For Better or For Worse/Headscratchers

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Having looked back at some of the old comics that some of the "new-runs" are based on, I've come to the conclusion that the writer is actively retconning Papa Patterson into an uncaring, irresponsible idiot, presumably because the man he was based on left her. That being the case, should we therefore assume that she's come to the conclusion that Liz's marriage to Anthony was a mistake? After all, Papa Patterson was the one who pushed it so strongly.
    • But Elly pushed it too, making it one of the rare things they saw eye-to-eye on. There's even a strip showing April fretting over the notion of Anthony and Liz cheating on their wife/boyfriend while Elly and John celebrate in the background -- and since April's The Unfavorite, readers aren't meant to agree with her.
  • Why a realtime comic? Just why? She could've stretched out time like Marvel does, but no, she has to attempt realtime.
    • It started off based loosely on her own family; she aged the characters along with them.
    • Because she like the idea of a realtime comic?
    • Because the idea of a real-time comic was rare at that time? What's wrong with doing that?
    • Realtime isn't a flaw. It's pretty much part of the premise; what makes it what it is. It's the execution that bugs me.
  • Why are the characters so often drawn with long, flat heads? It's so ugly.
  • Johnston feared and loathed the idea of her second husband cheating on her. In the strip, Elly fretted about the idea of John cheating on her despite all evidence that he was completely faithful. Eventually, Johnston found out that he HAD cheated on her. Yet when Anthony emotionally cheats on his wife, openly longing for another woman, we're supposed to feel sorry for him and believe that Therese deserved it? What?!
    • And on that same subject, what about how Anthony pleads for Liz to "wait for me", yet Therese is evil for getting a divorce? Just how else was that situation supposed to be resolved, huh? Did he expect Liz to wait until one of them DIED? Or was Therese just supposed to wait for Anthony, mister Passive-Aggressive Pushover himself, to ante up and file for divorce first?
      • It all makes sense when you factor in the selfishness of Johnston, and thus her characters. See, her view even if she doesn't consciously realize it is that ultimately it's not that cheating is wrong, but that cheating on her is wrong. She'd probably justify it in a lot of different ways to herself and others, but ultimately it's "If the cheating has a result I like, it's not even really cheating. If the cheating upsets or hurts me, it's bad cheating and evil."
  • Why does Lynn Johnston think that making some of the characters blink will add "animation" to the strip? It just looks creepy and startling, to this troper anyway.
  • Micheal and Deanna's respective careers as a freelance writer and a pharmacist. Doing freelance work doesn't exactly bring a steady income, especially for supporting a family on. Pharmacists actually make a lot of money. There is something wrong with this picture, but considering the sexist views of the comic, I probably shouldn't be surprised by this.
  • What kind of parent actively encourages their child to break up a marriage? Even an unhappy one, much less one with a new baby. It's a bit jarring, considering the overall socially conservative tone. Good old fashioned values are great...for anyone who isn't a Patterson. Really, pretty much the whole Blandthony storyline, but a few parts stick out. Elizabeth leaves Mtigwaki for him; him leaving Milborough for her, or the two of them moving, is not an option. Even though his generic accounting job shouldn't be too hard to pick up anywhere, but teaching positions are much harder to find. Johnston tries to fix it by making Liz homesick. Really? Who gets homesick for suburban Toronto? And that's not knocking Toronto, could easily replace with, say, Aurora, Colorado or Plano, Texas. They don't even move to the actual city; hell, even a DIFFERENT suburb.
    • YMMV, but sometimes two people SHOULDN'T stay together. Even with a kid, especially since the unhappy marriage would set a bad example.
    • Oh, no question, but that wasn't the point. I meant the parents' reaction. "Yay, our daughter's a homewrecker!"
    • But don't forget, Anthony has no hoooomme!
  • In the fridge section, it says that Elizabeth was assaulted by Howard and no charges against him were pressed. Isn't that kinda terrible, the woman almost raped and she got no legal help? I haven't read the series mostly just saw the cartoon so could someone explain this to me? Did they plug in a PSA for RAINN?
    • FBOFW gets cut a lot of slack for being a Long Runner newspaper comic. Basically the fact that the writer has lagged way, way behind the rest of society in her views of what's appropriate is often given a pass because people grew up reading it and are often more likely to defend it it when they'd eviscerate a newer comic doing the same thing.
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