the Foobiverse say, there's Harry Potter slash-fic that's more plasuible.
It's almost as the though the words "charachter development" don't exsist anymore. Everyone who is not a Patterson or someone who has found favor with them is an ogre with no redemable qualities. They aren't even 2-dimensional characters. If anyone has ever read the Thursday Next series everyone outside of the Patterson circle is an ibb or obb, clueless blobs with no motivations of their own. It's just insulting to long time readers who haven't drank the kool-aid.
What I find objectionable about today's strip are Elizabeth's words: "No more running away." Leaving your hometown to go to university is "running away"? Experiencing a way of life other than the one you grew up with is "running away"?
I don't think so! There's nothing wrong with Elizabeth's choice to return to live closer to her family or to marry her high school sweetheart. One of my closest friends did both of those things, and it's worked well for her.
But experiencing new things when you're a young adult and before you settle down is NOT running away. It's stretching your wings, and in my opinion, almost everyone's life is the better for it. I think people who don't explore the world a little as young adults are missing out.
kristina,
But experiencing new things when you're a young adult and before you settle down is NOT running away. It's stretching your wings, and in my opinion, almost everyone's life is the better for it. I think people who don't explore the world a little as young adults are missing out.
Sadly, Lynn doesn't want her mind broadened. In her mind, the familiar, safe and comfortable are good and the strange and novel are bad. Her need not to make waves is too strong an impulse not to leach into the strip.
Howard,
Does every parent you know seriously attend every single school and extracurricular function? I find that very surprising. When I was growing up, it was par for the course for fathers and mothers to be too busy to attend everything. Even today, I know many parents who are too busy to go to everything, so I know it is not just the changing times. There are a lot of people with very high-powered and demanding jobs in my family--doctor, lawyer, investment banker. They do not make it to every event for their kid because it is just not possible. That doesn't make them horrible or abusive. In fact, I can see how it would be beneficial for kids to learn that the world does not revolve entirely around them, and that there are sacrifices that have to be made in order to pay school fees, etc.
As for Liz, I want to punch Lynn in the face for the conclusion that "moving away from home" is equal to "running away." I wonder if this is the message she gives to her own children--that they are being childish for not realizing that their place is in Corbeil, popping out grandbabies for her.
P.S.--To be clear: I have known plenty of kids with non-abusive parents who are taken to school events by parents of a classmate because Mom and Dad have conflicts. It's not insane or unthinkable. In fact, this was pretty commonplace when I was growing up because Dads had to work late and mothers could only be in one place at a time.
I started to type a post about how Liz's "running away" comment fit into the story that Lynn appears to be trying to tell, but it waxed overlong. As such, I have posted it in my own journal. I realize that the FOOBverse has been richly mined for essays, so I apologize if I rehash some arguments that have already been made. But that's what I think of the farce that is this storyline.
qnjones,
Does every parent you know seriously attend every single school and extracurricular function? I find that very surprising.
I would too. No, of course not. Don’t be silly. They still have to make arrangements to get their kids to and from the activity and those arrangements are usually done in advance, especially for concerts where the kids have to be there early. Last minute alterations are difficult, but not impossible. I reread my blog entry to make sure I did say that.
My problem is that story says, “Dad works long hours, so he can’t go; but dad was at the house when Anthony came back, so the long hours excuse doesn’t work. If he was at the house long enough to fight with Mother Caine, and get drunk; he could have gone to the Christmas concert.” The other excuse is “Mom feels sick, so she can’t go; but mom was healthy enough to get into a fight with the dad and leave him.” The excuses don’t make sense, unless the Caine parents intentionally chose a time when Anthony was out of the house, to have a fight culminating in Mother Caine moving out.
As for Liz, I want to punch Lynn in the face for the conclusion that "moving away from home" is equal to "running away."
This line goes back to the strips where Anthony first told Liz he was engaged to Thérèse, and thought-bubbled about how he wished that Liz had not run away, when what she did was move in with Eric Chamberlain. I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: This second chance stuff ties directly in with conversations Liz and Anthony had back, when this whole storyline started. In the summer after the first year of university, Anthony broke up with Liz because she stopped communicating with him.
Liz meets and moves in with Eric Chamberlain, and then on New Years’ Eve 2002, Anthony indirectly says that because of this he proposed to Thérèse. Then later on, when Liz and Eric have broken up, Liz indirectly refers to Anthony’s engagement as her “paying for her mistakes” in a reference to her relationship with Eric. Then, if that did not make it clear enough, there were other strips where Gordon Mayes was surprised that Anthony was engaged to Thérèse, because he thought he would have been engaged to Elizabeth.
Liz was supposed to get engaged to Anthony instead of Thérèse. That was he first chance. She should never have stopped communicating with Anthony. She should never have moved in with Eric. Now she gets her second chance to make up for those mistakes. I know it is completely ridiculous, but the themes are all there.
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