Current Plots Discussion II: Discussing Today's Episode and Current Storylines

[Rodney]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

Dear Kerry: we're with you.

Please don't speak for everyone.  The guy did this just over a failed hookup.  I'm not with him.  I don't even like Leo, but that's pettier than petty.

[brisbydog]

2 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Please don't speak for everyone.  The guy did this just over a failed hookup.  I'm not with him.  I don't even like Leo, but that's pettier than petty.

I mean. He's posting spoilers. The way he got them was bad but on the scale of Salem crimes it rates about a 1

[DisneyBoy]

I speak for everyone!

I am your representative!!

Kerry's motivation makes no sense, because a gay man in that kind of shape could have his pick of anyone and would not care at all about Leo, much less waste time getting revenge on him for being too weepy to get it on, when he could just go get laid with other, younger, less dramatic guys instead!!!

This is all being done to make Leo appear desirable, which he is not!!!!

I have spoken!!!!!

👑👑👑👑👑👑👑

Edited January 21 by DisneyBoy

[boes]

46 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Please don't speak for everyone.  The guy did this just over a failed hookup.  I'm not with him.  I don't even like Leo, but that's pettier than petty.

You're not?!?  Well, Land's sakes and Mercy Maude and I DO declare!

Yankees in Georgia, how did they ever get in??

Fetch me the smelling salts.

Edited January 20 by boes

[Rodney]

7 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Kerry's motivation makes no sense, because a gay man in that kind of shape could have his pick of anyone and would not care at all about Leo, much less waste time getting revenge on him for being too weepy to get it on, when he could just go laid with other, younger, less dramatic guys instead!!!

That's why I'm not with him on this.

7 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

This is all being done to make Leo appear desirable, which is not!!!!

But on that part, I do agree.  He's not attractive or desirable in any way.

[Giuseppe]

I think Leo's plenty attractive, lol. I don't know why he likes to wear grandpa cardigans, though.

I really want to like Leo because I like Greg R. I loved him when he first started and was trying to set up Sonny for sexual harassment or whatever that story was. But then they turned him into a constant quip-quoting cartoon and he just hasn't been enjoyable since. IMO of course, lest I get accused of speaking for everyone ;)

[Soapy Goddess]

6 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

I think Leo's plenty attractive, lol. I don't know why he likes to wear grandpa cardigans, though.

I really want to like Leo because I like Greg R. I loved him when he first started and was trying to set up Sonny for sexual harassment or whatever that story was. But then they turned him into a constant quip-quoting cartoon and he just hasn't been enjoyable since. IMO of course, lest I get accused of speaking for everyone ;)

Well, I'll never be accused of speaking for everyone because I'm one of the few here that loves Greg and his ability to remember all that dialogue with a rapid fire delivery. And by extension, I love Leo. 

 

[DisneyBoy]

He does get though his dialogue well, I'll give him that. He just can't make it funny. As previously stated, it's too cartoony and forced.

Kate really needs to be on the show more.

[methodwriter85]

I feel like I liked Leo the best when they were clearly flirting with the idea of putting him with Zac Tinker's Sonny.

[DisneyBoy]

I *hated* that. After what he did to him? Nope. They'd have needed crazy chemistry to get away with that, which didn't see.

I don't remember minding Leo with....the guy who left? Mr Von L? They were okay but he was also way out of Leo's league.

He's really never had chemistry with anyone.

So...I guess Jada will be marrying an imposter? Lame. Although, Arnold does seem slightly more lively than Rafe.

I missed Bonnie's fall. Is this being done to reveal her as Adrienne, ya think? I can't figure the purpose of this. She's on so little now...

[Retired at last]

I know there is something going on with Bonnie. I just read the summaries and with all the sounds "Bonnie" is making, it has to be that she is not Bonnie. So, it's either Hattie, or now I am thinking Adrienne? I really don't care and it is getting harder to even want to read the summaries any more with all the B&S BS. And the focus on other unlikeable or incapable characters/actors.

[brisbydog]

I love that Sarah thought she was putting a responsible person in charge of Xander but instead she has basically unleashed them to team up to do their worst. Xander citing Kristen using the orchid as bait for Kate's life was a master stroke of manipulation.  

 Good episode though. Bonnie got on my nerves as did the frequent flashbacks padding out part 2  

EJ's thinly veiled patience with Arnold is a hoot.

