Sometimes I think webcartoonists revel in being unpredictable. Indeed, there have long been rumors of cartoonists who’d alter a storyline because some bright-minded fan would guess what was coming (though I doubt there are many cartoonists who contain that level of hubris that they’d ruin a storyline for the sake of surprise). Still, I doubt anyone predicted recent events in Punch an’ Pie with Heather breaking up with Angela, and breaking apart the core founding relationship of the comic. Indeed, such an action often seems more akin to something that would happen at the end of a long-running series rather than partway into a comic even as it continues to grow.

Nor is it probable that this was unplanned. Hints had been laid in the strip with Angela’s jealousy, though the incidents seemed of little importance at the time. Pebbles that precede a landslide rarely seem a big deal. Indeed, Heather’s breaking things up with Angela allowed for a fascinating flashback sequence showing us how Heather and Angela started dating… and hinting at the inner insecurities of Angela that had tainted her relationship with Kestrel in Queen of Wands.

Those dark thoughts give us a true clue as to the source of Angela’s insecurities and why she kept trying to see if there was something more between Angela and Jack: it’s not that Heather is a bad person or is cheating on Angela… it’s that in her own eyes she’s a bad girlfriend and doesn’t deserve Heather. The flashbacks also reveal a pattern of Angela pushing and refusing to accept Heather at her word… and it also makes me wonder as to why Heather invited Angela to move in with her. The only thing I can think of is that she hoped that their close proximity would eliminate any last doubts of Angela’s. Sadly, she was mistaken. Undoubtedly in time Angela and Heather will patch things up… and their relationship may even become stronger for their time apart. What’ll be fascinating to watch is the growth both characters go through in reaching that end.