Episode Discussion II: The TFGH

[CeChase]

Natalia doesn't get any points for being "honest" with me.  I find this story and character disgusting.  Don't tell me that there are homophobes in real life.  Yeah, I know!  It's actually gotten much worse.  That's why I don't need to see this disgusting representation of those people, with the male lead fawning all over her.  Thank you, next!

And what is going on with Mo?  I couldn't hear a word he was saying.  I know people call him "mumbles" but this is ridiculous now. 

Soap buzz is that Maura is not leaving, and yet I just don't know if I believe that.  It  would be just like GH to fire someone like Maura, and tell us "here's your new female lead.  She's doe-eyed, she's hot, she's got Sonny's pepperoni sizzling in all the right ways! Watch as he mumbles at her while looking down, and she flashes her signature doe-eyed guilty look at him!  You won't be able to get enough  of this!"

 

[YaddaYadda]

9 hours ago, ljr said:

This Ava story is garbage. Why did she record Natalia? Why would any judge give mobster Sonny or murderer Ava custody?

The recording was accidental. She was recording something to do with the gallery when Natalia knocked on the door. She put down the phone and the pamphlet over it. It's only after she was set to start working again that she realized that she never stopped the recording.

7 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Actually, I can't think of a single Ava plan that's worked in her favor. And Morgan ended up a casualty in one of her half-assed schemes. Not sure who's worse, Ava or Carly with her "PLAAANS."

Carly is infinitely worst in my book. Because Carly has a line of apologists and worried people stretching around the block when her plans blow up in her face, while characters like Ava and Nina get kicked in the teeth by everyone. For years. No one lets them forget their mistakes or transgressions.

Edited July 4 by YaddaYadda

[dubbel zout]

16 hours ago, tessaray said:

Ugh. I never expected to have to watch  Natalia and Sonny bonding over being exposed as crap human beings in front of their daughters. 

That was something, wasn't it? And both of them were like, "Yeah, it sucks when the scales fall from your kid's eyes, but whatever, it's fixable." 

13 hours ago, Artsda said:

What did [Ava] intend to happen [with the release of the recording]? 

She obviously wasn't thinking long-term, but I think the general idea was to open Sonny's eyes to how awful Natalia is so he'd kick her to the curb and reinstate Ava in his penthouse.

13 hours ago, Artsda said:

So tired of hearing how Donna needs her, yet it's ok for Jason's kids to be without a parent. 

You know how needy girlchildren are. Sons don't need no stinkin' father!

[nilyank]

28 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

She obviously wasn't thinking long-term, but I think the general idea was to open Sonny's eyes to how awful Natalia is so he'd kick her to the curb and reinstate Ava in his penthouse.

14 hours ago, Artsda said:

And to get back at Kristina,

[Lugal]

4 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

The recording was accidental. She was recording something to do with the gallery when Natalia knocked on the door. She put down the phone and the pamphlet over it. It's only after she was set to start working again that she realized that she never stopped the recording.

Especially considering it went something like:

Natalia: I'm here to see Sonny.

Ava: He's not here right now.  Who are you?

Natalia: I'm Natalia. Let me tell you at length what I think of my daughter and the LGBT community...

12 hours ago, Grinaldi said:

or the more interesting option of Ava taking Avery and running. That way either she can return at some point or a SORASed Avery comes back in a few years to upend Sonny's life.

And Frank comes out like Graham Chapman saying, "That does actually sound interesting.  I'm here to put a stop to it."

[ciarra]

12 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

Actually, I can't think of a single Ava plan that's worked in her favor.

Well, she managed to move herself into Corinthos Haus, got a trip to Sonny Island all based on a note (and gun?) she could have sent to herself.  Judging by the poor aim, maybe she paid the Island shooter(s)?

Convinced Nina to go the SEC, knowing full well how Sonny would react, then feigned innocence when Nina confronted her. 

 

[Tenshinhan]

Overall I think that the Natalia/Ava story was handled well.  I liked that Sonny showed empathy to Natalia by relating his own situation with Kristina to her situation.  It makes sense for the characters and their world.

I don't think that Natalia was coddled at all.  There were plenty who expressed the appropriate outrage at her words.  And I thought that her scene with Alexis was a nice touch.  It will be interesting to see  whether or not Natalia will continue to face the fallout from her behavior going forward.

