Episode Discussion II: The TFGH

[Artsda]

Why is Gladys still here?  This story has been dragging going on as long as Willows cancer. She drugging Sasha, getting her attested, her job on line and she's going to stand there acting like she cares. 

Scout should want nothing to do with going to see her father who chose Carly over her.  Sam also should not tolerate it either. 

 

[mostlylurking]

15 minutes ago, Artsda said:

Why is Gladys still here?  This story has been dragging going on as long as Willows cancer. She drugging Sasha, getting her attested, her job on line and she's going to stand there acting like she cares. 

 

They ruined the Gladys character as they’ve ruined so many others. I liked Gladys and I like the actress who plays her. She was a little messy sure, but she really stepped up and proved she was loyal after the baby died, and then Brando. She showed some intelligence working at Deception too.  She had a lot of potential so I’m pretty pissed they decided to make the character so one note. Not surprised, but still pissed. 

[dubbel zout]

I hate Gladys when they make her so grasping about money. I don't mind her having a gambling problem, but it's gross she's messing with Sasha this way to support the habit. It's physically harmful to Sasha, not just screwing her over for the money.

[sunnyface]

18 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

Small blessings: Carly-free episodes.

Four Carly-free episodes in a row this week?  I think this is the first time in a decade that Carly has not had at least one weekly appearance.  That character has become so toxic, that just by osmosis - every other (except for Carly Jrs) plot seems more pleasurable to watch.  ymmv. 

[KittyQ]

On 7/12/2023 at 4:58 PM, perkie1968 said:

None of it makes any sense.  A bubble would mean she's isolated with that person.  NOt people who can come in whenever they want and bring in the germs from the outside world.  

It's almost as though none of these writers went through several years of COVID and the various precautions that went in place, especially at the beginning. Many people with health issues had to have a bubble in place.

[ffwbe]

Carly-free days are always a short reprieve. They always turn around and give her an entire month of episodes to make us pay for any break we get from her. Plus they subjected us to both of her kids and their lame pairings, who also have nothing going on since their storyline about taking Sonny down ended with a whimper. 

[MarciNJ]

21 hours ago, CeChase said:

I can't imagine why Portia would give a isht that Nina turned Carly in, but I'm sure they'll find a way

probably something to do with Trina being BFFs with Joss.

[ffwbe]

This sudden animosity TJ/Molly have towards Kristina is random. When’s the last time they shared scenes with her that wasn’t for the holidays or some big family moment? I honestly can’t recall any individual scenes between TJ and Kristina before this. The only “Davis girl” we ever see him sharing one on one scenes with outside of Molly is Alexis. At the same time, this version of Kristina comes off like an airhead and even more immature than LA’s Kristina was. I hoped they were going in a positive direction with the character with the older looking recast but if anything, they went backwards. 

[YaddaYadda]

Trina calling Curtis "dad" was so unearned.

Gladys is the scum of the earth. But since she's not a Carly, she will get hers.

TJ being pissy at Kristina was ooc for him. Also no one told you to go in the OR and watch as they operated on your uncle.

Molly being passive-aggressive with Kristina was annoying. 

The rest wasn't that bad. I think.

Edited July 14, 2023 by YaddaYadda

[ffwbe]

1 minute ago, YaddaYadda said:

Trina calling Curtis "dad" was so unearned.

I bet that the only reason they shot Curtis is for Trina to suddenly let him in and for Portia to forget that he kissed Jordan. It’s a pp to ffw through those issues and straight into a happy family.

[YaddaYadda]

3 minutes ago, ffwbe said:

I bet that the only reason they shot Curtis is for Trina to suddenly let him in and for Portia to forget that he kissed Jordan. It’s a pp to ffw through those issues and straight into a happy family.

100% with you. This show is adverse to conflict unless a Carly is driving it and they get to kick someone repeatedly while they're down.

Curtis does not deserve forgiveness from Portia and the writing has been all about how Trina wasn't ready for this. So let's accelerate all of that and not make Curtis work to earn anything.

