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Elizabeth Webber: Forever The Manipulative Miss Or Adorable Angel?


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(edited)

So, full disclosure, Liz could straight up murder everyone in PC and I would still be a fan, so I'm definitely biased.  But I'm thinking, if done right, this story could be one of the most interesting developments for Liz's character in years.  Although her speech about always doing the right thing is seemingly bullshit (because she has done a lot of wrong things), most of the things she has done she justified to herself as doing it to help others (i.e., lie about Jake's paternity to help Lucky and so the baby wouldn't stand in the way of Jasam's reunion in 2007) or tries to excuse to herself until its too late.  The Niz affair of course was a giant exception as was keeping Danny's paternity from Sam and Jason (although that was one day and she told the truth right away). And I do think she "paid" for Niz. How many other characters talk about their affairs three or four years after it happens and still apologizes for it? The Niz blowout lasted months and Liz had no love interest for two years or so.  Yeah she kept her friends (Robin and Patrick), her kids still love her, and Nikolas stayed her friend, but that all made sense in the context of her story. She didn't lose everything like maybe some feel she deserved, but in PC, people murder and rape and don't lose everything. So I'm not crying a river that Liz didn't lose her entire life over an affair. 

 

I think Liz is like screw it, I live in a town of mobsters, con artists, kidnappers and killers who all have made good lives for themselves and are happy without ever facing consequences, but look at me, I'm a single, hardworking, law-abiding (most of the time) parent of two young boys who can never get my love life on track and lost my son. It's a potentially interesting story. I think she is in denial about how her choices have affected her life, and feels like a victim of circumstances when in fact most of the time her unhappiness was based on circumstances she created. I think this aspect of Liz's character is what makes her one of the most interesting on GH and I agree she needs serious therapy!! I was hoping Ewan could be the one to help her, therapy wise, but alas, that did not happen. 

 

The other interesting think to me about Liz's speech is how she ties her happiness in with Jason. Maybe this all ties back to when Jason proposed to her when she was pregnant with Jake and she said no because she thought he wanted to be with Sam.  She's thinking, if I had only been selfish then and said yes, I would be happy and Jake would be alive.  She truly thinks if she had a chance to be with Jason she would be happy.  Maybe this ties into the loss of Jake.  I think Liz will realize that although she is lying selfishly for her own happiness (i.e., to keep Jason), she's not going to be happy because she's living a lie and that Jason is not the key to her happiness.   It's an interesting realization for her character to finally let go of Jason, and realize that she is in control of her own happiness.  Plus what she really wants is for Jason to choose her,and Jason isn't choosing her, Jake is. 

 

Plus BH was rocking it, and I'm glad she is getting material.  So I'm going to try to enjoy it and hope at the end it leads to growth for her character. Of course at the end, she will lose Jason and everyone will hate her (even Patrick and Robin this time have reason to).  The only one who won't hate her is probably Nikolas. 

Edited by tallyrand
  • Love 4

I don't agree. I don't think she was thoroughly punished. I definitely don't remember most everyone castigating her or being condescending. I'd need a few examples of this. She had a couple of people, like Lulu, go off on her, but after she had her breakdown, everyone felt sorry for her again, including Lucky. Him telling her they're no good for each other isn't punishment to me, especially considering what she did. 

 

See, I felt like she was being pretty much demeaned constantly by Lucky, by the show (I didn't see that breakdown as a "free pass" but more humiliation, in the GH pattern of showing how all the wimmins have weak brains. It was paternalistic - "see, Liz didn't mean to do it! She's just a sad pathetic woman who never dealt with her rape!"). Luke was gentle with her but he certainly didn't give her a pass. He just wisely realized he was in no position to throw stones, but he certainly didn't coddle her or excuse her, and he was the one who told lucky to stay away whenever he thought Lucky was starting to soften up. Even Ethan got in on the "you two are no good for each other" act even though he knew nothing about Luke, Laura, Liz, or Lucky. 

