Reality does not automatically equal depressing...

[Janine773]

Ok, I'm not trying to draw division lines here, so keep that in mind before reading...

Why are so many obsessed with the supposedly-likely potential for a crap ending for the series, i.e. Fran and Kat not ending up together, or just a bittersweet "So long, been nice seeing you again, thanks for suddenly flying all the way from Santa Fe to Houston. Have a good one."
I personally see a fair amount of potential for a happy ending, at least as much as their is for the opposite... let's just look at what we're working with in the flash-forward segments of the story so far.

A. Francine and Brads' marriage is on the verge of collapse, even without the presence of Katchoo. She's slowly turning into an alcoholic, and he's never home, apparently (working late.... ). All it would take is a push for Francine to finally come to terms with her own crap; say, the arrival of an old and dear girlfriend?

B: Kat, despite some posts' assertions that even though she still loves Fran, is over her, jumped right back on a plane to Houston on a message from Marie, a person she's never really liked and DEFINITELY never respected. If she was really over Francine, why go through the effort to make sure Marie had her number all these years, and why react the way she did from the message?

C: This could be just me, but I think a MAJOR clue is shown in the panel just before we flash forward to Francine getting out of bed, just before she goes downstairs and discovers Kat was there (#18); "So when do we stop hiding each other, huh? When do we get to live as if we belong here?" and then we flash forward... just my opinion.

D: Ashley seems ungodly attached to "Aunt" Katchoo. Kat already seems attached to her, too, and talks about not being able to "wait to show" the sunsets at her house to Ashley, so I think she's envisioning a lasting attachment of some sort to the child.

In order to keep this post from turning into a novel, I'll cut it here... Comments?

P.S. I also think one of the bigger mysteries is what Katchoo was going to say
before Fran interrupted her to ask about David...
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"Hah! How many hamsters alone has your family killed?" "Eight." "Eight!? Jesus, it's like Jonestown for pets."

[This message has been edited by Janine773 (edited August 28, 2001).]

[5Cats]

Well, Janine, I think that this particular story arc is doomed because we know it leads eventually to the 10 year seperation. However the overall story could easily end happily! I hope so at least.

Reality is depressing enough thank you! SiP is like a breath of fresh air, even when it's sad.

I didn't see my friend Summer for 11 years, and we're good friends once again. Of course we didn't seperate with a huge fight or anything...

I think Katchoo respects Marie, who's done her best dispite a lot of crap in her life, but I agree that she really doesn't like her! Yet she kept 'in touch' for all those years, hummmm...

Ashley is STARVING for attention. She needs someone to smother her with love and affection. Marie is just not that kind of person, but Katchoo can be.

I totally agree with your PS, what was Katchoo about to say! AUGH!

[Thrasymachos]

Janine, I must quibble about Katchoo's feelings toward Marie. It is true that to a large extent they are tied to her attitude toward Muffins. I'll bet Katchoo loved "As Good As It Gets" and "Something About Mary", which featured yip-yip dogs. Yip-yip dogs and Ashley May are things Katchoo despises. She has a highly developed fashion sense. But it wasn't always so strong and critical. In high school, Katchoo envied Francine for her mother.
Katchoo's experiences in Los Angeles led her to despise Marie's tastes.
But there is another time when Marie became the mother that Katchoo always wanted and never had. It was in the hospital right after Flight 495.

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Peregrinator in paradiso.

[Janine773]

You could be right, Thras; Marie has been there for her at the hardest times... I was just thinking of various quotes... "What are you going to do, Francine, run off everybody who tries to get close to you?! Which side of the family did you get that from-your whore-doggin' dad or your frigid mother?"... and how she just kind of blows Marie off when they bring Francie back from being kidnapped for the second time... I dunno, maybe I am reading too much into that one.

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"Hah! How many hamsters alone has your family killed?" "Eight." "Eight!? Jesus, it's like Jonestown for pets."

[fallingstarre]

Kachoo's comments about Francine's parents seem to be consistent with a stereotypical prostitute's (sorry katchoo, call girl's) view of the men she services and the women those men stray from. They don't show any real thought concerning the individuals involved, none of the insight/profiling ablility Francine has lately mentioned when
describing Katchoo.

Which is why I think that Katchoo probably doesn't think of Marie at all(never mind well or poorly) except when she is present (in thought or body). Which is a pity. I think Marie may be one of the few characters (the jury is still out on Casey) who has shown definite growth over the course of the series.


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A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again. -Alexander Pope