[statsgirl]

TJ going off on Kristina is really over the top. All she said was that she's glad that Curtis survived surgery and that's good news. Why are they trying to make me hate TJ?

Molly going off on Kristina was awful too. I thought that I was supposed to be sympathetic to Molly and TJ here, not want to smack them for being cruel. Lexi is well out of this story.

Neurosurgeon said that there will be losses to Curtis because of the shooting. One thing I know will remain intact is his ego.

They are really playing up Trina/Curtis now. Trina was the first person allowed in to see him, not Stella who raised him, not Marshall his father, not TJ who Curtis helped raised and who considers him a father figure, not Portia his wife but Trina, who only learned a week ago that he is her biological father.

What happened to the strong Trina of before? The one who could stand up to anyone and did for her friends.

Molly to TJ: "I know it must have been rough in there observing the surgery on Curtis."  Why the hell was he allowed in at all?

I'm also hating Gladys these days too. Sympathy for the actress, none for the character any more.

On a positive note, I liked the scene with Alexis and Sonny talking about Kristina. It felt real for both the situation and the characters. Since the Good Writer is on strike, did NLG and MB contribute to the writing?

I even liked the Anna/Sonny/Dante strategy session. Sonny is so much better far away from Carly.

The Cody/Sasha scene was good too. I can buy them together in a few months.

2 hours ago, ffwbe said:

Carly-free days are always a short reprieve. They always turn around and give her an entire month of episodes to make us pay for any break we get from her. Plus they subjected us to both of her kids and their lame pairings, who also have nothing going on since their storyline about taking Sonny down ended with a whimper. 

I can't remember the last time a storyline didn't end with a whimper. The SEC  fraud story, Willow's imminent death, Joss and Dex sneaking around because Sonny will kill him, Marshall's schizophrenia ...

[ffwbe]

Alexis and Sonny have nice friendship chemistry. You’d think they’d capitalize on it more instead of having them share scenes twice a year. 

[dubbel zout]

Just now, YaddaYadda said:

TJ being pissy at Kristina was ooc for him. Also no one told you to go in the OR and watch as they operated on your uncle.

Molly being passive-aggressive with Kristina was annoying. 

Seriously. Then Molly saying not everything was about Kristina was out of nowhere. Kristina was genuinely trying to support those two, and they snarl at her for being self-involved? Ugh. I know they're dealing with a lot, but don't take it out on other people.

5 minutes ago, ffwbe said:

Alexis and Sonny have nice friendship chemistry. You’d think they’d capitalize on it more instead of having them share scenes twice a year. 

Thank Jasus they've never revisited the ONS.

[PatsyandEddie]

T.J. wouldn’t have allowed in to O.R. at all. Plus, how many residencies is he doing at the same time? He seems to  be everywhere. Can’t the writers google anything ?

I felt sorry for Kristina today. Both Molly and TJ were rude. I understand they are very stressed but they were OTT.

[ciarra]

I thought Molly and TJ were out of line the other day when Kristina wanted to be their surrogate.  "Kristina makes it all about her."  Seriously?  Your sister is willing to carry a child for you and you're just going to call her selfish?  And if you feel that way, just come right our and tell her you don't want her to be the surrogate.  Don't snipe at her behind her back. 

[ffwbe]

Well today kind of made me understand how TJ and Willow can be friends. The surrogate storyline is starting off stupid considering that TJ and Molly haven’t even mentioned wanting to go that route yet. They should have started off considering it before Kristina came up with the idea for it to be her. 

[statsgirl]

I cognitively understand what Molly is going through -- she's always been the good child, the one who won awards and scooted to the top with a great relationship that she's had since she was a teenager while Kristina was the screw-up who couldn't find herself, kept getting into bad situations (e.g. Dawn of Day) and bad relationships and now suddenly Kristina is doing something she sees as a calling and is physically fine whereas Molly herself is not.  Molly wants things to go back to how they were before where she was gold and Kristina was screwing up and so she blames Kristina.

