Current Plots Discussion: Actually Today's Episode

[TeeVee329]

Oh man, I always love it when Victor and Xander tangle.  For all his crankiness whenever he darkens his doorstep, I think Vic likes sparring with Xan, sees more of himself in him than he'd care to admit, certainly more than in Brady or Sonny.  Speaking of, Xander dragging them while pitching himself as CEO was delightful.  But on the shallow tip, Xander's hair was looking a little floofy, he either needs to keep it slicked back or trim it up a bit.

Funny how Hope was all concerned about unforgiveable things being done to Abigail last week with Gabi, but now she's all too eager to cut a deal with Stefan O. to get the goods on Ben.

Ben and Ciara's conflict and Jack and Kayla rehashing his rape of her being in the same episode didn't feel accidental.

As others have pointed out, Eve's got motivation problems, but I still enjoyed her sparring with Jennifer.

[Apprentice79]

According to Ben, rape is worst than Murder. Him calling Chase a monster was rich coming from him. Chase only hurt one person, whereas, he killed Paige, Serena, the poor midwife and he also tried to kill multiple people, committed arson and kidnapped a newborn baby. Ron is  trying too hard with Ben and Cin, he is reminding me of JER and his signature couple.  The serial killer even had tears in his eyes defending his indefensible actions of kidnapping the sister of the woman he brutally murdered in her dorm room.  He could not understand that violence against women, whether it is rape or murder is the same thing. Ciara tried in vain to get him to understand that. I am so happy that Bo Brady is dead to not see this mess. Ben reminds me of the many ways that general hospital would defend their favorite hitman Jason and his mob boss Sonny.  They even had Jason compare his job with veterans in the military who fight for their country. Unbelievable, but, true.

I personally hated how Ron is using the Jack/Kayla rape history to prop up his precious Cin.  There is no comparison between Jack and Ben.  Kayla was wrong in saying that the love of Jennifer redeemed Jack. That is absolutely false.  Jack's redemption was all on him, Jennifer was on the sideline, witnessing it all, never judging him, encouraging him when he would revert to type by making a mistake while falling for him. He changed for himself, for the love he had for his mother Jo, his big brother Steve, Adrienne, Jennifer and yes even for Kayla. He was sorry for what he did to Kayla before he fell for Jennifer.  He was always haunted by what he did to Kayla, he continued to doubt himself and Jennifer's love  and unwavering support helped him to believe that he had indeed change and worthy of love and happiness.  If Ben wants to change, he has to do it for himself because it is the right thing to do and not for Ciara.  

Edited January 7, 2019 by Apprentice79

[Silver Raven]

On 1/6/2019 at 11:38 AM, Apprentice79 said:

They are not on the same level, but, they are similar in that a friend betrayed another for some type of personal gain.  It is funny how Chad was collateral damage in Gabi's scheme against Abigail and Sonny was the same thing in Chad's scheme against Stefan.  Kate pulled Chad into her scheme against Titan/Stefan and Gabi did the same to her against Abigail/Stefan.  

Even before that, he stole the money from Sonny that was keeping Sonny's club open, forcing Sonny to shut down the club and go to work for Victor in Europe. Just so that he could prove to everybody that he was a real DiMera.

[Chick2Chic]

2 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

Ben and Ciara's conflict and Jack and Kayla rehashing his rape of her being in the same episode didn't feel accidental.

Looking forward to the future while touching on the past but not staying in the past.  I like the parallel as I think Days is taking a slower route to show that Ben is trying to do better but has a lot to learn. He is still slipping up and he is still having struggles in things. I don't expect or want Ben to be perfect nor instantly reformed so this works for me. I like a flawed/grey character because there is more IMO to work with to build or break down the character on his or her own merit. I'm less interested in comparisons to build up or break down.

So many characters on Days, good and bad, have done bad or questionable things so it seems to be a matter of timing and goal posts writing at this point for the majority of "good" and "bad" characters being defined cause I know for myself, I can't take Hope seriously considering what she did with Stefano then going along to frame Andre about it (wow, she's like Abby with that... no wonder she was tone deaf with Gabi). It's the self-righteousness that gets to me there (same with Rafe) when her own hands were recently bloody and covered in carpet fibers. Anyways, I am here for the Cin angst. I know they're not popular on here like on twitter but it doesn't change anything for me. I also think the actors did a really good job with the material today and I like where it's going for Cin.

IIRC Hope and Ciara were still weirdly supportive of Chase even after what he did to Ciara, so it works in terms of what Chase did Ciara but everything about that Chase/Ciara story played out not well but I wasn't watching full time then. 

I'm still meh on Stefan overall but I appreciated he called out Hope on her obviousness. TC has seemed more awake recently. Maybe it's cause he's out of the Chabby hell orbit. Again, I get why Hope feels the way she does so I don't have an issue with that at all. But her obsessive focus to the point of picking & choosing when to apply the law solely to get Ben is tired writing (not to mention her being a coldblooded murderer, even if not a serial murderer,  and having served time for attacking men while on pills makes her self-righteous commentary a bit rich).

