Episode Discussion: TFGH

[Linny]

Julian's pushiness with Kim on the subject of Drew bothered me a lot, because it was so invasive and inappropriate. Not just because Drew and Sam have only been separated for about ten minutes, but also because Drew isn't some prize waiting to be scooped up by the highest bidder. I don't like the implication that just because Drew's not with Sam it automatically gives Kim a chance with him, without any consideration to Drew's feelings at all (because maybe he's not looking for any new relationship, with Kim or otherwise).

Drew is so good at nurturing; we've seen it when he's with the kids, during Franco's meltdown, and today with Betsy. BM conveys a calmness and stability that feels really natural, and I liked how Drew intuitively knew how to get through to Betsy.

Wow, for once Jake actually gloated about being the chosen one. I don't know whether to chalk that up as a realistic portrayal of sibling rivalry or if it's a wink and a nod from the show acknowledging Jake's favoritism. Whatever, he can brag all day long about getting the bulk of Liz's love and attention, at least Conan and Austin live a life mostly free from peril. 

[rur]

38 minutes ago, BlancheDevoreaux said:

Are we supposed to be on Kiki's side here?  Because I really think she is coming across as a ridiculous bitch.  The doctor made a pass at her, she rejected him, he has apologized and took no for an answer.  She continues to tell him he is absolutely terrible and that he is going to be reported.  Calm down, Keeks.

I'd agree with you, except for the look on his face near the end of the episode. There's more to come there, I'm sure.

 

Quote

And we aren't supposed to like Julian, right?  Because, aside from his stupid "Ted" joke, he seems to be the most mature of the adults on the show right now.  He understands the complication with Kim and Drew and wants to make sure everything is settled there before jumping into a relationship. He puts up with Molly being a royal bitch to him and hasn't banned her from his establishment which I think shows great restraint on his part, he is trying to move on with his life while his ex-wife shows up at his pub constantly with another guy because... reasons.  Goodness help me, I'm like the Jerome family much more than I will ever like Sonny, King of GH, Michael, the crowned princess, and her royal highness Carly. 

I like Julian because he's not Sonny and because I'm secretly hoping he'll turn out to be working for the WSB or something.

 

But I do have a question. IIRC, people started going to that bar before he bought it because it was out of town and no one would see them there,  and it also happened to be across the street from a Notell Motel. Did it get transported through the wormhole? Now Molly and TJ live across the street, it's in a section of Port Chuck with a history, and it's apparently on the way home from the hospital. 

[ulkis]

I think, much like me, Julian keeps forgetting Sam is supposed to be his daughter.

[LexieLily]

Franco was sexually assaulted by Jim Harvey. That is very bad but I hope this isn't attempt number #23 to redeem him of his actions. Not only does the sexual molestation excuse contradict with the tumor excuse but it also makes it even more repugnant that he put multiple of his victims through the same or similar types of torture he went through. They can write it as perpetuating the cycle but so far most/all of Franco's in-show victims have been male. Sam and Lulu and even Joss were tragic collateral damage of Franco's twisted obsession with Jason. He had Michael raped in prison. He stole a newborn Aiden from the nursery. Franco is now dating/engaged to a woman that has three small children, all boys. I'm sure the writers didn't think of "what's to stop Franco from continuing the abuse-at-home cycle."  

[YaddaYadda]

Are we dealing with two sexual predators? Because this is a bit much. I totally bought Dr. Bensch's schtick until he creepily listened to Kiki's message, then saved it. It was so gross and so damn creepy, I felt I needed to take a shower.

Why did Jim Harvey even come back to PC and why in the world would he threaten Liz and her kid? The bad guys are so dumb, unless they're Sonny and Jason, in which case, they're super smart.

Julian's chat with Kim? Creepy. Drew doesn't remember Kim and she actually has boundaries, unlike other characters. Let's not change that. I also really can't stand Oscar.

[statsgirl]

Julian asking Kim if she's sure she's available for a relationship with him parallels Alexis asking Anna if Finn is available for a relationship with her. For that reason, as well as the very creepy look JdP gave as he saved the recording of Kiki's message, I can see that there are two abuse storylines. 

Nice to see Jake with his  father-figures, Drew and Franco. Poor kid.

There's a nice contrast between Jason and Drew in the "looking for Henrik/origins" storylines.  Jason is all about finding Henrik and killing, Drew is sweet comforting Betsy.

