Sorry, I don’t consider what you wrote to be a valid defense, and I’ll tell you why. (Actually, I basically already said why in my previous post, but this time I’ll make it more obvious and clear):
It would be one thing if these relationships followed a realistic and altogether more positive pattern of showing relationships that ultimately fail, or fade away, or break up for whatever reason, and then having the character move on and learn and grow from that experience, and create something better in the future. But that hardly ever happens. The character stays largely static in that regard, doesn’t learn much if anything, doesn’t grow. So, it becomes what I referred to as a “Well….that happened” storyline. Ultimately meaningless, insignificant filler. The storyline just ends up as something that happened and is forgotten, the character learns nothing significant from it, and comic strip life continues banally, almost completely unchanged. Or worse — and often — the character actually regresses after such an experience. Mostly, though, it has the feel of something that G&K just simply got tired of and abandoned.
Sure, there are real people who never learn anything from experience, never grow, just lurch from one failed relationship to the next, ending up with just a sad, meaningless series of experiences. But a comic strip based on those sort of people isn’t something that I’m interested in.
Ok, so if Bets has moved on, and Luis was pulled out of the archives to do a cameo to emphasize the parallels between this break-up and the one with Rosa, then what purpose did Bets serve in the strip? Just there to demonstrate once again the type of woman that isn’t a fit for Gunther? (Although, I don’t really know what woman would be a fit, besides his mommy.) Just there as filler, and an opportunity to make money on what is really looking like a rather pointless novella? (“Read all of the details about yet another purposely-storyboarded bad matchup and subsequent failed relationship in the world of ‘Luann’! Limited edition, US-only!”.) Is Gunth going to be allowed to learn something about himself and his negative aspects and his self-imposed limitations, or is this just going to another in a very long line of “Well…. That happened” moments that G&K seem to love to put into the strip? I guess time will tell.
Yeah. Working together. Except that I think that Luann would like to take over Tara’s job here, too.