  • Love 7
(edited)
therapy

 

*laughs herself out of her chair* There hasn't been a full-time shrink on staff since Lainey, and she was the worst therapist ever. I don't understand why Ron hasn't tried harder with this, because a shrink hearing all sorts of secrets is very soapy. It also allows for other people to overhear said secrets in a way that isn't nearly as stupid as people talking loudly in public places.

 

ETA:

Ewan

 

Oh, right, he was a shrink. But his place on the canvas wasn't really as a doctor.

Edited by dubbel zout
  • Love 4

See, I felt like she was being pretty much demeaned constantly by Lucky, by the show (I didn't see that breakdown as a "free pass" but more humiliation, in the GH pattern of showing how all the wimmins have weak brains. It was paternalistic - "see, Liz didn't mean to do it! She's just a sad pathetic woman who never dealt with her rape!"). Luke was gentle with her but he certainly didn't give her a pass. He just wisely realized he was in no position to throw stones, but he certainly didn't coddle her or excuse her, and he was the one who told lucky to stay away whenever he thought Lucky was starting to soften up. Even Ethan got in on the "you two are no good for each other" act even though he knew nothing about Luke, Laura, Liz, or Lucky. 

 

I honestly don't remember her constantly being demeaned by Lucky. If by being demeaned you mean he didn't take her back right away, maybe. Otherwise, I didn't see it. And for me I don't consider being punished thoroughly, like you said she was, constitutes a debateable "GH was being mean to women by having her breakdown" and Lucky's family wisely remarking that Liz and Lucky weren't good for each other, especially considering their history.

  • Love 1
(edited)

I honestly don't remember her constantly being demeaned by Lucky. If by being demeaned you mean he didn't take her back right away, maybe.

 

no, that's not what I meant. I meant him just randomly encountering her long after the breakdown in February 2010 and telling her how much they sucked together and how she didn't know what she wanted and she was all turned around in the head. I mean, I could try to find random examples of this but it would take me forever and I'm too lazy. Which, I mean, obviously from a lot of people's point-of-views all that is perfectly true, and I don't necessarily disagree myself, but I just remember thinking at the time you could say this of 99% of the people on GH but Liz is one of the only few breaking down because she's so weak she can't handle the fall-out of an affair/her actions.

Edited by ulkis

no, that's not what I meant. I meant him just randomly encountering her long after the breakdown in February 2010 and telling her how much they sucked together and how she didn't know what she wanted and she was all turned around in the head. I mean, I could try to find random examples of this but it would take me forever and I'm too lazy. Which, I mean, obviously from a lot of people's point-of-views all that is perfectly true, and I don't necessarily disagree myself, but I just remember thinking at the time you could say this of 99% of the people on GH but Liz is one of the only few breaking down because she's so weak she can't handle the fall-out of an affair/her actions.

 

But all of that was true. And considering the way Liz treated Lucky, I don't blame him for being bluntly honest. Treating Liz with kid gloves after everything she does is likely why she is doing this again. Because if anyone really calls her out - and I don't mean like Lulu after "poor little Lizzie's breakdown so as to garner sympathy", I'll be stunned.

  • Love 5
(edited)

What's weird about Liz's decision (well, it's all weird and creepy) is she was getting emotional about how Jason "remembered her" and Jake. But she also knows via Patrick that Jason was dreaming about having sex with Sam. And she wasn't there for this, but Jason also remembered Robin. And he's besties with Carly. Like, it's all still a part of Jason. Are the writers really going to claim she's so delusional that she's going to stop those connections? Is she going to drug Jason next? Kill Sam? Tell Patrick to propose to Sam and move to Australia? It's nuts.

Edited by HeatLifer
  • Love 2
(edited)
I just feel like "what happened to that girl I found lying in the snow" set the tone forever afterwards whenever Lucky berated her, but admittedly that's my own bias.

 

Not just your bias. Their relationship emotionally never moved beyond the rape. I think they even talked about it once, realizing that it had set a framework they weren't ever able to break out of. There was no blame or anger involved, IIRC, just sorrow that it was something that they couldn't put behind them.

