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

[boes]

Sooooooo......yesterday.....yes...ter..day.....what happened, again?

Oh yeah, Abe had his shirt untucked and was on automatic chuckle.  He might need to get his chuckler examined, though, starting to sound like he needs a new fan belt.

Greg Rikaart once again proved that comedy is not his forte, with valuable assistance from Diedre Hall.  If only there had been a third in their scenes other than Kate, perhaps a woodchipper?

I think Stephanie also embarrassed herself, OllieBenAlex continued with his eerily accurate impression of a ventriloquist's dummy and Bonnie made me wish somebody in Salem was still burying people alive.

I can't remember, was Gabi still in screech mode yesterday?

[brisbydog]

1 hour ago, boes said:

Sooooooo......yesterday.....yes...ter..day.....what happened, again?

Oh yeah, Abe had his shirt untucked and was on automatic chuckle.  He might need to get his chuckler examined, though, starting to sound like he needs a new fan belt.

Greg Rikaart once again proved that comedy is not his forte, with valuable assistance from Diedre Hall.  If only there had been a third in their scenes other than Kate, perhaps a woodchipper?

I think Stephanie also embarrassed herself, OllieBenAlex continued with his eerily accurate impression of a ventriloquist's dummy and Bonnie made me wish somebody in Salem was still burying people alive.

I can't remember, was Gabi still in screech mode yesterday?

No, Gabi was Monday. Tuesday was all Body & Soul, all the time

It continued today but at a lesser clip. Abe's chuckling was still evident as he relished Alex and Chanel working out their sexual frustrations on screen for his amusement. BenAlex's attempts to interpret Leo's words was embarassing.

The stars were Xander, Maggie and Sarah who brought real emotions to a plot based in heartbreaking reality. I particularly liked Sarah explaining to Xander exactly what her diagnosis means. And that there is no question of their relationship being in jeopardy through this.

Brady worked himself into a lather and Kristen has already figured it out. Good thing Fiona had a patsy to blame it on who also will willingly implicate himself. I imagine one of his parents took his car to the shop as their wee Brady can't do anything for himself. I can see where this one is going too, but unlike the B&S mess I'm here for it.

[DisneyBoy]

BenAlex: I'm no actor!

Me: 👏👏👏👏

 

Theory: Ron's original storyline idea was for Johnny to write and film The Exorcism of Marlena Evans. And strangely, in spite of weeks of characters talking about it and fussing about it, it never happened and there was never a reason given. The whole thing was silently abandoned.

Could Corday have gotten cold feet about Ron doing such self-referential storytelling and asked him to just stick to the actual repossession idea?

And could this whole weird Body & Soul plot just be Ron reusing his unused idea for the characters to act out their own reality again?

[Rodney]

I think that Chanel needs to get off her high horse with the whole thing with Alex sleeping with Allie.  Given that she herself cheated with Allie while she was married to Johnny, her getting cheated on was pretty much her karma for that.  She shouldn't be so hypocritical toward Alex for that.

Edited August 21 by Rodney

[brisbydog]

57 minutes ago, Rodney said:

I think that Chanel nneds to get off her high horse with the whole thing with Alex sleeping with Allie.  Given that she herself cheated with Allie while she was married to Johnny, her getting cheated on was pretty much her karma for that.  She shouldn't be so hypocritical toward Alex for that.

wasn't Johnny possessed at the time and had dumped her?

[CanaryFan98]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

I think that Chanel nneds to get off her high horse with the whole thing with Alex sleeping with Allie.  Given that she herself cheated with Allie while she was married to Johnny, her getting cheated on was pretty much her karma for that.  She shouldn't be so hypocritical toward Alex for that.

Plus Allie was with Tripp at the time as well so she too was the other woman. As well as the affair she had with Sloan's father.

27 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

wasn't Johnny possessed at the time and had dumped her?

Yes but I find Chanel hypocritical because Allie was with Tripp at the time she hooked up with Chanel. She also had an affair with Sloan's father.

 

How you get them is how you lose them.

[Rodney]

30 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

wasn't Johnny possessed at the time and had dumped her?

Ah, yes, he was.  However, Chanel didn't know that.

