Vee

I think he was a great asset from the jump in what I've seen despite the difficult circumstances under Monty, but yeah they didn't give him much to work with. I have never seen him with Shell Danielson's Dominique, only the terrible original performer but neither lasted long. The Holly thing is nonsense. I just wonder if they had toyed with Scott and Felicia or always had Mac in mind. Because the Ryan mystery was part of her re-introduction.

I think they were/are, even if I hate that romance. But I also think having Anna close was beneficial to his plans whatever they may be. I do think Ava is working with Valentin and I'll be a bit disappointed if she isn't and is on her own trip. I also suspect she may have caught feelings for real in the process, which is equally typical Ava tbh. The idea that Valentin somehow needs to drug and gaslight Sonny to infiltrate Pikeman (which Jason has already done) sounds like heavy Valentin fan cope lol. We don't need to repeat or rehash every random fan theory or discussion online here and act like it holds equal weight or has some basis in legitimate gossip (and I'm not saying caroline is doing that, because she isn't). I think if Maurice had a problem with that he would've put a stop to it either now or in 2014 the last time Sonny was toyed with like this. Sonny Corinthos has never been a depiction of a model citizen with bipolar disorder. He is a troubled, dangerous criminal with poor impulse control who consistently makes bad life decisions and ignored his mental health issues for decades until Emily forced him to deal with it. His behavior (and how he gets manipulated by others) is regularly a cautionary tale even without this angle. The show showing professionals and patients handling their medical issues responsibly and then showing others not doing the same is apples and oranges AFAIC, and simply good drama.

It's been done before, IIRC. Ava kept him off his meds in 2013-14. It makes sense to me that any rival would target Sonny's mental issues.

If Valentin has Anna Devane in his bed and his home he theoretically has a major threat to Pikeman's plans under control, so that makes sense. Charlotte ruined that. I suspect it was Valentin or one of his cronies (Brennan?), but I hope they reveal Ava pulled the trigger on Austin herself. He was so despicable to her and it's been too long since some segments of the audience have been reminded who Ava has always been. They are going to have to hire someone for her. Frank would put her with Marshall if he could get away with it.

Not that anyone in the audience will care much (any more than they would if it turns out Ava was faking her possibly private reaction to the threat/evidence after Austin's demise which I suspect she was), but they can always retcon it easily enough to say that Valentin figured the footage of Charlotte would get found soon and wanted to get out in front of it his own way.

Who found the Charlotte footage first? Nina? He did choose to cover it up and made her do so.

He has clearly been working on the scripts IMO, credit or not. I thought he was also already credited on one or two but I may be wrong. I'm all for new writers, but that's different from family hires. These jobs get passed down often through families because they are generational income security, so it becomes a closed system that keep more new people out. Sometimes those family writers are very right for it of course, but in this day and age I prioritize new blood over someone like Emily Culliton. I could be wrong though, she could be great.

We dunno whodunit. It just reminds me of Ron spending overtime on GH Twitter telling people his important scenes were cut for time and constantly throwing the show or other personnel under the bus in doing so. You can't over-engage like that, especially in this tiny industry. It's also more nuanced re: Trina, since a few days ago she got her best scenes in ages with the very well-written and acted extended monologue segments at Spencer's grave, which will probably go on an Emmy reel. They reminded me of similar monologue stuff from the '90s.

I'm not going to weep if they dump a nepo hire tbqh. There's too much of that in this business as is. I want to see both old hands and new blood. Mulcahey taking a hand in the breakdowns tells us they're done fúcking around.

I still remember Ron dogging DAYS after several (IIRC) ex-OLTL writers had moved there post-cancellation and they got nommed or won something over him at GH IIRC, I believe for Eileen Davidson's big return year as Kristen. I found that tacky since he'd worked with several of those staff writers for years.

@depboy thanks for all you do - I've been meaning to dig back into these synopses recently. On another 1992 note no one asked for: Has anyone else seen the early Felicia return material in June of '92 and gotten the distinct impression they were heavily testing Scott and Felicia? They have a number of cute banter scenes with him looking after Maxie (who they keep calling "Max") and have pretty solid chemistry, and their vaguely improvisational energy works well together. But honestly Kristina really returned gangbusters overall from what I can see, and more than proved herself solo here IMO - she dominates a bunch of scenes with Felicia sweeping across the canvas doing what seems like odd jobs, with hilarious stuff with her working at the PCPD with crooks at the line-up, etc. I've always respected how strong and funny KW was as a slice of life player in the Labine era with JJY, Kimberly, Jon Lindstrom, etc. but she really has even more of a vivacious spark than I remembered. I don't know if this is when her real IRL troubles with Jack Wagner started but it seems like she came back eager to prove herself without him and Frisco as a solo heroine, and for a good stretch of years I think she succeeded. It's nice to be able to admire that again after the Luke/Felicia years brought her so low. Kristina is a lot rustier and less spontaneous a comedienne these days than she was back in the '90s, but she's still got a lot of emotion and heart onscreen when it counts and I'm glad she's still here. I do wonder when they started the move towards Mac and Felicia.

