carolineg

Agree with everything lol. I don't mind Patch/John as BFF or even Kayla/Marlena, but according to history they just aren't. It really is directly related to the absence of Bo though like you said. Again, the elephant in the room with Brady/Kristen will always be John/Marlena. It's the story they belong in, but you can't put them in it without bringing up the history. And RC wants to play Brady/Kristen as some sort of sick romance, almost an endgame situation. While Brady being in the story was interesting at first when ED played it, the person Kristen should always be set on is John. With Marlena as her enemy. At least John knew a better side of Kristen, has a long history, once loved her and were planning a future together. Brady and Kristen were completely toxic and wrong from day one. I am not sure I would have ever given Kristen a child, tbh. It feels slightly unnecessary with her current criminal mastermind behavior.

I would say that has always been the case with Drake. Since the beginning he was just a likable, charming guy. He feels like a genuine nice guy and someone you would want to have a beer with lol. He's never been great although I did think he did really good work with Christie and kid actors in general. He does well with the romance and family stuff and that's enough.

Yeah those outfits from 2020 would still look great on her and I do like that really blonde hair, but it's awful for your hair and to maintain. If I saw KS on the street in any of these current outfits I would think she looked cute, but the disconnect from herself and Maxie stylistically is too much when style is an important part of Maxie as a character. It really can't be ignored. And I am not just picking on KS because she gained weight. I thought Vanessa dressed way too much like Vanessa Marcil instead of supermodel Brenda Barrett in her last return in 2010 which was a disconnect for her character. It's a constant problem on Days as well where the actresses just dress how they feel and don't think about the character or the scenes they are playing. Again, this is a situation where I think Maxie and KS could be rested for a while if it's a health issue or recast if it's just too much for KS to play Maxie as written anymore. I understand she is a person who has been through a lot and I wish her well and sympathize with her, but I don't think it's too much to ask for someone to perform their job up to a certain standard. She is being paid to play a part after all not to play herself.

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 Gabi has been lost ever since CB quit before the pandemic and then came back. She hasn't had a clear direction, but she isn't necessarily dependent on having a partner. And I like Gabi. John was the leading man of the show in the 90's and I think if Deidre left there would be no John. Marlena still has scenes with other people, but John could pop in once or twice a month and not be missed. I genuinely don't think other couples suffer as much. Perhaps Steve, who doesn't tend to do a lot outside of Kayla while Kayla has the hospital. Even Roman gets more solo scenes lol.

Fair and I would tend to agree. On Days though, 6 years is a lifetime for characters lol. Chanel graduated? college, can drink, got married twice, and divorced twice, hooked up with a girl, and opened a business since then lol. The only reason I say Alex is 30 is because he's older than Sonny as far as the cannon of the show, not due to maturity.

I don't fault KS for her health problems. In fact, if she didn't have a long history of health issues I would say recast no problem. I am sympathetic to that and think the show could work around it in a more organic way. If her hair issues are part of a medical problem I guess that's understandable, but that hair looks fine to me. Someone could throw some curls into and make it look decent and, if not, she's had short hair before. She could rock a pixie cut and it would be more stylish than that limp bob. JMO, better writing would help me overlook a lot of this physical issues as well.

I was more referring to his characteristics not his actual identity, but fair point lol. John never has any story outside of something to do with Marlena except in Beyond Salem @SoapsudsI think Allie was 21 when she first appeared so with the time jump 24 now? I would assume the same for Chanel and if it happened in college when she was 18 that was years ago especially to a 24 year old lol. I don't think Will, Sonny, or Alex are supposed to be in that age range. They are 30 or in their early 30's.

I liked yesterday's episode. There just wasn't a lot to comment on. Even if Rafe isn't wrong. I can't stand him. I want him to shut up. Probably. Rachel has really good handwriting for a kid lol. And it makes sense she's sort of evil. With her upbringing it was always likely. Honestly, Kate would be someone who would want to have sex on her deathbed lol. I think it fits the character tbh.

Recast or change the character. Maxie has 3 children and a slew of tragic relationships behind her. The show could easily pivot that character into a more grounded direction to fit KS's aesthetic these days. Maxie doesn't have to be the ditsy, high powered fashion exec anymore. Her life circumstances have changed and she could focus on family and wear her chunky sweaters for awhile. I mean, that hairstyle doesn't look much better lol. But it's something a curling iron could easily accomplish on GH today. Her hair in that GH pic amounts to someone just running a brush through it. No one styled it to look any sort of way.