[YaddaYadda]

52 minutes ago, ciarra said:

Well, she managed to move herself into Corinthos Haus, got a trip to Sonny Island all based on a note (and gun?) she could have sent to herself.  Judging by the poor aim, maybe she paid the Island shooter(s)?

That was Pikeman apparently.

Valentin knows that Ava knows about the medication. Wonder when that's gonna come up.

[dubbel zout]

50 minutes ago, Tenshinhan said:

I liked that Sonny showed empathy to Natalia by relating his own situation with Kristina to her situation.  It makes sense for the characters and their world.

I don't think it made sense for Sonny to be okay with Natalia's bigotry. This is Mr. "I never had a problem with the gays even way back when I lived in Bensonhurst." He just accepts that Natalia called into question Kristina's character because Natalia said she personally knows Kristina is a good person? That's like someone saying they aren't racist because they have a Black friend.

This is solely about making Ava the bad guy for releasing the tape. The contents have somehow become mostly irrelevant, for Sonny at least, and that's not what we've been told over the years. 

ETA: When Kristina came out, it took Alexis longer to accept her than it did Sonny, FFS. Not that Alexis was against it, but she needed a minute to process it all, whereas Sonny immediately busted out his "I've known gay people all my life" spiel. So for him to now be okay with what Natalia said—to ridicule his own daughter's community—does not make sense to me at all. 

Edited July 4 by dubbel zout

[DanaK]

30 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

That was Pikeman apparently.

Valentin knows that Ava knows about the medication. Wonder when that's gonna come up.

Does he? I don't recall hearing how or I could have just forgotten. Did the pharmacist tell him of her visit? I wonder when Sonny is going to put two and two together and that since Ava messed with Morgan's med (he's already brought that up when kicking her out), that maybe she messed with his? Then hopefully she'll reveal she didn't do it but figured it out but doesn't know who did do it

[GHScorpiosRule]

18 minutes ago, DanaK said:

Does he? I don't recall hearing how or I could have just forgotten. Did the pharmacist tell him of her visit?

Yes, and yes. The pharmacist called Valentin and told him how Mooby’s “wife” called him and asked about his dosage. And that’s when Valentin realized Ava knows.

[Tenshinhan]

49 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I don't think it made sense for Sonny to be okay with Natalia's bigotry. This is Mr. "I never had a problem with the gays even way back when I lived in Bensonhurst."

I don't think that Sonny was okay with it at all.  He said more than once that he hated Natalia's words.  Also, just because Sonny never had a problem with gay people doesn't mean he's necessarily some kind of advocate for the LGBTQ community.

The point was that he understood what Natalia was going through because he just recently went through it with Kristina at the wedding with Dex.  So he knows what it's like to have people see an ugly side of him that he keeps hidden.  That's why Sonny can acknowledge Natalia's bigotry without so much trouble, because he can relate.

ETA: I also understand him being more concerned with Ava and the recording.  For one, because Ava is currently his enemy, and for another, because secretly recording someone is like the ultimate betrayal to Sonny.  It makes sense to me that he would be so upset with that.

 

 

Edited July 4 by Tenshinhan

[dubbel zout]

51 minutes ago, Tenshinhan said:

The point was that he understood what Natalia was going through because he just recently went through it with Kristina at the wedding with Dex.  So he knows what it's like to have people see an ugly side of him that he keeps hidden.  That's why Sonny can acknowledge Natalia's bigotry without so much trouble, because he can relate.

He doesn't need to relate to Natalia to be angry with Ava. I don't know what they're trying to do with Sonny here.

Sonny is something of an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community: He's bankrolling Kristina's center. Of course it's not pure altruism on his part, but he's supporting his daughter much more than Natalia ever has with Blaze.

[jsbt]

If they really wanted to be ballsy, they'd do Who Killed Natalia? People are pissed at her but not that pissed. Ava is the very obvious suspect and that would be the focus. But Ava didn't do it. So who? We know very little about Natalia's life and hyper-obsessive business as is. And I'd forgotten about the Connie tape. That still exists, I think. If someone finds it that's more drama and more circumstantial evidence against Ava (even if IIRC she got pardoned for Connie, or for something anyway).

