Current Plots Discussion: Actually Today's Episode

[Sandman]

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

And all RSW does is squint his eyes and purse his lips!! Tell me you see that! *takes a deep breath*

::raises hand::

And the Clara Bow over-tweezed eyebrows are kind of ridiculous.

A couple of things surprised me about the wedding episode: I thought Christopher Sean did a really nice job in the "Ack! I haven't written my vows!" scene with Hogestyn and Hall. It was a little bit predictable, I suppose, but Sean managed to find some genuine emotion in the moment where his feelings about Sonny came to the fore, and Marlena nudged him with "You've just written the beginning of your vows." I guess that was Thursday's episode, but I thought the use of the flashbacks for John and Marlena's wedding was well done (and I liked the later ones where Sonny, prompted by Abigail's vows, was thinking of his firsts with Will. Nostalgia figures in here, obviously, for me.)

I liked the fact that Abigail kind of worked through her freakout at Ben's reappearance, but I was not expecting her to sock him in the jaw! It's a surprisingly good look on Miller.

The blocking of the scene where BOllie was hollering out his maniacal reason for being there was weird, and the pace seemed glacial to me; and everyone was working so hard at holding him back so he could exposition mightily, but no one tried to actively remove him? Nah. I remain unconvinced by RSW's best efforts to simulate human emotion.

Honestly, I didn't expect Sonny to rant and screech -- he's always been Mister Mellow. I think it would have been seriously out of character for him to start getting violent. I think there is a tendency to equate going over the top (Kirsten, BOllie) with commitment to the scene. Sonny is a simmerer, not an exploder. I thought Smith did *okay* -- not great -- with the material, at least at the start. Something went wrong with the speech about how his family was destroyed. I think it started in an okay place, and gathered some strength as Smith went on, but by the time Sonny got to the ultimate line about "... for me and my daughter!" it wasn't working. Smith didn't maintain the pitch of the scene right. It suddenly felt like he was shouting for the sake of shouting, and the emotional truth of Sonny's response kind of dissipated. He didn't really get it back with his "I'm sorry, I can't do this" skedaddling out of the church.

I agree about Christopher Sean having nothing more to work with than the half-page character sketch. I'm pretty sure that's all that there is behind this character. Paul's vows to Sonny were robbed of most of their power because we're expected to take Paul's history mostly on faith. There's something a little bit cobbled-together about the character, especially the near-instantaneous bonding with Jawn. There's a lot of telling over showing where Sparkle is concerned, anyway.

The couples lost me with naming brooding, increasingly creepy Bonehead Black and Andre as their family spokespeople. I especially don't buy that Chad and Andre love each other so unreservedly. (Billy Flynn sells it as much as humanly possible, but I can't believe it.) Andre seems so ghoulish to me I'm surprised he can actually enter a church without bursting into flames.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Sandman

[TeeVee329]

1 hour ago, swtrgrl said:

Paul's desperation was awesomely played. Can you imagine being in that position? He wasn't raised in Salem so he has NO idea that it's entirely possible and plausible that Will is alive. Everyone in Salem should be like, "Well, Ben is batshit cray cray but damn, this is Salem so maybe Will is out there somewhere." I really don't want him turned to the dark side, although CS can definitely pull that off.

I wish soaps did more of that, having new characters be like, "WTF, someone came back from the dead/has a doppleganger/has been kidnapped by an evil scientist!!!" and the vets be all, "That's life".

Based on how he's been writing Paul so far, I can't see Ron turning him dark, although you always have to be on the lookout for the Brody/Schuyler turn in favor of the chosen couple.  I hope Ron does something radical and (GASP!) lets there be two separate, solidly written for gay couples in town and introduces a new guy for Paul down the line.

Quote

My UO is that I love RSW and his portrayal of Crazy Ben. He's doing a great job, imo. 

I'm enjoying him, but I'm also a little leery.  Because Ben has kinda a mix of Ford and Franco DNA to his character and I could see Ron finding that irresistible and trying to make him a long term thing.  Which...nah.  This visit is fun, and makes sense given the plot moves going on, but it doesn't need to be forever.

Edited October 3, 2017 by TeeVee329

[Silver Raven]

"Chad's the crazy one for marrying the bitch.  Again."  Speaking the truth, there, Ben.

Aaaaand we're interrupted for news.

And back with five minutes to go. I'll have to catch it on NBC.  :(

Ben went full on whacko there at the end.

I didn't realize Casey Moss was left handed.

[TigerLynx]

2 hours ago, Apprentice79 said:

I loved seeing Paul's desperation today. He always felt entitled to Sonny. I wonder if Ron would go there. Saint Paul is a bore. He should go to the dark side. It should be a slow burn like Kristen. It started with a letter with her in Aremid and her descent into madness was well done. 

