Episode Discussion: TFGH

[tvgoddess]

I agree, I don't think we'll ever hear that song again.

[dubbel zout]

she's one of Ron's "favourite pets", imho, and he refuses to let her drift off to the back-burner.

 

I don't know if Sabrina/TeCa is still one of Ron's pets. I think Franco/RoHo and Nina/MSt have taken her place.

 

About the one thing I liked about the Jordan/T.J. scenes was that T.J. at least made it clear that he doesn't think the mob is any great shakes.  His anger was all about Shawn, not the mob.

 

Was it? TJ slams Jordan for what he accepts in Shawn: being in the mob. Jordan happened to be in the "wrong" mob, and then when it was revealed she was a cop, suddenly she was the biggest traitor ever to pass through Port Charles.

 

I actually kind of respect Nina more for sitting on Rosalie's secret rather than cave so quickly when Sam grilled her. Why should Nina do Sam any favors?

 

I don't think Nina is ready to give up her leverage on Rosalie just yet. I think she was sorely tempted, because Sam did a good job of pushing just the right buttons, but Nina is ultimately looking out for Nina. Now that she knows Rosalie lied to her about the ELQ shares, I wonder if Nina will become more involved in that.

[CPP83]

I had to laugh when Michael told Rosalie that before he hired Jake Doe was deeply vetted by his security people. I am like really. What did they find out?

 

 

 

They must have tailed him to the local men's warehouse to grab that new suit of his (or did he raid Lucky's closet?) and apparently that was proof enough he's a "good guy" who should be put in charge of an entire security team of a massive company that is on the verge of a massive and major hostile takeover.

 

And Michael's reasoning as to why Jake was a great hire in the first place, "He says he's down with the Q legacy and I was like 'oh sweet, win win baby!'", it's like he doesn't even need to try that hard to be totally clueless.

 

He's a step up from Morgan but just barely.

 

Oh and he got that brain surgery, so according to the "boy genius" in charge he must not still be under mind control even though Jake was continually put in positions risking his life and well being, he was always treated like an expendable piece of property by Helena, which is basically how she treats everyone generally.

 

The stupid virus has overtaken PC, I fear there may be no hope left. I'm at the point where I think that everyone should just end every sentence with "...because I'm an idiot.". 

 

 

I don't know if Sabrina/TeCa is still one of Ron's pets. I think Franco/RoHo and Nina/MSt have taken her place.

 

 

 

But she still gets quite a bit of screen time compared to a good number of other characters, especially the vets, and that's why I see her as still having pet status.

 

Ron allowed Sabrina to go so far as to nearly cause Ava to lose her baby, and yet currently not only is she the full-time nanny for said baby, she's cozying up to Michael, and now Sam and Tracy to a degree, not to mention the absolute nonsense going on with Rosalie. 

 

Monica has vanished for months, Mac and Felicia can't even get scenes running the bar they own when it's shown for a full week, but yet Sabrina is on just as much as the Nina and the SERIAL KILLER for the moment.

 

I would say that Sabrina, as a character I feel serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever that a stand in broom couldn't be used instead, is the lesser of the three evils, but not by much.

Edited June 13, 2015 by CPP83

[LeftPhalange]

 

So maybe Rosalie is Nathan's father who has time traveled back to present day Port Charles. Makes as much sense as anything else on this show.

 

 

Rosalie is responsible for all of the "My sister in law's best friend's son makes $52353 a month working from home and so can you" spam found on website comment sections.

[Lola16]

Lola16, in what ways do you think the show is trying to paint Rosalie and Sabrina as interchangeable? I do think it's a little dicey that they have the only two Latinas in this story, but I don't really see them as interchangeable.

Why do you think the show is treating them interchangeably?

The show doesn't really write well for any POCs (or perhaps for any people for that matter) without devolving into stereotypes. 

