Connie's Low Moment: Redone
Today’s new-run of For Better or For Worse is actually a redo. The original strip was the lowest point of the Connie Poirier character in the 30-year run of the strip, in my opinion. I can understand why Lynn would want to replace it. However, I suspect her motivation had more to do with the fact that Connie says, “visit with family” which is no longer a strip option for her, as Lynn Johnston has been getting rid of all mentions of Connie Poirier’s cousin.
The 2 strips have differences:
1. In the new-run, Connie talks to Lawrence, sympathizes with him and tells him she is coming home soon. In the original, we don’t see the conversation between Lawrence and Connie, and Connie wonders if she will go straight home.
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run turns Connie’s promise to Lawrence into a lie. In original, we see Connie ignore her common sense (lies to herself).
2. In the new-run, Connie refers to her relationship with Phil as “I have a broken heart.” In the original, Connie refers to her relationship with Phil as “Phil may be living with someone.”
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run shows no reason for Connie to see Phil, since she feels she has already been rejected by him. In the original, she is not certain about Phil’s living arrangement, so there is still hope when she goes to see Phil perform.
3. In the new-run, Connie refers to her situation as “crazy”. In the original, Connie listed out the broken leg and Phil’s possible living situation more as obstacles to her goals with Phil.
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run casts judgment on Connie’s sanity. In the original, she simply refuses to do what she knows is the best thing to do.
4. In the new-run, Connie does wordplay off 2 meanings of the word “broken." In the original, Connie seems to admit that she has lost control and doesn’t seem to know what she is doing.
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run destroys Connie’s concern for Lawrence with this meaningless wordplay. In the original, Connie appears to be going whacko.
The 2 strips have differences:
1. In the new-run, Connie talks to Lawrence, sympathizes with him and tells him she is coming home soon. In the original, we don’t see the conversation between Lawrence and Connie, and Connie wonders if she will go straight home.
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run turns Connie’s promise to Lawrence into a lie. In original, we see Connie ignore her common sense (lies to herself).
2. In the new-run, Connie refers to her relationship with Phil as “I have a broken heart.” In the original, Connie refers to her relationship with Phil as “Phil may be living with someone.”
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run shows no reason for Connie to see Phil, since she feels she has already been rejected by him. In the original, she is not certain about Phil’s living arrangement, so there is still hope when she goes to see Phil perform.
3. In the new-run, Connie refers to her situation as “crazy”. In the original, Connie listed out the broken leg and Phil’s possible living situation more as obstacles to her goals with Phil.
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run casts judgment on Connie’s sanity. In the original, she simply refuses to do what she knows is the best thing to do.
4. In the new-run, Connie does wordplay off 2 meanings of the word “broken." In the original, Connie seems to admit that she has lost control and doesn’t seem to know what she is doing.
If Lynn Johnston runs with the original storyline: The new-run destroys Connie’s concern for Lawrence with this meaningless wordplay. In the original, Connie appears to be going whacko.
posted by howard at 11:03 PM
14 Comments:
Eek--forworse was right about the "broken heart" wordplay. An envelope of Canadian air for you, forworse! ;)
Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of Northern Ontario.
Truly forworse, you have stepped into the mind of Lynn Johnston. Congratulations for figuring out all those references to broken or breaking hearts in the strips prior to today, were a setup for today's final panel pun comparing them to Lawrence's leg.
I have an interesting theory that will allow Lynn to salvage Connie's reputation: I expect that Phil will burst in tomorrow and try to convince her to stay a little while longer. That way, we can see her struggle with temptation for a week or so of filler strips and then decide, once she gets home the next morning, to do her hair.
Truly forworse, you have stepped into the mind of Lynn Johnston.
I'm not very happy in here. Can I come out now please?
I'm not very happy in here. Can I come out now please?
::sends rescue crew::
What a scary place--where the reaction to hearing that one's six-year-old child has a broken leg is to chase after a man and get a makeover, but definitely not to cut that vacation short.
DreadedCandiru2,
I have an interesting theory that will allow Lynn to salvage Connie's reputation: I expect that Phil will burst in tomorrow and try to convince her to stay a little while longer.
That would be great if she did. However, Lynn Johnston seems to be doing one-strip fixes these days. For example, the big explanation of what happened when Connie went to Phil’s apartment was one strip with an “’Allo?” and then ::boom:: back to the reprints.
forworse,
I'm not very happy in here. Can I come out now please?
Enjoy it while it lasts. Now while you are in there, can you tell us what is Lynn’s definition of the Early Spring when the strip goes to straight reprints?
aprilp_katje,
What a scary place--where the reaction to hearing that one's six-year-old child has a broken leg is to chase after a man and get a makeover, but definitely not to cut that vacation short.
Considering that Connie is modeled off of Lynn back when she was a single parent, I wonder how much of this story is based in truth. After reading Lynn’s Blog entry on how she handled her daughter’s sickness in Oaxaca, I have a feeling there may be some fact to this fiction.
Me, too. Poor Aaron. I want to find him and give him soup.
In the original story, how did Connie come to think that Phil may be living with a woman if she didn't go to his apartment and see her herself?
aprilp_katje,
Me, too. Poor Aaron. I want to find him and give him soup.
Soup is good food.
Joshua,
In the original story, how did Connie come to think that Phil may be living with a woman if she didn't go to his apartment and see her herself?
One of the mysteries of the original publication is that Lynn Johnston failed to show what happened at all, and had Elly and Connie mention it indirectly and obscurely and never to Phil. For years I thought there was a missing strip, only to find out this year that there was never a strip. There is no telling why Lynn failed to do it, but even Lynn admitted in one of her responses to Elly’s Coffee Talk, that she was fixing that error with the new-runs.
It's not as re-done as you thought it was.
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