Among the suddenly useless
on June 9, 2019 at 12:01 amChapter: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Location: Professor Doc's lab
Welp, here we go. This is it, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” which is the final It’s Walky! storyline (before the Epilogue). This is also the final daily-style noncolor strip! It’s all color full-page after this until the end, baby! Cruisin’ out in style!
Anyway, have some damaged folks. I wonder why these guys are forced to hide out down there because they’re compromised, while Jason’s up on the surface leading an army of Britjas. I feel like the Army Of Literal Murderous Villains might be the bigger problem, potentially.
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That panel 4 line… It’s not among my favorite lines in the comic, it’s not even among my most memorable. But it managed to wedge itself somewhere deep inside me. Just reading that line again took me *precisely* back to where I was when I first read through this comic back in 2005, in a way that few other panels from this series have done.
I think it is memorable due to it’s absolutely baffling grammar.
“Here, among the suddenly useless, you will find Linda Walkerton.” sounds better.
On the other hand, the old one felt like some sort of reference to something (probably Transformers?) so it might be intentional.
Often, in this comic, if a line sounds weird and forced, it’s based on a line from Transformers. I have learned this over the course of the commentary.
” I wonder why these guys are forced to hide out down there because they’re compromised, while Jason’s up on the surface leading an army of Britjas.”
No one’s ever accused SEMME of being well-run and not a shotgun-enterprise.
I don’t think Daisy is capable to fight since she probably remembers that she killed some of her friends while brainwashed. That must have taken it’s toll on her.
This is normal PTSD response, you remove the sufferer from the battlefield until they are cleared. Every one of them down there has some form of it even if they aren’t showing it, Linda is showing it through her guilt and remorse while Bryan and Marcie are showing it through their anger towards Linda.
Plus it’s also smart to isolate them from the others until they get someone to ensure that their brainwashing is gone and can’t be triggered again. It’s best to keep them away from the action.
That’s clear & makes sense. What about Sierra?
Maybe she and Marcie are guards?
Ditto. They are both mind-wiped by the Britjas so their minds aren’t fully trustworthy but are stronger than Brian and the rest of Squad 135…
“Please don’t shoot,” he said, as though SEMME has a track record of shooting Head Aliens.
So maybe I’m the idiot but I never understood why “The Sorceror’s Apprentice” was the title for this chapter. I mean I know what happens in this chapter because I read the whole comic on the old site, and I know what the Sorceror’s Apprentice is, I just don’t get how the reference works.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure I remember what happens in this chapter too and I’m not sure how it has anything to do with the Sorcerer’s Apprentice either.
I haven’t been harsh on Linda, unlike 99% of the other readers. But this strip? It shows she’s useless in her condition. She’s just dead weight, even more dead weight than Billie!
Jason at least wields command over the Britjas so he’s useful to a point, he also has something to fight for in Sal being up in the sky trying to fight the Martians directly. He’s dangerous to the Martians, Linda and the brainwashed are useless.
I *have* been harsh on Linda and don’t regret it, but the phrase “suddenly useless” doesn’t refer to her abilities or even her current mental state. Penny destroyed her authority, making it so that most SEMME agents would never follow a command from her again without hesitating. They’re now loyal to the group’s original mission statement, not to her. Whether you believe she deserves it or not, her role as Big Boss is over.
Of course, this means there’s not much clear chain of command, but SEMME was never a model of military discipline in the first place. And even if it were, long-game strategy isn’t that relevant when the enemy is at your doorstep and there’s no realistic option of retreat.
The Britjas, like Monkey Master and his team, may be murderous villains, but there is little doubt that they are in full command of their faculties, and enough is known about what motivates each group that they can be extended a certain amount of trust.
But very little is known about how the brainwashed will behave in Penny’s absence, and there’s next to no time to figure it out. Plus, forcing Daisy back into the field in her current mental condition would not end well, and Marcie may not be much better off. SEMME may have a long history of expecting its agents to just walk off their traumas, but even it has limits.
All the comments regarding brainwashing & trauma make sense to me, who is no expert. I would think/hope, though, that there’s been [some/much/huge] progress in understanding & treating trauma from 2005 toll 2019.
Also, who is keeping this bunch from going up/out to join the fight, if they want to? IF they want to. I’m flashing on the traumatized Tommy in the movie “Dunkirk” who was rescued by the civilian boat heading to Dunkirk, who kept trying to get the boat turned back to England.