Aymery

I have to wonder how differently these stories would've played out if Mulcahey had been allowed to stay on. The show has really hit a new low since he departed. Completely unbearable. Worse than it was at the lowest point of previous lousy headwriters' tenures. Those would at least have some other small stories that were a saving grace but here there are absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. From Cates' murder, to Kristina's planned baby theft, to Lois' accent, to the merry runaround on Sasha and Cody, to Lucky's return, to Danny becoming Jason's follower, to Anna protecting Valentin (it was bad with Peter, but at least she believed him to be her son) ... everything is a shit-show. At first I assumed (as many others did) that he would be revealed to be the long-lost son of someone on canvas, but at this point I don't see what weight that reveal could have. I have to presume that he was created purely because someone liked his violin playing or so that the writers could earn something off the fact that the character's of their own creation. If not, they should just have made him a Cameron recast. They resemble each other right down to the asexual vibe. I fully expect that, when he finally falls into bed with either Joss or Trina, he'll have the sheet tucked under his chin like ex-Cameron did. What a waste killing off Rory.

At a minimum they should've had Hope be the one to rescue Steffy or be the one to be kidnapped for Finn to rescue. This story has no payoff at all. We get it - Steffy always wins. She's the one with a man who doesn't look elsewhere no matter how much shit she pulls on him, including cheating on him and shooting dead his "mother". I guess RJ will go back into the woodwork now - it boggles my mind that they really did not do anything with Bridge's only child. Having his girlfriend turn into a crazed killer and betray him first for his cousin and then for his middle-aged one-time stepdad is particularly pathetic. And as usual, they've self-sabotaged their latest attempt to create a non-white family. Like the Avants and the Ramirezes, although this is a new low having the daughter murder her own dad and then frame her mother for it.

GH has undeniably regressed when it comes to LGBTQ+ stories. Look at the consequences for Natalia - nada. Her very real prejudices have been brushed aside and the father of her daughter's partner - the target of those comments - now wants to co-fund a record label with her. Her daughter also has no issues with this. Now it's certainly realistic that bigots will cry fake news, they didn't really mean it and it's the person who exposed their bigotry that's really to blame in some topsy-turvy logic, but I don't get the sense that's the message the show is going with. And you only have to look at Aiden's bullying storyline to know the direction under this new regime. They decided it's too contentious to deal with the homophobic bullying of a child. Let that sink in. Maybe it's a directive from Disney who are visibly backing away from supporting equality; maybe it's prep for Jonathan Jackson's return - I can't see him agreeing to play the supportive dad of a gay teen, and I can't see the show making Lucky push his son to conversion therapy, so the "easiest" fix for them may be to ignore what Aiden said over Christmas (convenient that it was a different actor, why did he get swapped out, hmm?) or maybe even push the narrative that he was "confused" and is actually perfectly straight.

If she can state her preferences and beliefs, why can't the rest of us? Is she, and Trump supporters, the only one(s) entitled to express their thoughts? Freedom of speech works both ways, and it certainly doesn't mean every expression of free speech is protected from people criticizing what's said. She's put her political opinions out there, using a platform afforded to her as a veteran Days actress. That's more than fair game, and fans have the right to express their disappointment with her without being scolded or silenced. As for people hating on the actress not the character, I don't get what you're trying to say? Of course people are disagreeing with the actress. It's not Nicole Walker DiMera's conduct or speech which they take issue with and blame the actress for. I think the posters here have clearly distinguished between the two. No one is criticizing AZ because she played a baby-napper or <insert list of crimes committed by Nicole>. They are criticizing AZ because she presented herself (not Nicole) as a crusader against sexual misconduct but has then gone on to publicly voice support for this particular politician. Moreover, there is a disconnect in what she said. For example, she seems to blame President Biden's policies for her fiance lacking regular work. He is an actor, for crying out loud - not a businessman or service industry worker. His failure to secure acting gigs - which are still plentiful, as exemplified by the number of new soap regular roles created since Daniel Jonas was killed off, or the boom in streaming output - is not a function of economic policies but of his competence as an actor. And if she were truly honest about why the industry faces headwinds, she'd call out the very party she's thrown her support behind for pushing cancellation campaigns against studios that dare to include LGBTQ+ characters, portray historical characters in a negative light due to their racism, tackle hot-button social issues, etc.