In the "you get an Emmy storyline, and you get an Emmy storyline, and you get an Emmy storyline", that was nice work by RoHo during the hypnosis.  I wish the hypnosis session were more realistic, but at least it wasn't too impossible.

Kudos to the writer who wrote Franco saying on Tuesday "I know what I need to do to get better. But I don't want to do it." That was realistic.

6 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

In Baby Swap 2018 news, I noticed in the Maxie/Chase scene from the other day that Maxie doesn't know the sex of the baby and has no real desire to learn it, which would certainly make it easier for a child to be swapped in or out of her arms.

Didn't Maxie has a blood test to see if the baby carries the HD gene?  That would show the sex, as well as being definitive proof of identity if needed later.

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, rur said:

But I do have a question. IIRC, people started going to that bar before he bought it because it was out of town and no one would see them there,  and it also happened to be across the street from a Notell Motel.

No, that was Gene’s Bransford Grill (est. 1985) that was in the boonies. So of course everyone ended there.

[ulkis]

I love how Nelle has a hat on in the previews. Only leaves about ten feet of her hair sticking out.

[fishcakes]

20 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Mike was regretting that he couldn't tell Avery and Michael's kid stories, and Michael says there might be a way. Cut to Michael having some tech and Sonny saying, "What's all this about?" Really? He couldn't figure it out? LOL.

That was hilarious. "It's a phone that you can use to make videos." Don't worry, Sonny, you're safe and sound here in good old 2007.

Sonny's flashes of anger at Mike don't bother me that much because that's a common reaction from family members of dementia patients; Sonny is not being uniquely terrible in this regard. It's just easier to be angry than to feel grief about what's being lost. Eventually family members figure out why they're so damned mad all the time and then they have to deal with the guilt of having lashed out, but eventually come to some kind of acceptance and stop being assholes to the person who can't help it. This is the kind of story that a soap is uniquely positioned to tell because it's a long story, so I wish they weren't doing it at a lightning pace. They're so frakking slow with everything else (like, could we get on with this Nelle nonsense already?), and an Alzheimer's story should take a couple of years at a minimum, but at the rate they're going, Mike is going to be non-verbal by summer and dead by fall.

I don't think I can deal with the inevitable revelation that Bobby sacrificed himself to save Andy. It's so gross the way they keep trying to convince us that Franco = Hero.

[Bringonthedrama]

On 4/4/2018 at 7:45 PM, MissL said:

.  Liz always gets stuck in the "defending her man beyond all reason" stories.  And of course Jason is always right. My poor girl Liz.  

Jason ended up being wrong about AJ, which is why I wish Elizabeth or someone would bring up to him that while he was gone, Liz and AJ started a promising romance and Michael formed a great relationship with him - which ended abruptly when Sonny shot him at point blank range while AJ was unarmed.  That someone could throw in that Jason is wrong about Carly learning from her mistakes; her choosing to marry Sonny yet again after being shot in the head by him and Michael being shot in the head because of him (not to mention all the other incidents) proves she has learned nothing.

[Sake614]

When did Drew become the love of Kim’s life? Didn’t she say they only knew each other for a couple of months before  he deployed and then she found out she was pregnant? I get Oscar wanting a real family unit but they’re laying it on a bit thick, aren’t they? Drew certainly hasn’t shown that he’s even remotely interested in Kim. 

[Hater]

1 minute ago, Sake614 said:

When did Drew become the love of Kim’s life? Didn’t she say they only knew each other for a couple of months before  he deployed and then she found out she was pregnant? I get Oscar wanting a real family unit but they’re laying it on a bit thick, aren’t they? Drew certainly hasn’t shown that he’s even remotely interested in Kim. 

It's so heavy handed.  My guess is Kim was hiding the extent of their relationship if they rewrite it.  But the writers are clearly not subtle.

[Cheyanne11]

OMG, I have really had enough of the Great Teenage Love Saga of Oscar and Josslyn.  The former is someone I have zero attachment to and the latter has turned into a Carly Jr. and that's something the show really doesn't need.

Billy Miller really impressed me today.  The longer he plays Drew, the more it shows how wrong a fit he was for Jason (which he'd still be playing had SBu not come crawling back).

