DynamiteKiddo

🤣🤣🤣

I haven't caught up to the JJ/Theo material . . . it's what I'm most looking forward to, though. This may be the writers' well-intended course correction of a WILD storyline that never should've happened. This was one of RC's first stories in the fall of 2017, when police injustice against black people (esp. youths) was finally getting the attention it deserved. And what did he do? A Blue Lives Matter story told completely from the wrongly accused cop's perspective. And there wasn't room for interpretation--go back and watch the scenes . . . Theo was holding some electronic lock descrambler that resembled a weapon and due to his autism, he didn't respond to JJ's commands. And iirc, Lani was however far behind so she couldn't corroborate anything as a witness/JJ's partner. Should JJ have fired his weapon? Probably not, and he definitely shouldn't have shot to kill . . . but the SHOW was very clear that it was a horrible, horrible, but totally believable, misunderstanding. We all remember what followed, culminating in JJ's standalone Christmas Eve suicide episode (which was, imo, one of the strongest episodes of modern "Days"). This provided really good content for Casey Moss, Jim Reynolds, Missy Reeves and others, but it was such a tone deaf story. It was lovely that years later, RC had JJ and Theo's story continue off-canvas, but without him around, maybe tptb are trying to undo some of this . . .

It is too bad that he ruined Alexis' return last year . . . I feel like if she could've shown her life with her kids post-divorce (instead of just Alexis/John/Shannon), she could have thrived as she's had a VERY interesting evolution. (But Jim probably didn't give clearance? and if she said anything disparaging about him he'd probably sue her for slander!) But she was just so psychotic about Johnny J.! I hate to wish people ill, but I think we'll all be shocked if this lasts a year . . . . . . . . . .

👎 Thanks, Jason!

If they were going to bring back a Horton ex for Steph it really should've been Nathan. He has existing familial ties to Maggie, Sarah and Holly aaand we never learned who his father is so there are different story threads you could pull there, too. Plus, guest appearances from Melissa fit a little better into the current canvas than Mike. But that may be a reminder that this Stephanie bears no resemblance to who she was during the Philip/Melanie/Nathan era, which was, by far, when she was the most interesting. I think that Abigail Klein is very natural and likable, but this very generic, kinda perfect Stephanie who all the boys fight over is such a downgrade from Higley & Whitesell's self-sabatoging tragic vixen that Shelley Hennig left as.

This is such a shame. He's very talented and Chad has become such a staple on the show. It's also very sad because it somewhat confirms that Abigail will stay dead (for now). But he's obviously been wasted . . . I know he thought Marci Miller leaving would have Chad be less constrained by her scheduling, and I think he was made a lot of promises . . . but Chad has been pretty aimless since her travesty of a murder in 2022. It's hard to not think it would've been better for them to ride off into the sunset, or even that they shouldn't have returned in late 2019 at all considering what came their way.

I won't be mad about Tamra finally getting her comeuppance from Gretchen. Talk about full circle. Bitd, it was easy to let Tamra get away with it because Gretchen (and Slade) was(/were) trash, too. (Except "Naked Wasted"--that should have been objectively horrifying to everyone.) But Gretchen does not get the credit she deserves--her & Tamra's feud literally made HWs what it would become and Tamra takes all the credit. Gretchen had to go to Bass Lake for Tamra to start it all. However, if Shannon is involved it'll take away some of the justice for me. I think the Tres Amigas: Vicki, Tamra and Shannon are all equally vile and evil people . . . Shannon has somehow gotten away with murder for these last few years while Vicki and Tamra have (deservedly) been going through it.

