Yeah, this is useless, I know. But I can’t help it, it’s obligatory. They can’t just skip the “deep in thought” part and move on straight to the solution, no matter how little deep thinking the solution would ultimately require. Thoughts have to be thunk, and at the very least it provides a little breather ahead of the breathless conclusion – which the audience, at their discretion, can use to also think about possible solutions, or for the acquistion of beverages and snacks.
As for panel one, don’t think the Professor is lying his ass off just to cover it against accusations of calluous forgetfulness regarding missing members of the team. No sir, he’s lying his ass off to protect Gregory’s feelings. If it wasn’t for that, he would, of course, have admitted that they all had completely forgotten about him as soon as he left their field of vision. After all, it’s not even the first time.
And Mopey is really happy that Gregory is back. Her basic happiness level is already elevated by the fact that the world is hopelessly doomed, but having her boyfriend around to share those last moments with her is definitely a nice bonus. Or could our heroes still avert doom with some suprising, last-ditch, brilliant idea? It seems Mom Mothra has her feelers out into that direction….
More on Thursday.