History YMMV / ForBetterOrForWorse

** When the Pattersons are moving into their neighbors' house and selling their old house to Michael's family, April takes issue with the fact that ''she'' still lives there, too, and they aren't even taking her into consideration. She's distraught with both offers of staying in the house (wherein she will be Michael's live-in babysitter) or moving into the basement of the neighbors' house. April's friend tells her that she has a pretty sweet deal out of it no matter what, but in all honesty, can you ''blame'' April for being distraught, or needing time to get over it? A major decision ''was'' made more or less without taking her into consideration.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: When Michael and Deanne discover they have an unexpected pregnancy and are seriously concerned about that development with their financial situation, Elly is ecstatic about it in a IWantGrandkids fit of selfishness without seemingly caring about what they feel about it. The whole scene feels like Michael and Deanne are going talk it over seriously and call Elly with the concluding panel of her face shattering at being told they decided to have an abortion. Instead of that bombshell, the pregnancy just goes through, resulting in Meredith.

* FairForItsDay: One way to tell SocietyMarchesOn is to see some things that got Johnston mail of praise and hatemail for including. These days, an author would be considered old-fashioned for playing them straight.

* ValuesDissonance: Lynn Johnson's self-described pro-nuclear family views as a "child of the [=50s=]" started rearing their ugly head more and more as the strip neared its conclusion, and when her views clashed with those of many fans, things got ugly. This stung especially hard for the people who first started reading the comic when it was running [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny fresh and groundbreaking]] storylines with progressive attitudes on topics like homosexuality and the disabled, so everyone settling for domestic bliss came across like a slap in the face. Ultimately, the comic is a good example of what happens when a LongRunner starts out progressive, only to have [[SocietyMarchesOn the surrounding culture]] start changing [[StatusQuoIsGod faster than the comic does.]] Some examples:

** Again, Thérèse. She's treated as a harpy for telling Anthony to cut up his sandwich or wear different clothes. Yet when he makes her have a baby she doesn't want and move to a place she hates, she's also a harpy for upset by it. The [[DoubleStandard sexist undertones]] don't help much.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Frequent, and not at all subtle, especially in the later years. How much of it can be justified by SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped is a matter for considerable debate among the readership. One big one featured the developmentally-disabled Shannon literally ''[[SoapboxSadie standing on a table]]'' during lunch hour to lecture everyone on how to treat the disabled with respect. This was, of course perhaps something that ''needed'' to be said (it was prefaced with a kid going "coo-coo! coo-coo!" at the Special Ed lunch table).

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Parents can be abusive and wrong. One example being how Gordon's father abuses him, and how Connie and Greg throw teen Lawrence out for being gay.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: When Michael and Deanne discover they have an unexpected pregnancy and are seriously concerned about that development with their financial situation, Elly is ecstatic about it in a IWantGrandkids fit of selfishness without seemingly caring about what they feel about it. The whole scene feels like Michael and Deanne are going talk it over seriously and call Elly with the concluding panel of her face shattering at being told they decided to have an abortion. Instead of that bombshell, the pregnancy just goes through.

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** NeverLiveItDown: Almost all of the tropes on this page and a good chunk of the main page are about said later years. The earlier strips weren't actually that bad - however [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny it's hard to appreciate them]], especially [[FairForItsDay due to some things]]

* ValuesDissonance: Several concepts central to the strip, such as [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition being evil]], [[BrattyHalfPint children being horrible monsters]] for daring to demand attention and affection -- and yet the only ''real'' measure of a woman's success, and the eventual [[{{Flanderization}} uplifting]] of several characters to Pattersainthood while retaining their many ''obvious'' character flaws resulted in massive amounts of friction between Lynn Johnson and most of her readership. Lynn Johnson's self-described pro-nuclear family views as a "child of the [=50s=]" started rearing their ugly head more and more as the strip neared its conclusion, and when her views clashed with those of many fans, things got ugly.
** A lot of this has to do with the fact that many fans, especially young women who identified with Elizabeth, felt ripped off by Johnson's prioritizing safe, traditionalist domesticity over freedom, change and opportunity, not to mention her very outdated views on sex (i.e, the [[NeverLiveItDown infamous]] AttemptedRape) and [[StayInTheKitchen gender roles]]. This stung especially hard for the people who first started reading the comic when it was running [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny fresh and groundbreaking]] storylines with progressive attitudes on topics like homosexuality and the disabled, so everyone settling for domestic bliss came across like a slap in the face. Ultimately, the comic is a good example of what happens when a LongRunner starts out progressive, only to have [[SocietyMarchesOn the surrounding culture]] start changing [[StatusQuoIsGod faster than the comic does.]]
** On her website, Lynn Johnston defended her choice to have Elizabeth get together with Anthony, claiming that Liz's other beaus were unsuitable because her family didn't know them well. Many readers considered this ridiculously old-fashioned.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The author's viewpoint is that Thérèse is a cold, calculating shrew with severe and unreasonable jealousy problems who, despite Anthony's being a loving and supportive spouse, distanced herself from him and their child, cheated on him, and cruelly divorced him. But it's possible to make a solid case that Anthony was manipulative and overbearing, pushing Thérèse towards things she didn't want (a house in the suburbs, a baby, giving up her career to become a {{housewife}}) and being a whiny little bitch when she insisted on doing what she'd planned to do (which Anthony had ''agreed'' to), such as go back to work after Francoise was born. There's textual evidence to support the thesis that Thérèse's "distance" was postpartum depression which Anthony did nothing about. Additionally, Anthony was emotionally unfaithful to Thérèse from the get-go, pining after his ex-girlfriend Liz for his entire marriage. Anthony and Liz's wedding occurs at the end of the strip's run and would seem to justify Therese's jealousy.

