Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 23, 2020

something definitely worth discussing between two girls

More mysteries, more esposition. Has Bernice been sneaking for dinner’s with Jack?

Time to put on your Sherlock Holmes hat, Luann—the game is afoot!

So sad … ✨

Obviously Bernice has never told Luann that her brother was back in town.

Looks like Bernice is in need of counseling to help her work through complex emotions about her parents…

Well!! Dissention in the ranks! There’s Trouble in Pittsville!

Wonder where Bernice has been eating dinner…

Did Ben lose weight.

Aha! I was wondering if there might be something cold about the Halpers that would explain why Bernice felt she couldn’t ask them for help. Maybe she’s afraid of telling them taht she lost the RA gig, because they’d find a way to blame her. Maybe her uptightness comes from having impossible to please parents.

People like that can be very generous, but they’re never actually giving you gifts, they’re buying your dignity. If that is the case, Ben needs to pay off rent even if they waived it and get out of there with his kids as fast as possible.

Perhaps a large hug for him is on the immediate horizon. Might make things go in a direction they shouldn’t.

.

And put those dirty minds away. It wasn’t THAT something…

OK. Who saw that coming? Don’t all jump up at once now.

I don’t know where this is going, but I’ll go out on a limb and predict that it’s not just about Bernice being ticked off at Ben and/or her parents over her room at home.

Talking to Luann rather than Bernice. Not the way to a mature relationship.

Blood definitely isn’t thicker than water with Bernice.

Boy that is a gut punch! Bernice has some complex family issues with her brother, that is for sure. This really portends tricky ground for Luann and her relationship with her bestie. Grown-up problems contrary to what some here are so dismissive about. This is a complex arc. By the way I can’t see where Jack comes in here, although who knows, he may come in here. A bit of a sticky wicket, hey wot? I think it goes back to the decision in the first place of the birth parents to give Ben up for adoption in the first place. Also will Luann be a source of comfort, romantic or as a friend in need, for Ben? Our little girl has a hell of a life issue dropped on her.

Puddles is taking a long time to go to the bathroom, he must be emotionally constipated cause he looks like he doesn’t give a **** about what luann and her “friend” is talking about.

Interesting twist. While we saw Bernice whining about no room at home, here we‘re getting, „She‘s avoiding me!“

Suggesting that Bernice may have said or done something entirely different at home.

As in, moving out to avoid Ben…

So, where is Bernice right now? And when do WE get to see the twins? And who is THEIR father? And where is he? And can we have soldier Ben back at some point, as a personal favor?

Where does Bernice go and what does she do when she tells Luann she is going to family dinner? What else is Bernice lying about? Why did she really lose her RA position? Did the administration find out about Piro’s sleepover and fired Bernice and she was too embarrassed to tell anyone?

He looks like Bernice and male drag attire!

The bear brother, you say?

Does anyone else think “Build-a-Bear” when Ben says, “Barely-a-Brother”?

ahhhhhhhhhhh so HERE’s where the new set of drama is going to come from. Looks like it might be interesting. Honestly, I just get a kick out of seeing old-school characters return and seeing what they’re up to- it’s very For Better Or For Worse (where’s Knute, Delta & Crystal now?!).

Hmmm…. so, this doesn’t look like a one-week-only arc. This’ll go on for a while I think, but today’s strip has tossed us a bone to chew on. A mystery!!!

So, Bernice has been blowing off Halper Family Dinners? Reasons might be more complex than simple lingering resentment over Ben’s appearance that seemingly displaced her from her room and left her crying and desperate. Now that she’s seemingly “settled in” with the DeGroots, I’d think that she’d gotten over any hard feelings by now?

Panel #2 adds to the intrigue… she’s not simply “mad” at him/them. Yes…why is she lying to Luann about going to those dinners? Where is she going, then? And how long did she think her ruse was going to last before somebody started talking to somebody else?

And… how much does Nancy DeGroot know? About Bernice’s reasons for not being able to go home (to the Halpers). She wanted to, but couldn’t? Or she didn’t really want to (for complex reasons)? Someone like Nancy would need to know… why would she forego renting their vacant room for market-rate rent money on the word of a crying, clearly distressed teenager/young adult without getting a better picture of what’s really going on? There had to be a talk, and Bernice’s answers to any of Nancy’s questions had to be satisfactory….

Who else will be tuning in for more?