So Aiden's bullying storyline has been totally dropped by the new regime? Is no one querying what happened there? An out-of-the-blue recast and the last scene filmed by the previous actor is not followed up on at all? During Pride month, no less?

I'm torn about Hope/Finn for a couple of reasons. Don't get me wrong, Steffy absolutely deserves to be on the losing side for once - how many times has she gone after men who were attached to Hope and her Logan relatives? Until Finn, that was basically the single uniting thread for Steffy's love interests: she wanted to "steal" them from their Logan women. First and foremost, will Finn actually reciprocate because so far it seems very one-sided on Hope's part? I fear it turning into yet another way for Steffy to "best" Hope because her man is totally loyal to her and not in any way attracted to Hope. If we clear the first hurdle, and Finn does return Hope's affections, I'd cheer ... but still wouldn't be entirely onboard. Turning Hope into another Brooke, or indeed another Steffy, is a major blow to her established character. Thomas was bad enough; it was a betrayal of her daughter whom Thomas was complicit in keeping from her parents for the first year of her life, but at least he was single. For Hope to now go after a married man is just such a departure from her moral code. This is more about my personal perception of the character, of course - not what Hope's detractors think, because quite frankly she has no way of winning them over since they are still hung up on Hope sleeping with Liam (and conceiving Beth II) before he'd signed his divorce papers - never mind that he was already out of the marriage and Steffy had already cheated on him with his own father. If we could find some way to overcome #2 I'd be totally onboard. But it feels like they've gone to the brain tumor/injury once too often at this stage. Alley Mills' character on GH had cobalt poisoning from a tainted implant; any way they can retcon Hope having suffered an offscreen injury that required a similar implant? Maybe while she was in Italy between her miscarriage and her return to LA when Liam's marriage imploded due to Steffy's adultery with her FIL Bill?

While I agree with you in principle, this has never been a problem on the soaps, not least this one. Right now, Dante and Sam have TWO half-siblings in common: Kristina and Leo. (And Sam also had a stillborn child with Dante's dad.) And people regularly wind up having kids with immediate relatives. Sam has children with twins Jason and Drew. So does Michael with Nelle and Willow. Alexis had daughters with half-brothers Sonny and Ric. Helena had sons with Mikkos and Victor. Sonny had daughters with both Alexis and her daughter Sam. And while not all those relationship resulted in children, Ava was with both Morgan and his dad Sonny. Carly's been with three brothers AJ, Jason and Drew. Michael also completed the trifecta of Willow, Nelle and Kiki. Kiki herself dated Morgan and Michael. And so on. So really Danny-Aiden are far from an aberration. The only thing unique is that they'd be a same-sex couple. Jake can't complain much since he himself is dating his brother's cousin. Aiden is technically the child of two cousins since Laura is an adopted Webber. And think about it: Aiden's a Spencer and a Webber (Hardy). Danny's a Quartermaine and a Cassadine. This is the kind of match made in soap heaven between four legacy families. And it would help with the quandary posed by that entire age group being all-male except for Charlotte.

With Victor's death they should've had Tyler return. Give Philip an epiphany to seek out his son. And he'd have been a good complement to the teen set since he can date Holly. (I know he should be a lot older than her but this show has never been known for sequential ageing anyway, so what's one more?)

Why have they introduced two totally random teens? At least one of them should've had some connection to the canvas, surely. Is what's airing still being written by the scabs? It's really plodding and dull.

Sheila is supposedly barely recovered from the brink of death and she's already being so nasty to one of her victims, yet Deacon having a front-row seat to this sees no red flags after everything Lauren told him? I don't get why Sheila is even a regular. Is she really such a big ratings draw? I can't imagine why else Brad Bell would rehire her for anything more than a guest stint. I just read a spoiler for next week and SMH. Is Thomas gone for good? I sure hope so, but there's no announcement and I fear he will pop back up sooner rather than later. Maybe they can bring on an adult Dino or Logan to fill the void. Dino could even be an alternate love interest for Hope, and Steffy can still prance around calling Hope names for dating her youngest cousin.