Hope and Rafe need another shiny ball to focus on cause the "get Ben" dialogue, especially Hope's, is very rinse and repeat. I hope we find out who set that damn cabin fire sometime soon. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by Chick2Chic
added

[SueB]

Hope is really sketchy on morals these days.  Treason is NOT something you can 'work with the DA' based on turning over evidence on Ben.  I'm glad Stefan called her out.

I really am liking Jack.  And Jennifer sure has a spark to her these days.

Xander.  Never met a shirt he wouldn't wear.

[bobcat1946]

On 1/4/2019 at 9:13 AM, Apprentice79 said:

The board has never really forgiven Kayla for not defending Sami and siding with Abigail. As a huge Kayla fan, it was very hard to defend it. I can only fanwank that Kayla held a grudge against Sami for being with EJ, a man who tortured members of the Brady family, EJ enjoyed tormenting Steve. So Kayla would believe that EJ took advantage of Abigail. Plus, Sami was pretty friendly with Ava at some point.   Another vile character who hurt her family and did kill her father.  Sami has done some awful things against her own family. So, I will not hold Kayla's disloyalty against her. Plus, it was bad writing intended to prop Abigail..

I remember Ava and Nicole being major friends, but not Sami and AVa.

[Silver Raven]

If they want to look into Rolf's serum, shouldn't they be running tests on Will?

Rafe said Hope would have known about why he arrested Stefan if she had been at the police station,  but Rafe wasn't there, either. The news of the federal indictment came while he and Stefan were wrestling. 

The pub was playing country music?

Xander needs a haircut. 

I wouldn't rape a woman,  I only murder them. 

Why is Jack so much more eager to meet Kayla than he was to meet Adrienne? Also, he claims to have read his book. The rape is in there.

Where did Eve get that drive she gave Xander?

Sorry, Hope,  a local cop can't make fed charges go away. Also, death for treason only applies during war time.

Nice mom jeans, Jennifer.

Does Ben still live in the homeless shelter?

[bannana]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

If they want to look into Rolf's serum, shouldn't they be running tests on Will?

Rafe said Hope would have known about why he arrested Stefan if she had been at the police station,  but Rafe wasn't there, either. The news of the federal indictment came while he and Stefan were wrestling. 

The pub was playing country music?

Xander needs a haircut. 

I wouldn't rape a woman,  I only murder them. 

Why is Jack so much more eager to meet Kayla than he was to meet Adrienne? Also, he claims to have read his book. The rape is in there.

Where did Eve get that drive she gave Xander?

Sorry, Hope,  a local cop can't make fed charges go away. Also, death for treason only applies during war time.

Nice mom jeans, Jennifer.

Does Ben still live in the homeless shelter?

This.  Didn't Jack go off on Jennifer on NYE, having said that he read all about their relationship when he read his own book?  Then surely he knows he is a rapist.  That book was how JJ found out.  So that entire scene was ridiculous.  They should have had her introduce herself to him and then he should have had a look of shameful realization of who she was and what he had done to her.

[TeeVee329]

Just now, bannana said:

Didn't Jack go off on Jennifer on NYE, having said that he read all about their relationship when he read his own book?

But again, hasn't it been indicated that Eve gave Jack an edited version of the book, something that wouldn't paint the whole picture?  Isn't that why he got so hocked at Jennifer?

[Chick2Chic]

1 hour ago, bobcat1946 said:

I remember Ava and Nicole being major friends, but not Sami and AVa.

I was looking it up cause I couldn't recall Sami & Ava as friends either and I was reminded of John & Ava being involved. 

[bannana]

1 minute ago, TeeVee329 said:

But again, hasn't it been indicated that Eve gave Jack an edited version of the book, something that wouldn't paint the whole picture?  Isn't that why he got so hocked at Jennifer?

Thanks, I missed that it was an edited version.  But Jack surely would have some curiosity to read the whole book to learn about his life.  And he must have googled himself by now!

[TeeVee329]

Thinking about it, I'm not sure it was said out right, but that was the impression I got, that Eve was being very selective about the information Jack got about his past.

[Chick2Chic]

3 minutes ago, Sonoma said:

It's very obvious the show is trying to turn Ben into Jason Morgan. I'm calling it now. Not even Franco but St. Jasus the Criminalbutinagoodway of Hypocrite, one of the patron saints of Port Charles. And they're going to turn Ciara into St. Sam the Standbyyourman of Hypocrite and another of the patron saints of Port Charles. It's so gross on so many different levels. 

This reminds me of when I read someone state that Cin is just like Liason cause they touched each other and road on a bike together. 

[TeeVee329]

7 minutes ago, Sonoma said:

It's very obvious the show is trying to turn Ben into Jason Morgan. I'm calling it now. Not even Franco but St. Jasus the Criminalbutinagoodway of Hypocrite, one of the patron saints of Port Charles. And they're going to turn Ciara into St. Sam the Standbyyourman of Hypocrite and another of the patron saints of Port Charles. It's so gross on so many different levels. 

Yeah, but Ciara isn't blindly standing by her man, she's troubled by this (the dialogue, that she felt it made her "complicit", was a good choice).  That might not last forever, but that's certainly a stronger stance than any of Jason's enablers ever took.

[Chick2Chic]

4 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Thinking about it, I'm not sure it was said out right, but that was the impression I got, that Eve was being very selective about the information Jack got about his past.

I got a similar impression... that Eve is feeding him things she can use to her advantage but definitely not the full story.

