Vee

For both threads:

I am not calling him "Cates" and "John" like he was some serious upgraded character lol. He was just a random blond guy pretending to be Jagger who looked like he was on a break from Hallmark movies. Where he'll probably go next and make more money anyway. PM gave him some good speeches but I never saw anything long-term there. He was just a tool.

Unwittingly my ass.

The difference between now and then is (based on Mulcahey's own interviews) he just didn't have a ton of time for Sonny period, unlike Guza. I liked the story, even if there were a few rough edges in the plotting (Ava randomly mistaking Sonny's meds for sleeping pills). I think the plan was for her and Valentin to link up via their mutual interest and continue the scheme. I could've gone either way with keeping Ava or finally cutting her loose. I think she still has gas in the tank though, not unlike the Alex Olanov example I always cite from OLTL. I think Mulcahey wrote some pretty good scenes for Jason and Carly, particularly the one where he explains his tattoo to her. But he was working at a disadvantage, namely the fact that Steve and Laura have no sexual heat unlike him and Sarah. I think this was a dream of Korte that was never going to work, and I think they have no clue what to do with Jason now. I think they had banked on putting him and Carly over and realized quickly it wasn't happening. Hence Brennan the dayplayer becoming ascendant. No one said that.

No he won't.

It is a caricature, but the character isn't so it works for me.

Jonathan Martin continues to whine about Republican attacks on Harris not connecting and offers coaching tips:

It's stupid but no, it's not that serious.

The great moment here is at the end where Mike Barnicle, of all people, excoriates the media coverage for false equivalence and softening how Trump is reported. If it's on Morning Joe it has broken through.

Meanwhile, back on the Vance beat:

John McCain's son, repulsed by the Arlington incident, speaks out.

Sure, of course. I just didn't know it was ever backed off of in that period. I actually think much of S2's first and last halves are much stronger than some of mid-S3 where it flags for a little while, but that's me. I've talked about it before, but Abby is the perfect encapsulation of why the show's transformation worked so well IMO. Like all the other women and families, you knew exactly where Abby came from because you saw it onscreen the day she drove into the neighborhood. You knew what she'd been through and what she wanted, and she didn't get it all immediately in S2 or S3. So you could root for her and make the adjustment (as with the other characters) when they dive headfirst into the '80s and much of the ensemble become career power players. Because they built the changes in themselves from the ground up, Abby most of all. That didn't happen with any of the other examples you cited, and doesn't happen with most daytime or primetime soaps today.

There wasn't one. There never is with these Frank memberberries returns. It's trying to get Twitter points from people easily pleased by random past callbacks. PM tried to make the best of it as a catalyst for change. No, that's not why those decisions were made. They were made, in order, because he was very popular and because they have no investment in a young Black female lead without him.

Murphy always gets his hunks for a few shows. What I am hoping is that he still moves on before too long.

Two big stories:

Not for the first time in the post-RC, post-Trump years.

Same. He was this random blond stranger. I never found Harrington too impressive either. It was the writing that elevated him.

I'll say this too: I think there is a universe where they recast Spencer immediately in February, Mulcahey comes in, you have story with Spencer and Trina and the spring and summer for GH look considerably different as a result. Spencer and that couple were that integral for the last year or two. Just saying.

That's what I still don't understand (and I say that as someone who wants her for the role). Unless she just likes to work? The streaming crash is a jungle right now.

It's her defining characteristic. It's ridiculous to me to get rid of it.

I can see an argument being made for PM needing someone with him that would still juice the show up a bit on adrenaline too. But the fact is we don't know what he would've done in that area without serious constraints, which there were clearly from the beginning (starting with cutting the cast). There was just never a window in which he was given a free enough hand IMO, at least from what I saw. What I did see of what seemed to be his vision I very much enjoyed. But that's the past. I think Frank, Chris, etc. are here to stay again.

A particularly hilarious dreamspinning fantasy of Martin's in the full article linked above: The idea that Biden can pardon both Trump and Hunter on the way out the door as a show of bipartisanship. He so badly wants a path out of the woods for the GOP.

Someone flash the @DRW50 signal. I cannot believe they might be getting rid of Lois' accent. God.

It's more exciting. I just don't think it's half as smart or full of potential as what was there a few months ago. That was always the problem with this team. And I don't think the existing creative apparatus was ever behind Mulcahey, so he was handicapped from the jump. It should've been a clean creative sweep in March.

Yeah. The day to day energy is up, cliffhangers, etc. are back (and I blame a lot of the lack of that in the spring frankly on constant BTS infighting and turnover). But the show has reset to cliche old norms and tired old setups. It's flashy and makes money though, so unless Frank really fúcks the chicken again I think he and his pals are safe.