February 17, 2013: Sunday Showdown!

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Clockwise from the bottom left:

• What could have just been a wasted panel about the Lockhorns complaining about the ills of modern society is deftly savaged by Loretta into a winning point. Loretta could have just silently acknowledged Leroy's horror at that relatively high prices of a chain coffee place, but she decides to get with the times and joins up with the unhappy barista in being disdainful of Leroy. While it's no surprise Leroy is shocked by the high price of coffeehouse brew, I actually expected him to be more dismayed by the excessive amount of details involved in the ordering process. Loretta gets a point and leads 1-0.
• I would not be surprised if Loretta genuinely needed to turn Leroy over to remove any stagnant growth under him. He is more than capable of pulling off such a sickening show of sloth. He doesn't look nearly as disheveled and gross to indicate he has been there too long, however it's still worth a check. Despite the scoring, this act can almost be considered a display of caring on the part of Loretta. Perhaps she just wants to preserve the recliner. Loretta earns another point and storms ahead 2-0.
• This panels leaves me somewhat conflicted as to who got the upper hand. On one side you have Loretta calling out Leroy's false excuse for staying out late by using football knowledge he most likely didn't expect her to have. On the other side, Leroy passes the smile test. He is the one with the smile with Loretta is scowling. He seems to have no regrets about his tardiness and though it may not have been a football tailgate, it looks like there was plenty of drinking involved. In the end I'm going to give Leroy the edge here. Loretta still leads 2-1.
• Leroy must have done some serious sinning to warrant such an extreme schedule of penance. Just going back to the second panel, we know he was going to be on the hook for some serious sloth action. I am quite surprised that Loretta doesn't go to town on Leroy in such a vulnerable position. Maybe since she just got out of a confessional booth she didn't want to immediately dive into a beat down just yet. Loretta fails to clinch as it ends in a push; though she still leads 2-1 heading into the final panel.
• To be fair, Leroy may not have as poor a vocabulary as the scene might indicate. Given that Loretta's mom is trapped in the 19th century, she may have called him some sort of obscure, outdated, Mr. Burnsesque, insult that the average modern person would be hard pressed to recognize. He may have to go beyond his standard copy of Merriam-Webster to one of those massive Oxford dictionaries found in public libraries. Still, specifics aside, it's an insult and Loretta scores the point. Loretta takes the day 3-1.

Official Count:

Leroy - 17

Loretta - 23

Push - 8

Sunday Showdown Count:

Leroy - 1

Loretta - 4

Push - 2