Bull’s Out To Pasture

I admit it, I’ve always kind of liked Bull. How can you hate a guy who has a history of kicking Les’ ass? But beyond that, he’s always been the kind of “guy next door” that I might have been friends with…not too smart, but good at what he does; takes a joke pretty well; doesn’t carry a grudge or live in the past; owns up to his mistakes and takes the consequences.  And today, faced with a pretty grim diagnosis, he says “the hell with it” and decides to retire and enjoy himself while there’s still a “self” inside that damaged skull.

Best wishes, Bull. Hope it works out for you…even though I suspect your creator is going to eventually pull the rug out from under you.

Been Nice Knowin’ Ya, Bull.

So today’s strip confirms what the SoSF community has been speculating all along – Bull has CTE. Maybe. See, what Batty isn’t saying is that CTE can’t really be diagnosed until a post-mortem examination of the brain is made during autopsy.

There’s hope for Bull yet, though. Funky’s dad Mort has made a remarkable recovery from the vegetative state he was in when Funks dumped him into Bedside Manor.  Dinkle stopped being deaf when our backs were turned, as Dinkles often do. And don’t forget Wally: he came back from Afghanistan with PTSD and without the ability to recognize faces and look at him now, all goin’ to school an’ sayin’ hi to folks he recognizes and carving out a normal life with a hot redhead who seems to have conveniently forgotten about her kid.

(With all that miraculous healing going on in Westview, the Lourdes of Ahia, you have to wonder how poor Becky feels about the arm that stubbornly refuses to grow back.)

Honey, I… I Think There’s Something Wrong With Me

So, after months of mood swings, violent outbursts, and memory loss, Bull finally admits to Linda today that he “needs to see someone.”

I find it hard to believe that everyone around Bull has noticed his decline and openly discussed his symptoms and yet no one has bothered to investigate what all of this might mean. I think part of the reason his characters are so unlikable is because they are so damned stupid.

If this does turn out to be a long-term story about CTE, we should have some kind of pool to predict how long it takes T-Bats to make another Pulitzer attempt by having Bull commit suicide.

Bull Likes It Rough

In today’s action-packed segment, we see Bull fly off the handle after a bad call. The Scapegoats are probably like 3rd and 50, it’s no wonder Coach is so tense.

roughing-1Also this guy. What the hell is going on with his shoulder? Is his arm growing out of the side of his neck or something? And aren’t penalty flags yellow? Maybe the ref is surrendering so Bull will back off.