Beyond the Gates: Daily Episode Discussion

[TiffanyNichelle]

7 hours ago, Rodney said:

Were Anita and Vernon trying to get Naomi to play softball out of concern for Bill throwing out Martin's secret?

It definitely felt like that especially after Naomi pointed out that it felt just like when they insisted the whole family go to the wedding. Anita & Vernon are ready to sacrifice Naomi's clients and any future women that might work with Mike on the fire for Martin's secret. I don't like it but at least it shows that Anita & Vernon aren't completely perfect.

I can't believe Marcel and Joey were doing a payoff right by the police precinct. If you want to keep your connection a secret, don't do your dirt where anyone could catch you. Jacob didn't even go looking this time, he was just going to work!

 

5 hours ago, drivethroo said:

I am going to revisit old episodes because I want to see if Hayley is copying Dani's style.  Hayley using "Glorietta Interiors*" has been mentioned at least twice, but it didn't strike me until they started talking about the hot pink sofa...Hayley is copying Dani (badly)...Hayley has a tacky purple sofa.  Nobody else on the show besides these 2 have non-neutral colored sofas.  I need to see what else Hayley is copying.

I think in the first or second week both Dani and Hayley were wearing similar black and white looks except everything Hayley wears is a little on the tacky side. Like those leather pants with the fur cuffs today.

 

43 minutes ago, michelec said:

This episode was brought to you by Tide Oxi Clean.

The product placement cracked me up. I knew they were going to do it at some point because of the Procter & Gamble connection but it was still so funny.

[drivethroo]

3 hours ago, michelec said:

Jacob made it to the rank of detective, but doesn't know what a CI is? C'mon, man.

Jacob is clearly a nepo baby and he knows it, which is why he's trying to be Officer Perfect.

2 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

Anita & Vernon are ready to sacrifice Naomi's clients and any future women that might work with Mike on the fire for Martin's secret.

Vernon & Anita sacrificed the mental well being of their daughter for Martin's secret.

2 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

The product placement cracked me up. I knew they were going to do it at some point because of the Procter & Gamble connection but it was still so funny.

The product placements are going to have to be with the non-Dupree characters because it seems unrealistic for any of them (except Naomi) to be using Tide and not a housekeeper (well I could actually see Nicole using Tide).

[AnimeMania]

A nurse and a firefighter would be a great couple to have a lot of blood, dirt, soot, food and grass stains, along with a lot of weird smells/odors. The hospital or fire station would be a natural place for people to talk about what they use to remove stains and odors and to tell people brand-new looking clothes have been washed several times. I would have every nurse at the hospital whipping out their laundry pre-treatment sprays like OxiClean Stain Remover, Spray 'n Wash, and Shout, and those Laundry Stain Remover Pens and using them almost every time someone is walking by. There would by tons of them stored on the hidden shelf in the nurses station.

If they really wanted to work the laundry detergent into the story, they could have had Ashley wash Andre's towel that was stained and covered with lady and baby juice and odors and hand it back to him looking and smelling like it was brand new. Andre says "Eww, throw that thing away" and Ashley shows him that the towel is brighter, whiter, softer, fluffier and smells better than it has ever been.

Then they can have several scenes where Andre is constantly rubbing and smelling the towel, while thinking about Ashley, before he turns full on psycho/stalker.

P.S. The show wastes way to much time with people kissing each other and saying how much they are in love. I really wish the show would double the speed that they introduce actual plot, they have lots of characters so they can quickly branch out without burning out the actors. They should make the audience really pay if they miss an episode.

Edited Thursday at 06:02 AM by AnimeMania

[YaddaYadda]

Bill is a complete dick. I'm assuming that Dani will be the one telling Hayley about the kiss.

When Bill pointed his wedding ring out to Dani, she should've replied that it never stopped him before.

Also Hayley's pants were quite unfortunate. There's a lot of try hard with her wardrobe. I'm not mad at it since it fits the character.

Anita and Vernon, that was really disappointing. For people who talk a lot about the civil rights movement and what it's like to be part of something that was big, they sure have no problem trying to squash Naomi's moment. And for Martin to boot, or at least he is a reason, since they apparently have a lot more skeletons in the closet.

