Episode Discussion: TFGH

[ulkis]

Word. I feel bad for their fans, tbh. Cheating isn't a big deal on soaps, but to have it written this shoddily is a whole other story.

That's right! Pity me!

But I KNEW it was gonna be this way. I knew it would be shoddy and they would slap them back together. But even my cynical self did not think they would make Dante THAT douchey.

Edited March 8, 2016 by ulkis

[dubbel zout]

Today I really LIKED the Q drama.

 

I thought it was pretty good, too, considering the show's terrible writing of medical problems. The personal side of it is well done, so far.

 

The actor who plays Baxter Corbin is also the Settler from DirecTV ads. Hee. LOL that Sam just happens to have a flattering photo of Rebecca Budig on her phone.

 

Someone needs to explain to Rebecca Budig that if she inscribes a first edition Great Gatsby, its value plummets.

 

Dante and Lulu are dumbfounded they're divorced. FFS. What did they think signing the papers meant? This story is SO DUMB.

 

I can't with Carly (and to a lesser degree, Sonny) regretting her choices. Too late, lady. Waaaaaay too late. The music cues were ridiculous. And this business about Port Charles being worse off without him? Maybe that would finally solve the eternal conflict of interest that's rampant throughout the PCPD and court system.

[KerleyQ]

That's right! Pity me!

But I KNEW it was gonna be this way. I knew it would be shoddy and they would slap them back together. But even my cynical self did not think they would make Dante THAT douchey.

 

Right?  I mean, I figured they wouldn't dirty Dante up too much, since he has both a penis and Corinthos DNA, so the fact that he became such a douchebag in this story was surprising.  But, I think the most disturbing part is that this shit is written by women, and I don't get the impression that they think we're supposed to see him as the douchebag that he's been in this story.  It's all "Lulu lied," and "Lulu couldn't get over it quickly enough," and "Lulu endangered Valerie with her reckless revenge plot with the criminal!"  

[dubbel zout]

We're supposed to think, "What other choice did he have? Valerie was there, and Lulu lied!"

 

Gah.

[HeatLifer]

I don't get the impression that they think we're supposed to see him as the douchebag

This? Used to only apply to a select few. Since Ron took over and now with Jelly, this applies to nearly every character. And that's not a good thing.

[LeftPhalange]

I'm really surprised Val didn't get pregnant and then get into an argument with Lulu and have a miscarriage. Now that they've been rushed back together I wonder how long it will be until they write her out. 

[mybabyaidan]

LOL that Sam just happens to have a flattering photo of Rebecca Budig on her phone.

 

 

Not to mention who goes around showing pictures of their "friends" instead of you know....saying their whole name?   Baxter should have been like, Rachel who?? 

 

I thought he called Hayden when he excused himself, but her reaction to seeing Sam with him indicates it was not her.  I wonder who he called? 

 

I liked the Tracy/Monica stuff today.  Zoned out during Lante, liked CarSon for Laura Wright...she is always stellar, and she was pretty great today with some crap dialogue.

[Kitty Redstone]

These idiots can't even write believable book nerds.  It would take five minutes of research to learn that people who care about old and valuable books don't ruin them with inscriptions.

 

So Sonny is the savior of Port Charles, huh?  I am so tired of this show trying to have it both ways with this mother fucker.  How is it that he's able to keep people who are ten times worse than him out of Port Charles without being even more violent than they are?  And how is he able to stay the most powerful mobster on the eastern seaboard without running guns, drugs, and prostitution?  And how does idiot Carly expect her disgusting husband to keep his bidness without guns?  It's stupid and insulting that these two are the center of the show. 

 

And with that I'm officially done.  Sonny and Carly have broken me AGAIN.  Fuck off FV, SA, JP and anyone else past or present responsible for this shit.

[Broken Ox]

I thought he called Hayden when he excused himself, but her reaction to seeing Sam with him indicates it was not her.  I wonder who he called? 

Didn't he call someone after he saw her in Vegas? "You'll never guess who I just ran in to..." I assumed that person, but can't say I'm that interested in who that might be.

[P3pp3rb1rd]

Tracy's condition sounds pretty dire. You don't suppose she will get surgery and then be magically retconned into PollyAnna Goody Two-Shoes? All along, have her lesions been making her so mean?

 

I researched brain lesions a bit online and discovered more causes than you can shake a stick at. Can be genetic, induced by lyme disease, ticks, multiple sclerosis, encephilitis, trauma (e.g., falling downstairs), West Nile virus, amoebas, blood vessel mutation, infections, radiation, HIV, and some blame cell phones. That's just a sampling. Can be benign or cancerous.

