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Oh, I couldn't agree more w/you. Valentin is much more troublesome for me than Franco. As you said, he murdered Nikolas in cold blood for money, and Lulu and Laura were portrayed as the awful ones for being upset about it! Not to mention - he threatened Spencer, sent Lulu off to be murdered, shot at Laura, set up a bunch of ppl to be murdered, and stole Lulu's last remaining, viable egg and implanted it in someone else! The worst part is no one cares about any of it, and those that do are the "bad guys." Whatever! I just can't w/Valentin! He disgusts me. And his stuttering hunchback back story did nothing for me.

Didn't Todd catch a plane and hint to his mentor (whose name is escaping me right now) that he wasn't lying about the sexual abuse? I remember thinking at the end that he had been sexually abused after all. In any event, Peter Manning was a complete monster. But back to Franco - as a Franco fan, I think one could feel bad that Franco was raped repeatedly as a child by that pervert Jim Harvey AND still think he's an awful man for terrorizing PC, Sam, etc. or think he hasn't fully taken responsibility for his actions. Those two thoughts aren't mutually exclusive. Who knows where this story is leading though? It could be over, or the writers could have more fallout planned. Since this is one of the only stories capturing my interest, I'm hoping to see more fallout for Franco b/c of these revelations, but we shall see.

So, I know many here may not agree, but I really loved the Franco/Jim scenes. I happen to be home from work today and caught the episode. It was really good, IMO. We finally know for sure what happened to Franco as a child. I thought the scenes were really well done. I really believed Franco when he told Jim he was not going to hurt him, but was going to kill him. GE and RoHo did a really good job in those scenes. The FBs were effective. I also thought the scenes w/Elizabeth, Scott, Drew, and Jordan were good. I was not surprised to see Drew at the end. I was happy he showed up. I also happen to love and adore Brad, which may not be popular here either. LOL! I just loved how Nelle stood up for him. Yes, Brad did some bad things in the past, but he has long since moved past those things and shouldn't be defined by them. I thought everything Nelle said to Michael was accurate. Michael is so judgmental and annoying. I love Sonny, but he's done awful things too, and I don't see Michael warning ppl away from him! Michael . . . just shut up when it comes to Brad! I must say I also loved Nelle's attitude re: the family. Too bad, they did this gas lighting crap w/her. She could be a good character if they just stopped this whatever she has going w/Carly. No one wins against CarSon so what's the point? Anyway, great episode for me! I will definitely rewatch it, esp. for the Franco/Jim showdown. ETA: TeeVee, you are correct. Brad did apologize to Michael, and Michael was fine w/Brad. That rant came out of nowhere and was completely unnecessary. As a huge Brad fan, I will be very upset if they only brought him out of the closet (no pun intended) to dirty him up! Oh, and the acting was good in those Franco scenes. Glad you could at least enjoy the good acting since I know you're not too keen on the character :)

I guess. We can just agree to disagree. I still think they could have gotten rid of "Franco" and just brought Roger on as someone different if Franco was so detrimental to the show. But that's JMO. We'll never actually know the true story anyway. She seemed genuine, but who knows? Again . . . a lot of this stuff we're discussing involves pure speculation. We don't know what the actors think about their characters or their stories. Even if they praise a story we enjoy, we'll never actually know if they're being sincere. At the end of the day, what the actors think doesn't matter IMO. The only thing that matters is the viewer's personal enjoyment of the story (or not). I have no idea how long ABC plans to keep airing GH, so I just enjoy the stories I do until they're over and FF the ones I don't.

I hear you, but like I said earlier, we will probably never know the real story. I still find it hard to believe that they would keep a character that is universally hated. What would be the point when the actor could just play someone else?!!? But that's JMO. I agree. Most viewers didn't mind them, and I saw mostly positive comments about them. I loved Frina. In Shelley and Jean's interview, they said they thought Frina was too isolated and wanted both characters to interact w/more characters on the canvas. I preferred their isolation myself and was sad when they broke up. I am enjoying Friz, but I preferred Frina. My favorite RoHo on this show pairing would have been Todd/Carly, but I guess that won't ever happen. I don't think that's true. Michelle was on a YouTube GH after show, and had nothing but positive things to say about Roger and the Frina pairing. She could have been lying, but I never heard her say anything about not liking Frina. I don't know if Roger said anything. He rarely does interviews, but I know he's gone to some conventions. Maybe he said something there . . . I have no idea. In any event, I feel this is also something we will never likely know for sure. Maybe they hated it. Maybe they didn't. Who knows? I enjoyed Frina myself. LOL! And it was my understanding the new writers at the time wanted to break them up. In all honesty, I wouldn't mind them re-visiting Frina, but I think the writers are committed to Friz and Nina/Valentin. Right now, I am enjoying Franco's childhood story. It's one of the more interesting stories airing right now IMO.

