Current Plots Discussion: Actually Today's Episode

[Rowan]

I agree that at this point, Kayla is doing Joey no favors by hanging on to this cover-up for dear life. I'm with Steve on that part. However, it's about damn time she told him off about all the crazies he lets in the damn door. 

Tripp's bent. He was so easily lathered up into this psycho frenzy over someone he never met. I get that Ava's the representative of an ideal he never had the chance to experience, but he made clear, very harmful choices based on hearsay. Hearsay from a chick that he knows hates her. He's stupid and unstable.  Kayla knows what Steve wants. He's going to want her to get over it. She's probably pissed about that and that's getting all mixed up in her straight panicking about Joey.  Again, she's wrong about not allowing Joey to atone, but she ain't wrong about giving Steve some hell.  

[NorthstarATL]

I say give Kayla a break. She JUST had her life and career threatened by her husband's illegitimate kid, who, for all intents and purposes, forced her son into making a confession to a crime she had no reason to believe he was having trouble living with, and Steve's reaction is "Good boy" to Joey, "Poor boy" to Tripp, and "Suck it up" to her! Sure, level-headedness and adherence to the Law would cause her to agree that Joey should do the mature thing and turn himself in, especially if he is wracked by guilt, but that will likely come in time. The incidents are still fresh for her. On top of that, there's the comparison of what Steve's sons did. The son she loves, birthed, and nurtured killed a psychotic woman who had all but destroyed her family. Doesn't make it right, but makes it far more understandable than the vendetta the woman's son, who just recently came into their lives, went on over hearsay about Kayla herself, who had been nothing but kind to him,  which almost killed people he did not know nor care a thing about. Tripp is far more dangerous and unhinged than Joey, IMO. They should both be penalized.

Edited August 11, 2017 by NorthstarATL

[Sandman]

3 minutes ago, NorthstarATL said:

... a confession to a crime she had no reason to believe he was having trouble living with

Wait -- she knew that he was struggling, right? I'm all for cutting her a break, but she can't have had no idea that Joey was in this much distress, can she? (That kid's acting must be worse than I thought!)

[Star Aristille]

17 hours ago, Sandman said:

Wait -- she knew that he was struggling, right? I'm all for cutting her a break, but she can't have had no idea that Joey was in this much distress, can she? (That kid's acting must be worse than I thought!)

She knew damn well Joey was feeling distressed about this.  He mentioned it to her and Steve several times.  They both coddled, comforted, and enabled him to continue keeping mum about this rather than letting him get some actual help over the murder or even -- heaven forbid -- letting him just confess and take his lumps.

Edited August 11, 2017 by Star Aristille

[JBC344]

Realistically there really isn't much that they could of done outside of having him confess.  I mean it's not like Joey could go to counseling to deal with it.  Two minutes in the therapist would be alerting authorities.  Unless they roped Marlena in and she agreed to keep it quiet, and he received counseling from her but the options are sort of limited to having Joey "deal" with it.

[DisneyBoy]

I don't think Joey would get through prison honestly...him turning himself in won't do squat to help him deal with what caused him to do this... it's too bad that they never actually gave him a therapist because that character should really be involved in this discussion. The way things are right now we don't know if Joey was getting anything out of therapy or even what the therapist might think.

 

I would think the best outcome would be for him to stay in intensive therapy and do everything he can to be a good son and a good person. His mother would be completely destroyed by him going to prison after her raising him solo. And Ava was clearly a complete psychopath. Obviously he did commit murder but at this point his father has covered that up and it will only get everybody in trouble and very very upset for him to decide to be noble and turn himself in. Joey just doesn't seem like he can think properly. Jail is not some magical place where they sort out what caused you to break the law and then help nurture you towards being a better person. And yet he's acting like somehow going to jail will help him out and answer the questions he has about what he supposed to do next or become.

I just watched Wednesday's episode and I cannot believe how quickly Brady is melting down, nor how quickly Nicole and Eric are suddenly flirting and loving each other again and being friends and gushing and all that. If this is how Ron is going to write the show, I don't think anything is going to really improve. I am seriously hoping that some of these scenes were written by Dena because if this is everything that Ron can give us, it's really jerky and abrupt and showy. Brady nearly died like 2 months ago. Him poisoning his body with alcohol after Theresa basically fell off the wagon and abandoned their son seems completely incomprehensible to me.

Is it at all possible that some of these scenes were written by Dena and filmed by the time Ron came aboard?

Edited August 11, 2017 by DisneyBoy

[swtrgrl]

12 hours ago, Sandman said:

I forget, is Justin the only lawyer left in town (again)?

ETA: Why is Kayla acting like going to prison is optional?

Yes. I think you're right. Aiden is gone. EJ is "dead." No lawyers. 

[msrachelj]

13 hours ago, Sandman said:

I forget, is Justin the only lawyer left in town (again)?

ETA: Why is Kayla acting like going to prison is optional?

wouldn't kayla also be considered an accomplice or ? for knowing about the murder and keeping quiet? she ought to be concerned for herself too!

[Sandman]

10 hours ago, Star Aristille said:

He mentioned it to her and Steve several times. 

I was pretty sure he had talked to both parents -- but lately the scenes have been of Joe(y) and Steve talking just between themselves, and I began to wonder if I'd missed something, and this was their attempt to keep quiet about it and not involve Kayla.

