Spoilers And Shockers

[Irlandesa]

The benefit of a random kid showing up is to generate stories you can only really have if they come in fully formed as opposed to someone who was raised from birth knowing their parents and their parents knowing them.

That's a much easier tale to tell with men, whose participation can be over in an instant and they can walk away never knowing, versus women who look pretty silly not knowing they gave birth.

[Peanut6711]

31 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

The benefit of a random kid showing up is to generate stories you can only really have if they come in fully formed as opposed to someone who was raised from birth knowing their parents and their parents knowing them.

That's a much easier tale to tell with men, whose participation can be over in an instant and they can walk away never knowing, versus women who look pretty silly not knowing they gave birth.

Well no it doesn't work as a mystery/reveal....although Days did go that route to some degree when Eve showed up in town and later w/Cassie and Rex. Those stories that require a great deal of suspension of disbelief aside, the point was that in the grand scheme of stepchildren and supercouples, the 'heroines' are rarely given the narrative where they lived a life outside the 'hero' and had children with someone else in the process that the 'hero' is now a stepparent too.  Kayla, Hope, Adrienne, Kimberly, and now Jennifer all had opportunities to have children with other men, but the writers never left it stick or never went down that road in the first place. 

[KBrownie]

Quote

I didn't say Abigail did anything to Gwen. What I pointed out was that almost all of the show's major couples (the "true loves") have had children (from the male party) pop up years later to cause trouble. And that any trouble Gwen would likely cause would fail to compare to the grief heaped on Hope when it was apparently Bo and Hope's turn for the troublemaker interloper child to strike. So even if Gwen accidentally runs Abigail over with a car, there are a portion of viewers (see the Abigail Deveraux thread for example) who would probably send her a thank you card in Statesville for taking Abs off screen 😁(call it karma for bad deeds done to others on the show) as opposed to Zack, who I can't imagine any viewers rooted to be killed off since he was an innocent small child. 😢 Bottom line, the Deveraux's story right now is just typical soap writing to throw hitches in major families and keep older couples still relevant.  And Gwen is just your typical slightly off her rocker troublemaker with a chip on her shoulder.  Her ire towards Abigail isn't much different than those who came before her--she wants what she didn't get and someone else has.  See also Charlie in regards to Tripp, who never did anything to him. Or all the many times the 'other woman' did the same to the heroine who never did anything to her.  It's not even about whether these type of characters have a "basis" i.e. a good reason for what they are doing to their target; what they have is a motivation, usually psychological and emotional, and that's what's driving the plot. 

 

I just think it's lazy writing, not "typical." Can't think of anything else?  Throw out the retcon kid. 

And "typical" seems like it can be, not that it absolutely is, used as a cop-out for not caring for this or anything else.  Well, you may not like x, y, z, but oh well.  It's typical of a soap.    

Also, I simply was pointing out that Abigail has never done anything to Gwen.  Where did I say that you said Gwen had done something to Abigail?

I'm not trying to and don't care to compare what viewers may/may not have felt about Hope's or anyone else's having to deal with a pop-up kid anyway.  I was giving my own opinion only on this situation and pointing out similarities I saw with other pop-ups.  I don't care how standard, or "typical" it may be, it's not enjoyable to me.  Trying to explain/educate/philosophize/lecture on soaps and how they supposedly operate or how this is "typical" doesn't make it make any better sense or more entertaining TV.  These are things I personally want when I watch something.  Others may differ and that's fine.  It's more of an excuse at this point to cover for the unoriginal redundancy on the part of the writers.  Especially these writers as they have concurrent rando stories going at the same time.  It's not some rite of passage that all couples HAVE to go through.  There is no "Soaps 101" textbook that demands this particular trope.  Although it sure seems like it when there's no defense or logic for something other than "it's a soap!"  The writers should try to do better.  It doesn't seem like the "typical" is doing too much for the genre as a whole.

Edited January 27, 2021 by KBrownie

[peachmangosteen]

14 hours ago, Peanut6711 said:

Maybe they should let the fans vote on who they want killed off, kinda like a reality show vote off. 😆

This is a fantastic idea lol. 

