The Hope "Fancy Face" Brady Thread

[DisneyBoy]

A true soap icon, thanks in no small part to her romance with Bo Brady. Then again, there was also her tiarared alter-ego...an infamous on-screen shooting...an acid bath...and the death of a child. Decades of highlights to choose from.

Love her? Hate her? Miss her? Recast her? Or beg on bended knee to get Kristian Alfonso back for keeps?

 

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[TenaciousWarrior]

I don’t miss Hope. I quit liking her when the Princess Gina story took over the show in 1998.

[chediavolo]

Recast her. 

[Pearson80]

2 hours ago, TenaciousWarrior said:

I don’t miss Hope. I quit liking her when the Princess Gina story took over the show in 1998.

I hate to agree with you but I feel the same way. Hope was tarnished after she came back from the dead.  So many writers did a hit job on her because a certain writer had a Billie Reed agenda. 

However, Hope from the 80's all the way to her "death" in 1991 was an awesome badass.  She was spoiled brave, loving stubborn loyal resourceful and funny at times. Hope going to the police academy in heels in a fur and full makeup was comedy gold.  There was also that time that she was under a bed making faces at Megan who was trying to seduce Bo.  I really miss that Hope, I saw glimmers of her here and there throughout the years but not enough to erase my displeasure regarding the writing that she got..

My love for Hope is more sentimental on how she used to be as a character and with Bo, the love of her life..

Edited October 10, 2021 by Pearson80

[Panopticon]

Haiden pictures! I know it’s sacrilege, but I really enjoyed them and wished the show would have kept Aiden around if Peter Reckell wasn’t willing to return long term.

ETA: I would rather Hope stayed away for now. If she came back to Salem, she’d have to genuflect to her serial killer son-in-law and perhaps pine after Rafe. I want better for her. Offscreen I can imagine that she’s visiting Melissa and Jennifer and Kimberly/Shane and Claire and her grown-up “son” JT. Maybe she’s kicking ass and solving crimes like the badass she was meant to be. Yeah, it’s a shame she can’t be there for Doug right now… but the benefits of Hope staying offscreen outweigh the drawbacks. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Panopticon
Return thoughts. Run, Fancy Face, run!

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, chediavolo said:

Recast her. 

Nope, she is safer off canvas.

[DisneyBoy]

3 hours ago, Panopticon said:

Haiden pictures! I know it’s sacrilege, but I really enjoyed them and wished the show would have kept Aiden around if Peter Reckell wasn’t willing to return long term.

Not sacrilege at all! You are totally right. Hope needed a good new long-term guy and Aiden had all the right stuff: he was clearly different from Bo, would butt heads with her professionally, was also a single father...I'll never understand why they threw all that away so Bo could swoop in for five minutes and then die (no offense to Peter or Bo, of course). It was so short-sighted. They had nothing even halfway as compelling to work with with Rafe as her new beau.

...I looked so hard for an image of the mime sex, you guys have no idea! 😂 Didn't find exactly what I was hoping for LOL!

Now...does anyone know what the deal is with that vampire Princess Gina gif...? Hilarious!!!

Edited October 11, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[Panopticon]

7 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Now...does anyone know what the deal is with that vampire Princess Gina gif...? Hilarious!!!

Not at all sure, but I think that might have been one of Greta’s challenges in the virtual Garden of Eden? It has that look to me.

[Pearson80]

4 hours ago, Panopticon said:

Haiden pictures! I know it’s sacrilege, but I really enjoyed them and wished the show would have kept Aiden around if Peter Reckell wasn’t willing to return long term.

 

I was indifferent to Aiden and Hope since I think that Aiden would have been better with Kayla.  I always felt it was stupid for Hope to just accept that Bo no longer wanted to be with her. It would have been in character for her to go out and look for Bo and during her adventure she meets a mysterious  handsome charming man who may not be on the up and up and sparks fly.. Is this man connected to Bo's mysterious disappearance or not.. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Pearson80

[Panopticon]

9 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

I always felt it was stupid for Hope to just accept that Bo no longer wanted to be with her. It would have been in character for her to go out and look for Bo

In theory I agree with this. But in practice I feel like Hope was the proverbial frog in the pot of water slowly coming to a boil. It wasn't as if, out of the blue, Bo vanished or said he no longer wanted to be with Hope. It started with Bo being away from Hope and Ciara for long periods of time for various agreed-upon reasons: taking care of Caroline, taking care of Kimberly, working on a case. Then it was gradual extensions of the time spent away, but with phone calls and other communications assuring her that he loved her and missed her. For months/years was a trend of slower and slower communication with assurances that the case was very important and it would be just a little longer.

It probably didn't help that Hope knew multiple men-- including Bo's own big brother-- who loved their wives and families but abandoned them in ways large or small to chase mega-villains. Both Roman's and Shane's tragic flaws could be summed up as "will prioritize the ISA over his family and his own humanity, and will use catching bad guys as an excuse to run away when he's hurt or scared." Bo was different, and while I know Hope knows that, she was also deeply immersed in a family where the highly moral action heroes do this.

By the time she sent that letter saying Bo was the love of her life but that she was moving on because she never actually saw him anymore, I couldn't blame her.