Ah we’re coming down to the root of the plot here. Bernice. She’s having issues about Ben and perhaps the chaos in her life that she doesn’t know how to handle. So she runs and hides. And she majors in psychology? She needs counseling herself. Yeah I know. People often major in psychology because they have issues themselves and want to learn about them. The reality is they need a real counseling and not read about them. That is what Nancy will say – because Luann will tell her mother. Ben appears to merely bring Bernice’s problems to the DeGroot’s attention. Ben will disappear once again.

It’s easy to why Ben gained weight. It’s all that whine.

I predict this arc will reach into next week at least.

A natural theme here would be something like the “survivor guilt” with which the child not adopted out might feel saddled.

Seriously Ben? Are actually asking If Bern is “mad” at you? Well let’s add the possible reasons why maybe she would be “mad at you:”

1) After many, many YEARS, You have returned from your married life to live not with your adoptive parents, but your birth parents that you hardly knew.

2) You have returned just in time to displace Bernice from her happy home, right after she’s been unceremoniously booted out of her dorm room.

3) Your presence has forced your sister to seek other “uncomfortable” living arrangements.

4) And you bring your kids. Kids that Bernice hardly knows. And sorry, Bernice is not a “kid person” like Luann.

And you have the NERVE to wonder if Bernice is “mad” at you?

The answer is “No.”

Why?

Because I believe (like many others here believe) that Bernice has been secretly having dinner/going out with Jack. And she been keeping this secret from Luann to keep from “hurting Lu’s feelings.” I say this because Bernice has done this sort of thing to Luann before, back in High School when she secretly dated Gunther behind Lu’s back, much to Luann irritation. Now. Is Luann going to dig into what’s up with Bernice only to learn the truth and get pi$$ed that her new favorite guy pal and her best friend have technically, just stabbed her in the back?

And what “guy” would Luann turn to for comfort when she finds out she’s kinda been “betrayed?” (Three guesses and the first two don’t count)

Stay STEWED.

Oh. And I’ll BET Ben’s kids are Holy Terrors.

Oh good, a mystery! What is really going on with Bernice? But let’s not forget another character who was introduced and then forgotten. How is the fish doing???

WOW!

Bernice is avoiding Luann, since Luann has no boundaries.

Omigid! Luann is going to have to act like a friend towards Bernice! $5 says Nancy is the one who succeeds.

What is this, middle school?? Ben, you’re a grown man. Ask Bernice yourself. This is where Luann should tell him that it’s none of her business and he needs to work out his problems on his own. But none of that will happen, because Ben is a freeloading BUM and Luann isn’t that bright.

Don’t worry, barely-a-brother. Luann will find out for you. It’ll be barely a bother! :D

I think she’s going out with Jack.

Maybe she just doesn’t like you Ben.

Is Bernice having a bit of a complex?

Puddles is enjoying nature.

This is sad. But looks like the beginning of a beautiful, long, arc ♡. Luann will help Bernice connect with her brother. Because she’s her best friend, because she’s Luann, and helping is something she tries to do for everyone. Bernice is a complicated person. But Luann loves her and now she knows that there’s some problem that makes her suffer. It’s so sad and sweet ♡.

I gotta admit, this took a turn I didn’t see coming.

Was Bernice and Ben both ADOPTED? They look the same

What have I been saying? Been is an awful person – self absorbed and controlling. Someone needs to hold her accountable as she has caused my family great distress when reading about her exploits.

Ohh, the plot thickens…

May I just say * “WHAT”?!* Seriously, I have never seen a reader base more in need of counseling than this one. Comments like these are the reason the writer of Chickweed lane cancelled his comment section.

Well, it looks like he must set a place for her with her dinner…and he’s been eating it when she doesn’t show.

Yes, Ben has lost weight. I guess the pudgy implications from Luann got to him.

maybe Bernice has no interest in meeting you. you can’t just swan into her world and make her question everything she knew about her parents and then expect her to not be resentful. It would be the first normal thing she’d ever done.

Well this is a complicated plot twist More complicated than the Ann Eiffel saga, methinx.

To those of you suggesting a budding relationship here, I would proffer that Luann need to take a step back. First, he’s married, second, he has kids, third, the last thing she would want to do is alienate her best friend/roomie. She’s still very young, immature, insecure, and unsure about what she wants out of life at this point. Luann needs to get her own life together before trying to take on the problems of others.

Don’t get in the middle, Luann.