Either way, @CanaryFan98 pointed out the other part that makes her hypocritical.

Edited August 21 by Rodney

[DisneyBoy]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

I think that Chanel needs to get off her high horse with the whole thing with Alex sleeping with Allie.  Given that she herself cheated with Allie while she was married to Johnny, her getting cheated on was pretty much her karma for that.  She shouldn't be so hypocritical toward Alex for that.

I really tried to block it all out, but didn't Himbo sleep with BOTH of them, as a threesome?

[rcc]

Alex calls himself a handsome devil and not an actor. Wrong on the first one, right on the second.

[brisbydog]

49 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

I really tried to block it all out, but didn't Himbo sleep with BOTH of them, as a threesome?

I'm afraid so.

[Rodney]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

I really tried to block it all out, but didn't Himbo sleep with BOTH of them, as a threesome?

They even mentioned that yesterday.

[CanaryFan98]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

I really tried to block it all out, but didn't Himbo sleep with BOTH of them, as a threesome?

Yes but they were all consenting. @Rodney is talking about how Alex/Allie hooked up before Allie left town because Allie thought Chanel was cheating on her with Johnny. This is why Allie/Chanel split to begin with.

[DisneyBoy]

5 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Yes but they were all consenting. @Rodney is talking about how Alex/Allie hooked up before Allie left town because Allie thought Chanel was cheating on her with Johnny. This is why Allie/Chanel split to begin with.

Wow okay, forgot all of that and pretty sure I saw it...

 

I didn't like Fiona's lack of guilty emotions today. I feel like they're ruining her already :(

I hate that we're getting another crappy "woman lies about doing terrible things because of sex and drugs" arc. We just had that with Theresa.

I would much prefer Fiona fessing up right away and having to deal with consequences. At least she'd have some integrity that way.

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I didn't like Fiona's lack of guilty emotions today. I feel like they're ruining her already :(

She really did not give a fuck lol. The actress was kinda killing it. I don't mind it but it's a pretty big difference to how she was acting at first. Pick a lane!

[Chellfairy]

So I’ve been catching up.

All I have to say is NuGaby is horrendously bad. She is unwatchable!

I could say more, but I’m too exhausted.

Although, Rafe has never been better 😀

[peachmangosteen]

I love NuGabi lol. I hope her and EJ finally hate fuck.

Fake Abigail had chem with EJ too though so I'm down for that as well.

Today's episode was so watchable. I only fast forwarded the Ava/Roman scenes.

[CanaryFan98]

42 minutes ago, Chellfairy said:

So I’ve been catching up.

All I have to say is NuGaby is horrendously bad. She is unwatchable!

I could say more, but I’m too exhausted.

Although, Rafe has never been better 😀

You laugh but Rafe is one of the few things about the show I don't dislike right now. I never thought I would say that either.

[Chellfairy]

30 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

You laugh but Rafe is one of the few things about the show I don't dislike right now. I never thought I would say that either.

I take back the laugh. 😉

I have to agree. Never, ever, in my life, would have thought it.

[Giuseppe]

EJ was the best part of today. I loved his "oh my!" faux-surprised  gasp when Gabi told him Stefan slept with Ava, and the looks on his face as Gabi and Stefan fought. I was cracking up. 

[Artsda]

Gabi trying to call security on Stefan? It's his family building. 

EJ and fauxnuAbby have chemistry! 

She seems like she really has no idea on Abby past. 

EJs reaction to Gabi and Stefan fight was hilarious. 

[methodwriter85]

On 8/22/2024 at 6:32 PM, CanaryFan98 said:

You laugh but Rafe is one of the few things about the show I don't dislike right now. I never thought I would say that either.

The show finally stopped shoving him down our throats after so many years and he finally became likeable once they allowed him to be bitter about Nicole and Eric. He finally started to feel human instead of being constantly pushed as the best ever. Rafe throwing out Nicole's pie (the symbolism!) was the start of me actually liking him. 

On 8/22/2024 at 9:10 PM, Artsda said:

Gabi trying to call security on Stefan? It's his family building. 

EJ and fauxnuAbby have chemistry! 

She seems like she really has no idea on Abby past. 

EJs reaction to Gabi and Stefan fight was hilarious. 

