DisneyBoy

....what's the drama in abortion? Does her family approve? Does the father approve? Does she feel like a damaged young woman because of it? Does she feel like she's doing the right thing regardless of what others think? Does she reevaluate her life plans because of it? And for the audience, does it remind viewers of the way the issue has been cruelly politicized and condemned of late when all it should really be about is what is what makes the most sense for the expecting mother, who in this case is a young woman in an unfamiliar town, with no family or friends and almost no job until very recently, and likely little savings?

Or maybe she gets an abortion?

I'd like to agree with you but I have a sinking feeling they'd go back on that and resort to the tried tested and true formula of having a gal desperate enough to use a baby to hold onto a man. So I missed the last minutes of today's episode...how'd it end? I really hope this means Ava and Brady are broken up. I am so sick of her saying "I am a mother..!" Lady, only because you raped Steve. Her punching Kristen was great until I remembered that it was Ava and there's really no one to root for in that fight. I know they wrote things this way because Drake was undergoing treatments and they weren't sure it was really time to wrap up John completely, but I need to see Marlena being less passive and actually going and searching for John herself. Maybe I'm still annoyed Hope was passive when Bo was first written out. Anyway, I miss the Marlena who had fire and would get off her butt and do things. They probably didn't want to write a big quest if there might not be a happy ending, though.

Mrs Choi has been a narrative prop from Day One, and it's annoying. With a little effort she could have seemed like an actual person, but everything about this is so forced. Tate seemed like exactly the kind of guy who would have used a condom every time, and saddling him with this random pregnancy and random would-be mother-in-law is nuts. I mean, they haven't even rebuilt the church set. If they had, they could have shown her attending Sunday Service with Sophia or something...anything so that her personality feels fully integrated. I've missed a few episodes - are they no longer required to marry in the eyes of Mrs Choi since they'll be giving the baby away for adoption? (And does anyone want to bet that Sophia has a change of heart the closer she gets to giving birth and then tries to marry Tate anyway?)

No. Don't leave us. Without you, we are lost. *clings to the hem of your robe* Skip certain days based on spoilers, or put it on in the background while you do laundry or something. It's okay to pull away a bit and take a break. But don't leave. It totally is...she doesn't...and it's sick that the show basically uses Rachel to highlight Brady's complete inability to fix anything in his life when HE's the one who was victimized and raped in the first place! And lord knows Ava needs a one-way ticket out of town. She'd be wise not to. They paired her with Rafe, after all... GET OUT OF MY HEAD! Same...but this is the 60th anniversary and there's a new writing regime coming up, a lot of returns (hopefully good ones) and well, I think after all the filler storylines and crap we've endured, we deserve to enjoy whatever effort they've put into the next couple of months, and stick together to celebrate and chat about the glorious mess that is this crazy show. I have been overwhelmingly negative towards it lately, I admit, but I'm just being honest about what it is. And people like you make watching through the poop infinitely more tolerable and even enjoyable. Maybe they'll pull it together a bit more with Ron gone. Resets do help. But I hear you. YUP. YUP YUP YUP. I thought Marlena would immediately put on her coat and go to the police station to see if this was REALLY Rachel, the woman who sacrificed herself to save everyone from Stefano. But nope, she's in her office "doing paperwork" so Johnny can pop in and talk about his problems. They really just slot her in wherever they want her these days, with little regard for how she's actually doing on her own terms as a character. I STILL can't believe Kristen lived under her roof with John and Brady for a while! That's...insane. Marlena would *never* agree to that and the men would *never* put her in that position. That is, if the show was being written as it should. Anyway, I suspect we'll eventually get a scene of Marlena going "oh...wow...Rachel....how have you been? It really is you....*yawn*....okay what's next?" with her typical unflappable quasi-warm vocal tone.

Yup. Plus, after essentially forcing Chanel to help him out on his TV show, having Johnny act like a jealous ass and accuse his wife of getting into Alex when he's the one who put her there made no sense. Thanks for the insights! As dumb as it was for Chanel to freak out over nothing more than a kiss, it's certainly a better outcome than him actually cheating and their relationship crashing out of nowhere. This was a silly but needed pivot to get them out of a bad place.

Kimberly Akimbo is a really special piece. I highly recommend seeing it.

I don't think this show can overdo John's death. This is the biggest "still viable" character death they've ever had. John and Marlena are largely the face of the show. They've sobbed over each other for decades now. If this is the real end of them, with no resurrections, it'll need to be bigger. If they try to handle it like they did Doug or Victor, they'll miss the mark. Hate to say it but Marlena, Brady, Belle and Steve need to be utterly destroyed by his passing for a few weeks or it'll seem swept under the rug.

The recent outdoor wedding wasn't and the people there were dressed in summer attire. Sorry, we can't make endless excuses for the continuity problems on this show. Yeah I suppose I can buy that the town square has a retractable roof or something, but there's been snow in the square before, so... Young Doug is bland so far but okay. I hope they have a decent story idea for him coming up. Glad there was a follow-up on the matter of Julie's brother. Did this medical issue of Chanel's just get introduced in this episode? Sounded like it.... How on earth is this the day after Valentine's Day?? Again, continuity issues. If Tate lives at Marlena's, then when is he finding out the insanity going on with Rachels 1 and 2? Seems weird he wouldn't be involved in that story... Hell must have frozen over because Paulina finally did something I liked in saying that she cares more about Chanel's wellbeing than whether or not her kids are adopted. Nice!

Have we gotten the scenes between Marlena and Shane yet about locating John? It hit me just now that he's been gone for...4 months? That's wild :(

For real. It's not the first time she's threatened or messed with a woman her father is dating (Hi Chloe!) and at least if she gets some help now, she can become a balanced individual. It would be a great longterm story, I think, for CPS to take Rachel away for a few years and place her elsewhere and for Kristen and Brady to suffer. It would certainly end their relationship. And with Tripp gone, what exactly is her incentive to stay away from her criminal roots? She doesn't have to play "reformed" anymore. I do believe Kristen would take the jail time for her daughter. She's done prison before and she does love Rachel. Sadly at this point Brady getting full custody would hardly help. Grandma Marlena stepping in wouldn't even work.

She certainly takes risks though and is obvious about her coming and goings. Don't tell me it wasn't tough dragging Arnold out of the house, stripping him, stripping Rafe, dressing him like Arnold and then leaving unnoticed just before Jada showed up but conveniently after Gabi left. If the police were smart - IF - they'd be getting footprints, fingerprints, witness accounts, etc. Someone would have seen her....but this is Salem. I guess I'm just amazed a woman of her age and temperament would be like "sure, I'll watch over this guy you drugged and then I'll taze this other one, no problem." She does thug stuff. Belle's tears bored me today and I wanted Marlena to say "yes....you are stupid." I hope Ava prosecutes. I hate her, of course, but Rachel is bonkers and Kristen is worse. Plus, I don't see her mild interest in Brady being enough to sway her need for vengence. On the other hand, she can agree to keep quiet and then make one call to her mob friends. Jada, no one cares that you boinked Shawn one time, on the sofa, for 15 minutes. It probably wasn't even that good. Rafe did the same to Hope under less stressful circumstances. You get a pass. It really is a result of having lower standards now for bad characters 😄 There are so many people on this show to dislike now, Rafe is almost a relief at times, because he offers a break from them!

Ok yeah, that's pretty ick. Honestly if if wasn't for Jen L's commitment and charisma, I probably wouldn't have liked her character much.

I was just reading that it's in June, but close enough. Apparently Aaron does come back, so maybe the baby is his in the end and not Tate's.

Oh ok. What do you mean by protecting the couples?