[DisneyBoy]

Judi looked horrible in that bed :( Makeup department really delivered. I could hardly look at her. Made me so sad, especially after that hospitalization she went through irl a few years ago.

22 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

I love that Sarah thought she was putting a responsible person in charge of Xander but instead she has basically unleashed them to team up to do their worst.

I should be excited about a hostile takeover/revenge story, but history tells me it'll amount to a bunch of scenes about vaguely defined work stuff and lots of cheap shots and huffing and puffing in living rooms. Oh, and the obligatory "stocks are up/down 8%!" proclamations. Kristen should be woefully incapable of standing up to at least Philip, who, unlike her, has years of corporate experience. But this will still somehow be a long, vague fight.

I mean, what does DiMera traffic in, anyway? Rubber face masks? Island timeshares?

22 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

EJ's thinly veiled patience with Arnold is a hoot.

I suppose. But what's the plan here? Killing Rafe? How else to get away with this?

Arnold obviously cannot pull off this pretense long-term or convincingly fake being a police commissioner.

And I really don't buy that EJ wants to be DA again so desperately. I see him wanting to be CEO.

Edited January 21 by DisneyBoy

[boes]

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I feel like I liked Leo the best when they were clearly flirting with the idea of putting him with Zac Tinker's Sonny.

I liked Leo best when his name was Kevin and he was still on Y&R and I'd learned how to tune him out.

Then he must have gone into Witness Protection and  got a summer job in Salem.

Then he moved there.......

 

 

[CanaryFan98]

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I *hated* that. After what he did to him? Nope. They'd have needed crazy chemistry to get away with that, which didn't see.

I don't remember minding Leo with....the guy who left? Mr Von L? They were okay but he was also way out of Leo's league.

He's really never had chemistry with anyone.

So...I guess Jada will be marrying an imposter? Lame. Although, Arnold does seem slightly more lively than Rafe.

I missed Bonnie's fall. Is this being done to reveal her as Adrienne, ya think? I can't figure the purpose of this. She's on so little now...

Dmitri I did like him not necessarily with Leo but in general.

[Rodney]

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Arnold obviously cannot pull off this pretense long-term or convincingly fake being a police commissioner.

Rafe isn't the commissioner.  Jada is.

[brisbydog]

43 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Rafe isn't the commissioner.  Jada is.

EJ's plan is for Arnold to replace her as commissioner as Rafe

[Rodney]

Sounds like, after Kayla's rant on Philip, Sarah's regretting keeping her mouth shut.  Oops.

18 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

EJ's plan is for Arnold to replace her as commissioner as Rafe

Oof.  I only just finished watching the episode on Peacock.  E.J. is going to be in a lot of trouble when this one comes out.

[norcalgal]

59 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

EJ's plan is for Arnold to replace her as commissioner as Rafe

This sort of “replace X with Y” is soooooo stupid!  Hello, it’s not like X has all the memories/shared experiences with Y. Something like that would be found out IRL pronto.  The only way to get away with it is everybody  - everybody knows Original Recipe person has near total amnesia, then you can swap the person with someone else.  

[DisneyBoy]

So.

For Arnold to get away with EJ's plans, he needs to get through wedding planning with Jada and Gabi and Steph and Javi without arousing suspicion, marry Jada (and please not SA her!), set her up to look incompetent, help EJ get her fired, get himself rehired as commissioner by Paulina and then hope Paulina rehires EJ? And then...get out of Rafe's life without him or anyone else knowing he was there at all?

...what?!

I thought the Sloan baby switch was pointless and dumb.

If EJ wants to be DA again....why not just kill Jada via some thug and then step in?

The only remotely interesting part of this is the possibility that Jada legit believes that Rafe was bitter about her taking his position all along. That's it. And that's kinda sad.

Jada seems waaaaay too smart to fall for a fake Rafe. I fully believe she could spot her boring-ass boyfriend from a mile away.

Also: she does know he was already boinked and forgotten by Kate, Sami, Hope and Nicole, right? That should be a red flag.

[SouthernChick]

Kayla annoyed me today with her insistence that Philip was just a terrible person who would never change. I’m pretty sure people told her that about Steve and look what happened. He turned his life around.

[BuckeyeLou]

Oh boy!  That person at the end with grey coat & black gloves is supposed to look like Kerry?!  I think they are trying to throw us off...I think this mystery person is the one who poisoned the cupcakes too.  I got a kick out of Kerry sparing with Jada...he had an answer for everything.