 

Here we have 2 nurses who are Latinas.  One sweet, one fiery though Nurse 1 is now fiery too.   Nurse 1 loses her job (due to her own devices) and is now a nanny even though she could be a nurse at Mercy, local doctor's office, Pentonville, Silas' personal basement hospital etc.  Nurse 2 is suddenly not a nurse anymore and is now a secretary.   Both are 'help'.  Both are dating / have dated their boss (white man/boy) who seamlessly moved from one to the other.  And in the last encounter with Nurse 2, he acts as if he'd be happy with being with her instead.  Doesn't mention being with Nurse 1 or expressing a preference.  More like, what you were still interested in me, damn wish I knew.  Hmmm.  To me, it seems 'interchangeable' from the show POV.

 

Maybe I'm missing something - I haven't even been watching for a year yet at this point so maybe there were other Latinas who had their own identities and weren't stereotypes (not thinking what I heard of Lily to fit but who knows). 

 

I will acknowledge that I am over sensitized to this issue as I'm doing a piece on diversity in media now for school.

[dubbel zout]

Honestly, I don't think any character has his or her own identity anymore. Or everyone is a stereotype of some sort. Either way, Ron doesn't do layers, as he's shown again and again. Sabrina rolls her r's and orders Puerto Rican takeout—that's about how "ethnic" she is. Rosalie has no ethnic identity at all, as far as I can tell. Her last name is Martinez, but it might as well be Doe for all the difference it makes.

 

If you're talking interchangeable, Sonny's run of tiny brunette girlfriends is the real example.

Edited June 13, 2015 by dubbel zout

[nilyank]

I just now had the horrifying thought that when Jake and Sam find out he's Jason, we're going to have to hear that goddamned "BAAABY! It's just you 'n me" song again.

Maybe hearing that ear worm of a song again will be actual trigger for Jason getting his memories back.

[ulkis]

Both are dating / have dated their boss (white man/boy) who seamlessly moved from one to the other.  And in the last encounter with Nurse 2, he acts as if he'd be happy with being with her instead.  Doesn't mention being with Nurse 1 or expressing a preference.  More like, what you were still interested in me, damn wish I knew.  Hmmm.  To me, it seems 'interchangeable' from the show POV.

 

Maybe I'm missing something - I haven't even been watching for a year yet at this point so maybe there were other Latinas who had their own identities and weren't stereotypes (not thinking what I heard of Lily to fit but who knows). 

 

I will acknowledge that I am over sensitized to this issue as I'm doing a piece on diversity in media now for school.

 

I think the nanny thing is a bit iffy but it's just to get Sabrina into the mansion. I'm 99% sure she'll get some sort of nursing job again.

 

I missed the last conversation Michael had with Rosalie but I don't think he moved seamlessly onto Sabrina. He didn't even date Rosalie. They had a one night stand and that was it (until this last conversation, I guess?) He slept with Rosalie because he was hurt over his girlfriend and family lying to him, then he officially broke up with Kiki, and he's suffered a few pangs for her since then, so it definitely wasn't like, well now I've slept with Rosalie I'll go straight on to Sabrina. And the Rosalie/Michael one night stand was in November and Michael and Sabrina didn't have a scene till late January, and then it was just Sabrina and Carlos saying hi to Michael at the boat party.

 

But also . . . 

 

The show doesn't really write well for any POCs (or perhaps for any people for that matter) without devolving into stereotypes.

 

 

This.

[Perkie]

 

Does TJ even know that Shawn tried to kill Jake Doe and hit Greenlee instead?

He does because he played the race card then with Molly ("What kind of chance does Shawn have, a black who shot a white woman")

 

 

You'd think Jake would have the phone records and emails checked by IT.  That would out Rosalie right away

No it wouldn't, because Rosalie used her own cell phone to call Nik.  

[Francie]

The stupid virus has overtaken PC, I fear there may be no hope left. I'm at the point where I think that everyone should just end every sentence with "...because I'm an idiot.".

Remember the water crisis of 2012?  I'm firmly convinced that all remaining viewers of GH need to fanwank that, while they found the cure that saved their lives, they neglected to stave off a permanent side effect of the water toxin: Abject stupidity.  

 

It explains so much.