I think both Steve and Kayla might be charged with either obstruction or accessory to murder after the fact for keeping it quiet -- which is part of why I find the attempted cover-up upsetting, because at a certain point, how much of it is about protecting your son, and how much about continuing to stay quiet for reasons of self-interest (that is, to keep your own butt out of jail). Didn't Kayla imply that Joey has been seeing a therapist? Do they just not tell Dr. Headshrinker what's been bothering the kid so much? How does that work?

[FnkyChkn34]

2 hours ago, swtrgrl said:

Yes. I think you're right. Aiden is gone. EJ is "dead." No lawyers. 

Belle is also gone.

[Apprentice79]

6 minutes ago, Sandman said:

I was pretty sure he had talked to both parents -- but lately the scenes have been of Joe(y) and Steve talking just between themselves, and I began to wonder if I'd missed something, and this was their attempt to keep quiet about it and not involve Kayla.

I think both Steve and Kayla might be charged with either obstruction or accessory to murder after the fact for keeping it quiet -- which is part of why I find the attempted cover-up upsetting, because at a certain point, how much of it is about protecting your son, and how much about continuing to stay quiet for reasons of self-interest (that is, to keep your own butt out of jail). Didn't Kayla imply that Joey has been seeing a therapist? Do they just not tell Dr. Headshrinker what's been bothering the kid so much? How does that work?

The ISA covered up the crime as well. Shouldn't the ISA have a psychiatrist on their staff that can help Joey deal with Ava's murder without compromising anybody.  Plus, Joey needs to remember that Ava was always going to be an existential threat to the Brady family.   She killed his grandfather, the 2 pilots on that plane ,she kidnapped Hope, Stefanie and Joey as an infant.  She also assaulted Kayla and locked her up. Plus, she raped Steve.   I am not trying to excuse his abhorrent act, but, she was far from a saint.  Joey should have been the one to find that shrine of evil that Ava had that documented her hatred of Kayla and obsession with Steve.  That psychopath was never going to stop..

Edited August 11, 2017 by Apprentice79

[DisneyBoy]

Does anybody else think it would have made for a more interesting storyline if Brady was super happy to see Eric and Nicole getting along again and didn't give a second thought to them becoming a couple?

A few weeks ago when we had that weird scene where Brady completely brushed off the fact that Nicole and Eric ended up in bed together after the party, I thought how refreshing it was to see Brady acting like an adult and not jumping to conclusions. Given all of the drama that these three have been through the last few months - years - it would have made a really nice counterpoint if Brady and Nicole were doing well and Nicole and Eric were starting to become friends again and everyone was grateful for some peace. I think it would have been much more impactful if a silent attraction was growing between them again and Brady was just sitting on the other side of the table happy to see his brother and girlfriend getting along finally. I feel like that's the way the RoMar/John triangle was written. Three adults just going about their lives but caught in a love triangle nonetheless.

The way this has been written, Brady is swinging to ridiculous conclusions and almost falling off the wagon while Eric and Nicole have these really contrived secret meetings. None of them are really acting in a way that makes sense.

[JBC344]

53 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Does anybody else think it would have made for a more interesting storyline if Brady was super happy to see Eric and Nicole getting along again and didn't give a second thought to them becoming a couple?

A few weeks ago when we had that weird scene where Brady completely brushed off the fact that Nicole and Eric ended up in bed together after the party, I thought how refreshing it was to see Brady acting like an adult and not jumping to conclusions. Given all of the drama that these three have been through the last few months - years - it would have made a really nice counterpoint if Brady and Nicole were doing well and Nicole and Eric were starting to become friends again and everyone was grateful for some peace. I think it would have been much more impactful if a silent attraction was growing between them again and Brady was just sitting on the other side of the table happy to see his brother and girlfriend getting along finally. I feel like that's the way the RoMar/John triangle was written. Three adults just going about their lives but caught in a love triangle nonetheless.

The way this has been written, Brady is swinging to ridiculous conclusions and almost falling off the wagon while Eric and Nicole have these really contrived secret meetings. None of them are really acting in a way that makes sense.

Personally, I don't even understand why they put Brady and Nicole together again.  Yes, they have a romantic history, they also have an even longer history of being good friends.  Going on the run, protecting Nicole all of that could of still stayed the same with them as good friends instead of getting into a relationship.  We also had the tension with Eric and Nicole as enough of a roadblock to overcome without adding a romance with Brady into it.

I say this often but I really miss the 90's when men and women on this show could have a strong friendship that had nothing to do with romance and even if they thought about going there they would stop and realize, "Hey we have a great friendship here, let's not muddy the waters."  I miss the Tony/Bille, Sami/Jack, Billie/Jack platonic friendships that the show used to develop.

[Sandman]

59 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

The way this has been written, Brady is swinging to ridiculous conclusions and almost falling off the wagon while Eric and Nicole have these really contrived secret meetings. None of them are really acting in a way that makes sense.

It's also, unfortunately, somewhat in character for Brady to be jumping to the most extreme and ill-judged conclusions. No one is acting in sensible ways -- and no one has learned anything from their own lives -- and I mean their recent past. I think somewhere in the show bible (haha! like they even have one of those anymore, I know...) there's probably a note indicating that Bonehead Black "is a hothead" or something -- but that seems mostly to appear on screen as Brady ninnyhammering around, insecure and touchy as hell, breaking people and yelling at stuff (Or maybe the reverse) on the least provocation.

