Episode Discussion II: The TFGH

[Bringonthedrama]

19 minutes ago, Ambrosefolly said:

 If Lulu doesn't want to be lectured, then she shouldn't start arguments. 

Actually I saw Brook start the argument with "Don't you have your own family..." the moment Lulu walked in the door for Thanksgiving because her ex MIL/her son's grandmother - who is Brook's stepmother - wanted her there.  Olivia lives there; Brook doesn't. Ned and Olivia clearly didn't know that Brook was coming when she came in through that same side door a day or so before Thanksgiving. 

[Ambrosefolly]

14 minutes ago, Bringonthedrama said:

Actually I saw Brook start the argument with "Don't you have your own family..." the moment Lulu walked in the door for Thanksgiving because her ex MIL/her son's grandmother - who is Brook's stepmother - wanted her there.  Olivia lives there; Brook doesn't. Ned and Olivia clearly didn't know that Brook was coming when she came in through that same side door a day or so before Thanksgiving. 

Then Lulu said something catty back, and it should have ended right there. 

[ouinason]

Besides which, Ned is Lulu's former stepbrother, and she used to live there, so this is part of her family, beyond Roco being the grandson of... Oh, you know what?  that family is so convoluted, I can't even remember if Tracy and Luke are back together again, much less how everyone is related.  Point is, shut up Lulu about Brooke visiting her father like a good child, and shut up Brooke about Lulu's family.  Y'all are basically related, get over it.

[30 Helens]

I liked today’s episode. New writers always bring some welcome energy to the show, but it usually fades after awhile. I hope this group can hold off the inevitable burnout for awhile, because so far they’re doing great.

Cynthia Watros’s Nina is evolving into someone quite different than Michelle Stafford’s Nina, and I think that’s a good thing. While I liked MS’s Nina, CW was not a good fit for that version and it made for an awkward transition. But I’m starting to like her now, and I’m particularly intrigued by this new alliance with Ava.    Add Tracy to the mix and I’ll be in soap heaven. TAKE ‘EM DOWN, LADIES.

[Ambrosefolly]

6 hours ago, ouinason said:

Besides which, Ned is Lulu's former stepbrother, and she used to live there, so this is part of her family, beyond Roco being the grandson of... Oh, you know what?  that family is so convoluted, I can't even remember if Tracy and Luke are back together again, much less how everyone is related.  Point is, shut up Lulu about Brooke visiting her father like a good child, and shut up Brooke about Lulu's family.  Y'all are basically related, get over it.

Brook did shut up about Lulu after her initial comment and I don't think she said a word to her until Lulu followed her outside. Brook ensuing tirade against Lulu is on Lulu. More people need to stand up to the Spencers ever time they go on the attack and not take their bullshit.  

[sacrebleu]

Sam/Nelle seemed more bickering siblings than two convicts-- stop touching me! stop touching me!.

And yeah, Chase telling Sam about Lucas and Brad but failing to mention her mother's involvement in the accident can only be described as a huge glaring error. and bad plot point writing just so Nelle can find out Wiley/Jonah is being taken care of @ Casa Corinthos.

MW was great today-- but I'm over weak, suffering Ava. I'm ready for her to get mad and get even.

[TVbitch]

Show, if you think you can use Ava to make me warm to nu-Nina ... ...you are pretty smart. I've never liked the re-cast, but I was okay with her today, and the story would be fun. And I can't see MS doing that story, if for nothing else we would have to listen to her pronouce Zzzhhhherome too much. Well played. 

[Bringonthedrama]

8 hours ago, ouinason said:

 Y'all are basically related, get over it.

No; Lulu should no more be expected to get over Brook's attempted rape of Dante than Sam should be expected to get over what Franco did to her. I don't think Lulu should fight with Brook every time she sees her because that resolves nothing. She should just make it clear to the Q family that she will never consider Brook her family because attempted sexual assault is a heinous action, and will see them again when Brook is not around/has left. 

[ulkis]

If Lulu said all that without saying anything about her father she'd look more than a tad hypocritical.

Edited December 6, 2019 by ulkis

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, sacrebleu said:

I'm over weak, suffering Ava. I'm ready for her to get mad and get even.