[Donny Ketchum]

Was it? TJ slams Jordan for what he accepts in Shawn: being in the mob. Jordan happened to be in the "wrong" mob, and then when it was revealed she was a cop, suddenly she was the biggest traitor ever to pass through Port Charles.

I think it was.  I didn't take it as him saying the mob was good.  He even said it wasn't.  I took it to mean that because Shawn had been there for him for so long when Jordan wasn't, he was willing to support him in whatever he did, even though he probably would've preferred anything for Shawn that wasn't the mob.  But because it was what Shawn wanted to do, where his heart lay, he was going to be supportive of him, despite it not being the first choice in terms of what Shawn could've done with his life.  I didn't look at it as "good mob" vs. "bad mob' at all.

[Oracle42]

Nik is trying to take over ELQ because he's having money problems but he just bought 11% of a multi-billion-dollar company in cash?

Are the typewriting monkeys back?

[jsbt]

I fuckin' hate the Jasam song and always have - talk about the worst possible easy listening treacle - but I remember hearing it off and on through at least 2012. I could swear they started playing it for other people too before retiring it.

 

Some of the shit they play in the Floating Rib, Kelly's, etc. now dates back to the OLTL Cheap Music Bank.

 

I don't think Rosalie and Sabrina are interchangeable. I do think Rosalie is barely a character to speak of. The thing is, the show does these same stories with white chicks every month. I don't think ethnicity enters into it in this particular instance beyond the fact that they pay even less attention to most of those characters unless they can service a major plot. They did feature Téa, an outsize personality, on both GH and OLTL in a major way, but she was a long-standing favorite of the writer and a lot of other characters of color weren't and aren't. (And I do remember a random anecdote where Tika Sumpter supposedly, allegedly said RC told her he didn't know how to write for black people.)

Edited June 13, 2015 by jsbt

[peachmangosteen]

No it wouldn't, because Rosalie used her own cell phone to call Nik.  

 

I feel pretty sure Rosalie once made a call to Nik on the company phone. I remember everyone bemoaning how utterly stupid it was.

[Lola16]

No it wouldn't, because Rosalie used her own cell phone to call Nik.  

I feel pretty sure Rosalie once made a call to Nik on the company phone. I remember everyone bemoaning how utterly stupid it was.

The cell phone is ELQ property.  Tracy overheard Rosalie talking to Nik on it while in the Q livingroom.  Tracy told Rosalie all she had to do was place one call to IT and she'd know who Rosalie was talking to.  Rosalie about broke out into a sweat.  Tracy then got sidetracked with Lulu busting in that Luke wasn't at the looney bin anymore.

[OnceSane]

I feel pretty sure Rosalie once made a call to Nik on the company phone. I remember everyone bemoaning how utterly stupid it was.

Yep, she did.

The cell phone is ELQ property.  Tracy overheard Rosalie talking to Nik on it while in the Q livingroom.  Tracy told Rosalie all she had to do was place one call to IT and she'd know who Rosalie was talking to.  Rosalie about broke out into a sweat.  Tracy then got sidetracked with Lulu busting in that Luke wasn't at the looney bin anymore.

Also true. Rosalie's an idiot, just like the rest of the town. It does crack me up that Nik was pissed at Rosalie for calling him from the Quartermaine manse, yet thinks nothing of her calling him on the company cell phone.

And does Jake really think Sam would be the "mole" helping someone steal ELQ from Michael? Someone needs to set him straight about the family dynamics at play. And I'm guessing Sam or Michael will explain and then Jake and Sam will work together to find out who is after the company (which will infuriate Liz and irritate Patrick).

[Oracle42]

I thought Patrick said he just didn't want Sam hanging around Jake while he was in the mob Jake's out of the mob now but Liz will be giving crazy-eyes and bitch face in between bites of food

Edited June 13, 2015 by Oracle42

[mybabyaidan]

And does Jake really think Sam would be the "mole" helping someone steal ELQ from Michael? Someone needs to set him straight about the family dynamics at play. And I'm guessing Sam or Michael will explain and then Jake and Sam will work together to find out who is after the company (which will infuriate Liz and irritate Patrick).

