Episode Discussion II: The TFGH

[sunnyface]

On 7/31/2023 at 5:34 PM, DanaK said:

I’m really liking the new actress playing Kristina; the character is a mess though. I also like the new actress playing Molly, though not as much as the one playing Kristina

Yesterday's scenes with Kristina and Michael were the most 'alive' and engaged that CD has seemed in quite some time and props go towards nuKristina for that positive.  I can't stand the actress playing nunuMolly (it's not that she is a bad actress - she's a bit uptight joss-style).  Of course, it's the first time in seemingly the last decade that Molly stars in her own plot. #sigh.

These new writers are a vast improvement - especially in moving plots forward.  They seem to be slowly ratcheting back the 'Carly is awesome' choir. 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by sunnyface
grammar

[ffwbe]

Along with Kristina’s character change, they’re kinda turning TJ into a smug, judgmental, asshole. Where’s his sudden beef with Kristina coming from? I can’t recall him even speaking about her for the past 11 years. 

[jacourt]

Oh crap. Carly is going to get her nose into the sonny Ava story. Can’t we have something that is not involving her?  

[DanaK]

3 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

So, the scuttlebutt I'm seeing in various places on the internet is that the replacement writers are doing a better job than the official crew, but it sounds here as though the insufferable characters are no easier to suffer. 

Well...I think it's a mixed opinion here. Characters who are insufferable are still insufferable, at least some of them, but some dialogue seems to have improved and some plots are moving along

[rur]

6 hours ago, IWantCandy71 said:

 

They wouldn't have Cyrus need a heart transplant, just to kill off Gregory to give it to Cyrus, would they ?

 

If he needs one, I suggest they get it from Michael. He has one that hasn't seen much use. 😉

Edited August 1, 2023 by rur

[YaddaYadda]

Molly and TJ can go back in their closet. This storyline is such a snore. It takes real talent to make characters and storylines uninteresting.

They finally gave Trish a full speaking scene. The actress seems like a good crier, but nothing else going on.

I'm expecting that Drew will be out of Pentonville next week since he saved Cyrus's life. I'm assuming that the guard who took him to solitary will be get reamed for following prison rules and not worshiping at the altar of a Drewfus.

And here's Carly, bulldozing her way into yet another storyline that has nothing to do with her.

Doesn't matter who is writing. It's the person giving these marching orders who needs to go.

[StaceyNotStacie]

1 hour ago, ffwbe said:

Was Kristina always lacking a filter or did this start with the recast? She’s becoming as annoying as nurse Amy. 

I think it has to do with the new actress being on more since she started than the other Kristina was on in the past year. It just seems like she’s always on between being a Corinthos and a Davis. She was just obnoxious trying to involve herself with Sonny and Anna, and I don’t know what to think about the bathroom scene with the blonde lady (I was half expecting her to be a villain working with the Pikeman group). 
 

It also doesn’t help that it’s a newer, somewhat well known actress. It seems like they’re showing off their shiny new toy and shoving her into every storyline they can get her into. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by StaceyNotStacie

[Desperado]

3 hours ago, ffwbe said:

I get the impression that the male characters’ wardrobes, especially their suits and business attire, don’t get replenished that often so going up or down a size would affect them a bit more than the female characters who seem to get newer clothes pretty frequently. If you rewatch episodes from a few years ago, it looks like like a lot of them are pretty much wearing the same stuff you see them in today. 

I agree. JK lost a lot of weight recently and his “seeing the light” suit hung sadly on his frame.

I also wish they would do away with Ava’s Dynasty circa 1980 wardrobe.

If an actor looks great in their on-screen clothes, I usually assume they own them (ex. Jane Elliott).

[mostlylurking]

21 hours ago, Sake614 said:

If Michael is the smartest person Kristina knows, she’s got bigger problems than she realizes….

Michael’s not even the smartest person she saw that day, never mind her entire life.

17 hours ago, jsbt said:

They have made Anna too soft and prone to lots of weeping in general since she came back on contract in 2012,

She’s been especially extra as of late….it’s better than having no emotions at all  but she’s been so angsty lately I’m just like good god woman pull yourself together!

17 hours ago, ffwbe said:

got second hand embarrassment at the Drew prison fight scene. They really should have cut that. CM can’t pull off tough guy at all

If he was still playing Drew the same as when he first came on the show he could have pulled it off.  Drew Caine, life coach?  Nope.  The beard probably helped.

16 hours ago, IWantCandy71 said:

There's just a lot of nothing happening all around, but I enjoyed Tracy/Gregory.