I've got it.  Paul faked Will's death, and Paul is not John's son.  He is actually a Dimera because there haven't been enough long lost Dimeras out there.  Oh wait, John is a Dimera, it's time to retcon his back story again, and Paul is still his son.  Roman is Marlena and Marlena is actually Stefano.  The only problem with these theories is that the Tropicana only does two shows a night (Colonel Flagg reference from MASH).

Could they just give me some Kate and Will scenes?  Please let AS visit, and have Sami, Kate and Will scenes.

20 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

I wish soaps did more of that, having new characters be like, "WTF, someone came back from the dead/has a doppleganger/has been kidnapped by an evil scientist!!!" and the vets be all, "That's life".

They did something like that on Angel when both Buffy and Darla returned from the dead.  Fred was new at that point, she was asking Gunn questions, and Gunn told her there was a chart he would get and show to her.

[Apprentice79]

I love that the show had Will's grandmothers remember him fondly. I know that alot of people like to highlight the Marlena/Will dynamic because of the coming out story. I have always loved the Kate/Will dynamic, he was closer to her as a kid than Marlena.  Since Will favored  Lucas over Sami. I still remember Kate meeting Will as a baby in the form of Lauren. Kate had come back from the dead, after being  presumed dead.  She thought that Will was the son of Carrie and Austin. When she found out that he was Sami's and Austin. She knew that something was wrong and began to distrust her. Plus, Kate always knew that Will was gay and it never made any difference. She always adored Will, even more so than her own children.

I was happy that John acknowledged Will. Will used to call him Grandpa John as a kid. Since his retcon son Paul came into the show. John has forgotten about his real sons Eric and Brady.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Apprentice79

[TeeVee329]

5 minutes ago, TigerLynx said:

They did something like that on Angel when both Buffy and Darla returned from the dead.  Fred was new at that point, she was asking Gunn questions, and Gunn told her there was a chart he would get and show to her.

Ha, totally! This also, if memory serves, led to Cordelia and Wesley hilariously doing a little skit to fill Fred in on the Buffy/Angel romance.  "Oh Buffy, I love you so much I...almost forgot to brood!"

[Sandman]

A Colonel Flagg reference is always welcome.

[Harmony233]

I find chabby so dull all they seem to do is talk about how awesome they are.

I love crazy evil Ben although I find it hard to believe that he’s ringleader of whoever has Will he’s too insane.

paul def was deseperate today and insecure I wouldn’t mind them giving him an edge.I watch hollyoaks and the edgier There gay characters seem the more popular they are lol.

The Marlena and John scenes were nice and I liked that they didn’t dismiss that will might be alive considering all there past with stefano.

[peachmangosteen]

2 hours ago, swtrgrl said:

I dislike Freddie and his personal life crap that spills into his "acting."

I haven't heard about this and I really need the details lol.

Quote

My UO is that I love RSW and his portrayal of Crazy Ben. He's doing a great job, imo. 

I agree. I think he's a riot.

I decided to watch this today instead of GH. Enjoyed it a lot. 

I echo the love for the John/Marlena scenes. Those were great. I also liked the Kate/guy who played Victor Cassadine on GH scenes, but mainly because of Kate. I'm not a really a fan of guy who played Victor Cassadine on GH.

I hope they don't throw Paul under the bus for Will/Sonny, but as @TeeVee329 said, RC tends to do that so I'm kinda just expecting it to happen eventually.

Edited October 3, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[boes]

1 hour ago, Sandman said:

Andre seems so ghoulish to me I'm surprised he can actually enter a church without bursting into flames.

Because I LOVE this sentence and this image.

And in Salem, after Marlena's possession, it would barely raise an eyebrow.

[Rowan]

Furious, sweaty cop JJ is definitely working for me, just wish he'd kept the scruff. 

I'm still down for JJ and Gabi, but it looks like she's leaning towards Eli, lately. 

[msrachelj]

7 hours ago, Cupcake04 said:

I know, right?  I assumed it was preempted nationally and didn't realize it wasn't until I started reading here....and was kinda pissed cuz I was avoiding spoilers and saw yest posts so the punch was ruined.  Oh well....at least I found it and was able to watch on nbc.com.  Why in the world is it not on demand on DirectTV???  Trump is in PR today so I am figuring Days will be probably be preempted today too.  At least I know where to go now to watch!

I totally missed that!  But did anyone notice how he was sweating profusely the entire time he was behind Ben in the back of the church?  He was the only one sweating....like dripping sweat...it was so distracting I was trying to figure out why is he sweating so bad?....I had to keep rewinding cuz I was so focused on his sweat!  Guess I should've been focused lower since I missed his left hang lol

i am one of the forgotten people who does not have cable or unlimited internet that is not slowed down after a very short period of time so i am never able to use demand direct tv or nbc.com. don't move to the country people! big mistake.

[msrachelj]

yesterdays episode was pre-empted because we don't have enough news channels! and we have to listen to the same tragedy for 7 hours or more in a row these days and i at least, watch some of my tv shows to escape my shit life, not dwell on the horror that is planet earth, well, anyway. i am assuming neither couple was married ? 