Glad Naomi isn't backing down, though. Although from that weekly preview, if Bill has a health emergency, that might make her change her mind. Which I would really hate because Bill is a liar and a schemer and I wouldn't put faking past him.

 

[AnimeMania]

S01.E27: Thursday, April 3, 2025

Edited Thursday at 06:15 PM by AnimeMania

[Rodney]

Well, I know what disbarred and suspended mean, but what did Naomi mean by censured?  I'm no lawyer or even law student, so I wouldn't know that term.

That said, good Bill/Naomi scenes once again.  I'm shocked that Bill had as generous of an offer as he had.  And even with Naomi seeing the downsides of it, I was started that the women took it . . . or seemed to.  I wonder what happened to ultimately make the women decide to reject it in the end?  And what's happening to Bill at the end?!

It's rich that Randy is trying to urge Doug out of gambling when he's the one trying to keep him in gambling thanks to Joey.  Meanwhile, I liked Doug and Vanessa calling each other out for their respective involvements with Randy and Joey.

The fact that Vanessa's on contract and Doug just on recurring, though, I have to wonder if Doug's got a date with the Grim Reaper coming soon?

I had no idea that Nicole knew Doug, though.  And it sounds like Vanessa wants a clean break from him, yet doesn't want to "complicate" things by leaving him?

[bayviewbubba]

So numb right hand- probably not a heart attack.  Stroke?

[drivethroo]

14 hours ago, drivethroo said:

(well I could actually see Nicole using Tide).

And today I saw Nicole furiously spraying Febreze lol.

46 minutes ago, Rodney said:

  I'm shocked that Bill had as generous of an offer as he had.  And even with Naomi seeing the downsides of it, I was started that the women took it . . . or seemed to.  I wonder what happened to ultimately make the women decide to reject it in the end? 

Remember, they were ready to throw in the towel before Naomi filed the suit.  Especially that receptionist.

If Naomi were more seasoned and experienced, she would conclude these women are wasting her time, she would negotiate a settlement for them and wash her hands of them because they are not serious people.

49 minutes ago, Rodney said:

The fact that Vanessa's on contract and Doug just on recurring, though, I have to wonder if Doug's got a date with the Grim Reaper coming soon?

Let's hope so and take Randy with him.

50 minutes ago, Rodney said:

I had no idea that Nicole knew Doug, though.  

Yes, a week or so ago Nicole saw Vanessa & Doug at the club and I think Nicole mentioned she hadn't seen Doug in a while and Vanessa wanted to know why, since they both work down at the hospital. Doug came up with some flim flam excuse as to why Nicole hadn't seen him at the hospital.

Plus Vanessa & Nicole are supposed to be BFFs so Nicole would know Vanessa's husband.

I want to see more of Caroline. She showed more life in her scenes than Tomas or Derek ever had. She actually seemed annoyed at Hayley yesterday but I brushed it off until today's episode when Bill thanked her for falling on her sword for him regarding the meeting times and she said it was just part of the job.  Caroline probably doesn't like Hayley either and is probably just faking the funk to keep her job.

I also think Caroline knows those 3 women are telling the truth about Mike BUT they're all also full of shit.  She immediately knew the blond one would be shopping for shoes and I'd bet Caroline saw her shopping for shoes during work hours. She's also the one who was sending personal emails on the work server. 

After Bill waved the million dollar settlement in their faces, all 3 of them were like Mike who? Mike is so terrible and so bad but all 3 of them were willing to come back to the firm and work with Mike as long as they got their million dollar check?

Again, if Naomi were more cynical and seasoned, she would peep this, negotiate a nice settlement from Bill and wash her hands of these three.

[Melgaypet]

I love Bill. Not because he's a good guy, he's a terrible guy. Not because I root for him to win, he doesn't deserve to win. But a soap always needs a character that's bad without being Capital-E Evil. The actor has great charisma and presence. And Bill is a living testament to the hypocrisy of good characters. Anita and Vernon dislike Bill - and for good reason - but they were quite willing to utilize his fixer skills with Martin's Big Secret, weren't they? So that's messy. Which is good.

And I still expect hot Bill/Dani sex.

[AnimeMania]

I think Bill fixed something for Vernon without letting Anita find out. I think that is why Vernon doesn't want to piss off Bill.