But all this should have been discussed with a therapist or at least Alexis or Sam rather than taking it out on Kristina

There is no excuse for TJ.

52 minutes ago, ffwbe said:

Well today kind of made me understand how TJ and Willow can be friends.

Chef's kiss.

[ciarra]

41 minutes ago, ffwbe said:

They should have started off considering it before Kristina came up with the idea for it to be her. 

They did discuss it, three weeks ago, at GH in the doctor's office.  Molly said their surrogate had to be vegan and not watch violent movies.

[Cheyanne11]

50 minutes ago, ffwbe said:

Well today kind of made me understand how TJ and Willow can be friends.

I was thinking that since he and Willow have become buddies he's become more self-righteous and smug, so that tracks.  The pile-on on Kristina by Molly and him was so uncalled for.

Also, granted I was only half watching, but why the fuck is Mac telling Sam about ongoing police investigations? 

 

[Blackie]

I checked in, I can't believe they still have scripts written to keep going. But I guess now with the actors strike that will stop all filming. All though, according to Mr Blackie the actor's strike shouldn't have an impact on GH, esp Sonny 😜

[dubbel zout]

20 minutes ago, ciarra said:

1 hour ago, ffwbe said:

They should have started off considering it before Kristina came up with the idea for it to be her. 

They did discuss it, three weeks ago, at GH in the doctor's office.  Molly said their surrogate had to be vegan and not watch violent movies.

Molly and TJ are going to micromanage the surrogacy to an incredible degree anyway, and if Kristina's the surrogate? There's no way she'll be able to handle it.

16 minutes ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Also, granted I was only half watching, but why the fuck is Mac telling Sam about ongoing police investigations? 

 Partly because the crack PI stumbled into a PCPD operation and Mac needed to keep Sam from blowing the whole thing.

10 minutes ago, Blackie said:

But I guess now with the actors strike that will stop all filming.

Nope—soap actors are on a different contract that expires in 2024. If actors do decide to honor the strike, they will be in breach of their contract and the studios could take legal action against them.

[PatsyandEddie]

I don’t think anyone could handle being a surrogate for Molly and TJ. There’s being particular and then there’s being overbearingly obsessive. 

[Asp Burger]

7 hours ago, sunnyface said:

Four Carly-free episodes in a row this week?  I think this is the first time in a decade that Carly has not had at least one weekly appearance. 

I haven't seen an episode since the one that aired on Thursday the 6th. This is the first thing I've read here to make me regret it. Obviously, I picked my spot badly! 

[ljr]

How much does sasha get paid? How does she never have a clue her money is disapearing?

[Cheyanne11]

2 hours ago, PatsyandEddie said:

I don’t think anyone could handle being a surrogate for Molly and TJ. There’s being particular and then there’s being overbearingly obsessive. 

I'm imagining the surrogate having to submit daily food plans for approval and Molly looking into the legality of installing cameras in their house to make sure they're not covertly eating a Klondike bar.

[Artsda]

Does Guardianship take away having access to your own bank app to see your purchases? Sasha can't see all Gladys is doing? Nina hopefully realizes Gladys is a manipulative money stealing liar.

Wow TJ and Molly were horrible to Kristina. Kristina really needs to not be their surrogate.

Trina saying dad was so forced. 

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Artsda

[TVbitch]

Did someone crank the soap to 11 this week. Sasha is acting way OTT for someone on a benzo (even if it is mixed with an anti-D and causing "mood swings"). Then there are TJ's outbursts, Molly's "blue steel" glares, and Trina vapors over Curtis ~~it's like half the cast is suddenly Jackting* instead of acting. Meanwhile, is anyone even looking for Ned?

*TM Jack McFarland

[dubbel zout]

14 hours ago, Artsda said:

Does Guardianship take away having access to your own bank app to see your purchases? Sasha can't see all Gladys is doing? Nina hopefully realizes Gladys is a manipulative money stealing liar.

