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So with the Nina/Carly dynamic, I’m getting more frustrated/annoyed than usual. We recently had two things happen, essentially back to back, that have pushed Nina and Carly into conversations: one was Sam advising Nina that maybe she should ask Carly for help reconnecting with Willow (kind of insane advice honestly, but sure, I buy that from Sam I guess) and the other was Willow asking Nina to get along with Carly (also insane because Willow said no such thing to Carly, so it’s asking only one side in a war to make peace). Since this happened, Nina has had a few conversations (with Carly and Drew) that started because Nina is trying to honor Willow’s request and make peace with Carly but then a couple of scenes in become about Carly helping Nina reconcile with Willow, and then things get hostile. I don’t understand why the writers can’t allow Nina to maintain some degree of focus for one conversation. As much as I can’t stand Carly, and think she’s generally unnecessarily nasty to Nina at almost every turn, it was perfectly reasonable of her to respond to Nina’s request the other day by saying she wouldn’t stand in the way of Nina and Willow having a relationship but wasn’t going to advocate to Willow for Nina. And Nina responded like a child, because again, the writers do not allow her to maintain composure for even one conversation. The pattern of these conversations is Carly or Drew summarizing Nina’s offenses in a way that is really only partly true, Nina attempting to play nice by taking responsibility for these exaggerated offenses, absolutely no one mentioning the things Carly did to Nina, and Nina being left frustrated because she’s now agreed that she’s as awful as they claim she is without getting any concession whatsoever from the other side and really gaining no ground. I don’t understand why this is happening. You would think that with the secret that Nina turned Carly and Drew in to the SEC, something that is sure to get her a ton of grief from basically everyone except Ava, they would allow Nina some advancement with these people, if for no other reason than to give her someplace from which to fall later. The show invests a lot in Nina — she played by an incredible actress, gets more screentime than almost anyone on the show, and has become popular with fans — but they treat the character so badly. It’s really strange.
ReplyCopy URLHaley Pullos did some very nice work in Thursday’s episode where Molly learns about her endometriosis diagnosis. I imagine it must’ve been difficult to watch these dramatic scenes in her alter ego’s life unfold on screen while at the same time the real-life news of her DUI arrest became public knowledge. The photos (as featured on TMZ) taken of the crash site look horrific. It’s nothing short of a miracle that she (and the driver of the other car in the collision, who sustained major injuries) survived, otherwise this could’ve easily been a very different news story. I’m so glad that she’s since checked into rehab and getting the help she needs. Wishing her all the best.
ReplyCopy URLI’m still catching up (just watched Friday’s episode), and I agree that Haley’s performance from last Thursday episode was very strong. It’s a shame that when Molly seems to be getting something of a story for the first time in ages, Haley has become unavailable to play it. But I am glad she’s checked into rehab and hopefully can get whatever help she needs so that nothing like this happens again. The details of what happened are awful.
It’s been nice to see Jordan getting to be a more emotional character now in her involvement with Curtis. The show had been writing her largely as a functionary since Tanisha Harper came into the role, which is funny because Vinessa Antoine’s Jordan had such loose cannon energy. That’s not to say I’m pulling for her and Curtis to get back together. I like them better as friends, and also I really like Curtis and Portia together. Also, it seems weird that everyone still thinks Jordan just lost those divorce papers and no one knows what Stella did. Jordan was getting crap from Curtis and Portia for months over that.
LOL at Trina waiting an episode and a half to give her DNA sample. This may be realistic to how long a person might actually have to wait for such a thing, but on a show where people walk into the hospital and surreptitiously hand some sketchily obtained DNA sample to whoever is at the nurses desk, it feels absurd.
Also LOL at Sonny specifically refusing to entertain any offer Gladys was trying to make about investing in Deception because he doesn’t want to get into any insider trading.
I’m interested to see this reading of Victor’s will. It’s one of my favorite soap traditions that when a wealthy and evil person dies on a soap, there’s a whole thing with a will. I’ve been a little distracted during the handing out of the invitations, because the messenger who is delivering them is so good looking. Can he turn out to be more involved somehow? Speaking of people getting those invitations, it’s good to see that Laura finally seems to be fed up with Esme and her BS. The way Esme accuses every person of being out to get her or manipulating her is getting very, very tedious.
ReplyCopy URLCarly expecting Olivia to throw Ned out of the house because she, Carly, believes that Ned was the one who snitched to the SEC (which unbelievably Olivia seems to think too – so much for trusting Ned, who has repeatedly told her he is telling the truth about it, which he is!). I did enjoy Olivia speaking truth to Carly that she created the mess she’s in by breaking the law!
Lots of romance today! I cited Cynthia Watros for her beautiful performance today (ably assisted by Maurice Benard I will add) as Sonny proposes to Nina! (We know how this going to go, with a big secret that will be revealed, right? It’s reminiscent of when Nina and Valentin almost wed but there was a big secret revealed about Sasha not being Nina’s daughter…)… Dex’s fantasy and at least at the beginning of the episode for Sprina – but Trina is growing tired of Spencer’s animosity towards Dex…
This was a particularly strong episode today!
