[1232]

[feraldog]

It's Eglamore?!

[Ashley Y]

This is why I read Gunnerkrigg Court.

[Nepycros]

I'm not really all that surprised. We've had our quota of generic background characters this chapter, and even a quota of new, inspiring and mysterious side cameos. Having him relate to one of Daniel's acquaintances, however, falls in line with the theme of regret and sorrow.

[Señor Goose]

Alright, who had Eglamore? Let's see, that was sixty dollars, times eighteen odds... oh, shit.

[snipertom]

I'm surprised that they're friends. I thought they hated each other.

[Señor Goose]

Okay, so this is the end of the chapter.

Let us now begin to place bets on the contents of the bonus page!
I think it might be something with Hetty's old body, like someone finds it or something.

(Sorry OP, I'm hijacking your thread.)

[porcupineadvocate]

I hope the epilogue has Adam getting better.

[legion]

And once again end chapter page on monday; there is no escape.

[philman]

I... What? I didn't see that one coming. MAYBE thought it might be Eglamore, but not so friendly. I thought Eglamore hated Renard, or at the very least didn't trust him in the slightest.

I guess a meeting of Annie's father figures, I suppose they do have alot in common if you look at it that way, meeting to discuss Annie's actions.

[philman]

Also, I like the 'I can't stay out too late' callback to Hetty's insistence that Annie was still giving him orders at the start of the chapter.

[melkior]

Obviously, Rey and Eglamore have been talking prior to this meeting.

[feraldog]

Aug 5, 2013 7:15:39 GMT Señor Goose said:

Okay, so this is the end of the chapter.

Let us now begin to place bets on the contents of the bonus page!
I think it might be something with Hetty's old body, like someone finds it or something.

I'm thinking Adam should find her body. That would certainly be poetic justice!

(Sorry OP, I'm hijacking your thread.)

Totally okay!

[Mezzaphor]

I do really like the idea of Rey and Eggers reconciling.

[noone3]

Aug 5, 2013 7:12:28 GMT snipertom said:

I'm surprised that they're friends. I thought they hated each other.

I didn't expect open hostility, but some uneasiness at least.
And what we get is: "Sup. Wanna watch something? Got last season of 'Game of Thrones'."

[lordofpotatoes]

Aug 5, 2013 7:18:06 GMT porcupineadvocate said:

I hope the epilogue has Adam getting better.

Or what if the epilogue shows Hetty returning in a new body? That'd be the first serious epilogue we'd get.

[smjjames]

Maybe Annie does sometimes accidentally give him orders, but he is able to twist them to his own ends, clever fox spirit that he is.

[Deleted]

Eglamore is apparently »an old friend from a long time ago« to Renard. They must have known each other back when Daniel was still alive, which means that their friendship broke apart when Rey took Dan's body — and that Eglamore knew about Renard's true nature back in Chapter 3, but didn't tell Antimony.

Renard's »I almost took you, this time« during that chapter takes on a new meaning as well, as a strange mixture of banter between friends, guilt and aggression. …I find it hard to describe, but picture how Rey would have said that to a friend, and then picture how he said it to Eglamore at that time. That way, you'll know what I mean.

Aug 5, 2013 7:04:10 GMT Ashley Y said:

This is why I read Gunnerkrigg Court.

[fuzzyone]

This does beg the question what Eglamore would have done had he been home when Rey tried the second time... With Hetty right there with him. Or what she would have done.

[rama]

While I try to avoid analyzing GC, in part because it's so labyrinthine in terms of plotlines and who did what for what reason, in part because I just want to enjoy the ride, I do feel strongly enough about the subtext of todays comic that it's worth posting about.

Besides his past feeling for Surma and his current protective behavior towards Antimony, Eglamore has had time to calm down over the loss of Sivo who we know was a close friend. It seems clear that he no longer sees Reynardine as uniformly bad, and has probably come to understand that Rey is a lot more complex than he's long taken for granted. Personal loss has a tendency to make people see things in black and white, and loosing a friend to Rey makes it very easy to understand why Eglamore would be distrustful.

As he's come to see more of Rey's actions and how he seems to genuinely care for Antimony, something they share, he could have begun to want to understand Reynardine's actions instead of just hate them.
The regret Rey shows for murdering Daniel humanizes him in Eglamore's eyes, and I get the feeling that this is not the first time Rey has visited Daniel's grave and Eglamores house in tandem. Seeing how low Rey gets after these visits has probably convinced Eglamore that Rey isn't the psychopath he thought, and that has opened him up to the possibility of forgiving him.

Reynardine does not have many true friends left, if he ever had them at all, and Eglamore and he share a history of some kind. Meanwhile Eglamore grows closer to understanding why Reynardine did what he did, and closure is an important part of the grieving process.

I interpret Tom's text as a nod that this has been going on for some time, and that the nature of these meetings is not formal or even deeply conversational but very casual. Much jest is made in mainstream media about how guys just watch movies and drink beer together instead of going to a psychiatrist, but I think this in an example of how something like that can help. Neither Reynardine's nor Eglamore's lives are what we would consider normal, and even though it can look and probably is very exciting, it can all become too much. Being able to watch a movie and just hang out and have a normal moment when you're filled with regret but don't really have any way of dealing with it can be very good for you.

It's good to have someone who can just make time to sit down and watch a movie.

Or this could be overanalyzing the whole thing, but that's part of the beauty of it: it's not upfront and clearly stated what their deal is at the moment, but the fact that Eglamore's answer was simply to show that Reynardine is welcome to stay is more powerful than a thousand lines of text explaining how complicated their relationship is.

