Francie

According to imdb, the writer credited for What Happens in Vegas episode has exactly two writing credits; 1) that episode of Hacks; and 2) The Baby-Sitters Club in 2020. She was hired by Hacks as the script coordinator for one episode back in 2020. The episode aired in 2021. I think she's quite a bit younger than either 40 or 50. Two other writers have appeared on screen -- the hotel desk clerk in season 1 and the "the pants stay on" bell hop from last season. One in mid 30s, the other is early 40s.

My point is a different one than just that characters like Jimmy and Kiki shaming Ava for blackmailing. Neither Jimmy, as far as we know, nor Kiki know the information Ava is using. Yes, I agree with you on this different point that you are making -- people are telling Ava what she did was wrong. I'll add in Diana, who tells Ava her aura is now rancid. But Jimmy and Kiki only seem to be concerned that Deborah, in their words, holds a grudge. Although, admittedly, Kiki, to some degree, did pass along a bit of judgment, in general, too. I agree with you the season is leaning toward Ava being wrong, and I think throughout this season, what will play out is the cost of both the blackmail and the toll of head writer job on Ava. It may prove to be true that Deborah is right that Ava is not equipped for that particular job, with all its demands. Other things that I think will play out this season is that Deborah will ultimately do what Ava accused her last season of never doing: Deborah will put someone else before herself. Actually, frankly, we've already seen Deborah do that in season 1 when when she put on death pall make up and wore sweats and no wig over to DJ's apartment knowing that paparazzi would take less than flattering pictures of her. But the sacrifice this season, I'm speculating, will likely involve grander stakes and be a sacrifice for Ava's sake. I also think it's possible, if not likely, we'll hear the phrase "big, brave girl" again in a positive, encouraging (and, no, not sexual) way. In other words, I think Ava's heading for a bad fall, figuratively, and Deborah will be there for her. My point above was that, that general criticism - blackmail is bad - doesn't get at the heart of the violation of trust Ava undertook. As I said above, Ava twisted the truth to create an outright lie -- Deborah did not sleep with Bob to get the job. If you freeze on the draft email she sent to the New Yorker, Ava claims that she just learned that Deborah slept with Bob in order to get the job and she felt responsible in letting the New Yorker know that's how Deborah acquired the job. That is all an outright lie, in two ways. Ava neither just learned about it, nor does she believe Deborah slept with Bob in order to get the job. Second, Ava is putting her self-interest in being head writer over the No. 2 spot over the emotional and psychological setback Deborah would experience in having one of her first attempts in being honest with a friend and sharing information she felt shame over being used against her. Maybe the writers will touch on that later this season. But they certainly haven't to date. I just saw an interview with Carol Leifer, who wrote the One Day episode last season. She used to write for Seinfeld in the early years, and is a more, shall we say, seasoned writer. She wasn't with Hacks this past season, and she mentioned having been 20 to 30 years older than all the other writers on Hacks. I think it's a shame all the writers are of a particular age group, because I'm really feeling a lack of a certain voice this season. I feel like I'm watching an entirely different, and much more immature, show. JPL like to take things from real life, and back when Jean filmed Watchmen, one of Jean's costars, Tim Blake Nelson, took her out on their last day of shooting to the Clermont Lounge in Atlanta. Apparently, it's a famous strip club, where the female performers are nearly all senior citizens. So, that may be the inspiration, along with the Hacks staff writer's idea of what the most fun night in Vegas a multi-millionaire could show you would be.

This season has been so painful for me, I'm sad to say. I think the showrunners have downplayed what Ava has done with the blackmail. Ava knows Deborah didn't sleep with Bob Lipka to get the job, yet that was what she was threatening to tell the world. And Ava only knew that because Deborah let down her guard and started to trust Ava. Something seemingly that she hadn't done in decades. So for Ava to claim the high road on that and brag about domming her -- it's leaving a serious bad taste in my mouth. Deborah isn't just holding a grudge, as Kiki and Jimmy say. She's dealing with an untrustworthy individual who has shown she'll exploit her for her own gain (sorry, not buying the 'I did this for us' when her alternative was to accept the No. 2 in name spot. Yes, that's unfair to her, having been offered the No. 1 job. But if she was weighing what this betrayal would to do Deborah and their partnership, the calculus does not weigh in the favor of blackmail). Admittedly, I watch this show for Jean Smart. And what's missing this year is Deborah's voice. We saw only a tiny bit of it with her sit down with Marcus. And even then, she didn't reveal anything, in part to continue protecting the ever self-destructive Ava. Jimmy's playing dumb (what exactly does he know? and why isn't he better protecting his No. 1 client instead of playing marriage counselor?), Marty's not in the picture, and she and Ava are at odds. Jean's had to make do with expressing Deborah's state of mind without any verbal outlet. And as impressive as she is, it's not making for great television. What's with the strip club? Is that seriously where a half-female and certainly a gay man or two would -- not only want to go -- but not feel extremely uncomfortable? I was a young professional in my late 20s on a conference trip with boss, and a strip club was not .. I can't even finish the sentence, it was so stupid. The car racing was stupid. Who wants to go see their bosses race around a track? Deborah could have shown the crew a good time with her celebrity and access to a chef's table, the gambling parlors in all the big hotels that are off-limits to the general public (if you ever are in Vegas in one of the grander hotels, and there's a guy with an ear piece standing next to a wall that has a stealth door, that's the entrance to the gambling rooms where the likes of Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks gamble) and front row tickets at the biggest show in town. Not this lame 1990s Swingers version of Vegas with rainbow rolls, gambling on the floor, and, again, an off-the-strip strip club. This show is like the never ending spinning circle you get on your computer when it locks up. Episode 1: Deborah's dream turns into a nightmare. Episode 2: Deborah's dream turns into a nightmare (bonus - literal nightmare). Episode 3: Deborah's dream turns into a nightmare. Let me guess what episode 4 is going to be about.