[teacake]

3 hours ago, Sandman said:

I was pretty sure he had talked to both parents -- but lately the scenes have been of Joe(y) and Steve talking just between themselves, and I began to wonder if I'd missed something, and this was their attempt to keep quiet about it and not involve Kayla.

They did want to keep it from Kayla, while her suspension from the hospital was brewing.  But they all had major scenes about it last spring, last summer after Joey ran away to California, and last winter before Steve and Kayla left for the Prague trip.  The lack of development in that story and repetitive scenes was part of the problem.

I don't think there are any good choices here for Steve and Kayla.  Joey did something terrible.  Now he feels so terrible about it that he's willing to do something that could impact all of their lives.  Confessing may be what he feels he needs to do, but I don't think Kayla should have to pretend like it doesn't affect her, both legally and emotionally.  Joey has a few times acknowledged all of the sacrifices she made for him in her life as a single mother after Steve abandoned the family, but not as often as the story has had Tripp angsting over Ava. That should be a huge emotional beat that is not playing at all here.  Joey's whole life has been lived under the shadow of Ava.  And Kayla buried her anger over everything that happened with Ava for everyone else's sake, even telling Tripp that she forgave her for everything she did.

Kayla's life since Steve came back to town has been a total disaster, even taking into account that this is a soap.  She's been targeted by his psycho ex, assaulted and kidnapped forced to watch a sex tape of them, seen her baby manipulated by said psycho and become a murderer, forced into a coverup of the crime without any input, dealt for almost a year with a debilitating brain injury from the kidnapping, and confronted with the lovechild of her husband and said psycho, who tried to destroy her and kill her, even though she tried to love him.  What is good here, and how is Kayla's life any better for Steve coming back into it?  I was impressed that for once she was reacting more like a person who had been through all of that cumulative BS, instead of just being good Kayla with good sense who wants the best for everyone.  She's been so forgiving that Steve has rarely had to face all of that.

Steve may be right in the sense that there is nothing they can do to stop Joey from confessing if he has decided that's what he needs.  But he has tried to control this situation at every turn -- from pressuring her to forgive Ava when she came to town, giving Kayla no input on the original search for the Stava baby, taking the blame originally for Ava's murder (he was even mad at Joey for ever letting on to Kayla that Steve didn't kill Ava), unilaterally deciding he wasn't going to pursue a self defense strategy for himself in the case (when Kayla wanted to run away from Salem), telling Kayla she shouldn't come when Joey ran away to California, and now everything in this situation.

Spoiler

 And given the casting spoilers, it seems that Steve again gets what he wants here, and Kayla has to live with it.

I think that's why him coming from a position of "we can't control this" grates on Kayla, because he has been driving that train since the beginning.  And while in the end she can't control what Joey does, having some level of control in your life is a pretty normal expectation.  If S&K had a balanced relationship where he listened to her sometimes before acting, and didn't always try to control all of these situations, I don't think Kayla would feel at her wit's end and abandoned at times like this when he suddenly changes course.

It would also be a lot healthier and I would understand what they're still doing together.

Edited August 11, 2017 by lska

[Apprentice79]

I enjoyed today's episode immensely. I love Brady going dark, even, if it is nonsensical.  I loved seeing Lucas and Brady commiserating over drinks. I hope the show continue with this friendship and I loved them both referencing their turbulent histories with Nicole.   I am loving Ron for making Lucas relevant again.  He has had scenes with both John and Brady this week.  I felt really bad for him when Bonnie broke up with him.  When Lucas loves he loves purely and he doesn't say he loves someone without meaning it. So he is shattered right now.  Lucas has always been second best, even, Sami, his one true love, chose her rapist over him..

Gabi and Abby going to back to being best friends is unrealistic.  There should be some type of tension between the two. Gabi could have gone dark as well. 

Marlena referenced her sister Samantha locking her up in the sanitarium and taking over her life.  I wish that we had had some flashbacks from that story. 

The highlight of this episode was seeing Eric interacting with John.  I'm so happy John is having scenes with Eric and not Paul. I  am sure this is Sherry's influence at work.   I don't care one bit about John's relationship to Paul.  John as Roman was such a devoted dad to Carrie, Sami and Eric.  I want the show to repair John's relationships with the three. 

Edited August 11, 2017 by Apprentice79

[lb60]

I'm officially embarrassed for DH and JE (and to a lesser extent EM and BD).  Today was just cringeworthy.  

[A.J.]

22 hours ago, Bwill3133 said:

I still like him because this show needs men in that age range who are not a Brady or a Horton. There are a few but not enough.

Don’t forget a Kiriakis or DiMera.  But I agree with you wholeheartedly.  I hate that everyone has to be related.  Can’t we get some new blood/characters. 

 

Quote

Why do people like EJ? He's a rapist and a liar. Jack- rapist. Nicole-kidnaps babies. Everyone kind of pushes aside people  they normally wouldn't like for soap characters. At least I do. 

They all redeemed themselves in one way or another.  We all have a past and all do horrible things.  Although those “horrible things” done in the soap world seemed to be multiplied by 100.  

Jack became a better person and really good guy.  I was introduced to EJ and Nicole when they were a couple and EJ was running for mayor.  They were awful and so unlikable to me.  However through time they both became two of my favorite characters on the show.  I softened to Nicole when I learned of her need to have a baby and all she went through to accomplish that goal.  The gentle and loving way she was around Sydney, her breakdown and slow rehabilitation, how she and Eric grew close again, the way she defended him & was accused by Eric during the Kristen/rape scandal and the fact that she can be downright hysterical all made me love Nicole. 