Speaking of ballsy, I've said it before and I'll say it again: The other big angle to play for maximum drama now is to reveal that Avery is in fact Morgan's, that Carly switched the paternity results just as I thought she did years ago to keep him from raising a child before he was ready or being tied to Ava Jerome, and that no one knows but Carly herself. Until Avery ends up dead in some accident or mob business.

This show is very boring.

20 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

He doesn't need to relate to Natalia to be angry with Ava. I don't know what they're trying to do with Sonny here.

They're trying to keep Eva LaRue because FV has never given up on GH being a 'mega-soap' full of orphaned ABCD, etc. stars.

Edited July 4 by jsbt

[lala2]

10 hours ago, CeChase said:

Soap buzz is that Maura is not leaving, and yet I just don't know if I believe that.  

I don’t believe it either. She literally has no friends or allies. The easy camaraderie she had with Sonny and even Carly is now gone. If she is staying, I assume she’s gonna be put on recurring and will rarely be seen like Brad, Felix, Ms. Wu. 

[Tenshinhan]

Natalia is supposed to be Sonny's counterpart.  They each have a gay daughter who is dating the other, and each daughter is having to come to terms with their parent's dark side.  Sonny has a dark side involving crime, violence, and murder.  Natalia's dark side is her bigotry and queerphobia.  Sonny is attracted to Natalia and can look past her bigotry when others cannot, because of their mutual darkness.  At least I think that's what the writers are going for.

[norahs99]

7 minutes ago, Tenshinhan said:

Natalia is supposed to be Sonny's counterpart.  They each have a gay daughter who is dating the other, and each daughter is having to come to terms with their parent's dark side.  Sonny has a dark side involving crime, violence, and murder.  Natalia's dark side is her bigotry and queerphobia.  Sonny is attracted to Natalia and can look past her bigotry when others cannot, because of their mutual darkness.  At least I think that's what the writers are going for.

Maybe that's what they were going for, but it ain't workin' for me!

On 7/3/2024 at 10:49 AM, ciarra said:

Ava isn't stupid.  Only now, she is.

She knows not to go against Sonny's baby mamas, yet she blabbed on Alexis.  She knows not to go against Sonny's kids, yet Kristina is going to be caught in the fallout. 

She knows that an angry Sonny will try to punish her by taking Avery away.  It was clumsy, not well thought out.  Not like Ava at all.

My thoughts exactly!  The bones of the story are good soap, but the execution of it is really terrible. 

[KerleyQ]

4 hours ago, ciarra said:

Well, she managed to move herself into Corinthos Haus, got a trip to Sonny Island all based on a note (and gun?) she could have sent to herself.  Judging by the poor aim, maybe she paid the Island shooter(s)?

Convinced Nina to go the SEC, knowing full well how Sonny would react, then feigned innocence when Nina confronted her. 

 

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?" 

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I don't think it made sense for Sonny to be okay with Natalia's bigotry. This is Mr. "I never had a problem with the gays even way back when I lived in Bensonhurst." He just accepts that Natalia called into question Kristina's character because Natalia said she personally knows Kristina is a good person? That's like someone saying they aren't racist because they have a Black friend.

This is solely about making Ava the bad guy for releasing the tape. The contents have somehow become mostly irrelevant, for Sonny at least, and that's not what we've been told over the years. 

ETA: When Kristina came out, it took Alexis longer to accept her than it did Sonny, FFS. Not that Alexis was against it, but she needed a minute to process it all, whereas Sonny immediately busted out his "I've known gay people all my life" spiel. So for him to now be okay with what Natalia said—to ridicule his own daughter's community—does not make sense to me at all. 

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. 

2 hours ago, Tenshinhan said:

I don't think that Sonny was okay with it at all.  He said more than once that he hated Natalia's words.  Also, just because Sonny never had a problem with gay people doesn't mean he's necessarily some kind of advocate for the LGBTQ community.

The point was that he understood what Natalia was going through because he just recently went through it with Kristina at the wedding with Dex.  So he knows what it's like to have people see an ugly side of him that he keeps hidden.  That's why Sonny can acknowledge Natalia's bigotry without so much trouble, because he can relate.

ETA: I also understand him being more concerned with Ava and the recording.  For one, because Ava is currently his enemy, and for another, because secretly recording someone is like the ultimate betrayal to Sonny.  It makes sense to me that he would be so upset with that.

 

 

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. 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, jsbt said:

They're trying to keep Eva LaRue because FV has never given up on GH being a 'mega-soap' full of orphaned ABCD, etc. stars.

