OK, I've had some time to digest this strip a little, so I'll just make a couple of points.
...not going to go back through however many pages to remember who said what.Someone said the cast of QC might move through and past this far easier than we're spazzing out discussing it. I think that's probably what will happen. I hope so anyways...
Regarding Faye's use of violence; I was about to jump down her throat for hitting Cosette with a magazine, so you're not likely to find a bigger critic of her violent tendencies than me. In this instance, however, I feel she was completely justified.
That said, I agree with what someone else said - panel 3
could be read as some sort of drunken joke, albeit in poor taste.
Look at panel 1...that's the "happiest" we've seen Marten since the Porn Argument started, and his best friend just arrived. His response to her comment seems to call back to the witty drunken banter Faye and Marten shared pre #500...
...and then she jumps down his throat about his alcohol use. Talk about a buzz-kill. Yeah, it's not healthy, but fuck...he's a grown man who just got dumped. If he can't get hammered now, then
when??
The combination of emotion and alcohol, coupled with basically the complete opposite interaction with Faye from what he was expecting, caused him to then do the exact same thing in return...which was basically be a dick and make a pass.
Do I think he was making some bad drunken joke? No. Do I think he
could have been joking? Maybe...but it's doubtful, as others have pointed out how alcohol gets us to be more "truthful" than we would tend to be.
And none of that's to say that Marten wasn't an asshole in panels 2 and especially 3...he was a
complete asshole. If it was a joke, it was a terrible one. There was however, precedent, as another poster noted, for those close to him to be kind of glossing over the crap he's been going through. Marten's not one to dwell on that kinda thing from most people, but Faye's his
best friend...the
last thing he needed was a lecture.
The worst part is that Faye should have known better than to jump on him...she said it was pot/kettle territory, but jeez, Faye, look how
you reacted when people called you on your shit when you were drinking. What did you
think was going to happen?
She was expecting The Doormat again. It doesn't excuse Marten's actions...but Faye dun goofed.
...and now we get the fallout.
Does this even
reach Dora's ears??