188

Six Flags
Posted on December 14, 2019 by David M Willis

188 thoughts on “Six Flags”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    only if you’re tipsy

    or sitting completely ass wrong

    1. Ana Chronistic

      Dumbing of Age Book 11: The Teacups Don’t Go Upside-Down, Joyce

      1. Yet_One_More_Idiot

        YES! I approve of this future book title. 😀

        Also doesn’t past-Joyce know yet that you establish precedent, not President? 😛

        1. BarerMender

          Joyce was very young. As H. Allen Smith might put it, “She scarcely has a tiddy to her name.”

  2. Nono

    I’d rather not watch Trump sixteen times to decide if he’s president.

    Maybe negative sixteen times.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      How about watching Asshole McRacistface being spun in an out-of-control teacup that goes ten times faster than normal 16 times?

      1. butting

        Hell, I’d watch that FROM an out-of-control teacup that goes ten times faster than normal 16 times. Where do I sign up?

    2. Charlie Spencer

      I’d much rather he spent all of his waking hours riding the tea cups instead of how he spends them now.

  3. PHNX

    Aw, retro-mini-Joyce and her neuroses were so cute!

    1. Yet_One_More_Idiot

      You say that like present-day regular-sized Joycy’s neuroses aren’t cute – or no longer exist…. ;D

  4. Yumi

    Aw, there’s a callback…

    1. LeslieBean4shizzle

      Good catch!

    2. PHNX

      Man, has it really been over 9 years, already?! I feel so OLD… particularly because THESE KIDS aren’t really aging much at ALL!

    3. bajja

      The arms are different… Funny to do a call back without followthrough? Or … I know I overthink but ytf is the shirt and arm different?

      I’m just gonna pretend they took a few in a row, and …. the… … i dunno how to explain the shirt. OR WHY I CARE

      1. Miri

        “Those were good… I’ll text them…” – Bonnie took a whole series of photos 🙂

        1. Viri

          Well yeah, kids regularly move, twitch, blink, etc. Actually apply that to all people, but it does seem to be harder with kids. Taking several is one of the better ways of ensuring that at least one turns out well.

    4. DaveM

      To as well.

      1. He Who Abides

        Okay, that was what I was trying to remember. Thank you.

    5. ValdVin

      And here, again.

      This flashback sequence is, if anything, overdetermined to be shown.

  5. Pablo360

    oh no

    we’re seeing this, so it must be relevant

    1. Pablo360

      wait! alive!Bonnie!!! <3

  6. Stephen Bierce

    *plays Diana Ross’ “Upside Down” on the hacked P.A. speakers*

    1. Stephen Bierce

      *followed by Roxette’s “Joyride”*

  7. Diane

    Joyce, you are a pansy and you are weak. Go on a rollar coaster. I’m siding with Becky, I will abandon you for a rollar coaster.

    1. BBCC

      When I’m at an amusement park, going on every roller coaster I am medically able to is the only thing I care about.

      1. BarerMender

        I rode two rolley-costers at Disney World. I got sick.

        1. BBCC

          It’s totally fine not to like roller coasters, but I on the other hand will be disappointed if I leave the park able to walk under my own power.

        2. Agemegos

          Try the deep-fried butter.

        3. Delicious Taffy

          That’s disgusting.

        4. Abel Undercity

          Not if you put it on a stick. Food on a stick is 65% less disgusting than if you were to eat it as it congealed in your hand. Science says.

        5. Miri

          Presumably also less likely to burn you before it starts congealing?

          But yeah, fried butter on a stick sounds horrific!

        6. Needfuldoer

          American amusement parks and state fairs are in an arms race to see who can come up with the most disgustingly delicious junk food. Deep frying is the ICBM, now development has focused on the payload.

      2. Miri

        I used to love roller coasters, but have grown into regular migraines. I inadvertently established a few months ago that going on a playground roundabout with one of those is a terrible idea.

        Apparently people who’ve grown up with them do not need to learn this in their mid-30s…

      3. THEHYPERBOLOID

        We used to get there when the park opened and run to the back, and then work our way forward.