I like both these actors and their characters, but not when Gregory is being so over the top mean to Tracy.  I known she’s done a lot of shady shit but I don’t like the way everyone’s been so awful to her this go round.

4 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

It is puzzling that they have trouble dressing Michael. Chad Duell doesn't look to me as if he would be at all challenging to dress in a flattering way,

If wardrobe is having trouble dressing a very average to fit sized man, there is no hope at all for the women of this show.

Sad to say but I do think the writing is improved with the replacement writers.  Sucks for the regular writers, but I do think they may have gotten complacent, which is weird because soaps are a dying genre and you would think they would want to do their best to keep them going.

This was a few days ago but what was with Sam hiking up her pants?  When Dante walked in I thought she was giving herself a pedicure which would have made sense but then she did it again and it was weird.

Edited August 1, 2023 by mostlylurking

[dubbel zout]

6 minutes ago, StaceyNotStacie said:

the bathroom scene with the blonde lady (I was half expecting her to be a villain working with the Pikeman group). 

I was half expecting her to be a bigoted homophobe who would tell Kristina that PC doesn't need "that kind of place."

I am relieved Cyrus lived. If anyone was going to go into the light for good, of course it would be someone we like.

Molly: "I don't feel pressure about [surrogacy] at all," just after saying she wants a baby right now. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

Well this episode was an hour of my life I'm never getting back....boring boring boring

[jacourt]

I think the bathroom scene was supposed to show Kristina she was doing something important and improve her sense that she could accomplish it. Hearing that people she is capable and not the constant screwup is what she needs .

[statsgirl]

Drew has now saved 2 lives in a month. That's better than most of the doctors at GH. Maybe  he should go into medicine next.

Today on A Christmas Carol, we have Cyrus playing Jacob Marley and Laura playing a ghost.

I did like the parallel between Trish's brother Teddy and Cyrus, both rejected by their parents while young men and both getting into trouble.

TJ seems to be turning into his uncle Curtis. He brings takeout home to his invalid wife and she says "You're spoiling me."  And he's ready for a baby Right Now in spite of just starting his second year of residency where he would hardly have time off to be home and help. Does he expect Molly to do it all herself? How are they going to afford it if Molly is off work? But at least Kristina being their surrogate is off the table.

Pointless scenes today:  Gregory/Alexis (nice therapy session but yawn) and Sonny/Anna/Dante. I don't care.

8 minutes ago, jacourt said:

Oh crap. Carly is going to get her nose into the sonny Ava story. Can’t we have something that is not involving her?  

She really has nothing other than being in other people's storylines. Mostly to their detriment. Is she going to save the day for Ava and Sonny now?

Maybe if they stopped making her AMAZING! she would have some more story to tell without needing to be in everyone else's. Also, Carly was such a bitch to Ava. If Mason's mysterious boss weren't interested in what Sonny was doing, it wouldn't matter what Ava was up to.

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

Well...I think it's a mixed opinion here. Characters who are insufferable are still insufferable, at least some of them, but some dialogue seems to have improved and some plots are moving along

I really like that it's no longer that Carly's children are the only amazing ones and everyone else's is a screw-up e.g. Kristina.

1 hour ago, YaddaYadda said:

Doesn't matter who is writing. It's the person giving these marching orders who needs to go.

Yes x 1000.

[dubbel zout]

13 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

But at least Kristina being their surrogate is off the table.

That was a gigantic relief, but I wonder how long it will last. I think they're framing it all wrong. It shouldn't be "Kristina doesn't know what she'd be getting into," even though that's true; it should be "A family member as surrogate would introduce way too many issues that we can't even begin to anticipate, and we don't want to mess up the relationship."

And yes, the writing for TJ is grating. Bringing takeout is hardly going above and beyond. Ugh.

[Gam2]

This is not a political statement at all in any way but how long will they be saying”LGBTQAI+” ten times every episode? At some point, they’ll have to shorten it, won’t they?

[Auntie Velvet]

Trish is no spring chicken. If she hasn't heard from her brother since he was 15, that's....quite a while. Maybe he died in the Spanish flu? (Kidding, kidding).

[Artsda]

Pikeman is a danger and Kristina has a broken down car.  Sonny should have made her take the new car for her safety. 

 

[IWantCandy71]

8 hours ago, ciarra said:

Tracy would just blurt it out, imo.

 It's a toss up. I think she would want to run and tell Finn, but she'd want to know for sure there was something to tell. She wouldn't want to look like a fool if it was really nothing. So it makes sense she'd ask someone else first.

