bantering

Er, has Abigail seen Austin yet? I mean, I know they have new faces again, but are we also supposed to forget that Abigail tried to make a play for Austin? Awkward.

Yeah, I think this Abigail might genuinely be cuckoo-for-cocoa puffs. Which I suppose makes me feel a bit sorry for her. The other one (KM's version) always gave me the vibe of being a bad person on some level, I feel. Or striving to be one. It appeared as though she actively enjoyed breaking morals (the active enjoyment made me think she was somewhat bad, not necessarily the breaking of the morals which everyone on this show has done at some point.) This one however seems ill, not necessarily bad. I don't think Gabi was a side chick though. I mean, it's not like she had any idea that Abigail was alive. In the future, she might make a play for Chad, but Chad will most likely separate from Abigail in some fashion since it doesn't appear he really wants anything to do with his wife. It's dawned on him that Abigail probably wasn't worth marrying in the first place. Though I do believe Abigail sleeping with EJ should have been the straw that broke the camel's back. But, yeah, I know we're supposed to forget that. I guess I kind of can since this one doesn't look in heat all the time like KM's version did.

The new actress playing Abigail is fairly multi-faceted. She seems to flit between different aspects of Abigail's personality pretty easily, and it seems she's incorporated every different version of Abigail that's been played into one person (I can see shades of the kid version of Abigail and Ashley Benson's AND Kate Mansi's version as well as whatever the current incarnation is supposed to be). I thought Abigail was psycho cray-cray like KM's version when she talked about watching Gabi and Chad the whole time, and not understanding at all what effect that could have on Gabi. But at the same time I can see how this version of Abigail could be genuinely fragile like her grandmother was. I can see Jennifer in her too. I find that ability to shift gears quite impressive. She is walking a hard line trying to juggle all the multiple versions of Abigail. And she seems to be doing it in a skilled and effortless way. But OMG, the writing is so bad. How can Abigail say that it was hard to see Chad moving on with her best friend when she slept with two brothers? WTF. Maybe we're supposed to forget EJ and Abigail's relationship ever existed. When Abigail started to move in on Chad with the kiss, I could see a seductive side to the new actress which I wasn't expecting (maybe because the make-up artists don't seem to want to put much make-up on her? KM's version wore so much make-up I wondered if the entire make-up budget was reserved only for her while everybody else had to make do with the make-up in their bathroom cabinets). I think Chad has chemistry with BOTH Abigail and Gabi. Therefore, I think this could be a bona-fide triangle IF the writing weren't so stinky. The writing is let all of the actors down.

I think Chad made as many moves on Gabi as she did on him. Maybe Abigail didn't see that part though. And, well, I'd have a hard time resisting Chad if he made moves on me. I haven't seen all of Chad's scenes with Gabi, but I could have sworn he was following her around with flowers. In this particular storyline, I do think Gabi is fairly innocent (well, if you don't count the emotional cheating on JJ.) I even think Gabi, despite what she said today, might be willing to step aside for Chad and Abigail to be together. Of course, I also picture Abigail opening her big mouth, saying something insulting, and provoking Gabi into a war for Chad's affections.

Under any other circumstances I would agree, but after Abigail had an affair with EJ and rubbed it in Sami's face and cheated on Ben, I feel she has no room to talk. Maybe the writers are hoping we'll forget all of that stuff, but at times it's hard for me to pretend I have a bad memory.

Maybe this has already happened, I'm not sure, but why would Dario be deported? Weren't Rafe, Gabi and Dario born in the USA? That's the impression I've always had.

Well, clearly Chad has chemistry with everyone...including sociopaths. Dump her!!! Why don't they stick any make-up on this Abigail? They stuck so much on the other one. Or is only Kate Mansi allowed to look glamorous? Gabi was way nicer about everything than I was expecting. Heck she was way nicer than I would have been. I probably would have just made out with Chad in front of Abigail to stick it to her. What is up with the self-righteousness from both Abigail (even if I can't imagine this version having an affair with EJ) and JJ? What is Abigail supposed to be now? This one looks like a heroine, but Abigail is such a butthead.

The new Abigail isn't terrible, but what a stupid storyline for her to be in. She's got a tough job trying to make Abigail likable. I mean, I kind of believe this version of Abigail that she wasn't being deliberately manipulative in faking her death based on the acting, but then I remember the previous version and I'm not sure.

