enchantingmonkey

I didn't know Dr Rolf was still alive, although that means just about nothing on this show. But if the show insists on keeping it stupid, I do enjoy the mad scientist aspect of the character.

Even if they kill Kristen, Ron will just find someone else to bring back as the one-note E-VIL villain he loves to write for. What he's done with Eve is another good example of how the characters aren't the problem with the show.

Why is Kristin taunting Anna when she claims she needs Tony to maintain their facade of a marriage until she gets the company back? Are we supposed to read that as Kristin being reckless with her plan, or did they just want a silly cat fight scene? The best part of today's episode was Kate's pantsuit, and I don't care that much about wardrobe.

When you'd think that most people would be happy to be reunited with a presumed dead loved one, it was curious to me that Anna basically had a tantrum and smacked Tony around. She seemed more intent on being angry that he didn't behave how she'd expected than trying to understand why he behaved the way he did. Not that any of this being written in a thoughtful manner.

There hasn't been a confirmed exit date for Brandon Barash, and there's been some speculation that his exit is a false rumor. I think there was a recent rumor that he is currently filming, and his "exit" was only a brief absence.

Does anyone have a link to one of the live stream sites? If it's been posted, I couldn't find it.

Unless my eyesight is worse than I thought, Vicki is no longer in the line up sequence when they all hold their oranges. When you lose your orange, you're no longer a full time cast member.

I like what they're doing with Tony as a nagging voice of reason/conscience for Kristin. But having him kill Ted? It could be fun if Tony's guilt threatens to unravel Kristin's evil plan but it seems more likely the show will treat it as an inconvenient plot point. So far, I'm enjoying Thaao P and Stacy H as scene partners more than Thaao and Arianne Z. I was so hoping they weren't going to have Stefan be stupid enough to pick up the gun but they had to go there. The actor who plays Ted was having trouble holding his breath when the camera did its close up. There's at least one someone who knows how to do hair and makeup behind the scenes, because Gabi looked great the past couple days. It's too bad they can't do the same thing for some of the other actresses more often.

To your point, back when we first learned of the exits happening now (Claire, Ted, Rex, Chloe and Tripp) there was a rumor that the show was doing a serial killer storyline, and that doesn't seem to be the case.

Sign me up as another one who liked the new girl. Is this the first time Kelly has had a friend of her's brought on as the new cast member? Seems like Gina and Emily were both Tamra's friends. Vicki deserved to be demoted because she was boring last season. Much too concerned about what Steve would think of her behavior. I want to love-to-hate Vicki if she's going to get an orange. They didn't need to bring back both Gina and Emily but both seem to be in train-wreck-mode, so maybe it will be hard to look away from. Because it can't be said enough, Kelly's boyfriend is creepy. And I have a hard time believing he'd have the balls to put up with her vicious side.

That was the best about Heather, though, watching her try to navigate way through this pit of vipers and not come out looking like one of them.

Thaoo Penghlis and Leann Hunley probably don't come cheaply, so they had to get rid of someone. And, Robin Strasser is on her way, too.

Did Gabi sign the paper work to have everything put in her name already, and I missed it? Kristin's threats of gun violence whenever someone pisses her off would be more threatening if she'd actually shot someone since she's been back. I can't remember the last time she actually pulled the trigger, if ever.

At least Julie explained her opening teaser of Anything-Is-Possible-Tonight in her interview with Sam. But, wow, what a disappointment to get a unanimous vote when it was made to look like we were going to get some drama.

Thaao Penghlis is a true team player to promote his storyline and suggest that it could be anything like the stories of the past, when we all know it's more likely to be the same plot-driven nonsense that the show only seems capable of at this point.

I enjoyed Stacy Haiduk as Susan the last two days. She actually made me smile more than once, which is something that probably hasn't happened since Hattie was pretending to be Marlena. That made me realize that I can still enjoy watching Haiduk, and that it's probably that this mask story is so plot-driven and thoughtless that I find it mostly unbearable. And while the mask thing is still stupid, it could still be somewhat interesting if they were exploring identity issues and we were watching Kristin getting lost in the Nicole persona. Watching Eve trying to cover her ass from the fallout with Claire, and dealing with Xander, has been one of the few things I'm not skipping over, which is weird because I could barely stand to watch Eve before the walls started coming in on her.