    2. Yotomoe

      Either this year or last year was the first time I rode a roller coaster in my life and I’m 25

      1. Agemegos

        I’m 55 and have never ridden one, nor wanted to.

        1. Norah

          I’m 62 and I rode one only once, when I was 20. I hated the way I felt—it wasn’t fear, I just hated the physical feeling.

        2. ValdVin

          I’m not the biggest coaster-rider out there, but I’m old enough to remember when coasters were all the old wood style. There’s a constant small bumpingness (?) to many of the classic wood coasters which isn’t in the new steel ones. It’ll rattle you if you’re not continually bracing yourself.

        3. Needfuldoer

          I like wooden coasters a lot more than modern steel ones. Getting thrown around by high Gs isn’t really my thing, unless it’s on a vehicle I have control over.

        4. Deanatay

          Speaking as a person who worked at a Six Flags park during my teenage years, I can say roller coasters are not for everyone, but it’s definitely a “you’re missing out” type of experience. There’s a fear and discomfort barrier you have to be both able and willing to overcome, but IF YOU CAN, you should definitely try it.

          Of course, I’ve heard the same thing said for tobacco and alcohol, and I’ve never tried either, so, YMMV.

        5. Anon a Mouse

          I dislike roller coasters intensely but in order to humor my family I have ridden a number of them. I’d say it’s less a “discomfort barrier” that needs to be overcome, it’s just a preference. I was fully confident in the ability of the vehicle to not come apart and i can’t say i was really “scared” either. I just really dislike the physical feeling of being thrown around and traveling at speeds like that but in the end doing a few coasters was the only way to convince other people that “Yes, I really did not enjoy myself at all.” And even then i usually get eye rolls.

    3. Keulen

      I’ve gone on roller coasters before, but I agree with Joyce on not going on amusement park rides that go upside-down.

    4. JBento

      As someone who positively loathes both heights and speed, I can honestly say I’ve never related to Joyce more than in this strip.

    5. Zee

      When I went to six flags with my boyfriend we did one big rollercoaster and I cried when we tried to go on the big spinny pendulum thing…

  8. MatthewTheLucky

    Ah, here we establish that Toedad knows Joyce’s secret weakness of being inverted.

    1. Schpoonman

      A young Joyce, maybe. Joyce now has ridden on motorcycles and will say profanity.

      Basically, when Semi-Perfect Cell grabbed Vegeta when he was upside down and it goes very poorly for Cell.

  9. BBCC

    I relate to Becky in that I love roller coasters and to Joyce because I too need to make sure they don’t spin you 360 degrees or are one of those climb sky high and then drop rides. Damn heart conditions.

    1. JBento

      Technically, teacups DO spin you 360 degrees. It’s just that they do it on a non-problematic plane.

      1. Otl1999

        Less problematic plane…

      2. BBCC

        360 degrees horizontally is okay. Flipping upside down 360 degrees is not.

    2. Diane

      I’m with you on the sky drops. Those are terrible. I can handle heights when it’s too fast to register how high you are, but those things dangle you. Nope, no thanks, not today Satan.

      1. BBCC

        See, I’m sure I would love them, but my cardiologist would not.

        1. Roborat

          Well then just don’t take them on the ride.

    3. JBento

      I’d additionally like to point out the irony of YOU having a bad heart. 8p

      Take care.

      1. BBCC

        Eh, I was born with it so I’m used to it. Mostly it means all my meat has to be medium well to well done, I can’t drink unfiltered water and if I run for longer than 15 minutes my chest starts yelling at me.

  10. MaddMaxx

    Uh oh

  11. DailyBrad

    I was hoping to learn more about Bonnie, but the cost is going to be high, isn’t it?

  12. Ivy

    I’m with Joyce, my particular blend of tachophobia and motion sickness make roller coasters the perfect storm of awful.

  13. DarkoNeko

    “six flags” ? 😐

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Six Flags is a chain of amusement theme parks in the US. Originally “Six Flags Over Texas” because Texas has been in six different nations. But then they opened “Six Flags Over [place]” even when the six flags part makes no sense, because money.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        “The slogan is used to describe the six different countries that, at one time or another, had sovereignty over territory that now falls within Texas borders. The six flags represent Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States.”

