DynamiteKiddo

7 hours ago, Cat said:

Every time Brandi seems to learn from what she went through S5 of BH, or S10... does ok on RHUGT 2... she falls back into old patterns, and it's like Nooooo, we were rooting for you! The audience has grown and we hoped she had, too.

Curious to know if Brandi brought up the stuff about Caroline defending her BIL even after he sent thugs to beat up Dina and her man. Likely she did.

She probably did bring it up lol.  This time, Brandi should have, if that’s what happened.  These women think they can go back into the fire and not get burned?!?  Like how did Phaedra and Vicky get out of addressing how they left their shows in disgrace, etc. on Ex-Wives s1?!?  Lolol

However, Brandi is a tricky subject.  She is sooo desperate to be on Bravo that she will truly bring it… she’ll keep everything moving, but she takes it way too far and alienates herself from everyone.  And then no one will film with her.  And she also obviously can’t drink—she’s simply just not in control of herself, and this isn’t the environment for that because of all the triggers.  Like I’m sure she can get wasted around her real friends, like NY’s Kristen, and just be fun and crazy… but around these other Housewives where there is legit sabotage and paranoia happening, she just loses it.

So sad about AW—she was so standout on GH, and that summer ‘07 when she was banging Sonny was the only time I remember thinking almost all of Guza’s GH was good.

4 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

 

  

Yikes!  Lol!  Ty for posting

30 minutes ago, Wendy said:

Days: The Johnson Family was successful. Steve and Adrienne - and Jack, tied to them as a biological Billy Johnson but raised by a corrupt wealthy politician in Harper Deveraux.

The Reeds reminded me of a bargain-basement version of the Johnsons: Lucas, the child of wealth/privilege, despising his half siblings (for a long time) in Austin/Billie. Kate losing Austin/Billie just as Jo gave up Steve/Billy (Jack).

And Earl Johnson and Curtis Reed terrorized their wives and sexually molested their daughters.

I think both families were very successfully integrated into the show.  On the flip side, the next iteration of the Johnson prototype was the Walker family… who didn’t take off. However, we never could’ve known then that Nicole would, many years later, become one of the show’s more successful female leads.

26 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Once again those damn heaven/purgatory mess from beyond Salem 2. Carlivati repeating the same boring sh!t again!

This really feels like the Between Heaven and Hell arc before the ABC OLTL finale, which I loved… this will not live up to the original lolol.

2 minutes ago, janea4old said:

The Deadline article says he "makes his debut" in the special Sunday Jan. 29 episode after the AFC Championship game.  It doesn't say if he's series regular or not (and Deadline usually specifies if someone is).  
The phrase "makes his debut" definitely indicates more than just a single guest episode.
So far, IMDB lists ZT in the Sun. Jan. 29 eppy plus the regular Fri. Feb. 3 episode.

Ty!

Is he a series regular?
 

“Days” screwed the pooch so bad here.  He should be leading the new produced and written-for Peacock eppys with the other younger characters.
 

Anyway, very happy for his success!  But very sad for myself that his Sonny is no longer locked on contract!

Even though I understand the recent episodes have been thoughtfully constructed, I still have no desire to watch. But is Nicole going to have sex with EJ after inadvertently being drugged by Stefan?!?  This is another example of RC taking $h!t way too far and, no, this is not a clever example of a domino effect connecting disparate storylines.  Speaking of (esp. piggybacking off the Leo discussion upthread), how counter is it to RC’s desperate agenda to have (shamelessly whitewashed) STEFAN give someone a form of the date rape drug?!?  Is he trolling or stupid??

From what I understand, Eric/Nicole are still getting really thoughtful character writing with just enough plot weaved in (but holy hell, I didn’t forget 2009-12—Nicole should be nowhere EJ!!!).  I could care less about this dying/notHeaven/devil crap.  And I’m very confused why we’re revisiting Johnny/Chanel… I don’t know what to say about RC’s agenda for Allie or speculate on his potential biases against bi people… but after being a great shot in the arm in her initial story revealing her pregnancy with Nicole, Allie has been a total disaster… she has absolutely no discernible or consistent character traits and it’s a shame because I like LA and really appreciate the Chanel/Allie relationship.  But, seriously, this character has only served as a checklist ranging from pregnant by rape to first soap bisexual 3sum to DEMONIC POSSESSION… and hella other crap in between.  It’s crazy.