EJ was a tougher egg to crack.  I hated how awful he would treat Nicole.  He even said nasty things about her not being able to have children.  All his nasty crimes (most of all I don’t know about since I was not watching at the time) and the way he treated people in general were deplorable.  On the good side, he really, really loved Sami and went through a lot for her, even betraying Stefano in the process.  He cared about his children.  He cared about and helped Will on many occasions.  He really cared about Abigail during their brief affair.  He was genuinely becoming a better person during the time of his seemingly demise. 

And let’s not forget how awful Sammy was back in the day and she turned out to be somewhat of a heroine of the show.     

[A.J.]

1 hour ago, JBC344 said:

Personally, I don't even understand why they put Brady and Nicole together again.  Yes, they have a romantic history, they also have an even longer history of being good friends.  

I say this often but I really miss the 90's when men and women on this show could have a strong friendship that had nothing to do with romance and even if they thought about going there they would stop and realize, "Hey we have a great friendship here, let's not muddy the waters."  I miss the Tony/Bille, Sami/Jack, Billie/Jack platonic friendships that the show used to develop.

Even though I like both Brady and Nicole, and they make a nice looking couple, I will always be team Eric and Nicole.  It seems "all the writers" think that the characters have to be paired up with someone, anybody.  Any character on this show being single for too long seems like a crime.  I mean Eric went from Kristen to Melanie to Teresa to Nicole back to back to back. And she from Eric to Daniel to Deimos to Brady.  It's madness.       

[Apprentice79]

Everybody knows that I dislike the doppelganger story, but, I think that Judy is so much better at playing Bonnie/Adrienne than Deidre. Bonnie seemed to feel bad about hurting Lucas.  In fact, I think the Hattie character by Dee  is missing something, it is hard for me to put my finger on it.  Andrea Hall was so much better as Hattie than Deidre.

[testardo]

39 minutes ago, A.J. said:

Don’t forget a Kiriakis or DiMera.  But I agree with you wholeheartedly.  I hate that everyone has to be related.  Can’t we get some new blood/characters. 

 

They all redeemed themselves in one way or another.  We all have a past and all do horrible things.  Although those “horrible things” done in the soap world seemed to be multiplied by 100.  

Jack became a better person and really good guy.  I was introduced to EJ and Nicole when they were a couple and EJ was running for mayor.  They were awful and so unlikable to me.  However through time they both became two of my favorite characters on the show.  I softened to Nicole when I learned of her need to have a baby and all she went through to accomplish that goal.  The gentle and loving way she was around Sydney, her breakdown and slow rehabilitation, how she and Eric grew close again, the way she defended him & was accused by Eric during the Kristen/rape scandal and the fact that she can be downright hysterical all made me love Nicole. 

EJ was a tougher egg to crack.  I hated how awful he would treat Nicole.  He even said nasty things about her not being able to have children.  All his nasty crimes (most of all I don’t know about since I was not watching at the time) and the way he treated people in general were deplorable.  On the good side, he really, really loved Sami and went through a lot for her, even betraying Stefano in the process.  He cared about his children.  He cared about and helped Will on many occasions.  He really cared about Abigail during their brief affair.  He was genuinely becoming a better person during the time of his seemingly demise. 

And let’s not forget how awful Sammy was back in the day and she turned out to be somewhat of a heroine of the show.     

I did watch the show before. I watched Sammi allow EJ todo his dirty work, when she chose EJ over Lucas, after he raped her. I shut the show off for years. Since Sammi left, I decided to watch, No Sammi , no EJ fine with me, I liked Hope just before Bo returned, Cannot stand Rafe, Tripp is scum, he wants revenge ? ?  . RE-Ron is the one writers who can bring it. He writes great characters then ruins them. Lucas deserves a great story, he did the same with AJ on GH, then he dropped it. The tripp actor looks a lot like Don Grady on My three Sons.

[rcc]

The two crazies watching porn then dancing made me laugh. I can't help it but I enjoy watching those two.

[teacake]

18 hours ago, Star Aristille said:

why I'm also disappointed in all of the happiness over Kayla ripping into Steve.  She may have made some good, fine points, but Steve made some good, fine ones, too.  Tripp, for all intents and purposes, should go to prison for what he's done.  But honestly, Joey did something prison-worthy, too.  And it's not Kayla's job to protect him if he wants to finally own up and take responsibility for it.  It's not her choice.  It's Joey's.  He's an adult in the eyes of the law, so he can make his own decision about that.  Steve was trying to drive that very point home to her, but Kayla, for some reason or other, was just not hearing it.

I absolutely don't think that Steve wants Joey to go to prison any more than Kayla does.  But he gets that if Joey himself wants to go if it means paying for his crime, then he shouldn't stand in his way.  He gets it.  Kayla either doesn't get it or, even worse, doesn't want to.  And that's why I can't delight in her words to Steve like several of you seem to be doing.

Steve thinks that NOW.  Now he has a new son that he can pour all of his absent parent guilt into.  He was singing a very different tune for a long time.

Kayla doesn't get a second chance, or a third chance, when Joey goes away.  She gets is a husband who is excusing the violence of his son against her, and transferring all that protectiveness he used to have for her son to Ava's.  Joey can go to prison, but it's too rough for supposedly streetwise Tripp.  Steve will handle Tripp's crimes against her -- just like he "handled" Joey's crimes and look where that got them.