Re: Kiki/Bensch.  I don't feel bad for him in the least.  He's saying ALL the things an asshole predator/harasser says--blaming Kiki for sending out mixed signals (she didn't) and putting on the whole talking her up like he only ever had HER best interests at heart.  The fact he kept that ambiguous voicemail tells me all I need to know, that being he'll try it again and if Kiki balks, he'll threaten her by saying he has a recording that sounds like they have a mutual relationship.

[dubbel zout]

Oscar stuffing his face with the entire Kelly's menu was very accurately teenage boy to me. Hee.

4 minutes ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Re: Kiki/Bensch.  I don't feel bad for him in the least.  He's saying ALL the things an asshole predator/harasser says--blaming Kiki for sending out mixed signals (she didn't) and putting on the whole talking her up like he only ever had HER best interests at heart.  The fact he kept that ambiguous voicemail tells me all I need to know, that being he'll try it again and if Kiki balks, he'll threaten her by saying he has a recording that sounds like they have a mutual relationship.

I don't think Lauren overreacted to Dr. Bensch at all. Historically, that's what women were told when someone behaved badly toward them: They misunderstood; it was all in their head; they were hysterical, etc. Bensch can suck it.

16 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

When did Drew become the love of Kim’s life?

Those were Joss's words, not Kim's. Kim said she'd never felt the kind of love she had for Drew, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was the love of her life. It also seems like she hasn't had all that many boyfriends, which makes sense given she was becoming a doctor and was also a single mom.

It was a relief to not watch Sonny yell at his ailing father.

[ciarra]

Michael and Nelle are really the Sonny and Carly story all over again.  The women embarrass themselves crawling after men who don't want them and treat them like dirt. 

Please Kevin, hypnotize Franco into stopping breathing. 

Great meeting in a public place, but how does Kiki know that Dr. Creepy won't follow her out of Kelly's?  It's unfortunate she has no friends to talk to. 

Which man is going to save Liz and her kid?  Drew or Franco?

[P3pp3rb1rd]

7 hours ago, statsgirl said:

...that was nice work by RoHo during the hypnosis.  I wish the hypnosis session were more realistic, but at least it wasn't too impossible.

I thought Roho's acting was lame and over dramatic and cheesy. Dr. Collins was playing to be professional while Franco/RoHo was hamming it up.

[sunnyface]

Quote

Great meeting in a public place, but how does Kiki know that Dr. Creepy won't follow her out of Kelly's?  It's unfortunate she has no friends to talk to. 

All she has to do is tell her mother and step-dad Franco and Dr. Creepy won't be doing much following or much of anything else on this side of the daisies.  Then again, maybe we'll be treated to more of the Griffin's inappropriate tears (while that probably has to do with the lights on the set). 

[truthaboutluv]

12 hours ago, Hater said:

It's so heavy handed.  My guess is Kim was hiding the extent of their relationship if they rewrite it.  But the writers are clearly not subtle.

Yeah I think that's exactly where they're going to go with this. When Kim first spoke to Drew and Sam about Oscar, she gave the impression the relationship was a casual one, since they were both aware he'd be leaving for his SEAL mission in three months. I'm sure that now that the writers are heading down this path, we'll find out that she lied and downplayed it so as to not make him uncomfortable, especially since he was with Sam and didn't remember a single thing about her.

I don't think they'll make it seem like she was trying to be a bad person but just trying to not make things more awkward for everyone. They haven't really showed enough of Drew and Kim together for me to say I get a good sense of their potential chemistry. But Billy is usually good at creating decent chemistry with most of his onscreen love interests, so I'm willing to see how this goes. I just hope they don't make her some obsessive psycho down the road if the writers decide to put him and Sam back together. I guess after (or if she ever) Sam has gotten past deciding which husband she wants to be with on any given day.

Edited April 6, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[rur]

17 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Franco was sexually assaulted by Jim Harvey. That is very bad but I hope this isn't attempt number #23 to redeem him of his actions. Not only does the sexual molestation excuse contradict with the tumor excuse but it also makes it even more repugnant that he put multiple of his victims through the same or similar types of torture he went through. They can write it as perpetuating the cycle but so far most/all of Franco's in-show victims have been male. Sam and Lulu and even Joss were tragic collateral damage of Franco's twisted obsession with Jason. He had Michael raped in prison. He stole a newborn Aiden from the nursery. Franco is now dating/engaged to a woman that has three small children, all boys. I'm sure the writers didn't think of "what's to stop Franco from continuing the abuse-at-home cycle."  