 

So my point is, the writers have given a very wide range of potential circumstances why Tracy has the lesions and what was the cause. It could even have been a bad batch or two of pica-lila relish from Lila's recipe.

Olivia should just SFU. I'm so tired of her snooping, checking, pontificating on the Lante marriage. Her curiosity is ugly and invasive. I wish Lulu wouldn't fall for it so easily.

[ulkis]

I feel like maybe the logic they're trying to twist by saying Lulu is mostly to blame is their reaction to fans being mad they turned Dante into a douche. Like, "okay, we hear you, nothing is his fault!"

I feel like a bad fan, but I couldn't even bring myself to watch those scenes. I find the sweeping it under the rug so embarassing, and Lulu once again having to do most of the work.

I feel like Olivia popped up to fulfill a contract minimum.

Baxter looked like a real doof.

Curtis and Rebecca Budig have chemistry. They should hook up, I don't think Nik has ever lost a woman to another man (yeah there was Soily but I think Nik cheated with Courtney first) and he needs that kick in the ego.

Laura Wright was good but Carly is an idiot.

[tvgoddess]

 

Olivia should just SFU. I'm so tired of her snooping, checking, pontificating on the Lante marriage. Her curiosity is ugly and invasive. I wish Lulu wouldn't fall for it so easily.

 

This was the only part of the show I could actually focus on that took my mind off of the hideous SCarly scenes. Please get Liv a guy. I cannot take any more of her intrusiveness into her son's and her son's father's lives. Although the moment towards the end between her and Lulu was kind of sweet. This show never knows when enough is enough or too little.

 

The only thing that brought me joy was Hayden shading Liz, but even that was muted.

 

Please tell me there is something, ANYTHING, to look forward to on this crapfest.

[ulkis]

Ned?

[rur]

Someone needs to explain to Rebecca Budig that if she inscribes a first edition Great Gatsby, its value plummets.

 

Not only that, but I'm not sure I'd want to identify myself as "Daisy" -- from the book . . . "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made"

 

If this were a better written show, I'd think that the careless destruction idea was both foreshadowing of what was going to happen to Nik and an overarching theme for a lot of the other WTFery on the show (Sonny and Carly, for example).

 

But I'm afraid that somebody thought it would be "romantic" and thought no further. About anything.

[tvgoddess]

Word. I feel bad for their fans, tbh. Cheating isn't a big deal on soaps, but to have it written this shoddily is a whole other story.

 

Their fans on Twitter don't seem to mind if it's written poorly. They just want Lante back together. They're thanking Frank, so yeah.

[Asp Burger]

I'm not sure I'd want to identify myself as "Daisy" -- from the book . . . "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made" [...] But I'm afraid that somebody thought it would be "romantic" and thought no further.

 

Nikolas does have a lot in common with Tom Buchanan (and absolutely nothing with Gatsby). Both Nikolas and Tom are privileged scions of old-money families. Even readers of that book who find something romantic about it surely don't find Daisy and Tom a romantic couple. He has a mistress in town, he physically abuses both her and his wife, he's a bully in his dealings with men and women, and his idea of suitable light conversation with friends is expounding on his white-supremacist views. What a catch.  

 

But yeah, Daisy proves herself scarcely better.

 

I like Rebecca Budig in this role, despite everything. 

[NutmegsDad]

Sonny is the only thing to keep Port Charles from turning into 1993 Sarajevo?

 

Keep believing that, Show.....

[33kaitykaity]

I'm really surprised Val didn't get pregnant and then get into an argument with Lulu and have a miscarriage. Now that they've been rushed back together I wonder how long it will be until they write her out. 

Now that you mention it, the, cough, writers fell down on their soap-troping.  Dante should've inherited his Daddy's magic peen.  Every woman Sonny fucks seems to get pregnant (except Kannie).  

[IWantCandy71]

Honestly, when I think of The Great Gatsby, I think of unsavory, selfish, disloyal, unlikeable characters. It's a classic, but.....most classics IMO have that in common-there is at least one major character, who ISN'T a "villain", but is sketchy or downright loathsome.

But doesn't that describe pretty much everyone in town these days? With a few exceptions, and the exceptions are the most vanilla characters.

I don't think we really have any *interesting*, and at the same time, *likeable* characters. Russell Crowe once had a wonderful quote about playing parts, and I'm probably going to mangle it if I tried to repeat it. But the summary of it was that as an actor, he didn't really care if the character he was playing was likeable, nor did he really care if the audience liked the character, because making the audience like the character wasn't his job.