I wanted to post before watching the OC reunion to keep my opinions uninfluenced by whatever happens . . . first off, this season was FIRE--the best season of any Housewives in years and years and the first season of OC I've watched from start to finish since Lydia 2.0. I am really looking forward to the reunion. One of the reasons I tuned out years ago was, honestly, Emily and Gina. They were so shoehorned into the show and I was horrified by Shane and couldn't understand why they'd hire someone like Gina who was so obviously hiding/lying about so much of her life. Wow what a turnaround--they are like old friends now (irl and to the audience) and, dare I say, the heart of the show (?). I don't know if Shane got a bad edit in the beginning or just didn't understand how to be on camera, but he is so funny and charming now . . . he is a masterclass in househusband redemption arcs. A letdown of the season for me was that they didn't continue the focus on Gina & Travis--their (living) separation was heartbreaking and so real during the first few episodes . . . but I understand that Gina wasn't necessarily at liberty to divulge everything and, honestly, this kept things intriguingly mysterious and it didn't become redundant. Consequently though, she didn't wind up having a lot to do and whatever was happening between her and Heather & Katie made her look thirsty for a storyline that was already trifling enough without her. I have never liked Heather . . . she's obviously rude af, has a gross superiority complex and is incapable of any meaningful self-awareness. I think what's sad is that I bet irl, she's a LOT more likable--this is a tv persona she's creating and she's reaching for all the wrong things. The one thing that's great about her is how she plays the game--she gives zero fs, she will never bend . . . she's not a badass but 100% plays it like one and because no one checks her, she can do whatever the hell she wants. Kelly was the only one who's really bested her and instead of fighting, she threw enough tantrums that she didn't get asked back full time. Katie absolutely feels fantastic. She's fun, she's fresh . . . she's cool, unbothered and feels warmly authentic. But I think she's about to be exposed as a total fraud. And an A+ chameleon can be an A+ Housewife, but what makes her likable is how seemingly "real" she is . . . if that goes, can she remain viable? Jenn is a top-tier newbie on like a Shannon level. Girl is putting it ALL out there and she's delusional enough to truly not understand what kind of long-term damage she's doing to herself like a Shannon or a Teresa, so she'll keep putting it out there. She is amazing. However, and like a big however--she IS well and truly delusional and putting herself in serious harm's way. She does not understand consequences and has centered her entire life on finding a man to protect and provide for her. She has NO security for herself and her children, and I bet she'll get grimy af to hang onto a meal ticket . . . it usually goes that way. And she's also never been adequately checked that she'll never understand how bombastically tenuous and dangerous her situation is. Like her delivery was whack, but Gina absolutely had many valid points with the eviction, and Jenn pulled an A+ Shannon and played victim (she does this flawlessly with everything). And Tamra IS right about Ryan. Jenn is insane to put her kids through this. She is an amazing character, but on a real life level--girl, get out and get your life. Parlay being the breakout star of OC into getting real independence. The real story of the season was obviously Tamra vs. Shannon and they both missed the mark and so did production. Is Tamra disgusting? Obviously, but we've known that since "Naked Wasted." It's very important to remember that Vicky, Tamra and Shannon connected on such a deep level because they're deeply evil people who have horrible intentions for other people. The difference between Tamra and the other two are that she has some small ability to be perceptive of reality . . . and the reality IS that Shannon is an entitled, hypocritical LIAR and Tamra thought she could expose that. But she underestimated Shannon's superpower of not only playing, but being perceived as the victim and teaming up with Jesus Jugs was such an epic miscalculation. The two most authentic aspects of Tamra are her seething, deep hatred of Gretchen and Alexis. No one was gonna buy this stupidity. And I was looking forward to Alexis' return, but what a dumpster fire. Anyway, Tamra should have just been honest and told Shannon she hadn't really ever forgiven her for ghosting her when she needed her the most. And for all of the horrible things you can and should say about her, you can't say that she wasn't a really good, supportive friend to Shannon. Anyway, no one is a better Housewife than Shannon, but she has managed to get away with murder this year, and I hope that's meaningfully addressed at the reunion. Not that she'll ever be capable of acknowledging it...

