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Ric has always been an insect.

As long as she finally wakes up and we get some good stuff with her, Genie and Finn Carr (Rocco) I don't care. That kid has been killing it while I'm about to suffer through the Ultimate Showdown between Grinning Spherical-Headed First Child (Danny) and Doctor Regrettable Emotions Playlist (Van Hansis).

Damn, Drew. Put on some makeup for the funeral at least.

I may be misremembering it a bit - I think Jason merely collected Ric, tied him up, etc. and then just kept bringing him up the stairs for Sonny to kick or push down again, lol. But still!

I don't remember that one at all. I should look it up. I do remember when (IIRC, correct me if I'm wrong) pint-sized Sonny retaliated for the panic room horrors with Carly by... taking Ric to their parents' beach home and having Jason repeatedly push him down the stairs, lol. Like he couldn't even do it himself?

Isn't it enough right now that Joss presently has no story?

It's never stopped Maurice!

And furthermore! Imma just say it: Gio has a nice butt. And I've already called attention to his overall impressive physique they have taken bizarre, BLQ-esque pains to hide for months. But while the character still has very little discernable personality or purpose to speak of (beyond the looming fear of a pointless Dante/BLQ bloodline tie), GM's own energy onscreen is very bright and happy to be here. He's started to have more fun onscreen in scenes with the Qs as opposed to just standing around beaming and saintly like he was in the summer, and it's become kind of infectious. It's obvious they are terrified of doing anything interracial at this point since they backed off putting him with Trina ASAP after he first started, but hey, Gio's cute, increasingly fun and I'd still like to see them smash even if it's just once. Trina isn't gonna fall in love with Kai Taylor overnight and she needs a fling with a cheery twunk! (Though to be clear, Kai is also cute.) All I'll say about Robert and Holly's ridiculous exit that I haven't already is I cringed watching TR carry his own bags. Robert's appearance increasingly began making me think of an animatronic Star Wars puppet in his final weeks and I've spent days worrying a fall or other accident will happen on-camera. The onscreen decline is sad but if Tristan is happy with this HEA then I'm happy for him, even if I can't stand Holly or her whining rationalizations for her endlessly self-obsessed behavior. I don't really want to see them come back in a few months tbh but I'm sure they will for visits, and if it keeps Tristan cared for and poor Emma Samms financed that's good I guess. I've grown to hate Holly but ES doesn't deserve what she's gone through in the pandemic, and I am glad when GH can care for these actors. Anna staring aghast as Holly produced the diamonds from her wallet to once again explain herself sent me. Anna should just be like ‘remember the thing with the monkeys, Holly? Have you made reparations to them? Been by Tony’s grave?'

Lucky should absolutely be WSB. It would keep him close to law enforcement, where whatever they say now both he and GV's Lucky fit well. Even if Brennan is a joke to me and a smarmy supervillain.

Jordan should've been gone long ago. I'd rather see Isaiah with Lucas, even though I think VH's performances are all over the shop. Woof. Ric and Ava would be fun if it got serious and they had real leverage over the town, but at present it feels like a time waster to park Ava somewhere yet again. Give Ric some real power in town again and then I'll get out of bed for it. Kristina cozying up to Future Trump Appointee Natalia, the woman who spewed bigotry about her and her ex-girlfriend while contributing to the disintegration of their relationship, is insane to me. But typical of this show's mentality, which is focused on simply FV relentlessly justifying his latest big hire until the next one comes along.

I do think they will be back for visits and soon, pending both actors' health. But I also think this is meant to be a graceful permanent exit for Robert.

I don't find it insulting at all. But I do think Bryan and Claudia, while lovely people, were ultimately just tokens and sidekicks to the white folks. And that's what I fear will happen to both characters here if Kai isn't in a stronger narrative position. Which is why I would've preferred to see the Black Q character rumored in the spring-summer, who would have a stronger buy-in to be activated across the larger canvas vs. the way they simply keep Curtis, Portia and their entire family, often lumped together or serving as talk-tos for the white leads (which is most of what Trina has done for this entire post-Spencer year). I have no faith in GH to reveal more than that Kai simply being another kid of Cyborg Jordan's or something, lol. That's historically how they isolate most of their characters of color together. Until and excepting the mid-90s with Wards, GH has never been very good at Black representation. As for Trina, I'll believe she gets major story again when I see it. Same with recasting Spencer, which I now think will conveniently only happen once Tabyana puts in her walking papers. I don't need Trina with Spencer, but I need more of a commitment to stronger story and a new partner than I've seen since. YMMV. I meant infuriated with Lucky, which they should be. Everything Elizabeth said was absolutely right.

Because then FV couldn't mention or bring on more characters from One Life to Live.