Honestly, Kayla should run.  The writers should push this to its natural conclusion, because Steve never chooses her.  It's always that things work out because she decides not to make him choose.  But if push came to shove, he'd choose Tripp about her in a heartbeat, and it seems in some important ways, he already has.

Edited August 11, 2017 by lska

[Silver Raven]

As a psychiatrist, can't Marlena come up with a better strategy than yelling, "I don't belong here!"?

They have two people who confessed to murdering the same guy, and they have both of them in prison?  Shouldn't one of them be freed?

Bonnie is trying to show some humanity in her Adrienne portrayal.  I like the subtlety.

Uhoh, the two alcoholics fell off the wagon.  Dammit.

Why does the music playing in the club sound like the backing music for porn?

Ew, the idea of anybody doing it with Andre ...

I love watching Bonnie and Hattie together.

"They cuckooed me".  LOL.

I hope Brady wasn't driving

I wonder if they recorded those flashbacks back when the party was taking place, Sonny's hair was all floppy then.

Hm.  Chloe and Lucas going to hook up again?

[JAYJAY1979]

Is Anne milbauer on the show still?  Maybe have Lucas turn to anne after bonnie/adrienne breaks up with him.

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, rcc said:

The two crazies watching porn then dancing made me laugh. I can't help it but I enjoy watching those two.

Yeah, honestly...I'm here for the camp. As a guy who fell in love with the Susan Banks era of this show, the more camp, the better. Ron will definitely bring that in for sure.

[Star Aristille]

5 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Is Anne milbauer on the show still?  Maybe have Lucas turn to anne after bonnie/adrienne breaks up with him.

She's still on.  We just haven't seen her since Adrienne chose Lucas after her surgery.

[Frozendiva]

Brady, you don't get your own way or control and hit the bottle? Not everything is your business. If I was Nicole, I'd be on my guard and avoiding repeating the same mistakes.

Enjoyed the Bonnie and Hattie hotel room binge - on junk food and alcohol. Big bottle of vodka or whatever it was.

Marlena was smart enough to snatch the phone. Surely, the patients have fingerprints and not everyone is identical to another - there would be a mole or birthmark or whatever.

Funny how Chad is remembering stuff - almost convenient. Nice to see Gabi and Abs have some time as being 'friends'. Why is Chloe back?

[DisneyBoy]

I am really disgusted that Brady and Lucas are apparently off the wagon. What did a cheap stunt to pull.

[nilyank]

3 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I am really disgusted that Brady and Lucas are apparently off the wagon. What did a cheap stunt to pull.

Brady has fallen off the wagon more times than not over the years. That is essentially how he hook up with Theresa while he was getting high all the time with her.

Lucas not so much. The last time was around the time he was with Chloe and she wanted to be with Daniel after he examined her as her doctor.

[worleybird]

After seeing Friday's episode, I wondered if James E Reilly came back from the dead. All we needed was the young guys walking around shirtless (not that there's anything wrong wit that!!)

[msrachelj]

8 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I am really disgusted that Brady and Lucas are apparently off the wagon. What did a cheap stunt to pull.

i am torn about this. it's terrible they are drinking again. especially lucas , since i can't stand brady. but their scenes together were awesome. i'm sorry it took alcoholics falling off the wagon to see this though.

[Apprentice79]

4 hours ago, msrachelj said:

i am torn about this. it's terrible they are drinking again. especially lucas , since i can't stand brady. but their scenes together were awesome. i'm sorry it took alcoholics falling off the wagon to see this though.

 Adrienne was a very positive thing in his life. I understand how losing her would lead him down this path.  I hope that the show uses this opportunity to delve into Lucas's psyche. As he pointed out, his significant others ALWAYS cheat on him, which was one of the things that drew him and Adrienne together in the first place. By nature, he's always been insecure in all  of his relationships.   It took him a long time to bond with Austin and Billie, because he believed that Kate would love them more than him.  It fueled his resentment of them.  When he asked Billie to be Allie's godmother, it showed how much Lucas had grown to love his big sister.   Even Will, as a kid, rejected him, as a father, because he had already formed a strong bond with Austin., as his father.  This is what led to that infamous scene of  a drunken Lucas playing helicopter with Will as a baby and dropping him on his face injuring him. This lead to Sami lying about Lucas abusing Will to get Austin's attention.. So, Lucas has had no luck when it comes to happiness. Adrienne was his last chance at happiness.   She put him first  after giving her an out of their relationship and for the first time, he really felt loved and accepted by a woman without having to scheme or lie like he did with Carrie all those years ago. I am not a Lucas/Adrienne fan, but, I can see why he would go down this path. Not to mention, losing his son Will and missing out on Allie growing up.  We all have a breaking point and Adrienne breaking his heart was his..  I love Lucas and I always have. I am just happy to see him on my screen, after being marginalized for EJ and Rafe..

Edited August 12, 2017 by Apprentice79

[JAYJAY1979]

I agree with a previous poster that Lucas has always felt second best...he didn't learn he was a Horton till he was almost an adult (with Kate admitting regret at Alice Hortons grave site her regret not having him know who his father was).  If you think about it...Carrie, Sami, Nicole and Chloe hurt him and left him for someone else...and yes Adrienne does love him..but she and Justin have a connection that can't ever be broken..so you know in the back of his mins..he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.  The one thing I thought Higley did right was show the irony that the one woman that actually liked him for him (Anne Milbauer)...he doesn't see in that way.  Relatable.