        1. abysswatcher1993

          And the parks have special events during Halloween and the Winter Holidays.

        2. BarerMender

          I’m trying to think when Texas was in France. As far as I knew, France’s dominion over Mexico never went north of the Rio Grande. Or Rio Bravo, if you please.

        3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Some northern sections of what is now Texas were part of French Louisiana, which got swapped back and forth with Spain, and eventually sold to the USA. The current US state of Louisiana is a small section of what was French Louisiana.

      2. DarkoNeko

        thanks

    2. Agemegos

      It’s the largest and seventh-most-popular theme park operating company in America!

    3. Catullus

      It’s a chain of amusement parks in the US

    4. OBBWG

      It was originally Marriott’s Great America. It changed to Six Flags Great America when the Six Flags corporation took over.

      To give some geography: It is located in Gurnee, IL, about seven miles south of the Wisconsin border and about 120 miles north and west of La Porte, IN.

      This strip brings back many memories of the summer days spent there on rides that went upside-down.

      1. Cholma

        You do know that there’s almost 2 dozen “Six Flags” parks in the US. or are you are you saying you believe that’s where this particular comic is taking place? If so, you’re probably right, since Gurnee & St Louis are the 2 closest to where Joyce grew up.

        1. BBCC

          This particular comic, I’m pretty sure.

        2. Fiddler115

          I guarantee that when someone from La Porte like Joyce, Willis, or myself talks about going to Six Flags, they are referring to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL.

  14. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    . . .Toe Dad no longer has a Toe Face. Now he has a Batman/Superman Chin. This feels unnatural.

    1. Foxhack

      This is a flashback. This is when he was still emotionally stable – presumably, he was still using the home gym that was shown when Becky and Joyce broke into their home to look for her personal documents.

      Grief, depression and other factors can really screw up someone’s physique.

      1. Hugo Bedward

        I wonder how much Bonnie’s suicide affected him.
        Or was he mainly concerned about how it affected his social status in town and the local church?

        1. Delicious Taffy

          It’s his fault, so how it affected him is pretty much irrelevant.

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          What he does is his fault, as noted, but it seems plausible that he may have decided that his wife died because he wasn’t a good enough Christian, and he doubled down on that.

        3. Miri

          Or he could have decided it was because he wasn’t a strict enough husband and father, perhaps?

          However while it seems fair to assume he was not an easy person to live with, we don’t know that Bonnie didn’t have clinical depression in which case it may have happened anyway. Although conversely I would buy that if she did he’d have refused to accept it and insisted she needed to pray for happiness rather than see a doctor/go to therapy, or that he could have interpreted her being not OK as a personal insult and blamed her for trying to imply he isn’t a good enough man to keep her happy… In which case yep OK he’s responsible.

        4. Paradoxius

          I’d buy that. I think we’ve seen a lot of him doubling-down on beliefs and behaviors when he faces problems. I would imagine that her illness would have caused stresses in their marriage and that he would have reinforced the behaviors that made things hardest for her, and that when she died, it would have sent him over the edge.

          People have bad parts and good parts and sometimes they get stronger or weaker over time.

        5. BarerMender

          He believes Satan took her and she’s now burning in hell. That has to affect you.

      2. Geeky Warrior

        I don’t know, something still seems off. The whole “let them know we’re here” line. Unless she means let them know we got here safely instead of hey your kid is unexpectedly at 6 flags.

        1. DSL

          That is a thing that people do, to let other people important to them know they’ve arrived somewhere safely. Even at our advanced ages, my siblings and I are still expected to text one another to let us know we’re “off the road.”

  15. Deathjavu

    Establish precident? That’s dangerously close to science, Tiny Joyce…

    1. Wizard

      Sadly, scripture provides little guidance on the subject of amusement park rides.

      1. Leorale

        Just pretend you’re the Israelites, while God carries you, the way a soaring eagle rouses its young upon its pinions, in an upwards spiral. (Deuteronomy)

    2. vitalProximity

      No no no, like LEGAL precedent, I’m sure. Like the Scopes Monkey trial!