What I loathed was the reveal that Aiden was EVIL and that while Hope/Ciara couldn't see it after years, Bo/Shawn could see it instantaneously. To me that was what felt most out of character for Hope (and Ciara). And not a little sexist.

[Pearson80]

1 hour ago, Panopticon said:

In theory I agree with this. But in practice I feel like Hope was the proverbial frog in the pot of water slowly coming to a boil. It wasn't as if, out of the blue, Bo vanished or said he no longer wanted to be with Hope. It started with Bo being away from Hope and Ciara for long periods of time for various agreed-upon reasons: taking care of Caroline, taking care of Kimberly, working on a case. Then it was gradual extensions of the time spent away, but with phone calls and other communications assuring her that he loved her and missed her. For months/years was a trend of slower and slower communication with assurances that the case was very important and it would be just a little longer.

It probably didn't help that Hope knew multiple men-- including Bo's own big brother-- who loved their wives and families but abandoned them in ways large or small to chase mega-villains. Both Roman's and Shane's tragic flaws could be summed up as "will prioritize the ISA over his family and his own humanity, and will use catching bad guys as an excuse to run away when he's hurt or scared." Bo was different, and while I know Hope knows that, she was also deeply immersed in a family where the highly moral action heroes do this.

By the time she sent that letter saying Bo was the love of her life but that she was moving on because she never actually saw him anymore, I couldn't blame her.

What I loathed was the reveal that Aiden was EVIL and that while Hope/Ciara couldn't see it after years, Bo/Shawn could see it instantaneously. To me that was what felt most out of character for Hope (and Ciara). And not a little sexist.

I always thought it was just lazy writing on the writers part when it came to Bo "leaving" his family. 

I do agree with you about Aiden being evil, it was heavy-handed  and insulting that Bo figured out that he was up to no good. I would have preferred that it was a slow reveal and that Hope figured it  out on her own and it should have had nothing to do with Bo's return.  We have to remember that it was Dena who wrote that drivel and she also used Bo's return to push the Hope/Rafe pairing even before he bit the dust.  Bo actually "gave" Hope to Rafe and that was insulting af..

The only good thing about Dena/Josh writing at that time was the Aiden/Clyde dynamic. It should have been explored more.  Clyde was an awesome villain but the show ruined that as well.  I also liked the Clyde/Marlena dynamic, he was trying so hard to hide his sociopathy and narcissism because he believed that he was the smartest person in the room but Doctor Marlena Evans saw right through his BS..

Edited October 11, 2021 by Pearson80

[DisneyBoy]

34 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

We have to remember that it was Dena who wrote that drivel and she also used Bo's return to push the Hope/Rafe pairing even before he bit the dust.  Bo actually "gave" Hope to Rafe and that was insulting af..

Yes! That moment drove me insane. Not only did it demean Hope to be traded by the boys, but it demeaned the character of Bo to even think about his wife that way, as if he as the man must preapprove her next husband. 🤢 TF? And then it was also such a patronizing way for the Show to tell us viewers "accept Rope now!" Um....no. We get to make up our own minds, thanks. You can't just tell us something is great before it's even happened and expect us to agree.

They could have still brought Peter R back for a splashy goodbye without running over Aiden. God that was hard to watch...poor Daniel Cosgrove.

Can I ask - were there 2 Ginas? One being the Princess and the other just being a normal person/art thief or something? I'm still confused....

Edited October 11, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[Peanut6711]

19 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

A true soap icon, thanks in no small part to her romance with Bo Brady. Then again, there was also her tiarared alter-ego...an infamous on-screen shooting...an acid bath...and the death of a child. Decades of highlights to choose from.

Love her? Hate her? Miss her? Recast her? Or beg on bended knee to get Kristian Alfonso back for keeps?

 

 

This is a nicer tribute than anything Ron has thought to scrounge up. 

I do NOT want to see Hope recast. I rarely think it works for actresses/actors who have defined the role, and that's clearly the case with KA playing Hope for decades.  However, I do think Hope's absence has been ridiculously explained for a year now.  Ron just keeps writing it into a bigger corner.  She's off looking for Ciara, but then Ciara's alive so Hope meets her in Africa, but now Ciara is in Salem so why the hell is Hope still in Africa! What is she even doing there? Unless it turns out she's having a hot and torrid affair w/Eric, then her sticking around is just lame. 

I've always thought a more plausible explanation would be that Shane asked for her help on an ISA case, and she's off somewhere undercover working that. It could account for a long absence. Bonus points if they can get KA to do a Zoom scene and tell her family that. But at this point, I'll take Shawn getting word from her via a one sided phone call. Maybe then as he passes it along, the Salemites can reminisce some of their favorite moments (would be cool if they were actual cast picks) with her as they remark they'll miss her, but wish her well on a new adventure. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Peanut6711

[Panopticon]

3 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

I always thought it was just lazy writing on the writers part when it came to Bo "leaving" his family. 

Well, yes, when you get meta both Bo's and Hope's actions come down to bad writing. I have a bit of sympathy for the writers in this situation, though, because there are no good solutions when one half of a cornerstone couple wants to stay and the other wants to leave. In retrospect they should have killed Bo right away, but I can understand them wanting to wait a while in case Peter Reckell decided to come back or Kristian Alfonso decided to leave. If either actor changed his/her mind in those few years, the story would have ended in the universally preferred outcome of a Bope reunion. But the longer they waited without the actor status changing, the more untenable the storyline got.