[DisneyBoy]

Oh Kayla.

 

No.

[Soapy Goddess]

12 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Oh boy!  That person at the end with grey coat & black gloves is supposed to look like Kerry?!  I think they are trying to throw us off...I think this mystery person is the one who poisoned the cupcakes too.  I got a kick out of Kerry sparing with Jada...he had an answer for everything.

Unless Kerry grew a pair of boobs, I don't think it's him. I'm guessing it's the wacko nurse who kidnapped Abe.

[boes]

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Unless Kerry grew a pair of boobs, I don't think it's him. I'm guessing it's the wacko nurse who kidnapped Abe.

I thought the same thing.  That ending shot made it clear that, despite the coat and gloves, the body beneath either belongs to a woman, or Kerry had a serious case of sudden bloat from his conversation with Jada.

Oh the Humanity!

[DisneyBoy]

I liked the nurse as a character, the sad humanity of her...but this kinda comic booky treatment, with the hiding behind a trenchcoat and the papers being crossed out is really cheesy. Ron loves his stunts.

...but seriously? The woman was obsessed with this soap and worked at the hospital, and now you morons are shooting the show there and you aren't even considering that she might be involved in the attacks?

🙄

 

[norcalgal]

Days will “conveniently” still make Sophia 17 when the baby is born so her mother will have final say in the adoption. But I suspect in the “real world” Sophia will turn 18 before the baby is born, and that means Sophia would have control over the adoption issue. 

I think someone here joked/speculated that Rachel would go to the DiMera island where Kristen held Sarah hostage, and turns out that was correct!

[boes]

37 minutes ago, norcalgal said:

I think someone here joked/speculated that Rachel would go to the DiMera island where Kristen held Sarah hostage, and turns out that was correct!

I think I said I hoped she'd go there but never did I think my dream would come true.

With any luck she'll end making Thurston Howell III and his wife Lovey her new parents.

Gilligan!!

[Rodney]

13 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Unless Kerry grew a pair of boobs, I don't think it's him. I'm guessing it's the wacko nurse who kidnapped Abe.

That didn't seem to match Kim Coles's build at all.  And even if it is Whitley, what reason would she have for doing this?

[Desperado]

I watched Kerry’s scenes in Jada’s office and did anyone else notice, the actor looks a lot like Eric Martsolf, especially his eyes and smile.

It would be funny to have Brady with a long lost son who is even more to handle than Rachel. 🤣

[DisneyBoy]

Well they do sometimes bring in actors who failed to land plumb roles and instead give them smaller contract parts. Maybe he was up for playing someone else at some point.

 

[norcalgal]

49 minutes ago, Desperado said:

I watched Kerry’s scenes in Jada’s office and did anyone else notice, the actor looks a lot like Eric Martsolf, especially his eyes and smile.

It would be funny to have Brady with a long lost son who is even more to handle than Rachel. 🤣

Haven’t really noticed that, but I think the actress who plays Joy looks like she could be related to Patsy Pease’s Kimberley.  

[JBC344]

5 hours ago, Desperado said:

I watched Kerry’s scenes in Jada’s office and did anyone else notice, the actor looks a lot like Eric Martsolf, especially his eyes and smile.

It would be funny to have Brady with a long lost son who is even more to handle than Rachel. 🤣

Lots of people across the board have been mentioning their resemblance. I honestly wouldn't put it past Days if they wanted to keep Kerry around to make him Brady's son. 

Brady easily could of slept with a girl at boarding school before returning to Salem. Said girl could of been pregnant and never told him. Could actually be a nice parallel to what Tate is going thru. 

[Soapy Goddess]

9 hours ago, Rodney said:

even if it is Whitley, what reason would she have for doing this?

I can think of a number of reasons, starting with her love for the show. But more importantly, she loved Abe. We all know it was an obsession, but her feelings were real albeit delusion.

When Abe was rescued, she was hurt that he wouldn't stay with her and also upset that she was taken to a loony bin. Then when she eventually finds out that Abe has re-booted her favorite show (without letting her know), she was probably upset that she wasn't consulted. 

She also might be upset that she wasn't offered a part in B&S, and maybe hates the writing...and what Leo has done with the characters...maybe trying to "off" them one-by-one. That would also explain the tainted cupcakes, as I'm sure she's not a fan of Paulina (Abe's wife) and Chanel...to put suspicion on Sweet Bits.

