Soaplovers

I wonder if the blood test Ashley is going to have run for Naomi might pick up on that substance (if Hayley in fact did something to the cupcake), or if the pregnancy test generally doesn't pick up on things like that?

Hayley was working from a place of emotion... emotion makes one stupid. Even her cuz was saying that she shouldn't deviate from the plan.

I remember seeing her as a supporting character in the gothic classis Gaslight starring Ingrid Bergman.. and later as the other woman in State of the Union starring Hepburn/Tracy. It was a shock to my system seeing sweet Mrs Fletcher playing such different characters and then seeing her in the epic mini series Lace and the heartwarming The Gift of love: A Christmas Story... and it just sealed in my mind that she could play any character and play them well.

I actually thought Cady had modulated her voice and performance today and was acting more like a normal human instead of a caricature. Ah, but you forget that Hayley is pressed because Dani is not exiting stage left so she's become annoyed and anxious. Haste makes waste after all.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DP4QQROAKae/ Just look at him on mute and that's all I will say

If she and Jacob truly didn't want to be parents.. then either she or Jacob needed to ensure that a baby couldn't be conceived (i.e. tubes tied and/or vasectomy). To be honest, both of them have far too much baggage to be good parents.

With everyone questioning the timeline for Hayley making inroads into the Dupree family and how they assumed she had known the family for a long time. I think we just assumed that, but Derek had previously mentioned that he/Ashley were just getting to know her when the whole affair with Bill went down. And it has been stated that Ashley had known Naomi for a long time and that Derek/Jacob had been friends for a long time... so had Hayley been in the picture a long time, Derek/Ashley would have known her better. Also, did we all forget how quickly Naomi helped June out? It was a mere few months and now June is making friends with the other Duprees so I can buy Hayley being quickly welcomed with open arms into the Dupree family. Also, remember that Nicole hired Eva as her personal assistant and quickly treated her like part of the family all because of a good reference from Mona. And let's remember that Mona had only known SPS and Eva for at least a year or so. I think the Duprees are to blame for all these grifters and cons being pulled on them because they're too trusting. You'd think they would be a little more leery of June considering what Hayley/Ted/Eva all have pulled on them LOL

I was tipped off awhile back that something seemed off with the timeline of when Hayley entered the orbit of Bill and the Duprees.. and it was during that random scene between Hayley and Derek. Hayley was doing her song and dance about missing the friendship she had with Derek/Ashley/Naomi/Jacob, being on group chats, etc... and I remember Derek saying 'Well Ashley and I were just getting to know you when everything happened.' before he gave her advice on finding new friends/people to hang out with and that it would make her happier if she did.... and I saw Hayley regroup and later thanked Derek for the advice. At the time, I wondered if maybe a small part of her felt something for all of her marks... and Derek's small dose of reality knocked her back to the reality that she had a job/con to do. Also, @Veeearlier mentioned how islanded Derek/Ashley are.. and I have to agree. It seems as though the show keeps wanting to keep them on an island when there have been opportunities to connect them to others. To me, the best scenes Ashley (Jen Jacobs) has had were between Ashley and Hayley during their sit down conversation, and Ashley knowing something was off with Hayley not having a sonogram... and the slight cat and mouse between the two dancing when they interacted. Unpopular opinion, but Ashley should have been more involved in the Hayley stuff, the Doug stuff, and the SPS/Laura situation since she does work at the hospital and interacted with those characters. Instead she's shackled to Andre/Derek instead of being involved in other stories. Lastly... I also recall Bill wanting Hayley to quit her job and stay home.. and she refused. She was wanting to be where the action is (the law firm).. and wanting to keep her side hustle (receptionist/paralegal) while she waited for pay out. And now the lawsuit from the three women claiming Hayley was given special treatment and got the job one of the women applied for now makes more sense. Hayley probably scheduled to get that promotion as part of her plans for Bill.

Rewatching the episode now that I'm done with work and my ears perked up when Hayley stated that she should have gone for Joey Armstrong as her mark instead of Bill. Doubt he would have been any easier than Bill... but more to blackmail him on if things got dicey. And did we know in the past that Hayley knew about what happened to the busboy that went after Martin and Vernon... or was that another reveal today?

I think Zaslow being escorted out really threw a wrench into whatever plans the writers had in place in 1997 for Roger/Holly/Fletcher/Amanda. There was a few months where the recast was with Amanda, making eyes at Holly, while Holly/Fletcher had tensions because she kept letting Roger back into their lives. I even remember during the Annie Dutton trail where Holly and Roger were arguing about Blake and her role in the whole mess.. and he quickly kissed her leaving Holly visibly shocked/shaken before he left. I have a feeling that the writers at the time were still writing Roger with the belief that eventually Zaslow might return.. or that the recast would be accept. At the time, I also remember that the Vicky story was being talked about in 1997 before Vicky was introduced.. and it looked as though Roger/Amanda was going to play a part in it. In fact, I did enjoy the Amanda vs Annie scenes that did end up airing... but most of 1997 for those characters seemed like it was just scenes with no follow through.

The story is kind of murky, but I do believe that Hayley has been around the family for only a few years. She also played the poor little orphan card, which endeared her to Dani/Bill and to savior Naomi. I remember Derek mentioning to Hayley during their one interaction that he and Ashley were just starting to get to know Hayley so that tells me that perhaps it hasn't been more than two or three years that Hayley has focusing her energy on her mark. I also remember one scene earlier in the show's run during the wrongful termination lawsuit that Hayley knew instantly who to go to of the three and she was working her magic on her. Had Naomi not walked in, I think Hayley would have succeeded in getting at least one of the three plantiff's to drop her portion of the lawsuit. There have been moments that Hayley has shown that she's smarter than she's let on, and since Randy is her cousin... I'm guessing she might have some idea about what is going on with the whole Martin situation... and perhaps other situations with Joey/Vanessa, etc. And even though she would leave the room whenever anyone came to talk to Bill, I have a feeling she was listening and/or made sure that she could hear everything she needed to hear. Lastly, this episode highlighted the big difference between SPS and Hayley. SPS is delusional and her plots usually like cohesive planning and are known to be impulsive (Eva has mentioned this a few time) while Hayley looks to have been playing the long game.

