What’s Going On In Mary Worth? Was the last three months *all* praising Mary Worth? January – April 2024

It was not. It feels close, though. It’s traditional after a Mary Worth story to have Mary Worth recap the lesson learned and then for everyone, and then for Dr Jeff, to praise her. This time around it felt like a lot of that. I’m not sure it was, but the coda to the story of Keith Hillend felt like a prolonging of this transitional period.

I hope this plot recap gets you up to speed on story developments in Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for mid-April 2024. Is it after about July 2024 when you read this? Then check this link where there’s probably a more up-to-date-for-you plot recap available.

Mary Worth.

21 January – 14 April 2024.

Retired cop Keith Hillend had reconnected with old girlfriend Kitty Faber. And bonded with his unknown daughter Sonia over their love of obscure indie musician Stevie Wonder. What more is there to do? Well, you don’t get to be a cop of twenty years’ tenure without being used to violating civil liberties. He snags the can of root beer she’d been drinking, and sends it to a friend in the Department of Magic DNA Analysis. The results: she’s 27% lowlands Scot, 48% Bulgarian Chavdar, 16% Ish Kabibble, 39% Pomeranian, 22% Jack Russel terrier, a direct matrilineal descendant of Cleopatra Herself — but zero percent cop. She is not Hillend’s daughter.

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 19th of February, 2024. This is not the first time a Mary Worth character has resolved a problem by deciding they’ll pretend they didn’t know otherwise. There’s a practicality to it, and it is something people really do, but it stands out in the comics where we assume people settle on The Truth. I’m curious whether Moy debated having Hillend think over whether he would do anything differently before learning Sonia was definitely not his daughter, and whether the story would have been as effective if he had decided he didn’t need to test to be happy.

I don’t care for how we got there, but it’s not like I insist protagonists only make good choices, especially when it lands them in a fix like this. Also where we discover a Mary Worth character had premarital sex a whole two times! Wow! And we get intersting questions like did Kitty Faber lie about Hillend’s fatherhood? Was she mistaken? Can he trust these relationships that have a falsehood at their core?

He decides that he does trust Faber, and likes his new family, and however they got there does not matter. So this story finally resolves, the 25th of February, with a joyful group hug. Then we get a week of Mary Worth explaining the emotions of the hew-mons to Toby, another week of her explaining them to Dr Jeff, and a week of Dr Jeff talking about how gret it is he loves Mary Worth and she goes to restaurants with him. So, you see, it’s not a preposterously long period of everyone thanking Mary Worth. It’s just well-placed to feel like that.

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Monday, the 25th of March, starts the current story. It stars Agony Aunt columnist and man who has opinions about each of the possible etymologies of “mayonnaise” Wilbur Weston. Instigating things: Dawn’s got a call from her mother, who wanted to reconnect. After talking for hours on the phone Dawn wants to go live with her in Connecticut for a year. This seems like rather much to me — I’d maybe try a weekend, first, and discover if you can share a bathroom without killing each other — but hey, any reason to get away from Wilbur Weston, right? Also so she doesn’t accidentally run into her ex Jared, who’s going off being happy and all. So she’s off.

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 4th of April, 2024. I have no information, I’m sorry, about whether Wilbur’s ex-wife has ever been seen on-screen before, or if we know precisely why she hasn’t been part of Dawn’s early adulthood. If someone knows, I’ll just have to say something wrong and they’ll come in to correct me. Um … Dawn’s mother is named … let’s say Alexandria Madeline and she’s a professional toll-booth designer who was instrumental in taking the tolls off the Connecticut Turnpike back in the day. They broke up over whether there’s any good surfing on the New England coastline, complex story.

With the house feeling big and empty now, though, he reaches to Mary Worth for muffins and companionship. She can’t make karaoke night with him, though, building his feelings of loneliness. He accidentally runs into his ex Stella and her boyfriend Ed Harding and their estimated 18 to 24 pets. They’re happy and charming and even invite him to get together with them for no reason any person, sane or otherwise, can imagine. This unquestioning acceptance leaves him only more miserable. This Sunday, he bumps into a kid — the art makes it look like he shoves the kid over, although it’s more that the kid collides with him — accidentally saving him from behing hit by a car. That seems like it might be something developing. We’ll see.

(Based on the Comics Kingdom offer of a week’s preview … this doesn’t immediately lead to something, but there’s some quite funny bits coming up soon.)

Dubiously Sourced Mary Worth Sunday Panel Quotes!