  16. Ellis

    Oh no this flashback is gonna make me cry I can tell. Their faces are too small and cute

  17. Violet

    What Six Flags would this be? I didn’t think the was one in Indiana. Could be the Louisville Kentucky Kingdom which I think is under the six flags branding, or it could be the Chicago area six flags if they’re more from Northern Indiana? But also the Browns and the MacIntyres seem to be more of Holiday World type folks to me, lol.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Probably Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois.

    2. OBBWG

      This is the one in Gurnee, IL. The roller coaster in the background of panel one is very distinct as is the wooden roller coaster scaffolding in panels three and five.

      1. Kensou

        Ah, yes. The American Eagle. The nostalgia effect increases.

        Joyce is right to fear the teacups. Don’t know if they’ve changed the upper limit of how fast you can make them spin, but me and a buddy were trying to one-up one another back in the day… I got pretty dizzy, heh.

        I should make a visit next year, it’s been a bunch of years.

        1. BarerMender

          I knew not to ride the teacups. I woulda barfed right in the cup.

    3. Tan

      They are from La Porte, Indiana. It is about a 2 hour drive to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois

  18. Kyrik Michalowski

    I relate to both Becky and Joyce here, I love to ride the scarier rides at amusement parks but I’m a total wimp until I get my first big ride of the day done. Before that first ride I’m all about the teacups and slow coasters. Once I do my first big ride of the day then I’m insatiable and need all of the scary rides.

  19. FLUFFYWOLF

    I sense a BIG NOPE a comin.

  20. Sambo

    Ominous storyline name is ominous

    DAH DADA DA DAHHH, DAA DADA DA DAIIIIYA DA DADA DA DA DAIIIIIYA DA

    1. McBogue

      And when push comes to shove
      I will send a fully armed battalion father
      To remind you of my love…

      1. Regalli

        You’ll be back,
        Soon you’ll see,
        You’ll remember you belong to me
        […]
        When you’re gone,
        I’ll go mad
        So don’t throw away this thing we had.
        And when push comes to shove,
        I will kill your friends and family
        To remind you of my love.
        Both seem pretty relevant here, too. (God will this storyline HURT.)

      2. Sambo

        And when push comes to shove
        I will send a fully armed battalion father toedad
        To remind you of my love…

        1. Sambo

          Gosh dangit, I screwed up the HTML. Let me try again:

          And when push comes to shove
          I will send a fully armed battalion father toedad
          To remind you of my love…

        2. Sambo

          And when push comes to shove
          I will send a fully armed battalion father toedad
          to remind you of my love

  21. He Who Abides

    Please tell me that this isn’t what Joyce was thinking of when Toedad had a gun on her, it’ll just make this worse.

    1. abysswatcher1993

      Joyce’s mind: “The teacups are going upside down!”

    2. King Daniel

      “Are there any verses that say what to do when someone who once drove you to Six Flags pulls a gun on you?”

  22. Agemegos

    Is Ross a college graduate? Or am I reading too much into his “Anderson” shirt?

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Bonnie might be an Anderson graduate, but all Ross got was that lousy t-shirt.

      Fits with my fanon that Bonnie was the brains of the marriage, operating on the “make him think it was his idea” system of manipulation.

      1. hof1991

        Anderson might give shirts to their parish. Ross looks like a guy who wears shirts without paying much attention to what’s on them. I wear an Open DNS shirt I got for free. I like the product and used to use it but mainly it’s a good shirt and black. But this is DYW so it’s a Chekhov’s shirt. It means something.

    2. Leorale

      College graduates can be terrible people, too.

    3. Seregiel

      Remember, Anderson is the college for kids in the community that aren’t well socialized or outside view tolerant according the the minister. That means he graduated with a masters in small mindedness.

      1. thejeff

        That’s close to what the minister said, but I suspect it’s not what was meant. More like, those not socialized well enough to be trusted outside their insular culture.
        Joyce was a good girl. They thought she’d be able to resist the outside influences.

  23. Agemegos

    Is the thematic connection between this trip to Six Flags and Sarah’s birthday party that they both involved someone being made, as a treat, to do something that they don’t enjoy?

    1. darkgloomie

      The Birthday Party arc ended in the last strip, this is a new arc. No thematic connection required.

