carolineg

She had something. PP was definitely something different in a good way. Too bad she had so many personal struggles because I definitely think she's more interesting than Kayla. Sorry MBE fans!! Fair. That was awful and Shayla seemed really put out by Kim being upset. But again time and fan opinion have made them seem worse than they actually were.

I am so sorry you had to go through that, but happy you seem to have come out the other side well. It's always nice to talk about fictional characters and discuss silly points as an escape or stress reliever. Days and GH to a lesser extent have always been a comfort to me. No matter how much comes my way or how things change, Marlena will still be on cooing with John lol. That's a very good point. Her being "good" was a complete flop. I do think it's hard to put her up against another good character like Marlena. There had to be some contrast between the two.

I actually really like Kim. she's my 2nd favorite Brady after Roman *I know unpopular* But she was exhausting. And went through so much story in a fairly short period of time. Besides, I always thought it was shitty Shawn called Kim his best and brightest. Kayla deserved to win even if Kim/Shane are together now. I honestly didn't think Kayla and Shane were that bad.

There is something deep and tragic about a women who wants a man so badly that she would do anything and he will always be in love with someone else. Much like Sami, but her trauma was more on display and she moved past it sorta.

Don't bring up the dark years when John/Hope were pushed and pushed and pushed. Sure they had some chemistry, but WHHHHHY? I kinda like Shane/Kayla. Kim always seemed like ALOT to deal with lol.

I know it's a soap and it is what it is, but I was never clear why Kristen wanted to hold on to John so bad. He was literally in love with another woman!! Sure, John's tall and rich, but all these women on soaps are desperate to keep men that don't want them. Idk, Kristen is a hot lady. I don't know why she wanted a guy that was literally a giant red flag walking lol.

I mean I am going to fault John on this mostly. After Marlena's initial weirdness about John, she was pretty upfront with Kristen (post letter) about her feelings. Kristen did know where Marlena stood on it all. Kristen was absolutely the villian and did Marlena and John very wrong, but I don't think it's as black and white as J/M good. Kristen bad. Overall, she's just a blip on the radar for our Jarlena lovestory, but it was a moment. I want to start a petition to bring Wayne back immediately.

And in her all white outfit lol. It's just an odd thing to say, but it's something I will never forget. I always assumed Marlena was a good driver.

Oh, I love that argument. Sorry I just couldn't get past Izzy b. It was awkward when she told Marlena to care for John and people will talk about it but won't understand. Yeah, they probably won't understand you having sex with John, Marlena. When people say Deidre can't act I think she's wonderful in those scenes with Wayne. It was a real argument that finally made sense for them after years of them not talking about it. I don't know why, but I always giggle when Deidre/Marlena says I always drive defensively. Like what? I literally love Wayne so much. Roman was an ass but, damn, it's so difficult to reconcile JT's Roman with an actual good character.

Roman just got a bad edit on this. He wasn't very nice to Marlena, but I will always feel so, so bad for him when he finds out Belle isn't his daughter. It was sad. Kristen is her own character for sure. But I do think she should have a life long hatred toward John/Marlena because they did her wrong. I mean she did them very wrong as well, but they were being ridiculous and didn't really care about who they hurt as long as they didn't hurt themselves. Bye Izzy B! I actually cried when these aired and I strongly dislike Isabella. Not gonna lie she was very obnoxious. Sucks she died though. Her death tour around Salem was so annoying. Like I can't with her. So sorry brady grew up without her, but she sucked.

Agreed. Literally every piece of evidence pointed toward John. Tony/Andre's plan was brilliant not gonna lie. But of course Marlena would believe John. Anyhow, Marlena actually does tell John she only thinks of him as a friend and tells him to pursue Kristen after that bizarro cuddling scene so she is a total enabler on this. Like I am watching this in pieces after a long while and I am having a hard time understanding John/Marlena's motivations. I DO think John did Kristen dirty for sure. But I am not sure if Marlena did Roman dirty. I mean, yeah, she had an affair, but Roman was kinda a dick to her for his entire return. That DOES NOT excuse cheating, but the way Roman was treating her I'd probably want to bang John too. All the lies afterward suck and traumatizing Sami, but Roman was an assh*le. It just never sat right with me that Roman was all hey I am back nothing that happened in between matters at all. Also, sidenote. Deidre looks gorgeous with that longer hair. So, so pretty. But like her telling John they are just the dearest friends is a choice for sure.

