Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 20, 2016, 06:09:14 AM


Well, look at what you're showing right there. Mrs. Mantle is away traveling on business. That gives you the impression that she's likely the parent that isn't home a lot, and is not as involved in Reggie's day to day life. She knows he's the RHS athletic star, and that he sometimes dates Veronica. Maybe she knows he's dated Betty a few times, too. What does she know about Archie? Probably not much, beyond what Reggie might have told her. There's every possibility that she dotes on him, because to all ostensible appearances she should be a proud parent. He's likely on the fast track to an athletic scholorship. Because she's often away traveling on business, she has less opportunities to be critical of him, and probably values their time together even more. He probably gets good enough grades not to give his parents grief, and his detentions must be kept to the level that they don't cause a lot of parent-teacher meetings.

For all we know Reggie might behave like a perfect gentleman around her, and isn't even really trying to "pull the wool over her eyes".

There's no way she could not be aware her son has problems unless he WAS pulling the wool over her eyes. Constantly for years. Suggesting an incredible level of deviousness to Reggie that I don't want to apply to him. Or unless she IS a negligent parent who doesn't pay him enough attention or if she just has a warped sense of propriety?

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So all she really knows is she's been invited to the school to see a play that her son wrote, directed, and stars in. She hasn't even seen the play yet and she's already proud of him for that. Is she going there as a drama critic, thinking "Well, we'll just see if it's any good!" No, she's just thrilled that it's another laurel wreath to add to his achievements along with his many sports trophies. You think she's sitting there, trying to find cracks in his suspect facade? Trying to figure out what the play's about, or what it means? Is it a satire, or some kind or ironic humor? "Who knows with kids these days?" Of course not, she can't see any of that, because she has no reason to look for his motives, or to want to believe anything bad about him.

It's a play written by her son starring him using his real name all about how great he is with at least one of his real girlfriends that she must know of, throwing herself at him, you don't think most parents would weird out or think that "Archie Andrews" maybe a real student he's dissing?

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Try to imagine reading that story as if it were the first Archie story you'd ever read, like you'd never even heard of Archie, and knew nothing (or next to nothing) about any of the characters, except for a couple of select pieces of info about Reggie - he's a good-looking kid, and he's Riverdale's star athlete, with a roomful of trophies; he dates Veronica once in a while, and has maybe dated Betty a couple of times as well. Then read it again, and tell me what prior information you need to bring with you to reading the story that makes interpreting that play "obvious". And then realize that you don't want to believe anything bad about Reggie going into it.

It would be obvious just from the play he's the antagonist/hambone because no one puts on a public play starring himself talking about how great he is starring also his real life girlfriends. Seriously Reggie is my favorite character and he gets dumped on a lot but I know this isn't the kind of play that should make your mother beam with pride, no matter how much I like it.

Quote from: daren on May 20, 2016, 10:47:14 PM
It would be obvious just from the play he's the antagonist/hambone because no one puts on a public play starring himself talking about how great he is starring also his real life girlfriends. Seriously Reggie is my favorite character and he gets dumped on a lot but I know this isn't the kind of play that should make your mother beam with pride, no matter how much I like it.

IF it is indeed obvious, AND if Reggie is indeed trying to pull the wool over his mother's eyes -- WHY is she there at the play? Why doesn't Reggie try to hide the fact that he's performing it from her, unless he's secretly wanting to get caught showing his true nature in front of his mom? Isn't he even the slightest bit worried that he's 'showing his true colors' in front of her? If Reggie knew she was going to be in Riverdale to attend the play, he could easily have avoided her being able to attend by arranging some diversionary subterfuge to prevent her attending. Failing that, he doesn't even show the slightest bit of uneasiness over the fact that he knows his mom in in the audience watching.