      1. thejeff

        Well, the birthday party isn’t necessarily over, it just hit midnight. There’s probably more to play out at the party and its aftermath.

    2. Zee

      Sarah spent time in a quiet room by herself with a cat and pizza (until Ruth and Billie came in). She even got her whole birthday cake to herself. that’s the best treat you can get a sarah

  24. Agemegos

    The design of this page needs a taller strip of filler and boilerplate at the bottom, that can be covered up by the advertisement without blocking access to the “Post Comment” button.

  25. Yotomoe

    Precedent-noun
    An earlier event used as an example or as a guide to be considered in a future action or engagement.
    Not to be confused with President- noun
    An elected head of state, country, organization, or group.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      This is the way Joyce would have probably thought it was regardless. Witness how many high school and college students who still aren’t clear of the difference between ‘there’, ‘their’, and ‘they’re’, or ‘to’, ‘too’, and ‘two’.  The Dumbing-down of America.

      1. Agemegos

        Not to mention “tow the line”, “anyways”, and “I could care less”.

        1. Yotomoe

          Yeah. It seems like people are taking their education for granite.

        2. BBCC

          Maybe I’m just really tired, but what’s wrong with anyways?

        3. BBCC

          NVM, I googled it. Apparently it’s because it’s considered slang and doesn’t work literally.

        4. thejeff

          Not sure about the others, but “I could care less” isn’t really any modern “dumbing down”. It’s just an idiomatic construction that’s been spreading since at least the 60s. And people have been complaining about it just as long.

        5. BarerMender

          “I could care less” started as heavy-handed schoolgirl sarcasm on “I couldn’t care less.” As in, “I say I could care less but don’t believe me I couldn’t.”

      2. thejeff

        For the growing misuse of homophones (‘there’, ‘their’, and ‘they’re’, or ‘to’, ‘too’, and ‘two’), I suspect that’s due more to the vast growth in casual writing in the Internet Age. You see the errors a lot more, simply because you read a lot more unedited, quickly dashed off text than you ever would have back in my youth.

      3. Geneseepaws

        Its eazier to jus’ let spell-chack do it then learn there crap.

  26. paleotectonics

    Aaaaand the long-awaited “toedad maims Blaine and is sent to prison for three months this time for shooting at, well, every goddamn thing in sight” storyline.

  27. abysswatcher1993

    I recommend the Roadrunner rollercoaster and the Tony Hawk rollercoaster. They don’t go upside down. However, I dislike going on water games because my feet get wet.

  28. fishamaphone

    Oh god, Bonnie’s going to be killed by the teacup ride, isn’t she.

    1. Foxhack

      She dies of cancer.

      1. Foxhack

        Or not, guess she committed suicide. Dangit.

        1. fishamaphone

          I’m not ruling out the possibility that the teacup ride may have caused either of those things.

      2. Deadjolras

        That’s what Joyce believes. Hank implies otherwise here: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/indebted/

      3. Needfuldoer

        My fan theory says she was diagnosed with an aggressive form but Ross wouldn’t allow proper treatment. This combined with the physical effects fed existing depression to the point she only saw one way out.

        1. Charles Phipps

          My view is that she was depressive and wasn’t treated save with prayer.

        2. Foxhack

          I dunno. See this strip.

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/deserves/

          Becky says she should’ve seen the signs of suicidal behavior. I think this heavily implies her mom was successful in committing suicide.

        3. BarerMender

          That strip still makes me tear up.

  29. Bagge

    I love this strip.

    I love the trope where we see a photo, and then see how the photo was taken.

    I love Becky and Joyce as children.

    I love that Joyce neuroses remain the safe topic of conversation everyone bond over.

    I love to see the patended Becky-smirk. Young she may be, trouble-maker she is.
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/dresses/

    (I hate ToeDad. Fudge off, asshole)

    1. Bagge

      and most of all: I love that we finally get to meet Bonnie alive.

    2. BarerMender

      I hate that “trope” has come to mean “any idea you’ve seen more than once.” The original meaning is too important to lose. What is the original meaning? I’m glad you asked. A trope is when words are used to convey meaning different from or in addition to their literal meaning, as in metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, paronomasia, etc.