[peachmangosteen]

I rolled so hard at Ben being so incredulous that Ciara would compare him to a rapist. It was very, "Of course I would never rape a woman! I prefer to murder them!" LOL. It's too bad they're going about this whole thing the wrong way because I would be so down for Cin otherwise. They have good chem.

The Jack/Kayla scenes were weird. Why was Jack suddenly so smiley and chummy with someone from his past? It didn't make any sense. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by peachmangosteen

[nilyank]

32 minutes ago, Chick2Chic said:

I was looking it up cause I couldn't recall Sami & Ava as friends either and I was reminded of John & Ava being involved. 

Sami sublet her apartment to Ava at John's urging when she, EJ and the twins were living at the mansion with John and Marlena.

I cannot recall Sami having any other scenes witg Ava.

[dlyn]

2 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Does Ben still live in the homeless shelter?

He negotiated a room in the Dimera mansion with his new job. 

[enchantingmonkey]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Why was Jack suddenly so smiley and chummy with someone from his past? It didn't make any sense. 

 

I thought about that, too.  Perhaps because she wasn't coming at him and asking him to remember her, like most others have, and he seemed to be amused that she looked at him like she saw a ghost.  And, he was happy to see anyone that wasn't Eve or Jennifer.  

It's too bad we haven't gotten any scenes with Eve confronting Ben and struggling to deal with the injustice of him being a free man while her daughter is still dead.  If she were using Jack as a kind of anchor in her life in the midst of the chaos of the Ben situation, it would give her desperation to get her hooks into a little more meaning.  Even her bickering with Jennifer would come with a sense of familiarity. 

I wasn't bothered by Ben arguing that rape is worse than murder.  Of course, he's wrong.  But he has to find a way to live with himself in conventional society, and the mind will contort itself in all kinds of ways in an effort for self-preservation.  

While I certainly understand Hope's motivation, her determined efforts to get anyone to give her the goods on Ben are bordering on comedy relief.  

I loved the look on Jack's face as Kayla left him there at the table.  

Xander vs. Victor was good fun.  

Edited January 8, 2019 by enchantingmonkey

[Apprentice79]

24 minutes ago, enchantingmonkey said:

I loved the look on Jack's face as Kayla left him there at the table.  

Matthew and Marybeth were awesome today.  I want to see Jack ask Jennifer how could she love him, knowing what she knew. I would love to hear that answer and I also want Jack  as an amnesiac, to be affected by the enormity of what he did to Kayla, going forward.. Good lord! Steve should be here.. His mother Jo should be here as well. Other than Jennifer, Anjelica and Steve, Jo was his strongest relationship on the show. I still want Erika Slezak as a recast Jo. She would do the role justice, in my opinion.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Apprentice79

[Happytobehere]

The scenes with Kayla and Jack were fantastic. It makes the current Steve being off screen nonsense that much harder to sell.

I agree with the poster who said that Jack seemed okay with seeing Kayla because she didn’t approach him and she didn’t try to hit him over the head with “Remember Me.” Their interaction was on Jack’s terms and even with Eve, this is the first time since becoming aware as it were that an encounter with someone who knew him was dictated by him.

Watching Jack with Eve today, all I could think was, “Don’t you put your filthy, Brady touching hands on my Jack.” I was so thrilled when the memory of the Jennifer kiss caused him to pull away from the red dressed viper. This means MR and the show are doing a good job at softening my coldness towards the character.

 I really want Jack and JJ scenes. If I’m not mistaken, CM was cast after MA was fired the last time. I liked their brief interaction during Jack’s return and I would like to see more.

[Chick2Chic]

39 minutes ago, enchantingmonkey said:

I wasn't bothered by Ben arguing that rape is worse than murder.  Of course, he's wrong.  But he has to find a way to live with himself in conventional society, and the mind will contort itself in all kinds of ways in an effort for self-preservation.  

While I certainly understand Hope's motivation, her determined efforts to get anyone to give her the goods on Ben are bordering on comedy relief.  

I loved the look on Jack's face as Kayla left him there at the table.  

Exactly. It is still a work in progress and he can't learn if he is right about everything, especially this early on. Other Salem rapists and/or murderers didn't learn from their abominable actions nor change their thinking / behavior overnight when the show wanted to do redeem the character instead of keeping them in a 100% villain/ antagonist role (not the same as grey characters, IMO). I wouldn't expect Ben too either. I am glad Days isn't going the lazy tumor route. I will take a push-pull growth story where a problematic learns from his/her past than insta-redemption.  

Edited January 8, 2019 by Chick2Chic
added

[enchantingmonkey]

21 minutes ago, Apprentice79 said:

Ben tried to rape Abby, so his anger about rape makes no sense. So him saying that he is incapable of raping a woman is ridiculous..

Oh sure, none of his argument made sense.  It was glaringly obvious that he lives by a very different moral than Ciara, and I thought RSW's wooden acting even served the character in those scenes.  It was like most of what Ciara was saying was just bouncing off of him.  It's not even in his best interest to agree with her.  But how does a man who's murdered people, and then been told by professionals that he's been cured (whatever the hell that means) live within society?  

I like this story because it's so messy.  Everyone has a valid argument against Ben.  But, I also understand why he'd want to take advantage of what could be considered a second chance.  

