March 8th, 2016
9 Mar 2016 · page 570 of 1306
That's that sorted, then.
Cast: Florence De Montfort, Harriet Barber, Henry Barber, Jack O'Malley, Nicola Barber
Comments (42)
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I see no way this decision to concentrate most of the family in one place and leave just one in Widdershins could possibly go wrong. Nope, nosirree, this should go fine.
Even if I were a diabolic emotion-themed semi-cosmic demi-god, I wouldn't want to take on that many Barbers at once.
You could get a really deadly haircut if that were the case.
What could possibly go wrong? Just watch, they've got it all under control.
Ummm... Is Nicola trying to change history?
This is gonna be like Ancient Greek-style prophecy. Trying to change it is what makes it happen.
There's also the 'turning the Titanic' possibility. By trying to change things, you make them worse. If they hadn't tried to miss the iceberg, the Titanic would have rammed it, damaged its bows, but not sunk (very embarrassing, but survivable). By trying to miss the iceberg they scraped a hole all the way along the side so they could not contain the leak. Read 'To Say Nothing of the Dog' by Connie Willis if you want a really good time travel book, where the characters are trying to deal with problems like this. And it's got cats.
And dog. A really, really good book, and it doesn't cheat on the time travel.
+100000 I love Connie Willis and this is my favorite of her books :D
I'm not sure that Nora has told them enough yet for Nicola to realize that keeping Harry out of this would change the future. Not that she's going to able to keep Harry out of this even though Harry is probably going to try to cooperate with her attempt to do so.
Well, it could be that things'll get messed up. It could be that Harry will wind up getting credit she didn't deserve and didn't want. [It won't be the first time, you know.](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/may-17th-2013/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/may-17th-2013/")
Sleepover! Lots of opportunity for embarrassment! Just imagine Sid and Harry being asked "One bed or two?"
Also, is Harry's office being Henry's old office new information?
I think she mentioned it when she first brought Sid there.
She never did, no.
No. It was shown in this chapter that it was his back in the day.
You know this isn't gonna be resolved that easily. That would lead to the premature end of one of my favorite comics. And that could never happen. Nope.
Nah, even if it's resolved that easily (which, let's face it, it really won't be xD ), Kate's already said that the comic'll go on past this storyline, so it's not ending anytime soon~ :D
Why do I get the feeling that Harry is going to be there anyway, even if she truly does intend on following Nicola's plan?
Wow, Harry is really tiny. Takes after Henry in more ways than one, it seems.
I'll admit, regardless of the outcome that was way less argument than I expected!
Great things come in little packages.
I think "You're the only one I trust to protect the rest of the family" was an argument that left Harry with no reasonable response, which is probably the only reason that the argument didn't go longer.
And I agree with the consensus that the fact that Alexa recognized Harry's name is a pretty solid indication that she's going to be involved regardless of what she or Nicola intend.
Perhaps she'll figure out soon that Nicola is pulling a fast one.
After the items have been collected from the police station and they've contacted Mal, there's no good reason Nicola can't be the one to go back and protect the family, which she would be very good at, with Harriet the hunter being the one to face the magic problem. "I'm the eldest" doesn't automatically translate to "I'm the best qualified."
Or, you know... the Deadlies just might not give them time to get to the panel-4 part of the plan. They could make their next move while Izzy is still trying to give Mal some emergency training. In that case, the cast for the showdown will include both Nicola and Harriet -- plus Izzy, Harry, Mal, Wolfe, Ben... and maybe Sid.
Gleeful anticipation...!
"I'm the eldest" may not equal "I"m the best qualified" but if you say it like it's true to younger siblings enough when they're small and impressionable, it'll stick.
She's the second-shortest in the comic, first shortest being Invidia! Third's Henry, fourth is Ben. I like drawing short people :3
So Mrs Catherine Barber now has a house full of uninvited guests. Who are the targets of the Seven Deadly Sins. And they are inviting the witch of Widdershins to stay to receive some basic training. I feel she may have something to say on her children being put in harm's way. In-laws are always a problem.
They're not bringing Mal over there, hell no.
Based on panel 3 I expect Henry, Izzy, and Nicola to meet at Harry's office and then head over to the Office for the Removal of Dangerous Malforms to meet O'Malley. I would guess that the explanations and training for Mal will happen inside Widdershins proper.
Ms Holt's comment in panel 2 made me think that they were bringing O'Malley back to the farm to train him. Captain Barber certainly wants Grandma out of Widdershins asap. For the 5 years it's going to take to train a witch... :-)
Fair enough. Although I don't think we're talking about the 5 years it's going to train a witch given that the deadiles are unlikely to give them that sort of time. I think we're talking about a crash course to give him just enough training to deal with the current crisis followed by an attempt at more comprehensive training once this crisis is over. Of course, the more comprehensive training could easily get interrupted by the next crisis :-)
I can imagine Ms Holt's first lesson: "Now Mr O'Malley I want you to concentrate on this diagram - 'A is for Apple'. "
I think Mal is probably 'anchored' to Widdershins and the anchor now. Doubt he could leave even if he wanted. Which he is going to take well when he learns, I am sure.
I think Nicola is being a bit unfair, and I think Harry agrees.
Regardless, Nicola looks relieved, I wonder if it's because she doesn't want to put Harry in Harm's way, like she said, Or that she just doesn't want to work directly with her sister now that they've returned to speaking terms, because she was a pain to control at the office. And by pain, I mean impossible.
I'm voting for that last one.
How dares she telling her sisters they cannot join the fight when It's International Women's Day!
Well played, Nicola. Well played.
Aren't they forgetting someone? Like their dad? Isn't he still alive or are they going to risk it to avoid their mother?
Now that you mention it. With any luck, it's too late already, the bad guys got him.
I'm half expecting Nicola to end up freeing Wrath. If any of the Barbers were to do it, it'd be her.
I now find it weird when anyone refers to "O'Malley" instead of "The O'Malley".
I KNOW, RIGHT? laughs I keep automatically putting the "the" in front of his name...
I have the feeling that the cellphone might 'accidentily' find it's way to Harry via Sid