GH has a bad habit of doing this. It's really bad storytelling IMO. For instance, why not let Nelle just leave town. Why does she have to be stark raving mad too? It's not even interesting b/c Michael's not even interested in her. The character had potential but the writers squandered it AFAIC. Agreed. We didn't need to hear the specifics of the sexual abuse. And you're right about Franco mentioning it if it is raised again at all. Right? I used to love OG JaSam, but after that summer when Jason slept w/Elizabeth and Sam slept w/Ric, I got off the JaSam train. Oddly enough, my love for the pairing returned when Billy got in the role. I loved JaSam again after a long time and started liking Jason for the first time in . . . ever. LOL! This idea that Drew is controlling and doesn't let her be herself doesn't even make sense. Why does Jason believe that? Because Sam didn't run back to him immediately?!?! That's on Sam, not Drew!

Well, IIRC the new writers at the time broke up Frina b/c they felt Frina was too isolated. That could have been a lie, but that's what I read at that time. I actually think Frina was a pretty popular pairing. Over on the board where I usually post, not many posters had an issue w/Franco or Frina during that time. Now, there's a lot more controversy re: Franco in general, but I didn't read much when he was w/Nina. I enjoyed Frina myself. I do think Cranco was unpopular though I happened to enjoy them. I know I'm definitely in the minority in liking that pairing. I really enjoy RoHo as an actor. IMO, he's just one of those actors who clicks w/everyone. He works w/his enemies, his friends, his romantic partners, kids, etc. So, I have enjoyed all his romantic pairings. I do understand those who dislike him. I still think if Franco were that unpopular, he'd be gone by now - RoHo or no RoHo. But that's JMO. I guess we'll never really know.

Yes, that is the story, Blanche. When RoHo came on as Franco, RC had him say that it was never his intent to have Michael raped while in prison; he had hired someone to protect Michael. Silly, I know, but that's the official story . . . . for now.

I'm happy to hear I'm not the only Franco fan in these parts. LOL! Yeah, I know many hate Franco, but I've never disliked the character. I even liked him when James Franco was in the role. Admittedly, I wasn't watching full time during JF's time on the show, but I did see Franco's worst acts (i.e., kidnapping Sam and Lulu (or was it Maxie) and putting them in rooms w/bombs or something, the Sam shower incident, and the whole Michael thing). I just didn't take JF's Franco too seriously, so when they brought back the character, it didn't bother me. The tumor excuse was enough for me. I love RoHo. I wish he were still Todd Manning but what are you going to do? I'm fine w/him being Franco. I think he's done a good job w/the character, and I'm enjoying this storyline. I honestly don't think this is a redemption story b/c you're correct. As a Franco fan, I was fine when they told me he had a tumor, and as you point out, those who hate Franco will always hate him. I think this is just a story they're telling. They're just fleshing out the character (Franco) and developing Drew's background. It provides some explanation for Franco's Jason obsession when he was first introduced and why he may have committed some of the acts he did, but that's it. I've never viewed this story as a way to get ppl to like Franco. He's been on the show for five years now. People either like them or they don't. I could be wrong and have no actual data to support my theory, but I honestly think the larger audience - those who don't frequent message boards - likes ALL the characters on the show. It's hard for me to accept that Franco would be so largely hated by all the viewers and still be on the show. I understand FV may like Roger, but it makes no sense to keep him in a role that the wider, larger audience adamantly hates. RoHo could always be a new character like ME. I'm more inclined to believe that the general audience accepts Franco and most of the characters on this show. Gotta agree w/this as well. I didn't find Franco's words to be a "redemption fail." One, he is a character on a soap opera, so this idea that he will never do anything bad again is kind of crazy to me. He can be "redeemed" (for some) and still lock a guy in a cage or threaten someone. He's a soap character. He's bound to do something bad again. For him, the main thing is he's not running around murdering ppl at random. And two, as you said, Franco is slowly realizing that he was sexually abused by Jim, so he is naturally very upset.