** A lot of people felt the only good thing to come out of the end of the comic was the revelation that April moved across the continent and never looked back. Sure, it's implied it was partially due to finding a "country boy", but she still at least got to choose a career and a partner without the constant meddling and pressure of her parents and has a career of her own.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The author's viewpoint is that Thérèse is a cold, calculating shrew with severe and unreasonable jealousy problems who, despite Anthony's being a loving and supportive spouse, distanced herself from him and their child, cheated on him, and cruelly divorced him. But it's possible to make a solid case that Anthony was manipulative and overbearing, pushing Thérèse towards things she didn't want (a house in the suburbs, a baby, giving up her career to become a {{housewife}}) and being a whiny little bitch when she insisted on doing what she'd planned to do, such as go back to work after Francoise was born. There's textual evidence to support the thesis that Thérèse's "distance" was postpartum depression which Anthony did nothing about. Additionally, Anthony was emotionally unfaithful to Thérèse from the get-go, pining after his ex-girlfriend Liz for his entire marriage. Anthony and Liz's wedding occurs at the end of the strip's run and would seem to justify Therese's jealousy.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Thérèse and April. The former because her supposed evil traits are usually read sympathetically by readers, and April because her family eventually starts treating her like TheUnfavourite, to the point of selling their own house and forcing her to live in a basement just so their precious Michael can have a big home for his new family.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: When Michael and Deanne discover they have an unexpected pregnancy and are seriously concerned about that development with their financial situation, Elly is ecstatic about it in a IWantGrandkids fit off selfishness without seemingly caring about what they feel about it. The whole scene feels like Michael and Deanne are going talk it over seriously and call Elly with the concluding panel of her face shattering at being told they decided to have an abortion. Instead of that bombshell, the pregnancy just goes through.

* TheWoobie: John's cousin [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave Fiona]] surprisingly becomes this when one reads her [[https://www.fborfw.com/features/who/index.php?id=Fiona%20Brass backstory]].

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: While the strip became SnarkBait and has gone downhill, it's hard to appreciate just ''why'' the strip became a staple in newspaper comics:

* SnarkBait: Especially in its later years. In response Johnston dubbed a section of the readership "The Snarkers", and [[CantTakeCriticism whined that they legitimately hurt her and robbed her of some of her love for her work]].

* SnarkBait: Especially in its later years. In response Johnston dubbed a section of the readership "The Snarkers", and pointed out that they legitimately hurt her and robbed her of some of her love for her work.

** The fanbase, however, was taken with different attributes -- his ugly moustache, his nerdy appearance, his boring and unambitious career (the accountant for a car shop that turned into a small chain), and a large degree of whininess and emotional dependency, as well as his unfaithfulness to his wife. Keep in mind that Liz's other love interests were handsome, passionate, ambitious career men with fascinating positions and lifestyles -- Liz dropped her own adventurous, unique life for "domestic bliss" with Captain Boring. Keep in mind ''also'' that a large part of the strip's fanbase was by this point identifying with the young post-college Elizabeth, which is why this particular trope ''stung'' so much. They and Lynn were on completely different tracks of where they thought things should go, and Lynn's personal fantasy life was simply not to be.

* SnarkBait: Especially in its later years. Johnston has later called a section of the readership "The Snarkers", and pointed out that they legitimately hurt her and robbed her of some of her love for her work. However, she points out that readers in the old days were just as cruel and vulgar as the "Internet Trolls" of today -- they just had to go through the effort of ''writing letters'' to get their vulgarity across. Now, it's instant.

*** Thankfully, it resolves later on, with both Connie and Greg accepting Lawrence's homosexuality.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Thérèse and April. The former because her supposed evil traits are usually read sympathetically by readers, and April because her family eventually starts treating her like TheUnfavorite, to the point of selling their own house and forcing her to live in a basement just so their precious Michael can have a big home for his new family.

** It touched upon issues such as infidelity, homophobia, sexual assault, child abuse, deformities, the treatment of First Nations peoples, cancer, death, strokes, and ableism. Most newspaper comics simply ''did not'' talk about that stuff - oftentimes it was kept for AVerySpecialEpisode. However, some strips

* MisBlamed / ScapegoatCreator: Lynn actually wanted to retire after ending the story; but a lot of newspapers didn't want to lose a slot in the funny pages, and so convinced her to do a few "new strips" in the middle of some older ones.

** NeverLiveItDown / BileFascination: Almost all of the tropes on this page and a good chunk of the main page are about said later years. The earlier strips weren't actually that bad - however [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny it's hard to appreciate them]], especially [[FairForItsDay due to some things]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Anthony, Elizabeth, Michael, Elly. Notice a pattern?

* ValuesDissonance: Several concepts central to the strip, such as [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition being evil]], [[BrattyHalfPint children being horrible monsters]] for daring to demand attention and affection -- and yet the only ''real'' measure of a woman's success, and the eventual [[{{Flanderization}} uplifting]] of several characters to Pattersainthood while retaining their many ''obvious'' character flaws resulted in massive amounts of Dissonance.