Maxim

I can definitely relate to your story. And yes, it is refreshing and a step away from the disgusting preconceived notions people tend to have about gay people.

Amen.

I see this has become some sort of discussion. And I didn't want to say anything, because I don't want people to think I'm stepping on toes. No. I'm just going to disagree with some of y'all. FIRST - If I was Smitty/Martin I would be even MORE concerned with what Samantha is doing. Why? Samantha was portrayed as being this borderline infantile RIBBONS in her hair, dressed like Britney in her debut album-GIRL... for a looooong time. Just couple of months ago this girl was naively asking "What's gay sex like?" like it was something from a fairytale. Nothing of this signals to me this girl is ready for mature things and sex. It would be a clear shock to me if I were her parent to see her transition so fast to this new situation. I would be very concerned. Again - they played her off too childish in the beginning for her parents to be just... OKAY go for it. It doesn't matter that the actress is soon going to hit 31. The character STILL has that infantile vibe IMO. SECOND - It's great that they are stepping away from the stereotype that all gay people are these overly free in terms of sex creatures that don't care about stuff like this... It's an ugly stereotype. The truth is - some gay people are more cautious and more... old-fashioned when it comes to things like this. And I like seeing this dynamic here. If her fathers were all "Do you girl... y'all have fun." ... it would have been such a cringe moment for me. And I'm sure SOME people in the audience would have used that to bash gay people. They look for every chance to do it. Thank you MVJ for making it impossible for them to do so. As as gay man... I felt this was the right decision.

Up to November 17th, 1992. 🦩 "Family - DIVIDED." 🔷 It happened... Viki's family has now been divided. Her children picking sides. Where they want to live. The worst possible situation is now a reality. 🔷 They wanted the truth. Clint, Kevin... even the smaller children. All of them were watching in anticipation... waiting to hear from Viki what the "real truth" was in the hopes that the dark cloud sitting over Llanfair will pass. And she finally said it. It was like removing a band-aid. She just couldn't take being interrogated and harassed in this sort of emotional witch hunt every single day. The latest situation with Kevin and the baby just pushed her one step too far. And Viki did the unthinkable. She stood in the library of the mansion and told her entire family, including the children... that she has feelings for Sloan Carpenter. I didn't expect this. I really didn't. I had to rewind couple of times to see it again and again. I don't know if this was a good decision, because it opened Pandora's box. But it was what they all wanted from her for months. 🔷 And that brings me to "the consequences". It was not easy lying and distorting reality, but living with the truth is even harder. If not impossible, even. Clint and Kevin reacted as expectedly - this was a no return back scenario. Once she said this in front of her everyone, including Joey and little Jessica... there was no denying how deep Viki has gone in betraying Clint's trust and love. And in his eyes - betraying the entire family. Now we are sitting in front of yet another classic situation - in soap operas... and in real life too. A mother and a father breaking up and their children FORCED to pick sides. This is how hardcore trauma begins, people. I've been there, lived through it... made to choose and pick the same way Clint asked his children to decide WHICH house they'll stay in. I started tearing up. It was like reliving my own childhood. 🔷 Another person dealing with consequences of lies and secrets is Leanne - she has now not only lost the ability to see her child, she's made Jason angry too. Her tears and sobbing were just the background noise of the entire horror story unraveling in Llanview. But even then... in their worst hour together... Viki and Leanne had a bonding moment. Left alone... they were talking like mother and daughter... Who could have thought that Viki would be so close to this girl of all people. Not me. They surprised me again. 🔷 Cain and Tina are officially over. Well, in soaps this could mean that they are broken up for good or just for next week. Cain has a new woman in his life... and you would never guess who it is - Alex f-cking Olanov Hesser. That's right. The duo got drunk and ended up ALMOST doing it on the floor of Alex's tacky mob apartment. We saw a glimpse of old Alex - raw, real, talking about her past and how she became what she became. How does someone go from the light to dark like this. From an agent helping bring justice to a dangerous mob queen. Her response - MEN. We heard her signature dark soundtrack while she was telling about her father and Bo betraying her. I almost started missing the old Alex, before they turned her into cartoon. This reminded me how much capable she is when they tone her down and give her drama. Overall - 10/10 - If you ever have a chance... you must watch this period of the show. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Clip of the day Viki confesses to her entire family and all hell breaks loose.