[Chick2Chic]

I have taken breaks from the show more times than not the last few years and esp under Higley but when did Ben try to rape Abby? 

[Frozendiva]

Hope is turning in to Wile E. Coyote obsessed with catching the roadrunner. We get the motivation of wanting to protect her daughter, but shut up. You have become a broken record. Your daughter does not want to hear you any more. And stop playing fast and loose with your power as Police Commissioner. If Ben could find a good lawyer, you'd be served with a massive lawsuit. I still hope that one day it is revealed that Ciara herself accidentally started the fire. Or that it was some raccoon or something. Hope, what may happen is that one day you will be in trouble and Ben may actually rescue you.

Ciara, Ben was doing his job when he took Gabi to Stefan. Right now he has limited employment options and may for a long while. There are things called other related duties in most job descriptions that often involve doing things you don't like.

Jack and Kayla's history and Ciara and Ben are two very different stories. Jack changed because he wanted to. Jennifer's love may have supported him but he did all the work himself. And it took time. It was uncomfortable watching Jack talk to Kayla about his past and how he hurt her. But he also showed remorse, and he also treated her with respect. Wondering how he could have been so awful. He listened. He reflected.

Ben isn't going to do backflips to change over a month and he does have to live each day with what he did. Most of the Salemites who have committed crimes have had second, third, fourth, fifth, tenth, twentieth, fiftieth chances. Does Ben deserve a second chance? If he is willing to work at it and become a functioning member of society - who still takes his medication, still sees his therapist/psychiatrist, is still evaluated regularly, etc.

Xander really looks good in a towel. The hair needs some styling and he probably could use a nice shirt.

How did Eve get the flash drive?

Why didn't Victor ask the Captain Obvious question if Nicole and Kristen are still alive?

Stefan arrested for treason? Where are the federal police? Good for him for sussing out Hope wanting to get Ben. Leave it alone lady.

Jennifer's trousers really made her look very wide. Not flattering. And please, please get some nice pink or other lipstick.

[boes]

6 minutes ago, enchantingmonkey said:

Oh sure, none of his argument made sense.  It was glaringly obvious that he lives by a very different moral than Ciara, and I thought RSW's wooden acting even served the character in those scenes.  It was like most of what Ciara was saying was just bouncing off of him.  It's not even in his best interest to agree with her.  But how does a man who's murdered people, and then been told by professionals that he's been cured (whatever the hell that means) live within society?  

This is virtually the only time I've enjoyed Ciara since she's been recast, Victoria Konefal did a really good job today in her scenes with Ben.  EnchantingMonkey, I hadn't thought of it but you're right, RSW's wooden acting really did emphasize how little he understood what Ciara was telling him.  It was like he was hearing a foreign language and only understood every 3rd word.  It was pretty rich, and showing how much internal justification he does when he got so irate about being compared to a rapist when this guy murdered 3 and only not 4 because of DOOL Cracker Jack medical mystery tour.  

I'm not a fan of the pairing and as tiresome as Hope is, I get why she's desperate to get her daughter away from the guy, but I was intrigued by the characters today.  

16 minutes ago, Happytobehere said:

The scenes with Kayla and Jack were fantastic. It makes the current Steve being off screen nonsense that much harder to sell.

I agree with the poster who said that Jack seemed okay with seeing Kayla because she didn’t approach him and she didn’t try to hit him over the head with “Remember Me.” Their interaction was on Jack’s terms and even with Eve, this is the first time since becoming aware as it were that an encounter with someone who knew him was dictated by him.

 

They were, weren't they?  I'd almost forgotten exactly how much Matt Ashford adds to the show, especially when he's given something halfway decent to work with, which so far, he has.  (I thought he was handed a lot of horseshit on his last return and as bad as it was, he managed to make it watchable.)  I think you're right, tha Kayla's reticence made it easier for Jack to approach her, and it made the shock of finding what he'd done even more of a wallop.  They were both excellent!

46 minutes ago, Apprentice79 said:

Matthew and Marybeth were awesome today.  I want to see Jack ask Jennifer how could she love him, knowing what she knew. I would love to hear that answer and I also want Jack  as an amnesiac, to be affected by the enormity of what he did to Kayla, going forward.. Good lord! Steve should be here.. His mother Jo should be here as well. Other than Jennifer, Anjelica and Steve, Jo was his strongest relationship on the show. I still want Erika Slezak as a recast Jo. She would do the role justice, in my opinion.

And they were both so good it deserves to be said again!  I knew I'd be happy with Jack coming back but I didn't realize exactly how much.  Not having Steve around is just nonsensical.  No way he'd not have been back in town the minute he heard.  Apprentice79, you've mentioned Erika Slezak as a recast Jo before and I loved the idea then.  Now, with Jack back, I can just imagine the power of those scenes and what she'd bring to them.

I liked Xander today, too, sparring with Vic, ever the eternal psychopathic optimist that he is, imagining that he'll become CEO.  Punctuating that by prancing around wet and half-naked was a nice, slightly insane touch!

Show is making me very happy these days.

[Apprentice79]

7 minutes ago, Chick2Chic said:

I have taken breaks from the show more times than not the last few years and esp under Higley but when did Ben try to rape Abby? 

