DynamiteKiddo

Jack & Jennifer should be at the center of this murder mystery.  Instead, they’re afterthoughts of afterthoughts!  Lol.  I actually think Abby’s murder mystery is pretty good, but the problem has been the start-stops because of the guarantees… a storyline like this needs to be on 4 days a week and feature a large portion of the cast.  It’s in these moments where the budget just chokes the storytelling.

I imagine Jenn’s relapse will be a blip and not even feature Eric(!)… I wonder what Cady & Matt’s status is?

I love Erika Slezak and maybe she was right back then… but viewers expect “envelope pushing” on streaming now.  Unless they want to try the Virgin River/Sweet Magnolias route, which I understand is very successful (esp. Virgin River).  I actually thought OLTL 2.0 was, BY FAR, the most modern soap I can imagine.  I was so impressed, and that was head written in the beginning by Thom Racina, who was an older industry vet… it showed you don’t necessarily need new blood for a totally fresh take on the genre.  The only thing that didn’t really work for me on OLTL 2.0 was the tattoo cult, mainly because I don’t think it had the budget to achieve that kind of very large idea.

2 hours ago, JAS0N47 said:

I liked how brothers Steve and Jack ended within 10 episodes of one another!

I thought this was lovely, too!  Thanks for the stats!

Re.: the theory that Kayla kept Steph from the Johnsons… I don’t remember Steph living with Justin & Adrienne and “the boys” in 2007 (I kinda lost track of Hogan’s “Days” during “The Vendetta”) but I do remember that when Adrienne returned in 2010, she and Steph were extremely close.  Adrienne was like a surrogate mother to her and tried to be a good influence when Steph was going darkside with Nathan & Melanie (meanwhile, Sami, Steph’s other mentor, was encouraging her to do “whatever it takes” to get what she wanted lolol).  So there’s no possible way she and Alex wouldn’t have met (many times), esp. if she lived with them.  But a grief-stricken Kayla withdrawing from Steve’s family is a better retcon than Anjelica having full custody of him omg lol!  And it’s been overstated that Adrienne was Kayla’s best friend, regardless of Steve.

Now the Peacock promo… i teared up lol.  The Horton living room was bright af, but looked lovely.  Dee was Dee lol.

Oh, Rinna!  Whether there’s any truth to it (which I very much so doubt), implying that producers are starting racist $h!t online to distract from what’s happening on the show or to sabotage white cast members is shocking… the only narrative being created is by her that she’s racist (esp. coming off the heels of her Dubai “comment”).  She needs to learn when to stfu.  And if she is goin’ down swinging (which would be admittedly epic), DO IT—she obvs. knows where hella bodies are buried so don’t trifle, triumph.  OAWN IT!

It’s so disappointing, I’ve been a longtime LR fan from “Days” but she’s sold her soul for this show and now there’s nothing left.  And like many cast members before her whose status is (very) threatened, she’s become very paranoid, which, justified or not, is one of the worst looks.

So we haven’t really talked about what to do with the remaining eppys… I have dueling impulses—go full ham and make Bonnie Adrienne, lock down JKJ for one final epic Shelle/Phelle showdown, and invite Ali Sweeney, Peter Reckell, Kris Alfonso, Missy Reeves, Christie Clark, Austin Peck, Kate Mansi, etc. to give the show a beautiful send off, or go for broke and center the show around the younger cast that can give “Days” its best chance on streaming???

6 hours ago, Gray Bunny said:

 

Both Heather and Kristen were women I didn't appreciate until after they left (Season 6 was just a mess for me overall). Especially if she had done another season post-Ashley Madison scandal. As for Heather, that dumbass Leah had to scare her off from sticking around on the last (sob!) season. 

