Soaplovers

That scene of Val breaking down completely was so masterfully done. JVA could have gone OTT..but she was so subdued and matter of fact as she scrubbed off the 'Abby'paint and starting all over again verna. It's fascinating how planned out her shift into this new persona was and you could see the thought process play out in her eyes. I've always maintained Val's weak point wasnt Gary..but her need to mother. Losing the twins brought up the loss of Lucy and it caused her to go over the edge. It also explained her being a motherly figure to Annie Fairgate, Cricket, Olivia, Kate, and Lynette (waitress). To fulfill that need, to be there to help when no one was there to help her, and to be protective. It's why the Poor Jill scene later is so good because having a threat like Jill around her kids triggered her memories of being without them and she was bound to fight for them no matter what. It's sad how Val became the village idiot when she had such richness and complexity.

Angie H coming in last week did provide some spark and even caused Lisa to 'disengage' in a way only Lisa can disengage lol I'm waiting to see how Angie K and Danna do in future episodes...but Angie H and hubby did provide some sparks. And Whitney doesn't seem to understand her actions affected hubby's job. Didn't that happen with Tamra's ex on OC back in season 4?

From watching the episodes, I would have kept Poppy and written out Mitzi. Poppy seemed like she had more potential. And I know when the actress playing Poppy was on the Locher episode..she said she found one day that the voice she had used for Poppy would be fake..and had to figure out what Poppy's 'real voice' would be.

And it explains why Raven had a dislike of Shelley Franklin in the final year of the show...because Geraldine took on the motherly role to Shelley

If Kyle were smart, she'd examine why she is constantly at odds with both of her sisters while Kim and Kathy seem close more consistently. This scene from season 2( I think) showed how close Kim and Kathy were...and once Kyle showed up..it kinda went off the rail.

Robyn is giving Wendy a lesson on how the other moms will treat unlikable Wendy once her kids get a little older. If a mom is unlikable, the other moms will exclude her from play groups or mommy gatherings...which will affect her kids.

Rinna has always been known for doing those demented texts and threats... going all the way back to season 5 with Kim Richards. From what I could understand.. Garcelle was explaining that some words/phrases can be a trigger for her and other POC due to the history associated with those words/phrases that non POC people wouldn't think had a horrible meaning attached to them. And that she said that once she realizes that soeone doesn't mean any ill intent, she basically would move on and not hold it against the person. Sadly, Crystal chiming in later also railroaded the point Garcelle was making. Also, is anyone really surprised that Andy basically focused on the shallow topic of recycling instead of what Garcelle was trying to say? He's had a history of doing this going back to the season 4 reunion with Joyce. The difference was that no one on the cast supported Joyce during that reunion.. while Garcelle had Sutton/Crystal to speak with back stage. And Andy even admitted he fantasized about firing a housewife during the reunion whenever Joyce spoke. So why Andy is allowed to moderate a reunion when he doesn't understand the job description involved with being a moderator will always baffle me.

One thing about Penny was that she was a complex character...not all good and not all bad. The only writer that didn't have a good handle on her character was Marland. She was essentially a Stepford wife under Marland...and I will say he inherited writing the character as she was going through some changes started by Depriest (she makes a major mistake while in school...and neither parent is willing to bail her out so she starts working for Matt as a stop gap till she figured out if she wanted to be a doctor). At that point Marland takes over and turns her into a Stepford wife.

Sorry... Crystal needs to understand that feelings don't make something fact. However... her giving it to Kyle was a nice little bonus

From what I hear, Gizelle and Heather don't mesh well on the Girls trip (as Gizelle describes it, the snowflake holder is not use to Potomac directness and melts)...and apparently Little Girl and Candiace click...and it seems like Leah annoys everyone lol

Sutton said little, but said a lot with her saying 'I have nothing to clear up..she and I understand our non relationship well'

Maybe producer kyle warned Dorit she would be out if she pulled that again? I will say at least Dorit apologized to Crystal for the ED situation as opposed to Ericka..who just laughed it off. Did Sutton actually talk at all in part 1?