Edited by dubbel zout

I started to touch on this over in the episode threat but kind of wanted to expand on it as it relates to Liz's actions.  There's no saying that, the instant someone tells Jake "you're Jason Morgan/Jason Q," he's suddenly going to remember all of those feelings and go running back to Sam.  He may react the same way he reacted to being presented with his "wife" Greenlee* - "well, that's swell, but, and this is awkward, I still want to be with Liz."   I so wish that, instead of having her keep this secret, she told him who he was.  If the show still wanted to prolong the story line, he could have not connected to those memories, and be clear that he still wants her.  Liz then could have been like "well, screw it, I told him, he still wants me, so we're doing this."  It dirties her character up some, but it's not the AJ Express making 10 stops daily on Liz's back.  You'd still have people in town (chiefly Sam, obviously) pissed that she's not stepping back and pushing him away so he can have more time and space to figure out who he is and get those memories back, so there's still obvious conflict.  For AMC viewers, I'm thinking like Maria's "back from the dead amnesia" where she was told exactly who she was, who her husband was, who her kids were, and she felt nothing for her old life/family.  There were months where she was with another guy, while she still tried to at least bond with her kids.  Eventually, her daughter almost drown, and, while she was saving her, her memories came back to her.  So they could do something like that - Jason stays with Liz while trying to bond with Danny.  Danny's leukemia returns, and seeing his son in the hospital is the emotional charge he needs to get those memories and feelings back.  

 

*Obviously, I know he's already friendly with Sam, so he's closer to her as opposed to Greenlee randomly showing up in town, but he hasn't expressed any romantic interest or backed off on his intentions towards Liz as that friendship with Sam has formed.  So it's not like it's a given that the second someone tells him he's Jason, he'll be all "thank God!  I've been dying to get with Sam!"  

  • Love 4

Not just your bias. Their relationship emotionally never moved beyond the rape. I think they even talked about it once, realizing that it had set a framework they weren't ever able to break out of. There was no blame or anger involved, IIRC, just sorrow that it was something that they couldn't put behind them.

But see I think they did. What I meant was that line of Lucky's after the confrontation kinda came off as "why can't you still be that violated virgin I met", and that every time he got up in her face after that it felt like him going "why can't you be that girl instead of the confused wishy washy whore you turned into?"

  • Love 2
*Obviously, I know he's already friendly with Sam, so he's closer to her as opposed to Greenlee randomly showing up in town, but he hasn't expressed any romantic interest or backed off on his intentions towards Liz as that friendship with Sam has formed.  So it's not like it's a given that the second someone tells him he's Jason, he'll be all "thank God!  I've been dying to get with Sam!"

 

True. But if Jake discovers he is Jason, he may also feel compelled to at least forge something with his wife, which Sam still is. Albeit an awkward friendship, mere cordiality and divorce, or...whatever, since they do share a child.

 

All of which is not an issue to Liz if she stays quiet.

 

But even if Jason wanted to take some time and hey, maybe choose Liz on his own with the facts, he is being denied that. So no, he may not want Sam, but the dynamic would shift regardless, and Liz doesn't want that. Because she is selfish.

  • Love 7
(edited)
But see I think they did. What I meant was that line of Lucky's after the confrontation kinda came off as "why can't you still be that violated virgin I met", and that every time he got up in her face after that it felt like him going "why can't you be that girl instead of the confused wishy washy whore you turned into?"

 

You think Liz and Lucky did put the rape behind them? Doesn't "why can't you be [the violated virgin I met] instead of the confused wishy washy whore you turned into?" go back to the rape? It's always going to be a part of their joint baggage. 

 

I don't think Lucky could ever see Liz clearly after that. And Lucky was always the guy who "saved" Liz.

 

But Ron likes to go for the bulldozer when the sledgehammer would have been just fine.

 

Even the sledgehammer requires too much work. He never wants to write nuance

Edited by dubbel zout
  • Love 2

You think Liz and Lucky did put the rape behind them? Doesn't "why can't you be [the violated virgin I met] instead of the confused wishy washy whore you turned into?" go back to the rape? It's always going to be a part of their joint baggage.