[Sake614]

5 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

I think Bill fixed something for Vernon without letting Anita find out. I think that is why Vernon doesn't want to piss off Bill.

I don’t think so. Anita is very aware of Martin’s secret and Bill’s part in it, even if it was just that Bill fixed the problem. 

[AnimeMania]

6 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

12 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

I think Bill fixed something for Vernon without letting Anita find out. I think that is why Vernon doesn't want to piss off Bill.

I don’t think so. Anita is very aware of Martin’s secret and Bill’s part in it, even if it was just that Bill fixed the problem. 

When Anita said to Vernon something like "I am am glad that you never had any scandals in your career", Vernon looked like he was ready to throw up.

[YaddaYadda]

1 hour ago, Melgaypet said:

And I still expect hot Bill/Dani sex.

That kiss between them had more in it than the bird pecks we've seen between Bill and Hayley since the show started. 

I think that Caroline might also be a victim of Mike's. 

[Badsamaritan]

I'm good with the product placement and I actually love all the ideas about sliding them into scenes. Soaps were literally created to sell soap, and if it keeps the lights on, the cast looking fabulous, and we get decent sets, let's see who else we can squeeze for some cash and get Naomi a proper office. So she can tell them 3 birds to either stand up or sit the fuck down and quit wasting her time, in private. 

The police station could upgrade to new laptops and we see the cops talking about what it can do, how much faster it is than their old laptops, their zoom don't look like it's snowing, etc. Then Joey can get an office and Marcel doesn't have to meet him RIGHT OUTSIDE THE POLICE STATION. 

Of course Vernita got secrets. And of course each has at least 5 secrets they keeping from the other. Those are the ones that will drive story for years to come, because they can be anything, especially with the backgrounds they've been given. I KNOW both of them probably have a secret child out there somewhere and I hope the show stays around long enough to get to explore them. 

Bill deserves whatever health issue is about to befall him. I said what I said. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, drivethroo said:

I also think Caroline knows those 3 women are telling the truth about Mike BUT they're all also full of shit.  She immediately knew the blond one would be shopping for shoes and I'd bet Caroline saw her shopping for shoes during work hours. She's also the one who was sending personal emails on the work server. 

After Bill waved the million dollar settlement in their faces, all 3 of them were like Mike who? Mike is so terrible and so bad but all 3 of them were willing to come back to the firm and work with Mike as long as they got their million dollar check?

Again, if Naomi were more cynicalAand seasoned, she would peep this, negotiate a nice settlement from Bill and wash her hands of these three.

The women didn't choose to leave their jobs.  They were fired because they refused to sleep with Mike. 

It doesn't surprise me that they'd be willing to come back with a settlement and a raise.  A lawsuit is a long, drawn out process during which they won't have an income.  And the whisper network might make it difficult to find another job. 

In fact, this is the first time I felt Naomi was just in this to get back at her dad.  They were only recently fired.  A million dollars each is a very decent settlement and it'd come quickly.  It'd work out for all of them to take it.  And it's really hard to say that they'd get more in a court of law. 

As for Caroline knowing one of them likes shoes, that doesn't seem all that out there for coworkers.  I have a basic understanding of what hobbies and likes my coworkers have and I don't pay much attention.

[TiffanyNichelle]

4 hours ago, drivethroo said:

If Naomi were more seasoned and experienced, she would conclude these women are wasting her time, she would negotiate a settlement for them and wash her hands of them because they are not serious people.

They were annoying me when they acted like Naomi was pushing them into this because of her vendetta against Bill. They came to her with the suit because she was Bill's daughter. Don't get scared now and start blaming her for everything.

I'm glad they turned down the settlement because it felt too easy and you could see how satisfied Bill was with it which definitely meant it wasn't in their favor. I was happy that Naomi pointed out the downsides about the taxes and how it didn't mean job security. But in the end they themselves walked through all the scenarios about how things could go wrong with a return that the workplace: resentful co-workers, angry partners losing money, Mike.

4 hours ago, drivethroo said:

I want to see more of Caroline. She showed more life in her scenes than Tomas or Derek ever had. She actually seemed annoyed at Hayley yesterday but I brushed it off until today's episode when Bill thanked her for falling on her sword for him regarding the meeting times and she said it was just part of the job.  Caroline probably doesn't like Hayley either and is probably just faking the funk to keep her job.