• “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” — Aristotle, 21 January 2024.
• “Hope is a waking dream.” — Aristotle, 28 January 2024. A rare double-feature! Unless these are different Aristotles.
• “By doubting we are lead to question. By questioning we arrive at the truth.” — Peter Abelard, 4 February 2024. So somebody got the Mary Worth team a Quotes From Philosophers book for Christmas.
• “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” — Aldous Huxley, 11 February 2024.
• “Follow your heart and make it your decision.” — Mia Hamm, 18 February 2024.
• “While loneliness has the potential to kill, connection has even more potential to heal.” — Vivek Murthy, 25 February 2024.
• “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” — Richard Bach, 3 March 2024.
• “Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.” — John Wooden, 10 March 2024.
• “Life is made up of small pleasures.” — Norman Lear, 17 March 2024.
• “Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.” — Alexander Smith, 24 March 2024.
• “I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and my father.” — Greg Norman, 31 March 2024.
• “Hard to be sure … sometimes I feel so insecure, and love so distant and obscure … remains the cure.” — Eric Carmen, 7 April 2024.
• “You can have an impact anywhere you are.” — Tony Dungy, 14 April 2024.

Next Week!

The Ghost Who Orders Office Redecorations sees his most dramatic plan come to fruition! How will this change forever the Jungle Patrol’s relationship with their Unknown Commander? Or with their fan idol John X? Catch up with Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel’s The Phantom (Sundays) next Tuesday, if all goes according to the script.

PS: the “Ish Kabibble” line is there for my Dad, great guy, working on sending me one of those animated emojis of a smiley face cracking up even now, so let’s give him a round of applause, make him feel at home. Thank you.

What’s Going On In Mary Worth? Why is everyone insisting Wilbur’s a great guy? February – May 2023

The story dominating Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth since February has been about Estelle. She’s got a new boyfriend, and a new job working for him for some reason. But there’s been a lot of talk about how Wilbur Weston feels about this. A touch of this is appropriate. Estelle was fed up Wilbur’s Wilbur-ness. And the suspicion that Wilbur was creeping on her helped her interest pair-bonding with Ed the Veterinarian.

But Wilbur’s getting more mention than he needs. It may be because he is a glorious punching bag, all unjustified self-confidence and unaware incompetence. But this makes him a snarker’s delight. There’s a reason we (me included) like to talk about his mayonnaise expertise and such. So it may be that the strip is contracting self-awareness and that Moy and Brigman are playing to the fans. I hope it’s more that it’s fun seeing mildly bad things happen to Wilbur. And that they’re looking to develop more characters that hit that right level of ridiculousness. Hugo the guy who’s totally not making up being French shows they can do it in other tones.

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 21st of April, 2023. “What you need is to do a public performance in front of a slightly drunk group of strangers who all think they could do better plus one most trusted friend watching you with steely-eyed determination to constantly judge your feelings. That’ll help you!’

I hope here to catch you up to mid-May 2023 in the comic strip. I keep all my plot recaps for, and news about, Mary Worth at this link. If you’re reading this after about August 2023 there’s probably a more up-to-date plot recap there.

Mary Worth.

19 February – 14 May 2023.

Estelle, haunted by possibly imaginary visions of Wilbur Weston, orders him out of her life. She brings with her the highest possible authority: getting Mary Worth to agree Wilbur’s gone too far. Estelle throws her time and interests into Ed Harding, her veterinarian and witness to the classic Wilbur Karaoke Fight. They seem to hit it off, but —

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 9th of March, 2023. I was surprised how impassive — cheerful, even — Ed shows in admitting this. His expression sells the idea that he doesn’t realize this is a bad answer to have. He looks like he thinks why should he change? The world is the one who sucks, not him.

Ed has to cancel a date. And another. And more. He’s been having a hard time at work, with a lot of animals needing care. And his assistant, Steven, can’t cope with the demands of the job, and quits. Estelle, taking the chance that Ed isn’t hiding from her, leaves a message suggesting Not One More Vet. It’s a (real) group for veterinarians who have mental health crises. Ed remembers how he told Steven he simply doesn’t balance his work and life and wonders if that means anything.

They get together for a third date and it goes great. Even their pets get along great. Stella thinks this is love, so we can only imagine what the fifth date will be like. (That’s the one with Pet Yoga.) But Ed’s looking into therapy too, and he’s prepared to admit they’re short-staffed at work. Stella offers what if she were to work as a volunteer for a couple hours a week? It’s a little weird, but she’s into weird. But she’s good at doing whatever needs doing. And she gets to see Ed doing great stuff like rescuing a choking dog. Ed talks about making this something serious: putting her on hourly.

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 11th of April, 2023. First, cute emoting on the snake there. Second, hey are you the famous country singer ‘Mud’ Murphy? No? Totally different guy we’ll see when I get around to Rex Morgan, M.D. in a couple weeks? Okay, I can wait.