 

I do think it goes back to the rape, but that only happened after JJ came back. I think they got past it, but then when JJ came back they regressed back to that.

(edited)

I hope that, when this all blows up, they have Liz get some genuine therapy.  It would be interesting to find that her obsession with being with Jason again is somehow tied to her subconsciously thinking that they can create another Jake, and restore what she's lost.  (Not that I want to see them actually create another baby together unless they're actually going to be a couple and not just a speedbump on the way back to Jasam.) 

Edited by KerleyQ
  • Love 3

Took this from the episode thread:

 

 

I remember it was to cover a pregnancy leave of BH.  Liz went to see her parents in Europe, so she could be away while her death was faked.  I can't recall the exact scenario, but Helena was involved.  Could have been to fool Helena into thinking she was dead to avoid threats from her.  Nik was in on it, I think.

 

 

I thought Liz hasn't seen her parents since right before she moved to PC? 

I wish Elizabeth could tell Jason who he is and like others have said, let him make the choice to stay with her or not because I don't want to story to go back to Jason and Sam because "let's just re-do this all over again!" It seems silly to rehash the storylines and go back because you can't go back and you need Jason to be a new character and Elizabeth needs to find herself without others (but this is a soap so never gonna happen!)

  • Love 4
This isn't a high school lesson, though! This is a huge secret. Laura is a damn adult and should let Jakeson and Sam know the truth. I hate how this is making Laura look like a teenager, dropping hints and "looks" to Liz to torture her into telling the truth. This is worse than Nik. You're going to keep the secret but be annoying at the same time? Stop.

 

 

if it went on for more than an episode, I would feel this way. But she came to Liz's house to speak to her and couldn't get a private moment with her, thus all the annoying self-righteous hints before she could get Liz alone. I don't think it would have been cool of Laura to walk in there and been all "hey Jake, you're Jason! boom!" Maybe Liz deserves that (okay scratch that she does) but Laura has a lot of affection for her and wouldn't do it, do that to her like that.

 

Now, after tomorrow, I dunno how Liz is gonna get

Laura to be quiet some more but I guess she does. Then I'll 100% agree with you . . . unless they somehow come up with some awesome reasoning which I doubt . . .

but for now I'm not mad at Laura.

  • Love 3

I just don't think it's cool to agree to keep a secret and then behave like a self-righteous "hint dropper" to make the other person spill. I guess we'll see if it continues.

 

I don't either, but technically she hasn't really agreed with Elizabeth about it. Liz didn't know she knew. Or, did she. I'm getting confused now, lol.

(edited)

I was thinking about it, and for me, when I watch Elizabeth scenes, what I'm appalled at more is how stupid she is being, and short-sighted, and how pathetically desperate she is, to be willing to live this life of constantly being on the edge, for friggin Jason. I could not care less about Jason himself, or whether he gets to have a relationship with Danny, and to be honest I resent them changing Jason into this "charming cowboy" dude who all of a sudden is just a cute little innocent flower so please regard his hitman past please. So it's hard for me to think of Jason as Liz's victim. Everyone else as Liz's victim, sure. Monica, Sam, Michael. But Jason himself? Meh.

Edited by ulkis
  • Love 6

Jason would be more of a victim if Liz were thwarting his digging around in his past. But he's not—he's happily playing house with her. He's not complicit in the lie, but he sure hasn't tried very hard to figure out who he is.

 

I wonder if Liz will smother Hayden with her hospital pillow.

  • Love 1
(edited)

Jakeson hasn't tried hard to figure out who he is for a reason. It's to make this stupid plot go round, lol. He can't be passionate about finding out his identity and a possible wife and kids and also screw Liz on the side. Jakeson has to be all about Liz for this to work or she would look even more cray in this story, if that's possible. It's the same reason why Patrick can't investigate that the mother of his child hasn't spoken to anyone in nearly a year. It's all to service a specific plot point. So if Patrick gets a pass for "reasons", all the other characters should, too.