 

I hope Michael doesn't even entertain the idea that Sam is the mole, and this is only a plot point to get Sabrina and Sam to fess up to spying on Rosalie.  It makes absolutely no sense anyway, Sam has never wanted anything to do with ELQ which is why she split Danny and Jason's shares with Tracy and AJ.  And she would never actively hurt her in-laws. 

[Chairperson Meow]

Omg. I step on the barge to rewatch Pretty Little Liars and this is what's waiting on my DVR?

Ron is going to do the Ron version of Trayvon Martin / blacklivesmatter? Omg. All the stories he could've given Tequan Richmond, and he does this. If an actual writer would be writing it, then yeah, but now we're going to probably end up having the story really be about Dante/Valerie having "I'm not racist sex", Lulu having an "I'm not racist " freak out over that, Jordan becoming forever unclean by having "I'm not racist" sex with Sonny......

Then TJ gets shot or hit by a bus and has a five second funeral that only Molly goes to.

Ron then spends the next year declaring he's not racist on twitter.

[ciarra]

'scuse me while I puke.

TJ is angry and gets into trouble...will Sonny save the day for Jordan?

[tvgoddess]

 

Jordan becoming forever unclean by having "I'm not racist" sex with Sonny......

 

Please stop forcing me to projectile vomit.

[Perkie]

 

The cell phone is ELQ property.

The other day, when NIk was yelling at Rosalie about calling him from the Q mansion, didn't he give her a cell phone to reach him with?  Or did I make that up in my head because I thought that's what he should have done if he wants his mole to not get caught.  

 

 

Liz will be giving crazy-eyes and bitch face in between bites of food

I love Rebecca Herbst, but girlfriend needs to eat a couple of bites of food.  That yellow shirt she was wearing really emphasized her skeletal arms.  It can't be healthy.  

Also, what the frack was Sam wearing on Friday?  By contrast, Sabrina has been rocking those jeans for the past couple of episodes.  

[Oracle42]

So Nick was such a terrible's steward of the enormous fortune that he inherited that he's now trying to take over ELQ? Why would any of the Qs support that? he lost all of his own money! Theyre going to let them him lose theirs too?

How is it possible that the story got dumber once they provided a motivation for Nik's actions?

Edited June 13, 2015 by Oracle42

[Lola16]

The other day, when NIk was yelling at Rosalie about calling him from the Q mansion, didn't he give her a cell phone to reach him with?  Or did I make that up in my head because I thought that's what he should have done if he wants his mole to not get caught.  

Well, that would be smart.  I did remark to Nik that he should buy Rosalie a burner.  Fluke had one.  The Cassadines should have a box of them in the same pantry with the candy.  But I don't think that he did.

[LeftPhalange]

When was it revealed that Nik lost all of his money?

[dubbel zout]

When Nik was talking to Laura yesterday, he told her Victor had been siphoning off Cassadine dough to pay for his nutty experiments, and that's one reason the family fortune wasn't where it used to be.

[Perkie]

 

When Nik was talking to Laura yesterday, he told her Victor had been siphoning off Cassadine dough to pay for his nutty experiments, and that's one reason the family fortune wasn't where it used to be.

I actually thought that was a pretty good reason, and it would make sense since Victor was a crazy pants.  Nik may have been lying to cover his butt when his mother finds out that he went after ELQ, but I was ok with it if it's true.  

 

Doesn't explain how he was able to get a suitcase full of cash on short notice for Rosalie to exchange with Michael's money.  

[Tiger]

For all you decrying the show's portrayal of women of color, look at it this way: all six women of color in Port Charles (Jordan, Lomax, Pip, Valerie, Rosalie, and Sabrina) all have jobs while two white women (Kiki and Maxie) haven't worked a day in years.

[Perkie]

Awww, poor Maxie.  Being lumped in with the likes of freakin' Kiki.  KSt's talents are being wasted, unless she's asked for a lighter workload so she can spend more time with that gorgeous husband and adorable baby of hers.  

[dubbel zout]

Doesn't explain how he was able to get a suitcase full of cash on short notice for Rosalie to exchange with Michael's money.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nik keeps a lot of cash in various currencies around the house. The Cassadines seem like they'd do that.