Franco's first words after hypnosis were "I'm going to kill Jim Harvey." And, to me at least, it wasn't said in the way angry people may say that but not mean it. It sounded sincere. So, once again, redemption failure. 

[BlancheDevoreaux]

11 hours ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Billy Miller really impressed me today.  The longer he plays Drew, the more it shows how wrong a fit he was for Jason (which he'd still be playing had SBu not come crawling back).

 

Completely agree. I didn't like him when he was Jason and I'm discovering just how much it is the character and not the actor.  I do like him as Drew.  

I think it will be interesting if we find out that Franco was protecting Drew when they were kids from being sexually assaulted by Jim Harvey.  It will make it interesting to see how he reacts to Franco after that.  Will they become friends?  Will Sam and Jason see that as "the ultimate betrayal"?

 

I am also over Joss and Oscar.  What is the story they are trying to tell her?  Unless Jax is on the screen, I couldn't care less about seeing Josselyn.  Oscar is cute enough with his parents but put him with Joss and I'm over it.  I'd much rather see more Molly and TJ... as long as Molly isn't freaking out on Julian for breathing. Actually, I'd be interested in more stories with the younger cast especially with them interacting.  It would be nice for them to get new nurse, possibly Amy if she isn't being terribly annoying, Michael, Molly, TJ, and some other 20somethings together for some stories that don't revolve around Sonny.  I think there is a hospital shown sometimes, right?  Maybe some stories taking place there would be nice.

[lala2]

I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I feel bad for Franco. I really enjoyed his scenes with Kevin though I wish he had been on a couch. It's clear he's been sexually abused. I can understand why this has been difficult for him to face. I'm hoping Drew finds him today, and Betsy finally spills the beans! 

And speaking of Drew, I really love how he has handled this situation with Sam. I loved everything he said yesterday to Elizabeth about it. 

[BlancheDevoreaux]

You aren't alone.  I, too, feel bad for Franco. And, while the character can get on my nerves, I've never disliked him as much as many on here seem to.  In all fairness, I wasn't watching during the James Franco years, so that could be why my opinion is what it is. 

[P3pp3rb1rd]

8 minutes ago, BlancheDevoreaux said:

You aren't alone.  I, too, feel bad for Franco. And, while the character can get on my nerves, I've never disliked him as much as many on here seem to.  In all fairness, I wasn't watching during the James Franco years, so that could be why my opinion is what it is. 

Many seem to dislike the character, and some dislike the actor. He's apparently an overprotected pet of the head writers who make failed excuses for the character's egregious crimes and an actor who can't resist teasing the audience with deliberately annoying acting tics and hammy acting choices.

23 minutes ago, lala2 said:

And speaking of Drew, I really love how he has handled this situation with Sam. I loved everything he said yesterday to Elizabeth about it. 

I would love to see weepy Sam choose Door #1 with Drew and then have him dump her for another woman AND sue for custody of their baby Scout. The icing on the cake would be for Jason to dump her too because Sonny is calling him.

[Cheyanne11]

1 hour ago, rur said:

Franco's first words after hypnosis were "I'm going to kill Jim Harvey." And, to me at least, it wasn't said in the way angry people may say that but not mean it. It sounded sincere. So, once again, redemption failure. 

Is it redemption fail?  Isn't that a not-unheard-of reaction to realizing you were sexually assaulted by some creep your Mom was dating, who, oh yeah, just tried to kill you to keep from remembering?   If he had been all "namaste, now I am at peace" I'd call foul, but not this reaction.

[TeeVee329]

Here's my question - who is this latest stab at Franco redemption for?  People who have accepted his previous redemption arcs don't need it, and people who still think he's a SERIAL KILLER who needs to stop eating on-screen (raises hand) aren't going to be won over no matter what the show does.

[LexieLily]

New viewers? Which I bet GH isn't getting many of these days.

I like how everyone in Port Charles is going along their merry way and living their lives exactly the same as they were, as though just surviving an earthquake didn't affect anyone at all.

[lala2]

2 hours ago, BlancheDevoreaux said:

You aren't alone.  I, too, feel bad for Franco. And, while the character can get on my nerves, I've never disliked him as much as many on here seem to.  In all fairness, I wasn't watching during the James Franco years, so that could be why my opinion is what it is. 