They really do. Damn, this is reiterating that Annalyne should have been a Nicole Walker recast. 

On 8/21/2024 at 1:25 PM, DisneyBoy said:

And could this whole weird Body & Soul plot just be Ron reusing his unused idea for the characters to act out their own reality again

This is an homage to One Life to Live, which did a soap within a soap in the late 1980's called Fraternity Row. During the final run of One Life to Live in 2011-12 Ron resurrected Fraternity Row and made in jokes about OLTL. 

Edited August 25 by methodwriter85

[norcalgal]

8 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Annalyne should have been a Nicole Walker recast. 

The show can still do this. I mean, look at Gwen/Theresa,  Roman/Chris  and Ava/what's-her-name-Nicole's sister were played by the same person. None of these roles explained why X looks exactly like Y.  Or...DOOL pulls a switcheroo and it turns out FakeAbby is real, actual Abby - doesn't matter if there's zero logic because this show doesn't do logic/facts.

[4evaQuez]

I think Annalyne is entirely too young to play Nicole. She is 37, and AZ is 50. I assume Nicole is still in her mid-40s. I would hate to have another Sarah Horton/Linsey Godfrey situation where a 30-something is playing a 40-something. (The show gives us dialogue that Sarah is in her 40s, with her being childhood playmates with the Brady siblings or the Renee Dumonde storyline constantly mentioning Sarah in the 80s.)

Those roles should go to actresses in their 40s and 50s, who have a much more difficult time finding stable work.

[CanaryFan98]

11 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

The show finally stopped shoving him down our throats after so many years and he finally became likeable once they allowed him to be bitter about Nicole and Eric. He finally started to feel human instead of bring constantly pushed as the best ever. Rafe throwing out Nicole's pie (the symbolism!) was the start of me actually liking him. 

They really do. Damn, this is reiterating that Annalyne should have been a Nicole Walker recast. 

This is an homage to One Life to Live, which did a soap within a soap in the late 1980's called Fraternity Row. During the final run of One Life to Live in 2011-12 Ron resurrected Fraternity Row and made in jokes about OLTL. 

I honestly thought she was going to be a Nicole recast

[DisneyBoy]

She'd be a bad Nicole. Wrong age.

 

 

So today was a day with "good" characters....but I still found it a bad episode.

I really dislike Fiona being so indifferent. I wanted so much to enjoy her but she is bizarrely cold and detached regarding Sarah and Brady. What happened to the remorse and shame?

The Green Twist was revealed way faster than I thought it would be. ALM's "flashback" spasm was so cringy I had to laugh. I'm not enjoying her storyline at this point and the hand-wringing over Abifail has gone on for what feels like a century.

Sarah's the giddiest paraplegic I've ever seen.

And Olivia rubbing up against (a clearly not aroused) Tate was pathetic and gross.

 

So...yeah, even a "good" day sucked.

Sigh.

[ASpring1900]

On 8/21/2024 at 1:25 PM, DisneyBoy said:

BenAlex: I'm no actor!

And he delivered the line with a strong Boston accent. :)

Days was #4 on Peacock's 10 top watched shows last night, which I think is fantastic.

[brisbydog]

Really enjoyable start to the week.

Really good conversation between Fiona and Xander. I like it spelled out that Sarah's paralysis in no way changes Xander's feelings for her or his commitment to them as a couple. And today I felt an urgency to Fiona, that she needs to make up for lost time and there is a timeline on it. There are rumours she is ill, and this was the first hint I felt that this might be true.

I liked Kristen today. She is suddenly, and oddly, the voice of reason. I wish we had got an indication of who Fabby really is. I got a sibling vibe from her and Mark. They are definitely not romantically involved. Continuing with Kristen, I mean, she committed yet another crime but her heart was in the right place. And she knows Brady well enough to have sussed out the entire situation, from him falling off the wagon to driving drunk to his car being the one that hit Sarah.

I still find Tate and Holly incredibly boring, Sophia is the only thing that livens them up and she was sadly absent. Things picked up when he ran into Brady, but I'm sure he will lie to Brady again and Brady is so involved in his own issues to parent. Once he is (likely) in jail Tate might get some stability with Grandpa John.

