On the other hand it’s nice to see Alice has a breaking point in Beth’s defense. That’s the difference between Alice and Gladys; neither is perfect – perfect parents don’t exist – but at least Alice is trying, and desperately wants to let Beth make mistakes and learn from them. She knows that improvement takes time. The look on her face on the previous page isn’t anger that Beth punched a hole in the wall, it looks like concern that Beth was deeply upset and didn’t feel like she could talk to Alice about it.
The way Alice’s face hardens at the end here, I wonder whether Gladys may have signed over parental rights like she did in CT, and this might be the point at which she breaks and plays that card, which Gladys never thought she would do.
Alice talks about it being “very informal” when she’s chatting with Liz about the situation, so probably nothing official like signing over rights has happened (the convo starts at /comic522 if you want to reread!).
Multiple comments have been mentioning this though, & while I haven’t read Cheap Thrills myself (and Rigsby WI obv doesn’t have to follow the same plot beats), I wonder if we might get there eventually…?
Alice has so much patience for Gladys honestly. I really like how she genuinely tries to deescalate things, but also that she has a limit and when she reaches it she doesn’t shy away from telling hard truths.
I think Gladys is spectacularly missing Alice’s point – It’s not for the college applications, it’s for Beth’s best chances. The same pressure that can make a diamond(Say, the pressure on the rest of the kids) will shatter a tree(Beth, in this case). Putting Beth under the same pressures will likely shatter her, and then where will she be? But I also feel for Gladys, she DOES only want what’s best for Beth, but she’s also not there to see all the progress Beth has MADE. She only has her previous knowledge to go on, and when her actions are based on that old knowledge without believing it needs to be adjusted, or because she doesn’t want to be WRONG, it causes friction. She’s essentially her own worst enemy when it comes to Beth. Gladys, girl… Please get some therapy, you need it just as much as Beth does, for your own sake. Handling all those kids alone WHILE your husband is definitely not there for you? It’s a hell of a mental toll to be taking.
OK wait do we know one of Gladys’ kids who IS in jail or dead? Also I love the realness of this argument lol
UH OH
Ohhhhhhhhhhh dear. This is about to get ugly.
On the other hand it’s nice to see Alice has a breaking point in Beth’s defense. That’s the difference between Alice and Gladys; neither is perfect – perfect parents don’t exist – but at least Alice is trying, and desperately wants to let Beth make mistakes and learn from them. She knows that improvement takes time. The look on her face on the previous page isn’t anger that Beth punched a hole in the wall, it looks like concern that Beth was deeply upset and didn’t feel like she could talk to Alice about it.
The way Alice’s face hardens at the end here, I wonder whether Gladys may have signed over parental rights like she did in CT, and this might be the point at which she breaks and plays that card, which Gladys never thought she would do.
Alice talks about it being “very informal” when she’s chatting with Liz about the situation, so probably nothing official like signing over rights has happened (the convo starts at /comic522 if you want to reread!).
Multiple comments have been mentioning this though, & while I haven’t read Cheap Thrills myself (and Rigsby WI obv doesn’t have to follow the same plot beats), I wonder if we might get there eventually…?
GLADYS. GET. OUT. OF. /MY/. HOUSE.
Alice has so much patience for Gladys honestly. I really like how she genuinely tries to deescalate things, but also that she has a limit and when she reaches it she doesn’t shy away from telling hard truths.
Very fun to read!! 🙂
I think Gladys is spectacularly missing Alice’s point – It’s not for the college applications, it’s for Beth’s best chances. The same pressure that can make a diamond(Say, the pressure on the rest of the kids) will shatter a tree(Beth, in this case). Putting Beth under the same pressures will likely shatter her, and then where will she be? But I also feel for Gladys, she DOES only want what’s best for Beth, but she’s also not there to see all the progress Beth has MADE. She only has her previous knowledge to go on, and when her actions are based on that old knowledge without believing it needs to be adjusted, or because she doesn’t want to be WRONG, it causes friction. She’s essentially her own worst enemy when it comes to Beth. Gladys, girl… Please get some therapy, you need it just as much as Beth does, for your own sake. Handling all those kids alone WHILE your husband is definitely not there for you? It’s a hell of a mental toll to be taking.