That wouldn't jive with how Aiden's sexuality has played out over the last few years, right up to Christmas when she clearly accepted him being attracted to another boy. But I suppose anything's possible since they had a writer change since then? I don't understand why they recast Aiden last week for a single episode where he was not required, but dropped his own story (possible bullying?) that was launched in the previous episode. And it's not been revisited all week. You'd think Liz calling his counselor, despite his protests, would've had repercussions by now. That said, I think it lacks impact to give a non-entity like Blaze and her mother the parental homophobia story. You know who would've worked really well for that story? Jason and Danny. Heck, you could even make it the reason he's been acting out. Hasn't it coincided with Aiden coming out/dating that kid he mentioned at Christmas? Danny could be frustrated and jealous over that, especially if he feels he is stuck in the closet because he must live up to the image of being a mob enforcer's son. It'd be really good to pit Jason against the more supportive parents, Sam and Dante (both of whom have a bi sister - the same one, as it happens). And hey, down the line, Aiden and Danny could be another couple with shared relatives, but not actually related themselves.

ASJ is not Hispanic so wasn't his Jagger also white? Bagger (Blond Jagger) would make more sense to me.

I hope he is, because it is genuinely scandalous instead of what passes for scandal on B&B, and also because it would really justify Li's pure rage towards Poppy. Monday's episode has Poppy make a big request of Finn - keep silent about their fling? Wouldn't that mean Finn knows Luna is his? I did see spoilers for next week, which is a short week due to March Madness. It revolves around Hope giving her answer to Thomas's proposal, the resurrection of Hope and Steffy's feud, and - most bizarre of all - Carter trying to convince Liam that Thomas is a changed man. Spoiler 2 suggests Hope turns Thomas down, but Spoiler 3 suggests the opposite. I'm actually curious for the first time in a long time.

I thought this board prohibited denigrating an actor's physical looks? I'm cringing at some of the comments made about the young man portraying RJ. It's fine to drag fashion sense (or lack thereof) but the poor guy has no control over his jawline or teeth, unless the intention is to coerce him into needless cosmetic procedures, the likes of which have been condemned for actresses. Turning back to the story, is Eric fully cured? I don't mind him marrying Donna. I don't ever recall her marrying anyone for money, so the golddigger accusations seem out of the left field. Yes she took him for all he was worth the last time they divorced but wasn't that because he sided with Stephanie after she all but pushed Donna's mother into the pool to drown? Rapey scenes are a rite of passage for the Forrester men so if there was any doubt about Zende truly belonging to that clan (and not 'just' adopted), it will dissipate once he boinks the drugged-out teenager in his bed. I believe the character was de-SORASed when he first reappeared as an adult, and was portrayed as under 20, so following that chronology he hasn't hit 30 yet, but the actor comes off as mid to late thirties. Still, it's a significant difference to a 19yo who just lost her virginity yesterday, and who is his cousin's girlfriend. A creepy story for sure but very on-brand for B&B. A misunderstanding where Luna misinterprets RJ sharing a close moment with, say, a female model - dude is always changing in the office, so a starstruck model throwing herself at him while he isn't wearing much won't be a difficult proposition. Of course Luna flees unseen before seeing him turn the model down, and seeks comfort from Zende who'd be more than willing to remind Luna that RJ has a broader sexual history than her, that he might even have seen as a trophy to claim her virginity, and lure her into his own bed. See, no rape, Luna still has an out, and it would've gone a long way to remove the nonconsent from the cheating premise. The show has never been great at portraying minorities but Michael Lai and the Avants were the two times they made a solid attempt. Maybe this round with the Nozawas will prove a third. But it bewilders me they still can't be bothered to include a Latinx regular in a city where they are the majority. There is a casting notice out which specifies an ethnicity the show already has in abundance.

Are RJ/Luna supposed to be the next best thing? It sure doesn't seem like it. I mean, they even had their first-time sex offscreen. That was an odd choice, maybe even a soap first, especially when one character's the only Bridge child, half-Forrester/Marone and half-Logan, while the other seems set to belong to the third original family, the Spencers. I don't get why they cut some of these scenes which actually help flesh out character arcs but keep in all the recycled scenes where supporting characters simply update each other/gossip about the leads' A story without actually moving it forward. All the soaps have the problem where they take a character too far and then either try a half-assed redemption or pretend their crimes never happened, with the handful of characters who very occasionally still dredge it up treated as an annoyance by the "heroes". How much easier to not take the character that far down a dark path, or at least preemptively lay the clues to a tumour, doppelganger/clone, brainwashing or whatnot? Are they really giving Bill, a retcon character, four living children while Thorne doesn't even have one left???