Episode Discussion: TFGH

[TeeVee329]

Patricia seemed shocked by that when Bobbie mentioned it so she may not have known what dear old Aunt Ruby was up to.  

 

Luke was the one who asked if she knew, Bobbie was all, "No worries, living in a whorehouse was totes fine, Pat!".  Ugh.

[texastornado]

Tee Vee, you owe me a Coke:)

[HeatLifer]

Patrick and Liz are the worst friends.

"Oh, you're moving in with Sam!? How lovely!!"

"Ric's jealously is awesome and Ric is awesome!"

[peachmangosteen]

My fave part of this ep was Dante's annoyed and exasperated look when Luke stopped to talk to Lucas and Carly. He's juts so fucking done with this bunch. As he should be.

 

I like Sam and Ric together. It's fun.

 

I missed like 20 minutes in the middle and I was super OK with it. This ep was pretty boring.

Edited April 2, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Sake614]

Yeah I don't know who the 'we' is that Geary refers to, but I don't know anyone who forgave Luke for making roadkill out of his grandson.

[OnceSane]

So this past year of fuckery was all Pat's fault? Trust Ron to blame it all on a woman.

[ulkis]

I missed it - did Patricia say why she didn't go with Luke and Bobbie to Ruby's?

Edited April 2, 2015 by ulkis

[OnceSane]

I missed it - did Patricia say why she didn't go with Luke and Bobbie to Ruby's?

She was afraid her presence would lead Luke to remember what he did. So she sent them to Florida and she moved to Pennsylvania.

Edited April 2, 2015 by OnceSane

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Luke was the one who asked if she knew, Bobbie was all, "No worries, living in a whorehouse was totes fine, Pat!".  Ugh.

 

Well, that was why Carly was originally all mad at Bobbie, 'cause she didn't get to grow up among hookers, so.....

[Bringonthedrama]

My favorite part was Bobbie saying their life with Ruby was "unconventional."  Interesting euphemism for teen prostitution. So Pat died of heart failure without even getting that detail, or that the loud-mouthed blonde headed their way is a result of that "unconventional" upbringing. Is it too much to ask that if Pat had to die, it was as a result of meeting her niece, Carly?

 Pat: "You seem a little old to be Barbara Jean's child - who's your father?" 

Carly: "Oh, she had me when she was a teen-ager. One of the johns was my father. The bitch gave me up for adoption, so 20 some years ago I tracked her down and slept with her husband. It's all good now! Nice to meet you, it's cool to have a new aunt."

Pat: ......

[cmahorror]

Okay, finally catching up on the past two days and every time they said something about Luke being at the Elm Street house all I could think was where is Freddy Krueger when you need him?

 

Is that wrong because, if so, I don't want to be right.

 

Dee Wallace absolutely killed it but I really didn't have any doubts - she consistently gives great performances, in even the most mediocre stuff.

Edited April 2, 2015 by cmahorror

[sacrebleu]

Aw FFS, did Luke actually call Carly strong and beautiful (what, are we waiting until tomorrow to hear him say she 'loves with her whole heart')

[dubbel zout]

My favorite part was Bobbie saying their life with Ruby was "unconventional."  Interesting euphemism for teen prostitution.

 

I was kind of okay with this, under these particular circumstances. A terrible thing happened, and Pat did what she thought was best. She feels bad enough the way it is. Why make her feel even worse? They were all kids.

 

I had to laugh at Valerie's exasperation with everyone, and Lulu's shirtiness at Valerie. And then the whole "Oh, noes! You can't arrest Luke!" chorus. At least Dante didn't fold and insisted on handcuffs. 

 

Since when does Carly ever need Luke? Since when does she care about being a Spencer? And her comforting Valerie was really WTF. 

 

LOL that Hayden rather smugly asked Jake if he had dreamed of asking Liz to move in, and it turned out it was Sam. And gross at how eager Hayden was to sleep with Jake.

 

Ugh, tomorrow: "Camwon wuined my life!"