The RoHNY residences were so central to the show in a way I haven't seen on other cities, except maybe BH. Like, sure, everyone thinks about the McMansions on Jersey and the early days of OC in Coto, but the NY women's properties were truly extensions of them. The aesthetics or lack thereof almost always reflected where they were in their lives and how they perceived themselves and wanted others to. Just like New York was always the other housewife on the show, so was Sonja's townhouse, Bluestone Manor (and Dorinda's underwhelming apartment, which starkly contrasted her pre and post-Richard life), Carole's downtown apartment, Kelly's loft in the Police Building with the horse, Ramona's ever-changing Park Ave. apartment and Hamptons McMansion, BOTH of LuAnn's incredible Hamptons homes and taking it all the way back Bethenny's IKEA apartment and Alex's Brooklyn townhouse. It's why we missed so much with 'wives like Heather, Aviva and Tinsley--they didn't have proper home scenes . . . Heather wasn't allowed to film in her apartment (but her Berkshires house was an amazing contrast to the other wives' vacation homes) and neither was Aviva, so she staged a rental as her home in s6 and it did not land . . . the only thing that landed worse was Tinsley's stupid residence hotel that she used to fake living in NY. Losing the townhouse is losing a character in the story--I am very sad from that perspective. But omg Sonja has needed to free herself of this for sooo long. Realistically, Sonja can't ever fully let go of her past . . . but the townhouse literally had her living in it. I, too, pray that she realizes enough from it to give her a future.

This is so sad. Hopefully "Days" can reconcile with her . . . there has been a lot of uneven writing for Nicole and honestly only certain hws know how to properly utilize her, but she's indisputably been one of the only consistent leads of her age group for the past 20ish years. This is a profound loss--Nicole has been a captivating character for years, portrayed by an even more captivating performer.

Even though they revealed him to be "The Gloved Hand" earlier in the fall, I remember when Sheffer on "Days" did those two INSANE NYE eppys at the end of 2006 where EJ raped Sami, shot John and ran Lexie (and TEK) out of town. EJ as a supervillain got one helluva grand reveal in those episodes. Ciara was also born in those eppys and I imagine Shawn & Belle and Steve & Kayla maybe fit in, too. That was like over 15 years ago but I can't remember any episodes feeling more climatic since, including The Baby Switch, Ben being the Necktie Killer, The Time Jump, etc.

I agree with a lot of this. Jack and Billie are two of my faves and I really like Austin & Carrie, too. Right off the bat, that hurt. A lot. And the constant deification of Daniel Jonas and using Jennifer as the vehicle to propel him to the center of the show was infuriating. But all I’m saying is that there was very thoughtful dialogue and some characters got very well positioned… on the one hand they DID feel like they were tearing down the foundation of the show, on the other, it felt like they were doing a loving, sensitive historic renovation of it. Like, it was HORRIBLE that we lost Jack, but they wrote his memory better than any writer since his heyday in the early ‘90s. And I HATED Dannifer and their transparent agenda to legitimize Daniel through Jenn, but Jenn was positioned as the central heroine of the show and she, Abby and JJ absolutely became the heart of the show in the Horton home, which was lovely. I feel like with TomSell, there was a LOT of “take the good with the bad.”

The production, at least visually, was already really, really bad lol. However, I thought the daily scripts during TomSell were SO good, and I give a lot of credit to Lorraine Broderick being the breakdown writer in those years. Even if the stories were bad, which they were at the end of their run, the dialogue was so on-point and character and history rich. This is a great example. However, if one wanted to say that TomSell were anti-J&M, I wouldn't disagree . . . Marlena was portrayed as a self-righteous martyr in those years and she was sooo supporting. John was thrown under the bus (but I thought his characterization as a egocentric himbo with a toxic hero complex that caused a lot of collateral damage was a wildly different, interesting interpretation of the character) and Marlena eventually settled into a default background pairing with Roman after John was written out! Does anyone remember that it felt like TomSell was thisclose to maybe reuniting them?!? That was a really strange time for Marlena & John.

I remember Casey D's Chad having many nice scenes with that cute little Johnny. In those years, they very, very quickly shoehorned him into the DiMera family--making him very close to EJ and Lexie, then later Kristen. That's when he was the anti-DiMera good guy, until TomSell let him get pretty shady in the year+ before Casey exited the role. When Billy Flynn took over and Theo was aged a year later with Kyler Pettis, they made it clear that Chad and Theo were sooo close so it tracks that he has (or should have) a close relationship with Johnny. I remember when Johnny was first aged, he kept referring to Abby as "Aunt Abigail," which sounded weird to me lol.