[Bwill3133]

Ben with the jokes about multiple weddings. "You can just go to the next one." Ha. Kind of loving him right now.  I'm glad we got to see Will's other family members remembering him. Two years ago would have been nice but it's okay now. 

I miss JJ's beard. 

[Sandman]

2 hours ago, boes said:

And in Salem, after Marlena's possession, it would barely raise an eyebrow.

Right? I keep forgetting to re-calibrate my creep-o-meter based on Debbil-Marlena.

[buffynut]

I enjoyed the episode today, but I'm getting impatient. I want to know what's up with Will now.   And I can't/won't search out the spoilers. Gotta be patient and let the story evolve. LOL.

I still like Ben. In fact, when I first starting watching, I liked Ben better than Chad.  I also liked Jordan.  Probably the only person, right. Back to Ben, RSW really does do crazy well. I hope he'll be around for a while.

I loved John and Marlena talking about Will. And even Kate and Andre. I found Abby & Chad boring, though. 

And Hope's the new commissioner. Abe said the town needed to know someone was in charge with a serial killer escaped from the mental hospital, so he picked "someone" who not long ago had her murder confession blasted over the PA at the town square. At least the townsfolk know who she is. 

27 minutes ago, msrachelj said:

yesterdays episode was pre-empted because we don't have enough news channels! and we have to listen to the same tragedy for 7 hours or more in a row these days and i at least, watch some of my tv shows to escape my shit life, not dwell on the horror that is planet earth, well, anyway. i am assuming neither couple was married ? 

Right.  No one got married. You can find a description of yesterday's show here: http://daytimeroyaltyonline.com/topic/11042225/7/

[FnkyChkn34]

Is Hope the sole commissioner, though? I thought they'd be co-commissioners. All of those scenes were just... weird. Weirdly written, not the actors' faults. 

[tribeca]

@buffynut I loved Jordan and thought she had better chemistry with Chad than either Abigail.  

I will show myself out now.  

[Silver Raven]

The fact that Abe went to see John and Marlena to announce the new commissioner made me think that maybe it's going to be John.

[TigerLynx]

1 hour ago, Sandman said:

Right? I keep forgetting to re-calibrate my creep-o-meter based on Debbil-Marlena.

At least the panther was entertaining.

9 minutes ago, tribeca said:

@buffynut I loved Jordan and thought she had better chemistry with Chad than either Abigail.  

I will show myself out now.  

I liked Jordan with Chad.  However, Jordan got to do something most of the women on this show never get to do.  She dumped two guys because she did not like the way they were treating her.  Jordan didn't believe or put up with any of Rafe's or Chad's BS, and she left Salem to go do what she wanted.

[WendyCR72]

20 minutes ago, TigerLynx said:

Jordan didn't believe or put up with any of Rafe's or Chad's BS

Okay, but if she had stayed, we could have been spared the ICK! that is Rafe/Hope.

[mj2000]

Lessons from today's show.... 

 

1. Qualifications for the Salem Police Commissioner must include murder and a cover up. 

2. Chad and Abby's main takeaway from the almost wedding was Abby's amazing punch ability and her oh so awesome mental stability. 

3. JJ being in the room with Ben is absolutely allowed because conflict of interest means nothing. 

4. As escaped murderer from a mental institution gets the opportunity to further torture the loved ones of his victims without being returned to lockup. 

 

 

I had to include #4, but I'm willing to overlook Ben just because he's bringing the crazy right now :) 

15 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Okay, but if she had stayed, we could have been spared the ICK! that is Rafe/Hope.

That alone is a reason to miss her. 

[Frozendiva]

Chad and Abby came across as self-absorbed. Abs' celebration of her 'mental health'. Um, it's only been a short time since you escaped from the hospital and Grandma helped you.  Let's see how you do two years down the road.

Ben's groomed eyebrows were quite distracting. Reminds me of needing to get mine done.

JJ should continue to wear tight trousers.

I do understand Paul. As an 'athlete' he probably was surrounded by 'yes' people. Getting what you want all the time is something you have a hard time letting go. Will, the 'love' of Sonny's life may be back in the picture. Where does he fit in? Will Will want Sonny back, will Sonny want Will back, will they get a divorce?

Commissioner Hope? Really? She killed a dude, tried to cover it up with blaming someone else. Surely there is a Deputy Police Chief around or some other high level detective. Salem is hardly in a panic over this.

Nice to see John and Marlena acting like adults.

[Apprentice79]

44 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Nice to see John and Marlena acting like adults.

That is how the vets should be used, their history should be used to help the younger generation overcome their obstacles. 

[bannana]

Does Ben suddenly have a weird accent?  It was messing me up.

[DisneyBoy]

Boy, we suddenly have a lot of posts in this thread! Good work Ron and Sherri!

Quote

Ben is not a great thespian. He is decent in my opinion, and he is not bad looking.  I actually want him to be a constant thorn in Chabby's collective ass.

