Steph J

At least Drew is on less often than Ryan was. He yells less, too.

Cody being Dominique's son: siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh with a side of no, thanks. Aside from the fact that we just saw this "secret child of a character who hasn't been onscreen for decades comes to town to claim an inheritance" story play out with Austin, having actually watched the show in the '90s I don't for a second believe that Dominique wouldn't have a) told Scott that she already had a child out there, and b) made some provision for that child knowing that she was dying. I also don't believe that Katherine Bell wouldn't have used Dominique's kid for her own gain if the opportunity had been there. So who's secret kid is going to show up in town next? Colton Shore's? Decker Moss'? Katherine Delafield's? And what OLTL alum will play him or her?

Maybe the twist will be that Nikolas did find Esme and is now keeping her hidden in order to keep Ava from leaving him, and then Ava can go nuclear on his ass once that comes out. Who am I kidding? She's probably in Nixon Falls with amnesia. re: Monday's show, I had no idea John J. York was still so buff. Good for him.

Week after week, I'm amazed by how much I'm loving watching Mary, an historical figure who is very easy to set up as a cardboard villain. The writing has been great at making her complex, but Garai's performance is what makes her scenes so riveting. I'm really hoping that the show slows down the pace of events next season so that they can keep Garai for a couple more seasons. I honestly couldn't believe they did that, it's such a lazy and unimaginative way to underscore that someone is a villain. I mean, why not just throw in some Nazi iconography while you're at it?

What, you weren't absolutely rivetted by the Drew/Sam/Dante triangle that happened entirely off screen? Or the Drew rebuilds his relationship with Scout story that happened entirely off screen? Why the show keeps adding and adding and adding characters when it can't even be bothered to come up with story for half the characters it already has is beyond me.

What did he have to lose? They couldn't take his head twice. That scene with the bird really messed me up. Kind of disappointed that there was so little to Elizabeth's interrogation.

I felt like the purpose of that sex scene (the expression on her face and her body language, specifically) was to show that it is a grooming/abusive relationship. Mileage varies, of course, but I think that the show has depicted the relationship that way from the start. Elizabeth had a crush on Thomas, which he used as an in to gain her trust, which in turn allowed him to manipulate her into letting him cross more and more boundaries while convincing her that not only was it okay, but that she wanted him to do it. To me, that sex scene was showing the collision between her romanticized idea of what's going on between her and Thomas and the stark reality that this is not a meeting of equals who are operating at the same level of experience and maturity, but of an inexperienced girl and a grown man who is completely controlling what's happening.

A medical examination will determine that Willow inherited Nina's bad knees, causing the fall. Carly will prove to be a match for a knee transplant for Willow, becoming the hero and prompting everyone to forgive her for keeping Willow's maternity a secret. Nina will be so grateful that her daughter was saved that she'll gift Carly the money needed to get the Metro back. Everyone celebrates on Jason and Robin Carly's bridge, where Nina tragically falls through the railing to her death. At the funeral, Carly gives Willow a hug and tells her, "Don't worry, I'll be all the mother you'll ever need."

Carly does need that, but she'll never have it because the show can't stand the thought of things not being weighted in her favor. If the show weren't constantly halfway up her ass, at least 50% of the one thousand regularly appearing characters would treat her the way she treats Nina. On another note, can't say I hated seeing Rory in his tiny little shorts today.

Loved how the Plaintiff mom was like "Well, this is the first time I've heard the whole story." Lady, blindly believing whatever wild ass story your kid told you isn't parenting. It's enabling them to be an a-hole.

It's awful that her cousin raped her, but what the three of them did - and continue to do by acting like they are the wounded parties - is just evil. They took away his life. And I'm sure he'll never see a dime of compensation. It seems like people never do in situations like this.

It's been ages since I saw this period of the show, but was the story that they divorced because she became addicted to pills? I know that Jeff was involved with Mark's intervention and I think the circumstances of the divorce came up in that context (though, again, it's been ages so I might have this wrong).

Farewell Harmony, I'll always remember you as the person who got Carly to shut up for an entire episode. I didn't realize that I still ship Robert & Anna until the first scene of today's episode.

I can't imagine anything I would want to do less at 60 than raise a child from infancy. Although I'd much rather Mac and Felicia have a baby than for a surprise grown up Mac kid to show up in town because you just know they'd cast Wes Ramsay to play him.

She created Rachel on Another World, too. I'm pretty sure her backstory was that her father walked out on her and Ada.

Eh, is Sonny really that much of a threat without Jason? Sonny can yell real loud and throw barware, but Jason's the one who got his hands dirty doing the actual mob stuff. It's not like Sonny's going to shoot Esme in the head - he only does that to women he "loves."

I'm not sure which Carly line was funnier, when she told Esme that she was angry at the world and thought she was owed back when she was Esme's age, or when she told Joss she was entitled to scream and cry, as if either one of them ever waits for permission to express their feelings about everything, including things that have nothing to do with them. Great scenes between Cam and Spencer. Surprised that Deus Ex Spinelli hasn't resolved the question of who did it yet.

In this economy, we all need a side hustle. He probably Door Dashes, too. Every time I watch a scene of Sasha and Brando, I'm reminded of an exchange from Friends where Rachel says that if anyone is going to be phased out, she figures it would be Phoebe: "You'd lift right out!" If they stopped appearing after today, I doubt I would notice.

On a show that already has over 30 actors on contract in addition to roughly the same amount of regularly appearing recurring characters, is a Jordan recast really necessary? Do the writers really have so little idea about what to do with Curtis and Portia that they're going to return to a triangle that wasn't anything to write home about previously?

Awfully rich of Willow to be like Hiss, Adulteress! at Nina. I don't have anything against Laura Wright (though she'll never really be Carly to me, no matter how many more years in the role she has on Sarah Brown), but could she... take a vacation? I feel like Carly is on 15 days a week every week.

I may sigh with frustration every time Sonny shows up today (so, every day, basically), and he's one of the reasons I gave up on the show completely for about 15 years, but Sonny in the '90s was a compelling character. I wouldn't have shed a tear if he had never come back after his departure in '97, but it would have been a shame if he'd been written out so early and we never got Sonny/Brenda.

Like for dinner at the Metro Court? Today was great, everyone brought it (even WR was bearable). My only complaint is that the show keeps devoting time to watching new people hear the baby switch story. The audience knows, the key players whose reactions we needed to see have already found out, going forward the tale can be related off screen.

Seriously. Why is Carly's opinion on this even needed? Get back to your own storyline, which is already (needlessly) playing out 5 days a week as it is. I'm just surprised Joss wasn't with her so that they could bray in unison. If the Peter storyline ends with Bailey shooting him ala Maggie shooting Mr. Burns, all will be forgiven. You can do it, kid!

You know whose point of view I don't think we hear enough of? Carly's. Having her express the same thoughts every day five days a week just isn't enough. If the Qs actually want to make peace with Austin, maybe they should offer him what he came to PC for in the first place and give him the inheritance he feels his father was unfairly denied. That sonogram stuff was so clunky, but at least Victor will probably get things moving along.

All that time spent watching Nina mope around town, letting everyone take a kick at her was worth it just to hear her call Carly an idiot today. I want to take that sound clip and inject it into my veins.