I'm happy to hear I'm not the only Franco fan in these parts. LOL! Yeah, I know many hate Franco, but I've never disliked the character. I even liked him when James Franco was in the role. Admittedly, I wasn't watching full time during JF's time on the show, but I did see Franco's worst acts (i.e., kidnapping Sam and Lulu (or was it Maxie) and putting them in rooms w/bombs or something, the Sam shower incident, and the whole Michael thing).  I just didn't take JF's Franco too seriously, so when they brought back the character, it didn't bother me. The tumor excuse was enough for me. I love RoHo. I wish he were still Todd Manning but what are you going to do? I'm fine w/him being Franco. I think he's done a good job w/the character, and I'm enjoying this storyline. 

 

22 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Here's my question - who is this latest stab at Franco redemption for?  People who have accepted his previous redemption arcs don't need it, and people who still think he's a SERIAL KILLER who needs to stop eating on-screen (raises hand) aren't going to be won over no matter what the show does.

I honestly don't think this is a redemption story b/c you're correct. As a Franco fan, I was fine when they told me he had a tumor, and as you point out, those who hate Franco will always hate him.

I think this is just a story they're telling. They're just fleshing out the character (Franco) and developing Drew's background.  It provides some explanation for Franco's Jason obsession when he was first introduced and why he may have committed some of the acts he did, but that's it.  I've never viewed this story as a way to get ppl to like Franco. He's been on the show for five years now. People either like them or they don't.

I could be wrong and have no actual data to support my theory, but I honestly think the larger audience - those who don't frequent message boards - likes ALL the characters on the show. It's hard for me to accept that Franco would be so largely hated by all the viewers and still be on the show. I understand FV may like Roger, but it makes no sense to keep him in a role that the wider, larger audience adamantly hates.  RoHo could always be a new character like ME.  I'm more inclined to believe that the general audience accepts Franco and most of the characters on this show.

1 hour ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Is it redemption fail?  Isn't that a not-unheard-of reaction to realizing you were sexually assaulted by some creep your Mom was dating, who, oh yeah, just tried to kill you to keep from remembering?   If he had been all "namaste, now I am at peace" I'd call foul, but not this reaction.

Gotta agree w/this as well. I didn't find Franco's words to be a "redemption fail." One, he is a character on a soap opera, so this idea that he will never do anything bad again is kind of crazy to me. He can be "redeemed" (for some) and still lock a guy in a cage or threaten someone.  He's a soap character. He's bound to do something bad again. For him, the main thing is he's not running around murdering ppl at random. And two, as you said, Franco is slowly realizing that he was sexually abused by Jim, so he is naturally very upset. 

Edited April 6, 2018 by lala2

[dubbel zout]

20 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Here's my question - who is this latest stab at Franco redemption for?  People who have accepted his previous redemption arcs don't need it, and people who still think he's a SERIAL KILLER who needs to stop eating on-screen (raises hand) aren't going to be won over no matter what the show does.

Yeah, I think at this point, the show needs to stop trying to redeem Franco. The people who hate him have legit reasons to do so, and if others want to think he's a different person now post-tumor and whatever, fine. Franco doesn't have to be universally loved, FFS.

As for filling in his backstory, meh. I NEVER CARED. I also don't care how Drew fits in there, or how Jason is connected. It's way too forced for me. The show needs to move forward with stories, IMO, not invent histories.

[Hater]

I hate Franco.  I hate that Drew is getting dragged into this shit and Franco/Liz constantly needs to be attached to others in order to get a story. However, the main and most "popular" character by the general audience is Sonny.  A murdering piece of shit.  An abuser of women and the elderly.  An angry loser with a Napoleon complex.  A smug jerk who mucks it with his two smug besties (Carly/Lassie).  When they keep pushing this man as the leader of the show on and off screen (The OTT Maurice makes the show nonsense), my hatred for Franco dies down a lot.  Both are the same pathetic characters, it's just that one has been stinking up the screen for well over 15 years now with countless awful storylines.

Edited April 6, 2018 by Hater

[TeeVee329]

10 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Franco doesn't have to be universally loved, FFS.

That's what's been so annoying about the writing for Liz in this story.  Love him all you want, Liz, but Jason, Sam, Michael, whoever are under no obligation to agree with you that he's changed or want anything to do with him.