Dear God no. I couldn't bear it. I was actually hoping he would come to the wedding with a gun, end up getting shot himself and then for his dying words to be that Will was still alive and for that to be the end of him. I realize this show is in dire need of a villain right now, but I would happily take six months of Clyde in all his creepy, child-abusing glory then six more episodes with Ben. I'm not going to lie - it really creeps me out the way some viewers are attracted to the actor who plays him. There's nothing hot happening there. He's like a weird mannequin.

Quote

Does Ben suddenly have a weird accent?  It was messing me up.

That was him messing up.

Quote

:raises hand::

*high fives that hand*

Quote

I remain unconvinced by RSW's best efforts to simulate human emotion.

I have found my people.

Quote

I liked the fact that Abigail kind of worked through her freakout at Ben's reappearance, but I was not expecting her to sock him in the jaw! It's a surprisingly good look on Miller.

Now that I've finally seen the beginning of Monday's episode, I can agree. Miller did a good job of showing us an Abigail who is a little bit scary, which is something Mansi always had in spades. Just not in the same way of course, LOL! I really hope we get to see more of Miller doing Crazy Eyed Abigail.

I don't buy for a second though that this was some big moment of triumph for Abigail. She's already set the guy on fire. I think she sent a pretty clear message at that point that she wasn't going to take his crap anymore.

And I definitely don't buy that she's actually mentally well yet.

Kudos to the director and Ron for giving us that interesting look into Abigail's mind. Big thumbs down to Ben, however, through the whole thing just tiltng his head like an idiot.

Quote

Kate is a mess and I wish she had someone besides Andre to talk to.   Know Andre is suppose to come across as caring but I never see him that way.

Ditto.

Quote

RSW's not so bad, comparatively.  And Days has some very long-term stinkers, just like other soaps, who hit it off with the audience.  

Perhaps you're right, boes, but when I read comments about people getting excited to see Ben again and wanting him to stay long-term, I get freaked out. I just so want for this show to have at least a couple of months where all of the actors on the canvas are really good or decent or at least fan favorites I can stomach.

Quote

I think we're supposed to assume that he was, since he was there when she was getting ready in his stroller.  But yes, odd that he was never shown.

Equally strange is how Ari was given dialogue and a prominent role in the wedding ceremony, only to completely disappear once everyone started talking about her father's murderer who was standing several feet away. I was really expecting Gabi to throw herself over Ari or try to hide her the minute Ben walked in. I definitely couldn't imagine all of those adults talking so loudly about Will and how he was murdered if Ari was still in the church within earshot. Missed Opportunity. I haven't been watching the show consistently for long enough to become invested in child characters who grew into real characters in their own right, but I'm already starting to wonder who Ari will eventually be. This could have been a good moment to start establishing character for her. And considering that they were stalling for time and dragging things out on Monday anyways, why not write a few moments where everyone is concerned about what she heard and how she's feeling? (And now I'm also missing old Ciarra).

Quote

There's something a little bit cobbled-together about the character, especially the near-instantaneous bonding with Jawn.

Perfectly put.

Quote

I haven't heard about this and I really need the details lol.

In brief, Freddie sells a face cream and tries to get other people to sell it as part of some creepy pyramid scheme nonsense. Some people call it a cult because he tends to try and get his co-stars in on the business so that they will also use their influence over fans to get them to purchase large quantities of the stupid cream. It's called Nerium I believe. Now, he's wearing some kind of wrist watch or bracelet that tracks your weight loss, and he wants his followers to buy it...something like that. Essentially he has a tendency to let his side hustles spill over into his acting work. If he was still able to act well, I don't think anyone would care. But that's not the case.

Quote

I'm glad we got to see Will's other family members remembering him. Two years ago would have been nice but it's okay now. 

Hasn't it been almost exactly two years since he died? The show could have fudged the details a little bit and had the characters gather for an anniversary memorial for Will, or had a scene at his graveside. That almost seems required in soaps for this kind of thing. They did it for Bo last year to mark the first anniversary of his passing. And if we had had a similar scene at Will's graveside, then we could have just told ourselves that Kate and Marlena had been making regular pilgrimages off-camera this whole time.

I'm really annoyed how everyone is now incessantly talking about Will. Even the way Marlena was saying being at the church was reminding her of Will. The show didn't give us a single scene of Marlena having flashbacks to Will in the week or so before the wedding, so why are they having her talk about this as if it happened? It's like the show still has this formula of making things happen and then afterwards giving lip service to the fact that people thought about Will. You can literally have flashbacks, Show. I realize Ron is fixing all this as he goes, but it's still irritating.

Quote

I miss JJ's beard. 

Lani was right there, in the back row! *zing!*

Quote

Commissioner Hope? Really? She killed a dude, tried to cover it up with blaming someone else. Surely there is a Deputy Police Chief around or some other high level detective. Salem is hardly in a panic over this.