I agree.  When it first aired, I thought Kristen was whiney and getting way too much airtime, and s6 was problematic af.  But on a rewatch, I really appreciate the season for certain things—Carole was a great heroine, Carole/Heather is my favorite RHoNY friendship, LuAnn got her groove back, and there’s something tragically real about Kristen’s struggles with her husband, working on her daughter’s mobility issues, and coping with being an aging model.  Aviva and Sonja’s totally fake storylines were unwatchable and now we know Ramona was trying to hide her dissolving marriage.  Highs and lows, but s7’s retooling obviously saw the show firing on all cylinders.

Wow, the Jax stuff is horrifying on a truly shocking level.  I know the families can be victims of very unwarranted cruelty but this feels very different.  Garcelle and Jax seem to be handling this with such patience and grace.

Re.: Tinsley.  I never liked her and thought her only real contributions to the show were Dale and her unintended role in The Fall of Dorinda (that Scott/John drama was utterly salacious and it’s so crazy when you can retroactively put the puzzle pieces together… when Carole was defending her seemingly callous stance that she was never actually close with Tinsley, she referenced the only real time she spent off-camera with her was a “disastrous” couples trip to Dubai with Adam, Scott & T, and John & D, which was a thank you trip from Scott for those Coupon Cabin commercials they filmed… I think that’s where this all went down).

But Tinsley had such a compelling backstory—from one of Virginia’s wealthiest, oldest, most elite families to marrying into NY royalty, the Mortimers… being a legit famous af socialite… super public divorce, leading to a messy af new relationship with a mega wealthy, younger heir to a Cuban sugar fortune or something, which of course led to her highly publicized arrest.  But with ALL that, I didn’t find anything compelling about her.  If it weren’t for Dale and her unwitting role in Bethenny & Carole’s breakup (which C claims was an entirely false narrative created by B/production), I don’t think she would’ve been asked back for s11.

But I do think firing Jules after s8 was the right move, she was equally vapid and out of touch, and not in an entertaining way like some of the other ‘wives.  I think the one who was let go way too early was Kristen, but I think her husband, Josh, was completely done with the show.  She suffered a lot in s7 when he obviously put the kibosh on her using their home problems as a sl, and she (and Heather) was(/were) sacrificed at Bethenny’s alter that year.  But, ya, I’m sure Josh would’ve divorced her if she were asked back and returned after the Ashley Madison scandal.

4 hours ago, dc11786 said:

I agree that Higley, Whitsell, and Tomlin managed to reinvigorate a show that had mostly atrophied from years of neglect and was on life support. Besides the things you already mentioned (the baby switch, Chappell and Sorel's returns, and working within a budget), this regime focused on emotional outcomes, building storylines to payoff, and building non-romantic relationships between characters in order to keep time between signifcant story beats interesting. Intergenerational story telling also really helped. The show also, I think this is really important, was no longer being run with the philosophy that super couples had to be front and center and dominating a majority of the storytelling.

Avoiding those sacred cows helped a lot. Characters also no longer returned just because they were big names. There had to be enough reasons suddenly to justify why they were returning on contract for a two year period. Vivian returned to enact revenge on Carly for killing Lawrence in November, but, by December, there were already interactions with Victor and Kate regarding Phillip and it was clear what Vivian's second arc was going to be once the revenge story was over. Similarly, Chappell was returning as a Bo / Carly spoiler, but the Melanie angle was eventually going to give way to the Carly / Daniel angle. The show was written as if it was a show that had the possibility of staying on the air. 

In the end, I dipped out for a bit during Nighttime Hope. I thought the tribute for Alice Horton, and Francis Reid, was lovely and full of great moments (Bill wondering what life would have been like with Kate, Kim and Shane's reconcilliation after years apart, Jen/Mike/Bill/Laura all together), but I think it was a mistake to wholesale stop the rest of the show to tell that story for a month or so. I'm not saying that they shouldn't have done it, but rather that material, even if filmed in advance, should have been spread out over time. 