 

Also, I always thought the Ava return story never made any sense because during her first stint...she had moved on from Patch.  In fact, she had become friends with Nicole..was dating John during one of his breaks from Marlena..and the show was flirting with EJ/Ava/Nicole when the actress opted not to renew her contract.  So her returning back to square one with No real mention of her former friendship with Nicole nor real mention of her dating John was a head scratcher..and it underscores a big problem with soaps...treading the same ground when plot d oesnt call for it (i.e. Anjelica being obsessed with Justin even though she had accepted back in 1991 that there was no future).

[DisneyBoy]

Well, in some cases it works.

Kristen's return in 2012 wouldn't have been much of a story if they didn't give audiences what they wanted, which was Kristen trying to get revenge on Marlena for stealing John away 15 years earlier, and by extension John for dumping her. Bad characters moving on from the object of their obsession or from their revenge plots tends not to stick on soaps. How many times did they reform Stefano or have him move away from Marlena and John as his obsessions, only to inevitably bring them all back together again. When Marlena was using herself as bait for Stefano in Prague back in January, I found it really bizarre. The two characters had barely had any contact in the last few years, even when Kristen was going after Brady. It seemed highly unlikely that Stefano, in his 80s, would be desperate to get Marlena in the sack.

As for Ava, they did briefly acknowledge that Nicole was her friend during the Basic Black fahion show. I still see your point though.

I hope that Kristen, should she return, is given the chance to grow as a character again, beyond wanting Brady or wanting to hurt his parents. That was what made Kristen interesting in the first place - she had a variety of interests. She cared about children and social work, and then she was swimming with the high-society circles, all the while trying to negotiate a relationship with her father, and then she succumbed to insecurity and scheming and kidnapping and baby-napping and attempted murder. There has always been more of her to write to then just the jealous scheming shrew. If only Ron and Sherri would pick up on that and run with it. My fear is that she ever does come back, will just get more attempted murder and kidnapping plots.

Would Ava's return have really been any better if they had acknowledged that she moved beyond Steve? What about Anjelica? Was she a character so compelling that having her come back for a reason other than to get Justin would have been entertaining?

[teacake]

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Would Ava's return have really been any better if they had acknowledged that she moved beyond Steve? What about Anjelica? Was she a character so compelling that having her come back for a reason other than to get Justin would have been entertaining?

My favorite Anjelica moments had nothing to do with Justin, but more to do with Jane Elliott.  (If it can still be found, I recommend "Where do you get your tea, Harper?  The enchanted forest?")  If I were bringing her back, I would have cast the son she shares with Justin, and established conflict over that.  Her wanting him back at this point doesn't ring true and isn't entertaining to me. 

I have no idea why they brought Ava back, when Steve and Kayla never addressed the conflict from their own separation or how it affected their family.  They were rushed together, so they could be together for her to interlope between.  TB always came off as too young to be involved with Steve and especially to be the mother of his 20-something son.  I hate that they have a kid, but if they wanted to go there, why also drag us all through the same gross drama as the 2008 story, when Ava could have been still been off the pills and looking for her kid while she was dying?

I enjoyed Kristen's first round on the show, which was genuinely entertaining.  But her return lost me pretty hard.  For me, it's not just that she was a complex character who cared about children and then schemed and manipulated.  It's that she was a character with an arc, like so many more of the 80's/90's characters had.  That arc had a natural end, and it has to be re-established.  When DAYS brings back characters like her, instead of looking at how they might fit into the canvas, it too often says, "How can I repeat their famous story?"  We saw the same thing with Louise Sorel and the buried alive stories.  But it's almost never as compelling as it was the first time, because it lacks that trajectory and the strong motivation that came with it.  I think other soaps sometimes do a better job of returns, asking "Who is this character now, how has she developed and changed in the years she's been away, and how can I give her an arc that fits with who she is, without being totally derivative?"  It doesn't mean that people don't fall into old patterns, but it means they don't start there.  And I think not doing that often means that not just the character hasn't progressed, but all of the characters she interacts with (who often have been on canvas the whole time) seem to regress.

Edited August 13, 2017 by lska

[kitmerlot1213]

On 8/10/2017 at 1:58 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Oh my god, Claire is totally going to be the Good Girl that ultimately redeems Tripp with her love, isn't she? Claire and Theo don't seem long for this world.

In case you guys were wondering, yep we're totally going to be expected to handwave what Tripp did once mean ol' Kayla breaks down and forgives him. It's totally obvious and transparent where this is going.

 

 

I rewatched all of the Tripp episodes this past week On Demand and I was insanely impressed by the anger and believable passion in Steve and Kayla's scenes and their arguments were made even more painful because we are all aware of their deep history, especially regarding Ava.  And I would be okay with more Tripp and Claire because they actually look like they could go together where as all of the Claire/Theo "romance" felt forced because he never seemed that interested in her.

I'm kind of dismayed at how casual Chad is about ending things with Gabi--he seemed so cold with his "Gabi knows we're soulmates" and Abby just seems so miserable all of the time, even with Chad talking about how much he loves her.  I don't buy this soulmate crap for a minute and guaranteed, Abby will find a way to break up with Chad because I don't think she's actually capable of being happy.