Frank shoves his favorites into stories without thinking beyond the "get." Guess what, Frank? I don't care about your "gets."

I'm sure this cuts him to the quick.

Edited July 4 by dubbel zout

[jsbt]

49 minutes ago, Tenshinhan said:

Sonny is attracted to Natalia and can look past her bigotry when others cannot, because of their mutual darkness.  At least I think that's what the writers are going for.

You are giving them too much credit. Natalia is a very basic type-A stage mom, not the mobster who shot his wife in the head while she gave birth.

5 hours ago, ciarra said:

Well, she managed to move herself into Corinthos Haus, got a trip to Sonny Island all based on a note (and gun?) she could have sent to herself. 

I still think she wasted Austin and sent herself the note to insert herself into Sonny's life (a storyline Korte has now totally undone). But if they ever remember Austin I suspect they will blame Valentin/Pikeman.

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Yes, and yes. The pharmacist called Valentin and told him how Mooby’s “wife” called him and asked about his dosage. And that’s when Valentin realized Ava knows.

I think the plan there under Mulcahey was for them to team up against Sonny after he approached her about knowing what she knows. Now I think that's all fallen by the wayside, sadly. It was a good setup.

[statsgirl]

6 hours ago, jsbt said:

Speaking of ballsy, I've said it before and I'll say it again: The other big angle to play for maximum drama now is to reveal that Avery is in fact Morgan's, that Carly switched the paternity results just as I thought she did years ago to keep him from raising a child before he was ready or being tied to Ava Jerome, and that no one knows but Carly herself.

That gives Carly a legitimate tie for taking and keeping Avery with Ava off the canvas so I vote no. The baby hoarder has already taken enough children.

Maxie had the line of the day on Tuesday when she said that she had underestimated Natalia's self-absorption.  What an antipathetic character.

[jsbt]

50 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

That gives Carly a legitimate tie for taking and keeping Avery with Ava off the canvas so I vote no. The baby hoarder has already taken enough children.

Avery would end up dead in this scenario due to the crime wars on canvas before the truth even came out, so it's moot to me.

[CeChase]

12 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

uck with Ava, but then decided to minimize Natalia's part in it, because th

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 f

ey 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. 

Yes, your last sentence.  But isn't this disgusting?   Does anyone want to see this mumbling man in his 60's panting over his next conquest?  When are they going to give up on Sonny being the romantic lead?  Honestly, it makes me want to barf.  

[ffwbe]

8 hours ago, statsgirl said:

That gives Carly a legitimate tie for taking and keeping Avery with Ava off the canvas so I vote no. The baby hoarder has already taken enough children.

That’s pretty much why I’ve always been against making Avery Morgan’s kid. Sonny’s still going to be in her life if that happens and it’ll give Carly even more of a justification to be actively involved in Avery’s life when right now, she can only do what Sonny and Ava allow. She’d be even worse than before because she’s full on canonized Morgan in her mind after his death. She’s completely forgotten that he was kind of a loser as an adult who didn’t seem to like her all that much or wanted to be around her and worshipped Sonny. 

[Desperado]

6 hours ago, CeChase said:

Yes, your last sentence.  But isn't this disgusting?   Does anyone want to see this mumbling man in his 60's panting over his next conquest?  When are they going to give up on Sonny being the romantic lead?  Honestly, it makes me want to barf.  

I think if he really wanted to, MB could play charming again. I liked him when his character was with Nina and when he shaves, he looks much fresher.

The problem is that they left his character stuck in the outdated benevolent mafia don role who can’t have a relationship with an equal.

I don’t know how much of this is due to the actor’s preference 

[dubbel zout]

I love how Natalia not knowing she was being recorded somehow mitigates her awful bigotry. (Her attitude toward Kristina being a surrogate was pretty gross, too.) It's also enraging that no one is calling out Sonny for focusing on Ava's part in releasing the recording, not the contents of it. GAH.

What label is Blaze signed to that they'd drop her? Unless it's some religiously based company, I can't imagine they would care she's gay.

Sorry, Spencer understood art? He certainly had trouble understanding Trina's love of it.

Of course Drew is going to wait until the last minute to tell Scout about his candidacy. He is such a terrible father. LOL that he and Curtis were "swimming laps" in that tiny shallow pool.

