DaphneCat

I don't actually believe the show will go there. It took years before a gay couple was considered normal, and they just now got two bisexual characters (I'm convinced they had it be two women rather than a man and a woman or two men because they believed that was somehow more "palatable" for middle America - after all, the women can still find a man and make babies right?). People can't even have casual sex on a soap without consequences (pregnancy, someone finding out and judging them, etc.) and I just can't see them making the leap to anything goes.

Jennifer simply said "You have to stay here for Gwen" and Jack just immediately agreed. No argument, nothing. Just "See you when I see you."

You're pretty accurate here. All of that is typically needed for someone to get elected governor. I get that because it's a soap they don't want to say she's the Democratic or Republican candidate, but make up some stupid third party and say she's their candidate. And since the show doesn't show us a lot of what happens, they could at least reference her being at a rally or debate or something.

I get this could be a good thing in the future, but I don't actually trust the show to do the REALLY slow burn that would be required here. It was literally only a few days ago that Chad was running around town a total mess and we're supposed to think that because he saw some vision of Abby that he's now ready to move on with someone else? (The background saxophone jazz music was an incredibly heavy anvil by the way.) It's too soon. But, of course, they'll have them kissing at campaign headquarters in about 2 weeks. Especially since they haven't even had a scene where someone (Chanel, Abe) mentions in passing that they haven't seen her in a while because of her grueling campaign schedule. She's literally going to try to get elected by simply sending out flyers and having one press conference? Sure, that'll work.

I thought somewhere in this convoluted mess, Melinda Trask was threatening Leo by telling him she had the steak knife with his fingerprints on it. Suddenly, Clyde got it back and used it on Sonny? They really did use the dartboard method to write this didn't they? Now that they've finally revealed who killed Abigail it seems like all the other plots lately, big build-up, plot goes nowhere and fizzles out completely. Clyde really is one step above random day player in his motivation. At this point Harold would have made more sense as the killer.

I've finally realized why I don't like this iteration of Nancy - it's because she's so damn weepy all of the time. If Bonnie and Justin had tried to tell the old Nancy that the man she was about to marry was suspected of stabbing someone AND killing someone else, she would have either given them what's what or gone off to kill Clyde herself. Instead she just cried while Justin told her about Clyde and half-heartedly insisted he couldn't have done it. Combine that with the fact that she's just so pathetically NEEDY - especially with Clyde that it just doesn't seem like it's actually Nancy.

But she's not wrong that Jack really should know. Jennifer will never tell him.

Except show seems to have forgotten the minor detail that the judge could have been disbarred for even looking at that video - especially after she specifically told Chloe she couldn't discuss the case outside of the courtroom. What is the deal with the show having all these pointless plots that don't really go anywhere and are over in a few days? Sarah and Xander finally get married, Sarah throws a major hissy fit about something relatively minor in the history of Xander's misdeeds, and leaves him for approximately an hour and a half. She then returns simply because she had a conversation with her mother and Xander essentially did nothing. Kristen sues for custody, they have a few really stupid courtroom scenes and the whole thing just fizzles out. Ava and Johnny seem about to start a relationship and then nothing - it doesn't even seem like they're staying friends. And unless Paulina is leaving the show, her running for governor is another nowhere plot.

My biggest shock was the sob stories seem shorter this season and far less "sobby." I couldn't say for sure, but I think we only got one dead relative and I don't remember any bullying/my life fell apart and music is the only thing that saved me stories. I'm far more interested in the contestant's musical influences than their back stories.

That's the thing I really hate about this show. Someone we haven't seen in literally YEARS randomly shows up and is still obsessed with a character we've actually been watching for all this time. Who's next - some rando from 60 years ago obsessed with Doug? And you've just given reason 8,346 why BOTH Dimeara and Titan should get rid of the revolving CEO storyline. Have someone who is going to leave anyway be randomly appointed CEO and then they can have the rest of the cast still doing things in Salem while referring to off-screen CEO.

And while he did some shady things, he never gave the impression he was capable of actually killing someone.