Bill needs to stay on Caroline's good side because you know she knows all his dirt. She probably does resent Hayley slightly.

I'd wondered for a while if Joey's mother even needed a house or if she was dead so Ted confirming that Joey's mother died a year ago was perfect. I thought he targeted Doug because he could use a doctor but did he target him to get to Vanessa?

[drivethroo]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

They were fired because they refused to sleep with Mike. 

Yet none of them had a thought of Mike or mentioned him when Bill waved the settlement around. No punishment for Mike but at least they get to be on a committee.

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

And the whisper network might make it difficult to find another job. 

The only one who might be affected by the whisper network is the girl who is a lawyer.  The other two are a receptionist and paralegal; they could go outside of DC into VA or MD to find a receptionist or paralegal job.

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

A million dollars each is a very decent settlement and it'd come quickly.

By the time the IRS, Maryland and Naomi take their cuts, they'd be left with maybe $350K.  That is not that much money for the DC area and is only about 2 years salary maybe for the lawyer.

The best thing for all of them to do is take the settlement and leave town.

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

As for Caroline knowing one of them likes shoes, that doesn't seem all that out there for coworkers.  I have a basic understanding of what hobbies and likes my coworkers have and I don't pay much attention.

The fact Caroline knew the blond chick was probably shopping for shoes right after we see a scene of her dancing about shopping for shoes tells me she's been shopping for shoes during work hours and probably on work computers...which is probably a violation of work computer usage (and cause to be fired).

And as Naomi said, there's no protection for any of them from getting fired again.  No protection for them from Mike... who is the reason they brought the lawsuit in the first place.

59 minutes ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

But in the end they themselves walked through all the scenarios about how things could go wrong with a return that the workplace: resentful co-workers, angry partners losing money, Mike.

Caroline would definitely be one of the resentful coworkers.

The best course of action for all three of them is to have Naomi press for a $1.5-2 million dollar settlement each, Mike to be separated from the firm and to take the money and leave DC to seek work (especially the lawyer).

1 hour ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

Bill needs to stay on Caroline's good side because you know she knows all his dirt. She probably does resent Hayley slightly.

You'd resent Hayley too if you've been busting your butt at work and this pop tart gets a job because the boss's wife recommended her, sleeps with the boss and gets a promotion and is now swanning around the office like the Queen.

On another note, I'd like to know what Caroline thought of Dani.

1 hour ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

so Ted confirming that Joey's mother died a year ago was perfect. I thought he targeted Doug because he could use a doctor but did he target him to get to Vanessa?

Joey seems to have a dislike for Doug, it doesn't seem just like Doug's just a random sucker he needs to suck dry. Maybe Joey's mom was Doug's patient and he blames Doug for why she died and Vanessa is just an added bonus.

[One Tough Cookie]

15 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

n fact, this is the first time I felt Naomi was just in this to get back at her dad.  They were only recently fired.  A million dollars each is a very decent settlement and it'd come quickly.  It'd work out for all of them to take it.  And it's really hard to say that they'd get more in a court of law.

Well taxes and Noami's fees would  make it around $500,000 so I think it wouldn't be in their best interest to settle; especially the blonde who started becoming orgasmic about shoes.  If I were given this idea I would not sign the check without checking with a tax specialist.

We inherited some money and I was shocked how much the government took.  And my husband and BIL are both   accountants!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 04:06 PM by One Tough Cookie

[AnimeMania]

S01.E28: Friday, April 4, 2025

[Rodney]

Well, it looks like Hayley hasn't lost her friendships with Ashley and Derek.  I liked her scenes with the latter.  But now Hayley's trying to work the women into settling Naomi's case.

So Vanessa learns that Joey lied about his mother, yet she's still willing to associate with him.  I agree that Joey is getting back at Doug for something.  Likely his mother's death.  He probably wants Vanessa as part of that revenge.

So Bill was showing signs of a heart attack, but brushed it off.  I can see an actual heart attack in his future.