[Oracle42]

But if Nick was paying so little attention to his own finances that Victor was able to do considerable damage why would he think that he'd be a better person to run ELQ?

It's not even like he's this great corporate raider like Jax, he just accepted shares that someone else got using fraud and extortion.

It actually makes the Jason thing worse. He's keeping his cousin from her husband because he lost some of his money? Revenge would be more palatable and much less venal

Edited June 14, 2015 by Oracle42

[Happywatcher]

I also agree that Rosie and Sobby are not treated the same.

 

Sabrina is played by a Hispanic actress, and is played as a somewhat Puerto Rican woman, of the para professional education level, mostly though a sometime accent and cultural references. She did do one drawn out evil thing, but in response to her baby being murdered. Otherwise she is the perfect princess, Saint Sobby, the bested more pure woman ever who leading male characters fall in love with after being exposed to her closely for 3 or more days. She is the Saintly Superhot Princess Magic Hispanic.

 

Rosalie is either Rosie the Slightly Evil Sidekick Fake Nurse helping NIna scam, or the slightly more Evil Backstabbing PA who Betrays The Good Man who Places His Trust and Faith in Her as His Friend. Nothing about Rosie is Hispanic other than the fact that the actress who plays her is. Ron could have plugged any new actress into the slot, of any race, without changing a single line of the scripts.

 

The fact that the Baby Boss Michael triangle features two actresses who are somewhat Hispanic doesn't appear to have any effect on the storyline or content of the scenes. The actress who plays Rosie is good all the time (can't recall her name), and TeCa is getting better, and that has much more effect on the storyline than their race.

 

As for Chad, who plays Michael, the fact that his hair and wardrobe better fit his looks and body type makes him much more believable to be the ELQ boss without me rolling my eyes. For a long time he looked like a teen pretending to be a CEO.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Happyshooter

[dubbel zout]

But if Nick was paying so little attention to his own finances that Victor was able to do considerable damage why would he think that he be a better person to run ELQ?

 

I think we're supposed to believe Victor was crafty enough to hide the siphoning until the whole plan was exposed. The Cassadines are supposed to have a lot of holdings all over the world, so I buy that, actually. But I don't think we've gotten a decent reason for why Nik is so desperate for ELQ, other than the usual "because the plot demands it."

[godfreydaniels]

 

I love Rebecca Herbst, but girlfriend needs to eat a couple of bites of food.  That yellow shirt she was wearing really emphasized her skeletal arms.  It can't be healthy.

Sam appears to have the same unhealthy problem. 

[DayPlayerAtKellys]

Rosalie is responsible for all of the "My sister in law's best friend's son makes $52353 a month working from home and so can you" spam found on website comment sections.

 

STONE HER!!!!! (lol)

[DayPlayerAtKellys]

When was it revealed that Nik lost all of his money?

Never.

 

I think it's a story he told Laura but isn't actually true. We've seen nothing to support this. .... wait, what I am I saying? This is Ron's GH after all. Since when does he have time to spend a few minutes on an actual story when he only has 5 hours a WEEK to develop characters and plots? Sheesh. It's as bad as only having ten weeks to wrap up the Luke/Fluke/Puke story. He ONLY has 50 hour long shows left.. only 50 hours???? PANIC!!!!!

[fishcakes]

Wasn't the reason that Luke and Tracy married in the first place because Tracy had basically stolen something like $12 million of Cassadine money? I don't remember all the details, but Luke had somehow gotten hold of the money and put it in Tracy's account. When Nik found out, he demanded Tracy give it back and she was like, "nope! mine now!" Luke also couldn't get Tracy to give it up to him, so he got her drunk and married her in Las Vegas in order to get access to the money. For a while, Nik would say to Tracy something like, "don't think I've forgotten that you have $12 million dollars that belong to me and I intend to get it back," but then ... nothing? I don't remember that plotline ever being resolved. I would actually like it if part of Nik's reasoning for wanting ELQ now was revenge for that, but since that was ten years ago and no one's mentioned it since, I don't see that they can reasonably pick up that story again. And if they did resolve it years ago, then never mind me. I'm just killing time while my laundry's in the dryer.