Today's episode: Jeff Kober remains the standout.

Kristina just pulling up a chair and horning in on Sonny/Anna without being invited is why I can't stand that heifer. 

Kate Mansi's flat, no energy performance does not help.

 

[IWantCandy71]

7 hours ago, mostlylurking said:

 

I like both these actors and their characters, but not when Gregory is being so over the top mean to Tracy.  I known she’s done a lot of shady shit but I don’t like the way everyone’s been so awful to her this go round.

 

I do think some people are definitely too harsh with her. Thus far, Gregory can go toe to toe with her and doesn't take her crap. She needs someone like that since Monica isn't around and Finn is busy with Liz.

 

[Katy M]

Kristina must not know many people if Michael is the smartest person she knows.

[IWantCandy71]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

Kristina must not know many people if Michael is the smartest person she knows.

 Kristina has to take off both shoes to count to ten, so of course she thinks Michael is smart.

He just takes off one shoe and counts twice.

[MarciNJ]

16 hours ago, statsgirl said:

Drew has now saved 2 lives in a month. That's better than most of the doctors at GH. Maybe  he should go into medicine next.

shouldn't this be enough to get him out of jail?  Sonny only saved one person (governor's daughter, or something) and it got him sprung....

 

[dubbel zout]

I really enjoyed Drewfus's reaction when the guard took him off to solitary. I'm sure he expected to get a complete pass for saving Cyrus. Nope!

[Cheyanne11]

2 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I really enjoyed Drewfus's reaction when the guard took him off to solitary. I'm sure he expected to get a complete pass for saving Cyrus. Nope!

That was such a Carly reaction: "What?  I'm not being lauded and treated to an ice cream social--I saved that man's life!"

Jeff Kober looked very dapper in that suit and those scenes with Genie were really enjoyable.  I'm glad he decided to back away from the light!

The writing for TJ is awful.  He's all over the place.  I blame it on him being sucked into the Carlys vortex.

[KittyQ]

Yesterday's episode - the beginning conversation between Gregory and Alexis had a weird vibe to me. Alexis says Tracy called her right after their meal together, and Gregory looked like he had his hand caught in the cookie jar. Why aren't they talking to each other like adults who are at least equals?

[jacourt]

This might be a nitpick but I thought when you went to the light you saw people who had passed. Laura us very much alive. 

[statsgirl]

Cyrus is fun. Martin's scepticism and Laura's guiding light are some much needed humour today.

And .... we're back to Carly propping again. Today it's Maxie, Sam and Sonny.

Kevin sighting!  I've missed you. I like that he's concerned that visiting Cassadine Island will bring up bad stuff for Laura. I'm here for that.

Laura is reading a German newspaper. I guess Cyrillic would be too weird.

Scout, I'm sorry that you went all the way to Pentonville and couldn't see your father because your mother didn't phone ahead. And also that Sam spent so much time sympathizing with Carly losing Drew when their love is so new and exciting instead of castigating her for screwing up and causing you to lose your father for 3 years.

Why is Tracy so obsessed with the Deceptor? If it's because Martin stole it from ex wife #3, there's nothing more to learn from Deception.

The Leo/Eddie/Olivia scenes were tolerable thanks to Leo.

[dubbel zout]

Carly, Kelly's is a diner. Of course there are people lined up at 6 a.m. And why is she acting as if it's some big secret she's running Kelly's? 

"It's not like I got all Zen." "Oh, good." Hee. But you can't tell me she's dropped her grudge with Nina, no matter how much she goes on about putting bad things in the past.

If Cyrus can't do anything with his money in prison, can he transfer the trusts to Martin? Shouldn't that have happened before he went into Pentonville? Isn't that what "getting your affairs in order" is about?

 

[ciarra]

Oh, and why would Superspy!Anna and Mob boss Sonny sit on an open balcony at a hotel where people have been shot before?  And then discuss who could have been behind the shooting of Curtis? 

[IWantCandy71]

9 minutes ago, ciarra said:

Oh, and why would Superspy!Anna and Mob boss Sonny sit on an open balcony at a hotel where people have been shot before?  And then discuss who could have been behind the shooting of Curtis? 

Thank you.

Was thinking the same thing   myself yesterday.

Someone tries to possibly kill one of you and you sit unguarded on an open balcony.

I mean.

[Fellaway]

Good golly, if they get Sonny and Carly back together again - 'Cause the anvils, they be fallin'. - it's gonna get ugly all up in here. And by here, I mean me.

Anybody else think that bag of coffee is a big ol' bag of money?