Sasha foolishly trusts Gladys to be doing the right thing. 

I think Cody is the only person who suspects/knows that Gladys is abusing Sasha's finances.

[perkie1968]

LIne of the day:
Sonny: Next time you won't notice them
Dante: Maybe you should hire ninjas.

That had to be an ad lib on Dom's part. The grin on his face when he said it and Mo being thrown for a second.

[mostlylurking]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Meanwhile, is anyone even looking for Ned?

I honestly forgot all about Ned with all the fuckery going on lately. No Carly is always a plus but we’ve got her mini more than filling in the insufferable role.

 

18 hours ago, Artsda said:

Wow TJ and Molly were horrible to Kristina. Kristina really needs to not be their surrogate.

 

I think they are acting completely out of character.  Maybe Willow’s horribleness is rubbing off on TJ.  And nuMolly isn’t winning any points with me.  I know Kristina has always been a black sheep but it’s usually Sam and Alexis condescending to her, not Molly.

[Sake614]

Gladys is a real POS. She clearly cares nothing about Sasha’s mental health, only about how much money she can make off her daughter in law. I can’t wait for her to be exposed.

[YaddaYadda]

19 hours ago, Artsda said:

Wow TJ and Molly were horrible to Kristina. Kristina really needs to not be their surrogate.

Honestly, nobody should be their surrogate. 

Vegan, no violent movies reminds me of FRIENDS and Joey's ad in the paper looking for a female roommate who was nonsmoker and non ugly. 

I can't imagine that they won't be very intrusive or that they will allow that poor woman a private life. Especially Molly.  

Kristina should really think long and hard about this and not help. Especially after TJ and Molly treated her like scum.

With these writers, I bet the whole thing will border on abuse.

[ciarra]

If they go the surrogate route with Kristina, I can see her not wanting to give the baby up.  Long, messy and angsty.

[ybrik]

As someone mentioned in the last couple of pages, this would be a good time to bring back Emma. Not only as a possibly counter Joss but also would be perfect for Anna’s storyline. Either she could comeback acting out due to finding out about Anna’s past or maybe coming back to be part of the PCPD so that she can try to bring ‘honor’ back to the family. 

The Gladys/Sasha storyline is dragging too long. Also Selina continuing to do all this under Sonny’s nose doesn’t help his image as a mob boss. 

Also in agreement with Molly and TJ being overly harsh about Kristina. I can by Molly being over reactive due to her always being the good girl and not causing problems. Hell she was even in pain for a while and not complaining and this happens to her. And as messy as Kristina can be she is perfectly fine to have a child. yeah TJ was ridiculous.

The show is really leaning too hard on Kristina being wrong or messy all the time. It is like she has a thought and her family are against it. hell Alexis should have wanted Kristina to speak to Maxie and hope that Maxie would be able to explain the difficulties of being a surrogate for someone they are close to. 

I am not having that much of an issue with the nuKristina especially in comparison to the nuMolly or tempMolly. I am curious to see her with a love interest though I am expecting them to pay lip service to her bisexuality and strictly test with men. Probably Chase, Cody and/or Dex though I doubtful about Dex as i don’t think you bring in a name actress in a recast to basically play loser to Joss. More than likely Chase or Cody though I would prefer if they were going to do love triangles with either guys and their current love interests that maybe spice things up with making a real triangle where all pairings would be an option. 

 

[Suicidy]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:41 PM, YaddaYadda said:

It's sad when you're rooting for the death of characters. Willow and cancer, Curtis and his bullet. But it seems like they're dropping all the anvils they have that Curtis might end up wheelchair-bound for a bit before he has some miraculous recovery and can feel his legs again.

Also, he doesn't deserve a wife or a daughter. He deserves a chair on the head.

The less said about Joss the better.

Esme seemed to be up to her old tricks with Trina about how she and Spencer were together, heard the news together, were devastated by the news. Laying on thick much?

