KerleyQ

For me, it's just how fast that seems to have happened. It seems like this all happened in less than 24 hours. Also, the whole "it's self-loathing to be in the closet" narrative is pretty offensive, too. So the idea that they'd already be in financial distress within a day, over a model being in the closet is kind of absurd and offensive. Especially since it's not like Blaze has been out there giving interviews about all the men she dates or anything like that. She's just kept her personal life quiet. It's like her label and Deception saw some internet trolls spouting crap and panicked. Of course, like you said, I'm expecting too much of GH if I expect them to get this right.

I have to say, I was going to disagree with the first paragraph I quoted, because you can publicize something not to legitimize it, but to expose it. I've always been a firm believer in shining a light on who people are, so they can't get away with pretending anything else, and you know who you're dealing with. But, then your next paragraph is also right. Having the awful things people say be publicized can make other awful people feel validated, and like it's now OK for them to be awful. At the same time, though, those people are showing who they are when they embrace what they see as an opportunity to be awful. So, I think that while I do agree that publicizing someone's awful opinion can make it OK for others to express it, I still disagree that it is therefore wrong to publicize it. Better to know who you're dealing with, whether it's a reality star, a politician, an actor, a musician, your uncle, or your next door neighbor. It's hurtful to hear it, but at the same time, I think we all need to know who we're dealing with. One of the things the show is getting wrong here is that, now that this is out there, everyone's priority should be comforting Blaze and Kristina. Because that is what you do when someone's hatred goes public and hurts people. But, other than a few instances, it's been all about finding who to point the finger at for it getting out and then people covering their business interests without even giving Blaze two seconds to process this and come out with her own statement about it all. Even Maxie and the rest of the Deception crew, while feeling bad for Blaze, are focused on immediately wanting to sideline her for the brand instead of talking to her to see what she wanted to do. Does she want to make a public statement now, explaining her journey and how she now understands that the pressure her mother put on her was not out of love and concern, but hate? Because if she wants to do something like that, the brand should support her, help her arrange the interview and then put out a statement supporting her as she comes to terms with her mother's behavior.

And what was Li's deal? She looked annoyed at Tom's existence when he came out to sing, and then just sat there with some resting bitch face while he was dying instead of jumping up to help like you'd expect from a doctor. Had she even encountered Tom before that? Are we going to find out that Li and Poppy reconciled offscreen, and they were working together to scam Bill? And maybe Justin is in on it with them, for whatever reason, and that's why he's there and why we kept getting the camera going back and forth between the two of them the other day. Or does Li know he's the guy who helped Deacon and Finn find and save Sheila, so she thinks he should die for that? I'm kind of starting to swing back to Li thinking (or knowing) that either Jack or Finn is Luna's father and fucking with the paternity test. Maybe she overheard Tom talking to Poppy and realized that he knows Bill isn't Luna's father and that's her issue with him? Jack being back kind of lends itself to that theory, too. If he's Luna's father, now that he's back on screen, we can move forward with Luna being sick (where it seemed like they might go after she was getting sick but wasn't pregnant), and have him be a match to donate (bone marrow, a kidney, part of his liver).

He didn't listen to the whole recording if he thought her attack wasn't about Kristina. She specifically mocks her being a surrogate during that recording. And she mentions the horror (in her eyes) of Blaze and Kristina being seen out and about in public as a couple. Yes, there was some non-specific homophobia in there, too, but there absolutely was some crap aimed directly at Kristina and Blaze.

So, are we headed towards some story where only Natalia can soothe unmedicated Sonny? He's complete shit to everyone else, but the woman who is so fucking hateful towards his daughter, specifically, and a homophobe in general is going to be the only one he can feel at peace with, or some such shit? Because he lost his shit at Dante for bringing up a perfectly reasonable point, but defended Natalia and sat down and had a heart to heart conversation with Natalia after he heard her say that shit about Kristina? I am so not here for that storyline. Kristina was great today. I loved when she turned Natalia's "it's a choice" bullshit around on her by pointing out that he being a bigot was a choice. I am not buying one single drop of Natalia's crocodile tears in response. She alternated between trying to be the victim and, when it was clear Kristina isn't interested in her victim routine, being aggressively hateful towards her. In addition to her reciting from the homophobia handbook (and not disavowing any part of "how I was raised"), she's also still being weird about Kristina being a surrogate. And telling Kristina she doesn't like her, that all of her insults towards gay people were specifically about her, and the only reason she heard her out was out of respect for Sonny... Can we get Sonny a tape of all that and see if he still sides with her? That conversation didn't have shit to do with Ava. Can't blame her for this one. Of course, the way this story is going, Sonny would just get horny over her saying she endured her conversation with his daughter out of respect for him. As much as Kristina got on Ava's case, I hope she doubles that for Natalia and doesn't let her father get away with excusing her behavior and spending time with her. No more little happy family double date dinners. Are they intentionally styling Gio to look like a knock-off Spencer? And I definitely don't remember Spencer having some deep appreciation for and understanding of art. It was more of a "this is important to my girlfriend, and I want to support her, so, art!" kind of thing. Didn't Lois use to run a record label back in the day? I know they've got her being one of the Faces of Deception and all, but wouldn't Lois and BLQ reviving the old label be a better use of her air time? And wouldn't that leave an opening to loop Gio into the music scene? I mean, if you're going to sign a violin prodigy...