Edited April 2, 2015 by dubbel zout

[backbiter]

I just caught up on the last two episodes. Whew! I bet Tracy never sends Luke to the boathouse on raccoon duty ever again.

[backhometome]

Lulu, shut the fuck up. God, I wanted Valerie to punch her in the face. I hate Lulu in her defend-daddy-at-all-costs mode. 

[ulkis]

Lulu, shut the fuck up. God, I wanted Valerie to punch her in the face. I hate Lulu in her defend-daddy-at-all-costs mode. 

 

I was annoyed at her, but Bobbie and Tracy were just as bad. Tracy and her wide opened mouth gaping when Dante said he still wanted to arrest Luke was ridiculous and I don't remember the last time I wanted to shake her so bad.

[Turtle]

HAHAHAHAHAHA, Jake is "dead to the world!" Haha- get it?? Dead, to the world, because he's actually Jason and everyone thinks he's dead? Get it?!?!?!?

I never fast forward this show. That's not hyperbole- I don't do it. I watch every episode start to finish, although if asked why, I couldn't tell you; I just don't fast forward. Until today. Couldn't get Tivo to go fast enough through almost all of the Luke stuff. I did catch a bit of one scene where he was talking about trying to kill Lucas. Interesting that he remembers everything, and is now all affectionate and apologetic. And by "interesting" I mean "nonsensical and stupid." Then the President came on, and so I ended up watching about five minutes of actual show. So, Pat's dead? Wrong dead Spencer, show!

Excellent suggestions for my new words! I may start saying "I'm trying to Chaplin this, and I just can't make it work" when I'm trying to apply logic to some of this crap. But it's hard to decide- they were all great ideas.

How about just the classic FrankenRon? Like, oh don't be a silly FrankenRon? Or 'You just FrankenRonned the shit out of that'?

But, wouldn't trying to make sense of this show be the *opposite* of FrankenRonning it? :-)

[KerleyQ]

When Carly walked in with Lucas, I cringed.  How many fucking stories is Carly going to get shoved into?  And her comforting Valerie was just GARBAGE. That ain't Carly. Carly doesn't do anything like that for FREE.  Ugh, at least this whole stupid story feels finished.

 

And then we had the hideousness that was the Luke/Carly exchange.  I can't even bring myself to quote it.  

[General Days]

I could never get over Liz even contemplating getting back with Ric after the panic room mess. Even if she forgave him, even if it was established he had a psychotic break and would never do anything that gross again.... it would just kill any sexual impulse for me.

The actor is a pretty, pretty man, but Ric as a character will always be icky panic room guy to me. Just no.

 

Right? I loved him on DOOL as Scotty Banning. I probably bowed out of GH during his first tenure, here, but even with the Satan beard, he's a pretty boy, but I know what he did to Carly (and yeah, I know, CARLY), but I don't ever want to see him in a room with a female I've ever liked for at least two seconds. This latest plot just makes me puke bile.

 

Unfortunately, it is for real.  I wish NB's mother would take a break from managing his twitter account and get the poor kid a speech therapist.  Maybe then the ridiculous dialog he's given would be understandable.

 

It takes some children many years to overcome speech impediments. I'm sure this child already has a speech therapist. None of my children had a lasting one, but my oldest child had a best friend who had to have his tonsils and adenoids removed, before the impediment could be fully addressed (and that was in the 4th grade, so we're talking NB's age). This is a pathology. In my opinion, it's not something to be mocked by full ass grown adults. A real little boy has a speech impediment. If he had a limp, would we mock that? If he were born missing limbs, would we mock that? Is this what we are? The actor is a 9 or 10 year old boy, ffs.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHA, Jake is "dead to the world!" Haha- get it?? Dead, to the world, because he's actually Jason and everyone thinks he's dead? Get it?!?!?!?

I never fast forward this show. That's not hyperbole- I don't do it. I watch every episode start to finish, although if asked why, I couldn't tell you; I just don't fast forward. Until today. Couldn't get Tivo to go fast enough through almost all of the Luke stuff. I did catch a bit of one scene where he was talking about trying to kill Lucas. Interesting that he remembers everything, and is now all affectionate and apologetic. And by "interesting" I mean "nonsensical and stupid." Then the President came on, and so I ended up watching about five minutes of actual show. So, Pat's dead? Wrong dead Spencer, show!

