Vee

And it wasn't great either!

It doesn't quite square the circle with the NYT quietly seeming to avoid the part of their strategy which involved courting papers including the Times to propagate their material, which they did successfully. But yes, it's overall a good piece.

He did bluster and break. I've mentioned them recently, but these scenes with Tony and Jackie are some of their best and show all the layers I mentioned above. Both their very subjective, personal and in Luke's case flawed but also guilty points of view are shown. Neither invalidates what Carly said. ETA: Found it in sync!

I don't think it was. The writing in the Guza years, for example, to my knowledge never shied away from the fact that Ruby facilitated the hooking and Luke and Bobbie had always had points of contention in their later adulthood ('90s-on) about whether he'd done enough to protect her, in her eyes. They were all three a family in their own way, they loved each other, but it was undoubtedly a damaged and dysfunctional situation. I thought Carly's dialogue about that during the memorial episodes was honest but gentle.

I really don't get it. Saltburn is just pop fluff. It's fun to watch, beautiful people, gorgeous scenery and viral moments, but ultimately it is vapid empty calories. What is the Academy hook? Are people just enjoying hooting at it over the holidays?

It's been rumbling for awhile, but Variety has it now: Millie Gibson is out after Season 1/Series 14, replaced by Andor's Varada Sethu. Sethu is talented, but I do think it's a shame.

Speaking of Haley @DRW50 @marceline -

That's all she needed.

If this was the Guza or Carlivati years there is a fair chance Carly might tank Crimson, lol. They prioritized other women at times. And we all remember her uh, storied time at Deception (though I honestly really liked the idea of polar opposites Laura and Carly working there, with Sonny basically having bought her the job).

It's wild that Donna still doesn't realize that many of us have her blocked, but since she was quoted by someone else addressing my post, no, Donna, Joss slept with Dex and once she'd done so dumped Cam immediately thereafter. They had a connection, they kissed, etc. but they weren't carrying on some long affair. I have zero interest in Dex or Joss and they could both vanish tomorrow AFAIC, but we can at least get these things right. And like caroline, I hated the way Joss handled Cam after the break-up as well. The show could not deal with her being seen as in the wrong anymore than they can Carly and Drew now. But I do have a sense of nuance about what she did and how she did it. She's not Jessica Buchanan on OLTL, racing out of the custody hearing for her stepdaughter screaming that she can't be married to the kid's father and then fûcking his friend in the nearest rock quarry in a storm.

Friend, I said Joss is annoying and obnoxious and that Eden is a weak actress who should be replaced. I stand by that. I never called Joss the world's greatest whore at 19 or whatever for sleeping with two guys in her life(!!), one of whom she immediately broke up with out of remorse, or bullied the actress on social media to try to demand she gave up her spot in the Daytime Emmys. Nor am I claiming you did the latter. Joss is not real, nor is she guilty of every sin on Earth even if I don't like the character much. Eden McCoy is not Josslyn Jacks. I can separate my shît. And I'm barely even talking about you. This is a larger phenomenon.

They're both unwatchable to me, but at least one is merely sub-mediocre.

Emmy Winner Violet. Jesus.

I feel pretty much the same. Eden McCoy doesn't control the dumbass Daytime Emmys and their ridiculous categories. People spend too much time equating the real-life actor with fictional character Joss, and too much time acting like Joss is the Whore of Babylon because she slept with Dex literal hours before immediately breaking up with her boyfriend in a fit of remorse. Sure, she treated Cam badly after the break-up. But she wasn't ho'ing around New York State and the way people talk about it is removed from reality. I don't really like Joss as written either, I find her smug and obnoxious. I think Eden is a marginal actor. But not everything Joss does is about how much of a 19-yo whore who she is for sleeping with maybe a total of 3 guys in her life, and not everything Eden does when dealing with overinvested hyperactive soap fans on social media is about how they are one and the same. People need to chill the fûck out. You're not going to win SON cool points dogging the young actress who just lost her mom when many of us are twice or thrice her age. In case you haven't noticed this board has maybe a grand total of 50 active posters. Nobody's clapping.

Some B or C-player, because this show has not been at all comfortable with a dark-skinned Black actress on the frontburner in recent times. With Spencer gone I'll be shocked if she's not either gone with him or fading away. I would go for Cam or some new doctor/WSB guy though. (And I would try to get William Lipton back.)

His contract runs to late June-July. There is a chance he wraps it all now though.

If it was me I might do the ballsy thing: Spencer is presumed dead, probably during a final clash with Esme. Get Chavez to pre-tape some scenes of Spencer alive but in captivity, just like JJ did when he left in '99. Then wait. You can see if Chavez's career pans out or if he needs cash in 12-18 months before recasting. But in the meantime I'd give the audience a curveball - just before Spencer dies he and Trina impulsively get married on the go a la Phil and Tara on AMC, where they had a teenage 'wedding' right before he went off to Vietnam. Maybe we see it live, maybe in flashback to surprise the audience. Either way, once he's gone that marriage leaves Trina lady of the manor as a fish out of water, heir to the Cassadine name and erstwhile fortune. (And maybe pregnant, but probably not since there's too many fuckin' babies for too many young women.) That at least is a new story angle.

A fair amount of the social media push for Esme to magically get all the story comes from racists, tbh. She has some real audience interest but there's also a lot of racists. That's just the truth. If Ron was still here it'd probably happen though; he loves faux-redeeming villainous characters he falls for and then blaming the audience for not accepting it. Here the show wasted our time flirting with it for like a year (the strike probably factored in, I guess) but seems to have finally wrapped it up because they know Chavez is out. I'd love to see Esme recur for various hijinks, but I don't need her hanging around on contract getting more light sentences. Don't ask me what to do with that kid. I kept thinking it would turn out not to be Nik's for awhile. It's a kid too many in some ways, even if he is totally adorable.

I think Avery Pohl has chemistry with a lot of people; I think she's super talented. But I feel like I'm on another planet when dealing with people who seem to think Esme should remain a gray heroine on the show and that everyone on GH is so unfair to want her to pay for her many crimes and not want her to have custody of anything more substantial than a pet rock. Esme is a psycho schemer. That is what she was conceived as, that's what the character does well, and that's how she should continue coming in and out of the show.

Carly had become the establishment by the time Tamara's Carly was in full bloom as the mob wife with Sonny, I think. And certainly Sarah's Carly flaunted the power once she got it. So I thought it was simply Carly emulating what she'd always wanted to be, no matter who was in the role.

I've said it before, but I don't think it would be difficult for either of the other two Carlys to take up the role again. I think Sarah especially has modulated aspects of her GH work in other characters, even when the roles didn't work out; she can add a gloss. Based on characters like Claudia or Madison on DOOL I think she could play the Carly that became a lux hotelier or diner owner and mother of several kids but is still trailer trash underneath. I think even Tamara could swing it. But ultimately the character could be directed back towards the actor's strengths over time, not vice versa. That said I don't think Laura gives an unrecognizable performance as Carly. Particularly in the Guza years she could still have a very hard edge at times, she could still be dangerous. She just got money and a rich husband. It's the writing in the last 10+ years that at times makes Carly unrecognizable IMO.