Vee

Jesus Christ. It's well known that adr is a recurring troll and attention seeker. This is not news. But his post was weeks ago. Donna just resurrected the dude's discussion from many pages back and got this mess going again because she does not bother to read or retain the information presented about this topic by all the other posters. It seems that in her mind this whole forum is basically Donna's stream of consciousness feed, and we are all supposed to just roll with it. But we're not on Usenet anymore. Just let it go and move on with your lives, like I have with Donna's complete inability to function on modern forums in the 21st century.

Also the difference in cultural mores and changing times in the emerging '90s. 90210 was the talk of the playgrounds, dorm rooms or watercoolers, while I didn't even know what Knots was back then. I don't think that was the fault of Knots per se, which did seem like it tried to evolve to each era (unlike Dallas). I just think the age of the '80s Lorimar/Spelling, etc. megasoaps had been left behind. Spelling reinvented his TV slate to suit the new decade, while I believe Lorimar merged and dissolved though I may be off on the timeline or facts.

Whether or not Galadriel could have ever fought in a war thousands of years prior to LOTR seems to be up for dispute among Tolkien fans and scholars, because not all of them seem to agree with you. And whether it's actually feminist or not is not the point - any time any show or piece of media features a female lead or heroine in what could be even suggested as a 'feminist' role, or a minority protagonist, these trolls come calling and start spamming all comments sections and review websites. LOTR is no different, and that's the point of what we're talking about here. Then take it up with the professional reviewers. I for one have not seen many reviews that embrace it with the passion of Jonnysbro. Okay, but who are you speaking for? Because it doesn't seem like the entire LOTR fanbase agrees with you.