I misremembered and somebody corrected me. My apologies..

[nilyank]

11 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Why didn't Victor ask the Captain Obvious question if Nicole and Kristen are still alive?

 

Because Victor could care less if either woman is dead or alive. He also believes that both women were the worse thing that had happened to his idiot grandson Brady.

[Rowan]

Good grief, Charlie Brown! This damn show. Ben is not bad good guy or a good bad guy. He is an emotionally messed up murderer who can’t quite grasp that he simply can’t kidnap a woman and deliver her to his enraged employer so that he may enact his revenge on her person.  He’s just sitting there like, “that’s my job, yo!” Like he’s the same as a repo man or something. Oh, and he would never in the course of a thousand million murders and kidnappings avail himself to a woman’s private parts without her permission. I may swoon at his considerate nature. At least the actress brought something to the scenes. Good for her. 

MBE as always delivers. 

[Irlandesa]

Ahh, Jack running away from a woman who wants his sex.  There's the Jack Deveraux I know and love.

9 hours ago, Apprentice79 said:

According to Ben, rape is worst than Murder. Him calling Chase a monster was rich coming from him. Chase only hurt one person, whereas, he killed Paige, Serena, the poor midwife and he also tried to kill multiple people, committed arson and kidnapped a newborn baby. Ron is  trying too hard with Ben and Cin, he is reminding me of JER and his signature couple.  The serial killer even had tears in his eyes defending his indefensible actions of kidnapping the sister of the woman he brutally murdered in her dorm room. 

Yeah.  I can see why people like their chemistry.  I think they have it but I'm struggling. Ciara got some great dialogue today and I was happy to hear it.  If the show were smart, this would be the end of them.  I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about him repeating that he would never hurt a woman or he isn't a rapist for heaven's sake.  Kidnapping a woman is hurting her.  Then he was whining about how this was the only job he could get.  Something tells me he could get a job in fast food or retail considering how much turnover they have.

Quote

I personally hated how Ron is using the Jack/Kayla rape history to prop up his precious Cin.  There is no comparison between Jack and Ben.  Kayla was wrong in saying that the love of Jennifer redeemed Jack. That is absolutely false.  Jack's redemption was all on him.

I agree.  It was a simplistic view of that redemption story.  Jack's path wasn't linear but it was multi-layered.  It was dealing with the things he had done, confronting who his adoptive family and real family were.  It was finding a career he was passionate about.  And it was falling in love with Jennifer. 

But that's my only quibble with the scenes. 

6 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

The Jack/Kayla scenes were weird. Why was Jack suddenly so smiley and chummy with someone from his past? It didn't make any sense. 

Clearly the story is going to be that Kayla is the love of his life.  (I only partly kid.  Knowing Ron, if he could have given Jack and Kayla both amnesia a that same time, he might have tried it.)

I think part of it was his adrenaline was going from running away from Eve.  I guess he was attracted to Eve and yet something was telling him it was off.  The thrill of escaping made him a much looser guy (and more Jack-like) than the confused guy of last week.  Plus, like others have said, she wasn't wanting anything from him. 

But mostly, I think it was a choice to have the most impact where he started their conversation the most relaxed we've seen him and ended taking on the 30-year burden he lived without for the past six years.  And the choices worked.  Even though I shouldn't be here for scenes between Kayla and Jack given the past, I always am. Marybeth and Matt always work so well together and I respect the hell out of them for never letting their characters forget what happened between them through their acting even though I remember them saying the show really wanted to pretend it didn't happen for a while.

When they talked about Steve, though, that hurt.  It really hurt.  Stephen Nichols should be here.  I loved the Johnson Brothers so much.

I loved Jennifer and Eve sparring today even though I don't think Jennifer should tease Eve too much about Jack running away from her bed.  Look at the sentence that starts this post.  That was par for the course during Jack and Jenn's first courtship.  But Eve too is hard to understand.  They need to give her something more for her focus on Jack.  I could see how ragging on Jennifer would be a benefit of bringing Jack back.  Eve usually liked doing that.  But what's her motivation for wanting to seduce Jack?  Marry him?  There has to be something more here.  There needs to be something more. 

[ByaNose]

I was waiting for Jennifer to ask Eve if Jack know she slept with his son. It would kill Jenn to even bring it up but it would have annoyed Eve even more. 

[ByaNose]

I was waiting for Jennifer to ask Eve if Jack know she slept with his son. It would kill Jenn to even bring it up but it would have annoyed Eve even more. 

[boes]

49 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Ahh, Jack running away from a woman who wants his sex.  There's the Jack Deveraux I know and love.

Yeah.  I can see why people like their chemistry.  I think they have it but I'm struggling. Ciara got some great dialogue today and I was happy to hear it.  If the show were smart, this would be the end of them.  I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about him repeating that he would never hurt a woman or he isn't a rapist for heaven's sake.  Kidnapping a woman is hurting her.  Then he was whining about how this was the only job he could get.  Something tells me he could get a job in fast food or retail considering how much turnover they have.

I agree.  It was a simplistic view of that redemption story.  Jack's path wasn't linear but it was multi-layered.  It was dealing with the things he had done, confronting who his adoptive family and real family were.  It was finding a career he was passionate about.  And it was falling in love with Jennifer. 