I come from a family where I didn’t meet my brothers until I was thirteen. I would never judge the Halpers’ for putting Ben up for adoption. My mother lost custody of my brothers when they were very young. They grew up on the East Coast while I was West Coast. There was terrible animosity toward Mom from my brothers…they never knew the true story. My second brother passed away in 2002, and never made peace with Mom. My oldest brother did. We spent time together and he is now my very best friend. There are always reasons WHY things happen. My mother paid a terrible price and never got over it. Hopefully Bernice will realize that Ben could easily become an important part of her life!! I know that I did with my own brothers!

What…this story is about Bernice??

She’s with Jack

You just answered your own question. Why would Bernice have any interest in you or your kids?

Ooooo! The plot thickens! :-). I wonder, just wonder if our quiet Bernice has been skipping out to meet Jack? She wouldn’t tell Luann thinking it would hurt her feelings?Can’t see that she’d be working to make $$ to get her dorm room back.Guessing the “why” he came back isn’t as important as what he’s trying to achieve while here, getting to know his sister? Perhaps there’s more to know at the dog park? Puddles cracks me up. He’s in his own world! Cute! ;-)

should be interesting seeing how Berenice is studying psychology

maybe she is having dinner with T.J. at Tiffany’s making dinner together. or she is secretly seeing the guy that gave her the fish. i can not remember his name. she does not want LuAnn to know that they are a couple.

Maybe all is based on him being “barely” a brother…just saying.

His unconventional life-style probably has something to do with it. BUT why, indeed, IS the question…..

Let’s play what G&K have written. They wrote about a couple that had a boy. So, he was “expendable” and put up for adoption. By the writers’ own actions the male is expendable in the Luanne culture. Scary way of thinking.

After sleeping on it, I believe this arc will go the way others where Luann will put on her “counselors hat” and smooth over the riff between B&B. Whatever that riff may be!?!?

Other conflict resolutions of Luann: Jack and his life path at the dog park. Fay and her mother re acting.

The would be counselor is harboring hostilities.

They don’t call them ‘nuclear’ families for no reason.

Well that subject line went bad quickly. Is there a a website called “my soapoperanics”

This has become a very puzzling arc. Floating over all we have a hint of a more-than-acquaintance relationship between Jack and Bernice. We have the reintroduction of a once high-and-tight Sgt., long lost brother as a reborn hippie. We have an unspecified degree of infatuation between Luann and the Sgt. in the past. Now What?

WHY has this hippy character has been dropped into the strip and why now? Some suggestions are:

• To create a new, stronger, “sister” dynamic between Luann and Bernice via the DeGroot residence.

• To provide a new relationship partner for Luann. But this seems unlikely on several levels. First, he’s not GnK’s normal type to get L mixed up with. Second, he’s married, DUUUHHH!

• Hippy Ben seems to be such a contrived character. A nomad, married, with a wife currently out of country, a stepdad to twins, living with a family we’ve never met in a household we’ve never seen. That’s a lot of back story to have just created and dropped on us to get him here!

Probably the reason for so many divergent story arcs from commenters and heated disagreements among them. With so little background to go on anything is within the realm of possibilities.

So, maybe this is why Bernice moved in with Luann! She didn’t want to live with her brother.

Bernice has been volunteering at the animal shelter with Jack.

OK, so there IS something more to the story that Bernice isn’t telling. This will be interesting…..

My… is there a hole in Bernice’s perfection? Hmm. Confirms my thoughts: most go into her field due to needing answers within their familial imperfections. I should know.

Duh dun duuuunnnnnnnn…..

Bernice is wound so tight, she feels she has to control every aspect of every situation. Her free spirit brother hasn’t a chance. I only hope he is reunited with his wife ASAP.

Bernice hasn’t had a conversation with Luann that wasn’t completely superficial or perfunctory since they became roommates. But there’s this fish he could talk to.

Bernice is trying to avoid Ben/her family for some reason. If Bernice was dating Jack she would not need to lie about that to anyone. So Bernice is NOT secretly seeing Jack.

[Luann: A Mystery]

Luann: Bern? I talked to Ben, and he said you were blowing off the Halper Family Dinners. Is something wrong? Can we help?

Bernice: (face turns white as a sheet) It’s not Ben… he’s innocent, he doesn’t know. Luann, I CAN’T go to those dinners!

Luann: Why?