Dorit would make a wonderful 'friend of'.... imho. She is quirky, in her own little world, and her fan girling over JLC and her charity would make a wonderful audition piece to keep her as a 'friend of'. If she were a friend of.. she wouldn't need to align with the Coven nor with the Garcelle/Sutton/Crystal grouping... she could be Switzerland... though her stints on WWHL are a treat with her trying to spin the train wreck that is Ericka.

Apparently Lauren and Diane were friends when both were dating/married to Paul and Andy. In fact, Lauren in 1986 convinced diane to come back to win Andy back from Faren. Since Diane's 1996 return, no mention that Lauren and Diane knew one another..even.after Lauren married Michael..and he was friends with Diane.

He's aged very well I remember when he was on AW in 1997... he was cast to be a spoiler for Paulina/Joe, but was quickly written off. And he did the best he could on Passions. Shame he couldn't have been a recast when Richard Burgi was let go.. he seems to have that aura moreso then Robert Newman did.

Ellie was cold and manipulative. During her scenes with Digger, she seems to enjoy toying with him a bit as Jock looked on in jealousy. While I liked that Pam sometimes was Switzerland, I did love anytime she would spar with JR and the rest of the Ewings. In fact JR vs Pam was the central conflict... shame that the producers undervalued her and let her walk away without at least trying to give Victoria Principal what she wanted.

Y & R: Danny/Traci and Danny/Lauren Nina/Victoria and Nina/Sharon

Depriest is the one that created Nola Dancy, and she does a great deal of focus on the Joan Dancy right to die story.. which leads to an interesting plot to remove Matt as Chief of Staff (and I believe Mona Aldrich is on the hospital board, too). She's the last writer that tried to keep the focus on the hospital.. before Marland came in and changed the fabric of the show for the worst.

Nina grew up in Austin Tx...so she has to have some quirkiness... since the motto in Austin is 'Keep Austin Weird'. Stansbury and Aylan had moments where they liked one another...but Aylan tends to misread what people say..becomes defensive and insults the other person..and then surprised when they won't talk to her. And I think the divorce threw Stansbury off between LOL and Dubai.

I read friend of Taylor has been bringing it during the season..way more than production assumed she would. There is talk she may possibly be bumped up. Also, I heard Tamra has been making Emily work for her orange. If so, about time she earned her keep on the show.

Paige was more of an anti-heroine than a heroine or vixen. It's a hard character to write for, but had it not been for Nicolette Sheridan.. Paige wouldn't have been such a presence. When she first came in, she seemed to fill the Diana void of the troublesome daughter that caused angst for Karen and family. Since she wasn't related to Michael, it made sense for the two to hook up.. causing even more conflict for Karen/Mac. The one relationship never explored was the Karen/Paige relationship... they got along, but it wasn't a warm relationship... and it was interesting seeing Paige not fawning over Karen as the wise one like everyone else did. I did like Greg/Paige together... but I always thought that deep down, she knew that Laura was the love of his life.. and that was part of the element that kept the two from truly making a go of it because she would always be #2 in his heart.

Olivia had such potential..and her final season sort of skimmed the surface of that with Gary remarking that she had inherited her mother's natural business acumen...but had ethics. I could have seen Olivia staying on in season 12 free of Harold...and maybe interacting with Paige/Linda at Sumner Group...since she had rocky history with Paige and would have made Linda miserable for hurting her cousins..plus was Greg's stepdaughter. Some of Kate's stories could have been given to Olivia (except the Gary relationship in season 14). Lotus Point was a great secondary location...like Seaview Circle, it was a gathering place for the character rather working or using the facilities (swimming, parks, restaurants, etc).

In the real world, Val would end up with Ben...and Gary would end up either with Abby..or be chasing women like Cathy. I do recall Cathy and Gary having closure of sorts at the start of season 6...but sadly are not in one another's orbit much going forward.

Candiace and Ashley carrying yet another season while Robyn/Giselle just coast as usual.

Nicki has never watched the show if she didn't know about Candiace's razor blade mouth. That usually cuts Ashley every single reunion.