The propping started in 2015 and hasn't stopped since. I'm really hoping Ron is making her commissioner to set her up for a harsh reality check. If he understands how upset everyone was about the way Will was killed off, he must also surely understand that everyone is upset with Hope for still getting to play a cop after having everyone in town save her butt.

I'm still confused as to how anybody knew Ben had been at the local psychiatric facility. Wasn't he sent out of state? Even when the Trio escaped last year, it was implied that they weren't inside Salem already. Don't they try and sentence you to a prison term outside of the area where you committed your crimes, so that at least your victims families don't have to be reminded of your continued existence?

Where was the reception going to be held? I assumed at Doug's Place, but since it's only just come under new management and there didn't seem to be waiters running around with trays when Julie showed it to Doug, I'm guessing....somewhere else?

Edited October 4, 2017 by DisneyBoy

[Star Aristille]

Well, after not enjoying the lack of a Serena mention, I'm glad that J.J. finally mentioned her.  Yes, she and her storyline were absolute flops, but she still deserved some kind of mention to Ben since he was the one who killed her.

And I was stunned that Rafe not only mentioned Paige, but that he mentioned that he was thinking about her, too.  Only way that could've been better was him mentioning to Hope how terrible he felt that they'd lived in the same town for at least a year, and not once had he known that she was his half-sister.

16 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

Ben "struggling" to remember Paige was amusing because seriously.

And how was that amusing?  Being that flip about one of your victims kind of makes you look gross, not amusing.

[buffynut]

11 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Is Hope the sole commissioner, though? I thought they'd be co-commissioners. All of those scenes were just... weird. Weirdly written, not the actors' faults. 

I think so. Though they did seem to fore-shadow it being Rafe with the camera focus on him. But pretty sure it's just Hope.

10 hours ago, tribeca said:

@buffynut I loved Jordan and thought she had better chemistry with Chad than either Abigail.  

I will show myself out now.  

One of the first scenes I saw when I started watching again was of Jordan and Rafe in bed and Rafe having a broken leg or something. At the time, I liked them together and was surprised when they broke them up so quickly.  Then I thought she had good chemistry with Chad.  But that could have had something to do with my dislike of KM's Abby.

10 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

The fact that Abe went to see John and Marlena to announce the new commissioner made me think that maybe it's going to be John.

John would be a good choice. Better than the murderer. Though at least she did serve some time for her crime. Rafe who was involved in everything except the actual murder, got away with it.  I really hope Ron has a plan to prove Stefano faked everything and that he is still alive. That's the only way, I think, I can stop hating Hope. That and splitting up Rope. Start them both off fresh.

[Apprentice79]

6 hours ago, bannana said:

Does Ben suddenly have a weird accent?  It was messing me up.

The actor is from Boston. He was probably trying to hide it...

 

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

In brief, Freddie sells a face cream and tries to get other people to sell it as part of some creepy pyramid scheme nonsense. Some people call it a cult because he tends to try and get his co-stars in on the business so that they will also use their influence over fans to get them to purchase large quantities of the stupid cream. It's called Nerium I believe. Now, he's wearing some kind of wrist watch or bracelet that tracks your weight loss, and he wants his followers to buy it...something like that. Essentially he has a tendency to let his side hustles spill over into his acting work. If he was still able to act well, I don't think anyone would care. But that's not the case.

He also wants to retire at 30 as a millionaire. He also wants to be a life coach and help people achieve their dreams. So, it is another money making scheme to get money out of people.  He used to also push that Nerium scheme on fans at fan events. I know somebody that  got burned by Nerium and Freddie. His greed is off-putting. 

 

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Hasn't it been almost exactly two years since he died? The show could have fudged the details a little bit and had the characters gather for an anniversary memorial for Will, or had a scene at his graveside. That almost seems required in soaps for this kind of thing. They did it for Bo last year to mark the first anniversary of his passing. And if we had had a similar scene at Will's graveside, then we could have just told ourselves that Kate and Marlena had been making regular pilgrimages off-camera this whole time.

Will's death was never meant to drive stories for his loved ones. The show wanted to erase the Gays from existence.  We never had flashbacks of Will and his loved ones over the years, after he died.  His funeral should have shown us Will, all of the Wills, throughout the years. Will, Carrie and Mike are the only legacy children that were prominent during their time on the show as kids. Will actually grew up on the show in real time. For the show not to acknowledge that was a slap on the face. They even had Paulson make a date on Will's grave. I could imagine the ire of the Marlena fans, if John had made a date with Diana or Isabella on her grave. Ditto for Bo with Billie or Carly on Hope's grave. 

 

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Equally strange is how Ari was given dialogue and a prominent role in the wedding ceremony, only to completely disappear once everyone started talking about her father's murderer who was standing several feet away. I was really expecting Gabi to throw herself over Ari or try to hide her the minute Ben walked in. I definitely couldn't imagine all of those adults talking so loudly about Will and how he was murdered if Ari was still in the church within earshot. Missed Opportunity. I haven't been watching the show consistently for long enough to become invested in child characters who grew into real characters in their own right, but I'm already starting to wonder who Ari will eventually be. This could have been a good moment to start establishing character for her. And considering that they were stalling for time and dragging things out on Monday anyways, why not write a few moments where everyone is concerned about what she heard and how she's feeling? (And now I'm also missing old Ciarra).