 

<3

 

Edited April 3, 2015 by General Days

[LeftPhalange]

HAHAHAHAHAHA, Jake is "dead to the world!" Haha- get it?? Dead, to the world, because he's actually Jason and everyone thinks he's dead? Get it?!?!?!?

 

I don't get it.

[General Days]

Seriously?

[DayPlayerAtKellys]

Who wants to take bets that the show won't be addressing Luke as drug dealer lacing cocaine with heroin and, by the way, killing Rafe... or are we supposed to forget all of that?

[Bringonthedrama]

I was kind of okay with this, under these particular circumstances. A terrible thing happened, and Pat did what she thought was best. She feels bad enough the way it is. Why make her feel even worse? They were all kids.

 

Oh yeah, it's totally understandable that Bobbie didn't want to make her much older, ill sister feel worse about a traumatic time in their lives. It's just that of all the words/PC terms she could have used to describe her life in Florida, the choice of "unconventional" makes me shake my head. I could understand it being applied to the life-on-the-run that Lucky had with Luke and Laura, or being home-schooled in a commune or something ... but not to making money for one's aunt by turning tricks at age 15 (?). Even "unique" could have worked in that conversation. 

[tvgoddess]

 

And gross at how eager Hayden was to sleep with Jake.

 

Really gross. And as it was mentioned upthread, she's willing to sleep with a total stranger for money. Hmm. And if I were Jake, I'd be asking her question after question after question, just to see if he could trip her up. He's so lackadaisical and ho-hum about the whole thing. WAKE UP, BILLY MILLER!

 

What a letdown after yesterday. So sad yet so predictable it went right back to being the same tripe it was before that fast. I missed the whole middle section, and quite honestly I have no desire to go watch it. Liked what I saw of Dante at the end. Pure BS that they killed off Patricia. How unnecessary. Will be somewhat interesting to see where Valerie goes from here. Do we know what she does for a living?

[Francie]

Spencer's back, complaining that Cam woo-ened his life while wearing a mini Phantom of the Opera mask.

 

Oh God, they're going to have Spencer perform "Music of the Night" at the Nurses Ball, aren't they?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren't they?

[General Days]

I do think that was what was going on though, BringOnTheDrama. Bobbi was being gentle with her ill, older sister.

[boes]

Can we come up with a name for the action of trying to make sense of this show when it goes totally off the rails?

 

 

Frons?  

 

LOL!!  Love you for that!  Frons....I wake up screaming.

 

 

Luke's father was Dabney Coleman???

 

Oh God, TOO FUNNY!!! 

 

I'm still catching up on all the comments since yesterday but I had to post about these two MOST EXCELLENT and funny comments.  

[ulkis]

Oh God, they're going to have Spencer perform "Music of the Night" at the Nurses Ball, aren't they?

 

I was thinking the theme song so they could get Emma in on it. Plus, it's not as long.

 

the sad thing is, I am not joking.

[Tiger]

Who wants to take bets that the show won't be addressing Luke as drug dealer lacing cocaine with heroin and, by the way, killing Rafe... or are we supposed to forget all of that?

I remember when Rafe first came on the show, I really liked the character and though JD was pretty good. And then it all went to hell. It was if after his first few days, JD forgot how to act and then he bedazzled himself . . . Honestly if Ron has forgotten he ever existed or that Luke killed him, I wouldn't exactly shed a tear.

The cocaine however must be dealt it. But it won't be.

[KerleyQ]

I didn't think it was possible, but today was worse writing for Liz than the bulk of Niz.  I refuse to hate the character, no matter what shit the show saddles her with, but, good Lord.  Don't have her bother to take a breath between Jake's "wife" showing up and her considering taking Ric back.  And, of course, it's solely so that, when the truth comes out that Ric hired Greenlee to pretend to be Jake's wife, Liz can get mad and dump him again.  

