She worked the new-runs with an overriding paradigm that Elly must be shown to be even more put-upon and John even more of an asshole. Even if Lynn had planned to expand on the characters and their background, her inability to let go of her anger and her desire for public revenge on Rod through her strip took over.

Which is why she didn't start over from 1982 or so; she wasn't as mad at Rod then so working in examples of John being a creep would have tipped her hand in a way that even Inman would have seen it.