[melkior]

Aug 5, 2013 10:48:20 GMT fuzzyone said:

This does beg the question what Eglamore would have done had he been home when Rey tried the second time... With Hetty right there with him. Or what she would have done.

Hetty was hiding behind the bannister-post of the steps. If the door had opened, she'd have just withdrawn her huge head and stayed out of sight.

[SerenaJo]

I've always been kind of neutral about Eglamore but this page is sweet.

And I like that the first thing Renard says is about Daniel and not Hetty.

[ctso74]

Aug 5, 2013 7:47:03 GMT feraldog said:

Aug 5, 2013 7:15:39 GMT Señor Goose said:

Okay, so this is the end of the chapter.

Let us now begin to place bets on the contents of the bonus page!
I think it might be something with Hetty's old body, like someone finds it or something.

I'm thinking Adam should find her body. That would certainly be poetic justice!

I was thinking he'd be kicking rocks, to pass the time and relieve his current bad mood, and come across the head. He'd think "Huh", give it a good kick, and keep walking.

It'd be nice and sweet, if we learned more about the sister from him, but I guess I'm a glutton for story-based punishment.

[quirkykelly]

Aug 5, 2013 11:29:26 GMT rama said:

the fact that Eglamore's answer was simply to show that Reynardine is welcome to stay is more powerful than a thousand lines of text explaining how complicated their relationship is.

I agree, there's so much communicated about their relationship without words. The look of concern/empathy/compassion on Eglamore's face in the 4th panel, followed by the gesture of opening his door further to invite Reynardine in. It's absolutely beautiful and if their relationship is casual, it's also deep. Maybe they'll sit down and talk about how Reynardine is feeling, maybe they'll just watch a movie, as others have suggested. It doesn't matter, all that matters is that they're there for each other and Reynardine has someone to turn to. Just the fact that Reynardine needs someone like this is a big step in his character development. He obviously has a bond with Annie, but they're not peers. Annie has Kat, Shadow and Robot have each other, etc, but Reynardine has been the lone wolf in their friend circle. And it is a shocker that these previous enemies are now demonstrating this level of friendship, but it just gives credit to Tom's ability to create complex characters and relationships - and to be able to surprise us again and again!

[scaramousche]

Whose hat is that on the coat hanger next to the door frame? It doesn't look like a man's hat, more like a woman's. Is there someone else visiting Eggers — or does he have a housemate?

[imaginaryfriend]

Aug 5, 2013 14:09:58 GMT scaramousche said:

Whose hat is that on the coat hanger next to the door frame? It doesn't look like a man's hat, more like a woman's. Is there someone else visiting Eggers — or does he have a housemate?

I expect it's Jones' hat.

[thedoomblahsong]

If I recall correctly, the last time we know of that Rey and James interacted was during chapters eight and nine, after Annie fell into the ravine and until she came to see James in his office. In a flashback in chapter 9 we see that Rey is already cooperating with Eglamore and dragging the demon tree arm back 157. Rey was probably very upset that the attempt at recapturing him resulted in Annie being pushed off the bridge. Could it be that Eglamore and Rey had already reconciled at this time? It's a while, maybe even several days. Tom even notes that the girls' hair is different 152. Seems pretty unlikely, though, it's only a few weeks after Rey's escape. Earlier in chapter 7, Eglamore didn't seem too ready to forgive. And if I were Rey, I would have been terrified to be left alone with Eglamore :/. Maybe it was during last summer when Annie was in the forest, and Rey probably spent some time with Jones and other staff members. Maybe it was a process that required many meetings over the years.

I also wonder why Reynardine was so desperate not to get caught and brought back to the forest by demon Robot on this page 116. It was only about a few weeks since Rey had been willing to kill Annie just to escape his prison. Given that, his actions in this chapter make little sense... Maybe Rey knows something about Coyote's plans for him that we don't. Or maybe, even though he didn't necessarily want to be jailed, he also didn't want to return to the forest. He might blame Coyote for what he did to Daniel. The swirly in Coyote's eye here 1214 does suggest that he may have been... persuasive.

[Ophel]

It makes me feel down seeing Rey's expression like that. I can't help it. As for the epilogue, well, I'll just wait and let Tom tell.

[spacemansays]

...you know, I think what I like best about this page is that there ISN'T an explanation.

It's possible that this has been going on for a long time. It's equally possible that Reynardine has been trying for a long time, but Eglamore is only just now accepting the sincerity of his regret over Daniel. Maybe they're finally going to sit down and talk about Sivo - Reynardine's earlier line about "I bested him in a fight, that's different" seems like the kind of thing that wouldn't give comfort to a grieving friend, but might appeal to the warrior in Eglamore. Or maybe they're just going to sit in silence and watch television and learn to accept each other's company.

Regardless, a lot of in-comic time has passed since Chapter 3. This is a reminder that what we've been seeing on-camera with Annie and Kat are not the only things that are happening, and that other characters may move and change without our eyes upon them.

[avurai]

Mutual contempt for Anthony might also have been rather helpful in the earlier stages of bonding.

These guys have a shocking amount of things in common, in hindsight.

[GK Sierra]

Renard and Eggy are going to go for some Scotch and have a deep bro talk about life and such.

Also, in future please include an excerpt of dialogue from the page in your title. If there is no dialogue you are free to make up something cheeky.