Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Single File: Why is Hope’s (Annika Noelle) hesitation to wed Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) so controversial on B&B?
Soap operas by definition feature a lot of people lying and repeating themselves (!) so it’s refreshing when a character just… tells the truth.
A recent scene on Y&R illustrated this when Nikki was telling Claire about her racy past, including how Victor met her at a strip club and Eliza Doolittled her into a respected society woman.
Claire: “Jordan said you two were married several times.”
Nikki: “That’s true.”
Nikki admitting her checkered past and fraught romantic history with Victor makes her vulnerable and that’s why she’s still an A-list character after 45 years. She and Victor are so flawed! That makes them relatable — and entertaining.
Victor (re: Jordan): “I have some bad news. The woman is on the mend.”
Lily expressing her anger at Daniel and Heather also made for honest scenes. She had no time for Heather moving in on her boyfriend.
Heather: “I never intended to hurt you.”
Lily: “You didn’t think about me at all. Daniel and I have history. We ran off to Vegas to get married. Our marriage might not have lasted, but I thought our friendship would. Friends don’t do what Daniel did.”
Especially not friends depending on you to sign their paychecks. The messiness of that love triangle operating out of the same office is classic soap, especially when you add Lily’s former lover Billy Abbott to the mix.
Lily: “I think it’s best if we fire Daniel and Heather.”
Billy (entering): “What did you say?”
Devon: “Can you not turn this into a paranoid Chancellor-Winters discussion?”
No he can’t. Lily is hurt and lashing out, which Billy of all people should recognize since he’s not exactly known for rising above grievances. (Remember when he tried to run Adam down with his car?)
Lily: “You both are terminated, effective immediately.”
Daniel: “I’m sorry this is the place it’s gotten to.”
Lily: “You should have thought of that before you betrayed me.”
Consequences are so refreshing.
Conversely, the endless scenes of Chelsea and Adam fighting over their son’s OCD diagnosis and his treatment, schools, doctors, second opinions, “the tools he needs,” etc. seems more suited for a medical documentary than any form of entertainment.
Chelsea: “Connor needs guidance.”
Adam (after arguing): “Fine. Let’s get him into that program.”
Perhaps there’s a snarky divorced couple with an OCD child out there that this story is helping, but I find it repetitious and tedious.
The Thomas/Hope breakup on B&B could use a jolt of realism. They’re all talking in circles: Hope is so lucky to be Thomas’s woman but she’s not ready to be Thomas’s woman. What’s wrong with a young mom with five marriages behind her asking for a little time before she jumps into her sixth marriage? Everything, apparently.
Ridge: “If you’d been honest with yourself, what did you want from that relationship? What were your intentions? Thomas was all in from day one.”
Hope: “Thanks for your concern.”
It was classy of Hope to not bring up that Thomas basically stalked her into bed, but her reluctance to wed falls on deaf ears with Ridge who has walked down the aisle over a dozen times. A logical man wouldn’t tell a woman fresh off her fifth divorce that his marriage proposal is now or never. Someone needs to call Thomas (and the entire Forrester family) on that.
Thomas: “I just wanted to be engaged, have some commitment for the future.”
Steffy: “She wants you to chase her. It’s all entertainment.”
Says another woman on her fifth marriage … I don’t understand why Hope wouldn’t have just said yes and asked for a long engagement, but I’m looking forward to moving past this latest “Logans are bad!” phase and getting back to soap basics. First up: A dramatic funeral for Sheila and the always-truthful Bill Spencer nosing around in Poppy’s past.
Luna: “I really like you Bill. What if you were my father?”
Bill: “Among other things, you would be filthy rich.”
Like that!
DAYS’ Holly has been lying so much lately that I had almost given up on her coming clean about Tate’s innocence re: her drug overdose.
Holly: “I never saw Tate using drugs. What happened on New Year’s Eve wasn’t his fault. It was mine.”
Now we’re getting somewhere!
Nicole: “The drugs were not yours. Self-blame is a coping mechanism. That terrible night you OD’d I thought there is no way those drugs are yours. Then I wondered, am I oblivious? I blamed myself for failing you as a mother. But you do not do drugs. You were the victim. Someone put drugs in your drink. I blamed myself for no reason.”
What? We all know soaps have to drag out reveals, but come on. Holly “protecting” her mother’s mental health by letting Tate be sent to a halfway house makes no sense. Fortunately, Tate was told to recap the events in his prison journal and it was surprisingly entertaining.
Tate: “Dear annoying stupid journal. I don’t need therapy. I need to get out of here.”
Rumor has it Holly will confess next week, so I await the fallout. Speaking of which, has Kristen scheming to “get” Brady ever worked?
Kristen: “You sent Theresa running into Brady’s arms and now she is sleeping in the bedroom next to his. Does your pea brain grasp how counterproductive that is?”
Alex: “Look, Cruella. Brady and Theresa are wrapped up in Tate’s drama.”
Kristen (furious): “That’s going to make them inseparable.”
Not if Holly tells the truth. See how that works? One honest conversation can propel the whole show forward.
Honesty is flying all over the place on GH lately because it’s a good way for the new writers to change stories mid-stream.
Lucy: “You’re really not a very good model. We just kept you around to keep Sasha happy.”
Cody: “Thank you for being honest with me. I’ve never hated a job more than I hate this one. Standing around with a fake smile on my face pretending to pet an alpaca isn’t for me. I quit!”
Sasha: “Maybe it’s time for me to quit, too.”
A truthful conversation can also rework a story that fell by the wayside. Spencer Cassadine was presumed dead two months ago and Trina just disappeared.
Stella: “I’ve been worried you’re taking this a little too well.”
Trina: “I’m not up for exploring my feelings.”
Stella: “You think holding onto the pain is going to keep Spencer alive in your heart.”
Trina: “I have so much anger it scares me. Esme got away with blowing up our lives!”
That conversation sparked a visit to Spencer’s headstone and a grief-stricken effort to say good-bye.
Trina: “I’ve got to try because if I don’t I’m going to drown, too.”
And from the duh files came this line from the local murderous psychopath:
Heather (to Laura): “Maybe if I made better choices I could have had a better life.”
Said every human alive … It makes no sense that Laura is all up in Heather’s cobalt-poisoned grill when Lucky refuses to come home, Lulu is in a coma and Nikolas is in prison. Go visit Lucky, fight with Lulu’s doctors and demand a cure, at the very least get Nikolas a lawyer!
I was afraid GH would drag out the explanation for Jason’s long absence, but the minute Anna told him FBI agent John Cates was really Jagger, his story about infiltrating Pikeman for the Feds came spilling out. That quick explanation was helpful for fans unsure about Jason’s return, and adds drama to his insistence that he didn’t shoot Dante since so many of the OGs think he did (cough, Sonny, cough).
Molly: “Your honor, Mr. Morgan’s rap sheet is longer than a CVS receipt.”
Diane: “We ask that Mr. Morgan be released.”
Judge: “Bail is set at $5 million.”
If Jason needs a better defense than the one Diane can provide, Joss amusingly spelled it out by saying the first clue that Jason didn’t shoot Dante was that the shooter missed. Not everyone buys his innocence — including Jason’s lookalike son, Jake — but Danny is Team Dad. Rarely can one line make me want to watch an entire episode with just two characters, but darn if this one didn’t do it:
Danny (to Jason): “You had brain damage, right?”
Out of the mouths of babes … the truth!
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