[Rowan]

23 minutes ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

 

 

I'm kind of dismayed at how casual Chad is about ending things with Gabi--he seemed so cold with his "Gabi knows we're soulmates" and Abby just seems so miserable all of the time, even with Chad talking about how much he loves her.  I don't buy this soulmate crap for a minute and guaranteed, Abby will find a way to break up with Chad because I don't think she's actually capable of being happy.

I was just glad that the character of Chad seemed to be sold on one lady. Sure, I was happy that it was Abby, but I think I would have probably been at the least relieved even if it had been Gabi. His character had taken some dings during this poorly executed triangle. 

I wish they would embrace the emotional instability and mental fragility that's part of Abby's character now. It's earned, at this point. Her father died trying to save her and then she was tortured by psycho Ben. Marci Miller could totally pull it off. 

[Sidney]

34 minutes ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

 

I rewatched all of the Tripp episodes this past week On Demand and I was insanely impressed by the anger and believable passion in Steve and Kayla's scenes and their arguments were made even more painful because we are all aware of their deep history, especially regarding Ava.  And I would be okay with more Tripp and Claire because they actually look like they could go together where as all of the Claire/Theo "romance" felt forced because he never seemed that interested in her.

I'm kind of dismayed at how casual Chad is about ending things with Gabi--he seemed so cold with his "Gabi knows we're soulmates" and Abby just seems so miserable all of the time, even with Chad talking about how much he loves her.  I don't buy this soulmate crap for a minute and guaranteed, Abby will find a way to break up with Chad because I don't think she's actually capable of being happy.

IMO, I think Chad tried  to handle the break up the best way he could. What could he say that would lessen the pain than she was already feeling? She already told him she heard what he told Abby. There was really not much he could say.

[Apprentice79]

3 hours ago, lska said:

My favorite Anjelica moments had nothing to do with Justin, but more to do with Jane Elliott.  (If it can still be found, I recommend "Where do you get your tea, Harper?  The enchanted forest?")  If I were bringing her back, I would have cast the son she shares with Justin, and established conflict over that.  Her wanting him back at this point doesn't ring true and isn't entertaining to me. 

I have no idea why they brought Ava back, when Steve and Kayla never addressed the conflict from their own separation or how it affected their family.  They were rushed together, so they could be together for her to interlope between.  TB always came off as too young to be involved with Steve and especially to be the mother of his 20-something son.  I hate that they have a kid, but if they wanted to go there, why also drag us all through the same gross drama as the 2008 story, when Ava could have been still been off the pills and looking for her kid while she was dying?

I enjoyed Kristen's first round on the show, which was genuinely entertaining.  But her return lost me pretty hard.  For me, it's not just that she was a complex character who cared about children and then schemed and manipulated.  It's that she was a character with an arc, like so many more of the 80's/90's characters had.  That arc had a natural end, and it has to be re-established.  When DAYS brings back characters like her, instead of looking at how they might fit into the canvas, it too often says, "How can I repeat their famous story?"  We saw the same thing with Louise Sorel and the buried alive stories.  But it's almost never as compelling as it was the first time, because it lacks that trajectory and the strong motivation that came with it.  I think other soaps sometimes do a better job of returns, asking "Who is this character now, how has she developed and changed in the years she's been away, and how can I give her an arc that fits with who she is, without being totally derivative?"  It doesn't mean that people don't fall into old patterns, but it means they don't start there.  And I think not doing that often means that not just the character hasn't progressed, but all of the characters she interacts with (who often have been on canvas the whole time) seem to regress.

Perfect post.  It makes no sense that Anjelica would still hate Adrienne and still holds a torch to Justin.  I was never impressed with Kristen's return.  I felt that she got the comeuppance that she deserved: Susan got EJ and she lost John forever. The same goes for Anjelica: she lost the son that she always desired to her mortal enemy: Adrienne.  The show is just obsessed with recapturing the past, instead of building engaging  characters for the future. There was a time that Marlena, Steve and Victor were new characters that played supportive roles in  the stories of established characters and they caught on with the audience and the writers built on that. 

[SanLynn]

I feel like the writing for the Chad/Abby reunion and Chad/Gabi breakup plus Friday's scenes with Gabi/Abby is a concerted effort to hand wave the whole triangle away and just re-set things to the way they were before Abby went in the nuthouse and "died" (that is what happened right? Newish viewer!).

Carlivati, as a "Chad and Abby are a legacy couple" writer just needed to make it all go away and this was the easiest way to do it.

I'm okay with it because Chad and Gabi once they got off the island and Abby and Dario were so uncomfortable to watch I just wanted it over by about the middle of July.

I just hope this doesn't mean that Gabi ends up on the back burner because outside of all of this I really like her.

[Apprentice79]

With Adrienne,  Steve and some of their kids  in town. I always felt that Jo Johnson should have come back for an arch.   Jo found out she had an abnormal BRCA 1 or 2.  She warned Adrienne to get the test.   This could have involved Abby, JJ, Joey, Stefanie, Sonny and Steve to get tested. Even though, Alex, Joseph and Victor Jr. are not Adrienne's biological sons, they could have been affected knowing that their family was going through this emotional turmoil.  This story could have introduced us to their other sons.   I would have enjoyed watching the different reactions of the various Johnsons and their inner circles dealing with the possibility before it was revealed that the unlucky one was Adrienne.  This could have set up the eventual reunion of Justin and Adrienne.                  