She'll lose in the end no matter what, but I'll enjoy things in the interim.

1 hour ago, Bringonthedrama said:

She should just make it clear to the Q family that she will never consider Brook her family

Has anyone onscreen asked her to? I tend to zone out during the fights because they're so stupid. Just glare at each other if you can't be icily polite, but stop rehashing stuff that happened in the past. It's boring and nothing can be changed.

[ouinason]

Didn't hearing about Luke and Laura send Lulu to the Loony bin?  maybe the conversation about "sexual assault" is a no no, lol

[DanaK]

Is Michael Knight occasionally trying for some sort of uppercrust accent with his character? It seems to come and go and it's distracting. Other than that, I like seeing Michael back on screen, but they need to do more with his character. I guess he was ok with taking a small (for now) role

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

Is Michael Knight occasionally trying for some sort of uppercrust accent with his character? It seems to come and go and it's distracting. Other than that, I like seeing Michael back on screen, but they need to do more with his character. I guess he was ok with taking a small (for now) role

No. More like some type of "Southern-Fried" hence many dubbing him Colonel Tad Sanders.

[DanaK]

17 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

No. More like some type of "Southern-Fried" hence many dubbing him Colonel Tad Sanders.

Thanks, I guess I couldn't tell this time as I'm not usually terrible at guessing the accent. I wish he'd be consistent about it

[dubbel zout]

At least he and Frew aren't working together anymore.

[30 Helens]

Yes, that was like watching Ashley Wilkes interact with Foghorn Leghorn. “Ah say, ah say...” “The magnolias ah luvvly this tahm of ye-ah.”  Too much.

Edited December 6, 2019 by 30 Helens

[BlancheDevoreaux]

Anybody else's heart do a little flutter when Robert Scorpio, international badass, skipped off with Violet today? 

[YaddaYadda]

I find it shocking how mature the relationship between Chase and Willow is.

Monica showed more emotion at the thought of losing fake Drew than she did real Drew. And he and Jason got to chat over the tree house. Good good. Good good. 

Real Drew, not good enough to mourn. Cheap knock off, praised be!

[sas616]

Wonder why yesterday's episode was rebroadcast today.  Why would anyone think I'd want to see it twice?  All the same, I'm pissed I didn't get today's episode.

[DanaK]

Soap Opera Digest had a BTS picture of Michael Knight and James Stuart on GH with a caption about their times on AMC and I had forgotten they had worked together before, so a nice reunion for them. Michael just needs to work out his accent. Now I now some people who have had an accent can have it come and go at times, but his is absurd and fleeting

6 minutes ago, sas616 said:

Wonder why yesterday's episode was rebroadcast today.  Why would anyone think I'd want to see it twice?  All the same, I'm pissed I didn't get today's episode.

Weren't they a day behind because of preemptions and such?

[ulkis]

16 minutes ago, sas616 said:

Wonder why yesterday's episode was rebroadcast today.  Why would anyone think I'd want to see it twice?  All the same, I'm pissed I didn't get today's episode.

Sounds like an error on the part of your affiliate because that doesn't seem to have happened to anyone else I don't think.

Oh look. There's Griffin, right on cue with the one eyebrow higher than the other and looking like he's about to cry expression. @HeatLifer

This Brook/Lulu/Maxie stuff is dumb. Rivalries are fine but have it come up organically not rivalries for the sake of rivalries. Maybe that "war with my son's grandmother" was some sort of anvil.

Why? Would Ned remotely want or care for Jason to make the treehouse with Drew/Franco?

[Bringonthedrama]

5 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Has anyone onscreen asked her to? 

Ned said to the two of them that they're family.

[statsgirl]

Chase and Willow were sweet and had a surprisingly adult conversation. Anna and Robert were cute (and he admitted he was waiting for her to let Finn go!). I know that Anna and Finn are the couple now but FH's acting game is so much higher around TR.

Ugh, so much stupidity today.

Sonny asks Griffin to look at Mike's labs. Laboratory results will show nothing; it's brain scans that will show how much has deteriorated.  Griffin tells Sonny  that it's impossible to predict what will happen; it's Alzheimer's, Griffin, it's 100% certainty that Mike will continue to deteriorate until he dies unless something else kills him first. What you can't predict is the timeline.

