16. It Began with a Rabbit's Fang...
A discussion on Penny Wise.
By David Hilder | February 15, 2014
A discussion on Penny Wise.
By David Hilder | February 15, 2014
Penny Wise is a good addition to Adventures in Odyssey. In a short time she’s quickly risen to become one of the more prominent characters. She was first imagined as a villain for the Green Ring Conspiracy but in the final draft was recreated as a friend for Connie Kendall. But since then their friendship has morphed into a trio because Wooton Bassett insists on being part of it. That wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if Wooton was honest about his intentions. But it has become a problem because Wooton thinks he needs to hide his feelings from Penny because he’s unsure of whether she likes him back. Wooton hovering around, dealing with overwhelming anxiety over the situation is entertaining for an episode or two, but in the long term it doesn’t help either Wooton or Penny.
When Connie and Penny first met in a college art class in Album 53 Connie called Penny her “new best friend.” That might have been a premature statement but it foreshadowed exactly what has happened since. During the art class Connie drew a rabbit with fangs and insisted that some species of rabbits do indeed have fangs, which sounds like a fact she might have learned from Eugene. The average person probably would have slowly backed away from Connie at this point and avoided her in the future. But instead of doing so Penny encouraged Connie in her talents and her eye for detail, although she did push her away from drawing vampire rabbits and towards other types of art. In this way, Penny has been a very positive character.
Who would have thought that Connie would finally have a female friend her age? Before the 2010 relaunch practically the only adults Connie had to hang out with were men, who were frequently much older than her. With the introduction of Penny we get to witness more of Connie’s life outside of Whit’s End. When she’s not serving ice cream and cleaning off tables she’s attending college and exploring around Odyssey. The fact that we’ve listened to Connie attend multiple college classes is interesting because we didn’t get the same thing with Eugene. We never witnessed Eugene attending classes at Campbell College even though he frequently mentioned going there. This shows how much AIO has changed over the years and expanded into new areas, which is good for a show which appeals to people of all ages. The character of Penny has allowed for more variety.
But Connie wasn’t allowed to have Penny for herself for long. Just a few episodes after her first appearance Penny met Wooton and immediately chaos erupted. They discovered they liked the same comic books and their conversation soon rescinded into excited shrieking. Wooton doesn’t seem to bring out the best in Penny. Then at the carnival they’re even more hyper. Wooton and Penny run off sounding like they’ve consumed too much sugar and quickly leave Connie behind. This illustrates exactly what’s gone wrong with how the character of Penny has been used. Her friendship with Connie is too easily undermined by Wooton’s interference. This is largely because of Wooton’s increased level of craziness that shows up whenever he is around Penny.
The same goes for Penny. Ever since her encounter with Wooton Penny has been different. Every time Wooton shows up she can’t seem to think straight. In Happy Hunting for example, she eats the salmon Wooton has prepared even though she knows she’s severely allergic to it. The reason Penny exists is not to be Wooton’s love interest. That isn’t why she was created or why she was kept around after the Green Ring Conspiracy. The team decided to change the ending of that album and keep Penny on the show because of Kimmy Robertson’s chemistry with Katie Leigh and the potential Penny had to become Connie’s close friend.
Penny needs to differentiate herself more from Wooton because she’s become too entangled in his goofiness. She deserves to be more of her own person. Penny is best when she’s interacting with Jacques Henri, Mr. Whittaker or especially Connie. Connie said it best in Life Expectancy. Speaking to Penny she said, “You know what helps me the most? That you’re here and you’re my friend and you love me and that’s what I need.” Penny replied, “Oh. Well, I can do that.” Their conversation was unfortunately interrupted by Wooton’s loud banging on the front door.
Penny is still an immature Christian and she needs Connie to be her friend and mentor. Wooton might have been able to help Penny as well if he hadn’t changed so much after the relaunch. He was always a goofy character but I feel like he used to be more down-to-earth and relatable. Now he’s off in his own world more than ever. Hearing Wooton’s humor sometimes can be jarring in a series which usually does a great job at creating real characters as opposed to cartoonish ones. As long as Wooton has reverted back to immaturity he should stay away from Penny, because his infatuation with her overrides his ability to function properly. And that has a bad influence on Penny.
For some reason Wooton is trying to play it cool around Penny and it isn’t working. What would really be the best solution would be for Wooton to be honest with Penny and reveal his feelings for her. Then Penny could either admit that she feels the same way or she could say she isn’t ready for a romantic relationship right now. Either way, Wooton wouldn’t have to act as crazy anymore. Wooton himself has admitted that he conceals his emotions with over-the-top humor. With his emotions out in the open, things could go back to normal and Wooton could finally be himself again.
Some people say the introduction of Jay Smouse is the best thing on AIO since the relaunch. I’m inclined to agree. And if that’s true then I would say that Penny Wise is the second best new character we’ve gotten. She’s a great fit to be Connie’s close friend and she’s likely to last for quite a long time. I’m glad she didn’t simply disappear after the Green Ring Conspiracy but has appeared in every album since. She has room to grow and potential to become a solid main character. In the future I hope Penny continues to be Connie’s best friend but that she also develops into her own unique character. There eventually needs to come a point where not every single Penny episode absolutely needs to also feature Wooton or Connie alongside her. That’s when we’ll know Penny Wise has become her own character and an essential part of the show.