Edited June 13, 2015 by fishcakes

[Tiger]

Awww, poor Maxie. Being lumped in with the likes of freakin' Kiki. KSt's talents are being wasted, unless she's asked for a lighter workload so she can spend more time with that gorgeous husband and adorable baby of hers.

As much as I love business stories in general, I don't necessarily need to see Maxie actually working. I'd be satisfied with the show simply telling us that Maxie is running some fashion mag ELQ acquired, our working for Lucy at CoeCoe Cosmetics, or Carly hired her to re-decorate some new hotel she bought, or she's the new lifestyle editor at Jewelz paper, just give the girl a damn job.

And Ron can't blame the lack of job for Maxie on KSt's workload since Keeks has aired heavily for 26 months and doesn't have a job either.

At this point I'd gladly accept either of them going to medical school during a commercial break just to give them some direction.

ETA: sorry for the rant guys. I know someone IRL who is well credentialed and able-bodied to work but is instead doing jack shit with their life and it's pissing me off.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Tiger

[yowsah1]

No they are not. If anything, they don't give two shits about him. 

 

Making sure that JT got an Emmy prenom and pushing him through to an actual nomination indicates otherwise.  The writers have bent over backward to protect the character of Patrick from the jump on this storyline.  The most obvious example being that they came up with a lame contrived plot point to have Liz find out that Jake is Jason and keep it a secret when the person who had an actual logical reason to keep it a secret should he find out - Patrick - is as clueless as Sam.  The show is clearly setting him as the innocent victim of Liz's perfidy here.  Then of course there is the fact that Sabrina, who should at best be treating Patrick with frosty courtesy, almost immediately forgave Patrick for his shabby treatment of her - hell, the show refuses even to admit that his behavior towards her was anything but exemplary.  And of course the endless disgusting ways the show justifies Patrick's unforgiveably callous attitude towards Robin.  The show insists, over and over and over and over and over, that Patrick is absolutely blameless in anything he ever does.  I almost wish the show didn't give two shits about him and stopped pushing him as this romantic leading man and prize catch* - then we might get some honest assessments of how douchey, narcissistic, and selfish he really is.

 

* - Although, in all fairness, compared to the likes of Sonny, Shawn, Jason, Morgan, et. al., Patrick is a prize catch.  I damn with faint praise here.

 

 

 

He is just a plot point in the Jakeson/Sam saga.

 

The only person who has gotten run over by the Plot Point Express in the Jakeson/Sam saga is Liz.  She's being trashed to facilitate the story.  Patrick, of course, is a complete innocent Who Deserves To Be Happy.  (You know, like Sonny is a Good Man Who Loves His Kids...).

Edited June 14, 2015 by yowsah1

[WendyCR72]

The most obvious example being that they came up with a lame contrived plot point to have Liz find out that Jake is Jason and keep it a secret when the person who had an actual logical reason to keep it a secret should he find out - Patrick - is as clueless as Sam.  The show is clearly setting him as the innocent victim of Liz's perfidy here.

 

I just will always completely disagree here. Patrick can be a petulant ass. He can be a cheater. But he has never been outright malicious in intent. While Liz isn't necessarily malicious, she did come on as a teen schemer. Add that already-ingrained trait in with her desperation for all things Jason, especially after the whole 2006 clusterfuck and kid, and I think Liz is the character that does make perfect sense to keep this secret. Especially since she always blamed external factors for Borg's inability to put her first.

 

Maybe this is meant to rip the blinders off. That Jakeson's "love" is worthless. But it won't matter, anyway. If Patrick is protected, Liz is Teflon since, like him, she never has any lasting consequences for her screw ups.

 

I could see if this is the first time Liz has done stupid crap, but it isn't. It's not even the fifth or tenth, so it's in character and has the history (as much as RC likes to say the word to pretend he knows jack, but even a broken clock sometimes gets it right) to back it up.

