Aymery

You raise a good point about the fate of past gay couples on ABC soaps under Frank Valentini. Besides Kish who were unceremoniously written off on OLTL, in the early days of Brad/Lucas they were allowed to be fairly sexual. Then something changed (ratings? focus groups? executives? politics?) and not only did their love scenes dry up, but even their crucial story beats were shuttled offscreen. And now we have a situation where Lucas is not even on canvas, and Brad only pops up now and again as a talk-to for a character who's since been killed off (although they tried to position Maxie as his replacement BFF, we all know they will rather go to her more established friendship circles when it comes to it). I definitely have more faith in Sprina coming to fruition than any improvement in the LGBTQ+ representation. I've just remembered that they did give us a TJ/Molly love scene in the shower not so long ago, so they're certainly not closed off to it. But maybe, as you say, they will only ever be supporting characters, better off than TJ/Molly but never going to get the same weight as Cam/Joss (a Hardy/Spencer pairing). Speaking of Cam, I suspect his airtime is hurt more by the actor's schedule, than any reluctance to position him as the next generation's leading man. They definitely used to give him a lot of airtime in the past. But perhaps expecting that airtime to mean positioning him as a sex symbol is a step too far, given the actor's unwillingness to take his shirt off. (It's pretty glaring when they have pool scenes.) I mean, that's his comfort level and they absolutely should accommodate him, but at the same time it's hard to deny it limits his prospects to be showcased as the town's most desirable teen/young adult male. If NAC is willing to step into that breach then why not? Spencer's a Webber too, albeit by adoption, plus a Corinthos and a Cassadine by blood.

I am loath to defend this show but IMO, their motives behind the long wait for Trina to get her OTP will be determined by what they do for her first time. Are they holding out for one of those ultimate payoff candles-and-roses love scenes with an actual prince, or are they going to do the bare minimum (or worse, shove it offscreen) because she's a darker-skinned woman and they need to pander to the anti-"miscegenation" brigade? (You'd hope the latter went away with Loving v. Virginia, except I read that, as recently as the '90s, Y&R's interracial pairing of Victoria Newman and Neil Winters still landed the show and actors death threats.) While it's true they didn't put her together with Spencer officially until now, I feel like they've been doing an old-school, will-they, won't-they slow-burn romance with them since the day NAC debuted as adult Spencer. And it's not like she didn't have a single love interest in all that time, unless you're completely writing off the late, unlamented Rory. (Personally I think that relationship was underinvested and they could just as easily have had her sleep with him, but of course they had to keep her virginal and pure for Spencer. That, I feel, was unnecessary. They should just have had her sleep with him, have a good time but realize she doesn't love him.) Of course you're right that Joss has moved onto love interest #3 - but it's at the same time Trina got to kiss her #2. And you have to factor in that Joss is also the daughter of the show's leading lady, the only young Spencer woman on canvas right now, and an honorary Corinthos, who are even bigger than the Spencers. She didn't get to have sex until last year either, and her first time was spoiled by being broadcast to the whole college, following which she went through a long period of abstinence until her Dex affair began. (In some ways, her story with Dex parallels Trina's with Spencer: being with one guy, not being intimate with him, while secretly longing for another man.) And what about Cam - a Hardy, who should be royalty on this show, and he's only ever had one love interest, Joss, who slept with him a grand total of twice before cheating on him? Plus there's been three other teen boys who've actually died without ever getting have sex, in two cases with unrequited love for the only girl they ever showed any interest in. All that being said, I will take it all back if Sprina are given the short shrift on their first time. On the other hand, I agree totally with the lack of meaningful romantic prospects for the LGBTQ+ characters. The discriminatory treatment is undeniable. You missed Kristina among their ranks but it doesn't change GH's failure because she doesn't have a love interest either. Terry's been on the show for nearly 5 years and they only just decided to give her a boyfriend. And is it a main character like Michael or Dante, who'd be age-appropriate? Nope. Is it at least a supporting character like Chase, Curtis, Austin, etc.? Nope. It's glorified dayplayer Yuri. Brad has been on the show even longer but he hasn't even gotten a whiff of romance since Lucas divorced him years ago (Lucas who?). I thought maybe the introduction of Cody might change things but instead, they keep throwing him at women, leaving Brad the sole gay on canvas. (Coincidentally - or not - Terry and Brad are the only Asian-Americans on canvas apart from Selina Wu, who also has no love interest.) Nor are there any lesbian/bi women for Kristina. It's like GH want to claim LGBTQ+ representation without putting in any effort whatsoever.