I love how Thomas's flashbacks start with him saying to Hope "I know you said you're not ready, but I think we're ready." Does he not get how condescending and disrespectful that is? And this stunt of his, proposing to her while his fiancée is right outside, should be enough for her to realize what a dick he is, and be fully done with him. Whether he was sincere or just trying to prove his bullshit "point," it was a dick move. Ideally, Paris should have overheard that, and they both could have told him to go fuck himself. Hope, I love you, but "I need to say something"? You've already said something. Good old B&B when, if a conversation is worth having one time, you have to have it five times. And again, another episode ends without Hope talking about spending some time with Douglas. I laughed so hard when they talked about Carter performing the ceremony. Yes, by all means, have the wedding officiated by the groom from the bride's last wedding, who ditched her at the altar for the then wife of the owner of the house the bride's current wedding will be taking place in. Also laughed at the mention of Ridge wearing Speedos. It's not one of the differences between RM and TK I typically think about, but in a million years, I could never imagine TK's Ridge in a Speedo.

There was a paternity test. That's how Liam found out about it. Steffy was carrying the results around in her purse and asked Liam to grab something out of her purse for her. I used to really want Kelly's paternity retconned, but now I just feel like Steffy doesn't deserve Bill being her baby daddy. And I want zero chance of them ever being a thing again. Let her have her waffle.

Isn't it also the very same spot where he almost married Paris's sister, in a plot to try to get Hope back? I swear my brain is melted this week.

Come on, Hope, this isn't even your first time with your love interest slapping an engagement ring on someone else's finger when things went wrong between the two of you. A "one woman man" doesn't do that. Sure, maybe Thomas might not end up waffling back and forth between you and Paris, specifically, but he's proven to you that, when things aren't going his way, that "one woman man" thing is out the window. Also, here are your two options at this point: 1) Thomas really loves and wants to marry Paris. 2) Thomas is doing this to get back at you for not marrying him and/or to manipulate you into offering to marry him when you're not ready for that. In either of those cases, do you want to be with that guy? And, again, focus on your son, for fuck's sake, and stop embarrassing yourself over the psycho. Speaking of kids, where are they? The Fourth is typically a family kind of day. Kids love fireworks and barbecues. Most of Douglas's family has only seen him for a few minutes since he's been back, but he doesn't get an invite to the family barbecue? And if he's not there, where the hell is he? Thomas and Hope are both there. And Steffy and Finn are coming later because they're spending some time with their kids first? Why wouldn't the whole family just come to Eric's house? God knows Steffy is going to be so disappointed she missed the toast to Thomas and Paris and the decision to have their wedding there. That was some prime shit to rub in Hope's face, and she missed it. Maybe she needed some extra time before the party to go over with Finn who he is and isn't allowed to speak to when they get there? "Don't even look at Hope. You can talk to Brooke only if she is talking about how wrong it is for Hope to give Sheila a chance. And you'd better be nice to my brother, even though you don't like him, because he's family!" I like that Ridge still seems to be giving the whole engagement a little bit of side eye. How has Ridge become likeable? I'm so confused by this show. If Poppy is the one who killed Tom, then, Katie: But, I kind of want the killer to turn out to be Luna (in which case, Katie could still be in danger).

He also played Silas, who was, if I remember correctly, Kiki, Willow, and Nelle's father.