Edited by HeatLifer
  • Love 1
Maybe Liz deserves that (okay scratch that she does) but Laura has a lot of affection for her

 

Which I no longer understand. Sure, Lucky and Nik are big boys who don't need Mommy fighting their battles, but from her viewpoint as their mother, Liz has hurt both of her sons and has cheated on one whom she married and claimed to love - and did so more than once. And got knocked up by the guy she cheated with. Who is a killer.

 

I'd be through with her right there, sympathetic past or not.

  • Love 4

She'll skate.

Jason will understand why she did what she did and stay connected to her that's one of the reasons they brought their spawn back to keep Jiz connected.

I doubt Sam will do much but rave and people will take their shots or have their say.

The only one I can see really holding this against Liz is Carly, everybody else will understand.

 

Short of Becky Herbst leaving the show, I'm just curious what people would consider proper consequences for Liz?

She'll skate.

Jason will understand why she did what she did and stay connected to her that's one of the reasons they brought their spawn back to keep Jiz connected.

I doubt Sam will do much but rave and people will take their shots or have their say.

The only one I can see really holding this against Liz is Carly, everybody else will understand.

Short of Becky Herbst leaving the show, I'm just curious what people would consider proper consequences for Liz?

I honestly don't think RH should leave or have the town line up taking their turn with her. I've seen people say she should get her kids taken away and I don't think that's fair either.

But I don't know what consequences she should get for this what Liz is doing is bad but I don't think she should suffer horribly for it.

I just don't want Sam around the mess when it all blows up looking as much Jason obsessed as Liz.

  • Love 1

Taking her kids away is inappropriate. The boys are affected, of course, but the lie isn't about them.

 

I don't know what sort of punishment would be interesting to watch. Seeing the town line up and berate her is boring (most of them have no reason to yell at her), Liz going to Shady Brooke is stupid (though she clearly could use counseling), and I don't think the lies are illegal (so jail is out).

 

Nik has to pay, too. He should lose ELQ at the very least.

Edited by dubbel zout
  • Love 4
Lucky is the love of Liz's life.

 

I think it's legit that Lucky and Liz are kaput. The rape and its aftermath has affected their adult relationship to a degree that it makes sense to me that they're no longer together. I can see both of them moving on to other partners and being very happy. But the show probably isn't interested in developing that. It's too easy to shackle Liz to Nik (or Patrick), and anything to do with Lucky will happen offscreen.

Now you're just trying to get on my good side!

I speak facts! :P

Liz and Lucky being over isn't really relevant...to me, at least. That doesn't negate the fact that I believe he's the love of her life. Jason was never that person until Ron twisted history.

And the idea of Liz and Patrick literally makes me want to vomit.

Edited by HeatLifer
  • Love 2

I think you could make an argument before Ron came along that Jason was the One Who Got Away. But not quite so definitively as Ron has made it. siiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

 

 

I think it's legit that Lucky and Liz are kaput. The rape and its aftermath has affected their adult relationship to a degree that it makes sense to me that they're no longer together. 

 

Oh, I can definitely say that as well. But I could say that for any soap couple, all of these people have done stuff to each other that would be a legitimate reason for a permanent break-up.

 

I'm mostly annoyed because I don't think Liz and Lucky were ever really written for after the fiyah, because Guza never gave a shit for the other Luckys. And they FINALLY got JJ back and what do they do?? Decide to go with Lucky and RANDOM REDHEAD.

 

Scuse me, dubbel zout, I have to borrow a rage blackout from you.

  • Love 7

I don't get what punishment people are looking for. She's going to lose Jason. That's the point.

That's something she should be glad about especially if he comes back as the borg. This really bores me to death. I like both Sam and Liz and I think they are both tooo good for the killer for hire. I will be on the barge so ,who cares who ends up with who. Maybe he could get dumped in the harbor again and BillY Miller could just be a new character.

  • Love 1

I don't consider Liez loosing Jason to be punishment because he was never hers to begin with.

And I get that. But, IMO, that's all that Liz is going to see as a loss. She's not close with Sam, Monica, Michael, Sonny, Carly, etc.* So to me, those people getting mad at her and shunning her doesn't do anything. Losing her friend, the father of her child, the man she crazily loves, IS a loss, IS something that would devastate her, regardless of whether or not Jason was "hers."