About 80% of this series has felt like filler. In fact, in full disclosure, I haven't even resubscribed to Paramount Plus yet to watch this season. After last year's season amounted to one big set up with no pay off, I decided to take the approach that I'll watch after Spencer gets home and there's finally the show down that was promised, err teased, at the very beginning of the series. I thought I'd pop in and see how things were coming along. Looks like the show is still teasing.

Man, I loved that storyline. I was legit shocked with Bert was revealed to be Mr. B. And that ending -- with the band playing and Bert walking along, kinda like a dead man walking, trying to talk his way out -- I don't remember it frame for frame, but I do remember getting chills watching it live. That might be my third favorite storyline after the first Faison storyline and the Snowman storyline.

They other funny aspect to this, and then I'll likely shut up and move on, is that so many Anna and Robert fans have been talking up "cargo baby" for years. Because Anna and Robert had been newlyweds when Faison kidnapped them. The cargo ship exploded, and Anna had amnesia for a decade. A jealous Faison could have raised the kid, local fishers could have nursed a horribly wounded Anna and taken the baby after its birth. Blah, blah, blah. In any event, the opening was there for a baby that neither Anna nor Robert knew anything about. Not this shoehorned Robert/Holly baby back at a time where we all saw Robert on screen being, "Get away from me, woman, I'm looking for my wife!" And then we saw Holly for the next nine months while she was dating Mac and then Bill Eckert.

They said (and I quote, from memory): Robert: I always thought we'd find our way back together. Anna: I never doubted that for a minute. Not for a minute.* That implies a 'greatest love.' I always appreciate whenever a character has more than one great love that they don't dismiss the other one. One love can be stronger, greater, better, and more controlling in the present. But that doesn't mean that the other relationship was a very loving one; and one doesn't not have to sh*t all over it to make the other one better. It always bothered me -- in a lazy story writing kind of way -- that they never had Anna and Robert ever discuss the fact their second marriage was never dissolved. Since Tristan's return after his 1992 exit, Robert and Anna have never talked about how they were bickering spouses and how he got on her nerves. But that's nothing near how their relationship was in their final year on GH at that time. That kind of description -- "I love you, but you annoy me at times" -- is closer to how Tristan and Finola see their own relationship. Tristan can be grumpy -- about anything and everything -- and Finola would take it in stride (it wasn't ever -- or hardly ever, if it ever was -- directed toward her), didn't take it personally, and largely dismissed it. *could have been second -- she never doubted it for a second.

I won't deny they were more in supportive roles -- bffs to Scotty and Laura. But they were also fully fleshed out characters, with distinct personalities, extended family (7-9-year-old-me remembers that some of their parents were on canvas as well), and issues of their own. If compared to today, they'd be among the most well-rounded characters.

My head canon will be that Robert escorted Holly offscreen as a favor to Sasha, the rest of Port Charles, and, meta-wise, all of us. In my head, he's all, "Jeez, the only way to make sure this woman leaves is to escort her on the plane myself." I don't know why I don't have a stronger reaction to Anna dismissing her two marriages to Robert, the second one ending in their supposed deaths (as opposed to an acrimonious end) as "we had history." I think it's Tristian's all-too apparent health issues. It takes all the sport out of it. Best wishes to him. GH Night shift Season 2 was 1,000 times better, anyway. (Oh, there's still a tiny bit of bite left in me).

