carolineg

I think this might just be the story that wins Dee her long deserved Emmy 🤣

As long as Marlena has a near death/heaven experience (natch for Marlena) and she sees her twin Sam before she decides if she's going to other side! All the roles for Deidre lol.

I am assuming Ron probably hasn't heard about the Marlena clones that Stefano sent out during the Possession story yet. That could be next.

They made me laugh too. I still don't think Leo is dumb enough to fall for it, but I liked those scenes. Am I the only one that thinks Craig is a better choice for chief of staff? Kayla's not very good anyhow. Ava did make a chuckle a bit too. Her disdain of Nicole/Rafe makes me like her more.

I think I have an okay tolerance to pagodas. Not sure. What I read about it makes it sound interesting and maybe the first sign John wasn't Roman, but your explanation just makes it sound messy. Not sure why they dropped Stefano. I believe I read Deidre Hall was in serious talks to come back at the time and it fell through and that's why the show was introducing clues that Marlena was alive. Maybe when DH decided not to come back, the whole thing just ended up getting scrapped and Stefano's story was done. A lot of the RoJohn/Diana stuff seems to change tone as well from what little I have seen after that. But then again, even 80's Diana wasn't a very fleshed out character.

I have never seen the full pagoda story. Is it worth watching? Roman seems like a much more logical choice on this than Shane. Is it the same story were they hinted Marlena was alive? Because at least in 1991 there was a strong thread that Stefano had Marlena even if Orpheus wasn't explained. Agree 100% about your thoughts on the John imploding/suicidal stuff. It was good and I wished they explored it more. It felt like everything was cut short about that and it was more Isabella/Romulus jewel thief focused. I wish there was more fall out with the children-Carrie wasn't even on canvas. And making Isabella pregnant almost seemed like too much? A lot was going on and the show knew Wayne was coming back. It seemed like an unnecessary complication that was much less interesting than the psychological aspects that could have played out. I remember seeing the 1988 clips and thinking that was silly because it didn't even make historical sense lol. To me, there is also a lot of Pawn/John/Victor stuff that wasn't explained in 1991 as well.

This story and LG are so awful in it I almost feel bad for her. She has to know everyone hates it and LG seems like a nice person. I have never thought she was a master thespian or anything, but it has to be difficult to get into character when the description is character that's been dead for 40 years and in love with Tony Dimera lol. I rag on her as much as anyone else and LG could do actual research on the character, but I would love to know her reaction the day she found out she had to play that.

Outside of the Marlena issue which was never resolved, Kristen wasn't a good character introduction. Her devotion to Stefano and marriage to Tony was creepy. IMO, their differences were more than obstacles-they were complete non-starters lol. She never believed John about anything from Day one. The entire town was telling her Stefano brainwashed John and tortured him, but Kristen ignored that until John walked out of Maison Blanche in literal shackles. But it's easy to say that looking back knowing how the story ends. I think there was a mention in 1991 that Marlena either saw the real Roman or almost did, but it was after Stefano had her. I didn't realize John was really Forrest Alamain. I thought the Yo-Ling stuff negated that, but you explained it much better than I remembered it. Thanks! Obviously at this point you just wish Real Roman never came back lol.

Yes, but the coffin was empty and Stefano kidnapped Forrest/John as a child, but I am not sure why. I still don't know if we ever found out if the real Forrest Alamain died in that pool. Probably?

Did Palumbo do the John is a jewel thief story? That was awful lol. It had continuity errors from his own recent story the Tale of 2 Romans. I don't think tying John to the Alamains was that bad of an idea, but the show didn't do a lot to solidify the Alamains long term. Once Lawrence was out, John only had Vivian and that wasn't really dramatic. I think every writer salivates at the fact John has such a blank past and wants to write their own story so none of it makes sense. They should really have made John Roman's twin that Stefano kidnapped due to a Brady past vendetta that made sense back in the early 90's.

Thanks! I wasn't sure if she ever followed up with Tripp. Not that she has to, but he's probably thinking she feels one way and doesn't lol. But that kinda sums up their entire relationship.

Agree. They based the whole thing on a before and after photo. Everyone should be embarrassed. I think everyone just liked John better and went with it. Including Marlena lol. I think it's obvious she liked some physical differences. It's sorta funny that you think Stefano made him practice to have sex with Marlena. If I am going to go even further into all this-why did Stefano even make John faux Ro? What was his point? Especially after he kidnapped Marlena as well? Was there an end goal he was looking for like John to turn on all the Brady's at some point? Or was it just for like shits and giggles? Have they ever even tried to explain it? As far as Eric he got kicked out of the priesthood for Kristen seducing him. I don't even want to talk about it. He always got in a drunk driving accident and killed Daniel among the other lesser sins. I honestly didn't even hear his excuse about why he went back recently.

I strangely admire his commitment to thinking his live version is going to be as good as his weirdly edited track with background vocals. I honestly think TR is aggressively touching Finola's hand to remind one another they can't burst out laughing in this scene. I don't know anything about Conner or the actor, but was singing the actor's main career?

