Couch
Explanation
The Joke
A woman angrily tells a man, "That's it! You are sleeping on the couch tonight!" The man looks dejected in the second panel. In the third panel, she adds the real punishment: "And no phone." The man immediately breaks down, begging: "Please baby, take me back!"
The comic subverts the classic sitcom trope of being "sent to the couch" as a relationship punishment. The joke is that sleeping on the couch by itself is barely a punishment at all in the modern era -- as long as you have your phone, you can browse social media, watch videos, play games, and generally have a fine time. The actual punishment only kicks in when the phone is taken away, revealing that the real attachment in the man's life is to his device, not to the shared bed.
The Humor
The humor comes from the deflation of a well-worn domestic trope. The "sleeping on the couch" punishment has been a staple of sitcoms and relationship humor for decades, but the comic points out that it has been rendered toothless by smartphones. The man's complete indifference to losing his place in bed, followed by his dramatic desperation at losing his phone, is a commentary on modern screen addiction. The comedic escalation is perfectly timed -- the third panel pause before "And no phone" works as a classic beat, and the man's groveling in the final panel provides a satisfying reversal of the power dynamic shown in panel one.
References
The "sleeping on the couch" trope is a staple of American domestic comedy, frequently appearing in shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond," "King of Queens," and countless other sitcoms. The comic updates this classic scenario for the smartphone age.