[Peanut6711]

11 hours ago, KBrownie said:

I just think it's lazy writing, not "typical." Can't think of anything else?  Throw out the retcon kid. 

And "typical" seems like it can be, not that it absolutely is, used as a cop-out for not caring for this or anything else.  Well, you may not like x, y, z, but oh well.  It's typical of a soap.    

Also, I simply was pointing out that Abigail has never done anything to Gwen.  Where did I say that you said Gwen had done something to Abigail?

I'm not trying to and don't care to compare what viewers may/may not have felt about Hope's or anyone else's having to deal with a pop-up kid anyway.  I was giving my own opinion only on this situation and pointing out similarities I saw with other pop-ups.  I don't care how standard, or "typical" it may be, it's not enjoyable to me.  Trying to explain/educate/philosophize/lecture on soaps and how they supposedly operate or how this is "typical" doesn't make it make any better sense or more entertaining TV.  These are things I personally want when I watch something.  Others may differ and that's fine.  It's more of an excuse at this point to cover for the unoriginal redundancy on the part of the writers.  Especially these writers as they have concurrent rando stories going at the same time.  It's not some rite of passage that all couples HAVE to go through.  There is no "Soaps 101" textbook that demands this particular trope.  Although it sure seems like it when there's no defense or logic for something other than "it's a soap!"  The writers should try to do better.  It doesn't seem like the "typical" is doing too much for the genre as a whole.

I'm not disagreeing that the storytelling is often flimsy, lame, and unoriginal and has the potential to be improved, factoring in or out the budget issues that hinder an enhanced production these days.  It's just after so long of viewing the show and/or genre in general you see it for what it is and balance that with your expectations when tuning in.  And while the writers may not have a textbook that they are following like Corday is going to grade them on it....hmm well....probably best to not dwell on who's pulling the strings too long.  Besides it's possibly more accurate to envision Ron whipping out the old Soap Bible, closing his eyes, madly rifling through the pages, and dropping his finger on the trope that he'll worship next.  Or maybe the headwriter's office has one of those big wheels like on the Price is Right. Instead of numbers on it, there's simply phrases 'long lost child,' 'switch/kidnap baby,' 'amnesia,' 'affair,' 'who's the daddy?' etc.  Playing along at home though probably requires a shot glass and alcohol….on second thought, that can get viewers drunk pretty quick. Probably better to just grab water. The perk then of viewing the show is that everyone is well hydrated. 

Now since the big arrow has landed on 'murder mystery"...

I wonder if there's a Plinko board for the clues, and if he solves who-dunnits via those little lottery balls swirling around in glass boxes as his writing staff sits around the zoom chat in their underwear....nah, they aren't that conscientious of germs so... sits around the writing table waiting for the reveal scene assignment.  "And the killer is...." Ron calls out! 

*everyone chugs a lug*

lol

Edited January 27, 2021 by Peanut6711

[Retired at last]

The problem with a "big murder" story is, at this point, no one cares who dies. No one cares who the killer is. And only one? Too bad.

[Peanut6711]

31 minutes ago, Retired at last said:

The problem with a "big murder" story is, at this point, no one cares who dies. No one cares who the killer is. And only one? Too bad.

Right! It's not like Rolf won't bring the 'victim' back from the great beyond at some point if the writers want him/her back on screen bad enough.  Or either excuse or redeem the killer (*coughs Ben*) if they don't want them sent off to jail, although the residents of Statesville aren't always lacking air time...or privileges. (*coughs Kristin*)

Edited January 27, 2021 by Peanut6711

[CanaryFan98]

21 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The benefit of a random kid showing up is to generate stories you can only really have if they come in fully formed as opposed to someone who was raised from birth knowing their parents and their parents knowing them.

That's a much easier tale to tell with men, whose participation can be over in an instant and they can walk away never knowing, versus women who look pretty silly not knowing they gave birth.

Well sometimes they do know they gave birth and keep it a secret... although AMC did this with Erica where she didn't know at first I found it absurd but considering Kendall was a product of rape I can see why she blocked it out.

[Pearson80]

4 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Well sometimes they do know they gave birth and keep it a secret... although AMC did this with Erica where she didn't know at first I found it absurd but considering Kendall was a product of rape I can see why she blocked it out.