When Connie and Penny first met in a college art class in Album 53 Connie called Penny her “new best friend.” That might have been a premature statement but it foreshadowed exactly what has happened since. During the art class Connie drew a rabbit with fangs and insisted that some species of rabbits do indeed have fangs, which sounds like a fact she might have learned from Eugene. The average person probably would have slowly backed away from Connie at this point and avoided her in the future. But instead of doing so Penny encouraged Connie in her talents and her eye for detail, although she did push her away from drawing vampire rabbits and towards other types of art. In this way, Penny has been a very positive character.
Who would have thought that Connie would finally have a female friend her age? Before the 2010 relaunch practically the only adults Connie had to hang out with were men, who were frequently much older than her. With the introduction of Penny we get to witness more of Connie’s life outside of Whit’s End. When she’s not serving ice cream and cleaning off tables she’s attending college and exploring around Odyssey. The fact that we’ve listened to Connie attend multiple college classes is interesting because we didn’t get the same thing with Eugene. We never witnessed Eugene attending classes at Campbell College even though he frequently mentioned going there. This shows how much AIO has changed over the years and expanded into new areas, which is good for a show which appeals to people of all ages. The character of Penny has allowed for more variety.
But Connie wasn’t allowed to have Penny for herself for long. Just a few episodes after her first appearance Penny met Wooton and immediately chaos erupted. They discovered they liked the same comic books and their conversation soon rescinded into excited shrieking. Wooton doesn’t seem to bring out the best in Penny. Then at the carnival they’re even more hyper. Wooton and Penny run off sounding like they’ve consumed too much sugar and quickly leave Connie behind. This illustrates exactly what’s gone wrong with how the character of Penny has been used. Her friendship with Connie is too easily undermined by Wooton’s interference. This is largely because of Wooton’s increased level of craziness that shows up whenever he is around Penny.
The same goes for Penny. Ever since her encounter with Wooton Penny has been different. Every time Wooton shows up she can’t seem to think straight. In Happy Hunting for example, she eats the salmon Wooton has prepared even though she knows she’s severely allergic to it. The reason Penny exists is not to be Wooton’s love interest. That isn’t why she was created or why she was kept around after the Green Ring Conspiracy. The team decided to change the ending of that album and keep Penny on the show because of Kimmy Robertson’s chemistry with Katie Leigh and the potential Penny had to become Connie’s close friend.
Penny needs to differentiate herself more from Wooton because she’s become too entangled in his goofiness. She deserves to be more of her own person. Penny is best when she’s interacting with Jacques Henri, Mr. Whittaker or especially Connie. Connie said it best in Life Expectancy. Speaking to Penny she said, “You know what helps me the most? That you’re here and you’re my friend and you love me and that’s what I need.” Penny replied, “Oh. Well, I can do that.” Their conversation was unfortunately interrupted by Wooton’s loud banging on the front door.
Penny is still an immature Christian and she needs Connie to be her friend and mentor. Wooton might have been able to help Penny as well if he hadn’t changed so much after the relaunch. He was always a goofy character but I feel like he used to be more down-to-earth and relatable. Now he’s off in his own world more than ever. Hearing Wooton’s humor sometimes can be jarring in a series which usually does a great job at creating real characters as opposed to cartoonish ones. As long as Wooton has reverted back to immaturity he should stay away from Penny, because his infatuation with her overrides his ability to function properly. And that has a bad influence on Penny.
For some reason Wooton is trying to play it cool around Penny and it isn’t working. What would really be the best solution would be for Wooton to be honest with Penny and reveal his feelings for her. Then Penny could either admit that she feels the same way or she could say she isn’t ready for a romantic relationship right now. Either way, Wooton wouldn’t have to act as crazy anymore. Wooton himself has admitted that he conceals his emotions with over-the-top humor. With his emotions out in the open, things could go back to normal and Wooton could finally be himself again.
Some people say the introduction of Jay Smouse is the best thing on AIO since the relaunch. I’m inclined to agree. And if that’s true then I would say that Penny Wise is the second best new character we’ve gotten. She’s a great fit to be Connie’s close friend and she’s likely to last for quite a long time. I’m glad she didn’t simply disappear after the Green Ring Conspiracy but has appeared in every album since. She has room to grow and potential to become a solid main character. In the future I hope Penny continues to be Connie’s best friend but that she also develops into her own unique character. There eventually needs to come a point where not every single Penny episode absolutely needs to also feature Wooton or Connie alongside her. That’s when we’ll know Penny Wise has become her own character and an essential part of the show.
Correction: This editorial incorrectly states that in the episode Happy Hunting Penny eats salmon even though she knows she’s allergic to it. It turns out Penny didn't know about her allergy at the time.
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