I feel like this would something that would be explored more if we had more down-time issues. Claremont had lots of action and world-building, but he made sure to schedule and pencil in slower issues that explored relationships.
Sadly its very rare for modern writers to do this, as their runs are short and they barely have enough time to get all their plots in as it is.
Hello mikeb!
And I generally agree, I'm not saying Betsy really had much of a connection with Carol at all, just that due to her age and perceptions of Rogue; it was an easy justification for Betsy's harshness at times. I do think that Betsy also did get along better with Carols personality, we saw her hanging out with the Carol persona on several occasions iirc. So there was something there, a bit it was fabricated since it's not even a real person so much as a
memory of a person lol.
I find it a bit weird how the Carol persona sticks up for Rogue here but then later tries to kill her in the Savage Land. What changed?
She voices some frustrations but it's huge leap from this to "I'm gonna murder you lol bye".
The Carol persona got so fleshed out during the 80s. Meanwhile Sunfire and Wonder Man's permanent absorption were treated as afterthoughts, as a means to an end instead of a way of exploring a characters insecurities or dual identities. I think that's kinda sad, it would've been very interesting to see Rogue handle or experience things through a male (presumably straight) personality.
Despite most of her heart to hearts happening with 'Carol', I do find Rogue's relationship with Betsy interesting.