I would love if the climax of whatever they're doing with Ava included her telling Nina that, of course she cozied up to her so she'd be able to fuck her world up. "You tore my baby out of my womb. Did you think that was something I was ever going to just let go?" This. I can buy that he's most pissed at Ava, because that's how Sonny works. His personal grievances are going to take precedence in his mind. But, I can't buy that he's just totally fine with this woman he barely knows having said such horrible shit about his daughter. He can multitask his anger. I'd think that, if anything, the fact that he just recently jeopardized his relationship with Kristina would make him even more protective of her. It's like the writers came up with this whole Ava releasing the recording story to fuck with Ava, but then decided to minimize Natalia's part in it, because they don't want to slow down the Sonny/Natalia train to Bang Town. Sonny is not someone who generally reacts with empathy and compassion when someone hurts someone he loves. He's not really a "we've all been there, right?" kind of guy. And he's certainly never been afraid to dabble in a bit of hypocrisy. This is Sonny who isn't being properly medicated and has been flying off the handle at everyone and everything over the past few months. But when someone so publicly attacks his daughter like this, he's just sitting there calmly chatting and supporting her? Defending her when his daughter's mother simply tells her she needs to open her mind (which is not even 1/10th as harsh as I would have been in Alexis's shoes)? Yes, of course he's going to blame Ava for the recording and it being released, because Ava is currently on his shit list. But, he can multitask his anger. He can be mad at both women, especially, again, when he's not being properly medicated and flying off the handle at everyone. He can absolutely work up enough anger for both. He wants to fuck Natalia, so he's choosing to empathize with her despite what she's done to hurt his daughter.

I don't put a ton of stock in the spoilers from here, because they're usually, at best, wild speculation based off of like a three word teaser that gets out. And they're usually Thope shipper wish fulfillment, so take this one with a thousand grains of salt. But if Paris actually did cheat on Thomas with Carter, I would laugh for days. Imagine claiming to be so devoted to and in love with someone who you can't wait to marry and start a family with, and then ruin it to fuck the guy who dumped you at the altar. The Bold and the Beautiful Spoilers: Paris Cheats with Carter – Sends Heartbroken Thomas Running Back to Hope?

Good Lord, yes. At first, I was telling myself that her desperate reaction was her thinking that getting Thomas back would kill her crush on Finn. Because she'd just had her mother spend days hammering away at how she needed to find a way to get over it. But we haven't seen even one second of her flashing back to her Finn crush, so, I have no idea why they're making her so desperate and pathetic for the guy who kept her from her baby. This is just sad. And I will keep harping on this until they do something about it - how is she not talking about having Douglas come stay with her for a while since he was gone for months out of the country with Psycho? So that did actually happen? I had a fever yesterday and was positive I must have hallucinated that shit.

What the fuck, show? Ava is the homophobe and not the woman who spewed all that vile hatred for the LGBTQ+ community and her own daughter? What the fuck? And the only person who had any smoke (and just a little bit at that) was Alexis, and Sonny immediately shut her down? And Sonny acting like the vile shit she said on that recording is the same as a parent who loves their kind just struggling to overcome their conservative upbringing? That recording wasn't a mother just struggling to accept. It was a mother almost gleefully tearing her daughter to shreds for being gay, mocking her relationship, and mocking the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. This is all so, so bad and offensive. If Natalia ends up landing Sonny (not that I think he's a prize, but she clearly does), and Blaze and Kristina easily forgive her and blame it all on Ava, with Natalia becoming a beloved citizen of Port Charles while everyone shames Ava every time she sets foot in public, this will move beyond offensive.

Like he'd ever dare stand up to his sister to that extent. Plus, I think he kind of loves other people reminding Hope how she rejected poor little him, and this is all her fault. Paris, you were friends to the level that this constituted a backstabbing? OK, let's play that game. What kind of friend gets together with and engaged to Thomas without calling Hope to at least hear her side of the story and find out how really "done" the two of them are? And yet another episode where we get no mention of Hope getting to spend some time with the son she's been missing for months. And BIll, WTF? Why have I been subjected to fucking weeks of "we're such a happy family!!!" only for you to just want "my Katie"? The fuck, man? And I laughed at his "do you ever take a break?" to her. Of course she does. She needs to fit in time to barge into your house to piss all over you and the furniture. He barely remembers Katie's name whenever Brooke shows any interest.

I had the same reaction. It took me out of those scenes.

I think it was more about keeping Violet than anything else. Frank has a habit of getting attached to child actors and wanting to keep using them. And putting her with the Q's as a whole gives her a lot more opportunity for storyline than putting her at Liz's house (we barely see her two kids who live with her). I think that, if this was only about Chase/BLQ, Violet would have called Uncle Chase when she found Finn out cold on the floor. Instead, she called Tracy. I predict that, as time goes on, we're going to see a lot of her interacting with Tracy. The story gave Chase and BLQ some story right in the heat of it, when they were getting temporary custody, but I don't see it being some big story going forward. Now that they've got her, we'll see them with her just as much as we see any other GH parents with their kids. I'd predict we're going to see her spend at least as much screen time opposite Tracy as Chase/BLQ, possibly more with Tracy.

