Mark rises above his inner feelings about Connor to give him needed self-assurance. Good for Mark! But what happened to the “camping survival skills”? That was supposed to be the main point of this enterprise, at least from Mark’s point of view. Instead, that aspiration has been demoted. To be fair, we never saw the advertising sent out for this class. Perhaps it read something like this:

• “How to fish … for your partner’s innermost thoughts”
• “Learn how to pan-fry a filet of feelings”
• “Sheltering from a storm:  When to let a hurricane of emotions wash over you”
• “How to create a campfire that heats up meaningful conversation”

To that end, Rivera skipped over any useful tips Mark and Cliff might have given out about safe hiking and finding your way, in order to focus today’s strip on a positive outcome of vulnerable male emotions. But then she mocks it in panel 4. To my limited, male-dominate mind, this seems hypocritical or maybe it’s just another beat-down of Mark. Am I wrong? Am I misreading the subtext? Help me out, here!