Jada is an excellent investigator. Rafe would have already arrested an innocent suspect by now. Brady (and Kristen) would have got away with this if Marlena had not innocently disputed Brady's timeline.

Xander is going to erupt when he hears Brady's name. Will he fire him or beat him up first? He will be safer in jail while we wait for the inevitable truth about Fiona to come out.

[Giuseppe]

So, Salem has no Urgent Care? Not a single other hospital where Holly could've taken Tate to get his ankle treated? Going to University Hospital where they both have family members on staff is their idea of being 'stealth'? Teenagers, lol.

[DisneyBoy]

He didn't even put up his hoodie to cover his head 🙄

Fiona should have dumped her booze down the drain.

She's really a piece of crap for letting Brady think he did it, and soon, letting him take the fall. I'd much prefer her to fess up.

Kristen to the rescue! Kinda...nice of her to help him, honestly.

[methodwriter85]

Jada being the level-headed detective is probably my favorite part of the show right now.

[DisneyBoy]

Don't you miss Rafe?

 

...honestly, I had to laugh when y'all started posting "I've never enjoyed Rafe this much!" and it took me like half a day to process that he's been in a coma 😄

 

[oceanblue]

I loved her conversation with Brady.  You didn't report it stolen?  You can do so now.   The Salem Police has never responded so sensibly

[salvame]

12 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Kristen to the rescue! Kinda...nice of her to help him, honestly.

Though it's probably just an attempt to get her hooks back into him. I keep waiting for the day she grows up. 

[brisbydog]

Really good show today. I love when all plots are intermingled like this. Written by one of the upcoming new head writers Jeanne Marie Ford.

Brady is really the world's worst parent. And that is saying a lot when his baby mommas are Kristen and Theresa. He ditches his kid at the hospital and goes to turn himself in without even giving Tate a heads up.

Very much liked Holly realizing that she was partly to blame for Sarah's plight, and Xander not blaming her. The old Xander would have turned on her and Tate.

Jada is a wonderful officer. Her compassion to Xander helped diffuse him once again. I get why Sarah is worried as Xander has a history of going nuts to protect her, but thankfully Jada is the right person to get through to him. He always responds better to women though.

EJ figuring out Kristen's entire scheme to protect Brady in ten seconds was fabulous. I have missed him.

Sarah and Maggie were the highlight today again. Wonderful use of history.

Forgot John and Marlena! These are good parents who know their wayward child! Really liked how fast they figured it out.

[rcc]

12 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Jada being the level-headed detective is probably my favorite part of the show right now.

Agree. She is a very good actress too. 

[peachmangosteen]

4 hours ago, brisbydog said:

Written by one of the upcoming new head writers Jeanne Marie Ford.

Oh, that's good to hear because I agree this was a great episode.

[CanaryFan98]

8 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Don't you miss Rafe?

 

...honestly, I had to laugh when y'all started posting "I've never enjoyed Rafe this much!" and it took me like half a day to process that he's been in a coma 😄

 

Actually I was referring to him awake and paired with Jada. It has done wonders for him tbh. They also have an adult relationship which I find rather refreshing. Plus the rest of the show is so awful in comparison that Rafe hasn't really done anything to piss me off these days.

[DisneyBoy]

7 hours ago, salvame said:

Though it's probably just an attempt to get her hooks back into him. I keep waiting for the day she grows up. 

It's a lost cause. By Eileen's third round of Brady - curing John and revealing Theresa to prove her love - it was wearing thin.

At least her Kristen tried to kill him rather than drag their sad "love story" out any further 😅

The writers have severely crippled her as a character. Makes me very sad.

18 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Actually I was referring to him awake and paired with Jada. It has done wonders for him tbh. They also have an adult relationship which I find rather refreshing. Plus the rest of the show is so awful in comparison that Rafe hasn't really done anything to piss me off these days.

Oh hahahaha. I thought we were snarking :)

Yeah his basic simple relationship with her - and no crazy complications - is a welcome relief from everything else. But it's not really a "good" romance. I don't see chemistry between them. But Rafe has been dullsville for years, so...can't blame Jada there.

I hope they stay together so he isn't forced into any more awful pairings. 

