RevElly: the stupid cupid......

In the original version of Foob history, Elly pretty much sat at the sidelines looking dumb when Connie tried to spark some sort of connection with Phil. Granted, she told her "friend" not to sound too desperate but otherwise she made a mess of things. John was pretty much right to worry that Connie would get hurt because he knew that she wanted to have the settled life that the Pattersons had while Phil didn't and, as far as he knew, never would. He also wanted to do something Elly never would: take decisive action to stop the whole thing dead in its tracks. Granted, he knew he couldn't do anything without backup he knew wasn't forthcoming so he didn't but the impulse to avoid hurt feelings was there. Instead, he watched helplessly as Phil turned her down twice and Elly stood there wavering, wondering who to condemn and who to support. In the new version of events, though, Elly has taken a far more active and unpalatable role: she's become a crap-ass matchmaker. It bugs her that RePhil has a life he loves when he should be responsible and slave away at a job he hates and deal with a wife and children he not-to-secretly loathes. To that end, she plots and schemes to make sure that RetConnie gets to meet him and introduce him to the glories of suburban ennui; her concern for their emotional state is thus feigned. All that matters is that these two should somehow live lives that don't threaten her. RetConnie must not be able to remind her that a husband, 'necessary' to have someone to blame one's own shortcomings on, is optional. RePhil must not live a life doing things he enjoys and thus remind her that she's a self-destructive fool for slaving away at things she hates.