Willow is 8 months pregnant and Esme is 7 months; one needs to deliver urgently and the other does not. Plus it's been strongly implied Esme's baby is a boy, whereas we know Willow's is a girl. (But Esme's kid's gender was never medically confirmed on-air, so that could easily be changed.) So on the surface it doesn't seem like a baby switch is imminent. And really, how often will they go to that well - the last "legacy" kid to be born on the show, Bailey Louise, was also subject to a baby switch? However, if they really want to go down that path, then the ideal candidate is right there: Liesl. She's already established as unscrupulous, she hates Esme, and she will have just learned that Willow is her great-niece. I could easily see her determining that Esme doesn't deserve to be a mother, and that no more women in Liesl's own family deserve to lose another child (Nina lost Nelle, Willow lost original Wiley). It just occurred to me: if Willow or her daughter do die, then the Curse of the Clays will have struck yet again. Both the Clay brothers are dead (well, one of them is technically undead). Two of Silas's three daughters (Kiki and Nelle) are dead. One of his grandsons, original Wiley, is dead. Nelle's original fiance drowned. Silas's brother's baby mama (Alison Barrington) and their son (Rafe Kovich, Jr.) are dead, as is Rafe's namesake stepdad. Even Clay in-laws like his MIL (mother-/murderer-in-law) Madeline, brother/cousin-in-law Nathan and cousin-in-law Britt are dead. And except for the baby, every one of them has died a violent death. Yikes. I know it's probably coincidental, but it feels like having an entire extended family decimated by murder - all by different killers! - feels like it must have some sinister design behind it.

The Zende actor is good-looking but the character seems completely pointless. I remember a rumor going around that the reason for the end of Zende and Nicole's marriage was because he cheated on her with another man, but if that was ever going to be the case, the show obviously got cold feet (as with their casting notice for a bi Latino, which we do know was real). I'm glad Brooke got the chance to confront Taylor but I'm sorry that it had to end with a reconciliation. Brooke is a complete doormat these days. She should've chewed Taylor out for her blatant dishonesty, her encouragement of Thomas, and most of all, told her that being left at the altar was "karma" for coming to town with the express intention of driving a wedge between Bridge. (Lest we forget, that was also Taylor's original motivation 30+ years ago when she first rocked up to Bell A, before she became world-renowned as a psychiatrist who sleeps with her patients. Amid all the revisionism - like Ridge having been a neglectful father to Taylor's kids - that little factoid is conveniently left out.) I am not sure why they ended this story so quickly though - surely it would be better to have Tridge married? Is Brooke's mystery illness still a go or has it been dropped in favor of Bridge reunion #5435? I would much rather see Brooke navigate a medical issue as opposed to reuniting with that waffler. I also pray that this is the final nail in Thope's coffin. If Hope is still entertaining Thomas as a viable paramour, Liam and Brooke want nothing to do with her. At least Douglas is back where he belongs, but I guess this means Lope won't get another child - you know, give them a chance to actually have a kid whose entire first year they don't miss out on thanks to the combined efforts of Taylor and her kids?

Well, the only ones really relevant to this show are Mary Warwick (last appeared under the name Erica Lovejoy, but neither her father/stepmother nor her love interest - Rick - are part of the current cast, so it seems pointless to bring her back) and Diana Marone (which might make sense if they finally kill off Massimo; she'd be an heir to his fortune, plus Ridge's half-sister and Steffy's aunt). But we never got any confirmation if Diana was Massimo's kid, or even Sheila's for that matter. Could've just been some random baby Sheila picked up as a human shield. Sheila's other kids, the Fisher twins, were very much Y&R-centric, although they could tie in Daisy's return with her baby daddy Daniel's concurrent return to Y&R. I don't think Yvonne Zima is doing much these days so she could even reprise the role. Wilson Bethel, on the other hand, probably won't be up for much more than a cameo (if that) as Ryder. I'd rather the show invest in bringing on a Latinx family. Their lack of one in a city that's majority Hispanic is even more glaring than the absence of gay people in the fashion industry. (They really should've built out Tony's family instead of having Zende be an only child.)