Viki from One life to live, had 2 kids that she did not remember having..  I could forgive Megan but they did that shit with Natalie and that pissed me off..

[Frozendiva]

Susan Banks comes a-calling.

https://soapdirt.com/days-of-our-lives-early-weekly-spoilers-psychic-susan-banks-ben-hope/

[brisbydog]

6 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Susan Banks comes a-calling.

https://soapdirt.com/days-of-our-lives-early-weekly-spoilers-psychic-susan-banks-ben-hope/

Great more scenery chewing from Stacey

[Thatoneshow]

A 70+ yr old woman wants to raise twins? So they are going the mental patient route with Vivian.

I don't care how much I love my friend. If his wife easily breaks out or PRISON and holds me at gun point, We can no longer be friends. Here is your husband, I deleted my number from his phone 😆

I don't care how many Jabi fans there are (and I am sure the fans most likely wanted Stabi). There is just no logical reason to believe these two people are any kind of great love. Gabi didn't even want him until about a day before she had to leave. He has literally had a longer relationship with Kate, but she is the obstacle? Now they are dragging her son into this 🤢. How is it logical to put Kates son into a quad with her? 🤣. Although, I would like to see if something actually sparks between Gabi and Philip.

 

[tribeca]

Phillip and Gabi together.  Two timid personalities. 

[Frozendiva]

Some stuff for next week. 
https://soapdirt.com/days-of-our-lives-week-ahead-chad-threatens-gwen-vivian-plays-mom-to-twins/

[brisbydog]

2/8 • Jack conveys the truth to Gwen. • Jake has an offer for Kate. • Old wounds are reopened when Kate and Laura cross paths. • Rejected by Jake, Gabi turns to Xander. • Philip gives his letter of resignation to Victor 2/9 • Kristen summons Susan to the prison and asks for a favor. • Chloe volunteers to help Brady as he recovers. • Fueled by anger, Xander makes a shocking announcement. • Laura and Gwen face off 2/10 • Lani and Eli try to find a way out of their predicament. • Ivan comes clean with Vivian. • A desperate Gwen pleads for Jack's help. • Chad is thrilled when Abigail agrees to move back home 2/11 • It's Valentine's Day in Salem. • Steve surprises Kayla with a wedding. • Jake and Kate learn Vivian is alive. • Lani and Eli finally bring their twins home. • Ben and Ciara share a dream in which they are Romeo and Juliet. 2/12 • Ciara attempts to connect with Ben. • Ben confides in Claire about his dream. • Charlie threatens Ava. • Kate hopes to use Jake to thwart Vivian's scheme.

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, brisbydog said:

• Ben and Ciara share a dream in which they are Romeo and Juliet. 

[howmanywords]

Hey wait! Romeo and Juliet both die in the end. Too much to hope for?

Next weeks promo..😂 Gwen sticking her tongue out at Julie and Jake gawking at Gabi in a towel. Uggh at Susan shrieking

 

[tribeca]

Eric doe not show up for Nicole again ?😢. They really need a better story why he does not come home.  
 @howmanywords that clip is hilarious 😆 

trying to figure out how why Susan would be in Bens orbit.  

[bunnyblue]

Who the hell opens the kitchen door clad in a towel? And that looks like Rafe's new kitchen set, is Gabi living there now?

I know Soapdirt said Laura's secret is that she paid off Gwen's mother, but a part of me still fears her confession will be that she is Gwen's mother. However, they have sort of established that Gwen is older than Abby, and Jack's affair with Laura happened after Abby's birth, so the show would have to really fuck with history in order to make Laura the mother. 

I'm LMAO at Gwen's black eye; Abby packs quite a punch. 

Susan Banks? Ciara? More Ben? Ugh, I foresee a lot of fast forwarding in my future. 

5 hours ago, brisbydog said:

Jack conveys the truth to Gwen.

 

5 hours ago, brisbydog said:

A desperate Gwen pleads for Jack's help.

I'm kind of looking forward to Jack & Gwen scenes now that everything is out in the open. I wonder what she does that requires Jack's help? 

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Hey, it could be worse. They could imagine that they're Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. (Show trying to piggyback off of all the Bridgerton mania by just referencing Austen.) 