I like that Chelsea agreed to walk in one last fashion show, at least.  As long as she holds the handbag that she and Kat designed.  It did look like a nice handbag.  Though I'm a man, so I don't know my handbags well.

Don't get the point of the documentary except to push more of the already tired Derek/Ashley/Andre triangle.  But I loved Shanice during them.  They should've made her a regular and sent Andre her way instead.

I appreciated Chelsea laying things out to Bill.  She still loves him, but she doesn't trust him anymore for how he did her mother dirty.

Impressed that Dani still wants Naomi and Chelsea to keep Bill in their lives, despite her wanting him out of hers (most of the time, anyway).

Ted is still worrying about Leslie and is hiding it from Nicole.  This'll end so well when the other shoe drops.

Much as I appreciated the break from Martin's jerk-ass self, I'm still kind of surprised that he and Smitty were missing all week.

Still, another fine week.  Looking forward to Monday!

[AnimeMania]

I wonder if Doug was supposed to be on call at the hospital when Joey's mother died and could have saved her, but instead he was gambling at the Casino.

[ShadowHunter]

I liked the scene with Bill and Chelsea since we have not them much interaction yet. 

Hayley and Derek interacting was unexpected. The scene was okay.

I do not care at all about the Hospital documentary.  The whole Andre/Derek/Ashley story is 😴😴😴 

Joey maybe wanting revenge on Doug and using Vanessa makes sense but Joey may still fall for or become obsessed with Vanessa since this is a soap.

[JAYJAY1979]

The three women cast in the lawsuit seem kind of timid and not very intelligent.  So perhaps the reviews they got were accurate, but because of Mike have a case.

Pacing seems off on the show.

Last week we all celebrated when Ashley/Derek/Andre were not on, but this week Leslie/Martin/Smitty weren't on.

At the same time, Dani has been featured needlessly when she's played by a weak one note actress.

Vanessa/Joey have chemistry.

Oddly...Jacob and Derek had more chemistry in their solo scenes with Hayley then they do with Ashley.

Edited Friday at 11:48 PM by JAYJAY1979

[drivethroo]

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I wonder if Doug was supposed to be on call at the hospital when Joey's mother died and could have saved her, but instead he was gambling at the Casino.

I'm thinking Joey's mom was supposed to have heart surgery, Doug was supposed to do the surgery, he skipped out to gamble and have fun and Ernie wasn't experienced and Mom died.

Nicole is going to piece together how Doug is involved.

4 hours ago, Rodney said:

Well, it looks like Hayley hasn't lost her friendships with Ashley and Derek.  I liked her scenes with the latter.

Derek wasn't that bad in the scenes with Hayley.  Maybe he can be her only friend in town.

4 hours ago, Rodney said:

But now Hayley's trying to work the women into settling Naomi's case.

Becky has been trying to jump ship from the beginning.  I'm begging Naomi to settle this case and wash her hands of these people.

35 minutes ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

So perhaps the reviews they got were accurate, but because of Mike have a case.

I think their reviews were probably accurate for the most part. Unfortunately Bill allowing Mike to be an aging frat boy opened him up for these charges.

Becky & Carrie can get jobs elsewhere but Stefania needs a new line of work. She's supposed to be a lawyer but met with opposing counsel knowing she shouldn't have whether Naomi was there or not.  When Bill presented them with the settlement, she immediately jumped in delight, did not scrutinize the settlement and did not even try to negotiate or leverage the fallout & bad publicity to get a higher settlement.  If she won't negotiate or advocate for herself, she won't do it for a client and that's not an attorney you want in your firm.

Whether her review was accurate or motivated by sexual harassment, Stefania is a piss poor lawyer and doesn't need to be at any top law firm.

 

 

[One Tough Cookie]

For the most part I enjoy the show, but I think Dani is miscast.  She doesn't have the range or gravitas to be front and center.  She  needs to dial it back, if she can. 

She ought to get a job and a life.

I'm wondering if Bill's shaky hand was a diversion for Naomi?

[Irlandesa]

9 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

Well taxes and Noami's fees would  make it around $500,000 so I think it wouldn't be in their best interest to settle; especially the blonde who started becoming orgasmic about shoes.  If I were given this idea I would not sign the check without checking with a tax specialist.