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, IWantCandy71 said:

Someone tries to possibly kill one of you and you sit unguarded on an open balcony.

Anna said the WSB (if it was the WSB) wouldn't come after them the same way twice, so sitting out in the open was supposedly safe. And another attempt wouldn't happen so soon after the first.

22 minutes ago, Fellaway said:

Anybody else think that bag of coffee is a big ol' bag of money?

It's the best coffee in town! Which isn't really saying all that much, heh.

[IWantCandy71]

53 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Anna said the WSB (if it was the WSB) wouldn't come after them the same way twice, so sitting out in the open was supposedly safe. And another attempt wouldn't happen so soon after the first.

It's the best coffee in town! Which isn't really saying all that much, heh.

She did, but since they don't know yet who did it, plus...if it is WSB, they'd do the unexpected and she should anticipate that.

Just literally letting yourself be a sitting duck seems....odd.

Almost as if neither one of them will end up being the actual intended target. I hope they're not. I find a threat against either one to be anti-climatic. We already know how it will end. Zero suspense.

 

[ffwbe]

I’m a bit surprised that LW was happy about Carly taking over Kelly’s because it’s already starting to come off like they ran out of ways to use her mins and having her stand behind the counter talking to whoever shows up to the diner that day is a lazy way to fill her guarantees. 

Edited August 3, 2023 by ffwbe

[ffwbe]

Since Ned will probably never tell Olivia off, I’ll take Eddie doing so any day of the week. Karma is a bitch and she deserves it

 

[DanaK]

FYI, there could be a preemption or interruption of the show in its 3pm ET telecast tomorrow (Thursday) by news commentators given a certain news event is scheduled to happen in D.C. about 4pm ET

Edited August 3, 2023 by DanaK

[Artsda]

Team Eddie Maine! Calling out Olivia was so true. 

Of course 2 days and suddenly Kelly's is worth saving a million dollars home?

Carly's not dependent on anyone?  She got Kelly's from her mom. 

[TVbitch]

For the love of God, GH, give it up already -- I am NOT buying that Photo Ark book!!!!! 

[ciarra]

2 hours ago, Artsda said:

Of course 2 days and suddenly Kelly's is worth saving a million dollars home?

Carly's not dependent on anyone?  She got Kelly's from her mom. 

I'm sure Carly will be able to pay back that 5 mil. in, what, a week?

Do cafes still take orders by hand on paper pads, with circular racks for pinning them?  In my mom's home town, population 250, the cafe has a robot delivering your food. 

[fishsanwitt]

Nothing on GH interests me, except for Spencer and Trina's relationship. It's come to this. Once every two weeks - and not even with each other?

This is gaslighting of the highest order. The barge is calling.

 

[NotMySekrit2Tell]

What's with all the ageist shit being flung at Ned in the dialogue lately? No, Eddie Maine isn't a big rock star with a lot of young fans anymore, but Ned didn't give up music because he was getting too old for it, did he? WK is only a few years older than Mo. When Olivia said "How many grandfathers did you see in those dive bars?" I was thinking I don't see many grandfathers running around getting in gunfights with other mobsters either, but everyone accepts that as normal. 

Edited August 3, 2023 by NotMySekrit2Tell

[sacrebleu]

12 hours ago, Fellaway said:

Good golly, if they get Sonny and Carly back together again - 'Cause the anvils, they be fallin'. - it's gonna get ugly all up in here. 

But if Carly gets back with Sonny while Drew is serving time for the crime she committed I will laugh and laugh.

( So much for Carly's 'loyalty')

[Cheyanne11]

Oh, how convenient that now that Carly owns Kelly's she suddenly doesn't need to sell her house (it's not just a house, it's a home!).  What does she charge per cup of coffee, because congrats on cooking those books otherwise.  I guess those 4 episodes where she had the sads about selling her house (her home!) was her yearly alotted angst. 

[statsgirl]

So Curtis turned away from the light so that he could be there for his new-found daughter, and now he's refusing to see her. If I'm going to have to listen Curtis whine for the next seven weeks, I'm going to wish that bullet had been better placed. He realty is a big baby.

I loved Kristina's "Okay Joss, you keep being a bitch" attitude to her.

Joss: "Esme, if you have something to ask about me, ask me and not Spencer." [Esme asks] "That's none of your business." [Ace fusses. I applaud Ace.]

Joss talking about what Esme did to Cameron is rich considering what she herself did to him.

Kristina bringing flowers enters Molly's apartment without knocking and interrupts, then feels terrible about it. Is there someone who can assess Kristina for ADHD?