I think that Ava asking for the recording to pulled from the site was supposed to be her realizing "oh, shit, did I just out someone? Was she not out?" I can see that being confusing for her, since, as discussed, Kristina and Blaze are pretty openly a couple around town, so she may not have realized when she initially did this that she was outing anyone. I think that her mother worked overtime to convince her that it would be a detriment to her career, and she didn't fully realize that it was largely just her mother manipulating her into staying in the closet by telling her it would ruin her career. One of the potential pitfalls of having a "momager" is that the kid, even after they become an adult, can become so used to relying on their parent and trusting them that they don't realize when they've manipulated them or lied to them. Lois was clearly being too gracious to Natalia when she said they should all let her go so she could go after her daughter. Because instead of going to find Blaze (and Kristina) to apologize, she went running to Sonny to tattle on Ava. And, I swear if this show has Ava lose a custody battle to the known mob boss, including not even getting any visitation, over her recording a homophobe and making her comments public... Even if Alexis can successfully argue in court that Natalia isn't a public figure (although the momager of a popular singer seems a bit of a stretch to not be any level of public figure these days), the paper would be the ones who were in the wrong by publishing the audio. Ava wasn't committing a crime when she recorded it. And certainly not the level of wrongdoing that would make her an unfit parent.

Yep, Finn could have called Deacon. I think he was hoping he'd run into Sheila and he'd have an excuse "well, I had to go talk to Deacon about Tom. I can't help that she was there." I'll give the show credit, I am genuinely confused as to where they're going with this whole story. I still can't figure out if Tom was legitimately her bio father, or if he was just going to play the role. I can't figure out if Li fucked with the test, or it was just wrong. I still think we're going to find out that something is going on with Li and Justin, but that's about all I've got. But, if Justin was going to randomly show up and drug someone, I'd prefer it be the psycho who ran his niece off the road.

I agree that outing someone is wrong, absolutely. But I feel like this kind of falls into a gray area there, to the point where, when I usually catch an "outing" and find it to be wrong, I wasn't even keying in on that in this. I know that Blaze, early in their relationship, was trying to keep things hidden, but for a while now, she's not been hiding things. She went to a society wedding as Kristina's date. Kristina comes to her recording sessions as the supportive girlfriend. I think she's not "officially" out, but I think she's also just living her life and not caring who notices these days. She hasn't given any interviews acknowledging that she's gay, or anything, because her mother keeps pressuring her to not do that "for your career," but she also seems like she wants it known. (I could be reading that wrong, and, if I am, then I apologize.) In this case, I was kind of expecting that Blaze's reaction would be to be pissed at her mother (which looks like what's going on in the preview for today's show) but relieved that it's out there now, and her mother can't keep pushing her to hide her relationship with Kristina. I think she's been past sick of her mother's pressure to keep quiet "for your career," and now she's going to know that her mother's concerns were never really about her career as much as it was just that her mother is a big old homophobe. Of course, this all would have been cleaner if Ava had just sent that recording to Kristina and Blaze. But Ava has always been the kind to go with a bulldozer when a gentle nudge would suffice.

Am I supposed to feel like Ava is "OMG! So evul!!!" for exposing Natalia's homophobia, her desire to force her daughter into the closet, and her hatred towards Kristina? Because I loved every freaking minute of that. And, Lord, but Natalia is such a joyless, humorless character. Getting her undies in a wad over fans mistakenly assuming Lois was Blaze's mother? Lighten up, already. Lois isn't trying to take over your daughter. She and Blaze just think it's a silly innocent little mistake. Because they're normal people without sticks up their asses.

I got an odd idea watching the camera angle, during one segment, just basically keep switching back and forth between Justin and Li - what if those two have a thing going? After today, I don't think Tom is Luna's biological father. I think that Poppy did not want the true father to come out, so Tom was going to play the role for her, and the blackmail he has on her is that she confided the whole story in him back then. They could not have been any more obvious with the whole "let's add two characters we never show and don't give a fuck about to these scenes so we can have someone to take the fall if we decide we don't want to pin this on one of our regulars." Hope, please, I beg of you, just leave the room every single time that bitch starts in. "I don't really give a shit what you have to say, and I'll file a hostile work environment complaint if you keep harassing my about my personal life while I'm at work," and then walk out. Every damn time. Hope should have lost all sense of attraction to that psycho when he spent WAY too long just standing there while his jealous lover...err...sister spoke for him, before he finally meekly asked her to stop. What a cowardly worm. And yet another episode ends with Hope not getting to spend some quality time with her son. Fuck that noise. Doesn't Hope still actually have primary custody? Or did she go ahead and revise that when she was banging the psycho?

Personally, I don't think there's anything about how JJ has conducted himself over his career to suggest he would put the kibosh on Aidan being gay. He was super close to AG, who was openly gay. And he's played a character who had a close gay friend in another role. Not every religious person has an issue with gay people.

I'd imagine Luna is a bit wary of breath mints now, all things considered.

I'd be tuned in with a big tub of popcorn the day Liam found out about that if it happened, @nilyank