Episode 23 (Finishing Touches): Sumner: You don't know what you're talking about. You're making dangerous accusations, serious accusations. You're calling people murderers. Abby: I'm calling us murderers. Lord, Janet Baines' slovenly partner Morrison is back! "Knew I'd wind up back on this ranch someday," he grouses. You know it's a big episode when Peter Dunne writes and David Jacobs directs, and the 'death' of Gary Ewing ripples seismically across the whole canvas. My first thought while watching was that if this is a pre-conceived hoax by the men involved (Mack and Gary) then it's truly sick to do, especially to Val who could easily miscarry. Instead upon hearing that Gary is 'dead' she turns into into a raging wild animal, with an incredible and primal performance from Joan Van Ark with Val pushed just too far. Great stuff. Abby gets the news about Gary from Mack, and Donna Mills' performance is the opposite of Van Ark's - she's shellshocked, not unlike her reaction to Sid's death, and leaves without a word. Abby goes straight to Greg Sumner to rage and blame herself and him, suffocated by guilt, leading to the quote above. Meanwhile, Cathy reacts (somewhat mysteriously but for good reason, in hindsight) by packing up and leaving Westfork immediately. Sure enough, Diana turns up full of nosy and frankly rather blasé curiosity about Gary. She's beyond tone deaf and seemingly eager for more drama. Cathy ignores her (good!) and runs into Abby on her way out. "You've been crying," Cathy snipes as a parting shot as they meet on opposite sides of the road. "Whatever for?" Dunne and Jacobs revisit a lot of the ripple effect material from the aftermath of Ciji's death last season (an episode they also double-teamed, IIRC) - there's another very stark morgue scene with Mack and Morrison talking the coroner about the body. Notably Gary is not seen, supposedly because his head has been blown off. Uh-huh. More things start to pile up which seem quite interesting given the reveal at the end of the hour, as Cathy beelines to Ray's trashed motel room, which seems like a really bad idea at first. I was initially baffled as to why she'd be crying over what she finds there let alone crying for Ray, despite her dysfunctional loyalty to him. Later I surmised the corpse at Westfork must be Ray, and Cathy and Mack may be the only people who know it, hence her booking it off the ranch and heading straight there. I think? Probably? Either way, it was an interesting misdirect early in the episode that only seems illuminated in hindsight (I say that having not yet watched episode 24, I'm just playing Sherlock Holmes). Val has a wonderful reminiscence with Lilimae as her audience - remembering moving to the cul-de-sac with Gary with borrowed furniture, building a life, then throwing Gary out, redecorating it all with her new riches, building a new life and rejecting everything that made her think of him. "I changed everything in this house," she marvels. "Except me." Not entirely true, Val did change, but I take her point. "But this house has never been without him," she confesses. "Because I've never been without him. And I know now I never will." There is absolutely stunning reaction work from Julie Harris here, who I don't think has any lines at all. The tears and understanding in her eyes about Gary and Val is all new. Equally unbelievable work from Donna Mills and little Tonya Crowe, as Abby talks it through with Olivia who's adrift in a rowboat out on her beloved pond at the ranch. Jacobs is fond of wide shots, either of vistas or interior tableaus (including one nice scene with Laura and Greg done only in a distant wide shot through a doorway), and there's a great one here of them just as figures on and by the lake, with Abby kneeling on the shore, rapidly losing her composure, while little Olivia is drifting on the water lost in herself. "I'm gonna need you," Abby pleads with her daughter. "I need you to be with me, I need you to help me now." Olivia angrily rejects her as she shrieks for Gary in the boat then slips into the pond; Abby rescues her as Olivia sobs inconsolably on the dock and it barely seems like acting from Crowe who absolutely howls and bawls. A top moment for both Mills and Crowe. If you ask me Claudia is enjoying playing consoler-in-chief to Aunt Abby a bit too much! I'm not saying she's evil, I'm just saying she is a messy bitch from Hell who lives for drama. And of course she's still giving that poor slob Morrison attitude after everything she put him, Baines and the LAPD through. She's very, very lucky she avoided being charged with obstruction, conspiracy or God knows what else over Chip and Ciji. Get bent, Diana. There's a great, smaller twist this ep with Cathy spending time Laura and her boys at her place (is baby Daniel still played by Constance McCashin's son?). The easy friendship with Laura is both surprising and unsurprising to me; Cathy is more blunt (both physically and mentally) and candid than Ciji, not unlike Laura herself. I frankly think they have a bit more chemistry too. This is the twin Richard should've been worried about. I honestly have more of a sense of who Cathy is now than Ciji, who was more of a dreamy, spunky archetype to me. Mack is apparently just going to sit here with the MacKenzie/Fairgate blended family as they all mourn for Gary over dinner and worry for Val. He is very clearly (and adeptly) lying to all of them about what he saw at the ranch, and it is uncomfortable to watch knowing or at least suspecting that as he smoothly answers the boys' questions while Karen watches. If he planned this ahead of time he is truly gonna be beneath the doghouse. I assume atm he did not; I assume Mack, Gary and possibly Cathy stumbled upon the assassination attempt with Ray caught in the crosshairs with Wolfbridge and then made a snap judgment and impulse decision. Which is still not awesome of any of them to do, but it would be more seemly than this being wholly premeditated (which I don't think would make sense with what we saw last episode either). Val copes with Gary's apparent demise by tending to Ben's gigantic plants some more, until she can't abide anymore. This mostly silent sequence and some others like it earlier in the season and last season, all with Val, were of note to me in the past, and were discussed by longtime KL writer Richard