I'll be shocked if Lulu isn't cast soon.

Oh, I'm not predicting it at all. But if ABC is truly getting serious about making GH competitive and strong again, Vanessa (and possibly finding some flexible deal with JJ, a man can dream) is out there. It would certainly crank things up if Brenda blew back into town on the same day as, say, a clueless Sonny having his latest mob wedding to Ava Jerome-Cassadine, a la his Zacchara union.

Talent isn't the issue. The issue is the state of the industry, with a half dozen streaming giants falling apart or restructuring and everything in tumult. It's entirely possible those seas remain very choppy for a long while for working actors, and in that situation daytime becomes a safe harbor for many. It's possible that could include Chavez, if not right away then later. A few years ago his potentially returning soon wouldn't even be a consideration, but things are different.

Someone with more recall and regular viewing than me or titan over the last few interminable years needs to track all of "Pikeman's" big moves so we can examine them re: Valentin. Your service is appreciated! In the meantime I will check the insanely detailed GH wiki.

I am waiting for the first shoe to drop on several contract exits or possible returns, personally. If JPS is out or Vanessa does, miracle of miracles, return, we will know real things are changing. I don't think you could've made Valentin into a Big Bad under Frank's sway. You take care too!

He's had his down days! And I feel you about finding time, it's been a busy/rough time for me IRL myself. Take care of you.

Holy cow! Someone check on @Khan.

I believe they've said Charlotte is in a private hospital or sanitarium getting help. Leave her there! I think she also 'dumped' Jake if they were ever officially dating, thank God. I'd like to know more about this burning Anna's house, etc. business or whatever. I am also curious on your thoughts on the overall show lately, we've missed you. if you don't agree with me about it I promise not to bully you too much. We're forgetting something else, BTW: Several weeks ago Ava claimed some nobody had bought Wyndemere off her. What if it's Valentin and they're in cahoots over there?

Oh lord! I'll take more of that nonsense so long as it gets that mutant child off the show.

As long as they find a place in there to reveal Charlotte was never Lulu's and it was all a gambit to attach himself to the Spencers for whatever reason, I'll take it.

That's how I feel, yes. I don't think he was necessarily miscast on paper - again, his most famous part is as a villain on AMC. But they wrote him as such a wuss from the start and have kept him in that vein for most of his run. JPS is capable of doing more with proper writing, what he is not capable of (IMO) is selling this bizarre, convoluted, ugly character as a romantic lead. And everything that's been done to try to put him over as one has been mortifying and hilarious to watch for me. But hey, his fanbase and Finola (and Frank) seem to love him. Either way if PM/EK have decided to finally write to his creepy strengths as an actor, good. Speaking of I'll be curious to see what @carolineg thinks of this twist. I think they'd be wise to wait on a recast, as they did with JJ. A year, 18 months. The industry is in heavy flux and if things go cold Chavez may be looking to pay the rent soon enough.

Oh, I've seen this twunk in a few things recently. Hopefully DAYS will squander him and GH can snap him up.

He has never lived up to that IMO, including his early days running around in a hoodie with a mustache and 'killing' Nikolas. But JPS' most famous soap role is a villain and he gives creepy in every scene to me, so they might as well finally lean in and give it their best. I don't find Dex as a cop to be such a huge reach. He did not set out initially to join the criminal underworld; he was career military before coming to Port Charles and taking the undercover job for Michael. Servicemen to police is a common pipeline and this show has had at least a dozen characters with more checkered pasts join the force. (Please do not take this as a defense of himbo simp Dex, who I would love to see take hot lead from Valentin tomorrow.) Fill me in. I know very little about the Pikeman saga, other than that every time I tried to tune back in people seemed to stand around saying "Pikeman" for years on end with no actual movement (much like the saga of Cyrus, the world's oldest and most infirm mobster with family trauma). I do know Valentin introduced the issue of Pikeman the PMC/weapons dealer to Sonny in the first place. And I think the subtle ways they tied up all the dumb stuff of the past few months in the story (Brennan showing up in town, "Stone") is very smart.

More Drew/Nina and more Tracy/Stella. I'm for it. Less so for more Eva LaRue with Sonny (which may not be anything leading to romance) or for Blaze as the probable Face of Deception, as I still find her bland. But she's better than Sasha. Glad to see Jake will read Jason to filth.