Were Kristen and John even together at this point? I don't remember, but at the very least it was shaky. Not excusing that behavior or anything, but I don't know if I agree John/Marlena were gaslighting everyone. Acting like two clueless people? Yes. I remember there was a scene at John's loft where Marlena was in a towel and it was wholly inappropriate for two people that weren't together, but that's on John. He made the move back to Kristen. Marlena could have been honest with him, but John was generally the one in the wrong. He was emotionally and physically cheating on Kristen (all those random, weird make out sessions Jarlena would have on *accident*) Idk, I do tend to think it's on Kristen too. She obviously has her doubts and doesn't really lay it all out on the line either.

This is the post-aremid scene I was talking about with J/M. What the hell is wrong with these two? Not normal BFF behavior. "It feels so good to hold you in my arms again?" And it takes two years for them to actually reunite? I must have been really distracted by Sonny/Brenda's Alley Scene or lily blowing up on GH to continue watching this regularly. Also way to cock block Mike lol. Not storyline related but ED's eyebrows are very dark and distracting.

And again is Sami that much of a loss to John? I love her but she's a pain in the ass. Yeah, he had sex with your mom and it ruined your family of 5 mins, but John/RoJohn legit saved you from being an orphan when your mom and dad "died", so calm the eff down. Sami has been harping on this for 30 years now. And her and John still have an adorable relationship when allowed (like this week when they were all cute) Although, I might be mean, but I sorta would have loved for Isabella to have been alive to see the John/Marlena affair. She annoyed me to no end. She's better in re-watch, but I still think it would have been funny. Her pestering RoJohn about their baby and their future annoyed me. Way to make things about you!!! You were part of the affair catalyst Isabella!!!

No! No! I love Jarlena and can see you do too. Their stories were great, but you can still love them and acknowledge they fully have over dramatized their love story as well. Like 4 people would have been mad if they hooked up in 1995 (Roman, Kristen, Sami and Stefano). Everyone else would have shrugged their shoulders and moved on. The show honestly acted like John/Marlena were meeting at the local Motel 6 for 20 years having an affair. It was a lot. Nicole's had sex with like 4 people in 6 months and I don't care. JER made them repent. In 1993 it was scandalous, again with their impromptu weird sex places, but not the end of the world. Good people cheat all the time. Marlena legit had two husbands with the same name. It's a bizarre circumstance no one has probably ever dealt with ever lol. And it's not as if it was a useless roll in the hay and kid. They are together to this day. Idk, Jarlena are my 2nd favorite couple of all time. Sonny/Brenda on GH are my first. Imagine that minefield of random kids, marriages, and unfulfilled promise. So, Jarlena are fine by me. I do think they were super EXTRA in the 90's with their nonsense though and I don't think I am being unfair about that at all. At some point in 1996 I felt like just build a bridge and get over your issues you two. The women laid herself in front of a guillotine for you. I think she likes you John. *Also I judge Marlena on the fact she couldn't tell Roman/John apart in 1986. Drake is like 6 inches taller and had straight hair and blue eyes. I can't help but think there were some other *physical* differences lol but obviously she didn't mind.

See in a lot of ways he did make Marlena pay, but not John. She was the one who was possessed for cheating on her husband (in really rare, unusual circumstances-she didn't just pick up John in a local bar). She was the one who was alone and celibate. Not John. So in some ways Marlena did repent. John just got a hot new girlfriend. I don't think their affair was their biggest sin. Sure it damaged Sami and Roman, but get over it. Things happen. The deception was with Kristen and later Roman with their weird guilt about just telling the truth. They were/are our hero/heroine on this show and their behavior was just odd I guess. Just own it. You already had an affair and a child because of it. I don't think your love is actually going to kill Roman. Rude. They must think very little of Roman. I mean Deidre/Marlena deserve to be icons, but JER had her take a hard fall and she never was able to own her actions and say it is what it is. It's been completely whitewashed but yet she constantly still feels guilty about it and Belle is like 45 these days. Of course Marlena is going to be the angel on Days. She was long before JER. She was always the main heroine no matter how much they pushed other characters.

Bwhahaha! I loved Kristen trying to fling herself off a roof. If you're gonna go out do it with all the DRAMA!!! Cause a ridiculous scene just to annoy them!!! To this day, I think John/Marlena are glossing over A LOT of their relationship issues. I 100% believe they are like the greatest love of all time and the best and most special, but they generally ignore the wreckage they left with their choices. A lot of people were damaged and hurt by them, but it's SOULMATES, so who cares? I just wish they took a moment and some space to say we could have done this all a bit differently starting in 1991. Like, hey, we probably could have de-escalated this thing if we acted like adults back then instead of dragging half the town into our mess. Again, Marlena, as a shrink and human, should have probably gotten a little worried John was organizing two weddings to 2 different women about a week or so apart. Instead, she was too busy choosing one of the ugliest wedding dresses of all time with Carrie and Laura. Yellow with daisies and a hood? Marlena you aren't modeling for Seventeen Magazine. Find an appropriate dress.

