The interesting thing that Elly never understands is that the woman whom she no doubt still sees as ranking member of the harem seems to believe that her MOS is hectoring John about what a lousy husband he is to a woman he mistreats selfishly:
The conversation between Liz and Anthony is casual and natural for all of two lines. Then Anthony says something very inappropriate for a married man that SHOULD send look like red flags waving in front of Liz's face but of course don't. If she had any brains or self-respect she'd say "um...ok. Well bye" and never talk to him again. But of course she's a Patterson so being told "I'm married but I think about you all the time" comes off as flattering to her.
While Anthony is painfully obvious here, there is also the shameful way Mike, Deanna and Gordon are setting up time for Elizabeth to be around Anthony. Anthony is clearly weak when it comes to Elizabeth. So, it's a little like bringing a glass of something with alcohol to an alcoholic. Anthony could be thinking to himself, "I would be over Elizabeth and faithful to my wife if Gordon and Mike and Deanna weren't constantly bringing her over to work to spend time with me."
Sort of like being amused by watching that alcoholic succumb to drinking that drink they brought him. They take a sort of perverse pleasure in destroying Anthony's marriage because he is too weak to stand up for himself and ignore Elizabeth.
The strip with Liz and Anthony was the lead-in to the NYE arc, where Anthony tells Liz that he's engaged. At the time, Liz was living with Eric. So Anthony's not a married man quite yet, but he's also being inappropriate as an engaged person..
The whole Apartment arc was John's version of Buy Valentine's Gifts for Everyone Because I'm a Coward/ Quit instead of fire someone Because I'm a Coward/ don't sign a lease or a contract Because I'm a Coward / buy a freaking house and move out rather than tell your son to be man Because I'm a Coward we see over and over again in this strip. The "solution" makes no sense except that it's the path of least resistance. In real life, we can't just spend a thousand bucks on Valentine's Day gifts for people who are practical strangers or run away from commitments or rent apartments or Freaking Buy an Entirely Different House to solve the overcrowding issue but this is how the Pattersons deal with EVERY problem- by not dealing with it at all.
Deal with a uncomfortable situation like an adult OR spend thousands of dollars to avoid dealing with an uncomfortable situation like an adult? It's an easy choice for John Patterson.
If Jean were to realize what really happened, she would be even more incensed. Bad enough to be an adulterer.... being a craven, cringing chicken is far worse.
I wonder if Jean has ever asked for a raise and been told "we just aren't bringing in enough money right now, oh by the way I'm renting an apartment for a cousin just to get her out of our house and Elly is changing the dimensions of our latest home improvement project pretty much every day."
The interesting thing that Elly never understands is that the woman whom she no doubt still sees as ranking member of the harem seems to believe that her MOS is hectoring John about what a lousy husband he is to a woman he mistreats selfishly:
( ... )
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The conversation between Liz and Anthony is casual and natural for all of two lines. Then Anthony says something very inappropriate for a married man that SHOULD send look like red flags waving in front of Liz's face but of course don't. If she had any brains or self-respect she'd say "um...ok. Well bye" and never talk to him again. But of course she's a Patterson so being told "I'm married but I think about you all the time" comes off as flattering to her.
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They like to be flattered but rarely do they ask why.
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Also, she is the daughter of a man too stupid to understand why his staff has resented him for thirty-odd years.
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While Anthony is painfully obvious here, there is also the shameful way Mike, Deanna and Gordon are setting up time for Elizabeth to be around Anthony. Anthony is clearly weak when it comes to Elizabeth. So, it's a little like bringing a glass of something with alcohol to an alcoholic. Anthony could be thinking to himself, "I would be over Elizabeth and faithful to my wife if Gordon and Mike and Deanna weren't constantly bringing her over to work to spend time with me."
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The implication is obvious: they're doing this because it amuses them.
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Sort of like being amused by watching that alcoholic succumb to drinking that drink they brought him. They take a sort of perverse pleasure in destroying Anthony's marriage because he is too weak to stand up for himself and ignore Elizabeth.
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Right. The way Anthony acts around her may satisfy her ego to much for her to do that.
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Which says a lot of bad things about her.
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That it does. However, what are you going to do when your whole family is pushing you to a guy that you should be ignoring.
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The strip with Liz and Anthony was the lead-in to the NYE arc, where Anthony tells Liz that he's engaged. At the time, Liz was living with Eric. So Anthony's not a married man quite yet, but he's also being inappropriate as an engaged person..
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The whole Apartment arc was John's version of Buy Valentine's Gifts for Everyone Because I'm a Coward/ Quit instead of fire someone Because I'm a Coward/ don't sign a lease or a contract Because I'm a Coward / buy a freaking house and move out rather than tell your son to be man Because I'm a Coward we see over and over again in this strip. The "solution" makes no sense except that it's the path of least resistance. In real life, we can't just spend a thousand bucks on Valentine's Day gifts for people who are practical strangers or run away from commitments or rent apartments or Freaking Buy an Entirely Different House to solve the overcrowding issue but this is how the Pattersons deal with EVERY problem- by not dealing with it at all.
Deal with a uncomfortable situation like an adult OR spend thousands of dollars to avoid dealing with an uncomfortable situation like an adult? It's an easy choice for John Patterson.
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I wonder if Jean has ever asked for a raise and been told "we just aren't bringing in enough money right now, oh by the way I'm renting an apartment for a cousin just to get her out of our house and Elly is changing the dimensions of our latest home improvement project pretty much every day."
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He'd be talking kray-zee wimmin hormones when she got a better gig with someone sane.
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