 

And, really, Sam/Patrick barely have a foundation - unlike Liz and Jason - for Patrick to hide Jakeson's identity. They seem more like fuck buddies to me rather than a committed couple in love, for all of the focus RC has given them outside of straw people for the Great Jake Revival Show.

[Ambrosefolly]

 

Making sure that JT got an Emmy prenom and pushing him through to an actual nomination indicates otherwise.  The writers have bent over backward to protect the character of Patrick from the jump on this storyline.  The most obvious example being that they came up with a lame contrived plot point to have Liz find out that Jake is Jason and keep it a secret when the person who had an actual logical reason to keep it a secret should he find out - Patrick - is as clueless as Sam.  The show is clearly setting him as the innocent victim of Liz's perfidy here.  Then of course there is the fact that Sabrina, who should at best be treating Patrick with frosty courtesy, almost immediately forgave Patrick for his shabby treatment of her - hell, the show refuses even to admit that his behavior towards her was anything but exemplary.  And of course the endless disgusting ways the show justifies Patrick's unforgiveably callous attitude towards Robin.  The show insists, over and over and over and over and over, that Patrick is absolutely blameless in anything he ever does.  I almost wish the show didn't give two shits about him and stopped pushing him as this romantic leading man and prize catch* - then when might get some honest assessments of how douchey, narcissistic, and selfish he really is.

 

* - Although, in all fairness, compared to the likes of Sonny, Shawn, Jason, Morgan, et. al., Patrick is a prize catch.  I damn with faint praise here.

While I will agree that, that Liz is bearing the brute of this storyline, I don't think that Patrick is being protected at all cost, nor that it is being done in service towards him. So what if Jason Thompson is getting a prenom? He has been on this show for 8 years and when he isn't phoning it in, is quite capable of putting in a good performance. If he had good scenes, why not submit, considering he hasn't won any award yet. Chad Duell has won the award before him. I still don't see it as bending over backwards to make him look like a victim. If anything, the show has gone out of its way to make Liz look like a mentally unstable bitch, because Ron C couldn't do the  "Liz keeps Jason away from his Son" storyline the first time around. 

[Oracle42]

I actually wish the show was trying to sell Patrick and Sam as two friends who have decided to kind of live together and raise their kids together instead of trying to tell me that they're in love. I've seen both of them in love before and they have zero sexual chem but they do read true as friends who would raise their kids together because they like/love each other and because it's easier than being alone

Edited June 14, 2015 by Oracle42

[jsbt]

I think the Patrick/Sam romance has been unbelievably rushed and then even more unbelievably ignored, and I do think they wrote him as giving up on Robin way too quickly to service their plot. But they wrote it. Patrick himself wasn't, IMO, salivating to give up on Robin and nail him some poontang. It was just a haphazardly plotted story in which Patrick quickly said goodbye to Robin and blew off her excuses.

 

I think there's been plenty of times where Guza and co. have mangled that character or made him a douchebag to service story and keep Robin in her place - that was especially prevalent then, to show that Patrick was the Alpha Stud who mousy St. Robin was lucky enough to have nabbed (despite JFP's best efforts). But today I think these writers treat Patrick and most characters, especially most male characters, as non-entities - posable studs who can be moved around in any configuration quickly to service any twist. In this instance, Patrick is playing the role of hapless man who is in a doomed rebound romance with the wife of the undead town hero.

 

I don't think this is a Patrick-centric story in any way and I don't think any of this is on JT. I think it's also pretty easy to rehab his character from the dumb, plot-driven choices he and at least twenty-five other people on this show have made over the last year. In the end, all of Robin's loved ones fell for an elaborate cover story; they didn't write her off, call her a moralizing bitch, or fuck other people.

Edited June 14, 2015 by jsbt

[dubbel zout]

she never has any lasting consequences for her screw ups.

 

I disagree. Setting aside the fact the no one on the show really pays for their actions, Liz was raked over the coals for the affair with Nik. Her relationship with Lucky never recovered (though there were other issues, as well.) She's living on borrowed time with Jake, and she knows it. I imagine she'll get the brunt of everyone's anger when Jake's true identity comes out, and Nik—as usual—will have a finger shaken at him and that's it.