I wish Kristen would have high tailed it out of town after dropping the Roman bomb because her last months were wasted. She had to witness John/Hope making out in a freakin jungle because that was the new thing in 1997. John basically couldn't deal with being alone. That was part of his character. He was sleeping with Rebecca just to make Marlena jealous basically. John could get it up for just about anyone. Ask Paul's random unseen maid mother. Anyhow, there is something there with Kristen/John being unresolved. And I do think there is a lot of Kristen/John that was physically based. They did have a lot of sex scenes. But everything was completely glossed over in 1997. John lost a 'wife' and a 'child' and was proposing to Marlena 12 hours later. None of the massive affair guilt was in play. There was no waiting or dates. It was straight to sex and marriage, which we was earned, but we had waited years for this and it disappointed to be honest. I know JER wanted to tie everything up in a bow before he left and the climax of the Kristen story was good. The reunion was just lackluster. I don't know if I am explaining this right. I didn't need John/Marlena to be all PG and innocent courting because they were two middle aged people that shared a life and child. I just needed a little more than "yay! we love each other! Let's get married tomorrow!"

Listen, I accept JER and the dumbing down of all characters to fit his storytelling. Fine. Whatever. Kristen had a very damaging upbringing and maybe was too trusting. John had a lot of sh*t and a bizarre ever changing backstory and persona. But Marlena, girl, you are someone who is counseling others as an actual licensed Dr. I get you were kidnapped/possessed for most of the 90's, but she should at least be able to read a room or a man that you've been in love with and married to. Instead, she was just encouraging silliness, delusions, and lies because she felt guilty she committed the ultimate sin of cheating on her husband like she was the only person who had ever done that in the history of the world. I really do love the greatest love of all time crap on soaps, but Kristen should have left those fools in the dust in 1996 like you said. It was not worth her time or energy. And honestly, John/Marlena should have been more mad at each other for not clearing up the simplest of misunderstandings to one another. I actually do have a huge issue with their reunion as well because nothing was really talked about or resolved. They never really took a moment to discuss their massive failings and just got engaged hours later. It really takes me out of that long awaited reunion, but I get they needed those moments to bring Roman back.

Haha! The fact that John would spew the "she has a special place in my heart because we share a child" nonsense was funny. Like stop it. You and Marlena are not normal. I remember a scene after Aremid? and Marlena and John were lying in bed together practically cuddling after a kidnapping attempt by Stefano or something and they were acting like it was perfectly acceptable behavior. How epically dumb were they not to see they both were into each other? Instead, John just doubles down and gets Kristen pregnant. And Kristen really didn't see ANY red flags before she read the letter? C'mon girl. I expect better of you. And I still get another laugh out of "Kristen didn't believe I didn't shoot Tony" stuff. John, literally, every shred of evidence was pointing against you. She was being a logical person, not a jerk. I guess I am turning into a Kristen defender in my old age. Re-watching really makes you see John/Marlena were being self-sacrificing, obnoxious people, pretending to protect others, but in general just causing chaos lol. I loved it at 13, but, man they really could have saved numerous people a lot of trouble by just being honest.

Agree about the John/Marlena stuff with Roman. That made sense. Even if Marlena wasn't truly clear on her feelings she had a desire to make it right and get her family back. Once Roman left and the dust settled the only person who would have issues with Jarlena being together is Sami and she was mean to them regardless, so who cares? I get the religion aspect, but literally John has impregnated all his women out of wedlock so again who cares? The story definitely took a turn with the John/Kristen/Tony stuff, but I always thought Kristen was a vehicle for John to 'get over' Marlena. There was a year or so we were supposed to take them as a serious love story, but with Roman gone and Marlena without any love interest at all did anyone believe it? From Maison Blanche on John/Marlena would fall all over one another unapologetically and it was very hard to believe they were attracted to each other enough to have sex on a conference table and do that to Roman, but now were just BFF and co parents. I am surprised Kristen took their ridiculousness as long as she did before turning evil.