His job was just to play the character to the best of his ability.

I have several characters I LOVE on this show, but are they likeable? NOPE. And honestly, I think again, that's true of most of them. I can't say I'd particularly want any of them as a friend if they were real. Perhaps Nathan or Mac, but again...vanilla city.

 

I don't know how the actors are paid, but you would think, if they are paid by episode guarantee, that the minutes per episode would be pretty evenly split, unless one story is just starting, or they are trying to wrap it up. If it were Sonny with the brain lesions, he'd be on four or five days a week and take up half an episode by himself.

 

Jane Elliot gets less than six minutes. It's ridiculous. If she were paid per scene, I'd understand it. But since I doubt that's the case, what's the deal? Would it really have killed TPTB to cut half of Sam's and Carly/Sonny's scenes? God knows enough of Jane scenes have been cut over the years. It's someone else's turn.

[peachmangosteen]

I feel like Olivia popped up to fulfill a contract minimum.

Every Olivia scene feels like that.

Curtis and Rebecca Budig have chemistry. They should hook up, I don't think Nik has ever lost a woman to another man (yeah there was Soily but I think Nik cheated with Courtney first) and he needs that kick in the ego.

Curtis and PuppyMonkeyBaby really do have chem. You could see it even in that tiny snippet in the promo. I would kill for a story where she falls for him and fucks Nik over.

Of all the awful and stupid things going on now, Hayden actually falling in love with Nik might be the worst.

[TeeVee329]

Of all the awful and stupid things going on now, [Rebecca Budig] actually falling in love with Nik might be the worst.

 

For me, it's just behind the show's narrative seemingly setting up Nikolas to be HER victim, that he wuvs her so and she's an evil bitch for scheming against him.  HE TRIED TO HAVE HER KILLED!

Edited March 8, 2016 by TeeVee329

[dubbel zout]

I feel like Olivia popped up to fulfill a contract minimum.

Every Olivia scene feels like that.

 

Olivia is the worst example of this, but it's getting this way for Michael, too, though he's integrated more smoothly into things.

 

For me, it's just behind the show's narrative seemingly setting up Nikolas to be HER victim, that he wuvs her so and she's an evil bitch for scheming against him.  HE TRIED TO HAVE HER KILLED!

 

Another entry on the endless list of the men never being at fault. Ugh.

Edited March 8, 2016 by dubbel zout

[sacrebleu]

 

I don't think Nik has ever lost a woman to another man.

*sigh* For one brief, shining moment, there was Quiz.  Nic chased after Liz, she chose AJ- then TPTB decided SK was too fat to be liked, loved or tolerated so they ruined his character, then killed him.

[IWantCandy71]

Romantic/sexual chemistry? I don't think there's any way they're pairing 49-year-old Easton with 69-year-old Elliot. If they did, it would be some lopsided story with Easton's character trying to give the dying old woman a little bit of happiness, while his heart is with some female cast member in her thirties.  

 

 

Oh, probably not. Which is sad when you consider that on this show, they pair men twelve plus years older than the women ALL the time, and the audience barely peeps about it.

Richard Burgi is fourteen/fifteen years older than MW, ME himself is nine/ten years older than KeMo, TG was fifteen/sixteen years older than GF, TR is eleven years older than FH, and fourteen years older than ES. Though the biggest age gap that comes to mind is between Sean and Tiffany(seventeen years !). The list goes on. I get that in society, we expect the women to be younger than the men, and it's some big sin(though most people won't admit it) for the woman to be older than her man. I also get that practically speaking, it's not likely that two people with twenty years between them are going to have much in common, but sometimes, they DO.

I'm not even saying I want to see a love scene. I don't care about those, never have. Nor do I think it would last long, or be some great love. I just want to see if GH has the stones to do it, and the ability to make it fun and do it well. I like stories that get out of the box and challenge the writers and the audience, and that would be one.

Even a strong friendship would be something different than a lot of the boring same old, same old most of this show is about.

Imagine that. A relationship with a man and woman that isn't about fanbase wars or sex, but about two people connecting.

I dare to dream.

Edited March 8, 2016 by IWantCandy71

[Oracle42]

There's Alexis/Julian and probably Anna/Andre

I'm not particularly invested in either but they're a thing

[IWantCandy71]

But Alexis (even though NLG is ten years older than WdV) is supposed to be younger than Julian, if only by a few years. I don't know how many years are between FH and the actor that plays Andre, I don't know his name. But you are right, I guess they could be considered a thing.