And her hair looked fine on Days, so I am not sure what the issue is. I would assume it's just really damaged and thin so it looks stringy or something. The bottom line is it may be KS's choice and she may be insecure about her body, but at some point someone in charge has to step in and tell her it's not making her look good. Or just only give her options that are appropriate for the character of Maxie. It's really hard to say what size she is by her clothing choices, but I highly doubt she's even considered plus size and has multiple options that would look good on her. Baggy sweaters and jeans are not the answer. Her weight gain is not taking me out of the character, it's Maxie looking anything but a stylish make up exec.

Agreed, but Maxie/KS's hair has been an issue since she started on the show. It's honestly always looked a mess. I don't know if it's super damaged or something, but I can't remember a single haircut that was flattering in all her years on the show.

For sure. I am sure we have discussed because I have always thought that. John doesn't really have much of an identity outside of Marlena and he can obviously do more. Agreed about Steve too. But I think you and I think more of Steve Burton's acting abilities than most. 🤣 I know he can be actually decent/good.

Agreed. That's why he never bothers me. You know he wants to be on Days and he's trying to entertain us. And, honestly, he's just so likable it's hard to say anything that negative about him.

Very true. Drake's only on a few days a month if you actually look at numbers and it must be fun to do something besides fight Orpheus and tell Marlena how much you love her all the time. John's scenes don't really have much variety, so it was nice to see something different for him.

Drake doesn't bother me at all, but I swear he used to be a little better. Not good, but more restrained? Now he does whatever he wants lol. In the 80's and 90's he wasn't this OTT, but by 2000 all bets were off.

Subtle and understated as usual. Really rude thing to do to the hospital janitorial staff. They won't ever clean Marlena's office again if she survives...🤣

I definitely think a new writer could refresh Jarlena. They always have the same story. Something internal between them as a relationship obstacle might be more interesting than bad guys/near death tearing them apart yearly. I appreciate both Sami/Lucas at least 'calling'. I am curious as to how Kate is seemingly so much better off than Marlena though.

You guys, I liked today's episode lol. I am sucker for the John/Marlena and family scenes at the hospital even if we have seen them a million times before. I have said before I like Kate/Roman, but it's literally like nails to a chalkboard when JT's Roman calls Kate "Katie". Also, every time I hear the Marlena clones mentioned I get so scared about the possibilities and wonder why they keep bringing it up. Sarah popping up mid episode was super random too. Glad she and Rex got closure in their relationship during this time. While Brady and Chloe were in bed, I swear you could practically see Nadia's nipple. More new and sexy days? 🤣

Alex has yet to become a serial killer?

I want to defend him and think Mo's problems are due to the pace or ad-libs, but he's been doing this since 2002 at least. I do tend to think there is just a huge element of laziness there, but I also don't think anyone has dared to correct him or change dialogue to suit the faster pace either.

Most days it seems like Mo only has a vague idea of what his lines should be. It's not an acting technique because if you watch him in the 90's there isn't a stutter in sight. He's always been mumbly, but his sentences were still fairly clear.

I love Wendy as well. I have since Beyond Salem 2. Thanks! All better. It was my fault. That's what I get for trying to clear up misinformation. I know better.

I loved Jason/Brenda from the beginning, but I always liked Jason/Brenda even in the 90's when they were horrible to one another. I always felt there was a little something there between them even when they 'hated' each other. Yeah, it was strange writing to have Carly constantly one upping Brenda. Brenda had never paid her much mind previously and would have no problem at least verbally owning Carly, but Brenda always backed down. I understand why the show felt the need to keep Carly as the #1 girl, but it didn't really fit how Brenda/Carly would interact. The whole Carly/Brenda rivalry could have been so much more entertaining if they let Brenda have a backbone. I think the idea was for Brenda to be calmer and zen as she grew up, but it read dull and sad instead. Sidenote- I always laugh when Carly calls Brenda as shallow as a mud puddle. That phrase just cracks me up for some reason. I get your feelings on Liz/Jason being ruined by Courtney/Jason, but I always assumed the intention was to go there with Jason/Brenda and Courtney being dumped, so I was better off with Courtney getting hurt over Liz. And I did like early Liz/Ric lol.

Yes, I see where you're coming from and don't disagree. But to me I considered more a return to form and the previous iteration was just an anomaly lol. .