Joyce and Walky!

Let’s spell out the subtext here because I can’t remember if it was ever explicitly stated.

When Mary says, “Nope, you really can’t [plan things this well],” as she avoids eye contact, this is a clue. Mary wanted to marry a doctor. And so she poked holes in her condoms or whatever, schtupped Peter (who she might have been dating beforehand), and, whoops, they gotta get married now. “You can’t put your JOB in jeopardy,” she freaks, because that’s what she truly values.

Sal knows the score, though. Not, like, this specific score, but Mary’s general over-all score.

Was this sussed out by the original IW! readers? I forget. The last panel is kinda non sequitur-y without figuring out Mary’s being deceitful.

This is the last time we see Mary outside of a cameo until the end of the Walkyverse, I’m fairly certain. I remember wanting to rehabilitate her somewhat in “Is A Song Forever?” by showing her having remorse and learning to move on, but the sweet siren call of Evil Mary pulled me back for this storyline. It’s how she wants to be, I’m sorry.