Regarding Hope's point of view, what I remember from that time was the show was driven by a series of female characters (Sami, Nicole, Hope, Chloe, Carly, Melanie). According to what Higley wrote, from prior to Whitsell and Tomlin arriving, the bone of contention in Hope and Bo's relationship stemmed from their son Zach's death and the fact that Bo kept Hope in the dark about his daughter Chelsea's role in it. At the time, I don't think this had been brought up much prior to Higley's arrival, and I was willing to go with the fact that losing a child would have a huge impact on a marriage and it wasn't something that would have been easily resolved. Almost all of the stories Bo and Hope had in that era revolved around that dynamic. After Bo had hid evidence that may have implicated Phillip in Paul Hollingsworth's disappearance, Hope was offered the position of chief of police which would have put her over Bo, but she didn't accept the position. When Hope was suspended for shooting Kayla, the specific reason Hope went on leave was because her superior office, Bo, did not give her permission to fire her weapon and he had done so because he hadn't told her about his visions. Ciara's kidnapping in the summer had a similar issues. It was all driven by emotion and it was effective.

To me, the end of Higley/Whitsell/Tomlin was a combination of things. As I recall, the show was preparing for the possibility that Allison Sweeney might not return by re-introducing Taylor Walker. The idea was smart, but the execution (and casting) were pure misery. The Taylor/EJ/Nicole stuff was just bad. At the same time, Shelley Heining and Jay Kenneth Johnson had elected not to renew their contracts with Mark Hapka's contract being terminated after a rather contentious conflict with TPTB over the fact that Nathan did little more than pine for Melanie. Heining's wedding day breakdown where Nathan confronts Stephanie over her lies and involvement in Parker's paternity switch is one of my favorite "Days of our Lives" confrontations to this day.

To me, blowing up the Nathan/ Melanie/ Phillip/ Stephanie quad was a bigger issue than is often cited in the downfall of the show in 2011. Having to reset that story, after just resetting the Nicole storyline was too much. It was very clear where it was all going. Nathan and Melanie, after learning about both Stephanie and Phillip's deception, would have reunited with Melanie's pregnancy being the lingering shadow that kept Phillip in Melanie and Nathan's life. Melanie's miscarriage was inevitable as it would be the motivation for Melanie and Phillip to reunite and provide a united family front for Phillip to gain custody of Parker. Meanwhile, I imagine Stephanie would have become involved with Dario and played something akin to the Patch/Kayla romance before having Nathan try to "save" her. God I loved Nathan and Melanie. 

Fake Rafe and Nighttime Hope were the weakest spots of that era for sure. I actually liked the Dimera / Kiriakis war. Though, I also liked Carly's drug dependency and Chloe's post-partum induced prostitution stint so I'm not really the best judge of character lol

Oh I so agree with almost everything!  They did the unthinkable moving the show away from the super couples… abruptly losing S&K and J&M… turned out fine.  Who would’ve thought?!?  And the inter-generational storytelling was so smart, as evidenced by Maggie being one of that period’s breakout stars.

Alice’s tribute did stall the show, though it was so touching and lovely, for all the reasons you mentioned.  That seemed to really kill the Nicole/Brady/Ariana/EJ quad, which was a shame because James Scott and Lindsay Korman really sparked.  But along with JJ, SH, and MH very abruptly leaving, I noticed very obvious network interference at that time with breaking up Brady & Nicole (my fav. Higley creation) and moving to the disastrous Nicole/EJ/Taylor triangle.  B&H were quickly reunited and the subsequent Jenn/Daniel/Carly triangle was a mess with Carly’s addiction.  Brady/Melanie/Dario had no legs.  And let’s not even go there with Chloe/Quinn/Vivian. Take of 2 Rafes—omg!  Lol.

I also totally agree that Phil/Mel/Nate/Steph was fire and dropping that was such a shame because there was so much build up, years of story potential, and the four actors worked SO well together.  SH’s turn as a villainous Steph was a vision and her dark/light angel role models with Sami and Adrienne was very inspired.  And I also LOVED Nathan & Melanie and eventually wanted Phil & Steph to reconcile (very Carrie/Austin/Sami/Lucas).