Somewhat relatedly, while I get why Drew approached Betsy Frank the way he did yesterday, isn't he even a little annoyed that she was part of a plot that kept him away from his family for most of his life?  He might have Jason's memories, but he was robbed of ever really knowing Alan.

[Hater]

6 hours ago, P3pp3rb1rd said:

I would love to see weepy Sam choose Door #1 with Drew and then have him dump her for another woman AND sue for custody of their baby Scout. The icing on the cake would be for Jason to dump her too because Sonny is calling him.

Oh the latter will be happening no matter what.  She knows that too.

I was hopeful that Drew would be a little bit more concerned for Scout.

Edited April 6, 2018 by Hater

[dubbel zout]

21 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Somewhat relatedly, while I get why Drew approached Betsy Frank the way he did yesterday, isn't he even a little annoyed that she was part of a plot that kept him away from his family for most of his life?  He might have Jason's memories, but he was robbed of ever really knowing Alan.

I think he is, but given how obviously fragile Betsy is, Drew isn't going to start haranguing her about it. He's not Sonny. 

[BlancheDevoreaux]

As long as we are on the Franco subject, I do have a question.  I get Sam still having an issue. As I understand it, she was completely passed out so had no memories of what happened and he led her and Jason to believe she was sexually assaulted.  It was only later that he told them the truth that nothing happened, right?  But regarding Michael, a thing I read said that he never wanted the guy to rape Michael in prison.  On the contrary, he was trying to get that guy to protect him and the guy went rogue.  Is that not correct?

[lala2]

Yes, that is the story, Blanche. When RoHo came on as Franco, RC had him say that it was never his intent to have Michael raped while in prison; he had hired someone to protect Michael.  Silly, I know, but that's the official story . . . . for now. 

[TeeVee329]

Oh gawd, the "Just kidding!" DVD's that were Franco Redemption #1 prior to the tumor.

That's still on Franco (or the tumor, if you're into that), AFAIC.  He put Michael in this guy's path because of whatever stupid game he was playing with Jason.  And then he plastered pictures of Michael and said rapist all over his stupid art exhibit and, I believe, sent a taunting video to Jason about that too?

Edited April 6, 2018 by TeeVee329

[LillyB]

I wish that RHo was cast as Steven Lars, who was a slightly grey character.

[Happywatcher]

How can I take her breaking into the house GH seriously if she isn't wearing one of those black eye masks from the 1930s? It's like she isn't even really trying

[Katy M]

How stupid is Jake?  He ran away.  Don't go back. You're a little kid.  You're not big enough to save your mother.  AT least try to surpise him or something instead of just yelling at him to leave your mom alone.  But, apparently he gets his brains from his mother. Hello, Elizabeth.  You don't have to stay, but pick up the gun!!!.  And, she has 3 kids, right? I've only ever seen her with Jake when I happen to watch.  If they haven't done so already they should just send Aiden off to live with Lucky. Or an extended visit, anyway.

[BlancheDevoreaux]

11 minutes ago, Happywatcher said:

How can I take her breaking into the house GH seriously if she isn't wearing one of those black eye masks from the 1930s? It's like she isn't even really trying

Right?  And should she be saying "zoiks" each time she pranks Carly?

[LexieLily]

Shut up, Jason. You don't know if Sam is or isn't herself when she is with Drew because you don't know who Sam is now and don't even care to learn. She along with everyone else has lived life in the last five years and whether she has grown or regressed, Sam is a different woman now than the Sam you left that night. He doesn't seem too concerned about interacting with either of his children - one of which he never knew - or getting Sam back, he's happy enough as long as she isn't with Drew. Has Jason learned or asked Sam what her life has been like the last five years? Has he asked about Danny or found out that his son had cancer? That Jake was held captive by the Cassadines for four years and was traumatized for months because of it? Jason and even Carly expect Sam to be the exact same woman she was five years ago and run back to Jason no questions asked and it confuses Jason's messed-up brain-damaged brain that she's not.

[ulkis]

On 4/6/2018 at 12:45 PM, lala2 said:

I think this is just a story they're telling. They're just fleshing out the character (Franco) and developing Drew's background.  It provides some explanation for Franco's Jason obsession when he was first introduced and why he may have committed some of the acts he did, but that's it.  I've never viewed this story as a way to get ppl to like Franco. He's been on the show for five years now. People either like them or they don't.