Griffin talks about an enzyme(!) study in Sweden but it's impossible to tell if it will help. Sonny throws his money at it to get Mike in.  If it's a study, it may not work because a) he could be in the control group or b) it may not work just like so many other AZ studies.

You know what could help, Sonny? Spending time with Mike doing brain exercises and physical exercises. Are you willing to put in the time?

These mob people really don't trust anyone outside of their own circle. Carly doesn't trust Lucas' doctor because she doesn't know him, like she's an expert on evaluating medical competence, so she calls in Griffin, and if he is busy she'd call Patrick.  Sam is up for parole after 1 month of incarceration (!); Jason doesn't trust the the parole board because he doesn't know them so he asks Ned. Then having shown that he cares about Sam and been assured by Ned that they're okay people, he ditches attending the parole hearing and sticks around to build the treehouse.

First Michael and Sasha, then Julian and now Maxie -- why are these adults speaking to toddlers as if they can actually understand complex sentences and adult thoughts?  At least Hamlet monologued to a skull.

[ulkis]

5 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

First Michael and Sasha, then Julian and now Maxie -- why are these adults speaking to toddlers as if they can actually understand complex sentences and adult thoughts?  At least Hamlet monologued to a skull.

I don't think they thnk the kids will understand. Like you said, they're just monologuing. 

I like Willow and Chase but I think they're due for a shake-up. I would like Chase to get some sort of plot.

[dubbel zout]

50 minutes ago, Bringonthedrama said:

6 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Has anyone onscreen asked her to? 

Ned said to the two of them that they're family.

Ah, okay. I missed that. Ned of all people should know that just because you're family doesn't mean you have to get along or even like everyone. 

[YaddaYadda]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Ah, okay. I missed that. Ned of all people should know that just because you're family doesn't mean you have to get along or even like everyone. 

Nothing's too good for "Drew". Monica sabotaged Thanksgiving dinner for him, even though the real Drew experienced a Q Thanksgiving already. He gets to work some on the tree house with "brother" Jason. 

This writing has made me very resentful of Monica.

[dubbel zout]

If Bobbie weren't so upset, I think she might be offended that Carly didn't think the current GH doctors were good enough to treat Lucas. Sonny is acting as if the GH doctors are deliberately withholding treatment from Lucas.

Uh, Carly, you aren't entitled to information about Lucas. You are not his next of kin. Does Brad know about Griffin? He's the one who should be making these kinds of decisions. Brad is Lucas's next of kin, not Carly.

Geez, Finn is needy. You're going to mess up, every parent does. Deal with it.

43 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

This writing has made me very resentful of Monica.

Same here. FRANCO IS NOT DREW. I get she's grieving the loss of Drew, but the way they've written that is horrible for the character.

I really hate the assumption that when someone says they love being an aunt/uncle, it's taken as gospel they don't ever want to be a parent. Sometimes that's true, sometimes it's just someone saying they like not having all that responsibility at the moment. I'm glad Willow decided to tell Chase about the pregnancy scare and they talked. That's how you figure things out.

In a way, Dante did abandon Lulu. It wasn't malicious or cruel—he was trying to keep Lulu out of limbo.  I don't know why that's so hard for Olivia to accept.

OMG, the Tracy anvils. STAHP.

[TeeVee329]

My reaction to this surprise (at least to me) Griffin return, during which he copiously kissed Sonny's butt?

Edited December 7, 2019 by TeeVee329

[HeatLifer]

4 hours ago, ulkis said:

Oh look. There's Griffin, right on cue with the one eyebrow higher than the other and looking like he's about to cry expression. @HeatLifer

Which grocery store did they set this up in this time?

[ulkis]

50 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

In a way, Dante did abandon Lulu. It wasn't malicious or cruel—he was trying to keep Lulu out of limbo.  I don't know why that's so hard for Olivia to accept.

I think because "abandon" does make it sound like he was malicious or cruel, like he left her for the heck of it. Both Brook and Lulu should stop throwing it around. Especially Brook, who saw him for a few months out of what, 20 years since they were kids? 