I knew I should have stuck with Sunny in Philadelphia.

There needs to be an episode titled ‘The Gang Visits Port Charles’.

[KittyQ]

On 7/14/2023 at 1:20 PM, PatsyandEddie said:

T.J. wouldn’t have allowed in to O.R. at all. Plus, how many residencies is he doing at the same time? He seems to  be everywhere. Can’t the writers google anything ?

I felt sorry for Kristina today. Both Molly and TJ were rude. I understand they are very stressed but they were OTT.

Also, TJ gets to deliver diagnoses and outcomes to patients. I was surprised that the surgeon was even allowed to appear. 

Why are Molly and TJ so antagonistic towards Kristina? I don't recall anything lately that caused the negative feelings. It's sensitive situation, and Kristina is probably naive to think this would be an easy answer, but they have been very dismissive and rude. 

[YaddaYadda]

37 minutes ago, KittyQ said:

Why are Molly and TJ so antagonistic towards Kristina? I don't recall anything lately that caused the negative feelings. It's sensitive situation, and Kristina is probably naive to think this would be an easy answer, but they have been very dismissive and rude. 

They are entitled jerks and it's not like Kristina went to straight to Molly and told her that she would be her surrogate. She told Alexis and Sam about it and Sam told her to think about it before she proposed anything because it would not be easy. Again, Kristina didn't run to Molly about it. Molly overheard and made a massive deal about it all the while saying that Kristina was likely the best option for surrogacy, then biting her head off over it. And TJ was all understanding, then turned into a complete jerk over it.

The writing is all about giving viewers and characters whiplash.

[nilyank]

19 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

he told Alexis and Sam about it and Sam told her to think about it before she proposed anything because it would not be easy. Again, Kristina didn't run to Molly about it. Molly overheard and made a massive deal about it all the while saying that Kristina was likely the best option for surrogacy, then biting her head off over it.

If they actually had Molly overhearing the rest of what Kristina said to Alexis and Sam saying how she got herself checked out and is completely healthy and can easily have babies, it would make sense why Molly is annoyed with Kristina, but she didn't.

[dubbel zout]

Kristina is just putting it out there that she can be the surrogate. It doesn't mean it has to happen. Everyone is acting as if it's some fait accompli. I don't think Molly and TJ have decided how they want to have a baby. Everyone needs to take a giant step back.

[statsgirl]

 Vegan, no violent movies, blaming Kristina. Given how Molly and TJ are reacting, they're less ready to be good parents than Esme and Spencer are.

Run Kristina, run.

[perkie1968]

3 hours ago, KittyQ said:

Why are Molly and TJ so antagonistic towards Kristina? I don't recall anything lately that caused the negative feelings.

Molly overheard Kristina tell Sam and Alexis that she could be their surogate and immediately went and told TJ that Kristina was the evilest of evils who would turn surogacy into a me me me thing.  That apparently is reason enough for the two of them to yell at Kristina when she comes to the hospital to give them support and compassion in a time of need.  

 

52 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Kristina is just putting it out there that she can be the surrogate. It doesn't mean it has to happen.

This.  Tolly were acting like just because Kristina said one thing about it, then that means they are obligated to do it.  No backsies.  

[Suicidy]

On 7/12/2023 at 8:16 PM, ciarra said:

Will Gladys need to steal the prescription back?  Won't the police go through Sasha's purse when she is booked for shoplifting and find the pills?  Pills with her name on them and the prescribing doctor's name?

Why is a detective arresting a shoplifter?  Doesn't he have more serious crimes to investigate, like stealing corporate secrets? 

Why didn't the inventory control tag set off an alarm at the store?

Lazy writing, and no budget for more day players?

[Kim0820]

On 7/10/2023 at 8:35 PM, Pingaponga said:

Curtis is going to survive and I'm going to be very disappointed, aren't I?