      1. Geneseepaws

        OMG! Yeah you used that word: synecdoche!
        You’ve made me squee. We should be friends, … Assuming we aren’t already.

  30. Suet

    So that is what reminds you of… no, Willis, NO. This will be the worst rollercoaster ride of a storyline we will ever expect (maybe)!

    Then again, seeing a discount Tom Selleck wearing an Anderson U tee feels more unnerving.

    SIX FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGS

  31. Icalasari

    …The storyline’s name…

    *Oh no*

  32. Ferret

    I’m going to spend the next four months with my butthole clenched because of this.

    1. Ferret

      I meant to reply to the comment above me, “this” is the storyline title.

  33. Romanticide

    I feel you Joyce, I don’t think I lost my fear of rollercoasters until I was 15-16… I became a fiend afterwards but I think I even worried about the teacups.

    1. Diane

      Same. My cousin forced me on a stand up coaster at 14, and I became a fiend afterwards. Spiny stuff ain’t too good, at least the super fast ones.

  34. BenRG

    A better and happier time.

    1. Bagge

      …you know, partly.

      These were the same Joyce and Becky who were told by these same parents to “stand up straight so all the homos could see them” at the Chick-fil-a-protests.

      1. BarerMender

        Not all the parents, just Ross.

  35. Vivvav

    Huh. A time when he was more dad than thumb. Intriguing.

  36. Tacos

    Hey guys, I’m not sure but I think those teacups don’t go upside-down.

  37. Hugo Bedward

    Wait a second, if the alt text yesterday said it was the “END OF STORYLINE sorta” does that mean they’ll be something in the future that returns to that storyline?

    1. thejeff

      Probably more that “storyline” is essentially “day”. It was midnight, so that “storyline” ended, but the storyline of the party is likely to continue, quite likely as soon as this flashback (and likely the look in at whoever’s having it) is over.

  38. Shane Wegner

    NIOBE: “Why do always do that?”
    GHOST: “Do what?”
    NIOBE: “Check your guns. It’s a program. It loads your guns the same way every time.”
    GHOST: “Hume teaches us that past events cannot predict future outcomes.”

    -Enter the Matrix

  39. Zaxares

    *chuckle* Joyce, there’s nothing at all wrong with never, ever wanting to set foot on a roller coaster. They’re like spicy food; some people love ’em, some people get sick from them. Me? I’m mostly ambivalent about them. I’ve ridden some, but none of them have ever been worth the price of admission. These days I’m more than happy to just wait at the bottom and hold the bags while my friend/partner goes on the ride. 🙂

    1. BBCC

      And those of us who love roller coasters value your service 😀

  40. Raen

    …Six Flags has teacups?

    1. Needfuldoer

      They’re a pretty common stock ride. IIRC even StoryLand (the discount, public domain Disney in New Hampshire) has them.

  41. Candle

    My brain is half glitching trying to remember when we started to be able to text photos with the timeline. I don’t remember them when I was young or when my kids were little so brain is mixed between feeling old or just having been behind on tech.

    1. Needfuldoer

      It looks like the girls are probably around 10 to 12 in this flashback, so probably 6 to 8 years before the present.

    2. Zee

      At this current point in the timeline they would have been born in 2000/2001, so this is likely somewhere between 2010-2013. I believe flip phones could send pictures but it looks like Bonnie is holding a smartphone

      1. Needfuldoer

        There absolutely were modern smartphones in 2010.

        She could also have a slider feature phone with a camera on the back, but you’d think they would have brought something that takes good pictures on a special trip like this.

  42. ValdVin

    Don’t worry, Joyce. One ride with Yukari and you won’t be afraid of roller coasters any more.

  43. Michael Lanting

    In this I am the Anti-Joyce. I tend to skip the rides that do NOT go upside down. That’s the best bit.

  44. JBento

    Is… Is that a NECK? ON ROSS?

    Also, he’s not being a shitheel in this strip and it feels weird.

  45. Charles Phipps

    I wonder if it turns out instead of being an abusive psychopath (albeit in a church that encouraged the worst of those qualities) that Ross was driven made in the Gothic novel sense by his wife’s suicide.