Now we know Gio's tragic backstory. Zzzz.

[lala2]

In all honesty, I would rather watch Sonny romance someone. He’s interesting and he has a personality - something no man currently in the 30s set possesses, IMO. Like Desperado, I enjoyed SoNa. I also liked SaVa for the brief time we got them most recently. I could have gotten behind them. MB can be very charming, IMO. I’m not interested in him and Maria but MB isn’t really trying with her if you ask me. 

I’m not sure when they decided to sanitize all the characters and make them all the same but it’s really hurting GH. For instance, TJ, Cody, Michael, Chase are all essentially the same character - good guys who love their partners and won’t ever do anything wrong or bad. Where are the dynamic, flawed characters?!? Why are all the regulars so cookie cutter? Where are the personalities?!? Aside from Sonny, who is bringing any drama to this show? On certain boards, some act like a character is ruined if they yell or do something bad! I read concerns about Finn being ruined because he yelled at Elizabeth?! Really?!? Is that what this genre has come to? A man yells and he’s cancelled?!? I remember wanting Chase to get revenge on Millow for their lies but got pushback about how OOC that would be for Chase and how it would ruin him?l. Ok! I like a good Hallmark Christmas movie but I don’t want to see a Hallmark soap! 

Anyway, I guess my main point is - out of the current cast - I would rather see Sonny romance someone b/c everyone else is boring. Aside from Drina, GH is full of boring couples, IMO! 
 

 

Edited July 5 by lala2

[DanaK]

Interesting that Sonny turned against Dante as it seemed pretty sudden, but that’s probably a sign of the doctored medication containing to affect him

[Cheyanne11]

I continue to love how DZ always plays Dante like Sonny is his cross to bear and he is repeating 'practice patience, don't take the bait' in his head whenever Sonny makes a snide comment to him.

[TVbitch]

I know the Altered Meds Defensive will absolve Sonny of everything, but he has always treated Dante like shit. 

I'm confused, did Blaze's label drop her cuz she's gay, because she didn't announce it to the world, or because her mother is an asshole? Either way, Alexis needs to sue the label big time. 

Wait.. what was that.. what just happened.. omg, is it me or did Jordan almost appear to have an actual personality for like two seconds today??!!

[Artsda]

Why can't Drew swim at the mansion if he needs early start?  He's announcing his campaign July 4th picnic?  When is July 4th in PC? Lol 

How old are Trina, Joss and Gio that Dex the cop is bringing beer? 

Good for Maxie and BLQ hating on the fact Blaze got outed and that coming out was taken from her.  Maxie right too they should have pause Blaze for now. 

So Sonny and nobody else still have not figured out his meds off? 

I like Drew taking Quartermaine better then his brother that wants nothing to do with the name. 

Kristina talks alot about this love and relationship she has with Blaze but I don't see much of it.  

 

[DanaMB]

4 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Sorry, Spencer understood art? He certainly had trouble understanding Trina's love of it.

I thought the same thing. The I started questioning my own memory of events. Glad I’m not going crazy. 

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, Artsda said:

How old are Trina, Joss and Gio that Dex the cop is bringing beer? 

They should all be 21. 

[Steph J]

8 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

What label is Blaze signed to that they'd drop her? Unless it's some religiously based company, I can't imagine they would care she's gay.

For real. I also feel like firing an artist for being gay right after Pride would create a PR nightmare for the label.

[KerleyQ]

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... 

[methodwriter85]

23 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

And I definitely don't remember Spencer having some deep appreciation for and understanding of art.

I remember NAC at the very beginning of his term as Spencer asked Sydney's Trina about her love of art and they bonded over that. We didn't see that much of it afterwards, though. 

[Tenshinhan]

3 hours ago, KerleyQ said:

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?

Sonny lost his shit with Dante because he feels betrayed by him after Dante didn't back him with Kristina during the Dex situation a while back.  Natalia is the only one who hasn't betrayed Sonny yet.

I think Sonny believes that Natalia's attack wasn't against Kristina personally, but against the LGBTQ+ community and identity itself.  So for him it's easier to overlook.  I agree that Natalia has now actually gone after Kristina personally during their latest conversation, but Sonny doesn't know about that yet.  He may react differently once he does.

[YaddaYadda]

10 hours ago, Artsda said:

How old are Trina, Joss and Gio that Dex the cop is bringing beer? 