[statsgirl]

The thing is, Lulu does feel that Dante abandoned her.  He left without giving her a say.  And then he divorced her when she wanted to stay married and wait for him.  She's alone and a single parent when she didn't want to be Dante decided to cut ties..

Lulu blurted out her truth and Olivia is going to have to accept it.  So is Brook Lynn.

[ulkis]

I guess for me the meta aspect gets in the way of my sympathy for Lulu. I mean, I am sympathetic in general, just not when it comes to the notion of her being abandoned. He had to divorce her to move the plot along. And it's not like she could have been with him anyway if they had stayed married. She can wait for him anyway, divorce papers or not. 

Edited December 7, 2019 by ulkis

[HeatLifer]

Doesn’t Robin...er...Dante have PTSD? Is everyone sweeping this under the rug again? And who told TPTB that we wanted this?

[sunnyface]

Quote

Amanda Setton and Emme Rylan have fantastic antagonistic chemistry.  Their fight was the most interesting our plucky star journalist has been in forever.

Especially compared to all-to-boring scenes between Maxie and Lulu.

Quote

I cannot even BEGIN to discuss how grotesque and nauseous this show made me feel today with the OTT propping of Sage Sonny, The Oh-So-Wise Marriage Counselor. Are you fucking kidding me with this?

And yesterday, we were told about the 'sacrifices' that Sonny made for Mike.  To be fair, anytime that I see Sonny at the hospital, I hope that someone dispenses the whole can of Lysol to disinfect the hospital when he leaves the hospital. Griffin didn't look excited to be back.

I don't mind Franco being swerved into the Q realm, and would much prefer to see Jason Quartermaine with the Quartermaines than Jason Morgan with the Corinthos.

[TeeVee329]

Catching up on Friday, I again liked the Brook stuff.  Her working out what Monica did on Thanksgiving, her little "The hell?" face when Monica explained her FrancoDrew-related motives, her covering for Monica with Olivia, and her rushing off when she heard Lucas was hurt all worked for me.

Two small knocks.  One, they really don't have to anvil us with the Tracy comparisons in every single episode she appears.  And two, while Amanda Setton is rocking them, Brook is sure wearing a lot of short skirts for December in upstate New York.

Point to the show for remembering that Lucas is Lulu and Maxie's cousin, but it did come off hollow because I can't remember the last time Lucas and Maxie have shared a scene.  I did also enjoy Maxie's line about rewrapping LWB/FS' housewarming gift from Lulu before he got home, very on-brand.

Speaking of whom, so he's straight-up evil now, right, wanting to kill the golden boy Franco? Please, please, please let this mean we'll be rid of him soon.

Edited December 8, 2019 by TeeVee329

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, TeeVee329 said:

Speaking of whom, so he's straight-up evil now, right, wanting to kill the golden boy Franco? Please, please, please let this mean we'll be rid of him soon.

André is more likely the victim. 

I still don't understand why Peter is so set on not wanting his connection to Drew/Shiloh/Afghanistan/Helena to come out. No one is going to be surprised he did shady things in the past. That was who he was. At this point, for me it's the coverup (and what he's done to try to keep the secret), not the lie.

As always, dumb, dumb, dumb. And TFGH.

[Asp Burger]

On 12/6/2019 at 8:08 PM, dubbel zout said:

FRANCO IS NOT DREW. I get she's grieving the loss of Drew, but the way they've written that is horrible for the character.

Is she? That would be the generous read, but I haven't seen much onscreen grieving for Drew from anyone. Both Monica and Kim acted more like it's a shame they lost the one who was nice enough to have around but had limited function, but fortunately, there's a spare with all the really important stuff on its memory card,

[paisley]

I'm still angry about the lack of mourning/lack of memorial for Drew.

Also- BrookLyn's is obnoxious like Carly, no resemblance to Tracy at all. 

Nicolas is disappointingly stupid and is functioning at the maturity level of Spencer.

I'm all for a Ava/Nina team up. Crush Kill Destroy!

I wish the writers had made better use of Michael E. Knight.

I want Hayden back with a good story.