Meanwhile, Wilbur’s coping with Estelle’s latest breakup by weeping on Mary Worth’s plates of salmon goo. She coaxes him into going out to karaoke, singing sad songs while Stella and Ed thank each other for loving them.

With all that resolved what is there to do but thank Mary Worth? And for Stella and Ed to congratulate each other on pair-bonding so hetero-monogamously. Also that Ed’s now taking enough time off to not feel burned out. So everyone’s happy, right?

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And with the 7th of May Stella and Ed’s story comes to its conclusion. The 8th, Dr Jeff calls up Mary Worth to invite her to a surprise. He’s got a much bigger boat and absolutely no intentions of asking Mary Worth to marry him again. She loves both of these. And they agree how great it is Stella and Ed found each other even though Ed is so not like Wilbur. Also but they bet someone’s out there for Wilbur Weston even though he’s so “eccentric”.

Jeff and Mary Worth eating is usually a signal for a new story to start, so my recap week is well-positioned once more. What’s coming next, and will it involve cruise ships? I don’t know, nobody tells me anything.

Dubiously Sourced Mary Worth Sunday Panel Quotes!

But one thing I know without being told: every Sunday Mary Worth quotes something a person almost always did not say! If they did, it wasn’t in context, or it wasn’t that Socrates, or something like that. Here are some recent examples.

• “Nightmares are releases.” — Sylvia Browne, 19 February 2023.
• “Dating is … weird.” — Jennifer Coolidge, 26 February 2023.
• “When things are a disappointment, try not to be so discouraged.” — Carol Burnett, 5 March 2023.
• “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” — Albert Einstein, 12 March 2023.
• “Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.” — Khalil Gibran, 19 March 2023.
• “Patience attracts happiness: it brings near that which is far.” — Kate Phillips, 26 March 2023.
• “There’s nothing like music to relieve the soul and uplift it.” — Mickey Hart, 2 April 2023.
• “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.” — Charles Dickens, 9 April 2023.
• “The world needs people who save lives.” — Frederick Buechner, 16 April 2023.
• “Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.” — Carl Sandburg, 23 April 2023.
• “It’s not so much our friends’ help that helps us as the confidence of their help.” — Epicurus, 30 April 2023.
• “Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 7 May 2023.
• “We can only learn to love by loving.” — Iris Murdoch, 14 May 2023.

Next Week!

Is it possible there are downsides to memory-wiping a person who’s been taken by a superhero into a land of Victorian animal-men? Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel’s The Phantom, Sunday continuity, has explored the question. I’ll explore their exploration next week, I hope. See you then.

What’s Going On In Mary Worth? When did Iris get pets? November 2022 – February 2023

She didn’t. The current story in Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth started the 18th of January. A narration box introduced it with “When Iris takes her pets to the veterinarian”. Narration Box was confused. This was Stella bringing her pets to the vet. Probably the previous story being so much about Iris. That both Iris and Stella had bad experiences with Wilbur Weston, and having just made a joke about that recently, muddled things.

This should catch you up to mid-February 2023 in the comic strip. If you’re reading this after about May 2023 I should have a more useful plot recap here. And now on to the big wedding news.

Mary Worth.

20 November 2022 – 19 February 2023.

Zak and Iris, bonded over how they both prefer Zak to not fall off a cliff to his death, are marrying! I believe it’s the first actual factual marriage happening in Mary Worth since I started recapping the plots. What could disrupt this happy event?

How about a face from Zak’s past? We see Zak on the phone talking to someone he’s missed. Someone he says “I can’t wait to see you, dear” to. It’s Nan, his former babysitter. She’s in town, taking a vacation from her home in Hawai’i to visit Santa Rosa for some reason. Nan looks uncannily like Iris, a thing Zak never notices because they wear different earrings. Iris notices, though. Also how Zak and Nan have all sorts of bits they have to run through. Things like Nan surrounding her face with fingers or the two saying things like “yummy yummy yummy in my tummy tummy tummy” and all.

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 7th of December, 2022. Must say that all of Zak and Nan’s inside jokes and gestures, like whatever the heck they’re doing here, seem like stuff you might do with your babysitter when you’re six and she’s in high school. I guess it speaks well that they’re not embarrassed to do this stuff as grown-ups out in public, but I also see where it’s even more exclusionary than usual inside jokes are.