[peachmangosteen]

11 hours ago, howmanywords said:

Gwen sticking her tongue out at Julie ...

I love her so much.

[DisneyBoy]

Oh God....Dano's hair.... 😞

Viv wants a twin baby do-over then?

....

It's looking less and less like Susan is Kristen in disguise.

....

This is hard to watch.

[Retired at last]

Yeah, @DisneyBoy, I read that Kristen makes a call to Susan for help, so it is supposed to be Susan, and not Kristen. Good to know that while she was taken back to prison, she hasn't lost any of her privileges.

[Petunia13]

The spoilers haven’t been the greatest since return from their shut down and covid in general. I assume their sparseness and inaccuracies are escalated by more closed sets and layoffs 

[DisneyBoy]

There have been more layoffs?

Honestly, with the show feeling like it'll be canned sooner rather than later, I don't know why they aren't refocusing on the core characters and telling good stories about who they are, as people, before they're...well, no more.

If Corday took the following plot formulas off the table:

-Baby swap

-Kidnapped and held prisoner

-Amnesia

-Back from the dead

-Adult offspring we just made up

-Rape

-Mental breakdown 

-Lookalike 

 

....would they even know what to write?

[Petunia13]

57 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

There have been more layoffs?

 

Yes as I mentioned a month ago since the return during the hiatus because of covid they have no makeup or hairdressers. I imagine some other support crew has be shrank for safety as well as extras. Where do you think a lot of the leaks and spoilers come from? FFS it’s widely speculated Jason47 gets his intel from a spouse who works on set. 

I learned about the makeup and hairdressers being furloughed from CB who plays Gabi. 

[Rafael]

On 1/27/2021 at 6:40 PM, Retired at last said:

The problem with a "big murder" story is, at this point, no one cares who dies. No one cares who the killer is. And only one? Too bad.

And let us not forget Dr Rolf's revival potion.

[Rafael]

14 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

There have been more layoffs?

Honestly, with the show feeling like it'll be canned sooner rather than later, I don't know why they aren't refocusing on the core characters and telling good stories about who they are, as people, before they're...well, no more.

If Corday took the following plot formulas off the table:

-Baby swap

-Kidnapped and held prisoner

-Amnesia

-Back from the dead

-Adult offspring we just made up

-Rape

-Mental breakdown 

-Lookalike 

 

....would they even know what to write?

Dont forget about long lost kids . 

[Artsda]

Ben's reaction to Susan is funny.

[Damian]

6 hours ago, Artsda said:

Ben's reaction to Susan is funny.

Why? Is there a spoiler that says he as an "oopsie" and strangles her?

[DisneyBoy]

17 hours ago, Rafael said:

Dont forget about long lost kids . 

🙂 I didn't - "adult offspring we just made up"

On 30/01/2021 at 8:09 PM, Petunia13 said:

I learned about the makeup and hairdressers being furloughed from CB who plays Gabi. 

You're friends with Camilla? Or just through social media?

9 hours ago, Damian said:

Why? Is there a spoiler that says he as an "oopsie" and strangles her?

Take that back! You are mean, mean, mean!

[Damian]

12 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Take that back! You are mean, mean, mean!

My apologies: *Attempts* to strangle her. I have faith in Susan to always be carrying a wooden stake to finish off the vampires.

[brisbydog]

This looks fun. Marci playing Jen, Cady playing Laura and Emily playing Tiffany for flashbacks 

[Irlandesa]

What would be hilarious if MAsh played Jack. 

But are they going to turn this into camp now?

[methodwriter85]

13 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

What would be hilarious if MAsh played Jack. 

But are they going to turn this into camp now?

My guess is that Paul Telfer will play Young Jack. Not that I think he looks like Matthew Ashford, but going by how much Ron likes him.

Paul Telfer would have been a pretty good Young Duke on General Hospital. I could totally see that.

Gwen looks like Melinda Clarke with her hair like that. I wonder if Melinda wore her hair like that when she was on this show as a teenager.

Edited February 2, 2021 by methodwriter85

[bunnyblue]

The flashback has potential to be fun. I still don't understand how or when Laura managed to intercept Tiffany and pay her off. Although from the looks of where "Laura" & "Tiffany" are standing, I guess they met up at the Brady Pub? 