[JBC344]

Loved the trip down memory lane today. I have always loved Rachel Blake and think they killed her off way too soon. 

Question is, is this "Rachel" actually real or just young Rachel projecting? 

[DisneyBoy]

6 hours ago, JBC344 said:

Loved the trip down memory lane today. I have always loved Rachel Blake and think they killed her off way too soon. 

Question is, is this "Rachel" actually real or just young Rachel projecting? 

I am REALLY hoping she's just projecting because otherwise they've immediately wrecked a favorite character of mine.

Rachel had an epic death scene. I hate thinking they've undone that. And that explosion ended Kristen's chances of having a baby (well...kinda) and led her down the path of true desperation. 

Plus, this woman has none of Rachel's facial scars, apparently somehow survived that insane sewer explosion looking even better and now lives in a house covered in cobwebs and dust? Huh!?

I really hope this is all in Rachel's crazy mind because otherwise....they just completely trashed her grandma, who has been dead for 30 years, for nothing.

 

I love Rachel Blake and will be very pissed if this is supposed to really be her. She wouldn't kidnap anyone.

Edited January 24 by DisneyBoy

[SouthernChick]

I loved Chad giving JJ a piece of his mind about Cat. Cat has done weay less than Gabi and not only did JJ forgive Gabi but he is dating her! I’m so glad Annalynne McCord is sticking around. 

Edited January 25 by SouthernChick

[boes]

So when Kristen was unable to locate the scrapbook of Aremid to show EJ, why did she say that was the only thing she had left that belonged to her mother?  Apparently PsychoRachel is wandering a whole Munster Mansion stuffed to the gills with stuff from those days.  Hard to believe that Kristen has never visited the place since then, considering how many times she's gone on the run.

Small matter but it sorta bugged me, with Kristen suddenly getting all sentimental about people and times in her life she hasn't even mentioned in decades.

[Desperado]

I wasn’t watching when Kristen’s mom was on (I don’t think) because I don’t recognize the actress. Can someone please share when she was on and for how long?

[DisneyBoy]

8 hours ago, boes said:

So when Kristen was unable to locate the scrapbook of Aremid to show EJ, why did she say that was the only thing she had left that belonged to her mother?  Apparently PsychoRachel is wandering a whole Munster Mansion stuffed to the gills with stuff from those days.  Hard to believe that Kristen has never visited the place since then, considering how many times she's gone on the run.

Small matter but it sorta bugged me, with Kristen suddenly getting all sentimental about people and times in her life she hasn't even mentioned in decades.

Yup.

It was rather clunky. Plus, wasn't the house in Aremid the famous Maison Blanche? And didn't it burn down? I remember Jarlena walking through the charred remains at some point in the 90s...

[DisneyBoy]

1 hour ago, Desperado said:

I wasn’t watching when Kristen’s mom was on (I don’t think) because I don’t recognize the actress. Can someone please share when she was on and for how long?

This is a new actress in the part, since the original apparently passed away in 2018.

Rachel appeared in the mid 90s, around the time Kristen helped Stefano abduct Marlena to parts unknown, later revealed to be the catacombs of Paris, where she lived for weeks in a giant gilded cage as Stefano's captive. 

The Woman in White sort of wandered into the picture, was revealed to be Rachel Blake and reunited with Kristen, who finally learned that Stefano had destroyed her biological family. Stefano had once been obsessed with Rachel and wanted to possess her, but she was married with two young kids and refused him. So he basically killed her husband and a fire left her scarred. She disappeared, half crazy from the trauma and hid her appearance behind scarves. Young Kristen and Peter, as Kristen later put it, were adopted by Stefano "in lieu of the real prize, (their) mother" whom Stefano "rejected because she wasn't pretty anymore".

Rachel was impressed with John and wanted to help Kristen hold on to him, but also knew she was doing bad things to accomplish it. When John realized Marlena was in Paris, they all flew there to rescue her (except Kristen, of course, who was secretly hoping Marlena would never escape Stefano). After Marlena was freed, Stefano tried to escape through the catacombs and was cornered by Rachel. She pulled a gun and forced him to look at her disfigurement. She said she wouldn't let him hurt her children or friends ever again and shot him, triggering a massive explosion. The shockwave caused a huge collapse and Marlena was knocked over. Pregnant Kristen was thrown to the ground as well and miscarried John's unborn child so badly she was told she could never be a mother.

It was epic.