Quote

I do agree with you about Aiden being evil, it was heavy-handed  and insulting that Bo figured out that he was up to no good. I would have preferred that it was a slow reveal and that Hope figured it  out on her own and it should have had nothing to do with Bo's return. 

Since I was a Haiden fan, obviously I would have preferred that he not be evil at all. Hope could still drop him like a hot potato the minute Bo became an option again. Bo's biggest relationship with a woman other than Hope was Billie, and Billie is still to this day portrayed as basically a good person. Why is it necessary that every man other than Bo who looks at Hope (from Larry to Franco to Patrick) be a mustache-twirling villain?... Unless of course Bo himself "chooses" Rafe and hands Hope over like property. Hope should be just as able as Bo to choose an alternate partner and have a decent alternate relationship. Aiden could have moved on to another romance (I liked him with Nicole) or just left town a better man for having known Hope.

I thought that the Haiden storyline showed a lot of Hope's best qualities. Aiden was, initially, rude and judgmental. Hope wouldn't let him walk over her at all, but she also gave him space to be better and owned that Ciara needed some redirection. Hope was strong, Hope was confident, Hope was generous, Hope was forgiving. Once Hope/Aiden became friends, I loved that Aiden readily acknowledged that Hope's ability to defend herself physically was better than his ability to defend her... and he was fine with it rather than feeling threatened, since he had other strengths as a person.

The reveal that Aiden had been evil all along was ridiculous. He started off his time in Salem by accusing Ciara of being bully, accusing Brady of being a drunk (which he was at the time but Aiden was still a dick about it), accusing Hope of spoiling Ciara, etc. He was throwing money around left and right as they one-upped each other with their donations to the school. It was eight months of mostly mutual dislike between Aiden and Hope before they danced at the gala. That's... not how a penniless man working for an evil mastermind goes about seducing someone for nefarious purposes.

It just shows how much easier it is to destroy something than it is to build something. It took the better part of a year to craft Aiden as a three-dimensional character and do an old-school slow burn with the Hope/Aiden romance. It took a few episodes to say "whoops, Aiden has always been a psycho and Hope is a dimwit for not knowing it."

Quote

We have to remember that it was Dena who wrote that drivel and she also used Bo's return to push the Hope/Rafe pairing even before he bit the dust.  Bo actually "gave" Hope to Rafe and that was insulting af..

At least on that we can agree.

[Pearson80]

5 minutes ago, Panopticon said:

Well, yes, when you get meta both Bo's and Hope's actions come down to bad writing. I have a bit of sympathy for the writers in this situation, though, because there are no good solutions when one half of a cornerstone couple wants to stay and the other wants to leave. In retrospect they should have killed Bo right away, but I can understand them wanting to wait a while in case Peter Reckell decided to come back or Kristian Alfonso decided to leave. If either actor changed his/her mind in those few years, the story would have ended in the universally preferred outcome of a Bope reunion. But the longer they waited without the actor status changing, the more untenable the storyline got.

Quote

The tea behind that is Peter wanted a storyline for Bo and Hope during negotiations for his new contract with the show and they told him that they had no story so he left the show.  So the bad writing is due to the writers not being creative enough to write them a proper story.. I also remember that there were rumors Kristian was angry with Peter for leaving because she felt that it would keep Hope in limbo and she was right..  She did languish for a while even though she did spark with that one guy that was in Nick's story regarding his time in prison.  So Aiden was created to keep Kristian happy..

[Pearson80]

22 minutes ago, Panopticon said:

The reveal that Aiden had been evil all along was ridiculous. He started off his time in Salem by accusing Ciara of being bully, accusing Brady of being a drunk (which he was at the time but Aiden was still a dick about it), accusing Hope of spoiling Ciara, etc. He was throwing money around left and right as they one-upped each other with their donations to the school. It was eight months of mostly mutual dislike between Aiden and Hope before they danced at the gala. That's... not how a penniless man working for an evil mastermind goes about seducing someone for nefarious purposes.

 

Actually, Aiden could have been living beyond his means by relying on credit cards and borrowing money from people.  Flashing his money around could have been a way to fool Hope into thinking that he was not after her money since he had his own.  Hope is an heiress with lots of money who was lonely and nursing a broken heart. It could have been revealed that Aiden killed his wife for the insurance money and not Chase..  

What I really hated about the story was the Stefano factor. It made no sense that Stefano cared so much about Hope to terrorize her by putting Aiden in her life.. The show relies  too much on Stefano as the default villain.  Aiden could have been a villain with no Dimera connections..

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Pearson80

[Pearson80]

24 minutes ago, Panopticon said:

It just shows how much easier it is to destroy something than it is to build something. It took the better part of a year to craft Aiden as a three-dimensional character and do an old-school slow burn with the Hope/Aiden romance. It took a few episodes to say "whoops, Aiden has always been a psycho and Hope is a dimwit for not knowing it."

Quote

I never saw it as being out of bounds, the show left it wide open that Aiden could have been the one who killed his wife.  I agree with you that the reveal was too fast but you have to remember that it was two different writing teams that wrote for Haiden.

