Melgaypet

They really are overselling Ashley and it's just not necessary. She's likable enough and we saw the elevator birth, we know she handled it well. Soap fans (well, everyone, really) don't want to be told how to feel about someone, as if we're too stupid to make up our own minds.

What's up with Chelsea? A threesome? Some kind of sex work? Cocaine? She seemed to be flicking something off her nose when the 4 in the booth were watching her. I'm pretty sure we've seen her leave the bar with that same guy before. I have no words for Martin. My poor Glasses needs to get a lot more angry than he is. Bill is traumatized by the Gunslinger Dani? Not the way I thought they would go, and I mean that in a good way. ETA: Also! Maybe Eva should consider, I don’t know, LOCKING THE DOOR when doing shady shit?

I agree. Making Eva not Ted's after all, would render this whole story pointless. At the very least, the drama bomb has to drop. I think Leslie and Ted had a one-night stand that Leslie has built up in her mind or she went stalker-nuts and was institutionalized or something. I don't think Ted ever knew he had another kid. Kat is quite the snobby bitch, and yet she's not wrong. If this show runs for a long time, I see an old-school rivalry between Kat and Eva. So Doug has a gambling addiction. And Vanessa is hot for her trainer, who, I'm sorry, isn't that hot? I can be shallow. I guess they don't have an open marriage after all, which is a shame, because that would be new for a soap. (Though OLTL had one during it's abortive revival.) Running for President? Really? It couldn't be governor or mayor of DC or something less ridiculous? A presidential campaign does not mesh with a daytime soap.

I laughed aloud when he sneered at Bill caring about optics by crashing the press conference. Like, look in the mirror, dude. I said this yesterday, but it's interesting that Martin is so down on Bill, since in many ways he is Bill. Ambitious, selfish, takes his spouse for granted. But Bill is an unapologetic bastard, while Martin is self-righteous.

But think of the horses!

That would be a twist. I don't know if they'd do that when there's also the storyline with Dana/Leslie and Eva worming their way into the family under false pretenses. But Hayley has to do something different soon, because she is boring. And I think it might not be all that long before Bill is bored, too.

That's just lawyer swag. You'll notice it wasn't Naomi that got the cop to back off, but Vernon name-dropping the Chief of Police (who is, I think, Naomi's father-in-law?). Hayley's on my nerves. She said she's not a fighter - that's too bad for you, girl. I suspect that at some point Dani and Bill are going to be banging behind her back. Glasses needs to a)put his damn glasses back on, because he's cuter that way, and b) stand up to his jerk husband and go back to work. Or at least use those journalist skills to figure out Martin's Big Secret.

No joke, going by looks alone I thought he'd make a decent Michael recast.

Okay, I hate Martin. He sucks. For someone who expresses such disdain for his former Uncle Bill, he sure shows a lot of the same self-obsession and ambition, just not the cheating (that we know of) (yet). Not one thought of how his invisible teenage children will react to this viral video? Free Glasses! I like Gossipy Nurse. I was surprised that they didn't show her seeing the video. What does she know about Doug, who possibly has an open marriage with Vanessa the blonde realtor, who Dixie from AMC has informed us is Nicole's best friend, even though it sure seemed like she was closer to Dani, but whatever, Doug is up to something shady, possibly. I'm also betting that Dana/Leslie is lying about Ted abandoning her and Eva. I think he never knew she was pregnant. Assuming Eva actually is Ted's daughter. Which she probably is, but Dana/Leslie has something darker going on. Why wouldn't she have gotten child support, since Ted is rich? And we know she's dangerous. Poor Dani. I really liked her and Nicole's sister moment.

I can buy Hayley's naivety, at least so far, but I'm hoping to see some different shades before long. What does strike me as odd is that there has been several mentions that Hayley and Naomi were best friends, yet Hayley hasn't had any actual interaction with her. She sought Dani out multiple times, no matter how hard she got shut down or punched, but didn't try with her former friend. I mean, I doubt very much it would have gotten her anywhere - Naomi seems to be as angry as her mother, if less loud about it - but I do wonder why Hayley didn't try that route of rapprochement.

Nicole and/or Anita mentioned Bill moving out "months ago." I definitely get the feeling that it's been less than a year. I think Dani's journey - after getting out of whatever trouble she'll be in now - will be building a life of her own. She's just not there yet.

I didn't occur to me that the ending could be a fantasy. I think (hope) the show is smarter than that. To do a fake-out for the very first Friday cliffhanger would squander the goodwill built up in the first week, and I personally have a lot of goodwill, even I'm still fuzzy on some characters. I doubt anyone is dead, but Dani could end up in jail/a mental ward. Very soapy! Think Cop Husband will be the one to arrest her? The scene I did wonder might be a fantasy before it was clear it was real? When Dani went to Bill to ask him to come back home. Poor Dani - I kinda cringed for her, like @dubbel zout I wanted her to find her self-respect, but I do think it was sort of necessary. Like she told Hot Andre, she's raw. To set aside her pride - and the Duprees all clearly have a lot of pride - to try to get her life as she knew it back and be shut down so hard? That really contributed to get her into a lunatic enough state to get to that cliffhanger.

Okay, slightly more coherent thoughts: Karla Mosley owns this show. Glasses was not wearing his glasses, just to mess with me! I was wrong when I said I could recognize Martin. It was halfway through his conversation with Bill before I realized he wasn't Cop Husband. (James?) I laughed when I saw the pregnant lady by the elevator, because I knew where this was going. That is the hoariest cliché in the book, I have to think it's deliberate. No one is going to be tuning in Monday to see Nurse Ashley and Hot Andre deliver a baby in an elevator. Everyone wearing black was hilarious. They also looked fabulous. Karla Mosley owns this damn show. Should've let Dani jet off to Paris, Vernon and Anita! I wonder if they'll feel any guilt over this or will they just blame Big Bad Bill? I'm getting a little tired of Hayley's constant need for reassurance. So Eva wasn't at all fazed by her mother running the poor assistant off the road. That did surprise me! And she's Ted's (I have got his name now) daughter. Well, that will put a crimp in Nicole's perfect life. Good, I was getting a little sick of hearing about it. Won't make it so easy to condescend to Dani in the future. It feels slightly weird that this is when they introduce Cady McClain Karla Mosley OWNS THIS SHOW.

Holy shit! Now that's how you do soap!

Let me talk up Beyond the Gates, starring Daphnée Duplaix (the fourth and final Rachel Gannon), among others. It's good, you guys! Daphnée hasn't been given much to do yet, but I think it's coming. Granted, it's only the first week, so I might be a little giddy over BRAND NEW SOAP, but it's soapy fun so far!