Woman leaves, TJ asks Molly what she thinks, Molly immediately castigates Kristina instead of talking about the interview.

No mention of the cost of surrogacy? Both Molly and TJ should be paying off student loans and close to eating ramen noodles for dinner.

Ava: "It's too bad your help came with aside of Mason."  LOL.

Ava's blouse would be better in another colour. She's not a spring colours person.

Cody, you don't have to lift the whole hay bay. It does come apart, you know.

These writers are really trying to fix Ned/Olivia. Today was even tolerable.

[mbluecpa]

We seem to forever be an episode or two behind, but jumping in to say that the temp writers seem to be bringing enough ‘newness’ into the shows to make it a little more interesting.  I was worried at first that we’d have a lot of filler or too-long scenes (Liz/Finn’s date, Portia/Curtis, or BL/Chase with the obvious endgame to get JS’s shirt off).  But the movement in other SLs like with Ava/Sonny or the unexpected scenes like with Terri/Yuri, the pseudo-Lulu visit or Trish and Kristina have it feeling a little more fresh than usual.  

I suspect it’ll take less than 90 days for Carly to generate ELQ-like money from a single-location diner while working a casual few hours a week.

The Bobbie selling Kelly’s to Carly explanation felt off to me, but I’m guessing (hoping) that they’re deferring a JZ tribute to once the regular writers are back?

 

[YaddaYadda]

Curtis should have walked into the light and stayed there. 

I love how all the Carlys are allowed to keep grudges ad vitam aeternam against anyone and everyone while anyone and everyone must grovel for their pardon. Why was Kristina even apologizing to Joss? Joss bitched her out first. Someone needs to drop kick blondie in the mouth the second she thinks about opening it. She is tiresome and her attitude is never not disgusting.

Are they trying to have Eddie fall in love with Olivia? I'd like it if they went their separate ways. Olivia will go back to being a passive-aggressive cow the second Ned regains his memory and I'm not here to watch some more of her brand of abuse.

I don't even know why Molly is talking about Kristina when she already said she didn't want her to be her donor.

[PatsyandEddie]

Yes,Kristina should have knocked but that was freaking hilarious! The way she dramatically blurted out that “Josselyn is such a bitch” was too funny. The looks on Molly and TJ’s faces were perfect. Kate Mansi played that extremely well

Edited August 3, 2023 by PatsyandEddie

[perkie1968]

56 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Molly immediately castigates Kristina instead of talking about the interview.

and

26 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

I don't even know why Molly is talking about Kristina when she already said she didn't want her to be her donor.

Right?  The amount of venom in Molly's voice was ridiculous since the whole point of the meeting with the surogacy expert was because they weren't going to use Kristina.  Molly again, was acting like Kristina walked in, yanked out an egg and handed it to the surogacy lady and said, "here, use this one" .  There is a already a LOT to deal with with this recast, making her a complete bitch for zero reason doesn't help.  

[YaddaYadda]

24 minutes ago, perkie1968 said:

Right?  The amount of venom in Molly's voice was ridiculous since the whole point of the meeting with the surogacy expert was because they weren't going to use Kristina.  Molly again, was acting like Kristina walked in, yanked out an egg and handed it to the surogacy lady and said, "here, use this one" .  There is a already a LOT to deal with with this recast, making her a complete bitch for zero reason doesn't help.  

I don't know how the actress is being directed to play Molly, but there's a lot of resentment, jealousy and good girl vs bad girl syndrome going on. 

Nothing has been solved between Molly and Kristina and especially not on Molly's end. 

Good girl Molly, has done everything right her whole life only to be on the losing end of the baby lottery while trainwreck Kristina who refuses to bend to her mother's will is perfectly healthy and could have a baby tomorrow morning if she chose to.

I wish this storyline would end tomorrow. Give Molly her miracle baby and send her back offscreen with TJ.

And learn to lock your freakin' door, dingbats.

Edited August 3, 2023 by YaddaYadda

[perkie1968]

14 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

Good girl Molly, has done everything right her whole life only to be on the losing end of the baby lottery while trainwreck Kristina who refuses to bend to her mother's will is perfectly healthy and could have a baby tomorrow morning if she chose to.

But they haven't even told us that Kristina is capable of having a baby.  For all they know she could be infertile as well.  It would have been better if after everything that Molly has gone through, Kristina had gotten accidnetallly pregnant after a one night stand.  Than you could see why Molly would be upset that she's done everything right and doesn't get her baby while flaky Kristina has it fall in her lap when she doesn't even want it.  

 

Or not done this story at all.