[BuckeyeLou]

I admit to crying during the Maggie/Sarah scenes...beautifully done by both Suzanne & Lynsey.  Maggie revealing the details of her youth & how she was in a car crash & ended up on crutches..so well done.  Lynsey looked gutted hearing the details.  The connection between Mother & Daughter was palpable.  Compare those scenes to the ones with Xander & his Mother, who is out right lying to him!  Xander wants a relationship with his Mum the way Sarah has a good relationship with her Mother. 

[CanaryFan98]

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

It's a lost cause. By Eileen's third round of Brady - curing John and revealing Theresa to prove her love - it was wearing thin.

At least her Kristen tried to kill him rather than drag their sad "love story" out any further 😅

The writers have severely crippled her as a character. Makes me very sad.

Oh hahahaha. I thought we were snarking :)

Yeah his basic simple relationship with her - and no crazy complications - is a welcome relief from everything else. But it's not really a "good" romance. I don't see chemistry between them. But Rafe has been dullsville for years, so...can't blame Jada there.

I hope they stay together so he isn't forced into any more awful pairings. 

This show can’t write good romances anymore so that isn’t an expectation on my part. 

 

I think they should stay together because it won’t be better for them otherwise plus there needs to be some younger stable couples. The others are getting up there in age

 

 

[BoredAtHome]

It's remarkable that Tate is the adult in all the rooms. What is this writing.

[norcalgal]

3 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I admit to crying during the Maggie/Sarah scenes...beautifully done by both Suzanne & Lynsey.  Maggie revealing the details of her youth & how she was in a car crash & ended up on crutches..so well done.  Lynsey looked gutted hearing the details.  The connection between Mother & Daughter was palpable.  Compare those scenes to the ones with Xander & his Mother, who is out right lying to him!  Xander wants a relationship with his Mum the way Sarah has a good relationship with her Mother. 

Based on the posts here, I take it that Sarah was hit by a car?  This plot must have given her PTSD given her own IRL event that resulted in a long hospitalization/convalescence. Thankfully, LG made a full recovery from her ordeal.

[Chellfairy]

21 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Delete. Sorry methodwriter

Edited August 28 by Chellfairy
Don’t know how to delete

[brisbydog]

12 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Based on the posts here, I take it that Sarah was hit by a car?  This plot must have given her PTSD given her own IRL event that resulted in a long hospitalization/convalescence. Thankfully, LG made a full recovery from her ordeal.

LG said it was really difficult to relive this. Her scenes last week where she talked about missing her baby were very, very real. Her own daughter was Victoria's age when this happened to her in real life. 

Another good show today! Amazing how riveting this can be when Body & Soul, Connie and Leo are all off screen.

I got today from Fiona that if it was anybody other than Sarah, she would have fessed up and cleared Brady. It is not about protecting herself, it is about preserving the relationship she just got back with her son. It is going to be a mess when the truth inevitably comes out.

I will miss Xarah at their wee flat. I have loved their time alone there, but it makes sense for them to move somewhere that is wheelchair friendly and where she has loads of support. I like the idea of both Mums living there too. I hope there is a way forward for Fiona and Xander after all this blows up. It is not like he has not done similar awful things in his past.

Brady's desire to do the right thing, and his guilt and self loathing is so sad, especially when he is innocent. But if he had not chosen to take that first drink after the wedding, he would not be in this mess. He has a lot of culpability for drinking himself to such a state that he can't remember entire nights. And he did this at least three times.

I love that John knows his son so well that he is back in town ten minutes and has figured it out. I wonder whether Brady will get blamed for the car vanishing too. I doubt he will rat out Kristen. Of course EJ knows she is involved but he won't care if it means nailing Brady.

Poor Tate. Both his parents could be in prison soon. This kid should be way more messed up than he is. I wish he didn't look 30.

Justin is always a welcome sight. I like that he got throught to Xander at the end. Nobody was getting Xander's hands off Brady's throat fast enough with brute force, appealing to his need to be there for Sarah and Victoria shows how much Justin, like Jada, gets what Xander is going through. I am so here for this story! And it has dominated the last two shows. Sadly, now we are in for days of crap I am sure.

