From the jump I asked Val to give Jane and Mar colors that would play well together. To that end I love the disruptive red on Will. What a little shit! Writing-wise I think it's way too tidy that Will and Mar both know all this information about Hanna... I apologize, okay?? The intended result is that Will walks off feeling like a good guy, still oblivious to a degree, as all the most frustrating exes are. But it's unclear what kind of valor getting your dick barfed on affords you.
9 thoughts on “#795 – the perfect ex”
Matt Bixler
For the longest time I read this page as Will being aware of what kind of friendly-shitty he's being. "It sucks that I'm here doing this, but it's a thing that'll actually help you and I don't want anything in return," etc. It wasn't until this read that I realized the import of him in the second-to-last panel reinforcing either his obliviousness or just him reeling off the smug high of a good deed.
maria
Same, even knowing the intent I can't quite unsee it lol. I think it's his eyebrows in the 4th panel
wykstrad
For what it's worth, the info about Hannah's bug vacuum battery drawer tracked with me as another example of Hannah's tendency to suck people into the very particular orbits of her life, and her particular success where Will and Marigold are concerned.
I also really like Will coming in right at "aren't you the perfect ex" like a witness for the prosecution.
Thomas
Will and Marigold know Hanna entirely too well. It reads as a natural consequence of their established history together, so I think this moment is earned.
TheHairyCoo
It might be that I’m clutching too hard on my original interpretation, but at the risk of going against the grain, is what Will’s offering to do so bad here? He’s there, he happens to overhear, he’s got a an easy solution, he offers to help in a way which allows Marigold to decline if she wants. I get that Will was by far the more at fault in the breakup, and this Marigold has her sympathy but we’ve also seen Will’s trying to be better of late at the necessary cost of some self esteem. Can we not allow him the small feeling of a win here?
MildCurry
I think you’re right that Will is offering a genuinely good solution to Mar’s problem, and that’s why she takes it. His fault in this page is not in doing a favor, but in treating Marigold with the same casual niceness he has always treated her with. Will never thought he owed her anything more than niceness, even when it was clear that her feelings for him ran much deeper than his for her. Even now, he assumes she’s over it or perhaps preemptively treats her like she’s over it to avoid having to acknowledge the fact that he hurt her.
TheHairyCoo
Ok, yup, I can see that – thanks. That makes a lot of sense.
wykstrad
It would be extremely rude for any ex to feel "good" after they have stopped dating me. No thank you.
joe
just here to say I ship it all over again. What can I say? it's spring time, and love is in the air. And I love the subtle gradients in the background people, exquisite stuff.