But that's my only quibble with the scenes. 

Clearly the story is going to be that Kayla is the love of his life.  (I only partly kid.  Knowing Ron, if he could have given Jack and Kayla both amnesia a that same time, he might have tried it.)

I think part of it was his adrenaline was going from running away from Eve.  I guess he was attracted to Eve and yet something was telling him it was off.  The thrill of escaping made him a much looser guy (and more Jack-like) than the confused guy of last week.  Plus, like others have said, she wasn't wanting anything from him. 

But mostly, I think it was a choice to have the most impact where he started their conversation the most relaxed we've seen him and ended taking on the 30-year burden he lived without for the past six years.  And the choices worked.  Even though I shouldn't be here for scenes between Kayla and Jack given the past, I always am. Marybeth and Matt always work so well together and I respect the hell out of them for never letting their characters forget what happened between them through their acting even though I remember them saying the show really wanted to pretend it didn't happen for a while.

When they talked about Steve, though, that hurt.  It really hurt.  Stephen Nichols should be here.  I loved the Johnson Brothers so much.

I loved Jennifer and Eve sparring today even though I don't think Jennifer should tease Eve too much about Jack running away from her bed.  Look at the sentence that starts this post.  That was par for the course during Jack and Jenn's first courtship.  But Eve too is hard to understand.  They need to give her something more for her focus on Jack.  I could see how ragging on Jennifer would be a benefit of bringing Jack back.  Eve usually liked doing that.  But what's her motivation for wanting to seduce Jack?  Marry him?  There has to be something more here.  There needs to be something more. 

Absolutely EXCELLENT post!

[Lastwaltz]

MA as Jack brings something -- a spark? real talent? --  this show was sorely lacking, and I'm looking forward to his story playing out with Jennifer and the rest. The conversation with Kayla was hard to watch, although the actors did a wonderful job. Pros at work. There's not another male character on the show that has what Jack has to offer us as viewers. 

Ben is a mess, and yes, @Apprentice79, I'm also glad Bo isn't around for this one, or to see Hope's behavior these days. But Steve should be there, dammit, show. 

[peachmangosteen]

12 hours ago, enchantingmonkey said:

It's too bad we haven't gotten any scenes with Eve confronting Ben and struggling to deal with the injustice of him being a free man while her daughter is still dead.

They did have scenes when he first came back. They were good scenes. But since then there's been nothing so I guess Eve doesn't care anymore lol.

11 hours ago, boes said:

Show is making me very happy these days.

Same. I've really like the past few weeks. I hope it continues.

9 hours ago, Rowan said:

MBE as always delivers. 

Right! She's so good, even when they give her nothing.

47 minutes ago, Lastwaltz said:

MA as Jack brings something -- a spark? real talent? --  this show was sorely lacking ... There's not another male character on the show that has what Jack has to offer us as viewers. 

This. 

Edited January 8, 2019 by peachmangosteen

[howmanywords]

55 minutes ago, Lastwaltz said:

MA as Jack brings something -- a spark? real talent? --  this show was sorely lacking

Those things plus charisma with a capital C! THAT is a leading man now.

[Lastwaltz]

9 minutes ago, howmanywords said:

Those things plus charisma with a capital C! THAT is a leading man now.

And it's ironic, because I bet -- no way of knowing, of course -- but I bet MA doesn't see himself as leading man material. For all of your faults, show, thank you for bringing this man back into our lives :) 

[Chick2Chic]

12 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Something tells me he could get a job in fast food or retail considering how much turnover they have.

The show specifically stated this was not the case, though. He even tried to get a dishwasher position and they wouldn't hire him. He tried to get a job where Claire & Tripp work and they wouldn't hire him. That's why he ended up working for Stefan cause he was living in a homeless shelter and couldn't get work even doing menial / service jobs. Ciara reiterated that when she mentioned the trouble Ben had finding work before his job with Stefan during her scenes with Ben in Monday's ep.

 I am fine with Jack and I like the Cin story so here I am being controversial with this instead of going with the flow of praising all things Jack despite my having no issue with the character nor the actor. While it's been a while since it all played out and I was young-ish when the story was onscreen, I find it not only unfair to compare Jack & Jennifer to Ben & Ciara, I find it unfair to compare an actually completed redemption story that took years to reach its goal to one that has barely started. I think Jack, and J&J are being used superficially to compare then deride a different story with dissimilar characters. It's like comparing Jarlena to Caustin or Bope to Chabby. IA that Jack's story plus J & J and Ben's story plus Cin are not the same so I am puzzled that they being compared to then constantly negate one. I enjoyed Jack's redemption and Jack & Jennifer's love story but it played out over years. I am enjoying Ben and Ben & Ciara so far but it's also still in its infancy stages for the characters and their relationship of sorts. Two different beasts with dissimilar characters and onscreen time & story. I know I am wired like that but I'd rather see the pairings all judged on their own merits and failures since none of the pairings are exactly alike. 

I am so far enjoying MA's return but with his history on the show, I don't get too attached to his returns anymore as the show really does like to fire him. I'd like to see some Jack & Adrienne scenes.

Isn't the issue with Stephen Nichols not being around that he didn't like the renewal offer and negotiations dragged out until the show just said "ok, bye then"

Edited January 8, 2019 by Chick2Chic
fixed something.

