Francie

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. :)

No. Current Waystar execs edited Logan Roy's statement, and Kendall told the audience, "Here's what my father had to say about the value." Breaking it down more fully, Kendall was saying, "Here's how this legend, this figure almost mythical in how successful and business savvy he was, evaluated the potential of this project." That was a misstatement of fact, and it was done with the specific intent to overvalue Waystar, and for further nefarious purposes in tanking a deal Romana and Kendall were just entrusted to complete by virtue of their being voted as co-CEOs. I'm thinking of the wrong being done to the shareholders, stake holders in the deal with Go Jo, and the public at large. What you're referencing seems to be a possible defamation claim Logan has against them for changing his words. You can't defame a dead person. That's why there's so man tell-alls after people die. One's reputation is not an asset that's passed along, inheritance-style. Whatever other book cooking they did, that illegal act stands alone. Kendall's just at fault, but in my imagination he skates and Greg takes the fall. A girl can dream.

I have a new wishlist item: Greg goes down for ordering the sound person to alter Logan's words. Like goes to white collar country club prison for a couple months going down. Because altering Logan's pitch from whatever percent it was to double seems hella illegal to me. Like fraud in the inducement of the existing and potential investors and perhaps a whole host of other federal trade regulations and laws. Sure, Greg was following orders, but that does not get him off the hook (and, nope, not going to make a comparison of that with Matsson's tweet). Interesting to me is that, had Roman not delivered his father's message to ax Gerri, she'd likely be supporting him and guiding him right now. Indeed, we started the show with two women scorned: Gerri, because of Roman, and Shiv, because of Tom. I though Shiv vocalizing Tom's betrayal to him was actually a healthy step. While, in my head, I know they are a toxic pair, in my heart I can't help but root for those two crazy kids to work it out ... and go live on a beach or in a home with a yard so that Mondale can be let out of his crate! This episode lacked all the great bits of dialogue I've come to expect. Way to set a high bar and not live up to your own impossibly high standards, show! I blame the lack of Marcia, Lady Caroline, Connor, and I especially blame the fact the Greek chorus -- Karl, Frank, and Gerri -- were not together much. They even teased us with the three of them sitting in a balcony. In a balcony, people!! I was ready for them to go all Waldorf and Statler, at least with each other, and deliver some devastating killer insults, but then Kendall had to go and actually make a good presentation. Dammit, Kendall, ruining my fun!!

Can you access you tube Paramount Plus channel? The channel puts up either the ready room interviews or whole shows on them (I've never watched it, but it comes into my youtube feed as 'suggestions.') Otherwise, I agree that it might be a browser issue. Thank you! I thought I was going crazy with the near universal praise I see outside this forum. There've been two reviewers with whom I've been in near entire agreement, but as to the rest -- I was feeling like one of those minority of people who eats cilantro and tastes soap. I can't understand how so many others are tasting something else. By the way, and mainly the reason I'm responding -- I absolutely love your screen name! I know that has nothing to do with what we're talking about here. One might say it's a moo point.