The reason that we did not see Ari is because of the child labor laws. The show is allowed to use the twins for a limited amount of time. 

[FnkyChkn34]

13 minutes ago, buffynut said:

I think so. Though they did seem to fore-shadow it being Rafe with the camera focus on him. But pretty sure it's just Hope.

One of the first scenes I saw when I started watching again was of Jordan and Rafe in bed and Rafe having a broken leg or something. At the time, I liked them together and was surprised when they broke them up so quickly.  Then I thought she had good chemistry with Chad.  But that could have had something to do with my dislike of KM's Abby.

John would be a good choice. Better than the murderer. Though at least she did serve some time for her crime. Rafe who was involved in everything except the actual murder, got away with it.  I really hope Ron has a plan to prove Stefano faked everything and that he is still alive. That's the only way, I think, I can stop hating Hope. That and splitting up Rope. Start them both off fresh.

I think Ron is breaking up Hope and Rafe. Making her his boss is the start. 

[swtrgrl]

10 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

The fact that Abe went to see John and Marlena to announce the new commissioner made me think that maybe it's going to be John.

You must  have missed it by not watching the entire episode. Have you caught up yet? B/C they clearly stated that it was Hope. Abe going to Jarlena was just soapy drama (unnecessary).

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

• Perhaps you're right, boes, but when I read comments about people getting excited to see Ben again and wanting him to stay long-term, I get freaked out. I just so want for this show to have at least a couple of months where all of the actors on the canvas are really good or decent or at least fan favorites I can stomach.
• In brief, Freddie sells a face cream and tries to get other people to sell it as part of some creepy pyramid scheme nonsense. Some people call it a cult because he tends to try and get his co-stars in on the business so that they will also use their influence over fans to get them to purchase large quantities of the stupid cream. It's called Nerium I believe. Now, he's wearing some kind of wrist watch or bracelet that tracks your weight loss, and he wants his followers to buy it...something like that. Essentially he has a tendency to let his side hustles spill over into his acting work. If he was still able to act well, I don't think anyone would care. But that's not the case.
• Hasn't it been almost exactly two years since he died? The show could have fudged the details a little bit and had the characters gather for an anniversary memorial for Will, or had a scene at his graveside. That almost seems required in soaps for this kind of thing. They did it for Bo last year to mark the first anniversary of his passing. And if we had had a similar scene at Will's graveside, then we could have just told ourselves that Kate and Marlena had been making regular pilgrimages off-camera this whole time.
• I'm really annoyed how everyone is now incessantly talking about Will. Even the way Marlena was saying being at the church was reminding her of Will. The show didn't give us a single scene of Marlena having flashbacks to Will in the week or so before the wedding, so why are they having her talk about this as if it happened? It's like the show still has this formula of making things happen and then afterwards giving lip service to the fact that people thought about Will. You can literally have flashbacks, Show. I realize Ron is fixing all this as he goes, but it's still irritating.

 

• I have zero problems with RSW's acting. He's good at the Batty Ben, imo. And the accent? He's just not caring about showing his inner Southie. I'm all for that (I live in Boston). LOL. Mileage varries, of course.
• Freddie's personal life is disgusting. He's a money grubbing $*(T&#$P$(($ and that would be none of my business if it didn't spill into every aspect of his life, including his on camera persona. 
• I shudder to think about a graveside memorial for Will. they'd probably celebrate his life by having PaulSon "make love" over his actual grave.
• For 2 years we get scant mentions of Will...and I understand why they're ramping up the mentions and the "oh, how I miss that boy" conversations. It'd be easier to take if it were happening the previous 2 years. Now it feels like PaulSon...a tell the audience about it vs a show the audience about it. Lacks gravitas. Although, Kate and Marlena were amazing. I'm loving that they're finally getting to focus on the grief. I feel we were robbed of it. So yes, I agree with you about this 100% lol.

 

1 hour ago, Star Aristille said:

And how was that amusing?  Being that flip about one of your victims kind of makes you look gross, not amusing.

I thought it was more than amusing. I laughed out loud both times I watched it. Ben is bat shit crazy. It's supposed to be humor - dark humor - but still, humor. I liked it. Plus, I could not give 2 figs about Paige or Serena. yes, they were grotesquely murdered. (wipes fake tears)...but I wasn't invested in them. I'm not necessarily supposed to have real life feelings about fictional characters. I'M A HYPOCRITE b/c I'm so in love with Will and hate some others...but don't care about some people getting murdered and care about others. It's fiction.

Honestly, the best part of that convo was Ben telling JJ what a hypocrite he was since he and Paige broke up b/c JJ fucked Paige's MOTHER. 