So honestly, I’ve only watched like a handful of eppys since Clyde was revealed as Abby’s murderer… nothing has interested me since.  But I’ve popped in for things like the Rafe/Nicole/Eric/Jada climax (it’s amazing how much EJ has elevated this story) and Christmas.  This orchid story and the Alex/Stephanie/Chad (Abigail Klein is actually fab and she’s being beyond wasted here) triangle are beyond DOA for me… buuuT, and please don’t mistake this for any personal enjoyment on my part lol, the cellphone shenanigans is one of the better mixups this show has done.  It’s not really all that convoluted (I acknowledge it’s weird this responsibility was put on Chad lol) and is such high stakes with serious consequences.  And they completely bulldozed through it.  LOL

And wtf Kate’s urn?!?  Did Arianna and Henry bedazzle that or was it Roman…?  I’m not even curious how they’re gonna undo this $h!t.

12 hours ago, Antoyne said:

If Kate/Lauren Koslow is really done and that was her send off, I probably will be done with the show. I took months off after Abby was needlessly murdered “permanently” just because the two actresses didn’t want to commit long term to Days, because I thought it was so stupid and actually enjoyed the character. Kate Roberts has been my favorite character since I got into the show in the early 2000’s and to kill her off and cremate her without having a scene with Lucas/BD would just be criminal and I think I’d be fine not watching anymore.

ITA with everything!!!  But I don’t for a second think Kate’s dead.  But she may die when she sees her urn!

This is heartbreaking.  RIP.

16 hours ago, carolineg said:

Well GV is right lol.  JA's Eric was probably even more boring than GV's though.  

I actually thought Eric was more interesting when he was an addict and hooking up with Jen.

Overall, I don't mind Eric/GV or his stories, I just wish there was a little more to Eric.

JA’s Eric was such a nondescript younger hero… his self-destructive pull to Nicole was probably the most complex thing about him, lol.  I so fondly recall Lucas/Nicole/Eric/Greta because that was climaxing when I started watching.

So I think with GV’s Eric—in the beginning, he was really just a foil for Nicole . . . and the forbidden priest.  It was all about her, never him.  Then after the rapetape at the Brady/Kristen wedding, there was a real opportunity to do a much meatier, longer crisis of faith and downward spiral.  But I honestly don’t remember much until the $h!t with Serena & Xander, which eventually involved Daniel because the show idiotically accommodated AZ & SC’s wishes for art to imitate life (seriously this was insane for TomSell as they had spent their entire tenure with Daniel/Jennifer and Eric/Nicole front burner).  Then Eric was backburner’d being a goofy drunk until he killed Daniel.

So what I loved about the post-Daniel stuff was that we got 2 holier than thou, very controlled characters start to recklessly unravel and lie and just be so messy.  I loved that iteration of Eric/Jenn.  But it was very backburner and very dark during maybe the show’s darkest period.  And even though I hated losing GV, Eric leaving for Statesville on the “on location” bus with the shaky cam was sooo poignant, esp. contrasted with how he returned as a wide-eyed priest a few years earlier.

Since his 2017 return, apart from his relationships with Jenn (which I thought was lovely, but not like Major obvs.) and Sarah (which was not lovely lolol), his whole story has been “will they or won’t they??” with Nicole.  And it hasn’t had to be… he should be wrestling with all his betrayals and his hero complex should be actually examined, rather than just being a source of Nicole’s insecurity and frustration.  And I appreciate having him go dark rn… but RC is majorly screwing it up!  I know we hated Daniel, but Eric and The Town, for God knows WHAT reasons, LOVED Daniel Jonas… having him flippantly, drunk or not, talk about driving drunk was a LOT and Nicole should have been feeling some kind of way!  Also trashing Belle and doubling down on it was a weird choice, obviously just to get him with Sloan lol.  This is as subtle as a brick so far and it’s unfortunate.  I’m also really disturbed that the show is legitimately blaming Nicole for Jada choosing to have an abortion for like really sound reasons . . .

But there was talk upthread about Eric’s family relations, or lack thereof.  Ya, you guys, I don’t really feel it.  He has nice moments with his parents, but it’s not a connection I really feel.  His scenes with his sisters are fine.  I do like him opposite other family members, like Allie, Kayla, Steph, Theresa, etc.  The one family relation that I do think is REALLY earned and good is with Brady . . . probably because there is sooo much history, hurt, and love there.  The show has invested so much in this relationship and it’s really paid off.