Edited August 28 by brisbydog

[DisneyBoy]

Agree with your entire post Brisby! Well said. I lose all faith and then an episode like this comes along and I care about tuning in again.

I'm still annoyed that Fiona isn't showing more tormented feelings. She's still really....cold as each new twist plays out. Even talking to herself about turning herself in, there could have been more.

Anyone else remember how Anna Stuart as Donna could play scenes like these on Another World? Hating herself for lying and wanting to fix everything while knowing she has to hide the truth for whatever reason? The anxiety eating her alive? I'd love half of that here from Fiona.

Since I point out details, as you all know, it was weird that Jada told Brady to lawyer up when a full confession is basically what someone in her position would want...and it was also beyond weird for Justin to immediately break confidentiality before he's even spoken with his client and announce to Fiona that Brady was the driver.

Everyone saying Drake looks unwell wasnt kidding :( This was my first glimpse and damn - I wasn't ready.

Was there any real explanation for where John abruptly went in the States, after his trip to Greece? If not, it seems like Drake maybe needed sudden medical leave.

Wishing him all the best. He's great.

....how did Sarah forget the mansion got an elevator? I couldn't figure that.

Edited August 28 by DisneyBoy

[JBC344]

John was visiting with his dad, Dick Van Dyke the past couple of days. 

Also Xander mentioned that the elevator was added to the house in the last couple of years due to Victor's mobility issues. 

So glad to hear that this episode was written by one of the new head writers. Makes me hopeful for what is to come when their writing fully takes over next year. 

[DisneyBoy]

Was it? That's great news!

Although, Ron's first few scripts were also pretty good, back before things went off the rails.

John visiting his father makes sense as an explanation. I thought someone said he went to another city, and I was confused. I figured his father was in a nursing home in Salem, since they'd already sent so much time apart.

I did hear the reference to Victor's mobility issues today, but still...they never said there was an elevator in the last five years and Victor obviously had mobility issues that whole time. They try to tiptoe around the real-life limitations of their actors, though.

[brisbydog]

Ron is all plot, no substance. For instance, we literally got 9 months of Alex whining about his life being a lie, then spending his ill gotten billions, and treating Justin like crap. Xander finds out that he is in fact Victor's son, a truth far more important for him due to his tortured relationship with Victor, and he barely gets a reaction shot and zero follow up conversations other than one chat with Maggie. One or two conversations with his mum and decades of neglect are forgotten and forgiven so we can go full tilt into this plot where he will find out she is even worse than he thought. I appreciate the story, and I'm enjoying it, but we needed time to breathe between the reveal and the introduction of Fiona. They could have at least had a wedding night and honeymoon off screen before Fiona mowed her down. And Maggie has yet to voice the miracle that she and Victor now share a grandchild.

[sas616]

24 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

Ron is all plot, no substance. For instance, we literally got 9 months of Alex whining about his life being a lie, then spending his ill gotten billions, and treating Justin like crap. Xander finds out that he is in fact Victor's son, a truth far more important for him due to his tortured relationship with Victor, and he barely gets a reaction shot and zero follow up conversations other than one chat with Maggie. One or two conversations with his mum and decades of neglect are forgotten and forgiven so we can go full tilt into this plot where he will find out she is even worse than he thought. I appreciate the story, and I'm enjoying it, but we needed time to breathe between the reveal and the introduction of Fiona. They could have at least had a wedding night and honeymoon off screen before Fiona mowed her down. And Maggie has yet to voice the miracle that she and Victor now share a grandchild.

You are so right.   Every time Xander is on screen I ask myself, why so little follow up after the big reveal?  And who's running Titan now?   It sure isn't Xander.  There was a whole story there and it was just dropped.

[brisbydog]

3 minutes ago, sas616 said:

You are so right.   Every time Xander is on screen I ask myself, why so little follow up after the big reveal?  And who's running Titan now?   It sure isn't Xander.  There was a whole story there and it was just dropped.

Xander became CEO, married Sarah, and rushed her to the hospital all on the same day. He has had zero time to even be at the office. He did mention using Titan resources to hunt down the hit and run driver.

I just wanted more of him dealing with finding out about Victor and what that meant, particularly after months of Alex griping about it.