[peachmangosteen]

8 hours ago, bannana said:

Does Ben suddenly have a weird accent?  It was messing me up.

I have only see bits and pieces of Ben before this but I didn't remember him having this strong accent either. I like it though. It really adds to how hilarious he is.

Thanks for the info on Freddie. Now that I hear it I do remember my sister telling me about it. It's very Steve Burton of him lol.

I'm actually really excited for today's ep and just for the show in general. I haven't been pumped about a soap in awhile.

[Sandman]

6 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I don't buy for a second though that this was some big moment of triumph for Abigail. She's already set the guy on fire. I think she sent a pretty clear message at that point that she wasn't going to take his crap anymore.

And I definitely don't buy that she's actually mentally well yet.

I was initially glad just to see that Abigail didn't spend the rest of the episode frozen in horror, catatonic or in a fugue state. But the more I think about Chad and Abigail's conversation, the more I'm uncomfortable with the idea of comparatively lesser violence as a sign of stabilizing mental health: "Hey, honey -- at least you didn't try to turn him into BOllie flambée this time -- good job!"

[TeeVee329]

3 hours ago, Star Aristille said:

And how was that amusing?  Being that flip about one of your victims kind of makes you look gross, not amusing.

It was amusing to me in a meta, out-of-show way.  Not to speak for everyone, of course, but my impression is that Paige was a pretty unmemorable character that many watching weren't exactly sad to see go when she was killed off and hasn't really been mentioned since.  So Ben feigning ignorance of who she was was amusing to me in that sense.  It's dark humor, like swtrgrl said.

It's like Mitch Laurence on OLTL.  Obviously, not a good guy given he was a cult leader, rapist, and murderer.  But that doesn't mean I wasn't entertained as heck when he jumped out of Jared's coffin and purred that people shouldn't be so shocked since he had come back from the dead before.

[superdeluxe]

Quote

Freddie's personal life is disgusting. He's a money grubbing $*(T&#$P$(($ and that would be none of my business if it didn't spill into every aspect of his life, including his on camera persona.

 

And how did it spill onto his on camera persona?

[Cupcake04]

So whoever upthread that noted JJ was packing some heat, particularly to the left, well, I missed it Monday but was on the lookout yesterday and you were definitely right!  lol  It was very noticeable in the scene where Abby calls JJ and he is walking thru the police station.  Yes, I could be his mother and yes I need to get a life!  lol

I am really enjoying the show lately, and am cautiously optimistic given Ron's tenure at GH and the mess that show is/has been, but one thing that really jumped out at me with yesterday's show that I am not happy about is the shortened scenes.  Some of them were so freaking short!  And the longer scenes is something I really appreciated as opposed to GH.  I don't know if yesterday's show is the exception or has it been happening the past few weeks (I haven't watched ...I had to dump 2 wks of shows when we moved last weekend).

Edited October 4, 2017 by Cupcake04

[pearlite]

9 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Dear God no. I couldn't bear it. I was actually hoping he would come to the wedding with a gun, end up getting shot himself and then for his dying words to be that Will was still alive and for that to be the end of him. I realize this show is in dire need of a villain right now, but I would happily take six months of Clyde in all his creepy, child-abusing glory then six more episodes with Ben. I'm not going to lie - it really creeps me out the way some viewers are attracted to the actor who plays him. There's nothing hot happening there. He's like a weird mannequin.

That was him messing up.

*high fives that hand*

I have found my people.

...

Kudos to the director and Ron for giving us that interesting look into Abigail's mind. Big thumbs down to Ben, however, through the whole thing just tiltng his head like an idiot.

Ditto.

Perhaps you're right, boes, but when I read comments about people getting excited to see Ben again and wanting him to stay long-term, I get freaked out. I just so want for this show to have at least a couple of months where all of the actors on the canvas are really good or decent or at least fan favorites I can stomach.

 

Infrequent poster here, but an admirer of your posts, Disneyboy!

Where Ben ["weird mannequin"], and Young Mr En Fleek who plays him are concerned, he's a pretty good male model for an actor. He runs facial tics as performance [pursed lips, head tilt, narrowed eyes], and should probably take a seat at the knee of The Master of the Facial Tic, Mr Hogestyn. DH has managed to convey warmth beneath his range of tics--which, BTW, have become loveable with time and age...

Some of John and Marlena's dialogue has been better lately; especially the interchange about existential oddities in Salem--high time writers did a bit of this, in my opinion.

For me, the Ben character, despite attempts at darkish humour, can't be put in the hallway outside the same vicinity of one of soap's great villains, Roscoe Born...

[boes]

17 minutes ago, pearlite said:

For me, the Ben character, despite attempts at darkish humour, can't be put in the hallway outside the same vicinity of one of soap's great villains, Roscoe Born...

Oh, absolutely.  He radiated good humored, black-hearted, straight from the HellMouth horror.  Bollie would be whimpering in a corner if he ran into him.

[TeeVee329]

Paul again showing smarts/that he didn't grow up in a soap town.  Oh Paul, it's far too early in the story to do something like exhuming the body!