Great description of the Viki storyline, @DRW50 . I believe there's a delicate line between trash and quality. If this storyline had just one less nuance of complexity... or even if different actors were involved... it could have easily turned into a disaster, IMO. In its current form however, it works flawlessly. I worry that many who just read (from my recaps) or hear about it (my husband) might dismiss it as a cliche. It isn't. For instance, when I talk about how incredible this storyline is, my husband initially reacted with - "Isn't this what soap operas are 99 percent of the time... cheating and triangles... What's so special about it?" My reply was that - IT's all in how they present it - the dialogue, the acting, the music, even the editing. Moreover, the character of Viki faces unbelievable stakes and tremendous pressure, largely self-imposed. This is what sets it apart from all the cheap triangles and cheating storylines. I'm grateful I had a year to watch her... witnessing the Saint of Llanview-act, because if I had started watching now, it wouldn't have resonated with me at all. That buildup was crucial for me to understand what this character represented. And now... they are masterfully unraveling her, layer by layer... revealing hidden aspects in such a dramatically entertaining way that I know I will rewatch this storyline countless times in the future. It's truly a guilty pleasure type of thing. ❤️ We'll see if they'll keep it on the side of quality or it will sink into trash in the future.

I hope so too! I mean... why not? ❤️ I've been loving Nora so far. She's the type of woman that likes to challenge a man... And come to think of it... Bo needs someone like this. Cassie... made him looks so much older and Sarah is an absolute mess. Maybe if they just clean-slate him and try him out with Nora... it will work. I can't wait to see what the future holds! They just shared a scene... and Bo was grinning from ear to ear again. That man can't hide anything he feels. I liked him before he dumped Cassie over the phone for Sarah. I've been holding a grudge since then. 😂