*I actually think Robin and/or Patrick's reax would be the strongest and would effect and hurt Liz more. Robin, who sacrificed her life to bring Jason back to Sam and Danny, should be FURIOUS. But, alas, she's not there. And Patrick should be livid, but this is the same person who wanted Lisa to "get help" and not go to prison after trying to kill Robin, so I don't have faith in his reaction,

  • Love 1
Agreed. If Liez should get a pass because her behavior is supposedly OCC then so should every other character that existed before Ron took over. He fucked over practically all of them.

 

I don't think many are disputing that. It needs to all undone and all forgiven, up to and including what the show did to Johnny.  As someone who is a card carrying Carly hater, I hated that Carly took up with Franco, because I think she would never take with someone that who, bizarrely, set up a situation that got her son raped, and continually messed with her precious Jason. With her incredibly high opinion of herself, she just wouldn't allow herself to even entertain the very thought. So her narcissism would win out over her selfishness on that one. And it can't be chalked as in character with her sleeping with AJ again, because her and AJ and a close relationship at one time, she knows that in AJ's own way, he deeply loved both Michael and Jason, and subsciously she was responsible for a lot of AJ's behavior. The most grating part of Franco/Carly, is afterwards when Carly (like other characters when they do something OCC in RC's GH) admitted that she would never take up with Franco.

I think with Liz fans (and maybe even some Nik fans) unlike with the other characters, she is actively doing something immoral and even illegal. While Liz is someone that never made the best life choices and many of her bad ones were born out of her being impulsive, it wasn't something that was actively evil, even lying to Lucky about Jake's paternity (though her affair with Nik pushed that). Her actions this time around have completely step over the line. She could go to jail and/or have her children taken away. She knows perfectly well what it feels like to have a dead child and even a dead lover of sorts, and RC's has even backtracked any growth Liz had when she finally came clean about Danny's identity. Here reasonings now about keeping Jake's true identity a secret sound like the rantings of someone that has made a complete break with reality and need to be taking a cell right next to Heather. 

  • Love 6

I think with Liz fans (and maybe even some Nik fans) unlike with the other characters, she is actively doing something immoral and even illegal. While Liz is someone that never made the best life choices and many of her bad ones were born out of her being impulsive, it wasn't something that was actively evil, even lying to Lucky about Jake's paternity (though her affair with Nik pushed that). Her actions this time around have completely step over the line. She could go to jail and/or have her children taken away. She knows perfectly well what it feels like to have a dead child and even a dead lover of sorts, and RC's has even backtracked any growth Liz had when she finally came clean about Danny's identity. Here reasonings now about keeping Jake's true identity a secret sound like the rantings of someone that has made a complete break with reality and need to be taking a cell right next to Heather.

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure that Liz has done anything illegal by not telling Jake (or the authorities) that she believes he is really Jason Morgan. It isn't the moral thing to do, but that doesn't mean that it is illegal.

Yeah, the reasoning are stupid. But I still understand why Liz keeps it up. Jason was her big regret. Lucky and Ric have only led to disappointment, over and over. But with Jason, it was different. He was always there for her. No matter what. She finally meets a guy who is like Jason, and literally the moment she can admit to herself that she wants to be with him, Nik drops the bombshell that Jake is Jason. And it really broke her. She was tired of being alone and unhappy. She knew what she should do: tell Sam and the Qs. But Nik gave her excuses: Jason was a bad guy, a killer. Jake can be a happy good guy. And Liz could be happy too. She couldn't stand the thought of being miserable and alone again. All she had to do was shut up and be happy. Sam was happy with Patrick. Monica has mourned and gotten past Jason's death. Danny was happy with Sam, Patrick and Emma. Why rock the boat? It sure as hell is rationalization and the immoral choice, but I can see Liz's pov. Her problem is that Liz is a pretty moral woman and her conscious isn't going to let her do it. Not even for love.

Edited by stlbf
  • Love 3

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