Edited October 11, 2021 by Pearson80

[Panopticon]

9 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

The tea behind that is Peter wanted a storyline for Bo and Hope during negotiations for his new contract with the show and they told him that they had no story so he left the show.  So the bad writing is due to the writers not being creative enough to write them a proper story.. I also remember that there were rumors Kristian was angry with Peter for leaving because she felt that it would keep Hope in limbo and she was right..  She did languish for a while even though she did spark with that one guy that was in Nick's story regarding his time in prison.  So Aiden was created to keep Kristian happy..

And the tea, when the other side tells the story, is that KA took the paycut as asked and PR did not. All of the actors were asked to take lower guarantees and no one was guaranteed a story at all times. PR didn't like those terms, as is his right. Then PR came back... for just long enough to decimate the Hope/Aiden storyline KA had worked so hard to build after sitting around in limbo because the show didn't want to give her a story without him (even though he'd gotten stories without her).

8 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

Actually, Aiden could have been living beyond his means by relying on credit cards and borrowing money from people.  Flashing his money around could have been a way to fool Hope into thinking that he was not after her money since he had his own.  Hope is an heiress with lots of money who was lonely and nursing a broken heart. It could have been revealed that Aiden killed his wife for the insurance money and not Chase..

They could have told that story, but they didn't. They showed Aiden disliking Hope for many months, whether to her face or behind her back. For a man who was after her money, he sure took a lot of risks of ever getting it by insulting her, her friends, and her child, day after day. Eight months of feuding prior to a romantic gesture? Without a single nervous phone call or anxious moment of moving credit cards around? I've heard of long cons, but that seems excessive. Meanwhile, they did show Aiden working and earning significant money. Yes, it was said all along that Aiden grew up poor and the big money originally belonged to Chase's mother, but Aiden could have had a perfectly comfortable life for himself and Chase just on what we saw him bringing in as a lawyer.

Quote

 I agree with you that the reveal was too fast but you have to remember that it was two different writing teams that wrote for Haiden.

Believe me, I'm painfully aware of that and was in no danger of forgetting. That was my point; one writing team spent ages building up, another writing team spent minutes tearing down.

 

[Pearson80]

4 minutes ago, Panopticon said:

Believe me, I'm painfully aware of that and was in no danger of forgetting. That was my point; one writing team spent ages building up, another writing team spent minutes tearing down.

 

Like you said it is easier to tear down than to build..

[CanaryFan98]

I agree that Hope was best up until her acid bath. She wasn't the same after that. Then again that could be said about all the characters that came back not being as great as they once were. Also don't like Rope either. 

I miss Doug/Hope/Julie dynamic the most. I also enjoyed Hope/Jennifer and Hope/Shawn D. I only cared about Hope with little Ciara.

I liked Hope with Aiden and Patrick even though I knew they were doomed. Although Aiden should've been the one that stuck since Bo was gone I liked that he wasn't a Bo ripoff and he didn't try to be.  I think getting rid of Aiden/Chase the way they did damaged Hope/Ciara more than Aiden/Chase. They could've had years of family drama, Aiden and Hope butting heads at work, etc. Chase dealing with killing his mom and having issues, Hope/Ciara dealing with their issues after Bo's death.  There was a lot of story there but they didn't care. They could've had Ciara resent Hope for sending her away after her rape and that Hope didn't want to face her after Bo's death, Chase raping her etc but no instead a few months later she became Ben's blow up doll and has never escaped.

That being said I'm fine with Hope being ignored she was ruined for years before she left anyways. 

[WendyCR72]

5 hours ago, Panopticon said:

And the tea, when the other side tells the story, is that KA took the paycut as asked and PR did not. All of the actors were asked to take lower guarantees and no one was guaranteed a story at all times. PR didn't like those terms, as is his right. Then PR came back... for just long enough to decimate the Hope/Aiden storyline KA had worked so hard to build after sitting around in limbo because the show didn't want to give her a story without him (even though he'd gotten stories without her).

Yes, but let us also remember that, IIRC, Hope/Aiden was built on Bo's back, making Bo suddenly a deadbeat, when it made ZERO sense to his character to build Aiden up. So that is one reason I really never gave a shit about Hope/Aiden.

Yeah, the writing and everything else was better back in the early '90s, but when Hope "died", the show still had Bo respecting and loving Hope while moving on with Carly (then Billie - blech!). If you have to tear down a character - even in absentia - to make another character/pairing work, it tells me it doesn't.

Bo could have been presumed dead, a la Hope. But no.

[DisneyBoy]

4 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

10 hours ago, Panopticon said:

And the tea, when the other side tells the story, is that KA took the paycut as asked and PR did not. All of the actors were asked to take lower guarantees and no one was guaranteed a story at all times. PR didn't like those terms, as is his right. Then PR came back... for just long enough to decimate the Hope/Aiden storyline KA had worked so hard to build after sitting around in limbo because the show didn't want to give her a story without him (even though he'd gotten stories without her).