ORK reminds me of Cynthia Watros' Annie Dutton, in that she can flip from sympathetic to vicious at a moment's notice. She's acting circles around her co-stars. The show caught me off guard when they actually injected a rare bit of humor into the Kate and Ted scenes. Kristin's return is moving at an odd pace, as we already have two characters that had to be "disposed of" because they go too close to her secret but she's yet to make any real progress with Brady or at DiMera.

There's an article from back in April that has Tyler Christopher saying he could potentially return to the show, and in that article it says that Barash leaves in August but that the character of Stefan may return. Perhaps Brandon Barash leaves for a bit and returns shortly thereafter?

I appreciate the irony of Eve covering for Claire, who's now attempted to burn three people alive. But why couldn't they spend a little more time on Claire's "What the hell is wrong with me?" when it was asked? I suppose Eve has to tell herself that there's nothing wrong with Claire's misdeeds but I thought it was an interesting topic for conversation. Maybe it's a better question for Marlena to answer, lol. It would have been nice if they hadn't of spelled everything out with that Ben/Ciara flashback and let the last scene of Claire and Ciara play out with a bit of ambiguity.

At least they tried to connect the mask nonsense to the show's history, and even took the time to explain Dr Rolf's motivation. It's nice to see characters openly talk about the outlandish aspects of the show in a realistic manner. How funny that they let us see a humane side of Xander in the same episode that Kristin is relegated to chewing the scenery and twirling her mustache. I hope there's more to her return than another round of the same-old-same-old but, obviously, I'm not holding my breath.

Jack made a comment to Jennifer about her dressing up as a prison guard, and Jennifer explained to him that it must of been a memory from when she dressed up as a prison guard to see him when he was convicted of murdering Peter Blake.

What a difference a day makes. Eve vs. Xander is so much more fun to watch than Eve vs. Haley Chen. I'm sure Kristin is cunning enough to set up some kind of random bank account that she can access in her Nicole disguise. I'm more annoyed with the implication that Kristin was so sloppy that she used a body that proved Holly wasn't in that van. Was she short on time or resources? Good grief, writers. I liked Brady mothering Maggie, and suspect it fed into her feeling emotionally broken right now and will only encourage her to drink again. The beginning of a vicious cycle. Jennifer realizing her arguments with Jack seem to be triggering his memory makes me hope they drag this out a little longer now that it's finally getting interesting.

Wait, did they explain why the autopsy report proved it wasn't Holly? Was that because they didn't put a young female's body in the van? RSW trying to act like he was hypnotized was too funny. I can't believe they were doing close up shots of his strained face. John and Eve were a nice change of pace. It was kind of them to give KdP something to work with that involved an inner conflict. I don't know if Missy Reeves is doing this intentionally but I often think I see Jennifer looking for some sign of the old Jack in Jack's face when she challenges him with her antics. Like when she was telling him she'd rather spend the night in jail.

This could be interesting if Kristin was only after Brady for access to Titan or Kiriakis money so that she could use it to continue Dr Rolf's research/experiments. They could explain that Kristin has developed a strong father/daughter bond with Dr Rolf, and is committed to assisting his financial needs. It would be nice of them to give Kristin a new motivation, especially because I find it difficult to believe she'd give a damn about Brady after he's rebuffed her so many times. How many women who are desperate for a man's love does the show need? Maggie's face upon seeing Kristin was hilarious. Maggie falling off the wagon feels a bit rushed, to me, but I thought that was fun. Nicole slamming the door in her face got a chuckle out of me, too.

She's likable when she's playing surrogate mother to Claire but, otherwise, the writing in this Jack-For-Mayor storyline isn't doing her any favors. Wednesday's show was the most I've watched an episode in weeks. Really enjoyed the showdown between Tripp and Claire. ORK continues to entertain me with how she expresses through her eyes, and Lucas Adams did a good job of holding his own in those scenes. JJ and Jack are veering towards repetitious with JJ's proclamations of his hatred for Jack but both actors are making it work, especially because we know JJ couldn't truly hate his father. And, it seems to be the only time Jack isn't operating from his Man-With-No-Memory state of mind.