This version of Abigail doesn't seem anywhere near as manipulative as Kate Mansi's version of Abigail, but this storyline is pretty stupid and defies logic. Adrienne seems like she's stuck in some weird Sami storyline where she's stuck between two men, but Adrienne seems too old to not know what she wants.

Did Jennifer know all this time that Abigail wasn't really dead? If so, what is wrong with these people?

The new Abigail seems so much "nicer" (?) than the last one. It's a big jarring. So jarring that it kind of makes me forget she slept with EJ and cheated on Ben -- I can't imagine this one doing those things. She's so different I keep wondering if she's really Abigail -- sure, she faked her death which seems like a fake-y manipulative Abigail thing to do, and of course, it figures she'd want Chad now that he's getting over her, but this one doesn't come across as fake-y. I think Chad and Gabi have chemistry, but I think Chad has chemistry with every female he interacts with.

I didn't get the lingering Laurel and Michaela kiss, if I'm honest. I don't really think that's something straight girls go out of their way to do, no matter how happy they are in the moment. Maybe that's what straight male writers think girls do, but I've never seen this happen in real life.

I guess that could explain the smirk on Nate's face. I thought he looked somewhat odd when staring at Wes's burned face.

I agree.

OMG, he's right. What a depressing episode. Just because I complained about Wes doesn't mean I actually wanted him to die. WTF. I feel like I killed him off accidentally with my complaining. I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it! I keep hoping there's some kind of fake-out going on. Nate seemed to have an odd smirk at times.

No worries. I'm just curious as to why she's leaving. Did the producers fire her or is the actress leaving by choice?

Wait, what Theresa is leaving? I see chemistry between Chad and Gabi. I saw chemistry with JJ and Theresa too. Too bad she's leaving. If Chad leaves, then I most likely won't bother to check in with the show periodically anymore.

I don't think Michaela is a snob either. I think she's simply more neurotic than the other Keating 5. Which I kind of like. Because I feel you should be neurotic in this kind of bizarre life situation.

I think it's the accumulation of lies that I think would be hard to deal with. He has to keep lying to protect himself, and I feel like that could take a toll, even when it's justified. Having to perjure oneself when you're a law student seems like it would be anxiety-inducing, based on everything you've been taught about how the law works. Even though his dad was a dirtbag, he did seem to have an interest in meeting him. I don't think he has affection for his dad necessarily, but the fact that he wanted to meet with him does make me think his feelings for his dad aren't black and white either.

Although I've complained about Wes, I don't want him to be dead. He has become familiar to me and it would be weird not to have him around. I'm also not sure how Analise would be able to take his death since she sees him as a son in a way.

I'm guessing she did. I'm just wondering why Wes doesn't feel more conflicted over lying in general. Maybe the actor is trying to register conflict on his face, but something feels kind of missing from his storyline arc. If I had to do as much lying as Wes has had to do, I'd be in a mental institution right now. I think it's just generally having to cross all these moral lines that I feel would be uncomfortable for a normal person. Even Analise takes to drinking, so you can tell stuff bugs her. With Wes, I'm not so sure. Frank on paper is a truly awful person, but I have to say the actor is pretty good. He's expressing the guilt that I wouldn't expect a sociopath to. He's very skilled at generating sympathy despite being a sociopathic murderer. Ditto for Bonnie. I find the actor who plays Thomas to be kind of annoying to look at, so I don't think Connor's revenge sex was worth it just on a superficial level.

I don't get why Wes doesn't feel guilty.

The male investor was particularly bad, but I wasn't sure if he was supposed to be bad on purpose since the level of bad was THAT bad. I didn't mind Gabi kissing Chad, since, well, it's Chad. And she's not Abigail.

Haven't watched in a while. Julie seems really annoying. But not sure if I was watching out of context or something.

The one thing I like about Analise is that I don't think she expects anybody to feel sorry for her. She seems to have self-awareness about her own moral shortcomings. During their rant against Analise, I think I felt everybody should have turned on Wes and started screaming at him. Maybe that would have also made me feel bad for him. For this past season, I haven't felt really felt that bad for him, not even when his father was shot in front of him. The nookie he's getting from Laurel isn't helping matters.