Yes, but let us also remember that, IIRC, Hope/Aiden was built on Bo's back, making Bo suddenly a deadbeat, when it made ZERO sense to his character to build Aiden up. So that is one reason I really never gave a shit about Hope/Aiden

I may be misremembering, but Aiden as s character had little to do with Bo. He was tested with various gals, and never presented as an alternative to Bo (the way Rafe clearly was). Did it suck that they had Bo disappear? Of course. But it almost felt like KA was the one saying "I think I have to move on" as much as it was Hope.

Had Peter accepted that pay cut and had Bo stayed around...what would have become of their stories? How would the writers have kept things interesting for Hope? Her being single again was an opportunity for Hope to do more than be Bo's wife...

14 hours ago, Peanut6711 said:

This is a nicer tribute than anything Ron has thought to scrounge up.

Aww. Thanks! 🙏

[WendyCR72]

26 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

I may be misremembering, but Aiden as s character had little to do with Bo. He was tested with various gals, and never presented as an alternative to Bo (the way Rafe clearly was). Did it suck that they had Bo disappear? Of course. But it almost felt like KA was the one saying "I think I have to move on" as much as it was Hope.

Had Peter accepted that pay cut and had Bo stayed around...what would have become of their stories? How would the writers have kept things interesting for Hope? Her being single again was an opportunity for Hope to do more than be Bo's wife...

But the point is, whether Aiden himself had little to do with Bo, selling that romance was predicated on the fact that Bo had to suddenly become some sort of dirtbag abandoner of his family, when said family was always everything to him.

Sure, real-life negotiations factored in, just as they always factor in with any actor/story. And while it was not fair to Kristian Alfonso, whether Peter Reckell stayed and they would be background, or he left and Hope herself would be in limbo, the responsibility and onus were on those writers. Had they had any creativity, maybe PR would have stayed. Or maybe not. Even had he left even if story was planned, their lack of creativity still factored in since they had to damage Bo - even off canvas - so that Hope could be allowed to move on. Sure, she should have been allowed to. But, as I said, that new romance was sold by shitting on Bo to get it going in the first place. Bo Brady was also a long-time character, and his exit could have/should have respected that and consisted of any other scenario but selfish dirtbag. So much for his "Holding Out For A Hero" legacy then. Hope decided she had to move on (logical) because Bo had abandoned her (bullshit) and was more concentrated on thrills than his loved ones. (Also out of character.) That is my (huge) issue there.

Any writer worth their salt could have respected Bo and still allowed Hope a second chance. But they didn't. They should have watched old Bo/Carly footage vis a vis Hope's memory if they were too lazy/incompetent.

So, and I know this is petty of me - but at least I'm being upfront about that and honest about that, I was not at all bothered that Aiden was trashed for Bo's return since I consider it sort of writing karma as Bo was trashed to make Aiden a possibility for Hope to begin with.

And yes, it did once more leave Hope/KA in the lurch, but the whole Rafe thing seemed like Corday trying to elevate a pet. If I blame anyone there, it's ol' Kenny. Casting could have and should have found another age-appropriate actor for Hope/KA to have story with. TPTB just didn't want to be bothered - again.

So my opinion of Hope/Aiden stands.

[Pearson80]

17 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Had Peter accepted that pay cut and had Bo stayed around...what would have become of their stories? How would the writers have kept things interesting for Hope? Her being single again was an opportunity for Hope to do more than be Bo's wife...

On 10/11/2021 at 11:23 AM, Peanut6711 said:

Hope was never just Bo's wife, you make it seem that Hope was created to be Bo's love interest. Hope's history on the show actually predates Bo's on the show.  She was born in the Horton family that was on the show since the first episode..

17 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

So, and I know this is petty of me - but at least I'm being upfront about that and honest about that, I was not at all bothered that Aiden was trashed for Bo's return since I consider it sort of writing karma as Bo was trashed to make Aiden a possibility for Hope to begin with.

 

It never bothered me neither, it was annoying that some fans acted like Aiden was the best character ever, really?  Any man that came after Beauregard Aurelius Brady would have had big shoes to fill.. Notice how Carly came after Hope and the Bo/Carly romance was very popular. It has to do with the writing and the writers trashed Bo to make Aiden palatable. 

Edited October 12, 2021 by Pearson80

[WendyCR72]

Just now, Pearson80 said:

Hope was never just Bo's wife, you make it seem that Hope was created to be Bo's love interest. Hope's history on the show actually predates Bo's on the show.  She was born in the Horton family that was on the show since the first episode..

Which sort of proves my point that the writers suck. (And clearly not the writers that were writing Hope way back when.) If Hope was just "Bo's wife", that was not the fault of Peter Reckell or Bo's status. Just lazy writers that only felt Hope existed as part of a pairing, hence attaching her to Aiden, then Rafe.

Hope could have had stories as an individual, but that would mean reasserting her as her own person. TPTB clearly weren't interested. (See her floundering before KA peaced out.)

[Pearson80]

5 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Hope could have had stories as an individual, but that would mean reasserting her as her own person. TPTB clearly weren't interested. (See her floundering before KA peaced out.)

Hope can exist as an independent character outside of a love interest just like Jennifer, Kimberly and Marlena due to their histories on the show.  

Edited October 12, 2021 by Pearson80

[WendyCR72]

2 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

Hope can exist as an independent character outside of a love interest just like Jennifer, Kimberly and Marlena due to their histories on the show.  

She can. But the point is, the writers didn't want to do that for her. Which sucked.