When Stefano resurfaced, it became clear Rachel's sacrifice was all for nothing. By that point, Kristen had bigger problems, as Marlena was watching her like a hawk, certain she was faking her pregnancy. See, Marlena knew John still wanted her and was staying with Kristen out of loyalty to the family they were supposed to have. She also knew Kristen had gotten her kidnapped on purpose. She promised Kristen not to tell John anything until after the baby was born since it was a delicate pregnancy. But Marlena suspected Kristen had miscarried and needed to be thrown off the trail. That's when Stefano came through with the pregnant Kristen lookalike Susan.

After Susan was exposed during the infamous Graceland Wedding and John turned his back on Kristen completely and got engaged to Marlena on Kristen's birthday (ouch!), Kristen nearly threw herself off the Penthouse Grill balcony in despair and then confronted Stefano about all he'd done to ruin her life, including tormenting her parents. It was an amazing scene.

That was also the last time Rachel was mentioned....until grandaughter Rachel was born....and then Friday's episode.

Edited Sunday at 03:40 PM by DisneyBoy

[JBC344]

1 hour ago, Desperado said:

I wasn’t watching when Kristen’s mom was on (I don’t think) because I don’t recognize the actress. Can someone please share when she was on and for how long?

It's actually a different actress from back then. Rachel Blake was on in the mid 90's for a couple of years. 

29 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Yup.

It was rather clunky. Plus, wasn't the house in Aremid the famous Maison Blanche? And didn't it burn down? I remember Jarlena walking through the charred remains at some point in the 90s...

Different houses. The Aremid house is where Peter and Kristen grew up with their birth parents, and also where Lexie was born. 

Maison Blanche is where Peter and Kristen grew up after Stefano and Celeste took them in. Also where Hope lived with Celeste during her missing years. 

Also Rachel and John were friends when he was younger and posing as a priest (unbeknownst to him of course). He was a big confidant to her at the time. 

Edited Sunday at 03:47 PM by JBC344

[CanaryFan98]

Days had some out there stories back in the day but they had the budget to match and knew how to provide an actual payoff.  Trying to recreate it now with not even a tenth of the payoff yeah good luck with that makes me wonder if this story is what got him ousted.

[Giuseppe]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

This is a new actress in the part, since the original apparently passed away in 2018.

Rachel appeared in the mid 90s, around the time Kristen helped Stefano abduct Marlena to parts unknown, later revealed to be the catacombs of Paris, where she lived for weeks in a giant gilded cage as Stefano's captive. 

The Woman in White sort of wandered into the picture, was revealed to be Rachel Blake and reunited with Kristen, who finally learned that Stefano had destroyed her biological family. Stefano had once been obsessed with Rachel and wanted to possess her, but she was married with two young kids and refused him. So he basically killed her husband and a fire left her scarred. She disappeared, half crazy from the trauma and hid her appearance behind scarves. Young Kristen and Peter, as Kristen later put it, were adopted by Stefano "in lieu of the real prize, (their) mother" whom Stefano "rejected because she wasn't pretty anymore".

Rachel was impressed with John and wanted to help Kristen hold on to him, but also knew she was doing bad things to accomplish it. When John realized Marlena was in Paris, they all flew there to rescue her (except Kristen, of course, who was secretly hoping Marlena would never escape Stefano). After Marlena was freed, Stefano tried to escape through the catacombs and was cornered by Rachel. She pulled a gun and forced him to look at her disfigurement. She said she wouldn't let him hurt her children or friends ever again and shot him, triggering a massive explosion. The shockwave caused a huge collapse and Marlena was knocked over. Pregnant Kristen was thrown to the ground as well and miscarried John's unborn child so badly she was told she could never be a mother.

It was epic.

When Stefano resurfaced, it became clear Rachel's sacrifice was all for nothing. By that point, Kristen had bigger problems, as Marlena was watching her like a hawk, certain she was faking her pregnancy. See, Marlena knew John still wanted her and was staying with Kristen out of loyalty to the family they were supposed to have. She also knew Kristen had gotten her kidnapped on purpose. She promised Kristen not to tell John anything until after the baby was born since it was a delicate pregnancy. But Marlena suspected Kristen had miscarried and needed to be thrown off the trail. That's when Stefano came through with the pregnant Kristen lookalike Susan.