 

I agree with this. I also think it is FV's attempt to get RH an emmy.

Quote

I could be wrong and have no actual data to support my theory, but I honestly think the larger audience - those who don't frequent message boards - likes ALL the characters on the show. It's hard for me to accept that Franco would be so largely hated by all the viewers and still be on the show. I understand FV may like Roger, but it makes no sense to keep him in a role that the wider, larger audience adamantly hates.  RoHo could always be a new character like ME.  I'm more inclined to believe that the general audience accepts Franco and most of the characters on this show.

I think if Franco were genuinely popular with the audience, the Nina and Carly relationships would not have been stopped so quickly in succession.

Also, FV does things contrary to audience popularity. He wrote Julian as trying to kill Alexis with a knife. Brought back ME, KA, and RH as new characters less than a month after they appeared on screen as different people. Brought ME back as yet another character after they killed off his last one and no one cared.

I don't think Franco is as unpopular as he (seems to be) here, no. But I think if he were any other actor or if FV were any other producer RH would be gone by now.

@BlancheDevoreaux I dislike this version more than JF's. It has less to do than his serial killer past and more to do with his hammy acting, babbling, and loud food chewing, and the character's whining, childishness, and insecurity combined with those tics. Once in a while he'll have a one liner that makes me chuckle, but otherwise I don't like the kind of humor they write for him.

Edited April 11, 2018 by ulkis

[TeeVee329]

Oh phew, the Alzheimer's story was apparently a way to cram in a new mob yarn related to Sonny's past.  #eyeroll  Why are we supposed to care about a body he buried six zillion years ago?

[statsgirl]

This show is really pushing it's parallel storylines.  Today: Sonny and Drew/Betsy -- two long-held secrets get revealed.

Liz:  'Run, Jake, run!'  (Jake runs then returns) Jake:  'I couldn't leave you, he has a gun, I have to protect you.'  -- Jake really is Jason's son. Thinks he can do anything. 

Jason:  "Anything but Sam going back to Drew. When she's with him, she's not herself, she's always looking to him to tell her what to do. She can't make her own decisions."  No Jason, that's what Sam's like when she's with you.

I understand that Oscar wants his parents to get together, most children of parents who have split do.  But wow is it boring.

6 hours ago, rur said:

Franco's first words after hypnosis were "I'm going to kill Jim Harvey." And, to me at least, it wasn't said in the way angry people may say that but not mean it. It sounded sincere. So, once again, redemption failure. 

Lots of people say "I'm going to kill him."  I do myself sometimes.  It depends if Franco actually tries to do it in cold blood.

[dubbel zout]

17 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Shut up, Jason. You don't know if Sam is or isn't herself when she is with Drew because you don't know who Sam is now and don't even care to learn.

OMG, Carly and Jason talking about Sam gave me a rage blackout. Carly with her relentless push for Jason to get Sam back (never mind what Sam wants), Jason saying Sam loses herself with Drew and s always looking for his approval. Right, because Sam was so independent with Jason. GAH.

Nelle's "pranks" were beyond stupid. This is our "schemer" in action? Oh, boy.

I didn't mind Jake not running away. He's a kid. He sees his mom in trouble and wants to help. At least Elizabeth got a few jabs in before Franco charged Greg Evigan.

[Hater]

This dialogue about Sam is the biggest crock of shit.

Sam? The character who literally looked like she would kill herself over Jason...was so independent and strong when she was with him.  But big bad Drew comes along and is evil and tells her what to do.  Sure.

[statsgirl]

54 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Shut up, Jason. You don't know if Sam is or isn't herself when she is with Drew because you don't know who Sam is now and don't even care to learn. She along with everyone else has lived life in the last five years and whether she has grown or regressed, Sam is a different woman now than the Sam you left that night. He doesn't seem too concerned about interacting with either of his children - one of which he never knew - or getting Sam back, he's happy enough as long as she isn't with Drew. Has Jason learned or asked Sam what her life has been like the last five years? Has he asked about Danny or found out that his son had cancer? That Jake was held captive by the Cassadines for four years and was traumatized for months because of it?

Later with Sonny, Jason waxes on and on about how now he's realizing how important memories are, with zero thought about how it must feel to Drew who lost not just his childhood memories but his whole life to Jason.