[Apprentice79]

24 minutes ago, Chick2Chic said:

I am so far enjoying MA's return but with his history on the show, I don't get too attached to his returns anymore as the show really does like to fire him. I'd like to see some Jack & Adrienne scenes.

The sibling relationship between Jack/Adrienne was never as strong as Steve/Jack.  It was as if Adrienne was the outsider in the drama between Jack, Steve and their mother Jo. In a way she was because she was born after them. She was furious when she found out that Jack was her brother and her mom and Steve did not tell her. It is ironic, given it was Adrienne that was looking for Steve to mend her mother's broken heart.  I would like to see Jack and Adrienne forge a closer bond.  She did name her only biological son after Jack..

Edited January 8, 2019 by Apprentice79

[Sandman]

On ‎2019‎-‎01‎-‎06 at 9:50 AM, Lastwaltz said:

I don't think I've thought much about what reassembling the alters means to Abigail. Hmm....

Don't feel bad; it's not like the writers have given it much thought.

[Chick2Chic]

36 minutes ago, Apprentice79 said:

53 minutes ago, Chick2Chic said:

I am so far enjoying MA's return but with his history on the show, I don't get too attached to his returns anymore as the show really does like to fire him. I'd like to see some Jack & Adrienne scenes.

The sibling relationship between Jack/Adrienne was never as strong as Steve/Jack.

Yes :) ...  but that's immaterial to my desire to see present/future Jack & Adrienne scenes. It's not always about the past but sometimes just about the present. Steve isn't around and Adrienne is so it would be nice to see them strengthen their relationship. I have a feeling most of Jack's story with be the tug of war between Eve and Jen, though.

[Apprentice79]

1 hour ago, Chick2Chic said:

Yes :) ...  but that's immaterial to my desire to see present/future Jack & Adrienne scenes. It's not always about the past but sometimes just about the present. Steve isn't around and Adrienne is so it would be nice to see them strengthen their relationship. I have a feeling most of Jack's story with be the tug of war between Eve and Jen, though.

I was just saying that the show should focus on making Jack and Adrienne stronger. They always focused on Jack and Steve because it was more dramatic.  I want Jack to also have scenes with John, Marlena, his children, grandchildren and Brady because of Isabella. Stefanie and Anjelica would be awesome, but, it will never happen..

[kitmerlot1213]

Today's episode had some awesome moments:

Gabi's complete and utter bitchiness at facing off with Ben and Julie--she is so completely done with idiotic people.  I'm not sure what Julie thinks she has on Gabi though because Gabi didn't push Julie down the stairs, Julie's interfering ass fell down the stairs as they fought over the paternity test.

The look of affronted anger on Abby's face when Ciara talked about her being as mentally ill as Ben was.  Abs was quick to point out that it was her alters who hurt a lot of people, conveniently forgetting that she was completely sane when she set Ben on fire.  Just sayin'.  Also, Abs was trying to be considerate of Ciara's being a former rape victim but then she said that "Gabi had it coming" in regards to Stefan getting revenge.  No, Gabi's already suffered from what you and Stefan put her through.  So I guess the compassionate understanding's out the window now?

I also found it odd that Abby said "Ben strangled my cousin and killed two women, one of them right in front of me."  Will is Ciara's cousin as well--she should have said "our cousin"--and didn't Ben kill three women:  Serena, Paige and the midwife whose name I can't remember?

I get that Hope is worried about Ciara but she is losing all credibility as she scrambles around trying to get Ben put away for good,

[Chick2Chic]

50 minutes ago, Apprentice79 said:

I was just saying that the show should focus on making Jack and Adrienne stronger. They always focused on Jack and Steve because it was more dramatic.  I want Jack to also have scenes with John, Marlena, his children, grandchildren and Brady because of Isabella. Stefanie and Anjelica would be awesome, but, it will never happen..

I think the show has been better lately at mixing up the generations and characters but it's still too islanded (likely budget and filming constraints) so I see Jack as primarily in the Eve vs Jen stuff ... I still need the show to do better with Eve's motives, though. Anything outside of that would be extra. Wasn't it a running joke how TPTB would not let Adrienne & Steve share a scene for the longest time in the last few years with most of their stuff together happening offscreen then mentioned onscreen? 

29 minutes ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

The look of affronted anger on Abby's face when Ciara talked about her being as mentally ill as Ben was.  Abs was quick to point out that it was her alters who hurt a lot of people, conveniently forgetting that she was completely sane when she set Ben on fire.  Just sayin'.  Also, Abs was trying to be considerate of Ciara's being a former rape victim but then she said that "Gabi had it coming" in regards to Stefan getting revenge.  No, Gabi's already suffered from what you and Stefan put her through.  So I guess the compassionate understanding's out the window now?

I saw clips on twitter of their scenes and I laughed at Abby. You could see her wanting to say "how dare you?" when Ciara mentioned Abby being mentally ill too but better now too especially considering Ben went to jail, had therapy, takes meds, and Abby had a two week tune up with Granny. Also, did Abby insinuate that Marlena was dumb in regards to Ben?