ReplyCopy URLI finally caught up on the week’s worth of episodes! The Tuesday episode in particular was very strong. I know it’s not the kind of episode that really gets a lot of traction as a submission for series or writing, but it’s the kind of thing I’d probably want to vote for if I were judging.
Probably my two favorite things to happen last week were Michael and Josslyn fighting about Dex and Carly and Olivia arguing about Ned. I think the writers have listened to some of the complaints that having scenes where Carly, Josslyn and Michael are constantly just loving each other with no tension other than complaining about Nina and Sonny is annoying. It’s also about time that Olivia sided with Ned over Carly, and I especially like that Olivia took Ned’s side even though she thinks he did tip off the SEC and thinks it was a horrible thing to do.
I am very worried about this story turn where Nina’s new plan is to make sure that Carly actually does time is really going to blow up in her face. I suppose that making her go full villain on Carly will at least help to justify the way the show wants everyone to treat Nina anyway.
Kate Mansi has done a good job so far as Kristina. It was a very tough time to have a new Molly stepping in. Since Haley Pullos had her incident the last weekend in April, and this recast showed up on screen less than four weeks later, it seems like GH is not filming all that far in advance. I wonder how long before we’ll see the writing change as a result of the strike.
ReplyCopy URLI was distracted during today’s episode: who got what in Victor’s will? Why was Anna arrested? I saw the part about the house in Checnya and how Laura thinks Nikolas might be there and Ava is convinced he isn’t but I am not sure where that is going.
So of course Curtis is Trina’s biological father. I love how loyal she is to Taggert, it’s really sweet. Where do they go from here with this story? We will have to tune in and find out!
I thought we would get another beat in Willow’s story – just a bit more peril for her but maybe not?
ReplyCopy URLI hope there’s not another beat in the Willow story. She’s been dying of leukemia for a year, but it’s been clear for months that she’s definitely not going to die. Any further pretense that she’s in some sort of danger feels like a waste of time to me, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I am beyond tired of hearing so many people saying that they have to do things “for Willow’s sake” or as long as Willow gets better, “that’s all that matters.”
The only interesting things anyone got at the will reading were Spencer getting a tiny little box, later revealed to contain a pair of white dove figures (or maybe earrings?) and a key, and also Spencer, in proxy for Nikolas, getting that deed to the property in Chechnya. To Anna he left “the truth,” which maybe is why she got arrested, but we don’t really know. Laura got a congratulations for beating him, Valentin got a finger (a middle finger?) from the wreckage of a statue. Ava got a print of some artwork I think. I don’t remember what Alexis got. The whole thing felt a little like someone had an idea for a grand will reading, but then someone else had to execute it and just didn’t have much of a vision for it. Is it possible the strike has already impacted the writing we’re seeing on screen?
It makes sense story-wise for Curtis to be Trina’s father, but I did feel bad for Taggert. He’s been so staunchly supportive of Portia and Trina throughout this whole thing that it almost seemed like he really wasn’t that affected by it, until yesterday. Also, Stella coming back hat in hand after just disappearing in the aftermath of the wedding drama is fine I guess, but it is WILD that she still hasn’t fessed up about those divorce papers.
ReplyCopy URLThey are going to need to come up with a new obstacle for Sprina, something more than just Portia’s disapproval. There have been rumors that Selina somehow tampered with the test results but I think it’s fine for Curtis to be her bio-dad and for Taggert to be her dad dad…
Oh the irony if Nina manages to take Sonny down inadvertently! (; Of course she is going to get closer to Willow and her grandchildren only to have it all tumble down due to her schemes – I am on Nina’s side 100% though.
There has been a rumor that Marcus Coloma is returning to the role of Nikolas…. nothing is for certain though.
The show needs a better overall arc right now – an umbrella storyline that encompasses nearly everyone and is exciting and interesting…
I was shocked in today’s episode preview to be reminded that Austin is still a character on this show! (; (poor Roger Howarth, saddled with a role that isn’t doing him any favors)…
ReplyCopy URLAt least the show is finally getting back to dealing with Mason having Nikolas and the whole thing with Ava and Austin. What Austin wants doesn’t seem that interesting to me — the only Jerome I care about besides Ava is Julian, and I doubt he’s coming back — but at least they’re dealing with it.
It works for me that the big story that’s connecting to a lot of characters and smaller stories is the SEC investigation of Carly and Drew. I’m not thrilled, but of course from the moment Nina decided to report them anonymously to the SEC, we could all see where things were going. I love Nina, but it’s getting harder and harder to support her. Not because I’m bothered that she’s causing trouble for Drew and Carly, and by extension of that some level of emotional distress for Michael, Willow, Josslyn, or Olivia. Frankly, they all deserve it. I feel bad for Ned, Dex, and Sonny (I know, I can’t believe I’m saying this) and the unintended consequences they seem to be facing, but they’re all fine overall. The real thing that’s getting me with Nina is that she continues to learn nothing from any of the mistakes she makes. It’s so frustrating to watch her do all these things without thinking two steps down the road of what the consequences will be. I think the show has beaten me down to the point of just accepting that Nina is the witch they insist on burning at the stake. Carly, meanwhile, is actually kind of being her best self at the moment. Most of her scenes lately involve trying to convince her bratty children that turning Sonny over the the Justice Department is not the right thing to do, and she looks great by comparison to Michael and Joss. It’s kind of a hoot also that the show has now written it so that the Pikeman deal is actually an altruistic venture, with shadow forces within the U.S. government are providing assistance in places where, for political reasons, that can’t be officially operating.