14 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I think EJ/Belle got cut off more because of Ali Sweeney leaving than anything else.  Shawn/Belle are clearly not a major focus for the writers, but I think Sami vs. Belle over EJ was too good to pass up.  Once all those contract issues occurred with Ali (which I still don't get-I thought she was supposed to be on way more than she was) the show just let the triangle/quad die because the show had no investment without Sami.

It sucks.  The story obviously has a lot more meat with Sami around, but even when she’s off-screen, her specter always looms large enough that she’d still be a factor.  They could have got Belle real dirty and put her in the thick of everything at DiMansion (they seemed to forget this in 2022, but she and Chad are really close friends and even though she finds time to represent everyone, she’s supposed to be one of DE’s top lawyers) . . . it would have caused sooo much conflict with J&M, Sami’s kids, etc.  And all the while she’d be making angsty flirty eyes with Shawn, who should still be believing he’s the father of Jan’s baby (the only king-term consequences from The Possession 2.0).  And Shawn could have moved on with Jada or something—someone who he has more in common with who would put him first.  The only problem is that this kind of repeat behavior would make Shawn literally crazy and stupid to take Belle back AGAIN.

But who am I kidding, if this story actually progressed RC would have tortured us all by making Shawn & JAN a legit couple!  Ahhhhh lolol.

3 hours ago, carolineg said:

 

Yeah, like I said in last month's thread-today's Eric/Nicole scenes were fantastic.  I don't think they get the best writing, but I do think they get some of the best written scenes.  I thought their marriage break up was well done too.  It's clear someone BTS (or script writer) is a fan.

I have a hard time believing Jada got an abortion too, but her emotions seem real.  Obviously, I don't think she'd tell Kate the truth, but I didn't get the feeling she was lying.  It would be so GH for Days to blow such a big potential storyline though lol.

I have to say Shawn/Belle's time really passed about 15 years ago.  I don't see them ever being more than secondary characters.  Obviously the writers aren't interested and MM and BB are pretty dull.  Shawn didn't even get to be on Beyond Salem 2 with his own damn parents lol.

  Hide contents

Maybe he will be more involved in Bo/Hope's return.

 

ITA about Eric & Nicole.  So I’ll admit that I’ve honestly never been a real fan (I prefer Nicole with Brady), but objectively, they have some of the best “big” moments of any couples since GV assumed the role 10 years ago.  But their stories seem to really drag, but when they climax, they REALLY climax lol.  I also think Ari Zuker is easily one of the best actresses on this show ever and GV is one of my favorite soaphunks.  I do accept that Eric & Nicole are obviously endgame, so I hope they figure out how to keep them fresh.  (Eric & Nicole taking Ali in was really promising before GV left.)

Re.: Jada… While I acknowledge that the baby would’ve provided a lot of long-term story (assuming AZ and GV stick around, which has been Eric & Nicole’s real problem since RC’s premiere in 2017) . . . I hope this isn’t a fake out.  This is an important story beat that should be told and I appreciate that it’s not being made into an event.  I thought Lulu’s abortion on GH was very poignant, but that was 16 years ago.  This is a very different moment and I hope we don’t spend too much time ruminating on this… I know this is a polarizing issue, but I think it would be really commendable if this were not treated as teachable or regrettable.  Remember when JER punished Mimi for getting an abortion with infertility?!?  (Which RC undid.)

Anyway, piggybacking off my comment about AZ & GV’s revolving contract status… it really sucked that GV left in 2020, even after they begged him to stay because this Rafe situation is horrible.  I understand the show is like really committed to Ari Zuker and they gave Galen another shot… I get all the reasons they paired them, but the triangle with Ava was horrible and the quad with Eric & Jada was equally painful.  I’m thrilled Nicole is free of boring, goofy a$$ Rafe, but Rafe was really good to her since he pretended to be her baby’s father and this all just doesn’t feel good.  And not in like a good, complicated, soapy way… like in a Nicole sucks kinda way; Eric, too.  And it’s all because of casting issues.  Their reunion scenes a couple weeks ago were awesome and the confrontation over Jada was as good, but they need to transition to a new story that isn’t SOOO muddled.