I totally get Marlena is very forgiving and I do think she tends to overcompensate when it comes to Brady whether the show explicitly says that or not. The woman tried to redeem Stefano for a minute in the 90's, but Marlena's extreme paranoia/distrust over Kristen is what drove her and John apart in the first place in 2013. Kristen asking Marlena to raise Rachel was one of the strangest things I have ever seen and it's Days so that says a lot. That would never even happen. Kristen just needs a clear trajectory. If they are going to redeem her-do it. She can still get in her own way ala Sami, but she can't kidnap people anymore. If her and Brady are endgame make that happen I guess. To me, being John/Marlena's foil was Kristen's main gig. Either drop it or continue it. Don't play both sides. The weeping and sobbing Stacy does is not really Kristen. Kristen is cool and calculated and smart. A rightful Dimera heir (over those losers Jake and Chad). Throw her into that world. If Wayne was playing Roman I would agree to throw them together to give maximum annoyance to John/Marlena. And we need one actress playing her and stick with it. I would honestly completely drop Susan because I absolutely detest her, but she does have a purpose and good chemistry with DF as EJ. Idk, lately I feel like there has been so much messiness with Kristen/Eileen/Stacy that the character needs a break for a minute.

Not to go off on a tangent, but John/Marlena were probably the worst of all offenders in JER's cycle of love triangles. Most everyone else knew where they stood so to speak (Sami, Vivian, Tony/Andre, Peter, Billie, etc). John/Marlena (mostly John) repeatedly lied to one another and most everyone else especially Kristen. I am not even a Kristen defender, but that would make anyone a little crazy. Kristen's batsh*t actions might be the most understandable. Eileen will always be my Kristen and the best Kristen, but Stacy is talented. The oddness of John/Marlena accepting a nicer, gentler Kristen was freaking bizarre. Leave them out of it or play up the endless rivalry. I agree you either make Kristen reformed and have SH play it or don't. Going back and forth with different actresses, different motivations, different screen partners, etc is a disservice to both actresses. Again, Kristen is a smart character, regardless of her flaws, but Ron makes her epically dumb. Her plans consist of face masks and ridiculously bad choices. Kristen in the 90's was nothing if not one step ahead and this Kristen is just not that bright.

I have never considered Kristen to be a straight villian. She was driven to do the things she did out of insecurity, fear, doubts, etc. Let's be real. Kristen was a fairly clever psycho, but she wasn't wrong about John. He REPEATEDLY told her he loved her and only her. He willingly made a baby with her and proposed to her. All the time he was lying to her and Marlena. John's kind of the villian lol. To this day (outside of JER being JER) I don't understand why John and Marlena couldn't just be honest with one another. Blah, blah, blah the pain of the affair, the baby, each other's happiness. Stop being lame. Them being together, IMO, would have legitimized their affair and stopped a lot of their problems. For storyline purposes it was great, but it really made 0 sense. Marlena telling John the truth about Kristen from the beginning of the pregnancy was arguably less stressful than Kristen keeping secrets the entire pregnancy, but whatever. I digress... Plus the woman had to live as a sex slave on an island for years.

Interesting. I don't feel like I can speak about OLTL intelligently (or non-intelligently as I do sometimes) because I was more of a casual viewer. Clint/Viki reuniting made sense to me in a way Roman/Marlena wouldn't. To me, I would consider this Viki's main pairing even if she had sucess with other pairings. With Marlena, you have 30 plus years of John/Marlena build up and her choosing John over Roman again and again. It would be odd for her to pivot away from that at this stage in the game. Do I think there is unresolved issues with her and Roman? Yeah, I do. I think the show dropped the ball a lot with them. I feel like there could have been numerous issues with Roman feeling a closeness with Belle because she was his daughter first or a lingering bitterness over John/Marlena and there really isn't. If Wayne had returned in 1997 I think this would be a whole different ballgame, but Roman has been sidelined over the years for John and because of a crap recast. Again, Roman brings nothing to the table that John doesn't. He may be Carrie/Sami/Eric's bio dad, but John easily can fill that void as well because Drake has a longer history with those actors (outside GV as Eric-and I think that's the least complicated relationship out of all the kids for John). In this case, it's just one supercouple begat another more popular supercouple, but if Wayne came back I probably would be willing to give it a try. Anyway, Happy New Year as well! Yeah, I guess that's what I don't understand with the 2 Kristens. Kristen has moved far past John, but everytime ED comes back we are made to think it's unresolved and there is an attraction, but there really isn't. John closed the door on Kristen years ago and the stuff from 2012 was very strange because John just wouldn't do that to Marlena, but whatever. I was happy they brought Kristen back. I did think Kristen/Brady worked in a dirty, tawdry way. ED/EM have chemistry for days, but it's not a love story or long term pairing. But I might not ever be able to get over ED's Kristen telling Brady she was his new momma back in the day. I just wish the show would chose a lane with Kristen or even just a single actress. Kristen is a villian, but she does have tragic anti-heroine qualities. She was a good person. John/Marlena being a**holes kind of turned her crazy. They were the ones drooling all over each other while lying about their feelings. Kristen was a hot mess, but those two did sort of bring it on themselves.