Considering all the time it took for Sprina to get together and the seeming likelihood that Nicholas Chavez will be looking to explore other options when his contract is up (I mean, in addition to being an exciting and phenomenal actor, he has also now developed a body as hot as any movie star), I’m good with the show letting Trina and Spencer be together and have stories that come from other angles.
Why do the (male) headwriters of this show keep taking women’s jobs away from them? Alexis not being a lawyer has honestly been a disaster for that character. Someone is whining every other day about Carly losing her half of the hotel, and now she’s supposedly some great mother figure, hanging around making brownies. And now Anna can’t be a WSB agent anymore. Why? To what end??
ReplyCopy URLI just haven’t been as enthusiastic about the show as I usually am – these storylines aren’t really all that compelling for me right now. I need for the characters I dislike to actually get real consequences and not always be let off the hook because they are the “stars of the show”.
I love that Tracy is back though. Jane Elliot is just such a breath of fresh air!
I hope they will utilize Jon Lindstrom more now as Kevin and give him something compelling to do.
Has there been talk of Nicholas Chavez leaving the show? I haven’t read anything on those lines.
What is the plan going forward for Anna career-wise? Any thoughts?
Please GH bring back Delia (Ilene Kristen)!!!!! Ava needs her momma! (:
ReplyCopy URLI certainly haven’t heard anything about Nicholas Chavez leaving anytime soon. It’s just kind of assumed among soap critics that someone who is as much of a star as he is won’t stick around very long.
I’m excited that Portia’s brother Zeke is back, and the idea of him getting entangled with Jordan is intriguing.
After the excitement of Victor’s downfall, the show definitely does need to build back up some storyline stakes (other than the insider trading thing). Things do seem a little scattered. Maybe Anna comes back to the PCPD? Or maybe she gets a new career that is as random to her and running a newspaper is to Alexis. Maybe she’ll be the next CEO of ELQ. It’s good they are picking up the thread with Ava, Austin and Mason, but at this point, they really need to stop being coy about whoever Mason is working for. Also, Mason trying to make Ava get him information on Sonny seems pretty dumb. Ava should just tell Sonny about all of this and let him deal with it.
ReplyCopy URLLaura Wright has been excellent over the past few episodes, as Carly frustratedly deals with Michael and Josslyn essentially sticking their heads in the sand regarding the potential consequences for all of them of Sonny going to prison. It’s been really good for me to see Carly calling Josslyn out on overreacting for feeling hurt by Sonny and his actions and Josslyn even going too far with Carly by throwing Morgan in her face. I feel like this is the closest we’re going to get to someone asking Josslyn or Michael to try to be a little more reasonable about their feelings for Sonny and maybe extend him a little considering the ordeal he went through having amnesia for nine months and then being expected to snap back to the same person that he was.
I feel bad to say that I had entirely forgotten about Elizabeth until she showed up yesterday. It was nice to see the currently medical staff all chatting and hanging together for a bit. And I have to say, Portia looked absolutely stunning when she and Elizabeth hit the Metro Court at the end of the episode.
I was shocked that Ned apparently overhead that Nina is the one who tipped of the SEC about Carly and Drew. If that actually comes out soon, before Nina has a chance to really do anything unhinged to try to double down on getting rid of Carly, it would be much better for her. Drew making arrangements to turn himself in and protect Carly (and Sonny) is so pathetic and so emblematic of this poorly-drawn character they are passing off as Drew. It’s like he has to betray himself before Carly betrays him. This is the man who we were first reintroduced to sitting in his cell counting the days since he’d seen his beloved daughter? Now he’s good with going to prison so Carly doesn’t have to make a hard choice? Terrible.
The Jordan/Zeke scenes were hot, but I feel like also the show’s love scenes are getting more, I don’t know, Skinamax-y? Also, after all this time, a lot of the Sonny/Dex interactions still feel like they’re about to become softcore adult entertainment. Part of it is the dialogue/setup of the situation, but I think Maurice Benard somewhat vacant line delivery in these scenes is also a contributing factor.
ReplyCopy URLI was laughing my head off as Ned ran towards Drew saying “Drew, I have something to tell you!” and then slipped on some clothing and fell in the pool! I am just grateful they didn’t have Nina push him! But then the capper: Tracy tries to put the blame on Drew? (; Hilarious! Only on soaps!
The only saving grace of this storyline is that I don’t believe Nina should be with Sonny – nobody should! (; I can tell: Willow is going to get closer to Nina and then this secret is going to be revealed – groan!
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