    1. JBento

      IIRC, there’s a point at which Hank mentions that Ross has always been Ross, but Bonnie’s suicide made him… MORE Ross.

    2. thejeff

      It’s possible, but a couple of scenes with him not being abusive don’t mean anything. Abusive parents are often good at not being obviously so in public.

      1. JBento

        If this were Blaine, sure – but Ross is about as deceptive as a mirror. We’re talking about a dude who told a complete stranger what he was going to do to his daughter because she was a lesbian, and then proceeded to publicly pull out a shotgun at a university campus.

        The possible counter to Charles Phipps’s position is that Ross isn’t being defied in this situation, not that he has any manner of cunning.

    3. TemperaryObsessor

      Its possible he was fine before the mothers suicide. I doubt it. But he is an abusive jerk now. Its also possible the mothers death meant Becky was no longer shielded from the abuse, or was his personal excuse to amp up the abuse.
      Its also possible that Ross was abusive even now but just isn’t acting too bad at the moment. One thing about Becky is she’s good at faking okay she feels she has to or people will get sick of her being a downer and abandon her. Joyce didn’t even know anything was wrong for a while after she was kicked out. Becky also feels like if she wants to express her real self she better make it look like not her fault or something will come down on her for a while.

  46. plasticwrap

    >nor going to Cedar Point
    Losers.

    1. Diane

      RIGHT?! It ain’t that far.

  47. Rabisch

    This looks intriguing.

  48. Jhon

    We now must make a ride where the teacups DO go up-side down.

    1. plasticwrap

      We call it: The Blender

  49. Crumplepunch

    Huh, Toedad didn’t say anything awful yet, that’s pretty impressive for him.

    1. Bagge

      Well, Joyce’s neuroses seems to be the only safe talking point for anyone in these families.

  50. JBento

    Ok, I see plenty of people saying that Bonnie’s death is due to Ross, and I’m gonna have to step in on that. Not to defend Ross, because hahaha, no, but because it’s promoting the view that when someone’s depressed it’s easy to pick up on it. It’s not (or, at least, necessarily so). People suffering from depression can be EXCEEDINGLY good at hiding it, even from those closest to them – it’s why trained professionals to identify and help handle it are a necessity.

    1. JBento

      P.S.: I’m not saying that there’s no way Bonnie’s death was a result of “pray the sad away”, I’m saying that there’s a high chance of Bonnie’s death being the result of “depression is a complete drumset to detect, diagnose and treat, and even people who aren’t total shitheels and actively care for and love those affected by it can easily miss it.”

      1. Schpoonman

        My take on that train of thought is that, if Ross were responsible, it’s from Bonnie being trapped in a marriage to Ross, not that he very specifically drove her to suicide.

        1. JBento

          I mean, yeah, having to deal with Ross on a regular basis is all the suck, regardless of your mental health.

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Drumset?

        1. Bathymetheus

          I expect it’s a spell-correct, but I must admit I can’t immediately figure out what the intended word was.

        2. TemperaryObsessor

          I think that was self filtered and the intended word. I think she’s saying that sometimes detecting, diagnosing and treating depression is like fighting off an entire pack of wolves. I mean there is the bongo, the father drum, and the teenage drums all working together to make it more difficult.

        3. Kamino Neko

          More than a bongo.

      3. TemperaryObsessor

        We know Ross is an abusive shit stain to Becky. Men who are abusive shit stains to their daughters are fairly likely to be abusive shit stains to their wives.
        I am not saying that Ross is responsible for his wives death because he missed the signs, or didn’t get her the help she needed I’m also not saying he did it on purpose.
        I’m not an expert by any means but I get the impression being abused can cause mental issues, like depression.
        I am not by any means saying that all depression is caused by abuse, or the parents doing anything wrong, or needs any bad actors what so ever to happen and be missed. But I’m saying in this particular situation I’m blaming Ross because I get the impression being in a close relationship with an abusive shit stain has a correlation depression.

    2. Kamino Neko

      When clinical depression and situational depression (such as what would be caused by being married to Ross), the result tends to be worse than the sum of the parts.

  51. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Watch them sixteen times? Gathering experimental data? What kind of godless science is this?

  52. PB

    A+ arc title choice

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