1 hour ago, pearlite said:

For me, the Ben character, despite attempts at darkish humour, can't be put in the hallway outside the same vicinity of one of soap's great villains, Roscoe Born...

Oh for sure, Ben is no Mitch Laurence and RSW is no Roscoe Born.  My point in mentioning Mitch above is that just because a character is a villainous character doesn't mean you can't find amusement or entertainment in something they say or do.

[boes]

I do give RSW credit, though.  When he was taunting JJ I wanted to reach through the screen and slap the ugly off him.  That was probably because of the soft spot I have for JJ, though......

[NorthstarATL]

I want JJ to become Salem's "Batman" now, since he's been fired by Commissioner Hope! The Dark A-Benger!

[DisneyBoy]

Does nobody remember that both Andre and Ben were present for Will's wake? If Ben knew that Will was alive, he would have been sitting there for the whole funeral knowing it was a sham. And as for Andre, he showed up gleefully to mock Will's passing and announce his own exoneration. I wouldn't think Kate would have forgotten that.

[TigerLynx]

3 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Does nobody remember that both Andre and Ben were present for Will's wake? If Ben knew that Will was alive, he would have been sitting there for the whole funeral knowing it was a sham. And as for Andre, he showed up gleefully to mock Will's passing and announce his own exoneration. I wouldn't think Kate would have forgotten that.

Kate wouldn't, but the idiot writers would.  After all, these morons had Kate and Sami have a difficult time trying to deal with Nick when he was threatening Will, and they did the same SL with Will/Sonny/Gabi/Nick at least three times before they had Gabi kill Nick.

[Star Aristille]

5 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

It was amusing to me in a meta, out-of-show way.  Not to speak for everyone, of course, but my impression is that Paige was a pretty unmemorable character that many watching weren't exactly sad to see go when she was killed off and hasn't really been mentioned since.  So Ben feigning ignorance of who she was was amusing to me in that sense.  It's dark humor, like swtrgrl said.

And?  Doesn't change that she didn't deserve to die.  At least not that way.

[TeeVee329]

5 minutes ago, Star Aristille said:

And?  Doesn't change that she didn't deserve to die.  At least not that way.

And what?  I explained why I found the moment amusing as meta commentary on Paige.  If you felt different...*shrug*

[Star Aristille]

12 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

And what?  I explained why I found the moment amusing as meta commentary on Paige.  If you felt different...*shrug*

Well, the other thing that bothered me about that is that Ben claimed he came back to make amends.  Crapping on the victims you killed, including one who was the girlfriend of one of the cops to whom you're bashing her, as well as the half-sister to one of the other cops?  Probably not the way to make amends.

[tribeca]

Abigail and Chad got married to make Paul feel better ? well at least one wedding is over.  

Paul seems so desperate.  I kind of like it because that’s how he made will feel.  Know it wasn’t totally Paul’s fault but it’s interesting.  JMHO seeing Paul vulnerable is interesting.  Don’t think he is use to not getting what he wants.  

Although I wasn’t interested in the commissioner story found it interesting that the reason for not choosing Rafe seems to be because of what his family has done.  

 

I still I’ll love JJ.   He does need to bring that beard back.  It will be no shave November soon enough.   

Just now, Star Aristille said:

Well, the other thing that bothered me about that is that Ben claimed he came back to make amends.  Crapping on the victims you killed, including one who was the girlfriend of one of the cops to whom you're bashing her, as well as the half-sister to one of the other cops?  Probably not the way to make amends.

I think Ben was just enjoying pushing JJ buttons.  Ben is crazy. 

[Silver Raven]

Aaaaaand we start today's episode with a "news" interruption.

Something I hadn't noticed at the wedding: Marlena and Kate were wearing black.  When is black ever an appropriate color for a wedding?

We're back from the "news" ten minutes into the show.

"I don't want to get married by some officiant from Weddings R Us".  Uh, weren't you going to be married by Adrienne, and then Justin?

Valerie's dress is very pretty.

So the murderer Hope suspends JJ for pointing his gun at Ben.

[Rowan]

I'm glad Chad and Abby went ahead and got remarried. They'll get like five seconds of chill before the next heartache starts to heat up. I'm curious as to what it might be.

I know that that the actress portraying Lani is not great, but I actually thought she did better today In her scenes with Paul. 

JJ's going dark, huh? I do think he was respectful to Hope while remaining unapologetic. He knows he can't do that shit, even if he pretends that he was never going to really shoot him. That is a no no. However, I like defiant JJ better than dull, goody two shoes JJ.  

I do not feel bad for Paul. I just don't care how he feels with regards to Will's resurrection and how it affects his romance with Sonny. I wish I did because then it would raise the stakes for me. 

[peachmangosteen]

I missed the last like 5 or so minutes because of a news interruption. Can someone summarize it for me? I guess JJ was fired. I hope he goes full dark now. That'd be hot.