And I hear you about Zach being the crux of B&H’s problems, but I still only remember that being singularly told from Hope’s POV, which so didn’t work for me.

4 hours ago, dc11786 said:

I know I'm in the minority, but I didn't hate the Bo/Carly/Hope story. I felt Kristian Alfonso did some of her strongest work in those scenes where Carly showed up at Maggie Horton's house after Mickey had died and Hope confronted Carly about the affair. To me, that was just really solid soap opera. I also loved how when Hope learned that Carly had a child out there, she contemplated that Bo might be the father, but dismissed it because she knew that Bo wouldn't keep that from her. When I had started watching in the 1990s, Carly and Bo were the couple and I adored them. I liked them being reunited even though it was clear from the beginning that Carly was an obstacle and there was no plan to keep Carly and Bo together.

If anything, there wasn't enough story to tell with Bo and Carly at the center of it as a couple. Carly was clearly intended for Daniel Jonas and was pretty quickly thrust into the Daniel / Chloe / Philip / Melanie / Nathan saga with playing Chloe's confidante. It worked because of Bo's connection to Phillip and Daniel. I really enjoyed Chloe and Phillip's one night stand and all the complicated mess that came out of it. With that said, Bo and Carly were a couple mostly in name only. Bo spent most of the same time period involved in the Nighttime Hope stuff, as I recall. 

To be fair, in some ways, Higley's second round at "Days of our Lives" was a much quieter show than it had been in many years and that was quite an adjustment for cast and viewers. I really enjoyed Bo and Hope integrated into the canvas more than having the need for them to drive story 24/7. I actually really enjoyed angsty Bo and Hope driven by the unresolved feelings from Zach's death, Bo's need to be in control, and Hope's stubborness in reacting to Bo's possessiveness. I think the show could have done a better job with the break up Bo and Carly. For me, Bo's hero complex was at the center of his romantic stories of that time and examining how Bo ultimately needed to save someone would have been interesting if that was part of the manifestation of Carly's drug dependency. Also, I wish post-prison Hope and Bo had a longer reconilliation period, not so much rocked by massive threats to their relationship, but rather two adults trying to navigate a happy medium before settling down again. Also, with a stronger sense of community, characters could react to other people's stories during that time and it was still meaningful. 

Dena & Chris Whitesell as co-hws, I guess along with Gary Tomlin as EP, not only saved “Days,” but ushered it into a real creative renaissance.  And I think Dena Higley is THE WORST, but this is a fact… and what really seemed to do it were the baby switch story (feat. Nicole, Sami, EJ, Rafe, and Brady) and Crystal C. and Louise S.’s returns.  (I also personally hate Carly.) They figured out how to refocus the canvas with a small cast and a very small budget.  But it didn’t last and by the Nighttime Hope began, the momentum was waning and by Feb. 2011, Corday stepped in and the whole show got majorly tweaked and this creative team was dead and buried.

I think the biggest problem with the Hope/Bo/Carly storyline was that it was born out of Dena being a raging Hope stan. Hope was the only one with a POV and we were told her homicidal rage was justified by decades of Bo’s wandering (with Billie).  I thought it was the most intellectually dishonest, not to mention insane, story.  However, the name “Nighttime Hope” still makes me and my best friend laugh lolol.  But, ya, they REALLY milked Hope/Justin for all it was worth without ever going there.  Justin, not Bo (or even Jenn or her other family members), was even her primary support system during Alice’s death.

When Gary Tomlin & Chris Whitesell returned in 2012, I think they proved they were always the brains behind 2009.  The show, for better or worse, completely scratched DRT & MMcP’s “Reboot” year and it was essentially reset to when they left, but without Dena there was such stronger focus and quality, even if I disagreed with some of their priorities (Daniel being #1).  I also attribute the day-to-day quality of the TomSell era to Lorraine Broderick as breakdown writer.  And going back to Adrienne, I thought they did really well with her and am devastated RC killed her (he honestly did well with her, too!).