If there is a young Jack in the flashback, I think Lucas Adams (Tripp) would make a better Jack than Paul Telfer. LA's tall and has the clean cut look of 1990's Jack, plus his coloring is closer to MA's than PT's is. 

[nilyank]

14 minutes ago, bunnyblue said:

The flashback has potential to be fun. I still don't understand how or when Laura managed to intercept Tiffany and pay her off. Although from the looks of where "Laura" & "Tiffany" are standing, I guess they met up at the Brady Pub? 

If there is a young Jack in the flashback, I think Lucas Adams (Tripp) would make a better Jack than Paul Telfer. LA's tall and has the clean cut look of 1990's Jack, plus his coloring is closer to MA's than PT's is. 

Since Ron loves his camp more than actual story, they should just go for broke  and have RSW (Ben) play Jack to MM (Abby) Jennifer..Jack always wore suits and ties, right?

[Irlandesa]

9 minutes ago, nilyank said:

Jack always wore suits and ties, right?

Yes he did.  RSW?  Oh hell no.  They need someone who can do humor.  Maybe we'll get a surprise Casey appearance? 

But if they have Mike Manning/Charlie do it? I'd dig that.

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

But if they have Mike Manning/Charlie do it? I'd dig that.

I didn't even realize he was still on the show at this point. I thought he'd be ditched by now. Mike Manning is a wee tiny little twink compared to Jack's hulking 6'4" presence but it'd be fun to watch. I always got a kick out of the fact that Jack is such a big guy because it contrasts with his persona. It's like he's a lithe little European guy trapped in the body of a cornfed American jock. LOL.

1 hour ago, nilyank said:

Since Ron loves his camp more than actual story, they should just go for broke  and have RSW (Ben) play Jack to MM (Abby) Jennifer..Jack always wore suits and ties, right?

Nah, if anything he'd have RSW and VK playing Young Bo and Hope. They weren't even on the show at the time of the Jack/Jennifer hey-day, but whatevers.

Edited February 2, 2021 by methodwriter85

[peachmangosteen]

I am SO pumped for this flashback. That is precisely my type of shit lol.

[brisbydog]

Jack should not be in the flashbacks as he was ignorant of the whole thing, but if he were I think Mark Valley should play him LOL

[Irlandesa]

10 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

Jack should not be in the flashbacks as he was ignorant of the whole thing, but if he were I think Mark Valley should play him LOL

So was Jennifer but she's there.

[Pearson80]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

So was Jennifer but she's there.

When Jack and Jennifer were together, Laura was in a sanitarium... This story that Ron is writing makes no sense without Anjelica and Harper. It is why killing Anjelica was so short-sighted by him.  Harper paying off Gwen's mother and Anjelica finding out after the fact should have been the way to go..

[brisbydog]

22 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

When Jack and Jennifer were together, Laura was in a sanitarium... This story that Ron is writing makes no sense without Anjelica and Harper. It is why killing Anjelica was so short-sighted by him.  Harper paying off Gwen's mother and Anjelica finding out after the fact should have been the way to go..

Yep Laura doing it makes no sense. Harper and/or Angelica would have been perfectly acceptable to me based on them and their weirdo over protectiveness to Jack back then

[Pearson80]

1 minute ago, brisbydog said:

Yep Laura doing it makes no sense. Harper and/or Angelica would have been perfectly acceptable to me based on them and their weirdo over protectiveness to Jack back then

Ron does not care about the history of the show, he cherry picks certain history and perverts it to push his agenda.. 

[Irlandesa]

Honestly, I think part of it is that he couldn't revive Angelica for this story.  He probably wishes he hadn't killed her off or used Judith Chapman as Diana.

[brisbydog]

Jane Elliot is my only Angelica

[Petunia13]

22 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

Jane Elliot is my only Angelica

The irony is Jane Elliot is best friends w DH/Marlena in rl. I’m starting to think Ron puts actors off stying on or visiting the show. 

[Irlandesa]

Hasn't JE essentially retired?

[nilyank]

33 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Hasn't JE essentially retired?

She just finished another stint as Tracy on GH.