 

This stupid, stupid show.  

[Francie]

I was thinking the theme song so they could get Emma in on it. Plus, it's not as long.

 

the sad thing is, I am not joking.

Ha -- I kinda wasn't sure I was either. You're probably right, just so they can use that creepy organ music at the beginning.

 

Everyone, quick! Tweet and post on every GH-related board you know of that we've figured this out, and maybe Ron'll change it.  Or as I now say, he'll Bill Eckert it.  

[ulkis]

Ha -- I kinda wasn't sure I was either. You're probably right, just so they can use that creepy organ music at the beginning.

 

Everyone, quick! Tweet and post on every GH-related board you know of that we've figured this out, and maybe Ron'll change it.  Or as I now say, he'll Bill Eckert it.  

 

the phantom and Spencer are both murderous*, evil assholes who want everyone to feel sorry for them because their mom wasn't around, so really, it's appropriate Spencer play him

 

*fine. not YET in Spencer's case. But it's coming. and y'all know it!

[boes]

Aw FFS, did Luke actually call Carly strong and beautiful 

 

That's sorta like saying Mothra looks good while eating Tokyo.

[boes]

So now it's Tracy who has lost her mind?  With Lulu, that's a given. 

After all the crap he's pulled, she seriously thinks Dante should just say "It's all good" and let Luke walk?  When did she become a Corinthos?

 

Thank God for Dante.  I think he'll be very happy with Valerie.

Edited April 3, 2015 by boes

[ulkis]

So now it's Tracy who has lost her mind?  With Lulu, that's a given. 

After all the crap he's pulled, she seriously thinks Dante should just say "It's all good" and let Luke walk?  When did she become a Corinthos?

 

Thank God for Dante.  I think he'll be very happy with Valerie.

 

You're killin' me boes! If Dante's gonna have sex with anyone else, it should be Anna (sigh, pipe dream) or Jordan (the set up is better there - they can bond over being undercover cops and he can admire her as a single mother).

 

But seriously. Tracy has always been like this. I needed Lucky to bust in with his teary, red-rimmed eyes of judgement.

[boes]

You're killin' me boes! If Dante's gonna have sex with anyone else, it should be Anna (sigh, pipe dream) or Jordan (the set up is better there - they can bond over being undercover cops and he can admire her as a single mother).

 

But seriously. Tracy has always been like this. I needed Lucky to bust in with his teary, red-rimmed eyes of judgement.

 

You're right - it should be Anna.  But Show won't let us have nice things.  Show needs to make us pay for wanting them.  Besides, I think Ron has Anna marked for Spenthaw.  He needths a woman who can undawsthandth him.   Valerie is at least a step up from Maxie, who I'm sure Ron would stick Dante with, JUST to mess with us.

 

"Lucky to bust in with his teary, red-rimmed eyes of judgement."  AWK and EEK and OHGODPLEASENOOOOOO.  I'm still scarred by the River of Snot that flowed for weeks after Lucky found out Liz slept Count Dickolas.  It looked like Show had drilled for oil and struck the biggest mucus deposit ever found on earth.  How Jonathan managed to avoid hospitalization for dehydration after that was a miracle.  

[Bringonthedrama]

Speaking of Lucky, has Lulu mentioned talking to him about Luke? Or did I miss her side of a phone call with Lucky? It would be out of character for her not to reach out and beg him to come save, or help save, Dad. I remember how horrible she was to Lucky in the aftermath of little Jake's death. It was all about how much she needed her Daddy, and how she was counting on Lucky to bring him back.  

[twoods]

Skipped the last few episodes because from all your comments, it seemed like a waste of time. However, I did catch yesterday's episode and thought it was pretty great. I didn't FF any of it- riveting stuff. I don't know if it was because of the storyline or all the great acting (young Pat and Luke were terrific, and Laura Wright was great).

Today seems like another miss, especially with this Jake crap. Why does Sm keep talking about him? Why is Ric being character assassinated for Liz? Why did they kill Pat off so soon? I'm just waiting for my ragey Michael to come back before I start wasting my time on this crap. Just the thought of Spencer whining about Cam makes my blood boil- it's not worth it.