New cameras is super promising.

44 minutes ago, DaytimeFan said:

Housewives Behind the Scenes Potpourri 

Allegedly

NJ

Dolores wasn't invited to Teresa's engagement party because Dina was invited and Dolores had written a letter of support for Dina's ex-husband (Caroline's brother in law) who'd been arrested with the brutal assault of Dina and her husband: https://pagesix.com/2022/05/24/dina-manzo-claims-dolores-catania-wrote-letter-to-free-tommy/

ATL

Marlo's abrupt end of her mountain getaway trip? Word on the street is there was a Covid-19 exposure and they had to shut down filming immediately, so production orchestrated the scenes to make it appear that it was Marlo's doing that it all ended. 

You can note that the following episode appeared to happen weeks later given the kid's birthday parties. 

I heard this about Dina/Dolores!  So crazy.  The fact that she and, of course, wrote letters on Tommy’s behalf is horrify.  Like actual horror.  Otoh, I don’t know how Dina married into the mob and thought she could just walk away.  It really illuminates what’s going on in these people’s lives.  I wonder who isn’t mob connected on this show.  Why do these people go on television?!?

And that glass house Caroline was living in all those years moralizing on people………..

But Albert “Tiny” Manzo’s (Caroline’s FIL) mob career WAS as notorious as his murder.  Danielle should’ve thrown THAT book on the table!  (There is one!)

Tre’s hair kinda looks like Margaery Tyrell’s from Game of Thrones at the Purple Wedding lolol.  This wedding looks so f’n tacky.  Dolores really looks lovely, though.  I hope she got paid real well by Bravo after everything Teresa put her through.  And, of course, the real drama is who wasn’t there—Joey & Melissa, Kath (+ Victoria, Joey, aaand RICHIE lol) & Rosie and their mom, and Dina (I really want the full story here beyond not wanting to appear on Bravo).

Re.: BH this week… wtf was that, Rinna?!?  She’s scared she hasn’t brought anything to the table beyond Lois but she was the one who humiliated her damn self with whatever that was.  I do agree that Sutton should just say she did it to defend Garcelle.  Like why not??  And to Rinna’s credit, I will also agree that Sutton’s, in her own words, “moment of flippantness” did defame Harry… husbands who keep their noses clean (NOT Mo and PK!) should be left alone, in my opinion.  But this misunderstanding (and it does feel like it was) is beyond lol.

Ya didn’t miss Kyle, Crystal, and Diana at all.  And, ya, Dorit is so much lighter & brighter away from The Coven, but she is a treacherous chameleon through and through.

Even after the episodes that have been already taped air, they still probably have a lot of scripts already written.  Those scripts are already paid for and with their budget, they’re unlikely to scrap or even revise them.  We won’t get Peacock content for forever.

I think Lauren Koslow’s “Kate” is one of the only “older” characters to have a natural place on an edgier streaming “Days,” which is what it needs to be.  And it’s gonna have to get more focused—they should choose a crime/mystery, hospital, or corporate drama lane… that’s a way to keep vets (John and Steve as detectives, Marlena and Kayla as doctors, Jack and Jennifer as reporters, etc.) in a way that makes sense.  What it can’t be is old, privileged white people having hokey dramas.

God only knows how far ahead they are with the scripts, too… those are already paid for, they won’t scrap or even revise them.  We won’t get the freedom that Peacock will open up for the writing for forever.

They’ll have to completely refocus if they want to be viable on premium.  As much as it pains me, they cannot have the vets headline.  While I thought OLTL 2.0 was, by far, the most modern soap I’ve ever seen, their vets like Blair and Tea were edgy and Viki, Clint, and Dorian were versatile.  Sappy caper stories with J&M and S&K will not work on subscription-based streaming where people are used to, well, not that.  They need a diverse, younger cast.  They did get it right in “Beyond Salem” (Chapter 1) featuring WilSon, Leo and Eli & Lani.  This does sound like the end… they need to start mapping out a just-in-case finale.