Brooke should've come to that realization about Ridge when he dropped her (and their engagement) like a hot potato the moment she miscarried their first child and made a beeline for his brother's wife ... way back in 1988. I fear it is too late for her now. Does KKL really have such little influence with the showrunners? After 35 years of loyal service you'd think she could argue for better stories. After all, Hunter Tylo had barely served 5 years before she was making demands that the show buckled to (that Taylor had to be Ridge's one and only, no divorce, etc.) I think the only times I've heard KKL ask for anything was to be given the rape storyline (which started off strong but devolved into the typical Bridge nonsense that I doubt was what she had in mind when she first proposed it) and then to stop having Brooke ping-pong back and forth between men (we all know how that worked out). I wish they'd introduce a brand new man for her - someone who's not an ex of her daughters or sisters. She deserves it, and every other character has gotten that. I can't remember the last time Brooke had an original love interest - was it Nick Marone?

It occurs to me that the same shitty trifecta of Thomas, Taylor and Steffy are the ones who deprived Hope of her daughter for the first year of her life, and are now trying to take her son away. Thomas learned the truth and kept it from Hope (by hounding Emma to her death), Taylor bought the child off the black market, and Steffy benefited from the illegal "adoption". Yet having played their respective parts in that travesty, there's not an ounce of introspection, remorse or compassion from these jerks. Thomas not only read Steffy for filth, he also set the record straight about Ridge being a constant parent to both of them (RJ is the child who has a valid beef when it comes to neglect by Ridge, having been dropped like a hot potato when Taylor swanned back into their lives and remarried Ridge thanks to Stephanie's manipulations - there was onscreen dialogue at the time which attested to Ridge not seeing his infant son often enough). And most shocking of all, he suggests Brooke deserves a share of the company. Of course, he suggests she contributed "as much" as the rest of them when in fact Taylor had zero contributions to FC and her children had barely made a dent at that point. (I never understood how Brooke's entitlement to controlling interest just evaporated when it was revealed that Stephanie was FC's true owner - why would it, since Brooke secured her controlling interest on account of inventing BeLieF while not a salaried employee at a time when her own husband was believed to own FC, which means that reason would be all the more valid when it was revealed an unrelated woman, not her spouse, had benefited from her contributions without paying her for it!)

Yeah, I thought they'd have some kind of mystery over who it was - Thomas, Steffy, Taylor, Sheila (somehow) or even Douglas himself (being brainwashed with anti-Logan BS by Shrink Grandma just like she has her own kids). But it's now pretty obvious it was Thomas. And Ridge is an idiot not to suspect anything. If the robotic monotone wasn't a dead giveaway, there's the fact that Brooke gave her name as Brooke Logan. She's always taken her husband's name (the BeLieF formula is testament to that!) but Thomas couldn't bring himself to label her a Forrester when he was faking her voice. I don't expect any consequences for him when the truth finally comes out though. Taylor and Steffy - with Ridge's complicity and perhaps even Eric's, since he seems fine with disinviting Brooke from his own shindig - will say Brooke and Hope pushed Thomas to it, and it's in no way indicative of Thomas's unstable, destructive personality reappearing (if it ever disappeared).

What is it Frank is supposed to have done to Rick Webber now? Dude was dead long before Frank was hired by GH. Neither Anna nor Robert are "original" characters, unless the term has come to mean something other than characters who were present from the day 1 of the show (of whom there are none left - again through no fault of Frank's because they were all gone before he arrived). You can't even argue that Anna and Robert belong to "original" families because neither the Scorpios nor the Devanes were there on day 1.

All the giggling over Leo supposedly being Ron Carlivati's avatar, or the gross insinuation that he is abusing his authority as headwriter to undress a young male employee for his personal gratification. I don't see the same kind of narrative being directed at straight male (or female) showrunners when they blatantly favor one character/actor over another, nor is the half-naked appearance of actors of the opposite sex deemed some kind of "wish fulfilment". I've noticed this rhetoric has been directed at Frank Valentini over at GH too, even though there are other people playing the headwriter role. Fans can hate the direction a show has taken or the bias shown towards certain actors/characters, but it crosses a line for me when they choose to attack the person on the basis of their sexuality. It feeds into the harmful and deeply prejudicial tropes about LGBTQ+ people that have seen a devastating resurgence of late.

Are all these homophobic posts really permitted by the moderators?

There was a brief moment when I thought Cody had potential - that was when it seemed like he would be at the center of a triangle between best friends Britt and Brad. That moment evaporated almost instantaneously. Brad has been out of prison for how long now? Every straight character has had multiple love interests since he's been free. I guess ABC still believes queer romance is the death knell for soaps.

