Chris B

I just went back to episode 2 where Ted talked about his brother and he didn't mention them being twins. The only thing he said is that he was very similar to Andre which does suggest it's more likely he's the one who got Leslie pregnant. But unless they were twins I don't know how she could get the two confused.

I always had a problem with Reid because I felt he highlighted the shows lack of respect for it's history in those later years. You have Elena Goode showing up as a retcon daughter of Rose when she would've been perfectly cast as Denise and Andy's daughter Hope. Then with Reid, you basically bring him on with all these shades of John, but you make him a new character instead of making him MJ, John and Iva's child. I'm not saying everybody has to be connected to a core family but sometimes it just makes so much sense. And I do understand that Luke and MJ couldn't be paired but they could've still played a triangle with Noah in the middle.

An interesting twist could be Ted pinning it on his brother and in the end we find out he's lying and did have the affair with Leslie.

I'm pretty shocked at what a good job they've done with Lucas. I thought he'd be in and out in two months but Van has been so good in the role I feel it's inspiring them. I wish we could've gotten him as Smitty, but ultimately I do think they'll get there. Both actors have been good in previous roles, they just need to get to know their characters and develop some chemistry. If come May it's still not working I'll re-evaluate how I feel, but with the small improvements I'm seeing across canvas with each episode, I think it's a safe bet to assume most will make it work.

I appreciate his success since I know how hard it must be to keep an independent soap going as long as he has but he was the one writer I had the most issue with, even moreso than Ron Carlivati (who coincidently did well with his breakdown Monday). I've tried watching The Bay many times over the years and have probably gotten through six seasons. The writing is the worst part of it. The show is very dark and he struggles to flesh out the characters because the cast is too big for the format he has. I wonder if doing a soap with so many characters was a struggle for him. Also a show that isn't centered so much around crime stories.

I missed that part. Definitely explains why he can't resist putting his two cents into Auntie Dani's drama.

This was the first episode I felt something for them as a couple. I feel like the lack of initial chemistry makes sense now that we know there are issues in the relationship. I'm very curious what Smitty is up to now. On the flip side, Martin is coming off far to vocal and cocky for someone we now has killed someone.

Just because a show got cancelled doesn't mean it wasn't good. Ambitions picked up a lot of steam when it was on streaming and outside of the OWN bubble. Also, MVJ was a producer and in the writers room for that show. She worked closely with Jamey crafting stories, writing scripts, etc. She knows who she hired and what he can do.`

Jamey and MVJ already have experience working together and Ambitions was good. I don't see why she wouldn't jump to hire him when given the opportunity. If she's one thing it's loyal and she also trusts her instincts. A good example of that was bringing on Guza as her Co-HW despite the way fans have talked about him. I'm going to continue to lean into trusting her vision.

I just started the episode and this press conference just screams money and status. Also, I'm going to bury this because I know people will be mad but Jamey Giddeons just announced he left Days for BTG. Personally I'm not upset by this. I thought Jamey and MVJ showed they worked well together on Ambitions. I'm glad she gave him a shot after he did the same on his series.

This is what I'm going to miss the most. I feel like they've worked out their kinks with this second season and the show has been so good. I loved getting to meet Remi's brother and dad and getting some insight on her upbringing. Of course Chelsea is around the corner with her baby as well which is waiting to be blown up. It's a shame that just as the writers figured things out they get the boot. At least I can anticipate a good final year but I do think it's a big mistake of Amazon to get rid of it.

I've finally gotten around to the fallout from the anniversary week and the actress who plays Stacey is knocking it out of the park. She's reminding me so much of Heather Tom with the rawness of her performance. I always enjoyed her but I didn't know she could break my heart like this.

I agree. I feel like he'll work it out with time. He's one of the more experienced actors in the cast. I'm very curious how episodes will be 2-3 months in once people are more comfortable and settled into the job of working on a soap. The one thing that is keeping me going with Martin so far is the chemistry he has with his family. I love any moment we get of him with Vernon and the brief moments with Dani really work for me.

This is the story I'm most interested in. I do think Eva is a victim of her moms lies but I wonder how it will turn out. Will she be Andre's sister or will she truly be Ted's daughter and thus a sibling for Martin and Kat? The actress who plays Eva is great and I know she's going to know it out of the part as they develop this story.