 

"Liz keeps Jason away from his Son"

 

It was a mutual decision, and Liz rarely if ever objected to Jason spending time with Jake when they crossed paths.

[TeeVee329]

When Nik was talking to Laura yesterday, he told her Victor had been siphoning off Cassadine dough to pay for his nutty experiments, and that's one reason the family fortune wasn't where it used to be.

 

What's this, I missed Nikolas getting an iota of sensible motivation?

[jsbt]

I think what Liz is doing is contemptible and disgusting, but I also think it has a history in some of her behavior dating back to the last several years of Guza. They did a hatchet job on her in several storylines with Nik and Lucky where she lied, manipulated, etc. So no, it hasn't come out of nowhere - I think it's just symptomatic of a long downward spiral for the character that predates RC.

 

But that's not the point. My problem with this is that, after years of both that trend and this team's using her as a plot device for a random assortment of stories, while marking time in the prayer of getting Jonathan Jackson back, they've reverted back to even more of the same only worse, to keep degrading and destroying her character. I'm not even much of a Liz fan, but I know the character and actress deserve much better than this. To go from utter neglect back to constant degradation is a real shitshow. I think it's gone above and beyond, and I think Ron's usual motive for this sort of stuff is always the same pat excuse - 'well, they have a history of this, so of course they will always revert back for the needs of my repetitive, overlong plot!'

[Lola16]

I think we're supposed to believe Victor was crafty enough to hide the siphoning until the whole plan was exposed. The Cassadines are supposed to have a lot of holdings all over the world, so I buy that, actually. But I don't think we've gotten a decent reason for why Nik is so desperate for ELQ, other than the usual "because the plot demands it."

I can buy that Victor misappropriated some family funds.  The ELQ plot was Helena's though and Nik only came into it well after it was hatched.  If Nik needs money that badly, he could have married Nina.  Spencer deserves her as a mother.

[OnceSane]

It was a mutual decision, and Liz rarely if ever objected to Jason spending time with Jake when they crossed paths.

I think Ambrosefolly meant when Liz lied about the maternity test results on Danny which proved Danny was Sam's son and not Tea's little Victor.

[Ambrosefolly]

It was a mutual decision, and Liz rarely if ever objected to Jason spending time with Jake when they crossed paths.

I was writing about Jake, I was writing about when Daniel was discovered to be alive and tried to do a DNA test and Liz messed with the results to keep Jason. RC couldn't draw it out because Steve Burton decided to leave.

 

Like OnceSane wrote:) 

Edited June 14, 2015 by Ambrosefolly

[Oracle42]

. But today I think these writers treat Patrick and most characters, especially most male characters, as non-entities - posable studs who can be moved around in any configuration quickly to service any twist.

That's why the Nik (and Ric) story bothers me so much. It's so petty. I mean, Sam and Nik aren't particularly close but they are family - and he's letting her mourn her husband because he needs to replenish the family coffers? It's venal. it's petty and low and beneath him.

And considering how angry he was when he found out that Carly and Jax kept his child from him and how angry he was at Elizabeth for lying about Aiden - the fact that he's just letting Danny grow up without his father over money bugs me

It's very much the same thing that I hate about Ric's current story.

There's some drama there but none of it is based in the character and it's not a good enough story in either case to be worth the damage.

Ric and Nik are stuck with shitty character motivation so that Franco and Sabrina respectively can out them as bad guys? Ugh.

It's wasteful with these two actors and characters particularly because they can both do deep and dark and twisted motivations and deliver on the performances and instead RC has given them both money trouble as justifications for seriously lame behavior.

There's no real excuse for Ric's behavior because I don't believe for a second that he'd bother to have a ONS with WE NEVER CARED (except for the 2 people who care, I guess) let alone marry her - but Nik? There's history between Jason and Nik - there's family and death and loss - and instead Nik's motive is money.

That is possibly the least interesting, least soapy thing they could do.

I can't even with the Liz story because that's more WTFery than I can deal with

Edited June 14, 2015 by Oracle42