I would want Erika Slezak to play Jo Johnson.   Jo Johnson, would be such a departure from the regal Victoria Lord Buchanan on One life to live. She would rock the role and leave her own mark on the role.  Jo was such a tragic, complex and sympathetic character.  

Edited August 13, 2017 by Apprentice79

[WendyCR72]

Honestly, I'm glad Jo is off canvas. Marilyn McIntyre, who was Jo after Joy Garrett passed away, did her best, but she wasn't around for the "meat and potatoes" back story with Jack, Steve, and Adrienne, so I felt none of the gravitas that should have been underlying those scenes.

Maybe Joy Garrett wasn't a huge soap name or Jo a big soap character, but with the context of the story and Garrett's portrayal, I think Jo should have died when Joy did.

And, this is just me, but Erika Slezak seems all wrong for Jo.

[Apprentice79]

4 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Honestly, I'm glad Jo is off canvas. Marilyn McIntyre, who was Jo after Joy Garrett passed away, did her best, but she wasn't around for the "meat and potatoes" back story with Jack, Steve, and Adrienne, so I felt none of the gravitas that should have been underlying those scenes.

Maybe Joy Garrett wasn't a huge soap name or Jo a big soap character, but with the context of the story and Garrett's portrayal, I think Jo should have died when Joy did.

And, this is just me, but Erika Slezak seems all wrong for Jo.

If Jo had to be recast, who would you cast? Erika Slezak rocked the multiple personality story, portraying Viki's 6 personalities, she even played the Victor personality with aplomb..

[Sandman]

On 8/12/2017 at 5:14 AM, nilyank said:

 ... he was with Chloe and she wanted to be with Daniel after he examined her as her doctor.

OH GOD OH GOD.

Dr. Evans, screaming hysterically will turn out to be remarkably ineffective at proving you are who you say you are. Just tell the guard something only a licensed therapist would know -- quote from the DSM-IV, or something, for goodness' sake! Though, really, all Salem institutions -- correctional, psychiatric and urgent as well as long-term care -- should probably have some sort of Identity Theft Prevention Protocol in place, at this point. Being replaced by your evil twin's gotta be more frequent than fire, flood or earthquake in this town.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Sandman

[Cupcake04]

On August 12, 2017 at 9:33 PM, kitmerlot1213 said:

 

I rewatched all of the Tripp episodes this past week On Demand and I was insanely impressed by the anger and believable passion in Steve and Kayla's scenes and their arguments were made even more painful because we are all aware of their deep history, especially regarding Ava.  And I would be okay with more Tripp and Claire because they actually look like they could go together where as all of the Claire/Theo "romance" felt forced because he never seemed that interested in her.

I'm kind of dismayed at how casual Chad is about ending things with Gabi--he seemed so cold with his "Gabi knows we're soulmates" and Abby just seems so miserable all of the time, even with Chad talking about how much he loves her.  I don't buy this soulmate crap for a minute and guaranteed, Abby will find a way to break up with Chad because I don't think she's actually capable of being happy.

Yes yes yes!!. Cold is the perfect word to descibe it. He barely said a freakin word. Honestly, all I kept thinking thru the scene was about that interview that BF did a few months ago where he made his feelings known that he considered Chad and Abby a supercouple so all I could think was, well you got what you wanted Billy and it took me right out of.  I came back to the show after years away and really was indifferent to Abby and i would read here how many people didn't like her and i liked MM when she came one, but I never ever saw the soulmate true love Chad/Abby they were pushing. Then Abby pulled that shit at the vow renewal and I have detested her ever since. Nothing i hate more than martyrdom and she has been in full on martyr mode ever since. I really really cannot stand her character! 

[swtrgrl]

On 8/11/2017 at 10:55 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

Belle is also gone.

Shoot, I even forgot she was a lawyer.

On 8/11/2017 at 6:28 PM, JAYJAY1979 said:

Is Anne milbauer on the show still?  Maybe have Lucas turn to anne after bonnie/adrienne breaks up with him.

I'm pro Anne/Lucas. They were funny "together."

On 8/13/2017 at 1:32 AM, SanLynn said:

I just hope this doesn't mean that Gabi ends up on the back burner because outside of all of this I really like her.

Abby won't be back burner...

Will is coming back so she'll be in the middle of that with Ariana

. Maybe her love life but it seems that they're going towards Gabi/JJ again and maybe putting Lani with Eli? Maybe. Who knows. Writing changes have me all scatterbrained.

[kitmerlot1213]

12 hours ago, Apprentice79 said:

If Jo had to be recast, who would you cast? Erika Slezak rocked the multiple personality story, portraying Viki's 6 personalities, she even played the Victor personality with aplomb..

I remember that storyline and she was excellent in it but I agree she's not right for the role of Jo Johnson--Sleazak doesn't have the grittiness to pull off street tough,  Yes she played Nikki Smith but she was more of a bimbo.  I think someone more like Patti D'Arbanville would be believable in the role.

[Sandman]

5 hours ago, swtrgrl said:

Abby won't be back burner..

You mean Nobody puts Abby on the back burner? Heh.

[DisneyBoy]

Actually, I think you meant Gabi...

 

I'm wondering if they had Lucas and Brady fall off the wagon because it makes it easier for Adrienne and Nicole to break up with them, and then promptly reunite with Justin and Eric.

Edited August 14, 2017 by DisneyBoy