Never mind that. How sad is the writing for Dex that he has to bring beer and hang out with Joss's best friend and the guy she's been making eyes at.

This show really doesn't care about building relationships outside THE relationship. 

[KerleyQ]

3 hours ago, Tenshinhan said:

I think Sonny believes that Natalia's attack wasn't against Kristina personally, but against the LGBTQ+ community and identity itself.  So for him it's easier to overlook.  I agree that Natalia has now actually gone after Kristina personally during their latest conversation, but Sonny doesn't know about that yet.  He may react differently once he does.

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. 

[DanaK]

I think Dante’s conversation with Sonny in Friday’s episode was the second time in recent days the topic of Ava messing with Morgan’s meds was brought up. It seems to be signposting that Sonny is going to wonder if Ava messed with his meds or maybe a family member is going to consider it, at least I hope so. If a family member does it, I predict it will be Dante, since he most recently mentioned it to Sonny. Something has to start moving again on the Pikeman thing

[CeChase]

Spencer had a very expensive European education, so it makes a lot of sense that he would understand art.  He's been educated about it, can recognize paintings and knows about  the artists.  Now, whether he had an appreciation for art is a whole other question.  I don't think you have to be educated to appreciate and be moved by art.   I think these are two very different things. 

[PatsyandEddie]

Spencer also had travelled throughout Europe and sometimes those who are lucky enough to have these opportunities don’t always realize that they may have taken those opportunities for granted. I think once Sprina had met, Spencer became more appreciative of the art he had seen because of Trina. 
I think Gio is a good match for Trina. He is an “artist” , has goals and seems to be a sweet guy. 

[lala2]

I think the label is dropping her because she’s supposedly ashamed of being gay and has a homophobic manager?! I’m not sure. That’s the impression I got. The label fully supports the gay & lesbian community but Blaze doesn’t so they had to let her go! 🤷🏾‍♀️ This is all leading to BLQ reviving L&B records I assume. 

Twitter really can’t stand Gio - at least the side that pops up on my timeline. He’s fine to me. I mean he’s another boring, bland character but that’s not the actor’s fault. I thought he had nice scenes w/Trina yesterday. I’m reserving judgement. I still think they should have recast for Spencer but GH doesn’t seem invested in the Cassadines so it is what it is. 

[dubbel zout]

The label should have given Blaze an ultimatum: Get rid of Natalia as your manager or we'll drop you. However:

1 hour ago, lala2 said:

This is all leading to BLQ reviving L&B records I assume. 

is probably the case. Maybe BLQ will be the one issuing the ultimatum. I also imagine if BLQ does revive L&B, Lois will stick around. It's not the worst way to keep RS onscreen. Hopefully it would get her out of Deception, where she's SO obnoxious. She's better than Lucy, but not by all that much.

[ffwbe]

2 hours ago, lala2 said:

Twitter really can’t stand Gio - at least the side that pops up on my timeline. He’s fine to me. I mean he’s another boring, bland character but that’s not the actor’s fault. I thought he had nice scenes w/Trina yesterday. I’m reserving judgement.

I can kinda see why beyond him being bland, which I’ve already brought up. While they clearly want plan to hook him up with Trina eventually, he’s shared way more screen time with Joss and had a few scenes mostly engaging with her and ignoring Trina who was also in the scene. I think it’s pretty obvious that Trina post Spencer has been relegated back to the designated best friend with Joss at the center of this friend group so it’s hard to care about his pairing. I don’t see them getting much without Joss being heavily involved. 

 

[statsgirl]

Was Lois always this obnoxious? She extremely rude to Lucy who is technically her boss, she acts like she is the arbiter of who gets to be welcomed in the Quartermaine house (for which she has no rights to any more), she forgives Sonny everything but attacked Nina when she barely knew her. She is an addition that I can do without,

I can live with Natalia as long as she's a short term soap star hire, and hopefully ends in a "Who killed Natalia?" storyline. because I can't see any benefit to having her on the permanent canvas.  But for me Lois has overstayed her welcome and I'm afraid that Natalia will too

[Bringonthedrama]

On 7/3/2024 at 5:02 AM, 30 Helens said:

*I can't decide who the target of Ava's half-baked scheme really was. Natalia, to get her out of Sonny's orbit so Ava could slide back in? Or Sonny, thinking that his name would be tarnished by association and thereby giving Ava an edge in the custody battle? I don't know, and I'm not sure it really matters.

