I'm still happy with the punchline, a fun gag at the expense of both characters. Eve can't leave the house until she has her biases confirmed, and any scrap of validation will do. Even Hanna expressing that she won't "be mad" if Eve goes and does it is enough. If this is the only deterrence, who could possibly stop her in a loving way? The truth is that Eve DOES need to scratch it out - it's an itch she's been suffering for too long - and support (for the aftermath) is the only thing her friends have a prayer of communicating. This is just too oppressive for Hanna to bear, even though not holding her friend hostage "for her own good" is remarkable growth on her part.
12 thoughts on “#896 – some unbearable itch”
cwbuecheler
I see that Hanna is one of those people, like my beloved wife, who leaps from the shower without actually being dry and consequently floods the entire bathroom. 😀
bryanew710
As much as I generally find Hanna to be an insufferable know-it-all and manipulator when it comes to other people's relationships, this strip shows that there's genuine good intentions underneath it all. Additionally, I REALLY like her point about it being absolutely OK to leave questions unanswered if answering them will lead unnecessarily down a bad path.
Stephen M
I like Meredith pointing out that Hannah's showing personal growth on this page — it's not just that this is the good side of Hannah, it's that she's actively improving her ability to care about her friends without needing total control over them.
bryanew710
Good way to put it!
TheHairyCoo
Ironically, though, answering those questions might just lead Hanna down a path as good as Eve's is bad. I love that about OP, that both Hanna and Eve are right in their thoughts but for the wrong person.
Dr. Lee, Ph.D
this is one of the only times i am team hannah post the brownout biscuit arc, but honestly it still infuriates me that the only people she is willing to allow agency are the ones who have put up with her bullshit for literal ~years~; i am glad she learns and improves on this somewhat by the comics end, but goddamn you know this conversation would have gone very differently if it wasn't eve or will about to leave.
Rezmason
Nah, Park is a narc! It's even worse!
The resentment! The emotional blackmail! How could she get her FRIENDS caught up in this?
You go back in there and bone him, Ning. You bone him right now!
( http://www.octopuspie.com/072 )
cwbuecheler
Hark, Park's no narc. James is the ex-bf in that arc.
Or perhaps this was snark?
Julie
I'm a big fan of the divide created between them by the bathroom's cracked doorway, a divide that vanishes as soon as it's created. Sometimes conflict is like that.
Sofia
that’s a cool analysis!
Da5id
Eve's hair looks amazing here.
Mauricio Lemos
That expression of Eve in panel 5, an absolutely perfect render of being mad at someone because you're mad at yourself but like hell you would admit that to yourself.