We inherited some money and I was shocked how much the government took.  And my husband and BIL are both   accountants!

I understand that they'd have to pay taxes but the average court judgment for sexual harassment was approximately 200,000 (worth 300K in today's money).  So Bill's offer was about 3 times what the average court judgment gets and about six times the average settlements. 

I know Bill's the villain but since they decided to throw out numbers, I also know that it was a legitimately good real life offer.

[TiffanyNichelle]

When Hayley's stuck complaining to Derek about how everyone at the country club is icing her out then she really needs to take his advice and find some new friends. Poor guy, he barely knows her through Ashley and he had to listen to all of that.

Nicole is a damn good friend to Vanessa. As soon as she couldn't get Vanessa on the phone she ran right to the club to let her know about Joey's mom.

As much as Naomi's clients annoy me, esp the weak one, Becky, I did love when she called Hayley out on saying they were friends. She wasn't a friend when she took Becky's job and didn't check in with her after she got fired for reporting Mike's harassment.

Edited Saturday at 02:08 AM by TiffanyNichelle

[YaddaYadda]

17 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

As much as Naomi's clients annoy me, esp the weak one, Becky, I did love when she called Hayley out on saying they were friends. She wasn't a friend when she took Becky's job and didn't check in with her after she got fired for reporting Mike's harassment.

I feel like Becky is the one with the most reasons to want to take the settlement. She has hospital bills to pay. 

Hayley needs to stop. Full stop. She's up in everyone's face either complaining about the Duprees who don't seem to give a flying fig that she's around. We saw her make up a whole story about them. I'm not even sure that this Team Dani business is true. And she keeps meddling in a Bill and Naomi's business.

Girl, you can't fix what you helped break. And you can't expect people to forgive and forget. Take Derek's advice and find yourself new friends, preferably people you don't work with.

Caroline was her maid of honor, but I don't get the sense that Caroline likes her. She seems to just tolerate her because she's the wife of the guy who signs her pay cheques.

In fact, everyone who was at the wedding was either forced to go by Bill or his employees. 

Hayley seems to have had one real, genuine friend and she tossed her aside for the sake of having an affair with said friend's father.

Vanessa has really grown on me. The more we find out about her backstory, the more I like her. Meanwhile, Ashley is just boring. Yes, she delivered a baby. we know, we remember, hard to forget since we keep getting reminded. She's wonderful, she's caring, she's awesome. You can't make fetch, happen, show. Why can't she just been grown organically like the other characters?

I am shocked that Bob Guza and Ron Carlivati are capable of writing decent material.

[michelec]

On 4/4/2025 at 3:09 PM, Rodney said:

So Bill was showing signs of a heart attack, but brushed it off.  I can see an actual heart attack in his future.

Yeah, that was definitely Chekov's numb hand. I don't think they would have introduced something relatively trivial if it wasn't coming into play later.

6 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

Caroline was her maid of honor, but I don't get the sense that Caroline likes her. She seems to just tolerate her because she's the wife of the guy who signs her pay cheques.

Caroline was channeling her inner Marshawn Lynch at the wedding, I'm just here so I don't get fined.

[mbluecpa]

22 hours ago, drivethroo said:

I'm thinking Joey's mom was supposed to have heart surgery, Doug was supposed to do the surgery, he skipped out to gamble and have fun and Ernie wasn't experienced and Mom died.

I think I heard a reference that Ernie is/was a plastic surgeon, but yeah somehow Doug has got to be involved in her death as well.  And hell, maybe Ted since he knew Ernie and is in the same specialty.

2 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

I am shocked that Bob Guza and Ron Carlivati are capable of writing decent material.

Totally agree.  The writers have got me looking forward to seeing where several of the storylines are going and are making pretty good progress advancing them.  

Contradicting the “got me wondering” part, I fast forwarded for the first time - I just can’t with the documentary stuff (more Andre/Ashley/Derek than the story itself).  💤

I appreciated Shanice’s callout to the reality of a lot of nurses being burned out, though based on workload I don’t think that’s an issue at Garland.  

I think someone mentioned it here previously, but I’m getting a stalker/jealousy vibe from Diego. 