This could and should have been so good, but Lucky was never given an adequate p.o.v. Liz vs. Sam was very good at that time, as was Carly vs. Liz. Carly vs. Sam was not as strong, but I remember a killer confrontation scene between them over Jake's paternity. On OLTL, I loved Blair vs. Kelly, and all the Cramer women infighting lol.

OMFG I'm dying 😂

I expect to see her back for the Bill Hayes/Doug tribute.

I've been tuning in for Bobbie's memorial, but I honestly haven't meaningfully watched since AJ was killed off (again!), but I've always kept myself abreast through the boards and recaps. But I really wanted to comment on LW/Carly--I fully endorse her. I can't quite articulate how much I did (and will always) despise Sonny, Carly and Jason because of Guza (& Pratt) and JFP's psychotic obsession with them . . . and Tamara Braun, I think, gets an unfair rap for playing Carly too soft, too polished, even too nice. That was not my interpretation of her Carly--she may not have been as "hard" as SJB (or LW, imo) but she has this electric quality that SJB and LW (and certainly JB) don't have . . . TB could spit her words like LW can but she added this totally unhinged quality to the way Carly would speak/yell that somehow equally communicated her superiority complex and her mania. Because even though Carly didn't start on top, she wouldn't settle for anything less than top, and over the years, she did and continues to do whatever necessary to hold onto her power and position. Then comes LW (I'll skip over poor JB) and fully embodies a bully Carly that we hadn't experienced (like that) since SJB and it was such an effective take on the character that I think jolted the audience into seriously reacting to her, esp. coming off JB. It's like LW took SJB's hard meanness and TB's smug superiority (albeit she never fully could replicate) AND added her own very, very LOUD pushiness and we had this hybrid Carly that was a vision, esp. in her first few months opposite Robin and then later on in the Jake paternity saga. And when Carly actually (only for five minutes) took responsibility for making Michael a mob prince when he was shot and comatose, LW played a complete self-awareness that I don't know SJB or TB would've. Even when she found out about Jake--her confrontation with Jason was wrought with so much visceral hurt, while I imagine SJB would have played that quiet with the wheels feverishly turning and TB would have had Carly have a feral breakdown . . . they would have done great, but Carly's selfish rant about how she needed to be first in Jason's life made her come off as sympathetic as she was selfish. She really excels with being terrible AND giving Carly a pov that the audience can invest in. I think the show is lucky to have found LW since they're determined to keep Carly as the female lead. Now I read some stuff about Carly and Liz going to the same girls' night AND that is such a profound bastardization of both characters and their relationship and if Carly has been doing that kind of s for the past 10 years, then the fault lies in the writing lolol. But this very sympathetic writing Carly has been getting through Bobbie's eppys is nothing new--since I started watching in 2000, the writing has never held Carly accountable and she's always received a heavy-handed, lopsided slant. Which has always made her infuriating for me. edit: with all this said, Tamara Braun is my favorite Carly and I would welcome her back lol. Though it's totally unnecessary.

I don't think they necessarily changed the way they wrote Jennifer for Cady. As far as the initial Cady arc is concerned with Jack/Kate . . . ummm Lauren Koslow didn't even know what the hell to do with that and she sells almost everything. That was beyond random and everyone struggled with that "reveal" . . . Missy would have, too. So I am a massive Jenn/Missy fan, but to be honest, I think Cady played what was on paper--the writing, since 2000, has favored Jenn as a stuck up ice queen . . . it's Missy who has (sometimes, not always) played against that and infused all the spunk and warmth historically associated with her Jennifer. But Cady's stiff upper lip WASPy stuff is totally what's on paper. I will happily take Cady if it means we get see J&J on a semi-regular or, ideally, contract basis. Sadly I think Missy only feels available for very rare appearances, like holidays, etc.

Yeah that was a brutal eppy, albeit very well produced.