I think Kristen's view of religion was just so strong at that time (and completely abandoned post-Possession lol) that Marlena's "I support you no matter what" attitude came off more natural. I just always thought she was okay with it and maybe pro/pushing is too strong of a word, but she wasn't against it and didn't want him to turn his back on it necessarily. So do you think Marlena realized if John was a priest brainwashed out of the seminary that meant John was probably a virgin when she met him and she was embarrassed she couldn't tell the difference between him and Roman? Lol. I know it's completely retconned out of existence now, but at the time.. I don't think JER ever left his vision of John/Marlena even if I suspect the network and other PTB wanted John/Kristen more when ED first arrived, but JER was never going to truly let that happen. Aremid is where John/Marlena stuff becomes really clear, but I think the true turning point is when the devil starts using Marlena to actively seduce John. You truly get the idea that's the endgame couple Anyhow, Eric's priesthood journey confuses me more than John's. Eric can leave, have multiple relationships with women, have a child out of wedlock, and get married and DIVORCED, and just go back to being a CATHOLIC priest? I know women used to join convents after they were widowed, but I feel like Eric's life is not the same at all. Maybe they just keep him around in case an exorcism needs to get done.

You can get it for $4 bucks on Amazon-never heard of it either, but it's fairly newish. I think a lot of time wedding attendants are based actors leaving the show and who is vaguely friendly enough that's still on the cast.

This is hilarious. Is he performing live to his own music video? That seems...rendundant lol. I agree the music could be a little cheesy in the 90's and I don't think the Outback, Luke's and sometimes Jake's all needed to be a place people needed to sing live at. Add the nurses's Ball and traveling to Puerto Rico to see a concert-it's a lot of singing. Is PC that big of a music mecca? I get that it's not very exciting to watch other people reacting to people singing, but I loved the idea of Luke's as a bluesy club and L&B as a business venture that Lois/Brenda could do where they actually showed them doing work. The first few years of the NB worked because they felt like a variety show more with some silly acts. When it became really glossy and characters that would never perform started to perform it got clear they ran out of ideas. It's certainly not a nadir of viewing, but why would anyone want to watch Chloe/Jax ballroom dance?

This is a serious question, but did I miss an episode when Allie decided she was all in with Chanel and over Tripp? I saw her talk with Will, but has she just dropped the idea of getting back with Tripp now? Today's show was awful, but I had to laugh when Ciara/Ben were explaining to Chanel the devil wanted their baby and Chanel was rightfully worried and asked 'why'? And Ciara said "Idk, hope it's over" in the most casual way. I think it's clear how VK feels about this story.

You are probably right. Maybe I was just confusing the fact that Marlena was generally really pro John finding out his past, which was fair, but never cared much about the 5 years she was kidnapped lol. I remember her urging him to find out as much as he could about the priest stuff. I would say, IMO, that John was still really into Kristen until Aremid and that's when he saw something 'more' again with Marlena. But obviously, the audience would see it better than them and knew there was unfinished business with them even at Maison Blanche. On a sort of unrelated priest note I always thought it was funny John decided to re commit to being a priest and all of sudden he was performing weddings and had these duties. Does it even work like that lol? I know very little about this, but isn't it difficult to go back after you had a wife and children? How does Eric go in and out as a priest as well?

I think it's interesting to hear more about Sami/Eric's time in Colorado because so little is known about that time or even how long they were there lol. I could take or leave Madison, but it was a good intro. The show probably got rid of her too soon, but her backstory got weird quick.

Yeah. I get that. There is a lull between maison blanche and the possession where john and crew aren't doing anything exciting and Kristen and John have the same conversation about 10000 times. Even in edits that period is tedious and I skip ahead usually too lol

Isn't it Gabe that convinces John to be a priest? Wasn't pre-possessed Marlena pro John being a priest as well?. I remember her and Kristen saying it was his 'calling'. Which, no it's not, if he doesn't remember it. Instead of Tanya I guess John was off screen knocking Tori up.

I can't stand Maggie. But I appreciate the fact the show used her. I think SR deserved that. The Victor pairing was great at first. I definitely like the fact the use her and her loyalty to the show, but it got a bit much. She's not the same as Marlena and I think the show sort of fell into that theory lol.

Yes, Jocelyn Seagrave played Tanya. It was after GL and it seemed like such a small role. She briefly hooked up with John and I think they had sex. I believe she was just a diversion from Kristen or to make Kristen jealous, but she didn't last long at all. In fact, I think she just vanished one day after John dumps her. It's so funny you mentioned that because my description of the character may be a little off, but I completely forget about her and see her in edits and always think why did JS have such a tiny role? Was it supposed to be more? Did she book other work at the time? Is she objectively a little young for Drake/John? Lol such a random character.

I know JT's Roman is really a dark horse here, but he lost everything to Stefano. I know John lost his memories, but he got the girl and a decent life. Roman spent 7 years as a prisoner only to find out his whole family accepted and liked his replacement better. That's rough. And Carrie and Eric are fine, but 1 of his kids is Sami and that's an awful fate. So I would give Roman the win on this one or maybe have John do it and Roman help cover it up.

I think Drake/Kristian have okay chemistry. I think Drake generally has chemistry with all his love interests tbh. In 1997 when they had that jungle story together I was intrigued. The ship has long sailed on any 3rd party love interest breaking up Marlena/John, but it's more annoying the show teases it then backs off. Just do it or don't lol. I think the cover up was the issue, not so much the act. And the Rafe of it all lol. I personally wish Stefano died at John/Roman/Marlena's hands not Hope's. While Stefano has messed with Hope a ton, the fitting end would be to let one of those three characters do it, preferably John.