On Shawn & Belle… yeah tptb obviously don’t care, which is crazy because they were the A couple until they got fired the first time.  I actually think they’re used well in this limited capacity, but I’d love to see their roles expanded.  Unfortunately their brief front burner stint with Jan and EJ (HOW did that end so soon?!?), while so soapy good, just reinforced that Belle is a forever fickle cheater who just can’t/won’t commit all the way to Shawn.  Which is the most interesting part of her character, but it doesn’t do anything for S&B’s supposed true love (which I do think they have).  Shawn is the one who really suffers from a lack of investment and characterization since the 2015 return.  As you mentioned, his absence in BS2 SCREAMED of utter neglect by tptb.

Rest In Peace.  This one really hurts, he’s someone who I feel I’ve really grown up with.

Nnnoooooooooo!

15 hours ago, Antoyne said:

I actually really like Sloan. It’s nice having a new fresh character that’s not related to anyone and isn’t just flat out evil.

I agree.

@victoria foxton, I haven’t seen today’s eppy yet, but from the picture, I’m thinking Sloane’s place is the set they use for Basic Black, which also used to be Eli & Lani/JJ’s apartment and Stevano & Gina’s liar.

Ya I understand Harry’s been on a career high.

I hope Rinna doesn’t ruin it!  But I don’t think they’ll have anything to worry about financially—they’re the only ones basically on the cast who don’t overspend and Harry’s had that beautifully situated house (that’s not in The Valley!!) for forever.  But I suspect Lisa’s issues will get worse once she’s officially fired because she has clearly always been addicted to fame.  She’ll get even wilder to hold onto it.  She may spill some piping hot tea, though, because you know FFF know where each others’ bodies are buried!!

Btw, I actually don’t think anyone on the cast is behind the Jax bots.  Unless Diana is more of a Dr. Evil than I’m giving her credit for.  Maybe Erika is depraved enough?  But I can’t see Rinna doing it—she doesn’t know boundaries but she’s seemed to basically follow the kid one.  I’m at a loss for who’s responsible but it’s so scary.  I’m thinking an obsessed fan with lots of $$??

3 hours ago, Cat said:

OK so Bravo read your post (LOL) and decided to post a preview from next week where they 'address' the cackling about Jax.

So: cackling about Jax is different from cackling about your own precious kids? Best believe that if it was Kyle's offspring, and Garcelle was laughing about having told Portia to f*ck off, it would be a whole entire season of Kyle Tears and demands that G be removed from the show because she bullies children.

The thing that bothers me is the easy brush-off of Garcelle's POV by members of the Coven. It's like she doesn't deserve the same respect that they demand for themselves from the group -- but at the same time they hold her to a higher standard when she supports Sutton, while giving a pass to Erika, Rinna and Diana's vulgarities.

Also the defensive, arm-twisted apologies. Dorit felt like she'd been stabbed in the stomach? Could her hyperbole be any less sincere? Garcelle makes a great point about how apologies in this group are not really apologising, but rather side-stepping actual accountability and gagging the person asking for the apology. I already said I was sorry. What more do you want?

You make an interesting point about Twitter and the backlash towards other cast members who perhaps do not gel with Garcelle as personalities. It might not be a race thing, but a Sagittarius not gelling with a Virgo kind of thing? But then it gets conflated into a race thing. Nevertheless, as I mentioned above, I do believe the Coven's pointed lack of empathy for anyone outside their own feelings prevents them from understanding racial nuances and putting themselves in Crystal or Garcelle's shoes. For what it's worth, I do think it is possible for people to learn and grow on this issue. But some of the BH cast have made a choice not to do that because it doesn't fit with their end-game.

Omg lol.

I hope there’s more because they sure got of that easy!  Had it been any of their children, it would’ve been the season’s dominating A story.  Kyle admitted she had to take a break because of the beating she took from it… so she knew she couldn’t default to playing victim via her daughter being attacked, because it would reinforce what SHE DID.  And Rinna and Dorit couldn’t go, “do you know what happened to Porsha because of this?  All of our children get attacked, etc.” I know Garcelle probably doesn’t want this dragged out for Jax’s sake and she doesn’t want to bring other kids into it, but Kyle should have to really answer for this, and that should include acknowledging the online attacks on Porsha and Mauricio (people threatening to not watch his real estate show).  (Btw I saw she did mention what happened to Porsha at BravoCon, where she could comment unquestioned. )

I mean look at Rinna’s reaction to Garcelle mentioning her daughter in her book (which she shouldn’t have done), but she stayed silent during that preview.  And Dorit’s reaction was weird and completely insincere.  That was the time to throw Kyle, not Erika under the bus… Dorit was obviously shocked at the party, but Kyle’s house was different.