Gollance, again from his interview with Tommy Krasker: Upon heading to Westfork Val runs into Abby, which leads to another of several absolute standout scenes in this ep - there's a few too many to keep up with. Val is there to mourn and sympathize, and that's the one thing a numb Abby can't abide or handle. The anguish inside of Donna Mills as a crumbling Abby tries and fails to keep up her cool facade is spellbinding. Val: I know how much he loved you. Abby: Do you? Val: Yes. And I know that you must love him very much. Abby: No, no. You don't know anything. Val: I know how much you're in right now. I share that with you. Abby: Oh, no. I won't let you share my pain. You have no right to share my pain. Gary's dead and I'm his widow. Not you. Me! You're nothing to him. Absolutely nothing. On paper, without context or performance, this exchange is easily just another soap vixen being the queen bitch. Onscreen, thanks to Donna Mills (and JVA's serene maturity as Val) it is completely different; Abby can barely keep her composure the entire time, and is choking out her words through tears and heartbreak. Her tiny little voice when she says "not you, me!" is pathetic and small. She doesn't believe a word she's saying, she comes off the loser. And you totally feel for her despite all she's done. The scene ends on an angled close-up angle of Val's growing belly, which Abby sees. Do the wheels start turning for her right then and there on Gary and Val? I think so. And of course there's a convenient cut to studio soundstage El Salvador, where poor Ben is shirtless, sweaty and very much alive while nuns from Central Casting mumble vaguely Spanish things. Abby now has very little buffer between herself and Wolfbridge, and is summoned to a mandatory conference with St. Claire which she cannot leave of her own volition. Which leads to this incredible exchange as Abby lays herself bare about Gary for a man who could not care less. Abby: Mr. St. Claire, I loved my husband. You may find that hard to believe. I've had my affairs, I've skimmed profits off the top. A lot of things. I did those things for me. I never did them to hurt him. Because I loved him. He counted in my life. So I'm not gonna rest until I settle the score. St. Claire: Let's get one thing straight, Mrs. Ewing. I don't care if he counted. I don't care that he was killed. I have no sympathy for you. And I have no fear of you. If you want something to count on, count yourself lucky that you're the one who's rich and he's the one who's dead. If this doesn't radicalize Abby against Wolfbridge I don't know what will. She cocoons herself in her finery in front of the raging fire at Westfork, where Sumner pays his respects (again in another beautiful wide shot from Jacobs) and tenderly kisses her cheek. Their relationship has changed. Another fascinating, elliptical moment comes with Mack and Karen as they prep for Gary's funeral. His 'death' resonates with Karen, who's still tender from her own losses and worrying over Val (who, it must be pointed out, also takes time out to pray for Ben's safe return, Gary or no Gary). "I love you," she says simply to Mack. But it unnerves him, deep in his guilty conscience; you can see Kevin Dobson's face shift through several secret chambers inside. His non-sequitur response is fascinating: "You look so nice." Karen sees it, senses something. So there's a service at Westfork but with no Lucy? No Ewings? Really? Did Mack and Gary keep it that quiet? There's a rare First Brian from Tremors sighting, and even he's crying over Gary. Even Jason No. Whatever is here! Olivia remains an anchor for the show though; they obviously love Tonya Crowe and writing for her. She rushes to Val on sight at the ranch, and her reaction to the news of Val having twins is great: "How'd you do that?" Val genuinely misses her company as they embrace, but Olivia is self-assured: "We'll work that out." We get a few interesting reactions bouncing off that duo - Abby watching them on the outside, while Mack broods over the whole affair. There's a cool scene with Cathy being greeted by the ranch hands - we don't see much of them. Cathy’s very masculine, queered-out funeral suit is amazing, BTW. She explains her rap sheet to Laura and then promptly gets hauled downtown by Morrison for what initially seem like curious reasons. Laura, to her credit, is unfazed and tells Cathy dinner is at 7 at her place. See, if this show was on today Laura and Cathy would 100% happen. I'm here for a Gary/Cathy/Laura/Greg quad. Aww, Eric and Michael kissing Abby. Even Karen is sweet to her when Abby thanks her and Diana for their support. "(Diana) loves her Aunt Abby," she assures Abby. "She loves her mother too," Abby replies. "We're family," Karen promises as they hold hands. "If I can help I want to." Cherish these moments when we get 'em, I guess. Laura and Val get a private moment before the service to once again talk about “when [you and Gary] were seeing each other again”- not quite how I remember it, but okay. Laura drops the bomb on Val about why Gary stood her up, because he wanted her to move on to a better life without him. "He married Abby not because he loved Abby but because he loved you," Laura explains. Again, maybe a half truth IMO given Laura's opinion of Abby, but close enough. Abby, meanwhile, is almost prepared to spill her guts to Mack until she sees St. Claire at the service. I do like the ranch hands following the funeral procession through a meadow choked with leaves. I did not love Mack telling Karen not to 'worry [your] pretty little face about' his investigation. Shut it, Mack. I did laugh at his perturbed reaction to the ranch hand playing acoustic guitar throughout the eulogy. He was not feeling it. They really milked this to fake people out - even the subliminal cuts to Gary at the very end initially are framed as though they're flashbacks from the women who loved him, until the scene fully transitions and we discover they're actually a reveal of the very much alive Gary cooling his heels in police lockup, then passionately embracing a seemingly unsurprised Cathy as the credits roll. I was not expecting that. I am dying to figure out who knew and did what, when and how. Then I'm dying to figure out how long Mack is going to be sleeping in the garage on a cot next to Sid's old toolbelt next season. Onto the finale hours.