I want aliens to abduct Carly Dev Sonny Jason Brook Valentin EvilPeter Nell.

[ulkis]

22 hours ago, HeatLifer said:

Doesn’t Robin...er...Dante have PTSD? Is everyone sweeping this under the rug again? And who told TPTB that we wanted this?

Which . . . which . . . emoji do I use? the like, the laughing, or the crying? OH THE CRYING. I am . . . mostly okay with it, because the show does say he is sick most of the time, except when they want dumb catfights like these. Although I think technically he's getting de programmed but he didn't specify that so everyone thinks it's PSTD. The writers may have changed that.

[ulkis]

18 hours ago, sunnyface said:

Especially compared to all-to-boring scenes between Maxie and Lulu.

I wish the writers and the actresses would take it down several notches.

Maxie: hmm, maybe Brook Lynn is trying to distract from herself by picking on you. You should try to find out what is her deal.

Lulu: oh my gaaawwd, Maxie, you're a GENIUS for thinking up this obvious idea. EEEEEEE!

or this instance:

Lulu: I slept with Dustin. It was cool.

Maxie: oh my gaaawwd you slept with a BOY? tee hee hee THIS IS SO AMAZING I'M GOING TO FREAK OUT OVER IT even though it's not some huge deal EEEEEEEE.

Lulu also EEEEE'd over Peter moving in with Maxie too, like freaking sheesh, both of them have been through several relationships and have two children each. They act ridiculous. 

Edited December 8, 2019 by ulkis

[Asp Burger]

Now that you mention it, Ulkis, there is some odd stunted growth with Maxie and Lulu. I'm not sure how old I'm supposed to see them as being. They were obviously the show's "young women" when they were both assistants to Original Kate in the Devil Wears Prada cash-in, but we're more than a decade down the line now, they've both lived through so much, and...they're still positioned as young women. It's weird to see actresses of 35 and 39 playing characters who don't act any more mature than Willow, Sasha, and the departed Kiki. 

UO: I kind of like the idea of a Cassadine war in which neither Valentin nor Nikolas is "good," but they have people in town who care about them anyway (Nikolas having more than Valentin). I don't find Nikolas's behavior since coming back to be that much of a departure. He was pulling a lot of shady shit in the Christopher/Stabile period, when he overlapped with "Drew" (Jason at the time). 

Edited December 8, 2019 by Asp Burger

[dubbel zout]

10 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

On 12/6/2019 at 8:08 PM, dubbel zout said:

FRANCO IS NOT DREW. I get she's grieving the loss of Drew, but the way they've written that is horrible for the character.

Is she? That would be the generous read, but I haven't seen much onscreen grieving for Drew from anyone. Both Monica and Kim acted more like it's a shame they lost the one who was nice enough to have around but had limited function, but fortunately, there's a spare with all the really important stuff on its memory card,

Grieving OG Drew is what's drawing them to Frew. If they didn't care, they'd ignore him. It's too bad Billy Miller left, because I'd have loved to have his Drew and Frew in some sort of face-off. Does Kim go with OG Drew because he's actually Drew, or does she go with Frew because he has the memories? Which one does Monica slobber over? It would have been very soapy and classic nutty GH.

2 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

 It's weird to see actresses of 35 and 39 playing characters who don't act any more mature than Willow, Sasha, and the departed Kiki. 

I'd argue that Willow, Sasha, and the departed [Lauren] are all more mature than Lulu and Maxie. Those two are ding-dongs.

[Sake614]

On 12/6/2019 at 3:07 PM, BlancheDevoreaux said:

Anybody else's heart do a little flutter when Robert Scorpio, international badass, skipped off with Violet today? 

MINE! And since I can't imagine it was scripted, I love it even more! And speaking of violet, a friend showed me a video of the actress and h r  father. Apparently her parents are acrobats and this kid is well on her way to joining them. She balances on One foot on her father's hand, above his head!