[Pearson80]

2 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

She can. But the point is, the writers didn't want to do that for her. Which sucked.

Salem is a weird city, Hope could have had her hands full investigating different cases, if only we had competent talented writers with the will and the imagination to write..

[CanaryFan98]

1 hour ago, Pearson80 said:

Hope was never just Bo's wife, you make it seem that Hope was created to be Bo's love interest. Hope's history on the show actually predates Bo's on the show.  She was born in the Horton family that was on the show since the first episode..

It never bothered me neither, it was annoying that some fans acted like Aiden was the best character ever, really?  Any man that came after Beauregard Aurelius Brady would have had big shoes to fill.. Notice how Carly came after Hope and the Bo/Carly romance was very popular. It has to do with the writing and the writers trashed Bo to make Aiden palatable. 

I don't know about the best character ever but compared to the other characters we've been subjected through to the years he was one of the better ones to me at least. A grey character who wasn't related to most of Salem played by a decent actor. 

Plus I think Hope/Aiden breaking up did way more damage to Hope because after that ended she killed Stefano and was stuck with Rafe up until she left the show. Yes I rather have her with Aiden in comparison. 

However I didn't need Hope/Aiden either I could've accepted Aiden with other women as he wasn't related to most of Salem.  That's the thing I don't like about this show when it comes to Bo/Hope. Bo could still be friends with his exes and Hope has to deal with it even to the point where he chooses them over her at times. However Hope's exes end up being turned into villains never to be seen or heard from again when they could've been viable away from her with other women(I felt this way about Patrick as well).  Bo is the default option for Hope he never had to squirm like she did with Billie/Carly.

[Pearson80]

31 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I don't know about the best character ever but compared to the other characters we've been subjected through to the years he was one of the better ones to me at least. A grey character who wasn't related to most of Salem played by a decent actor. 

Plus I think Hope/Aiden breaking up did way more damage to Hope because after that ended she killed Stefano and was stuck with Rafe up until she left the show. Yes I rather have her with Aiden in comparison. 

However I didn't need Hope/Aiden either I could've accepted Aiden with other women as he wasn't related to most of Salem.  That's the thing I don't like about this show when it comes to Bo/Hope. Bo could still be friends with his exes and Hope has to deal with it even to the point where he chooses them over her at times. However Hope's exes end up being turned into villains never to be seen or heard from again when they could've been viable away from her with other women(I felt this way about Patrick as well).  Bo is the default option for Hope he never had to squirm like she did with Billie/Carly.

I agree with you in that the show does not want to write for Hope independent of Bo and that has always bothered me.  The same goes for Kayla but that is another rant for another day.

A potted plant is better than Rafe, so Aiden wins hands down.  I always thought that Aiden would have been better with Kayla. 

Rafe and the whole arch with Stefano was horrible not because Hope killed that piece of shit Stefano but the coverup was out of character.  Hope was racked with guilt when she killed that bad cop in the 80's.. Not to mention, Hope would have gotten off due to everything she had been through with Stefano for years..

 

[CanaryFan98]

Yes the coverup was worse than the crime. I could accept temporary insanity(I mean she's a Horton after all) but she wouldn't have let someone take the fall for what she did. When she let that happen the character went to the point of no return.

[RealHousewife]

I see why she's called Fancy Face. One of the most beautiful women to ever be on Days of Our Lives. 

[tribeca]

I don’t know a recast would work but Hope is missed.  Her not showing up when they found Ciara alive or for her fathers illness does not make any sense.  

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, tribeca said:

I don’t know a recast would work but Hope is missed.  Her not showing up when they found Ciara alive or for her fathers illness does not make any sense.  

I know. I really hope Kristian returns.

[DisneyBoy]

I hope she gets storyline approval before she even considers signing on a dotted line.

 

Hope was dull as driftwood after Aiden. Rafe brought out nothing in her and the pointless Gina Chip storyline was just humiliating...but yes, it's down as much to the writing as the elements in play.

[Mckinnonsgirl]

On 10/12/2021 at 4:27 PM, Pearson80 said:

Hope was never just Bo's wife, you make it seem that Hope was created to be Bo's love interest. Hope's history on the show actually predates Bo's on the show.  She was born in the Horton family that was on the show since the first episode..

It never bothered me neither, it was annoying that some fans acted like Aiden was the best character ever, really?  Any man that came after Beauregard Aurelius Brady would have had big shoes to fill.. Notice how Carly came after Hope and the Bo/Carly romance was very popular. It has to do with the writing and the writers trashed Bo to make Aiden palatable. 

Truth,  actually there was a soapnet interview where Kristian was terrified to screentest with Peter because she was afraid the producers would see just how green she was as an actress, and Peter interjected,  "Yeah, and I ended up screen-testing with my brother (Wayne Northrop, ex Roman) and I was specifically brought on the show for you", they got a good chuckle over it. 

[Mckinnonsgirl]

On 10/10/2021 at 1:19 PM, DisneyBoy said:

A true soap icon, thanks in no small part to her romance with Bo Brady. Then again, there was also her tiarared alter-ego...an infamous on-screen shooting...an acid bath...and the death of a child. Decades of highlights to choose from.