Holly was introduced in 1982 as part of a scam artist family, though once she started to fall for her mark, Luke, she went along with them reluctantly and eventually 'turned good.' But Holly could always be a bit of a whiny, self-entitled prima donna. Case in point: during the Aztec Treasure storyline, Holly whined about having to stay safe at the hacidenda and not being 'allowed' to be a part of Robert's and Sean's adventure. (In her defense, Robert was portrayed as bit of chauvinist about all that.) So Robert and Sean leave in a jeep to go searching for ... whatever, and their jeep breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Then along comes Holly, in another jeep, smirking, all, "Would you like a ride, boys?" She had sabotaged their jeep without their knowing, and managed to follow them, also without their knowing (thanks for dumbing down the international spies, writers). Sure, lives were in danger. And Holly could have made things far worse, but we 'womenfolk' (and 'girlfolk' as I was at the time), were supposed to be all "Yay, Holly! She sure showed them!" All I could think was "What a putz. She could have gotten someone killed, all becuase she needed shits and giggles." Holly and Robert played Nick and Nora for a couple minor mini-strorylines (the Greg Brady broadway scout "caper" comes to mind), but whenver things got serious, Robert turned caveman, and there was a very "Lucy wants to join the band but Ricky won't let her" vibe to their relationship. Oh, and Holly could cook. Their kitchen seemed wicked cool to 10-year-old me. And, hand to God, many times as I'm picking up white wine for cooking, my memory tidbit plays in my head of line of scene of GH where Holly credits the quality of the wine for the quality of some meal she cooked. But then I still grab the cheap stuff.

Are you trying to tell me that a liver is not a brain?

Emma Samms was blinking so much in her first two scenes, that, if I handn't known better, I would've assumed she was trying to talk to Robert in morse code. That was a puppet dog, right? I liked Felicia's blouse.

Ever-freakin-green. My favorite way to way the show of late? Watch the whole entire thing, even the scenes that bore me to tears, exccept fo anytime Carly is on screen. Then I happily FF her. Because FF-ing her along with others whose crime is just boring me doesn't reflect just how much I hate the character of Carly. I watch scenes with people I don't know, repetitive drivel, and even Holly -- even Holly, for God's sake -- just so that I convey my absolute intolerance of Carly just that tiny bit more.

Thank you for helping me find the silver lining in this mess.

Are you saying a wig on a stick doesn't count?

To borrow from my immediately prior post: Now? It's glaring that she's not a 'strong actress'** ... now?* BTW, I wrote 3 other zingers that I ultimately thought were too mean to post in light of the lack of provocation to do so. But, they were funny, if I do say so myself.

Now? She will phone in her performances ... now?

I need to have you know -- I cackled. I outright, out loud, scared the cats cackled at this. Well played, Ciarra, well played. Man, I loved that 35th anniversary special. The photoshoot section with the boxes. Back when production values mattered. That time -- what, 1996? - felt both like the the pinnacle of quality television and like the end of an era. It's hard to explain why -- I enjoyed that time immensely and was unhealthily addicted to watching GH. The Cassadine saga with Stefan and Nikolas. The Sonny/Brenda/Jax triangle. Lucy with her Doc. Jonathan Jackson and Amber Tamblyn. The introduction of Sarah J. Brown's Carly. But so many of the veteran performers were already being cast aside and some history was being forgotten. And then came Miranda. And, more importantly Guza left as head writer and Culliton wrote the show into the ground in a matter of weeks. JMHO. YMMV.

Oscar, after getting beaten up and having his money stolen from the male hustler: I have learned my lesson! Oscar, after getting led around by the nose and having his money stolen from a female con artist: Clearly, I learned the wrong lesson!

Not if Greenpeace has anything to say about that.

The kids now have the money with the GoJo deal to fund the Pierce deal. So, it should be a 'go.' But the kids were only interested in it as a way to get their father's attention, so with their motivation for it gone, it'll probably fall apart due to their inability to follow through on it.

So, so, so many great lines! Chef's kiss to the comic relief in the middle: Everything about Connor's sticker system, with "subsequent circulating mourners" and "second tier bereaved." But especially ... Connor: ... after two stickering perambulating circuits .. Shiv: We call them SPCs. and then Roman: They call that the second week itch, I believe. Shiv: Heard the latest about the, uh, Wisconsin court thing? Wylla: I'm sorry, what court thing? Oh, I need there to be an afterlife in this universe where Logan witnesses the the cow-print couch being placed in his living room.

The best possible ending. Seeing Roman smile and have him recognize he's better off? Going into this episode, I so much wanted to see Gerri and him have a moment. But I realize now that Roman being on his own and away from it all was the ending he needed. And, man, I just hated him -- hated him! -- just two episodes ago on election night. This season opened with the most depressing birthday party ever, and then we see Logan Roy -- apparently not long before that -- enjoying the company of his girlfriend, colleagues, and oldest son. Who knew Karl could sing?

My favorite blink and you'll miss it moment was when Connor said there was one person in the room who didn't think he was a joke, and Matsson did a two thumbs point to himself. The bored multi-multi billionaire who has amuse himself. Shiv and Tom were devastating on the balcony, but the comment that cut someone to core the most? Was Nate telling Kendall that he (Nate) wasn't Gil and Kendall wasn't Logan. He didn't mean it as an insult. And the fact it was a matter-of-fact observation made it all the more powerful. Who'da thought Connor's choices could singlehandedly save American democracy? Stay in the race, bud, and syphon off those votes in the honeymoon swing states!

You're very welcome. I'm glad I was able to contribute something positive to this board. :)