Bernice: (swallows hard) It’s because… when I was living at home, before getting a dorm… I could have sworn that I heard screaming and scratching noises (gulps) coming from the… basement at night….

Luann: Whoa!

Bernice: Then it would stop. And I’d see these fresh mounds of dirt in the back yard. And Dad… he seems to like buying cement…and he’s always working on digging a new swimming pool…

Luann: So that’s why you called me when you lost your dorm? You said you were homeless? And Mom and I couldn’t figure out why you didn’t talk to your folks about moving back home?

Bernice: You were my only hope… otherwise I’d really be homeless. I couldn’t go back and live there… I didn’t lie to any of you. I just didn’t tell you the whole truth. I was scared, and I’m still scared about going to those dinners. I’m sorry, Luann! Maybe I should have come clean with all of you sooner!

Luann: (hugs Bernice) OMG! I’m so sorry! I have to tell Mom!

I’m wondering how deep and ongoing a relationship Ben developed with his birth family (especially since we’ve heard nothing about him for years). If they weren’t particularly close it strikes me that it could have been a very awkward situation for Ben to ask or even agree to move in their house with his kids, presumably for free. There could be danger that his birth parents would agree to this or offer at least partially due to residual guilt. If I were Ben that would give me pause about moving in with them, particularly if he was the one who asked or implied that this would be a solution to his situation. It could feel like emotional manipulation on his part.

Perhaps the issue Bernice is having is coming to grips with her family unit being re-defined in a way she wasn’t prepared for. She’s being faced with a new reality with Ben moving back instead of comfortably thousands of miles away. She is no longer sure of her place, and it’s disconcerting.

I’m going to piss off a lot of people. seriously, do you read the strip? Everyday the same questions keep getting asked. We almost need a daily FAQ to start the comments section. “Previously on Luann…”

But then blame the writer for making such a convoluted and frequently illogical story. This isn’t “War and Peace.” Stories shouldn’t be so hard to follow. And shouldn’t lead to questions like “why was Bernice kicked out of her own house?”

I’m just tired of seeing the same questions day after day, questions that had been answered the day before and the day before that. A lot of these questions can be answered by using the arrows just under the strip. The left single arrow takes you back one day at a time. The double arrow takes you back 30+ years to the beginning. The right double arrow brings you back to today’s strip. The oval between them is a calendar that lets you jump back by day, month or year. If you’re confused, use it to jump back a month and follow the strip back to the present. Honestly, newspaper strip are better read in big gulps than a day at a time.

Well, well, well…for all you guys who were pining for Ann Awful to come back, here’s some nice juicy drama coming up for you.

So…here comes a brother than Bernice doesn’t know from Adams’ horse who instantly replaces her and boots her out of her own home. I’d be a little ticked too. Now, to be fair, I’m not sure Ben knows that she’s been booted out. And, also to be fair, it’s possible that Bernice wasn’t exactly booted out, but didn’t feel she could stay and watch her parents fawn all over the prodigal son and two instant grandkids. (I missed how old the kids are. Shannon’s age maybe?)

Bernice is actually a very sensitive person, I think, and she must be hurt very badly. And probably ashamed, which is why she hasn’t owned up to not attending those “family dinners.” Now, just where she’s GONE when she was supposed to be at dinner is a whole other question.

Luann, obviously, isn’t being treated as a confidant, so where is Bern going? Jack’s maybe? Or is Bernice going to be more solitary in her misery? Will we have a story about depression with some real meat here?

Stay tuned. I’m sure there’s more to come.

Secret Job or Secret Boyfriend or secret place or busy stalking someone.

What exactly do you want, Ben? What exactly did you expect when you showed up on the Halper doorstoop abruptly?

Why are you back in Pitts, Ben? Just to mooch off your birth parents, the Halpers?

Bernice is mad to have been kicked out of her home by a barely brother with surprise nephews in tow when she needed home the most. It would surprise me that Jack didn’t clear things with Luann if he was seeing Bern.

Ben’s proportions are off. Too squat.

To be honest, i don’t see how Ben can be so clueless. The Halpers probably have a small 2 bedroom home, one for children (Bernice) and one for the parents. Ben comes in (suddenly) with his two kids, expecting to just move in, displacing Bernice (who needs a place to sleep and study) and he can’t figure out that she might just be a tad annoyed with him and maybe with her parents too for not considering her needs. To me this is obvious; there is no hidden agenda.

Get invited to the Halper`s Family Dinner?