[YaddaYadda]

25 minutes ago, mbluecpa said:

Contradicting the “got me wondering” part, I fast forwarded for the first time - I just can’t with the documentary stuff (more Andre/Ashley/Derek than the story itself).  💤

I did too. I wasn't interested in hearing about Saint-Ashley's exploits. I thought Derek showed more having a somewhat serious conversation with Hayley than being part of the Ashley Morgan Admirers Society.

 

[Rodney]

40 minutes ago, mbluecpa said:

I think someone mentioned it here previously, but I’m getting a stalker/jealousy vibe from Diego. 

That was I a few weeks ago.  I got it from him very early on when he got a touch possessive over Vanessa being with somebody else.  Even though Vanessa politely, though firmly, put him in his place then, I wonder how long she keep it up?

I did appreciate him trying to caution Vanessa about Joey (which shows that plenty of people are aware of his reputation), but I did also like that Vanessa questioned his motives for doing so.

[drivethroo]

3 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

You can't make fetch, happen, show. Why can't she just been grown organically like the other characters?

Because there's no reason she should be there.  Why is she Naomi's friend? How is she Naomi's friend? Apparently they've been friends for a long time because Ted and Nicole know and talk to her. How and why does she know Andre? 

I think they should've introduced her just as one of the nurses at the hospital and let her character grow from there.

32 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

I thought Derek showed more having a somewhat serious conversation with Hayley than being part of the Ashley Morgan Admirers Society.

I think if they move Derek away from Ashley and have him have relationships with characters other than Ashley, he could work.  He's shown more life in the scenes with Hayley and Andre than with Ashley.

 

[TiffanyNichelle]

6 hours ago, YaddaYadda said:

I'm not even sure that this Team Dani business is true. And she keeps meddling in a Bill and Naomi's business.

The Team Dani stuff is true because Diego brings it up when he and Vanessa talk about her selling a house to Bill. Diego keeps over stepping with Vanessa. He said that Vanessa sold out to both Bill & Hayley by selling them a house. He gets on her for Joey all the time. Somehow Vanessa has stumbled into a fake love triangle with two men who are not her husband.

[YaddaYadda]

1 hour ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

The Team Dani stuff is true because Diego brings it up when he and Vanessa talk about her selling a house to Bill. Diego keeps over stepping with Vanessa. He said that Vanessa sold out to both Bill & Hayley by selling them a house. He gets on her for Joey all the time. Somehow Vanessa has stumbled into a fake love triangle with two men who are not her husband.

Totally forgot about that.

Diego is creepy AF.

[Lois Sandborne]

On 4/3/2025 at 11:59 AM, Rodney said:

Well, I know what disbarred and suspended mean, but what did Naomi mean by censured?  I'm no lawyer or even law student, so I wouldn't know that term.

Censure is just a written reprimand. Basically it's the lowest form of sanction for an ethics violation. What Bill did in the real world would be punished much more severely.

Hayley's getting on my nerves. They need to figure her out. Is she the innocent doe in headlights trying to get her friendships back and be accepted, or does she want to be a schemer and master manipulator like Bill? If she's actually meant be two-faced, the writing and acting for that character need to sharpen up.

After all the hype, I really wanted Kat and Chelsea's bag to be something. Instead it looked exactly like my everyday handbag. (Mine is a Kate Spade; it's cute, but it's not going to be a moment in a fashion show.)

I find myself checking out any time we're at the hospital or the police station, but I am interested in what's happening with Vanessa, Doug, and Joey.

I know they recast Ted, but still, between Joey's casino henchman, Jacob, and Andre, there are too many square-jawed, brown-skinned men with fades and beards for me to keep straight.

Team Dani. I really liked all her scenes with Chelsea.

[Rodney]

5 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

He gets on her for Joey all the time.

Though I agree with Diego's creepiness, that Joey stuff doesn't bother me, because given what many people both in and out of Fairmont Crest know about Joey, Diego actually has a legitimate concern for Vanessa there.

[YaddaYadda]

8 hours ago, Rodney said:

Though I agree with Diego's creepiness, that Joey stuff doesn't bother me, because given what many people both in and out of Fairmont Crest know about Joey, Diego actually has a legitimate concern for Vanessa there.

Is it concern, though, or is it jealousy that she is batting her eyes at another man?

