New Dialogue / Worse Strip
Lynn has left the artwork the same in this reprint of For Better or For Worse, but she has changed the dialogue in the first panel to remove Connie’s cousin. The line used to be:
I’m not going to let fate spoil things. If my cousin can’t see Phil perform tonight…I’ll go alone.
Now it is:
I’m not going to let fate spoil things. Even if he is seeing someone, I can still see him perform.
What we had in the original storyline was fate contending against Connie. Fate had produced (a) a girl at Phil’s apartment, indicating he may be living with someone, (b) Lawrence’s broken leg and now (c) Connie is unable to go hear Phil play with her cousin, so she can’t pretend she is just coincidentally seeing the show. In spite of all these things, Connie continues on with her plan. After all, in the For Better or For Worse universe it is fate which decides which couples will be together and which will not.
You would have to wonder, in such circumstances while Connie would be continuing on. The key ingredient is in the definition of the relationship of Phil with the other girl. In this strip Connie thinks, “Phil may be living with someone.” And in this strip, Elly says, “I don’t know who the girl is.” The implication is that Phil is not necessarily involved in the girl in any way other than as a roommate. After all, Elly doesn’t know anything about her, so it’s nothing serious. There is not much difference between that situation and the one we had until we got to Lynn’s new additions.
In today’s strip, Connie worries, “Even if he is seeing someone.” This takes the roommate speculation out of it. It means that broken-hearted Connie is going to see Phil perform, even though she thinks he is with someone else. In other words, it’s not:
I still have a chance with Phil, because I think he may have a female roommate.
It’s:
Even if Phil is seeing someone else, I don’t care. I still want Phil.
That’s kind of harsh for Connie. When Phil ultimately brushes her off; it makes it very difficult to side with Connie’s position. In the old strip, she’s going in thinking she has a chance, but fate keeps getting in the way. In the new strip, she’s going in thinking Phil is already attached to someone else and she doesn't care. It’s very Elizabeth Patterson of her. Of course, I had the same issue with Elizabeth trying to bust up Anthony’s marriage, so there you are.
I’m not going to let fate spoil things. If my cousin can’t see Phil perform tonight…I’ll go alone.
Now it is:
I’m not going to let fate spoil things. Even if he is seeing someone, I can still see him perform.
What we had in the original storyline was fate contending against Connie. Fate had produced (a) a girl at Phil’s apartment, indicating he may be living with someone, (b) Lawrence’s broken leg and now (c) Connie is unable to go hear Phil play with her cousin, so she can’t pretend she is just coincidentally seeing the show. In spite of all these things, Connie continues on with her plan. After all, in the For Better or For Worse universe it is fate which decides which couples will be together and which will not.
You would have to wonder, in such circumstances while Connie would be continuing on. The key ingredient is in the definition of the relationship of Phil with the other girl. In this strip Connie thinks, “Phil may be living with someone.” And in this strip, Elly says, “I don’t know who the girl is.” The implication is that Phil is not necessarily involved in the girl in any way other than as a roommate. After all, Elly doesn’t know anything about her, so it’s nothing serious. There is not much difference between that situation and the one we had until we got to Lynn’s new additions.
In today’s strip, Connie worries, “Even if he is seeing someone.” This takes the roommate speculation out of it. It means that broken-hearted Connie is going to see Phil perform, even though she thinks he is with someone else. In other words, it’s not:
I still have a chance with Phil, because I think he may have a female roommate.
It’s:
Even if Phil is seeing someone else, I don’t care. I still want Phil.
That’s kind of harsh for Connie. When Phil ultimately brushes her off; it makes it very difficult to side with Connie’s position. In the old strip, she’s going in thinking she has a chance, but fate keeps getting in the way. In the new strip, she’s going in thinking Phil is already attached to someone else and she doesn't care. It’s very Elizabeth Patterson of her. Of course, I had the same issue with Elizabeth trying to bust up Anthony’s marriage, so there you are.
posted by howard at 9:49 PM
16 Comments:
Heck, we even have a duplicate Therese-being who answered the door at the house that may or may not be Phil Richard's home.
It's very puzzling that Connie has decided to watch Phil perform "even if he is seeing someone."
Were the implied daily nooners they had during the holidays simply THAT good?
Or perhaps the answer is even more complex. Since Elly spent the entire holiday season informing her brother and best friend that they are doomed to despair because PhilIsEvil and ConnieIsNotElly, maybe Connie is just crazy and curious enough to want to LIVE the terrible things she was warned about.
Or not.
The weirdest thing to me is that she wants to see him perform, but doesn't want him to see her. What's the point?
When Phil ultimately brushes her off; it makes it very difficult to side with Connie’s position. In the old strip, she’s going in thinking she has a chance, but fate keeps getting in the way. In the new strip, she’s going in thinking Phil is already attached to someone else and she doesn't care.
That's certainly going to change what she means when she asks why she still does dumb things; it'll mean she does them because she wants to.
The weirdest thing to me is that she wants to see him perform, but doesn't want him to see her. What's the point?
Ah, but this strip, which I expect to see reprinted tomorrow, seems to reveal she was just deluding herself, since by the final panel it's clear that she wants him to see her.
Anonymous,
Were the implied daily nooners they had during the holidays simply THAT good?