I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I feel bad for Franco. I really enjoyed his scenes with Kevin though I wish he had been on a couch. It's clear he's been sexually abused. I can understand why this has been difficult for him to face. I'm hoping Drew finds him today, and Betsy finally spills the beans! And speaking of Drew, I really love how he has handled this situation with Sam. I loved everything he said yesterday to Elizabeth about it.

Yeah . . . I gotta agree w/you both! That scene did Liz no favors, and I'm not even a Liz fan. If Liz is upset w/Franco for dragging his feet on therapy or if she thinks they may not be able to get back together b/c of his childhood trauma or whatever, she should have been unloading all her frustration in a scene w/Kim or even Epiphany or Felix. That scene w/Jason made no sense. They aren't good friends like that.

I hear you! The scene was just downright strange. They were talking about Faison, and suddenly Elizabeth brings up Franco moving out. Why? Jason didn't ask her about Franco? What was the point? And then she just seemed to go on a tear about loving Franco, him loving her and her boys, him being a good guy, her needing to step away . . . I was like, "What is this?" She and Jason aren't besties. I'm not even sure why she brought up Franco. As a Franco and Friz fan, I couldn't agree more with the bolded. Jason wasn't bothering her about Franco at that moment, so she didn't need to bring him up! If Jason had started talking about Franco, then the scene would have made some sense but as it aired, it just made Elizabeth seem crazy! I guess. If she had just given him the picture and invited him to come hang out w/Jake and the boys or whatever, that would have been fine, but I just found it strange how angry she got that Franco hadn't really moved on addressing his issues. Is she really surprised? It's clearly not something he wants to address. Elizabeth left Franco b/c she felt he couldn't be w/her and have all these outstanding issues, which cause him to not be completely honest w/her about every single thing that ever happened to him in his life. I have my own issues w/that, but whatever . . . that was her reason for leaving him. She wanted him to deal w/his issues. Okay. That was her decision. She can't get upset w/him for dragging his feet. He'll deal w/his issues when he deals w/them. I don't know. She's just real pushy to me, and I find it very annoying!! She was worse w/Jason though. That entire scene made no sense at all.

Elizabeth annoyed me so much yesterday. First, why was she bothering Franco? She left him so he could deal with his secrets. Well, let him do that then. She can't get upset that he's moving on his own timetable. Didn't she listen to him? It sounded like he was sexually abused so I can't fault him for not running out to recover those memories! If she wants to be with him and support him on this journey, then do that! She didn't have to break up with him. She's acting like she had no choice. And that brings me to her weird conversation with Jason. What was that? I love Franco and hate Jason, but why did she even bring Franco up to Jason?!? Jason didn't ask about Franco. Jason doesn't care about Franco. Jason doesn't care about her relationship with Franco. Nor should he care about any of those things. And then she accused him of wanting her to do what Sam did?!? Huh?!? Where did she get that? Elizabeth sounded delusional yesterday! I loved when Jason just said, "I wasn't going to tell you anything," and then slowly backed away! LOL! I'm glad he didn't stick around and listen to more of her complete and utter nonsense!

You are correct. He didn't actually rape anyone. According to the show, he paid Carter to protect Michael. I honestly don't remember the details of the story at the time, but that's the way the story is being told now. It could be a retcon. The Jason/Sam thing was a complete mind game. We never see Franco raping Sam. We saw him take her from the shower to the bed and then cutting off the camera. That's all. It wasn't clear what happened during the original scenes, and when RoHo came on, they stated it was a mind game. I know some don't like that, but that's the story.

I wonder why Troy just went along w/all of Nick's craziness. It felt like an after-school special about drugs and peer pressure. LOL! I don't mean that in a bad way . . . . the whole thing was interesting to see play out. Those two have a weird dynamic anyway.

So true. In S2, I expected to see him in a much worse state than he was. Heck, even towards the end of in S1, I kept waiting to see him looking for drugs, but that part was completely dropped. It seemed like he kicked the habit on his own. He has been in such a good place that I forgot about his drug addiction until last night. LOL! When he started eyeing the pills, my sister and I were like, "Don't do it, Nick." I don't mind that he relapsed, and I agree it's realistic for him to do so. I'm just wondering why now. I guess it's just a culmination of recent events for him. But he's been around drugs before and didn't give into temptation.

Why do you guys think Nick relapsed? I think he's been teetering on the edge ever since he killed that old guy. Forgot his name. Then with Jake dying, Alicia leaving, and Madison now counting on him, he seemed to just fall off. What do y'all think? I see most here don't like Nick, but I'm interested in your thoughts!