Diego just doesn't seem to like it when Vanessa talks to her own husband.

[Irlandesa]

On 4/5/2025 at 2:34 PM, YaddaYadda said:

I am shocked that Bob Guza and Ron Carlivati are capable of writing decent material.

Bob Guza had some great stuff on General Hospital when he was helped out by his strong script writers. 

And Carlivati would flounder, mostly, but would sometimes have some good 'coming together' story moments before blowing the denouements. 

But it's important to remember that neither of these two are the head writers. Maybe Guza, given he's a producer, has some story stay but the woman driving this is Michele Val Jean.  She's driving the initial bible. Some people shouldn't be head writers.

I think a lot of these stories have potential but there are still too many that feel like they're in limbo.  I'd like at least one of them to advance at a faster pace.

And I wish more characters got dialogue like Joey's on Friday.  His explanation for his lie was just so utterly captivating.  It was partly the performance but I think the writing was pretty terrific too.

 

 

[Matteo]

It helps that Jon Lindstrom is a good/seasoned vet as an actor.  I find some of these subplots more interesting than the main stories.  I was most excited when Vanessa/Joey had their scenes, and generally the scenes with Kat and Eva are pretty good.  Daphnee Duplaix does a very good job of making Nicole seem real and genuine, without being too "boring" as the stable person in the family.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E29: Monday, April 7, 2025

[Rodney]

So Laura emerges for the first time in weeks, and Eva still seems to suspect that Leslie caused her accident.  Oh, and Mona finally reappears, too!  I wonder how long till it comes out that Leslie's the one responsible for the accident?

Leslie is playing with fire by threatening Ted.  But Ted is playing with fire by continuing to deal with Leslie.  He should just tell Nicole the truth and let the chips fall where they may.  But as this is a soap, he won't do that.  Characters rarely just take away the blackmailers' power by telling the truth.

And Leslie confirms it.  Ted had an ongoing affair with her while he was married to Nicole.  Ouch.  At least Ted feels bad for causing her pain by dumping her to go back to Nicole.  But Eva's right about one thing.  This could blow up in both her and Leslie's faces when they expose Ted to Nicole, not turn out good for them.

Leslie had some of her more redeeming scenes with Jan and Mona.  But what did Jan mean by this Mrs. Eldridge being "three sheets to the wind?"  And I'm fearing that Leslie might've killed Laura now that she knows that she's going to be discharged and back to work soon.  But she might not have even needed to since Nicole's thinking about keeping Eva on as a second full-time personal assistant.

So Vernon is now a professor who teaches civics.  Interesting.  And he and Anita were adorable with Samantha and Tyrell.  Though I have no idea why they won't at least tell them about Tyrell being bullied.

Tyrell beat Vernon in eight chess moves?!  That's a damn good chess player!

Martin is still having nightmares of whatever his secret is.  And Smitty was smart to use his reporter skills to learn about the fights going on.  He and Martin seem to now know about Tyrell's bullying.  Not all of the facts, but enough to know that something's going on there.

Edited 7 minutes ago by Rodney

[drivethroo]

On 4/6/2025 at 4:08 AM, Lois Sandborne said:

After all the hype, I really wanted Kat and Chelsea's bag to be something. Instead it looked exactly like my everyday handbag.

I don't think that tote is the handbag.  Dani was rummaging inside the bag and said it was cute.  I think the actual bag is inside the tote.

15 minutes ago, Rodney said:

So Laura emerges for the first time in weeks, and Eva still seems to suspect that Leslie caused her accident. 

She's really going to suspect her if Laura conveniently dies.

15 minutes ago, Rodney said:

At least feels bad for causing her pain by dumping her to go back to Nicole. 

Ted doesn't feel bad one bit about dumping Dana.   He feels bad a scorned Dana will blow his life up. Dana probably thinks once she gets Nicole out of the way, she can slide right in (like Hayley slid right in with Bill). But a Bill/Hayley situation is not what usually happens. What usually happens is the wife/girlfriend leaves but the dude gets rid of the side chick too.

20 minutes ago, Rodney said:

But what did Jan mean by this Mrs. Eldridge being "three sheets to the wind?"

Mrs. Eldridge was drunk as hell and I want to knw how Jan knows.