[TeeVee329]

So Pat died of heart failure without even getting that detail, or that the loud-mouthed blonde headed their way is a result of that "unconventional" upbringing.

 

Pat dying to escape ever having to talk to Carly is actually some logic I can get behind.

 

I dunno, I don't blame Bobbie for not being all, "Thanks a lot, Patricia, you bitch.  Thanks to you, I grew up in a whorehouse!".  Pat was a kid and she did what she thought was best and I think Bobbie made peace with that part of her life a long time ago.  But it would only be human for Bobbie to show SOME anger, SOME resentment that the course of her life was so drastically altered because of what Luke and Patricia did that night.  But I'm sure we're going to skip right over that so Bobbie et. al can insta-forgive everything that Luke did as Fluke.

 

For example, Bobbie being all, "Bygones!" about Luke's multiple attempts to kill Lucas was lame.  I liked how Lucas played it - wary, but willing to forgive if Luke put in the work and got better.

 

Relatedly, I'm now terrified that there's going to be a story where EVUL Valerie won't forgive Luke even though he was totes sick, you guys, and will blame her mom's death on him (which...partially true, if you ask me) and will seduce Dante for revenge or something.  Do not want.

Edited April 3, 2015 by TeeVee329

[Lillybee]

I think that Snarly may have had the town brain for the first half of the show because she wants Spin to investigate Hayden and then handed said brain over to Dante.

 

 I hope that Luke doesn't get a ride on the Franco train,"my mental illness made me do it. How can Tracy, Bobbie and Lulu all be so sure that Fluke is gone for good.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Lillybee

[WendyCR72]

Pat dying to escape ever having to talk to Carly is actually some logic I can get behind.

 

This is brilliant.

[jsbt]

Sooo I had bits and pieces but didn't get to watch all of Wednesday's show until tonight: 

 

I will say Laura Wright did a wonderful job outside her usual comfort zone, and those two kids playing Luke and Pat were very good and need contract roles - maybe Chloe Lanier (Pat) can be the elusive Christina Baldwin. I dunno who the other dude could play but he needs a part, though he is clearly not Frank and Ron's usual type. He was really heartbreaking. I thought a couple things were a bit campily directed, like Tim hitting Pat with this wide cartoonish swing, and Lena splayed out on the ground like Wile E. Coyote. But those two young actors were so good, as was Laura (and even TG), that it was genuinely wrenching and emotional to watch all the way through. It also helps that Frank Valentini actually let the family scenes play out over extended length, as opposed to constantly, frenetically cutting and cutting to different stories to keep 18-29s watching. It was not Shakespeare per se, or even Eastenders, but it was still harrowing family drama.

If it's true that Mark Teschner found and cast the kids solo (as in, sans Frank or Ron), maybe that's the difference on some of these hires. He used to have an excellent eye for talent. And Liz Korte, the last remaining pre-Ron scriptwriter, still can do some subtlety, though I think it could've been even better. I do wonder what this would have looked like if they'd still had Jill Mitwell to direct, who did so much great work at OLTL for decades. I am not sure if she's been blackballed, since she also returned to do PP's OLTL in 2013 (including the premiere episode which was nominated for an Emmy where GH was not).

Jackie Zeman has been doing a lot better performance-wise for awhile - she's gotten less scared to be subtler in her acting, more like how she used to be. She doesn't use the baby-voice and big eyes as much to try to overcome her surgical alterations, like she's been doing for five or six years now. I will always love her, and credit where it's due, she was very emotional on Wednesday's show, in tears even in just those exposition scenes with Dee Wallace. Jackie also, surprisingly at this juncture, out-acted TG some weeks back when Fluke was in jail, and he was howling and hamming it up. But Tony was pretty good, particularly as Luke, which I didn't expect. Dee Wallace really elevated both of the other Spencers.

 

Also: Jason Thompson, who has been putting in good work in the face of impossible story and character conditions for several years now, did an uncanny take on Steve Hardy and John Beradino. He had the authoritative voice and specific inflection down perfectly for a man who came on the show years after Beradino passed.