After Susan was exposed during the infamous Graceland Wedding and John turned his back on Kristen completely and got engaged to Marlena on Kristen's birthday (ouch!), Kristen nearly threw herself off the Penthouse Grill balcony in despair and then confronted Stefano about all he'd done to ruin her life, including tormenting her parents. It was an amazing scene.

That was also the last time Rachel was mentioned....until grandaughter Rachel was born....and then Friday's episode.

I really wish I had seen all this. I only started watching the day after Susan got exposed at the Elvis wedding. I had no clue what was happening, but I was completely hooked, by Eileen's performances especially. I've always wanted to find the time to sit down and watch all the build up that led to Susan's fake teeth going flying into Vivian's (I think) glass, lol.

 

[DisneyBoy]

3 minutes ago, Giuseppe said:

I really wish I had seen all this. I only started watching the day after Susan got exposed at the Elvis wedding. I had no clue what was happening, but I was completely hooked, by Eileen's performances especially. I've always wanted to find the time to sit down and watch all the build up that led to Susan's fake teeth going flying into Vivian's (I think) glass, lol.

 

Oh geez, I wish you had! I mean, there was good stuff in the aftermath - the jungle, the pool, Edmund - but you missed the first half of everything.

Keep your eyes peeled on YT. Stuff can resurface. A fan edited together hundreds of clips into a sort of Dimera Saga series ten years ago, and all that Kristen stuff was in it...until it got flagged and removed :( You still can find things but nowadays it almost always vanishes quickly.

I would look into FB groups - sometimes fans sell DVDs or downloads of storylines. Honestly, most of the 80/90s stuff is perfection compared to what we watch now. The plotting was great.

I hope you get to see some if it! The Reilly years were a huge influence on current showrunner Ron C, so seeing the original Possession storyline and Lady in a Cage and Secret Room saga will put a lot of the weirdness of the last few years into context.

And honestly, I've had to piece a lot of my DOOL knowledge together through clips too, so you're in good company ;) Few of us have seen everything.

[norcalgal]

6 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Honestly, most of the 80/90s stuff is perfection compared to what we watch now.

This is pretty much true for any soap, imho. Granted, I wasn’t born or was too young to watch soaps pre-1980s, but I just get the feeling the 80s/90s were the heyday for the genre.

[JBC344]

2 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

I really wish I had seen all this. I only started watching the day after Susan got exposed at the Elvis wedding. I had no clue what was happening, but I was completely hooked, by Eileen's performances especially. I've always wanted to find the time to sit down and watch all the build up that led to Susan's fake teeth going flying into Vivian's (I think) glass, lol.

 

The Susan saga was one of Days best. As much as people complain about Kristen, her transformation from the "good" Dimera and Alice Horton's protege to who she is now was incredibly compelling to watch. 

Having Rachel and Stefano each fighting to bring her to their side was really great tv. 

I wouldn't mind if this storyline had her grapple with her past and how much she has changed.  It's hard to sympathize with her now but she really did suffer a mental breakdown that drove her crazy. 

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, norcalgal said:

This is pretty much true for any soap, imho. Granted, I wasn’t born or was too young to watch soaps pre-1980s, but I just get the feeling the 80s/90s were the heyday for the genre.

It absolutely was.  That's not to say that there weren't stinker storylines back then.  There were.  But overall, they were more professional operations.  They made a lot of money for the networks so there was a bit more investment in them (although not to the level compared to the money they brought in.)  But I think the fact that there weren't tons of cable and streaming outlets producing their own material meant writers who may have loved to work on primetime were happy to accept soap writing positions.  It was a way to make a living.  They also didn't film months in advance so they were more flexible to feedback.  Attention spans were better so stories could actually last and develop over months and months until they reached their conclusion.

And I'm saying this as someone who hates the Reilly era of DOOL. 

[DisneyBoy]

35 minutes ago, JBC344 said:

I wouldn't mind if this storyline had her grapple with her past and how much she has changed.  It's hard to sympathize with her now but she really did suffer a mental breakdown that drove her crazy. 

...thing is, that was Eileen's Kristen. She did the work. She made it work. No offense to the current actors, but this Kristen/Rachel combo has none of that history or nuance. Current Kristen has had zero connection to John for years now.

I will only be okay with Rachel Blake resurfacing if she's purely a figment of young Rachel's demented mind and the real deal is still dead.

Kristen herself should have stayed dead after the Italy window fall, as so many of you have said.

[Rodney]

Wait a damn second.  Aremid is just a few miles outside of Salem?  I thought that it was its own country!