🤢

Up to November 13th, 1992. 🦩 "The kiss of the vampire." 🔷 Happy Halloween, y'all! 👻 🔷 Sloan Carpenter turned out to be even more manipulative than I ever imagined. He’s playing this like a game of chess. Every single move is planned in advance, and the only thing that matters is the goal - Viki's heart. It’s true that there are no rules in war and love. Sloan's so-called "bringing peace" visit to Clint was anything but that. He just went there to gather more ammunition against him. He was smirking and serving Brooke Logan in her most savage mode - gaslighting Clint to the max, telling him he is delusional if he thinks that anything is going on. Sloan forgets one thing, his rival may not be as bright and calculated as himself, but he has one huge PLUS - a heart of gold. The guy is an open book compared to the games and machinations of the general. Of course... everything Clint said about Viki... Sloan later twisted in front of her to his advantage. 🔷 And that brings me to part 2 - the HUNT. Sloan Carpenter decided it's time for the REAL PUSH. The NOW or NEVER moment. He knew that Viki's marriage may never be this fragile again. So he went ALL IN. It was like a scene from old school opera. Not just soap opera... it was like opera period. His felt like a vampire (@DRW50 - that pose in the pictures Dorian took... was not accidental 🧛‍♂️...) circling around Viki, waiting for the right moment to sink his teeth into her neck. Not taking "No" for an answer, looking for any weakness in her armor. Viki was running around the room almost hysterical, Sloan chasing her... I even started laughing at one point. The manipulation was hardcore - he wanted to portray Clint as this hardened... not taking any responsibility guy... who was allegedly putting all the blame on Viki. Again, I've only seen Brooke pull stunts like these. 🔷 And if you think this is the full extent of Viki's troubles... you are mistaken. Now that Clint KNOWS about her and Leanne violating the restraining order... she went to warn her and tell her those visits have to end. Leanne, being the selfish POS that she is... was not having it. She'd rather ruin Viki's life than miss out on time with her kid. In that moment, I thought - this is just a classic case of the saying - No good deed goes unpunished. Viki should have never... I mean, NEVER helped Leanne. I know why she did it - it was more than just playing the Saint... she saw herself in Leanne... she recognized her own tragedy with her daughter Megan and wanted to change that little boy's fate. She didn't want him to go through what Megan did, living without her. But now? It's too late. Kevin, who was just about to start trusting Leanne again... opened the door to find her with Duke. I don't think... I KNOW sh-t is about to hit the fan. And all of this is going to ricochet into to Viki... totally FINISHING off her marriage. 🔷 The Death fiasco is in full speed, and it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it will. Still... I just don't care. I don't know why. I don't care if Max will live or die. And that makes all of this so pointless for me. Still, this is my subjective opinion influenced by my limited time with the character of Max. I care a little more than I cared about Megan dying... but not that much more. Max has never been one of my favorites. I just think they've given him too much machismo cliches in the characterization... And... all I've really seen him do is chase Blair. It's so disappointing that they've paired him with Luna now... when it was so clear she was his second choice for months. Luna deserved something MORE. I'm not talking about a man. She could have been the only one NOT defined by a man. A character that can be a different point of view, something a lot more modern and bold. And they started playing with it a year ago... only to completely assassinate her and turn her into a typical "waiting for my man to wake up" cliche. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but I thought she would be something much more. SAD. 🔷 Last, but not least... I've decided to talk about this bizarre quirk of the show... you know those scenes on the telephone with characters who are totally out of the picture... like, they've been MIA for ages. First, it was Megan's husband, who she was always talking on the phone with... or waiting for a call... and now it's Bo having these short calls with Sarah while she's off in New Zealand or whatever. They've completely dropped the ball on Sarah, btw. Her storyline was a mess - she came back from the dead... only to sink into this unbearable drug addict storyline and then she just VANISHED. We haven't seen her for more than 20 seconds in the last MONTHS. Now we just hear she's chilling somewhere with her dad and that's the end of it. Meanwhile, Bo is getting all flirty with Nora and his pants are starting to feel a little tight in the front if you know what I'm saying. What blows my mind is that they think tossing us a 1-minute scene every 2-3 weeks where the character chats with the MIA spouse... is sufficient. It's downright hilarious. But hey, at least they're making an effort. If this was Bradley Bell... he'll just forget that the character was married in the first place. Overall - 9.5/10 - again, 0.5 removed for the Max scenes. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Clip of the day Sloan corners Viki.

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I would love to see her initial storyline some day. Go back in time. I know the episodes are there... It reads very good on paper. (on wikipedia) And since it sounds very Viki-centric... I think I will enjoy it. P.S. - a nice surprise that made me smile today. Viki and Joey back together for a few seconds. YouCut_20251101_041052166.mp4

I still think that making an "impossible to root for" character (the sociopath Remy)... part of the first gay male couple on the show... was a CHOICE.

Thank you @Errol! I'm gagging about the DARK mode, since SON is the only site I don't have it on... and that will SAVE my eyes literally. YEEEEEEEEES. Can't wait!

Yeees. I love Sinister btw. I have my own tradition to watch an old Betty Davis thriller called Dead Ringer or/and What Ever Happened To Baby Jane. This year however we'll be going to a party in a few hours so I won't be able to... Maybe after we come back I can pursuade my husband to watch at least Dead ringer. Hate to break the tradition. P.S. Dorian Lord as Morticia in 1991. She just looks like herself with a bit more makeup on. Lol.

Brooke's costume that she wore in private for Bill (in the bedroom) for Halloween years ago.