Love her? Hate her? Miss her? Recast her? Or beg on bended knee to get Kristian Alfonso back for keeps?

 

 

 

I know that Kristian/Hope seems to be a controversial character;   I see a lot of hate for her character,  well, I'm here to say I'm team Hope and team Kristian all the way;  I've watched her since she debuted in 1983.

Where the character of Hope failed was and always will be the fault of the writers,   The same can be said for Bo. 

The writers never seemed to want to write them as a strong solid couple with angst, but not infidelity, while they had ups and downs in the 80's, they definitely wrote Hope with more sass, but that was the old writing regime that actually cared about character development and storylines.

Look at the 2006 death of Zack, that was all about Chelsea, Kate, and Billie's schemes and never the true consequences of Bo's deception, the grief, and the working through the issues, instead they shipped Hope off to an island with Patrick after she saw Bo and Billie in Bed (Scheme #1) and don't get me started and Chelsea never really showing any real remorse (until 2008/09)

and don't even get me started on 2009/10 where they literally desecrated the characters of Bo and Hope. 

I'll stop myself,  of course these are my opinions, and as much as I miss Hope and Kristian, I would not want her to come back to the dreck RC writes and KC approves as good storytelling.   Ask me next week I might change my mind, because I do miss her. 

Recast?   No Way 

I'll stick to my edits  :)

Edited October 19, 2021 by Mckinnonsgirl

[RealHousewife]

13 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I hope she gets storyline approval before she even considers signing on a dotted line.

 

Hope was dull as driftwood after Aiden. Rafe brought out nothing in her and the pointless Gina Chip storyline was just humiliating...but yes, it's down as much to the writing as the elements in play.

This is true. The Aiden stuff was fun. I like Hope and Rafe (both super nice people in person btw, maybe the two nicest Days actors), but their stories were dull. 

Hope is an iconic Days character, and they should really write her better. 

[CanaryFan98]

Rafe/Hope worked as friends(and I actually don't mind Rafe's friendships with Nicole and Hope) but as a couple? They're too alike. 

 

Rafe needs a chick that will challenge him I actually liked him and Jordan together and thought they actually had chemistry. Course they made her a nutjob and killed her off go figure.

[Mckinnonsgirl]

One of my absolute favorite Hope Williams Brady moments was in 1984 when they had been rescued from the Island and she found out that Larry had won he Governorship on a Sympathy vote (her presumed death)  adding Fuel to the fire is Megan Hathaway arriving at the airport to claim ownership of Bo...  Cut to Hope making way to the press conference which Larry planned to welcome his wife back,  , but Hope instead uses the moment to unleash the truth  and exposes all the lies and threats that had been going on for months. 

Score 1 for the good guys, it finishes with Megan's open threat to Hope that she will pay for what she's done and Hope throwing the threat right back in her face .

Good times 

[Mckinnonsgirl]

In the 80's and 90's there were some storylines that I'm quite sure were dropped for Bo and Hope , the first one being that I believe that in 1985 Brother Francis the Monk that rescued Hope was supposed to end up more of a romantic rival for Bo, showing the stark contrast of the Typical "Safe" good guy and the Rebellious Hothead Bad Boy..   They made a point of having Hope go see Father Francis after the rescue and she knew his feelings for her were real, but then after that, they shared one more scene at Melissa's Bridal Shower before they never shared scenes again .  

Also I believe Britta was originally written as a brunette  and was going to be more of a rival for Bo's affections than what transpired, once Steven Nichols was signed on officially , I believe they rewrote it as a young Bo Brady being seduced by the older Britta and duped into doing her dirty work for the KGB and then tied Roman "The Pawn" into it. 

In the 90's, I also think they laying the groundwork for it to be revealed that Hope had gotten pregnant before the explosion on the COD and there was a child.  I would have much rather watched this storyline playout, than the dreck of Swamp Baby Chelsea.     

All in all, I'm glad that Bo and Hope were devoted to one another in the 80's, they both were jealous of anyone else honing in on their territory, but they remained a solid couple.   

Edited April 7, 2022 by Mckinnonsgirl

[Pearson80]

7 hours ago, Mckinnonsgirl said:

In the 90's, I also think they laying the groundwork for it to be revealed that Hope had gotten pregnant before the explosion on the COD and there was a child.  I would have much rather watched this storyline playout, than the dreck of Swamp Baby Chelsea.     

 

Exactly! Don't forget that Kristian was heavily pregnant and she was just stunningly beautiful.  So it would have made sense that Hope was pregnant when she was presumed dead.  

Edited April 8, 2022 by Pearson80

[DisneyBoy]

A few additional images to bring us up to date now that Beyond Salem 2 is out there...

Think she'll come back to the main show? Or - given all the interviews she gave when she quit about never returning - that a full comeback is off the table?

Edited September 10, 2022 by DisneyBoy

[methodwriter85]

It's so weird to see the "Zach as a grown adult in heaven" stuff, but I respect Kristian Alfonso for giving a hard no to any Zach resurrection. Death is so meaningless on soaps now because most of the time they get undone. (UK soaps, as far as  I know, don't do that.)

Edited September 17, 2022 by methodwriter85

[CanaryFan98]

I'm also glad Zack stayed dead if Shawn and Ciara are any indication he managed to remain the most superior of Bo/Hope's children because he wasn't ruined..

