expectations
Explanation
The Joke
A group of people are discussing unrealistic portrayals of women in media. One person brings up the complaint: "I worry about men watching porn." Another responds that women actually want to dress in a certain way and that the real concern is about unrealistic expectations. The conversation touches on how media portrayals -- whether in pornography or elsewhere -- set "unrealistic expectations" about bodies, appearance, and behavior.
The twist comes when someone points out that the expectations go both ways, noting that media portrayals are "unrealistic" across the board -- minimalist and tidy homes, perfect appearances, and so on. The final panel subverts the entire discussion when a character dressed as Death (the Grim Reaper) appears, suggesting that the most unrealistic expectation of all might be something far more fundamental. The joke pivots from a standard cultural critique about beauty standards into something darker and more existential.
The Humor
The comic starts with what seems like a familiar cultural debate about unrealistic media portrayals and body image, then gradually expands the scope of "unrealistic expectations" until it reaches an absurd or existential breaking point. Weinersmith's technique here is to take a well-worn social commentary topic and push it past its expected boundaries. Each panel escalates the critique from specific (pornography, fashion) to general (all media, all of life), until the conversation collapses under its own weight. The appearance of the Grim Reaper in the final panel suggests that perhaps the most unrealistic expectation humans hold is about mortality itself -- or simply that death is the ultimate punchline to all human vanity.