Abby didn't have her alters when she killed Andre, IIRC. They came afterward. I knew Abby's "charity" wouldn't last long. Will the show ever bring up that Thomas exists cause Abby cheated on Ben with Chad plus lied to Ben for months? (Some on twitter allege her behavior at the time was gaslighting Ben)  It's like TPTB want us all to forget the bad history between Abby, Ben, and Chad in letting Abby tell her heavily redacted truth cause none of them made good choices. Yes, Ben's behavior was by far the worse of the three but I side-eye the deliberate misrepresentation of how things played out in ABC's history as if Ben snapped out of nowhere.

29 minutes ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

Serena, Paige and the midwife whose name I can't remember?

Wendy, I think

Edited January 8, 2019 by Chick2Chic
fixed something.

[TeeVee329]

Oh Ron, you took it to a Franco place with Ben today that I did not care for.  Ben just seemed annoyed - annoyed that Gabi was afraid of him, annoyed that she brought up his past, annoyed that she wasn't understanding about the kidnapping being part of his job, and mostly annoyed that this situation might cost him Ciara versus actually feeling bad about what he did.  Not sure how much was the writing and how much was how Robert Scott Wilson played it, but in any case?  Not cute.

On the flip side, I did enjoy what Ciara said to Abigail about how she should know better than anyone about struggling with mental illness.  Abigail's "Whuh?" face in response was so slapable.

But best of all was Gabi shutting down Julie.  I'm glad that Gabi's not meekly apologizing, but is basically sticking to her guns, and Julie's been annoying me with her Chad stanning so there you go.  Also, fact check, Jules, Gabi did not push you down the stairs, you were tussling over the paternity test and you took that tumble all on your own.

Why is Ted?  I remember liking him during the summer, with his "I Know What You Did Last Summer"-ing Will and Sonny and putting Hope and Rafe on legal blast, but now he's gots to go.

[Apprentice79]

10 minutes ago, Chick2Chic said:

I think the show has been better lately at mixing up the generations and characters but it's still too islanded (likely budget and filming constraints) so I see Jack as primarily in the Eve vs Jen stuff ... I still need the show to do better with Eve's motives, though. Anything outside of that would be extra. Wasn't it a running joke how TPTB would not let Adrienne & Steve share a scene for the longest time in the last few years with most of their stuff together happening offscreen then mention onscreen? 

I think Dena gave them their first  substantial scene together as siblings. Griffith for some bizarre reason never had them interact on the show and fans were complaining about that. 

36 minutes ago, kitmerlot1213 said:

Gabi's complete and utter bitchiness at facing off with Ben and Julie--she is so completely done with idiotic people.  I'm not sure what Julie thinks she has on Gabi though because Gabi didn't push Julie down the stairs, Julie's interfering ass fell down the stairs as they fought over the paternity test.

Julie basically admitted that she would lie to put Gabi away. Gabi is not having it and threatened her right back.  I understand Julie's hatred of Gabi, but, she needs to stop acting like Nick was some innocent, he was not. It is tiresome already. I do think that their mutual animosity makes sense, unlike Eve's for Jennifer.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Apprentice79

[buffynut]

I'm really enjoying the show these days. It feels like Ron might actually have a flowchart where he knows what's going to happen next.  You know something Dena admitted she'd never had.  And for that reason I have faith that he's going to do something to fix the Hope character. 

I just hope that won't mean her being right about Ben, and him harming Ciara.  Cin is the first new couple I've seen chemistry between in the 4 1/2 years I've been back watching, so I hope Ron can find a way to make them work, without half (or more) the audience being disgusted with their pairing.

Which makes me wonder... those of you who hate that Bo and Hope's daughter is dating a serial killer, is there anything besides erasing the killings that would make you accept them as a couple?

[Apprentice79]

24 minutes ago, buffynut said:

Which makes me wonder... those of you who hate that Bo and Hope's daughter is dating a serial killer, is there anything besides erasing the killings that would make you accept them as a couple?

All they had to do was give Ben a twin brother. Plus, I feel that Ciara has been given awful writing since she was aged up. This is another installment.  Who is Ciara as a character? what does she want out of life.  The characters are so poorly developed. I knew who Hope was at her age.  I wish Ciara was in the  Kiriakis orbit challenging the men in her family for power, surprising Victor and horrifying Hope.  Their  mother/daughter conflict could have mirrored her own with Bo when he decided to live in the Kiriakis mansion and get close to Victor. 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Apprentice79

[TeeVee329]

23 minutes ago, Apprentice79 said:

All they had to do was give Ben a twin brother. Plus, I feel that Ciara has been given awful writing since she was aged up. This is another installment.  Who is Ciara as a character? what does she want out of life.  The characters are so poorly developed. I knew who Hope was at her age.  I wish Ciara was in the  Kiriakis orbit challenging the men in her family for power, surprising Victor and horrifying Hope.  Their  mother/daughter conflict could have mirrored her own with Bo when he decided to live in the Kiriakis mansion. 

I agree that Ciara needs some fleshing out, but I don't think everything she does has to reflect something Bo and/or Hope did back in the '80s or whatever.  I think soaps rely on that too much.

ETA...The show got renewed.  So we still have three soaps and whatever "General Hospital" thinks it's doing.

Edited January 8, 2019 by TeeVee329

[Chick2Chic]