[truthaboutluv]

32 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Liz:  'Run, Jake, run!'  (Jake runs then returns) Jake:  'I couldn't leave you, he has a gun, I have to protect you.'  -- Jake really is Jason's son. Thinks he can do anything. 

Except this sort of makes me want to aww and think of him as such a sweet little boy. Jason's just annoying. 

 

32 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

I understand that Oscar wants his parents to get together, most children of parents who have split do.  But wow is it boring.

I'm pretty sure that's Oscar's default setting.

 

32 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Jason:  "Anything but Sam going back to Drew. When she's with him, she's not herself, she's always looking to him to tell her what to do. She can't make her own decisions."  No Jason, that's what Sam's like when she's with you.

 

26 minutes ago, Hater said:

This dialogue about Sam is the biggest crock of shit.

Sam? The character who literally looked like she would kill herself over Jason...was so independent and strong when she was with him.  But big bad Drew comes along and is evil and tells her what to do.  Sure.

 

30 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

OMG, Carly and Jason talking about Sam gave me a rage blackout. Carly with her relentless push for Jason to get Sam back (never mind what Sam wants), Jason saying Sam loses herself with Drew and s always looking for his approval. Right, because Sam was so independent with Jason. GAH.

You just have to laugh at this point. Self-awareness, thy name is not Jason. And worse is the Jason/Sam shippers who I see parroting this bullshit narrative and rewrite online. Yes, Sam who after getting a bullet in her stomach went literally begging Jason to take her back after he oh so "nobly" broke up with her for her safety. Because again, much like giving up his rights to his kid, it's not like he can actually gasp, you know, choose them over his loyalty to Sonny. 

Sam was so pathetic over Jason that it's what led to the brutally harsh conversation with Alexis where Alexis called her pathetic and sad. But yes it is Drew who has taken away Sam's agency and controls her. Blegh, whatever. I'd rather the writers just stick to the, "Sam thought her husband was dead, then she thought he was a guy who is really someone else, but now her real husband is back and so she's going back to him. Sucks for Drew but not Sam's fault or anyone's fault really, just how the situation happened".

But trying to suddenly make it seem like Drew and Sam's relationship was somehow unhealthy for Sam is some straight up fucking bullshit. Before Steve Burton slithered back onto the show since he flopped on Y&R, Sam and "Jason" were probably the healthiest that relationship had ever been. 

Edited April 6, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[dubbel zout]

14 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Later with Sonny, Jason waxes on and on about how now he's realizing how important memories are, with zero thought about how it must feel to Drew who lost not just his childhood memories but his whole life to Jason.

That cracked me up. It takes two bouts with amnesia for him to realize how important memories are? LOL.

[Aurora2]

24 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Later with Sonny, Jason waxes on and on about how now he's realizing how important memories are, with zero thought about how it must feel to Drew who lost not just his childhood memories but his whole life to Jason.

The lack of self awareness is overwhelming.

And the hypocrisy meter is off the charts.

Edited April 6, 2018 by Aurora2

[Hater]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

You just have to laugh at this point. Self-awareness, thy name is not Jason. And worse is the Jason/Sam shippers who I see parroting this bullshit narrative and rewrite online. Yes, Sam who after getting a bullet in her stomach went literally begging Jason to take her back after he oh so "nobly" broke up with her for her safety. Because again, much like giving up his rights to his kid, it's not like he can actually gasp, you know, choose them over his loyalty to Sonny. 

Sam was so pathetic over Jason that it's what led to the brutally harsh conversation with Alexis where Alexis called her pathetic and sad. But yes it is Drew who has taken away Sam's agency and controls her. Blegh, whatever. I'd rather the writers just stick to the, "Sam thought her husband was dead, then she thought he was a guy who is really someone else, but now her real husband is back and so she's going back to him. Sucks for Drew but not Sam's fault or anyone's fault really, just how the situation happened".

But trying to suddenly make it seem like Drew and Sam's relationship was somehow unhealthy for Sam is some straight up fucking bullshit. Before Steve Burton slithered back onto the show since he flopped on Y&R, Sam and "Jason" were probably the healthiest that relationship had ever been. 

 

It would make more sense for the characters to say that Sam really doesn't know Drew since he doesn't even know himself.  

Edited April 6, 2018 by Hater