And I really do think they feel like the Social Media is different now, because the attacks have so much more breadth to them (like what happened to Porsha!) And I hated her and am so glad she’ll obviously be a 1 & done, but I do get that it has to be horrifying for your BABY to get death threats… Garcelle and esp. Jax are NOT in any way responsible for that, but I get Diana freaking out in the moment and misplacing blame on Garcelle.  Kyle backing her up was obviously solidarity for the same self/family preservation.  Btw, there was no misunderstanding of racism re. Diana, though… Rinna wrote that race stuff in response to heat Diana was taking for being racist—she @‘d Garcelle in an open letter telling her she donates $$ to Haiti and Africa!!!!!!!!!!!  Omg!  But this has all taken on a new life.

Omg I can’t wait for next week Lolol.

50 minutes ago, FancyShoes said:

I am going to try and not sound like a broken record by mentioning the writing lol. But I completely understand what you mean. Although I was a fan of Kaman at the beginning, I do feel like this is a settle. That being said, I much rather her with Roman than the repeat SL of her being with some random guy and it’s written as sex only in the beginning and then feelings are introduced then Kate is left looking broken and crazy again. It’s exhausting to watch and I am sure to keep playing from the actors standpoint. 

Those pairings became extremely demeaning for Kate.  Shockingly, Kate/Rafe was a really fun interlude following her longer pairing with Stefano (I always thought this was terrible considering they established that he took advantage of her). But Ian, Clyde, Deimos, Andre, Jack, Jake… who else am I forgetting??  Lol.  That was a horrible stretch for her.

I think Roman & Kate would be more effective if they were written as a contrasting counterpoint to John & Marlena, like they used to be.  But I love them, but like I said up thread, I think of them more as an endgame for when the show finally concludes.

1 hour ago, Cat said:

You said it all.

Andy should not be moderating these questions of microagressions and race because he is so wrapped up in himself that he does not get it. He and Kyle are two peas in a pod in that respect. Kyle not understanding that Crystal POV or laughing off grabbing Sutton or taking up for Diana non-stop illustrated this. Andy tee-hee-ing with Rinna over the book -- he didn't even glance over at Garcelle to check in on her. Garcelle wins fans over because her humanity and reaction are written silently all over her face, and the audience connects to that. Not to contrived Rinna practicing her script or Erika pretending she is so tough and too kool for skool.

Agree about Dorit. She hasn't given us anything in years and only speaks up once she gets a reading on how the Coven wants to play something a certain way. She can go.

Erika's breath 'shade' towards LVP was as cruel and empty as she is. LVP smells of garlic and chardonnay? Clearly she is dining well and having a great time.

Sutton did well this episode. She was clear and measured and shut Rinna down. Somebody had to because clearly Andy wasn't going to. Cannot wait for Kathy to sip her water bottle and tell Rinna some home truths.

I totally agree and I was so relieved.  I actually do agree with the other women’s critique that Sutton is often awkward, incoherent, and her own worst enemy… and I hate it because she is great—she withstands every beating and provides great content.  But it is what it is.  So to see her clearly and succinctly respond to Diana and Rinna was great.  She did great till the glue lolol.

Dorit has been on the team, man!  Passively backing every attack on Crystal, Sutton, and Garcelle.  But she’s only been backup and hasn’t contributed anything so far except talking about her ptsd after her package.  I am glad she didn’t reach for a moment when Sutton apologized to her.  That was handled very well on both their parts.

I think Erika’s tweet included LVP’s breath smelling like cigarettes, too.  So I’m probably the only person on this board who hates LVP (and esp. Ken)… but I also hate The Coven.  They should keep her damn name out their mouth because they keep making her relevant and they look like obsessed losers.  Like why are they reacting so hard to Garcelle’s son working for her/filming?!?  It’s stupid.  But I have a hard time feeling sorry for LVP—her gaudy lifestyle and British accent never fooled me… I think she’s bitterly cruel without any accountability and singularly self-motivated.