And Taggert is nowhere to be found today, while Charisma's Bermuda Triangle Curtis forges on. I've watched this show with this creative team long enough to know how they treat Black characters as an island unto themselves (usually all related). I'll believe Trina and Kai are going to be a major force as opposed to C-fodder like how Portia, Curtis, Jordan, T.J., etc. are treated when I see it. (And I don't even like Curtis or Jordan.) This seems like a simple realignment to keep the character where they prefer her to be now that Spencer is conveniently gone. The issue here is if you introduce a new Q of color you have a buy-in with the audience and he can do all sorts of things story-wise quickly. I am not from the school of thought that says every newbie needs to be core and someone's secret kid, but it's been a hot minute since the Qs or any other core family had any characters of color (Valerie Spencer is on Mars, probably) and it would be a renewed opportunity for A-story for Trina. Unless of course, the show explicitly does not want her in more A-story.

Sasha's a slow talker. I've been saying it for years!

Aside from the joy of Madame the puppet Diane getting her heart broken, watching Robert totter off with trick-ass Holly at this point was depressing. That said I do think Tristan needs to retire; he's frail and looks increasingly lost onscreen, and I hate to say that. I am glad Elizabeth told Lucky off. I get why people online are infuriated with it but I think the only way to deal with what has become of the character and his post-PC years is to have him backslide and be challenged - it makes sense for him that he'd do that. The problem with this approach, of course, is that this creative team rarely ever writes anything with depth or sustained focus for anyone for longer than a couple days. So I suspect what we'll get next is weeks or months of Lucky making an effort merely in the background of the main storylines (or talking about having done it offscreen) instead of having any real substantive storyline about it or discussions about these issues, and over time and through osmosis that's what will end up settling the past. Which I find meandering and lazy. OTOH they did little more than that for Felicia in 2012 and it worked, so who knows. Nothing I could say about Trina and the new guy would be fair at this juncture other than to say I wish they'd cast the Black Quartermaine character that was rumored during PM's run instead. Do I find it surprising that the male of color who has appeared instead is a random newbie with no real ties or story frisson, summoning the spectre of Bryan and Claudia? No. As for the prior prospect of Gio and Trina, I'll just say again that poor Giovanni Mazza has a) a very nice body they seem intent on hiding and b) a character with the personality of amiable tofu, and I suspect he could be and do more. But am I surprised they didn't let her near him romantically after all? Again: No.

To LoJack Sasher onto the show in a more lasting fashion, evidently. Also someone on staff is clearly down very bad for Robert and Holly.

I'm not sure how we can call Chavez's timing 'bad' when he is a breakout star in multiple major streaming series, just booked a big movie and is currently the talk of the town. If he ends up the new third lead on 9-1-1 or The Rookie or something in a few years, then we can talk.

Willow and Sasha should've been wished into the cornfield years ago.

They're just trying to justify more years of Sasha's presence, in addition to whoever is the hardcore Robert/Holly stan on staff.

Where better than a public street? Absolutely deranged the 180 they had Anna and Laura do on Sonny. I can't even process that or this whole Jason thing which makes it even more clear they are out of ideas for him. If they blamed Alex again for a lot of this year in her character I wouldn't squawk.

Also: Kristina howling away at the top of her lungs in the hospital chapel was embarrassing, nasty work. It is mortifying how quickly they have tanked Kate Mansi, who was admirably carrying a lot of the show on her back in the spring-summer under Mulcahey IMO. The character has become utterly unrootable, is still calling her sister's child hers and shrieking through scenes. I think KM can recover but not with this kind of material. I know I'm behind by a couple days but it is amazing how none of Robert and Holly's endless, interminable conversations about their relationship (which honestly feel like poor Tristan is a pull-string toy occasionally interjecting lines) seem to mention the fact that he had to have cheated on Anna in '92. It's terrible. I do think Robert needs to be removed from active story at this point - TR looks terribly feeble, and I hate how they've so wasted his last decade of viability - but to go off with her with this kind of material is just kind of pathetic IMO.

I will give it to the kid playing Rocco: I thought he was mostly mid for awhile but he has brought it for this stuff and is quite good. The best since Hudson West. You could see Genie lighting up having someone young who's actually a talent to work with, even if their scenes were cut to ribbons so we could have more of the Scorpio geriatric reunion tour. Whereas I knew the kid playing Danny was green and weak awhile back, and he remains so. I know Steve had been working with him since he came back and Steve is seasoned enough to be able to teach him physical control; Danny had some emotion in the early scenes but kept grinning through them. Oof. (Also, did Jason really tell Sam's kids about their mother on the bench outside Bobbie's?) Not a tear shed with Carly either. He seemed weeks or months past it. Legit ridiculous that Lulu's kid is grieving harder than Sam's own children. But I rarely expect much from soap kids, especially ones FV hires bc they're cute and then refuses to let go of. It's just embarrassing given GH's history with hiring a lot of good kids in the past. They should level up Rocco in story now, but if I know this show he'll be in backburner city just like Jake. I am ready for Lulu to wake up - I want to see this poor kid happy.

Someone on staff is into them bad. They've chosen the worst possible way to go about it. I've never hated Holly before excepting the monkey virus period, but now with this and foisting more Sasher upon us I'm done. It's just ridiculous.

I agree, but it's still a dramatic story to play.