They would need to start at the beginning of 1989 in order to get to the good stuff in the 2nd half of 1989. So what if Don Stewart was a bit egotistical, what performer isn't? Mckinsey was certainly a bit egotistical herself.. same as Zimmer. Floyd/Katie were a good sibling team and I'm surprised Marland didn't really explore the sibling relationship/backstory of the two. I know he came in during the last months of the Dobson era so who knows what they would have done with him had they stayed on beyond December 1979.

The character of Hayley has always kind of fascinated me because she has been a case of contradictions... and today we found out why that is With that said, the actress playing Hayley has managed to accomplish something that impresses me.... she manages to have scene chemistry with everyone she shares scenes, but the two main people in her story (Dani and Bill).

Hayley showing some backbone... about time. I did think the sweet act was all an act, but I'm hoping she has an axe to grind against Bill and not the Duprees. Bill is a lawyer, one that isn't known for being ethical and winning at all costs... perhaps one of his cases caused the death of Hayley's parents. And it does put into context that brief scene between Hayley and SPS where Hayley was putting on the sweet act with SPS knowing that Hayley wasn't being authentic and knew they were in the same boat.

https://www.instagram.com/donovan.yaqo/

Problem is that they're styled younger and act younger/immature vs how people acted like the 80s/90s. Some of the styling was a lot better in the 80s and 90s.

In the Riley Sager fandom... Home Before Dark and Lock Every Door usually compete for most favorite. I liked it just fine.

Riley Sager always knows how to write a mystery... even it's horrible and/or over the top... his books are very readable. I would describe him as a Ron C of mystery thrillers.

Is it bad that I cheer SPS stepping up to that annoying June? I don't think I'm supposed to have that impulse lol

https://www.instagram.com/p/DKqS0g6vPSR/?img_index=1

Manhatten Murder Mystery was my fav Allen/Keaton pairing.. moreso than the more famous/over-rated Annie Hall, Manhattan, etc.

I liked Jan's hair being put up on Friday's episode.. it was the best she's looked. While I don't think Mona is class betrayal, I do think she's the type that makes work her whole life because she doesn't seem to have anything else in her life other than being a surrogate mom to Laura (the first week did hint at a backstory for Mona.. me thinks she gave up a child), church, and her Have Not get togethers. I think Mona thinks of her job and Nicole/Duprees like a family, but they would fire her in a heartbeat if they were looking to cut staff/expenses. The first week of the soap did seem to give little nuggets of story that could be told down the line... - Mona's speech about not marrying nor having kids, looking at Laura as a surrogate mom (either Laura was her child, or perhaps she reminds her of the baby she gave up). - Jan being a single mom, mentioned Ashley's dad wasn't the best of people, etc. - Hayley mentioning she was an orphan.. and Dani taking her into the family hence why her stealing Bill was the ultimate betrayal to Dani/Naomi. Will their backstories get more exposure down the line... or will they end up like Victoria Winters.. who never found out who she was. TBD.

I'll be honest, the core of ATWT has always been a little cold and stodgy. It worked well until ABC exploded with their more youthful and exciting lineup of daytime in the late 70s/early 80s that threw the rest of the soaps for a loop. Also, ATWT had a lot more damage that needed to be repaired vs Guiding Light when they took over. I think I read somewhere that it took 18 months of head-writing GL before they felt confident about the shape and direction of the show... and they weren't given that amount of time.. only a little over a year at ATWT before they were gone. Also, just because you're a talented head-writer/writing team doesn't mean you're an instant fit on a soap opera. Marland was a natural fit on ATWT & GH, while he coasted off of the Dobson's the first year of his tenue at GL before it appeared to be not as interesting by 1982.

That's why I enjoyed when Kobe/Long took over and finally gave Phillip a voice about the whole Justin/Jackie/Elizabeth/Alan situation.. and he voiced them to Mindy and saying he always sensed tension, but no one ever told him what was going on so he was always confused. He explained how he lived with Justin, but that he never understood why he was living with Justin/Jackie.. that he and Justin always clashed, etc. And one of my favorite scenes was Mindy deciding to question Justin to the point where he's annoyed with her, and I think there is a look in her eye that conveyed that she had an idea that he was really Phillip's dad. In fact, both Mindy and Rick knew the truth and never told Phillip. And I think that Alan was planning to tell Phillip because Bradley Raines was blackmailing him.. but Bradley told Phillip.. who had such a meltdown internally that I don't think he ever recovered. Once Phillip found out at the country club and he realized almost everyone knew, he grew closer to Beth because she didn't know the truth.. and he kind of low key pursued her partly because of that, party because he was sticking it to Rick, and also because he wanted to protect her from Bradley in a way that he wasn't protected.

Charles Pratt Jr wrote The intitation in 1984 that co-starred a young and blonde Hunter Tylo. Watching that movie foreshadows how he will write soap operas when he head-writes. Joanna Johnson - B & B - Killer Party (1986) Harley Jane Kozak GL, SB, Texas - The House on Sorority Row (1982) Kate Mcneil - ATWT - The House on Sorority Row (1982), Monkey Shines (1988)