I am so pissed that it looks like Kyle (who I’m sure made devil’s deals for this) will not have to address cackling about Erika cussing out Jax, which (obviously unfairly) led to Porsha’s (horrible) cyber bullying.  I think one of the biggest problems the other women have with Garcelle but obviously can’t express is that they’re facing a kind backlash from her fans and Black Twitter that they’ve never dreamed of experiencing, even during #puppygate.  And they want to blame Garcelle for it, which is misplaced but maybe understandable?  Like Diana threatening legal action being the most extreme.  But everyone wants to talk around this except for Rinna.  I don’t think it’s wise for them to go there, but it would be “owning it.”  Erika will also probably get out of comparing 14-yo Jax’s hateful, personal, racist cyber bullying to some heat her late 20’s cop son received about Blue vs. Black Lives Matter in 2020/1.

I actually felt sick watching the close-ups of Garcelle fighting tears while The Coven was cackling about recycling.  That was super hard to watch.

It was also hard to watch Rinna pacing and talking to herself at the end.  Yikes.  I will say the admission that she was the one that threw away the book was super revelatory.  Wow.

This reunion really has no fat, they are cutting straight to the meat.  Almost to the point that I sorta wish they’d slow down and give a more complete retrospective of each ‘wife in their package.  Lol

I really hope this is false.  He has the promise to take Sonny and “Days” so far with the new Peacock model.  Ugh.

49 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

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

Kyle is right, her truth is untrue.  I understand that conversation could’ve come off problematic… Sutton with her Southern accent and general Karen energy talking to a young(er) Asain woman about how happy she was to see other children of color in the pool with her very privileged white daughter… but it wasn’t “very dark” and at the time when she said that (one whole year later), she KNEW Sutton wasn’t a dangerously ignorant person with a White Savior complex.  What Crystal said was untrue and defamatory.  And the “violated” comment absolutely implies that Sutton was acting predatory.  If these are her real feelings, they do not need to be respected because they’re, quite frankly, baseless.  She’s lucky Sutton is willing to let it go, but let’s also face it—EVERYone except maybe Rinna (per her social media) is worried about optics on this issue.

However, I am all for Crystal going hard for Kyle, who has been gunning for her so far in the reunion in a very misplaced feeling kind of way.  Crystal seems to be getting a bit more coherent and I hope this saves her diamond because she really does bring a lot to the show with her home life.  She just needs to amp it up in group scenes in a way that’s authentic.

This is crazy!  Instead of being happy, I’m just shocked and wonder if there’s even a point given all the time and the likelihood at how wrong it probably will go.  Lol

10 hours ago, carolineg said:

There have been writers that have hated John and Marlena and RC seems to appreciate Marlena and John/Marlena, but doesn't care for John as a character much.  Perhaps he is so ill-defined without Marlena.  So many identities, so many re-writes.  It's not easy.  Plus a lot of characters fit a similar bill to him (Steve, Roman).  Rafe and Shawn handle cop business.  He rarely even shares scenes with his friends Abe, Patch, and Roman (outside this story).  John doesn't need to be an action hero still, but he could help the cops or give advice to Brady/Eric/Shawn/Belle/Sami/Allie/Will/Johnny.  He has so many connections, but they aren't used much.  It's just strange.  Unless Drake just doesn't want to commit to that much of a schedule.

I think most of us agree that he really excels at the family stuff, so they ought to play that as often as possible.  And in the context of his whole body of work, I actually think RC has really highlighted that John and Steve are best friends, actually to the point where it seems a little overdone… because John has Abe and Steve has Jack (super surprised that relationship gets overlooked, considering it’s one of the show’s historically most significant).  Don’t get me wrong, I like them as friends and DDH & SN work very well together, but it feels like without Bo, they just defaulted to them as besties.

The real solution to giving him more to do is obviously Brady & Kristen, since RC is hell bent on continuing this utter nonsense.  J&M should be ALL up in this, but I think RC wants to put distance there because it really would destabilize the integrity of the story (kind of like Chad/Abby/Ben/Ciara).  The most interesting I’ve ever seen John (though it was dark and led to him & Marlena separating iirc) was when he was gonna agree to hate f**k Kristen if she’d leave Brady alone.  There is sooo much to play here, but they just don’t.  Instead they have Kristen terrorizing a girl Belle went to high school with instead of mixing it up with her 90’s contemporaries.  It’s such a bad, baffling turn for the character.  And obviously the baby Kristen should have should be Eric’s from the rape, not Brady’s from when she basically raped him, too.  Omg lol.