I'm not trying to justify Clyde as a character or say he has any redeeming qualities, BUT, if EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. someone who supposedly loved me jumped to terrible conclusions about me, based on overhearing vague things, rather than simply ASKING me about what they'd overheard, I don't think I'd actually consider marrying that person. And to then say she was going to dump him, just based on her suspicions... I don't like this Nancy at all. She was always a confident woman who was more than fine with a bit of scheming. Now that she's become this insecure, crying mess she really is getting on my last nerve. Are they really going to try to redeem Clyde and make his redemption arc be becoming a doormat for her?

Maggie thought she drank because Summer came and blamed her for the fact that she was dying of liver failure. Somehow Maggie being an alcoholic removed ANY agency from Summer and basically forced her to become an alcoholic herself - it was all Maggie's fault for passing on those bad genes.

Figuring out that Lucas actually saw Gwen instead of Sarah, and being able to clear Sarah of suspicion for Abigail's murder - something even the police couldn't do - doesn't seem to qualify as bringing their intelligence levels down. I simply enjoyed the fact that they did that in a light hearted way. It's the manufactured angst that seems to make Sarah act stupider than she is.

I really hated all the custody hearing crap. No judge on earth would allow such twaddle especially since most of it had to do with a person who isn't even trying to get custody of Rachel. If Kristen is so intent on proving that Chloe is such a bad person, couldn't the judge just order Brady to not allow Rachel to have contact with Chloe? Problem solved. It DID seem like Brady actually got use of the Salem brain at the end of the episode so I hope that means that this is a really short story arc. And show has been dropping FAR too many anvils for us to believe this whole Stefan pursuing Chloe thing is going to last very long.

Yes! They are at their best when they're doing screwball things - like dumpster diving. This show REALLY needs more fun and less angst.

Except did they REALLY have to make it so obvious that John got the extra strength super- duper blue pill? We're actually supposed to believe a man that age has THAT kind of sex life? Unless the next scene is him clutching his heart in agony, I'm not buying it.

They don't even have to be lovers - frenemies works for me too. Leo is actually somewhat interesting when he's not being an over the top asshole. Rafe actually seemed like a real boy today instead of the usual wooden puppet he is with Nicole (and let's be honest, pretty much everyone else too.) I'm intrigued that Sloane immediately called Leo to tip him off that Rafe was coming for him. If they keep her character around I hope they keep some of the nuance there - a not cartoon villain who doesn't have a problem "bending" a few rules.

NBC is also moving all of their primetime content to Peacock - no more next day streaming on HULU. I think this is really just a push to make it that you either watch their content on cable or Peacock or you don't watch it at all. Since there is speculation they may actually give up the 10:00PM primetime hour they could be considering going all to Peacock for most of their content.

But have they ever REALLY shown them to be happily married? It seems like they only got married because Nicole couldn't think of a good reason NOT to.

The ads really aren't bad - only about 5 minutes of them per episode (I think it may even be only 4 but I don't actually pay attention) - FAR fewer than on network TV - which is over 20!

Yeah, the idea of neighbors dropping in on each other all the time is basically either a relic of the past (when similar demographics moved into a new development) or a TV trope that never really existed in the first place. I live in a small area with only 3 other houses. When we bought our house (more than 25 years ago) ALL our neighbors were old enough to be our parents. One of them (in his 90's) still lives next door. The house on the other side was taken over by the original owner's grandson (yes, we've known him since he was in high school.) The third house was bought a few years ago by a newly married couple (never did meet the wife) who just sold it - we don't know who is going to move in. So while I do, indeed know who (most) of my neighbors are, it's not like socializing frequently is in the future.

So where would the material for these longer episodes come from? Would they burn through their backlog faster or would they simply add back in a bunch of crap they didn't think was good enough to keep in the first place? Longer, more boring episodes. Yay? I guess?

Yeah, making new friends after a certain age is sort of like hunting unicorns. And the standard advice to join a group that has an activity that interests you doesn't always work the way people think it will. Often people who are long-time members already have friends within the group so many of them aren't very outgoing anyway. Hope it gets better.

Clearly, he has been shipped off to boarding school - where his mother visits once or twice a year (she SUCH a good mother.)