Iris was already insecure about how she and Zak had a nontraditional relationship: he’s never seen or heard of Casablanca while she takes thyroid medication. What if Zak’s interest is only in the spiting image of his first crush? Wouldn’t that be weird? Like, too weird for people to deal with? Zak insists no, insisting that he loves different things about them. And besides she’s happily married and he wants to happily marry. And they only look generally alike. And besides, “people fall in love all the time based on their past experiences”, a declaration true yet also not on point. Anyway Zak insists it’s not weird until he has to leave the room.

Mary Worth doesn’t comfort Iris more, but she offers a chilling comparison. You know who else was jealous of another person? Wilbur Weston. Iris is willing to do anything not the way Wilbur does things, but she’d still like to know someone else thinks it’s weird Nan looks so much like her. Mary Worth won’t even give her that and insists it’s jealousy that’s the real problem. So Iris surrenders, agreeing to marry a man she loves even though she looks a lot like his old babysitter.

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 23rd of December, 2022. So on the one hand, Iris seems to be wrong in being jealous, if we take all of Zak’s protests at face value and don’t think about his calling his former nanny ‘Dear’. On the other hand, nobody is giving Iris the dignity of taking seriously her feelings; if she feels this is dangerously weird it would be nice if any person said anything other than “what’s your malfunction here?”

The happy day comes the 2nd of January, with a church ceremony before the eyes of God and Wilbur Weston, who’s invited because ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ? ???? ??. I guess to make sure he doesn’t stumble into doing something really embarrassing. All he does is comment to Mary Worth how, hey, most marriages end in divorce so he’ll be ready in case Iris breaks up with Zak after all. It’s the sort of comment you make when you know you’re charming and can be facetious and don’t notice everyone slapping their foreheads around you, like, all the time. Still, we did see Wilbur’s thought balloon sincerely wishing her happiness, so, I still don’t know why he was invited.

Everyone agrees it was lovely, though, and they’re very happy to see people married. Dr Jeff has learned well enough not to even suggest that Mary Worth marry him. So that’s all happy to see.

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The current story, as mentioned, began the 18th of January. Stella and not Iris took her dog and cat to the vet, Ed. She’d gone out with him once before. That date got turned into a colossal karaoke battle between Stella and Wilbur Weston. Stella and Mary Worth remember it as the most awkward and embarrassing event they had ever been present for or could imagine witnessing. Wilbur Weston remembers it as “Tuesday”. The vet is up for another date, though. Stella and Ed bond over how they both would prefer companion animals not die, and how life is stressful. It seems a promising start to a relationship. And then Wilbur appears.

Karen Moy and June Brigman’s Mary Worth for the 16th of February, 2023. Early lead for the title of Funniest Single Mary Worth Panel of 2023 here. I’m sure Moy and Brigman are doing that for the fan delight and possible meme-ification but, you know? I’m still delighted.

He says running into Stella at the pet store is coincidence. His goldfish needed food. Innocent? Maybe, but as anyone who keeps goldfish will tell you, if you run out of goldfish food you’re feeding them too much. But then she starts seeing him leering into the window, looking like she threw away a jar with easily two dozen mayonnaise molecules still left. But is he actually there or is she hallucinating? This Sunday we see Wilbur’s face intruding on her dreams, which is a heck of a thing to have to dream about.

Dubiously Sourced Mary Worth Sunday Panel Quotes!

• “The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.” — Nikon Kazantzakis, 20 November 2022.
• “Friendship is another word for love” — Unknown, 27 November 2022.
• “Everything in adulthood can be traced back to childhood.” — Penny Junor, 4 December 2022.
• “I look back to a happy childhood.” — Helen Spence, 11 December 2022.
• “You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars.” — Gary Allan, 18 December 2022.
• “The love we give away is the only love we keep.” — Elbert Hubbard, 25 December 2022.
• “Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right.” — Oprah Winfrey, 1 January 2023.
• “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” — Mignon McLaughlin, 8 January 2023.
• “If I get married, I want to be very married.” — Audrey Hepburn, 15 January 2023.
• “I believe, in life, you always get a second chance.” — Fabio Lanzoni, 22 January 2023.
• “It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” — Hans Selye, 29 January 2023.
• “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” — Bob Marley, 5 February 2023.
• “Love is the ultimate expression of the will to live.” — Tom Wolfe, 12 February 2023.
• “Nightmares are releases.” — Sylvia Browne, 19 February 2023.

Next Week!

I didn’t have a good spot to mention it in the main text but I’m delighted to see that the Santa Royale pet shop is now carrying eevees. They’re demanding pets but very rewarding if you put in the effort. But what about other strange animals with uncannily human-like features? The Ghost Who Walks was looking at some of them. I’ll recap the last couple months of Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel’s Sunday-continuity The Phantom next week, all going well.