But only if the age difference is made an issue-as it should be, if it's realistic, and if they actually go "there".

Edited March 8, 2016 by IWantCandy71

[Oracle42]

True. I'm not actually interested in an older woman/younger man pairing just for the sake of having one; Alexis/Julian feels like condescending pandering to me. Their stories have rebounded between absurd and non-existent and their (decent) chemistry isn't enough to make the couple compelling

I'd rather see FH/ME working together, the Anna/McBain scenes were the only time I found him wholly engaging

[TeeVee329]

Nikolas calling off the investigation he should have done MONTHS ago?  He is too stupid to live.  Even if he hadn't TRIED TO HAVE HER KILLED, he'd still deserve everything he's got coming from Rebecca Budig.  Also, the show needs to shut the fuck up with these repeated mentions of Britt hurting Nikolas, like that's supposed to excuse all his douchey behavior.

 

The show seems like it might be nudging towards pairing Anna and Paul and I'm not feeling it.  Richard Burgi may be a better actor, but with regards to his story with Anna, Paul's just another Sloane, a tool who spent months manipulating her (and still is) and now wants to get in her pants.  Whatever, bro.

 

Looks like Lulu and Dante are getting out of that loft.  Gee, I wonder whose set house they'll end up getting.

[Bwill3133]

I'm over Dante and Lulu but moving out of that shoebox is progress for them. 

[HeatLifer]

Their fans on Twitter don't seem to mind if it's written poorly. They just want Lante back together. They're thanking Frank, so yeah.

I definitely understand why some fans just want their ship to be together and flowers and butterflies. On the other hand, I'm odd and love when my pairings are fighting or not getting along. GH is seriously lacking in delicious conflict and fire and angst. They've become a sitcom where everything is tied in a bow at the end of the hour. All the characters basically have free reign (or rein) to do whatever because there are no consequences.

Edited March 8, 2016 by HeatLifer

[ulkis]

Looks like Lulu and Dante are getting out of that loft.  Gee, I wonder whose set house they'll end up getting.

 

I hope they paint it grey. No, seriously. Well, kinda. Scrubs' house doesn't seem either of their style.

[dubbel zout]

Maybe Liz will get the Scrubs house; it's down the street from her pile of ashes, isn't it?

[HeatLifer]

I hope they paint it grey. No, seriously. Well, kinda. Scrubs' house doesn't seem either of their style.

Yeah, I think they should just redo the set. I don't get why some need Dante or Lulu to be like, "Let's move into Patrick and Robin's." They should get their own place.

[LexieLily]

What a great idea, Lulu, counseling for you and Dante. You know when that would have been an even better and more effective idea? Before you signed seperation papers and got divorced based mostly on hurt and anger.

[IWantCandy71]

True. I'm not actually interested in an older woman/younger man pairing just for the sake of having one; Alexis/Julian feels like condescending pandering to me. Their stories have rebounded between absurd and non-existent and their (decent) chemistry isn't enough to make the couple compelling

I'd rather see FH/ME working together, the Anna/McBain scenes were the only time I found him wholly engaging

 

 

Oh, I'm not interested in seeing ME/JE just because I'm interested in having an older woman/younger man thing. I just want him to get to interact with people he didn't really interact with before, and the main person that pops into my head that he didn't have interaction with during ANY of his stints, is JE. I can't recall a single one on one McBain/Silas/Caleb Tracy scene. I do agree he was interesting  as McBain with FH, but it doesn't sound like his character will even be in that direction. At the moment, Anna seems busy with Paul and Andre, but I have no idea if either one of them are going to turn out to pursue her romantically. I suppose if they don't, they may take a stab at pairing her with ME's new character.

 

ETA I forgot, I do think ME and JE interacted when Johnny framed her for Anthony's murder, but I really wasn't watching much then. I kinda skipped that whole Weekend at Bernie's plot point.

Edited March 8, 2016 by IWantCandy71

[LeftPhalange]

Nik deserves to lose everything. 

I wish Liez would STFU and mind her own business. 

[TeeVee329]

Yeah, I think they should just redo the set. I don't get why some need Dante or Lulu to be like, "Let's move into Patrick and Robin's." They should get their own place.

 

The only thing that makes me think they'll move into Robin and Patrick's actual house vs. redressing the set is that Anna at one point made noise about having to sell the house.  And she interacts with Dante so I could see it coming up in discussion.

