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My favorite character moment here is Hanna looking desperately at Mar & Sean as if something has gotten away from her. I wish I’d really leaned into the grossness of Mar & Sean’s kiss, something a little more high schooly and playing up how thirsty we’d seen Sean being just a moment ago. |
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Man, Donovan unexpectedly hitting the nail on the head to the point of being prophetic. Hanna is a control freak because she's terrified of change. As long as she can control everybody and everything (and why not? she knows better, right?) then no unexpected variables will change her perfect life.
Even though I seem critical of her, I am myself guilty of this behavior and only recently, after my life was turned around I was made to confront how abject my terror of change is. I'm still dealing with it but at least knowing that it is a thing helps me not affecting other people's life in my panic.
everyone is guilty of this behavior
Nah. Some people thrive on change, and some people are passive or non-confrontational.
I'd argue it all comes down to personality traits. We're seeing some of the worst of Hanna's here, but of course the flip side is how driven and successful she is in her career. And we don't get to see it much because she can be pretty selfish, but a better version of Hanna is that friend who tells you the hard truth when no one else will. The abrasiveness isn't a plus, but directness can be really refreshing.
Eve is very different. She's much kinder, much easier to live with and generally get along with. Unlike Hanna she doesn't go around puncturing people's balloons (she'd never rain on Marigold about the corporate job or Puget Sean). But she's passive. She has no idea what she wants career-wise and she's content to drift. She's indecisive about moving to Chicago with Park and then can't really face her decision directly, so instead of clearing the air she lets him hang until he digs the answer out of her. You'd never see Hanna dither or be evasive like that.
I do think Eve is entitled to her dithering passivity in the Chicago situation, because Park didn't ask for them to make that decision as a team–he made it unilaterally, and then told her she could join him. But tweak that situation a little more towards the relationship being good and Park being attentive and supportive of her, and she'd come off looking pretty bad.
Not that I find him likable or anything, but I don't think I've fully recognized what I should be seeing in Sean (and Mar) to think of the hookup as outright disgusting. Is it the way he treats and thinks of Mar? That he's fat and grungy, and/or a basement-dweller? Unhealthy views of women and relationships? Just that he's generally unpleasant? Rebound shit?
Unrelated, I always wondered exactly where Hanna was coming from politically, other than seeming to be a little on the well-off side and having leanings that one wouldn't be surprised to find in an entrepreneur looking to grow. But of course trying to focus the story less on politics specifically than on how the politics a character has influence their interactions in the way Meredith has talked about must be something of a balancing act to write, so it's understandable that, like, Hanna and Donovan don't quote Hayek and Marx at each other or something.
This arc is like the official start of Hanna's suffering until the very last page of this comic. It pains me so.
🙁
Hanna and Donovan are arguing extremes here, and Hanna's controlling nature is definitely resulting in her making some pretty gross points. I also think it's worth noting that Donovan is being a pretentious asshole though. Protests fail all the time, and even within successful movements there are counterproductive and reactionary elements that, if unchecked, can undermine the entire movement or its fundamental goals. Hanna's not wrong for being wary of that.
On the first run of this arc I wondered how much of Hanna's arguments here were manifestations of her control issues and how much were genuine political convictions. I agree that wariness of those pitfalls is warranted for any kind of protest or movement, but to me it seems Hanna's argument here might have more to do with her cynicism and fear of change than pragmatic concerns.
Forshadowing!
This is my favorite storyline just for how alive everything feels. The whole arc is based on self-reflective, conyemplative conversations about change and uncertainty and maturity, but their is just so much character packed into the interactions. There is just so much fun in Eve's expressions alone.
Between the squinted shut eyes and the fact that they look like they are propped against a wall, the gross desperation comes off pretty well to me.
There's something genius about putting two people on different sides of an issue, one being the likable Hanna arguing for the "wrong" side, with Donovan, the asshole, arguing for the "right".
also well done to donovan on calling out hanna's privilege, yknow, cis white hetero money to go to college and specifically pretty/charismatic.