[ffwbe]

4 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

Now that you mention it, Ulkis, there is some odd stunted growth with Maxie and Lulu. I'm not sure how old I'm supposed to see them as being. They were obviously the show's "young women" when they were both assistants to Original Kate in the Devil Wears Prada cash-in, but we're more than a decade down the line now, they've both lived through so much, and...they're still positioned as young women. It's weird to see actresses of 35 and 39 playing characters who don't act any more mature than Willow, Sasha, and the departed Kiki. 

I’ve noticed this too. The characters might be slightly younger than the actresses playing them but they were teens 15 years ago so they should be in the early 30s by now. A few years ago, I remember people talking about them seeming so aimless. Before Lulu became a reporter overnight and Maxie started working at Crimson, we saw no career or other ambitions from them. These were 2 characters who aren’t trust fund kids and were involved with cops so they obviously didn’t marry rich. It was strange that we saw no references to them working. They actually might have been more mature a decade ago than they are now. I wonder if the show lacking a YA set since FV took over contributed to this. The cast has leaned more heavily towards the 40+ actors and actresses since then which meant that there weren’t many contract actresses on canvas that were younger than them. I can’t remember another time on the show where 30 something women who have been in long term relationships and have multiple children would be this infantilized.
 

Slightly off topic but I see a similar trend with Kristina and Michael still being treated like teens despite being in their mid to late 20s. Molly and TJ seem to have been spared since they are mostly offscreen but Kristina and Michael’s families are still overly involved in their lives. Their situation is a little different than Maxie and Lulu’s though because I think that’s happened because the show has refused to let the younger generation take over and lead their own storylines. 

[TeeVee329]

It's a problem across all soaps that younger characters aren't allowed to ascend to be the leads, but I think GH might be the worst at it.  Sonny and Carly and Jason have had strangeholds on those positions for eons and there's no sign of anything changing. 

[ulkis]

I think in general Maxie and Lulu are presented as adults but when they're in scenes with each other they become over the top and ridiculous, and it's more the actress' faults than the writing.

@ffwbe I disagree that there weren't references to them working. Lulu was at Crimson and then the Haunted Star, and then after they didn't have the Haunted Star on screen in a while they came up with the reporter stuff, and Maxie has mostly been steadily employed at Crimson except for that weird about two year period where Maxie wasn't doing anything because Ron Carlivati was too lazy to bother. It wasn't just her. Drew as Jason never did anything until he bought Aurora and that only happened because Burton was returning. That i think was less out of laziness and them not sure how involved Jason/Drew was supposed to be in the mob.

[Ambrosefolly]

2 hours ago, ulkis said:

I think in general Maxie and Lulu are presented as adults but when they're in scenes with each other they become over the top and ridiculous, and it's more the actress' faults than the writing.

@ffwbe I disagree that there weren't references to them working. Lulu was at Crimson and then the Haunted Star, and then after they didn't have the Haunted Star on screen in a while they came up with the reporter stuff, and Maxie has mostly been steadily employed at Crimson except for that weird about two year period where Maxie wasn't doing anything because Ron Carlivati was too lazy to bother. It wasn't just her. Drew as Jason never did anything until he bought Aurora and that only happened because Burton was returning. That i think was less out of laziness and them not sure how involved Jason/Drew was supposed to be in the mob.

I can't believe that the show didn't make good use of the rise of social media in the early 2010s and have Maxie become an influencer in the vein of Emily Weiss and Huda Kattan, (and less like Lori Laughlin's daughters) especially when she when she and Johnny went on those professional dates that were featured in Crimson and Spinelli was around to set up a blog. In theory, the show could still do it, but they would be way past the eight ball.

[amaranta]

21 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

It's too bad Billy Miller left, because I'd have loved to have his Drew and Frew in some sort of face-off. Does Kim go with OG Drew because he's actually Drew, or does she go with Frew because he has the memories? Which one does Monica slobber over?

This is starting to sound like a storyline for Dr. Drake Ramoray.  

[dubbel zout]

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[mostlylurking]

I see NOTHING of Tracy in Brooke Lynn.  Tracy was a bad bitch (in the best way).  Like, watch out, she'd cut you.  Brooklyn is just annoying and a brat.  Plus I HATE the name Brooke Lynn and cringe when anyone says it, which sadly has been quite often.  Why couldn't they just name her Brookyn that's also a name or just Brooke.