But there IS no conflict -- he's NOT trying to hide anything from her, and she finds it acceptable because she finds nothing wrong with him. Her opinion of him is too strongly positive for this to penetrate as a revelation about him. Therefore, there is another explanation (satire? inside joke?) for what's going on in the play that she isn't even going to try to figure out, because accepting the notion that her son is a delusional egomanic is NOT a possible or acceptable explanation for her. She automatically dismisses this seeming bit of information about her son's ego that conflicts with her prior mental image of him.

People act differently when they're in different environments and in different social situations. It's not that hard to accept that Reggie Mantle is a completely different person when he's around his mother than he is when he's around his teenage peers.

In focusing on Mrs. Mantle, you're ignoring the greater mystery of absurd logic about this story, which is:

What could possibly convince Betty (especially Betty) and Veronica -- whose personalities we have MUCH more information on than the enigmatic Mrs. Mantle -- to participate in this self-serving farce of ego aggrandizement?

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on May 21, 2016, 01:25:27 AM

Quote from: daren on May 20, 2016, 10:47:14 PM
It would be obvious just from the play he's the antagonist/hambone because no one puts on a public play starring himself talking about how great he is starring also his real life girlfriends. Seriously Reggie is my favorite character and he gets dumped on a lot but I know this isn't the kind of play that should make your mother beam with pride, no matter how much I like it.

IF it is indeed obvious, AND if Reggie is indeed trying to pull the wool over his mother's eyes -- WHY is she there at the play? Why doesn't Reggie try to hide the fact that he's performing it from her, unless he's secretly wanting to get caught showing his true nature in front of his mom? Isn't he even the slightest bit worried that he's 'showing his true colors' in front of her? If Reggie knew she was going to be in Riverdale to attend the play, he could easily have avoided her being able to attend by arranging some diversionary subterfuge to prevent her attending. Failing that, he doesn't even show the slightest bit of uneasiness over the fact that he knows his mom in in the audience watching.

But there IS no conflict -- he's NOT trying to hide anything from her, and she finds it acceptable because she finds nothing wrong with him. Her opinion of him is too strongly positive for this to penetrate as a revelation about him. Therefore, there is another explanation (satire? inside joke?) for what's going on in the play that she isn't even going to try to figure out, because accepting the notion that her son is a delusional egomanic is NOT a possible or acceptable explanation for her. She automatically dismisses this seeming bit of information about her son's ego that conflicts with her prior mental image of him.

But I'm saying he's NOT trying to fool her, she must know what he's like if she's not neglectful so she's just STRANGE at that play approving of his narcissist show, there's no in joke or satire....

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In focusing on Mrs. Mantle, you're ignoring the greater mystery of absurd logic about this story, which is:

What could possibly convince Betty (especially Betty) and Veronica -- whose personalities we have MUCH more information on than the enigmatic Mrs. Mantle -- to participate in this self-serving farce of ego aggrandizement?

Okay you win.

To go with the story I just posted in the villainous Veronica thread. This story is good except I don't know why Dan Jr. didn't draw Veronica as Princess Leia, that's probably what the writer wanted since all the others are Star Wars characters.

Jughead's Han Solo costume was better. He should have won.

Yeah and that would have made it even stranger that Veronica wasn't Princess Leia since he gets a date with her and they already have that Han-Leia hostilty going on.

Quote from: daren on May 21, 2016, 07:24:36 PM
But I'm saying he's NOT trying to fool her, she must know what he's like if she's not neglectful so she's just STRANGE at that play approving of his narcissist show, there's no in joke or satire....

Oh, isn't there? It's rather uncanny when you compare how similar Jughead's dream is in "Dream Boy" to Reggie's play in "Writer's Cramp". They both seem to be satirizing something. But then the whole idea of two beautiful girls both being so attracted to Jughead or Reggie that they're willing to fight over him to possess him is rather ridiculous to begin with. It reminds me of something I once saw in a comic book. 

I was looking through my photobucket and realized I had a few shark stories. Now, I regret not waiting until Shark Week to post that story ^   

A rare victory for Reggie!