Okay. No spacer. Just John getting owned because, as trumanf said, Elly describes Paul Wright.
Panel 1: The Pattersons are getting dressed for another day of suburban ennui as Elly tells John that his replacement would be tall, dark, handsome....
Panel 2: ...witty, warm, self-assured, well-educated, financially secure, good with kids and so on and so forth.
Panel 3: Realizing that Elly thinks of him as none of those great things, John delivers the payoff question.
Summary: Because Chinnuts said marrying you would be the stupidest mistake she'd ever make is how the Hell, idiot!! We're about to spend two days being reminded of it, too.