 

On 7/10/2023 at 8:43 PM, Sake614 said:

Sadly, yes. And not only will he survive, he’ll make a miraculous recovery and a form a new bond with Trina. She already referred to him as ‘my dad’ today. 🙄

That was way too early!   And for sure he will be paralyzed, but that won't be permanent, as it, like blindness, is never permanent on soaps. 

On 7/10/2023 at 11:33 PM, ciarra said:

Well, they said "spine" twice, so I suspect he's going to have some sort of paralysis.

eta: I missed the last two minutes of the show, where they were all, in fact, yammering about paralysis.  I based my comment on what I'd seen at the beginning of the show (anvils were dropping).

[Suicidy]

On 7/14/2023 at 6:27 PM, Cheyanne11 said:

I'm imagining the surrogate having to submit daily food plans for approval and Molly looking into the legality of installing cameras in their house to make sure they're not covertly eating a Klondike bar.

And isn’t she vegan?  I have an ex that was insufferable about that.

[KittyQ]

2 hours ago, Suicidy said:

Why is a detective arresting a shoplifter?  Doesn't he have more serious crimes to investigate, like stealing corporate secrets? 

Why didn't the inventory control tag set off an alarm at the store?

I wondered about the tag too. You'd think it would set something off.

Obviously, PC exists in a universe where shoplifting is still a crime (unlike many other places in the past few years), but having a detective show up instead of a regular policeman seems strange, unless Sasha being a local celebrity makes her entitled to slightly more courtesy. 

[statsgirl]

Maybe Chase offered to go since he knows Sasha and knows how vulnerable she is. 

Or maybe PCPD doesn't have uniform cops on duty at that time.

[lala2]

What bothers me the most about the Tolly/Kristina thing is there was no animosity or underlying resentment btw HP/Molly and LA/Kristina. Now, there’s suddenly all these issues btw them. Since when?!?!

Molly going on and on about Kristina making everything about herself had me scratching my head!! When? When did Kristina make everything about her? When she was in a cult? Because that’s the last actual story I remember Kristina having, and why wouldn’t it be all about her then?!? Or was it when her dad died and then resurfaced?!?! Tolly’s claims made no sense because the writing HASN’T told that story. I’ve seen Kristina mostly minding her business and occasionally reading Sam for filth. She hasn’t been featured enough for anything they said to make any sense! 

I guess the show decided there needed to be some underlying resentment, jealousy, and animosity btw the sisters.  I find it a little easier to swallow WITHOUT HP and LA in the roles but it’s still wholly unsupported by the characters’ histories and unnecessary. 
 
Tolly were awful to Kristina. If I were Kristina, I certainly wouldn’t speak to them again let alone offer to be their surrogate. They were obnoxious, rude, and patronizing to her. And they seem to dislike who she is as a person! In fact, I don’t like the way her mother or Sam speak to her either. They are all awful to Kristina and act like they are better than her. Kristina should write them all off if you ask me. I like KaMa’s Kristina. TempMolly is just not good. 

[YaddaYadda]

6 hours ago, KittyQ said:

Obviously, PC exists in a universe where shoplifting is still a crime (unlike many other places in the past few years), but having a detective show up instead of a regular policeman seems strange, unless Sasha being a local celebrity makes her entitled to slightly more courtesy. 

A crime for some. Just like insider trading. A crime for most, complete absolution for others.

[mbluecpa]

Sasha’s current meltdown feels really rushed, as if the writers suddenly discovered that SM was ~8.5 months pregnant and had no plan for her maternity leave.  

Even on 4x FF, the Michael/Willow/Wiley beret/Eiffel Tower scenes were seriously cringeworthy.  

I’m still shaking my head at the early week Joss/Esme scenes.  I guess with Carly not being on or being in somewhat of a victim mode, we get Carly, Jr amped up to 11.  

What I did really enjoy but haven’t seen mentioned is last week’s (Wednesday?) Martin/Anna scenes in the Metro Court shooter’s room.  Their banter and chemistry were 👍