 

Still, what I'm left with is that they could've done so much of this sort of stuff without the ridiculous, terrible storyline that's surrounded it for over a year. It was a very well-done episode as a standalone hour divested of recent events, but it doesn't pay off quite right because it's connected to this terrible schlock where Luke has apparently been a psychotic, coke-snorting, pervy weekend crime boss for years. You could've done a lot of this without having to do the horrible Fluke/Luke rewrite, and it would've done less damage to the character of Luke. I don't mind what he did to his parents, I mind all the other nonsense.

[twoods]

I agree. The episode was great and made sense why Luke would be so screwed up, but it didn't explain why he was a drug dealer who was skeezy around young women. Total ret-Ron, which I hate.

Valerie and Dante would be pretty hot, but I don't want her to get all revengeful and become a home wrecker.

[WendyCR72]

Valerie and Dante would be pretty hot, but I don't want her to get all revengeful and become a home wrecker.

 

It's a cliché, naturally, but even so, I'm actually not against this. I know, I know, GH has few couples and good people. But for me, Lante are due some messiness. They have had it good for far longer than most couples have, and I think DZ/ER would be happy to have something meaty to play.

 

But that's just me.

[jsbt]

I'm not against the pairing either. I do think turning Valerie into a vengeful vixen is a tacky and unnecessary angle.

[TeeVee329]

I'm not against the pairing either. I do think turning Valerie into a vengeful vixen is a tacky and unnecessary angle.

 

Agreed.  Wouldn't it be a nice change of pace for Ron to introduce a female character who isn't a scheming bitch for once?

[Oracle42]

Or even one who has a job. 

 

I mean, Kate had a whole career before RC gave her DID, made her a rape victim and killed her off but I can't think of any other women who work

[ulkis]

But for me, Lante are due some messiness. They have had it good for far longer than most couples have, and I think DZ/ER would be happy to have something meaty to play.

But that's just me.

To be honest, I don't care what actors want. They always want what's fun for them and not best for the story. I'm not saying I blame them. Just that's what it usually is. And in the long run, leads to crap like this Fluke story.

And certainly you'd never catch me saying Lante haven't had it good for a soap couple. (Search in the archives, I swear I haven't said that :) )

That said, I'm against Valerie for shallow reasons: she has Britt syndrome: gorgeous face, really distracting teeth.

I'd rather Dante, Lulu, Olivia, and Luke just leave the show, to be honest part 2. Without Lucky and Laura anyway Luke's side of the family feels thin and disjointed.

Like I said, I'd rather have Anne or Jordan. But like boes said, Valerie is better than Maxie.

Edited April 3, 2015 by ulkis

[sunnyface]

I'd rather Dante, Lulu, Olivia, and Luke just leave the show, to be honest part 2. Without Lucky and Laura anyway Luke's side of the family feels thin and disjointed.

 

 

You might as well have Tracy join them and she's pretty much the only character (when not screaming) that I enjoy watching on this soap with RC/FV at the helm.

My only condition would be that Sonny, Franco, Jason, Spinelli, Maxie, Morgan and Kiki would also have to exit.  The only characters that RC/FV could add would have to be on the medical staff and the actors would have to be much more competent in their acting chops than the Felix/Sabrina crapfest.  No more mob, and no more kids except on X-Mas. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

It's a cliché, naturally, but even so, I'm actually not against this. I know, I know, GH has few couples and good people. But for me, Lante are due some messiness. They have had it good for far longer than most couples have, and I think DZ/ER would be happy to have something meaty to play.

 

But that's just me.

 

 

They can have 'messiness' without bringing infidelity into it.  The messiness can be the arrest of Luke, and Dante wanting Luke to pay for his crimes, while Lulu is against it. External problem. Messiness. Done.

 

If every couple had infidelities and marriages broke up, because being married and happy is "boring" then we wouldn't have history, or matriarchs and patriarchs like we did for many, many years up until the last 20 years or so.

 

In my opinion.