November 17th, 2017
17 Nov 2017 · page 748 of 1306
Good guess, Harry.
Cast: Enid O'Malley, Harriet Barber, Jack O'Malley
Comments (36)
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Choice!
"A choice?
"Never had one'a them before..."
"But I think I like blue...."
That's several years later.
But it's probably due to Enid he likes blue, since her spirit is blue
Likely
Kind of a "Dawww" retcon moment...
My first thought on reading this strip was definitely "I'll bet no one's ever given him any choices before."
No wonder he doesn't care for authority. He got a taste of choice and decided to keep it.
Look at how anxious her spirit is, clutching its poor fire . . .
I've said it before, but I love how expressive it is, in comparison to her rather stoney countenance.
That resignation on the spirit in the last panel. 'I want to save you, but it has to be your choice . . .'
Is the apple meant to be that big in regards to his head, is this distortion of his memory or am I forgetting how small kids are?
Probably a mix of all the above. Apples come in all sizes. Some you can hold three or four in your hand, some who can't get your fingers half way around.
We get uniform sized apples in the store, because they're easier to count and box. We use to get large ones, back in the day. When I was in the Air Force, I was amazed at how small the apples that were available were. Even living only 10's of miles away, you can't get those big apples anymore. Most of them go to juice.
Looks like a cooking apple.
Plus, he's clearly undernourished, so probably quite small for his age.
On the trolly luv and stay quiet.
And, this is how you conduct a proper extraction, folks! Get concent! :)
Harry appears to be looking at the cover on the cleaning cart, so I assume that Enid is going to sneak Jack out on the cart under that otherwise not exactly necessary cover.
In the last panel? I think there's more to that "Hrm" from Harry than just the cart and cover. She's looking surprised. Something about the situation is making her rethink.
She knew already that Young Mal did escape, and with Enid. She has no reason to have underestimated Enid. The use of the cart is too obvious a method of getting past Acedia to surprise a Hunter that much.
I think what brought that expression to her face was the offering of choice. That's a thing Harry wouldn't have done, until now. She'd have yanked the imperiled kid out of danger the way she threw Ben and Mal out of the window of the burning house. I think she is realizing for the first time that it's better when a person chooses to accept being helped.
And she's probably remembering Mal saying he'd rather stay here than go back to be the witch, because "least this way, I get t' choose."
I love that adult Mal still has that little reminiscent smile. We've never seen him this relaxed and happy for this long at a stretch before, which is especially touching considering the state he was in for the first half of the flashback.
IT GETS ME EVERY TIME
I should put his face on my wall to remind me of that when I'm in a slump. "Yeah, it might seem like everything's hopeless, but don't give up before Enid O'Malley walks through that door."
Only time I can remember him being happy like this is when Wolfe is playing the violin.
Agreed...came here to say the same thing! I think she and Wolfe may be the only two people who he can relax around.
Jack doesn't know how to read because Enid doesn't know either. A common thing back then, especially among the lower class.
Never seen a spirit shed tears before. Cry yes, at the poker game a few chapters back, but that was a little different.
I think my favorite part of her spirit is that it has a bleeding heart of fire.
And now we see the use of a mostly empty cart with a few cleaning supplies hanging off the sides.
And an employer too lazy to pay attention to what the cleaning stuff actually does. :D
Well, of course. If Acedia were the type to pay attention to details she wouldn't have accepted this deal from Luxuria in the first place.
My, what a convenient-looking cart. :D
I'm so in love with this story line. <3
"No! Don't eat the apple. When I tell you to, smack it against the wall."
Can I just say I love Enid's "Spirit" for a lack of a better word? She is a Class-act lady
Both of you!
Stop flashbacking and get to work!
YOUR FRIENDS ARE DYING.