I am under the impression that Ava was targeting Natalia, Sonny and Kristina. Ava was comfortable and confident that she had manipulated him into seeing that she was the "only one he can trust," he liked having her and Avery with him (when he felt alone), and he even kissed her. She thought she had re-gained some power. Then Sonny took a shine to Blaze's mom and Ava felt threatened/de-valued/disrespected by Sonny's words that she overheard and his actions, like Sonny inviting this new woman in his life to the BLQ + Chase wedding. She wanted Sonny to know what Natalia *really* thought of his beloved daughter Kristina and her sexuality. But I also think she wanted to get back at Kristina for telling Sonny, Natalia and Blaze what she did to Alexis when she tried to force them to include her in a dinner. Ava knew she was already on shaky ground with Sonny; Kristina explaining why she refused to eat a meal with Ava was the last straw for Sonny. He realizes Ava has been keeping her role in Alexis being disbarred a secret for two years and doesn't know what else she may be up to. Given how he currently sees Carly andhael as well as Nina traitors for their actions and secrets, it's not surprising he threw Ava out.

I think summoning Laura after Sonny threw her out was her step in getting an edge in the custody battle. She very deliberately spoke of Sonny as a hostile, violent and unstable man who even beat up a guy at a wedding, and his daughter was a witness. She said she didn't want Avery living in that situation and appealed to Laura as "family" who could be a character witness and tarnish Sonny's rep as a family man who donated money to the hospital, etc. 

[Bringonthedrama]

4 hours ago, lala2 said:

I think the label is dropping her because she’s supposedly ashamed of being gay and has a homophobic manager?! I’m not sure. That’s the impression I got. The label fully supports the gay & lesbian community but Blaze doesn’t so they had to let her go! 

I got that impression, too. It's the combo of being "closeted" for however long she's had a music career now, and her mother-manager is homophobic. If Deception continues to promote Blaze as is, it equals condoning Blaze lying to the public as well as Natalia's bigoted messages.

Blaze told Kristina the problem with her career now isn't necessarily her sexuality itself, it's that she's been lying to fans (which implies shame/embarrassment). 

[JMO]

I would be up for a sweet summer romance between Trina and Gio, and I appreciate that they have the arts in common.  Nothing heavy, just something that lets Trina see that it can be very nice when your boyfriend is not a brooding scion of a wicked empire. 

Speaking of the arts, I'm actually more worried about what will happen to the gallery than I am about what will happen to Ava. It's one of the rare facets of culture to grace Port Charles, and I would hate to see it lost.  Although it would be nice if anyone actually visited it for anything besides intrigue.

I'm trying to keep a mental list of unfinished storylines, but I'm sure I've already forgotten some.  Right now, I've got:  who killed Austin and why; will Sonny ever be prosecuted for nearly killing Cyrus; where is Cyrus, anyway?; did Liz ever get to say goodbye to Finn? (I may just have forgotten); how did Jason get out of that cave, and how did the FBI get him in the first place (I may have zoned out). Where is Robert, during the Anna story?  Ned, after the death of his daughter's father-in-law?  Jagger?  Has anyone seen Jagger?  Or is that storyline so hopelessly muddled that we'll never see him again?

Sometimes, when I complain like this, it seems to conjure the missing.  Hoping for that now.

[lala2]

4 hours ago, ffwbe said:

I can kinda see why beyond him being bland, which I’ve already brought up. While they clearly want plan to hook him up with Trina eventually, he’s shared way more screen time with Joss and had a few scenes mostly engaging with her and ignoring Trina who was also in the scene. I think it’s pretty obvious that Trina post Spencer has been relegated back to the designated best friend with Joss at the center of this friend group so it’s hard to care about his pairing. I don’t see them getting much without Joss being heavily involved. 

 

Oh, I couldn’t agree more. I actually hate how the writers have sidelined Trina (and all the black cast) and relegated her to a literal prop. It’s insulting and why they’ve lost my viewership. I catch up from clips on Twitter/YT. 

That said, I have no beef with the Gio actor. It’s not his fault the show refuses to recast Spencer or write for Trina. The writers and showrunners are the ones who deserve the criticism, IMO.