They need to bring back Little D as a young man. Hated how they just tossed him aside. But they'd need Rick and Amber onscreen for that story to really have legs. I mean, this is the kid who was named Eric Forrester III. There was a time when Brooke was so desperate to boost Rick's case for adopting him that she gave the baby 2% of her FC stock, which the Forresters then used (via Deacon, who as his bio-dad could exercise their voting rights) to rob Brooke of her CEO seat. Now he's a total non-entity.

I thought Johnny is going to hook up with Ava. Of course, it'll be short-lived since Ava is on her way out, but I'm actually curious to see how Carson Boatman performs against an older woman compared to Allie/Chanel. It has the potential to be hot.

Is there any reason Willow refuses to get checked out? (Other than to draw out the "suspense".) Even if she doesn't want to "worry" her beloved husband, she should want to know what's wrong with herself, right? The battles over ELQ are getting old. It's all the more pathetic when they can't even scrape together a boardroom set for the shareholders' meeting. Don't ABC have some real boardroom they could use in a pinch - like they dressed up the studio exterior to stand in for "General Hospital" during GF's anniversary special? Conducting the shareholders' meeting of a billion-dollar company at the mansion just looks cheap. And I know people hate Michael - so do I - but Ned is just scum, letting the faaaamily company stay in the hands of an asshole like Valentin, who basically manipulated your daughter out of her shares. C'mon, Ned. I really want to root for you but I'm gonna need you to do a lot better. I like Josh Kelly, but the only time I had interest in Cody was when it was hinted that he might be a love interest for Brad. Obviously that was a feint because since his debut, he's shown absolutely zero reciprocity towards Brad, only towards Britt. Nice job by the show queer-baiting during Pride month, SMH. Of course, considering how legacy doctor Lucas was summarily written out and Teri lost her love interest before they could even become a couple, it was pretty much a forlorn hope from the outset.

I saw William Lipton sporting some big-ass diamond studs in his ears on the red carpet - will he be on the chopping block like the actor who played Rafe Kovich, Jr. when he made the same style choice?

The first rule of social media is never post anything you don't want your parents or employers to see. Some tweets offer a lens into your character that you realize won't pass muster in polite society. For someone in the acting industry to post bigoted slurs (among other things) is incredibly dumb, but at least now everyone knows who they're dealing with. AFAIC, it's the actor, and he alone, who needs to take accountability for his bigotry - not the whistleblower who exposed him. But hey, it could be worse: they could've paired him with Felix. Now that would've been even more awkward. (I'm pretty confident the actor wouldn't have taken the role if he knew that was going to be the direction.)

I think this is the first time Rory looked young enough to be a love interest for Trina. Amazing what a change of clothes (or lack thereof) can do. Put him in the pool more often, Show. How old is he supposed to be anyway? He didn't go to college, and money is tight so I assume he started working right away. But he's still a rookie cop - is he just in his early twenties? Like a decade younger than the actor? I could buy mid to late twenties but early twenties is a push. I loved that Scotty was able to bring up some of Michael's past because no one who goes up against the Corinthos clan is typically allowed to, even though the Corinthos can call them out for long-past sins for which they already suffered consequences. Michael has a lot more skeletons in his closet, so does Grandma Carly - and Scotty should have first-hand access to much of that. I'm assuming the PCPD discount at Metro Court is all Olivia. Carly is too cheap to give anyone a discount, let alone cops who are unfairly after her criminal family.

I can't imagine the actress's reluctance (if indeed she is) is the reason for concocting a million excuses (and hiring dayplayers) to stop two hot young adults from sealing the deal. Surely a simpler solution would be to have them kiss and then fade to black - next morning she can already be in a dressing gown. Or, here's a novel thought - why not shoot the love scene from HER perspective? Can't imagine why they don't do that already, given the audience for soaps is primarily women (and gay men). I don't think Josh Swickard has any compunctions stripping down to his skivvies (he's already appeared in them on this show before). I personally would prefer a sex scene seen through the female gaze to all the ones that came before, where (inexplicably - see above about target audience) the woman's nudity is the focus.

It confounds me that this show does not see Eric as a romantic lead despite his pedigree and Greg Vaughan playing him - they made him a celibate priest and kept him that way for years, for crying out loud! I remember the scene where Eric was drugged up to the gills by Kristen for rape and he played it crazy hot. And there I was thinking to myself, jeez, what a waste, the only way you can get this guy to play a love scene if he's being raped.