Today's episode felt a lot more settled in than any of last weeks episode. Of course we have to see how the week plays out once other writers jump into the mix but so far so good. It's such a shame to think other than her short stint on GH that she has never really been HW before. For all the kinks the show needs to work out, the writing is excellent and she clearly has a good handle on crafting entertaining stories with characters you care about. This was Dani's best episode. Of course she went to an extreme with the gun but it's so cruel that Bill asked her to be at the wedding. I want to understand why he is trying so hard to torment her with this. If I were Haley I'd be side eying that as well. Does he really want you if he can't let his wife's family go? The scenes of the Dupree family at home were excellent. I loooooooved the way Anita handled Dani. The only thing I wish was different is that I wish someone called her out on pressuring Dani to go.

I think killing Martin was a tough decision but I understand why they did it. If this was an American soap it would be easier to just recast the character or sit in in a coma for 3 years, but on a UK soap I feel like viewers would've rejected that. Especially since this character had already been recast once. I don't see another reason you could justify Martin abandoning his family either.

She did write for it and even pitched stories. I remember Jamey shouting them out throughout the series for stories they'd pitched during the series.

Dani reminds me of an Erica Kane or Sami Brady. She's an over the top diva who does many questionable things so it can be difficult to feel sorry for her even when she's wronged. On the flip side with Hayley, she reminds me of a early Jill Abbott or Brooke Logan. She comes across as naive and innocent but still the decisions she makes are wrong and she needs to take accountability for that. I love that both of them are so complicated because it makes it more interesting to watch. I feel like these types of characters are sorely missing from the other soaps these days and things tend to be black and white.

It's nothing like either of those shows. I know people will throw tomatoes at me for saying this but I could find some comparisons to Ambitions which MVJ also had a hand in.

I don't think it reminds me of any of the soaps specifically. It feels like it was inspired by the soap genre through a Black cultural lens. Part of why I feel I can't place it as like a P&G or Bell or Agnes Nixon soap is because you have a Black woman leading the show. Michele's unique perspective and extensive experience is giving us something that feels familiar but new.

It could be to prepare for the wedding. It's typical when weddings are held at luxury hotels that the bride and groom would be given a suite to get ready in.

In Michael Fairman's interview posted a few pages back, Karla Mosley dropped a few interesting tidbits. Their lighting hadn't arrived when filming started which explains why the first episode was so brightly lit. She also mentioned that something happened where they had to film 17 episodes in a week. My guess is that this was reshoots due to technical issues and possibly allowing the cast time to adjust to a soap production model. That explains why starting with episode two we started seeing improved lighting and some of the performances as the week went on. I think it's nice they took care to make sure they got this first week right. I don't think it's unreasonable to say this was an incredible week. A soap hasn't been launched in 25 years. There is no model for how to launch a soap in 2025. There have been complaints that too much happened this week but in today's tv landscape, you have to draw in the viewers instantly or you're not going to get them. I'm sure post launch there will be time to slow down and breathe but had they done that for launch week that could've tanked the show. Everyday this week a clip is viral on TikTok and Twitter, the show is also trending which is proof they did something right. Of course it wasn't perfect but I definitely think the foundation they built is stronger than some of the first weeks I've seen. Particularly I'd say Texas, Port Charles and Sunset Beach. All needed extensive retooling for the shows to work. The one thing that makes BTG stand out for me is that I do think the writing is strong. The ideas feel familiar but fresh and despite all of the action and exposition to set things up, I feel like they've done a good job of quickly developing these characters and their relationships so the world feels real and so we actually care about them. There is definitely room to grow but I feel like they absolutely got it right and any changes will just be improving upon a good product. I don't see them having to drastically change the show in order to make it work. Launching a soap is daunting and they definitely should be proud of what they delivered.

This is exactly what I want to avoid. Sheila has been ruined several times over but I thought they did a great job of resetting the character so she'd be viable long term. Why they almost immediately jumped to her shooting Steffy is beyond me. What happened to blackmail and small schemes? A character like Leslie could last for years if handled correctly. I'm especially curious about why she's doing this. That secret could go a long way to providing sympathy for the character. I feel like it has to be something solid if Eva is on her side, but of course her mom could just be lying about what happened.

As we all are enjoying Leslie, I hope MVJ avoids the trap many soap writers get in of writing villains into a corner. I feel like they tend to go too far but then want to keep the character on and either have to retcon an illness or make everybody on the show look stupid to justify keeping them on. If she goes too far, let her go to prison and write her off similar to how Bill Bell wrote off Michael Baldwin but then brought him back years later after he'd gone to prison and was rehabilitated.

All My Children is still talked about in pop culture which is why I feel Disney has been trying to get a reboot off the ground. It would be easy to get enough of the cast back as well whereas I feel like the same can't be said for a ATWT or GL or OLTL. People clown on Passions but it was very popular with younger viewers who are now in their 30s and 40s and the show is always going viral on social media. At the very least I think there would be a huge value in streaming the original series.