I am LIVING for OGRHony. However, while this has been A+ entertainment, this is a fairly safe cast . . . I know some of these picks are completely off the table, but if we had Jill or Alex or Carole, there'd be more muscle, less fat here . . . like so much potential to unpack so much meat. This is lovely, but largely the "fun, flirty, drunk kookiness" that got stale as hell before the disastrous Eboni season. It's a shame that Ramona is Ramona, because she's everything she needs to be here and so much more relaxed. Sonja is the best, but this is honestly wash, rinse, repeat. Dorinda does not understand that when she blows, she's not owning anyone; they're owning her because they got her to react with her ugliness that got her "put on pause." I love her but she can't get out of her own way and that drunk, abusive sh!t she does worked for her for years, but that's been long over and she's the only one who hasn't gotten the memo. As someone who grew to hate B, I've always hated what happened to Kelly/what Kelly did to herself. I've always wanted her to get a chance to redeem herself, and this is going mostly ok so far. Her interviews are the best part of her. I do think she and LuAnn agreed to butt heads for the sake of the show which I don't love, but ok . . . she also feels very produced, which makes it hilarious that she's calling Kristen out for that. Overall, she is performing very well but it feels like too much of a performance. I'm just relieved she's not unravelling or becoming incoherent and/or delusional like she can on even Social Media. I always thought Kristen and Heather were casualties of B in season 7 so I'm happy to see her back. She is doing the most here and it's mostly working. I'm so glad she's seriously excelling and probably proving everyone wrong that she'd be the lightweight here. However, the way she handled her scandal was cringe . . . I know she doesn't want to talk about it and irl, she doesn't have to . . . but she shouldn't have thought she could come back for this check/5 minutes of Bravo fame and avoid this. She doesn't owe us anything, but this has been the only (VERY) disappointing part of her return. Her putting Josh on Facetime was some serious punishment for him lolol. LuAnn is the star of this. After giving RHoNY the MOST for 13 years, I'm so happy to see her naturally rule the roost. I hate that she's drinking again--I know from firsthand experience how incredibly complicated her relationship with alcohol is but (chic) c'est la vie I guess lol. I only wish we got more catchup time with their lives in NY in the beginning!! But I am so happy this is on.

IIrc, he claimed he went to Higley requesting meatier material (which is why Nathan & Melanie got the virus storyline) but then they decided to part ways because she told him he'd be backburner for a while and then he left. He came off super salty. However, this alleged mutual split happened at exactly the same time Jay Johnson & Shelley Hennig very abruptly left . . . so the show likely decided to cut their losses, leaving Melanie left as the lone survivor from that rectangle because Higley and Tomlin were obsessed with Molly Burnett. I thought Mark Hapka was great and this rectangle was the best story on the show at the time. Losing these three within weeks of each other (when they were midway through huge story) was profoundly disappointing. The show pivoted creatively quite a bit during the first quarter of 2011 into abysmal disaster, leading to Higley and Tomlin getting fired. I think AK is a very natural and charismatic actress and I don't mind her as Stephanie at all . . . but recalling this story makes me miss SH's unexpectedly messy, manipulative, deeply insecure Steph SOOO much . . . this version is remarkably unremarkable and divorced of everything that made her a hit as a surprise schemer.

So when Marci Miller assumed the role of Abby on "Days," I always thought she was a good actress... but she didn't feel like Abby, for so many reasons, most of which I retrospectively realize had to do with Dena Higley's abysmal, lazy writing. And she was written as just so insufferably pathetic. But in one of (iirc) RC's first eppys, he had Chad & Abby having an EPIC fight in front of the Martin house (Abby was gonna leave town with Dario, who was blackmailing her) before throwing herself in front of car who was gunning for Chad thinking he was Dario. Marci Miller nailed every second of it and I finally felt this insane, electric chemistry between her and Billy. From that moment on, she was absolutely Abigail Deveraux. When Kate Mansi came back, she more than reclaimed the role and felt like the definitive Abby... but when Marci returned again, I realized that both women owned this role.

I know. This shouldn't have been done without Sami--it's too obvious to not include her. But even if they were going to proceed with this without Sami, they should be having Brady, Rafe, and Chad all over this wherever possible to tie past to present.

I agree—great promo. This is def. the best story on the show but so much of this is outrageously plot-driven. If they really want a Nicole baby switch, they should be involving Brady and Chad and play the parallels for all they’re worth… Sami missing is obvs. huge. But I’ll never take this EJ & Nicole reunion seriously.