 

I think Liz will be at Wyndemere until this Rebecca Budig shit wraps up, which, given how long it's been dragging out, should be Christmas 2017.

Edited March 8, 2016 by TeeVee329

[HeatLifer]

The only thing that makes me think they'll move into Robin and Patrick's actual house vs. redressing the set is that Anna at one point made noise about having to sell the house. And she interacts with Dante so I could see it coming up in discussion.

I think Liz will be at Wyndemere until this Rebecca Budig shit wraps up, which, given how long it's been dragging out, should be Christmas 2017.

I just think that's lazy on the show's part. Lante should get their very own home designed differently within that set. And not Scrubs' exact home.

[WendyCR72]

The Scrubs house talk is moot, I think, as I think it was mentioned that the set has been dismantled. If Dante/Lulu get a house, I bet it'll be a "new" set and not Scrubs'. (Probably recycling pieces from that set or something.)

[HeatLifer]

The Scrubs house talk is moot, I think, as I think it was mentioned that the set has been dismantled. If Dante/Lulu get a house, I bet it'll be a "new" set and not Scrubs'. (Probably recycling pieces from that set or something.)

Oh, good.

[TeeVee329]

I just think that's lazy on the show's part. Lante should get their very own home designed differently within that set. And not Scrubs' exact home.

 

Oh, I don't disagree.  Anna mentioning the house needed to be sold just stuck with me, because it's a real life detail soaps usually tend to ignore.

 

But if the set was dismantled, then it's a moo point (it's like a cow's opinion, it means nothing.  It's moo).

Edited March 8, 2016 by TeeVee329

[HeatLifer]

Oh, I don't disagree. Anna mentioning the house needed to be sold just stuck with me, because it's a real life detail soaps usually tend to ignore.

But if the set was dismantled, then it's a moo point (it's like a cow's opinion, it means nothing. It's moo).

#JOEY!

[Blackie]

I know this 'resolution" to Lante is stupid, but I am weak and I heart horny Dante  :)

[backhometome]

Why does Sam give Nik/Liez even a moment of her time. *sighs*

[Francie]

She looks like a younger Joan Rivers.

Tee shirts are available in the lobby. -m-l-xl, $19.99+ s&h.

Hold up. I have competition?!

[Francie]

Oh, I don't disagree. Anna mentioning the house needed to be sold just stuck with me, because it's a real life detail soaps usually tend to ignore.

But if the set was dismantled, then it's a moo point (it's like a cow's opinion, it means nothing. It's moo).

Thanks, Joey. Are you omnipotent, too?

[TeeVee329]

[ulkis]

Nikolas loves Hayden? Whaaa

I'm annoyed that Lante got divorced because it just seems like an excuse to do a vow renewal. Re-taping the original wedding would have annoyed me too but I think I would have preferred it. Of course if they did that I probably would have said vice versa lol.

I like Curtis and Hayden.

lol at Andre wore a jaunty hat after institutionalizing Morgan.

The show asking me to pity off screen Spencer is as annoying as asking me to pity the on screen version.

Nik: I love you. You're my wife.

That means zero coming from Nik. I mean it also does from other people but from Nik it's even more of a pile of b.s.

If Lulu had slept with Johnny or even dimestore it would feel much more even handed.

Anna: I think we feel a mutual respect for one another Sonny

:(

[fishcakes]

Curtis and Hayden do have chemistry, but so do Curtis and Jordan. I think they're headed down the road to hate-sex, which I'm not looking forward to. I'd rather they just hash out whatever problems they have and become more like siblings. There aren't enough platonic relationships on the show.

 

Hayden's idiotic inscription made me crazy, but before Nik read it, I amused myself by thinking that she'd written, "START OF BOOK."

 

Carly and Sonny's conversation was maddening, but I'm sorry the bit about how could they pleeease not use guns all the time was hilarious. Like, sure, let's have a mob war using Nerf bats.

 

I am trying to be on Liz's side now that she's all broken and pitiful and (intermittently) remorseful, but all her busybody nonsense is making it difficult. In the first place, I don't believe she cares as much about Spencer being hurt as she cares about Nik being in love with someone other than her. Girl is a dog in the manger when it comes to Nik. And even if she were worried about Spencer, that needs to take a back seat to the fact that she has three kids and no house. Maybe instead of chasing Sam down at The Floating Rib to talk about Nik, she should be chasing down the insurance adjuster to talk about cutting her a damn check.

[TeeVee329]

Anna: I think we feel a mutual respect for one another Sonny

:(

 

Oh ew, I guess that was in the previews?