[Pearson80]

11 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I'm also glad Zack stayed dead if Shawn and Ciara are any indication he managed to remain the most superior of Bo/Hope's children because he wasn't ruined..

I know what you mean but I hate stories where children are harmed or killed and watching parents grieve their baby is not my kind of entertainment.  I always saw this Zack story as another way for JER to mess with Bo and Hope by killing off their son.  He absolutely did everything in his power to destroy Bo and Hope for that insipid Billie..

I really disliked Bo during the JER years.  

Bo rejecting an amnesiac Hope when she came back from the dead was just utter nonsense.. I  always wonder how Peter would have played Bo's reactions to Hope coming back.  Would he have played it differently despite JER's poison pen because the Bo recast treated Hope like she was an inconvenience who got on his nerves.  Bo in character would have been intrigued and protective of Hope while making sure that Billie was not hurt or neglected.  He also would have moved heaven and earth to help Hope recover her memories not only because of him but also for her family and especially for their son Sean-Douglas.

Edited September 18, 2022 by Pearson80

[CanaryFan98]

13 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

I know what you mean but I hate stories where children are harmed or killed and watching parents grieve their baby is not my kind of entertainment.  I always saw this Zack story as another way for JER to mess with Bo and Hope by killing off their son.  He absolutely did everything in his power to destroy Bo and Hope for that insipid Billie..

I really disliked Bo during the JER years.  

Bo rejecting an amnesiac Hope when she came back from the dead was just utter nonsense.. I  always wonder how Peter would have played Bo's reactions to Hope coming back.  Would he have played it differently despite JER's poison pen because the Bo recast treated Hope like she was an inconvenience who got on his nerves.  Bo in character would have been intrigued and protective of Hope while making sure that Billie was not hurt or neglected.  He also would have moved heaven and earth to help Hope recover her memories not only because of him but also for her family and especially for their son Sean-Douglas.

I agree in general and my first choice was for Zack to have not been in this situation to begin with but considering what we know now he was spared. I do think a lot of soaps end up regretting this type of storyline Y&R comes to mind where they created Mariah because they found it short sighted to kill off Cassie like they did(even if it was a good story).

However I was ok with GH killing off BJ because well the rest of her family seems to have been wiped out from the show anyways even if the character's heart lives on in Maxie. It varies. I do agree I didn't care for Bo that much during that time I liked him way more in the 80s even if certain instances involving the character probably didn't age well.

[methodwriter85]

On 9/18/2022 at 1:25 PM, CanaryFan98 said:

I do think a lot of soaps end up regretting this type of storyline Y&R comes to mind where they created Mariah because they found it short sighted to kill off Cassie like they did(even if it was a good story

I seriously wish All My Children hadn't killed off Baby Lenora. It gave Anna and David some really wonderful material (Anna saying wistfully to her grave that she wanted to get Lenora a little baby pool to splash in that summer) but Anna and David co-parenting could have been really interesting. Maybe Anna would have stayed in the show until the end.

I would be into GH resurrecting Lenora but it's pointless unless they bring in David Heyward and that cast is already bloated.

Edited September 20, 2022 by methodwriter85

[Pearson80]

11 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

However I was ok with GH killing off BJ because well the rest of her family seems to have been wiped out from the show anyways even if the character's heart lives on in Maxie. It varies. I do agree I didn't care for Bo that much during that time I liked him way more in the 80s even if certain instances involving the character probably didn't age well.

What made BJ's death so compelling and raw was the fact that it was so sudden and random.  BJ's death being the last nail in the coffin for Tony and Bobbie's marriage was so realistic because the death of a child will sometimes separate the grieving parents. BJ's death also destroyed Tony and he never forgot his baby girl.  Any parent who lost a child will tell you that they are never really the same after such a terrible event. Your child is supposed to bury you and not the other way around.. How do you enjoy life again after burying your child.. I cannot imagine that type of pain..

Edited September 19, 2022 by Pearson80

[CanaryFan98]

20 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I seriously wish All My Children hadn't killed off Baby Lenora. It gave Anna and David some really wonderful material (Anna saying wistfully to her grave that she wanted to get Lenora a little baby pool to splash in that summer) but Anna and David co-parenting could have been really interesting. Maybe Anna would have stayed in the show until the end 

I didn't like David/Anna together I like them as individuals but not as a couple. I mean they had chemistry but I just don't buy Anna falling for him based on GH history(yes she was with Duke but at least he was trying to get out of the mob, be a better person) so that never bothered me.

17 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

What made BJ's death so compelling and raw was the fact that it was so sudden and random.  BJ's death being the last nail in the coffin for Tony and Bobbie's marriage was so realistic because the death of a child will sometimes separate the grieving parents. BJ's death also destroyed Tony and he never forgot his baby girl.  Any parent who lost a child will tell you that they are never really the same after such a terrible event. Your child is supposed to bury you and not the other way around.. How do you enjoy life again after burying your child.. I cannot imagine that type of pain..

I was watching it the other day back when the show had other stories going on that tied into this one and soaps used to have compelling drama. What happened?

I don't think you are ever the same I worked for a woman who lost her child suddenly to advanced brain cancer. Despite the front she put publically she was never really the same.