Crazy that $5.00 a month has changed everyone’s attitudes from cautiously optimistic to doomsday.  Lol

Holy $h!t!  Will this affect the actors’ deals???

Wow, Taylor!  I am cautiously optimistic af!  And Tamra has an ally now…

BB is much more suited for Stefan, but he’s another character who is beyond problematic and his “great love” with Gabi was always disgusting to me considering, well, GabY!  Gabi is always second best to Abby!

I’ve only read today’s recap bc “Days” hasn’t aired yet in California but I’m really looking forward to today’s eppy… maybe I’m in the minority but I’ve been stanning Roman & Kate for over 20 years and I like the connection between them and Abe & Paulina.  While I think Allie/Chanel/Johnny is a really innovative twist on an old trope, I don’t actually like either couple (though Allie/Chanel do angst really well).  EJ and Kristen whatever.  I wonder if BB will be alternating between Stefan and Johnny at all??  And this sounds like the most interesting thing Ava has done since she’s been back…

Also, I’m glad Chad is the Horton Home before going to the K’s.  That set makes these sad scenes so much more meaningful.  And I agree that Chad moving to the K mansion will coincide with Stephanie moving in with her Uncle Justin for whatever crackpot reason to jumpstart a Chad/Steph/Alex triangle… good thing we know Steph has no qualms about hooking up with family!  Lol

So I think Melanie started really annoying and ended really problematic, but there was a sweet spot in the middle of her run that I thought was really successful… I thought the Philip/Melanie/Nathan/Stephanie quad was fire!  It was formulaic and unoriginal, but I so rooted for Nathan & Melanie and Phil & Steph were perfect spoilers (I was dying for them to scheme together to keep Mate apart and eventually get back together themselves)… it was very Sami/Austin/Carrie/Lucas-esque.  But right when the story climaxed once Steph was exposed for switching Parker’s paternity results, we lost JKJ, SH, and MH!  It was the biggest letdown, and Corday obviously really interfered during the last leg of Dena 2.0 in 2011 because everything on the show changed overnight in early ‘11.

But then Melanie languished with Dario and then Chad (she also got moved down like a generation) until TomSell came and centered SO much story around her in MB’s final month, which was crazy.  And we can’t forget the showeating terror of her retconned family with Maggie and Daniel.  And then her very limited 2015 return was wasted on Brady & Theresa/Kristen.  So even though I think MB is lovely (she was great on Queen of the South!), I have Melanie whiplash lol.

7 hours ago, Cat said:

 

RHUGT 2 was very enjoyable, and it felt like visiting with old friends. I would not mind this same cast to come back together again at some point down the line. Maybe in an Andy-hosted reunion. The fact that it was held at Bluestone Manor, which meant cameras were even in the bedrooms, grounded the viewer in that pleasantly familiar vibe. It may also have gone some way to explaining Dorinda's behavior.

I may have called Brandi a 'natural heroine' on this show. It is certainly a slightly odd statement considering Brandi's past with the RHs, and she is definitely thirsty to return. Nevertheless, in the context of RHUGT 2 by itself, I felt she was bringing me along with her emotions and story, and I felt for her. Maybe 'anti-heroine' is a better term for her. Like a true Scorpio, her bedroom looked like a hurricane had been through it. Her burgeoning friendship with Tamra and Vicki was nice to see, because they used to hate each other for years. 

Imagine if Brandi, Vicki, Tamra and Taylor all went to RHOC to join Heather and Shannon? That would actually be a pretty solid cast with plenty of history.