They must be. Despite her “female nerd” appearance, Connie has had no problem getting men into bed. Ultimately Phil ends up chasing after her when she is dating Ted, and Ted laments he left her later on after that. There has to be something that makes these men want to put up with the Connie crazy.
…maybe Connie is just crazy and curious enough to want to LIVE the terrible things she was warned about.
I can see that happening. If I knew someone like Elly Patterson who was regularly making the wrong decisions in her life, and she gave me advice, I would be tempted to do the exact opposite on the presumption that if Elly advised against it, it must be right.
Clio,
The weirdest thing to me is that she wants to see him perform, but doesn't want him to see her. What's the point?
She’s there without her cousin, so if he sees her alone, she will look like a stalker.
DreadedCandiru2,
That's certainly going to change what she means when she asks why she still does dumb things; it'll mean she does them because she wants to.
And there you have Connie. She consistently puts her needs first throughout the 30 years of the strip.
aprilp_katje,
Ah, but this strip, which I expect to see reprinted tomorrow, seems to reveal she was just deluding herself, since by the final panel it's clear that she wants him to see her.
Exactly. It’s better to be seen and appear like a stalker, than not to be seen at all.
1. Connie is acting like a teenager who finds a reason to be where she knows the object of her affections will be, but is also afraid that he will see her there and she'll look stupid.
2. Connie is afraid Phil will think she's a stalker- because she knows that's exactly what she is.
John F Jamele,
Connie is acting like a teenager who finds a reason to be where she knows the object of her affections will be, but is also afraid that he will see her there and she'll look stupid.
I think you have it right there. Of course, remembering my single days when I dated a few women about Connie's age, I recollect that there were a number of women who acted very teenagery, when it came to romance. Although you would think a woman who has been married and had a child would act a little bit more responsibly, nevertheless there are women out there who would act like Connie. In this respect I have little problem with Lynn's portrayal of Connie. The main difficulty comes later, when Connie and Elly start talking about what wonderful moms they were.
The problem with this is that it's not like Connie is "dating" Phil in the typical sense. They had something going on over the holidays - although we have no idea what that "something" really was. They then drifted apart, although Lynn's retcons have them conducting some sort of epistolary conversation over that time.
So for her to get all "teenager-y" over him doesn't really seem like a reasonable, if childish, reaction from a woman nervous about a relationship. It becomes more "stalker-y", instead.
And the "going to the club" is even more so. So far, what we've seen of Connie is that her interest in Phil is of the salty-mustache variety. I don't think the horn she's showed any affection for is his trumpet. (In fact, when you think of it, none of the FOOBs outside Phil, Grandpa Jim, and April ever expressed or expresses any interest in or preference for music.) Lynn never tries to make a case for her love of music driving her visit to Phil's gig.
It's her just wanting to be a kitten to the jazz tomcat, and that's the skeevy part.
FDChief:
You're dead on about Connie wanting to be the kitten to a jazz tomcat; what's worse is that she as much as admits it to Elly. The more I see her in action, the less sympathetic I become; Lynn has no idea that Connie is a villain in spite of her attempts to redeem her...or, perhaps, because of them.
She’s there without her cousin, so if he sees her alone, she will look like a stalker.
Why? (I mean, putting aside the fact that she is a stalker, let's pretend she's just a normal woman pursuing a crush here.) Does she think women aren't allowed to go to concerts alone? That we aren't allowed to say, "hi, I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd come see one of your concerts, want to get something to eat afterward?"
And if Connie just wanted to have sex with Phil, I wouldn't have lost so much respect for her. (She'd have to run home when Lawrence broke his leg, too, of course.) Women who just want a guy for sex do not act the way Connie acts. Connie wants marriage, and she does not care about the personality of the man who gives her the "Mrs."
FDChief,
So for her to get all "teenager-y" over him doesn't really seem like a reasonable, if childish, reaction from a woman nervous about a relationship. It becomes more "stalker-y", instead.
I agree that Connie’s reaction makes much more sense if she barely knew Phil, as opposed to having corresponded with him for over year and having bought him intimate Christmas gifts.
(In fact, when you think of it, none of the FOOBs outside Phil, Grandpa Jim, and April ever expressed or expresses any interest in or preference for music.)
Elly occasionally expresses a dislike for music produced by April’s band, and we know she like Bobbie Curtola.
DreadedCandiru2,
The more I see her in action, the less sympathetic I become; Lynn has no idea that Connie is a villain in spite of her attempts to redeem her...or, perhaps, because of them.
At least she’s not a one-dimensional villain, who is a villain without motivation. We see Connie’s motivation pretty clearly and thank to the Pablo da Silva story, we know that there are few limits to how far Connie will go in pursuit of a husband.
Clio,
Does she think women aren't allowed to go to concerts alone? That we aren't allowed to say, "hi, I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd come see one of your concerts, want to get something to eat afterward?"
I am familiar with that style of thinking. I know people who never do anything by themselves, not because they are not allowed to, but because they do not want to appear to be by themselves doing something.
Women who just want a guy for sex do not act the way Connie acts. Connie wants marriage, and she does not care about the personality of the man who gives her the "Mrs."
The underlying message we have gotten in the strip is that sex is OK, so long as it leads to marriage. For someone to have sex with no intent of marriage to follow, that person is a cad, who is leading the lady on.
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