I suspect they could've amped up the interest in Tripp considerably if only they'd made him bi from the start. The setup was already there - the fallout with his adoptive dad could've been about him being caught with another boy. That would've given a good story for Steve, Kayla and Joey, a new love interest for Paul Narita, a reason for Dr Snyder to always target him, even play into his status as heir to the Vitali crime family. Even now - they could handwave Tripp being cool with Allie's same-sex attraction to Chanel because he's experienced it himself. And with cousin Sonny back on the scene to play gay guru, what better time to explore that angle? Johnny though - a bit much for one character to have 3 LGBTQ+ children? I do know families with more than one queer child, but never more than two. Although if any parent were to, it would be Sami.

Well, I'd disagree that it's even Bold anymore. Even the "shock twist" of a parent killing their own son has already played out, albeit in different circumstances, on Y&R a few years ago when Paul Williams had to shoot his own son Ricky (whose mother had been played by Eva Longoria!) to protect the young woman he was trying to kill, and Ricky crashed through the window and fell to his death. The only remotely "daring" story B&B have done in recent years was Maya being revealed to be trans, marrying the son of the show's veteran couple, and having an active sex life onscreen. Even that was tempered by the fact that they cast a cis actress in the role. IMO, they were bolder in the '90s when we had stories like Jake having been molested by his uncle, Dylan trying to pay for college by working as a stripper (and getting propositioned for sex), Caroline's rape which gave her lasting trauma, Stephanie inducing Morgan's abortion, young toddler Steffy "dying" (really kidnapped by a deranged Morgan), and many more. And speaking of bold storylines, who can forget the infamous AMC threesome. This was about 20 years ago. And more recently they toyed with the idea of a gay threesome on GH but never went through with it. So clearly, soaps in general are less daring now. It's funny you mention Luke/Noah on ATWT, because the show/CBS was so terrified of having them be intimate on screen due to a pressure campaign by a conservative group. They finally gave in, but here we are years later and a soap on the same network, set in a fashion world doesn't even have gay men, let alone sexually active ones! (Also an amusing side note: Kim Zimmer's son was playing Luke when they wanted to have the character come out. She put her foot down, and the role was recast. Flash forward, Kim's son is playing gay on Animal Kingdom, with way more explicit sex scenes than anything CBS would've permitted on ATWT.) But yeah, I cannot understand why they don't at least feature RJ in some capacity, instead of the umpteenth retread of Steffy/Hope/Liam. Obviously those three are not going anywhere, they are being positioned as the young leads. But let them settle into some level of maturity (who am I kidding, their parents have not after 30+ years). The possibilities are there though. Give Steffy a health-based issue, perhaps a consequence of the shooting (paralysis? PTSD?). Give Liam and Hope a story about their children - Beth being autistic? Another baby that has some genetic disorder discovered in-utero? Not everything needs to be a love triangle. The most recent memorable storylines for me were Stephanie's cancer/return to Skid Row, Maya being trans, Katie's heart transplant/PPD, to a lesser extent the baby switch. None of those were romantic stories (save Maya's). Clearly they can do good work when they're not bogged down with flogging the love triangles of Bridge or Lope/Steam.

He seems to be doing much better now, behind the camera, but I suspect the incident came as a shock - frankly more dramatic than any soap opera plot Brad Bell has churned out. If it didn't hit too close to home, I would've said it was ripe for a soap opera interpretation (albeit more PG-rated).

I figured when they cast Nicholas Chavez, who's noticeably older than the genuine teens playing the rest of his peer group, that he was intended for a romance with an older woman. I suppose the only real candidates are Britt (who he sees as a mother) and Ava (who's already been with his father, uncle and cousin). Pity, because I think that would have potential for Nikolas and Laura. Guess we'll get that May-December romance instead with Trina and the new cop (who looks way older than her) that no core character will ever care about. Meanwhile the LGBTQ+ characters get non-entities like Chet as their love interest (why not match Teri with someone like Drew, and have the relationship, and people's reactions to it, play out onscreen?) or have a totally non-existent love life like Brad (who's more interested in sorting out a new BF for his BFF, who hasn't gone without for nearly as long as he himself has!)

How much can they SORAS Arianna? Her parents all look so young, surely they don't intend to make her a teen. As it is, Sonny has a stupid mustache in some transparent but failed attempt to make him look older than Will (as he should be, though the actor clearly is not).