Like you, I really enjoyed Phaedra, but her obfuscation when it came to talking about her marriage and why she left RHOA was evident. It got to the point where it felt like Phaedra lies very easily -- she lies as she breathes, and for no real reason that I can understand. It underscores how shady she is, and towards the end of the RHUGT run, I wondered if everything she had said was just words.

Dorinda. This show really exposed all her faults. I'm not sure if the past two years she has done any self-reflection on why the RHONY fans turned on her. Like you, though, I think she has a heart, but we are seeing all facets to Dorinda, and not all of them are perfect.

Taylor fizzled. And Jill struggled to stand out. I thought it was very Jill when she narcissistically complained that no-one chose her to sleep with among the group. 

They really ought to have a reunion, given all the Dorinda/Vicky, Jill/Dorinda, and Tamra/Jill drama.  Had Jill said a small fraction on the show that she has in the press… it could’ve been fireworks, but maybe she would’ve totally crumpled on the receiving end of Dorinda’s real wrath?!?

That does sound like a solid OC cast, but when the drama didn’t center around Vicky & Tamra’s(/Shannon’s) fallings out, that show (or def. the Heavy Hitters, Tamra & Vicky and even Shannon and Heather) has heavily, heavily relied on a fall guy, most notably Gretchen and Kelly… I guess Brandi would be the de facto target.  Lol

Ava is such a flop but I still think TB is one of soaps’ best actors, so this sucks if true!  I’d honestly be fine with them trying her as Taylor again—back during the big 2011 “Reboot,” I totally disagreed with them ditching her… her Taylor becoming a CarlyLite was terrible, but she was a blank slate character that could’ve gone anywhere.  It would’ve been better than Sarah Brown running a global corporation above Horton Town Square.

Anyway, I read a spoiler that Kristen is shocked by Rolf’s new experiment… I’m afraid we’re getting Stefan’s “essence” implanted into Jake’s not totally dead body. Lord omg!  Lol!  I’ll be thrilled to keep BB, but if this is the case—how stupid!!!

Also, I’ll be shocked if Molly Burnett returns.  She’s been successful in primetime.

I think it’s so crazy that they’re not connecting Abby and Jake’s deaths as a DiMera thing.  I will miss BB!

I loved Shawn & Belle’s scenes on Friday—they’re always at their best when they inevitably reconcile after angsty drama.  But the problem is that definitely since their 2015 returns, they either haven’t been invested in or the stories have been harrowingly unappealing (JPL’s Shelle/Phelle triangle) or stupefying (this Jan pregnancy/EJ affair).  And people blame the actors, and I don’t necessarily think they embody what I want S&B to be, but there’s something to be said for familiarity and they absolutely are Shawn & Belle and have been for so many years.  Meanwhile, Kristen Storms was never what I wanted Belle to be, either, and Jason Cook became insufferable toward the end (I wound up enjoying him on GH, but Matt was very different from the Shawn that he pretty perfectly captured through 2002 but NOT ever after).  Like others have said, Ron should lean into Belle being an ice queen with a perpetually wondering eye and BB’s Shawn desperately needs to be fleshed out—in addition to taking the lead at Salem PD (just put a f-ing fork in Rafe), he needs consistent character traits beyond noble and hot.  BB’s sex appeal has been confusingly uncapitalized since his first run.  His turn as B&B’s himbo Owen was great, and leaning into that could maybe even make Shawn funny, which he’s never remotely been lol.  And they’re obviously at their best apart—as stupid as this Jan $h!t was (mostly because of how they contorted themselves to justify Belle’s newest affair), it should have gone on longer… once they get back together, there’s gonna be nothing for them to do (I will admit they’re awfully boring when they’re happy).

On a related note, I hope we get to see Belle react to Chad framing her for framing EJ… they’ve been a surprising hit as friends for me since that bizarre brainwashing-induced romance in 2015 and that got totally lost in the devil/BJ stuff.  And for the love of God, Shawn desperately needs friends and/or closer familial relationships!!