Wait, why is the Evil Queen crying? I mean, sure, this sort of humiliating defeat should be more than sufficient to make somebody cry, but… does that really apply to an arch-villainess like her? I would have thought she would have been made of…stuff that I wouldn’t necessarily call “sterner”, but definitely “more evil”. And the default for fictional evil is that you cry only on the inside (which is kept out of sight at all times)… while your laughter is allowed to be very much on the outside, boisterous and loud. She had the laughter part down pat, but perhaps she didn’t read the guidance concerning crying…
She’s correct, though – you really can’t deny that she tried. Hard. And her ultimate (and did I mention, humiliating) defeat is not down to her not trying hard. Mostly, she’s been let down by her subordinates, and their lack of trying hard. Or rather, their problem with trying out things on the job they shouldn’t even try out on their private time, let alone when they were supposed to be trying hard. The other kind of trying. And definitely the other kind of hard.
Even Latho acknowledges the Evil Queen’s effort…although the barnstar thing seems like a somewhat callous way to do it. Perhaps Latho also skipped a chapter or two in the Big Book of Heroic (Good Guy’s) Handling of Triumph. It’s kind of a door-stop, so Latho wouldn’t be the only one who hasn’t read it through.
Anyway, ignoring all of the oddities, the main take-away remains: VICTORY! YAY!
More on Thursday.
This is consistent with my work experience–even women who fail receive consolation prizes while men just get the door.
Well, as the next strip will show, Latho wasn’t even necessarily about ‘consolation’ here…