Now that's incongruous. I remember firsthand how much of a beast 90210's summer season was in that exact period when I was a kid and the hype over Dylan and Kelly, along with the heavy, heavy promotion for Melrose Place which I also eagerly watched at the time. Back then I remember hearing about Dallas' finale and thinking of it as a dinosaur, while reading a bit about Knots Landing ending, finding the title mysterious and wondering what exactly it was. Two very different eras of primetime soap.

Ah yes, Cahaly, the GOP operative and firm which predicted Trump 2020.

Episode 22 (Silent Missions): It's nice to see someone finally tracing things back to the source on Lotus Point - Gary has taken over Abby’s Apolune lair and he and his people are poring over everything. They discover the spit of land and quadruplex Karen still owns a piece of; it sounds like it was already leveled and Abby and Apolune were trying to make her think it wasn't. GE is prepared to sue Abby for the whole shebang - amusingly, Abby tries to play the community property card she's so fond of mentioning, which I'm not sure she can since they're not divorced yet. Evil Barbara lurks in wait! Frustrated with Abby, Gary visits Mack at the crime commission to compare notes re: the original quadruplex/Lotus Point site and Apolune, but Mack has to play it cool because of Barbara as he's pretending to play nice. (This is also where Gary hears about Ben having gone missing.) I think we also get a surprise glimpse of the original quadruplex site where this all evidently began, out on a beach where Sumner and Mark St. Claire appear to be surveying it, presumably as a site for Wolfbridge's new headquarters. St. Claire makes it clear he will not accept Gary not unfreezing assets for Lotus Point; one way or another he will cooperate. As Greg tries to keep working everyone and avoid bloodshed he's leaning on Laura more and more, right down to speech advice; now he goes to her for help talking Gary around on Apolune. Laura is still guilt-ridden but Sumner makes it clear in his own calculatedly casual way that they're in jeopardy (though he never makes it clear just how much). I did laugh at Laura attempting to book it from Sumner's campaign HQ as soon as Abby arrives, but instead she's stuck having to hang around and watch them talk. Laura thinks Greg's plea for aid with Gary was all about Abby, but Greg is silky smooth as he gracefully elides the lethal details about the risk to Gary, saying he didn't get her in too deep "because I care so much for you." Charisma and charm is how Sumner navigates his way through real danger, even now - perhaps because even the thought of breaking kayfabe (a pro wrestling term) and his studied political character makes it too real, too risky. If he can stay in character he can stay in control of the variables. Sure enough, Gary beelines to Val's as soon as he hears about Ben, which changes the energy of everything there with Val and her girlfriends. Man, these people are really dressed warmly for LA (especially now as we're in a terrible heatwave). Val vents to Karen about her fears for Ben, and it's nice stuff with the two BFFs but I just can't be that bothered at this point. We all know Ben isn't dead and I'm not sure what the purpose is. There is a nice scene where Val and Lilimae have the MacKenzies over for dinner to try to distract her, only to get even more bad yet vague news from Salvador. Fine. JVA is playing her heart out of these scenes at least. Pretty soon, Gary's calling the house for Val 'just to check up,' back to being emotionally involved with Val behind Cathy’s back just like Abby before her. The difference is that here he confides in Cathy about it, which genuinely surprised me, and she seems to understand. It's nice to see Cathy and Laura warming to each other in this ep; Laura shows up at Westfork to try to get Gary to free up Apolune, warning him of danger. Gary of course blows her off. I did laugh at Mack's appraisal of Gary and Cathy when he arrives at the ranch ("you're managing well"). Mack appears to be spending the rest of the season snowing Karen about his undercover op against Wolfbridge, which, woof. I'll have more to say about all this soon enough, but as I'm two episodes from the end of the season I'm still not entirely sure what Mack planned when and how. Unexpected cute moment with Abby and Olivia in this one where mother tries to teach daughter how to use a curling iron. Abby can still be the mom even now, not just the queen bitch. There's an interesting little discussion of female 'types' - Olivia used to be a tomboy but announces she's leaving that and her cowboy boots behind with the ranch, putting a brave face on the state of things: "Who needs Gary anyway?" Her mother isn't so sure. Sumner finally makes his play to schmooze Gary on Lotus Point, but if anyone is less impressed with Greg's schtick than Laura it's Gary. He isn't buying, and Mark St. Claire isn't buying Sumner's valiant attempt at a timeshare pitch to spare the Ewing scion's life just a little longer. Later he broods with Laura, and we finally get a peek behind the veil at the place where he keeps his remorse and regret. "This whole thing was out of my hands all along," Greg muses, which seems slightly self-serving to me but I get it. "I got myself into something I should've kept out of. If I had just used my head, followed my instincts, listened to that little voice." We only get Abby's reaction to Wolfbridge informing her they'll liquidate Gary from her side of a phone conversation - Mills sells it. Pretty soon Abby is pacing her penthouse loft in the cross-hatched sunsetting slats, calling Greg but getting Laura. He begs off the call and desperate, she tries the ranch to warn Gary who of course is not taking her calls. Every plot thread converges on the ranch - Abby calling, Mack driving over to conspire, Val heading there to cry her eyes out some more, Creeper Ray stalking the property. The assassination sequence with everyone colliding is well shot and cut - I knew a "death" for Gary was coming but not what, how or when. I thought he might fake it with Mack, but this doesn't seem entirely faked or planned. Even in the next ep (the last I've watched, I wanted to save the finale eps for when I had more of these write-ups done) it's not entirely clear what went down. But man, Mack is in for it one way or another.

One of the great ratios of all time. (It's now at 7K)

Episode 20 (High Ideals): Abby: I don't want an allowance. I don't want a divorce. Period. That is Abby's considerably choked-up declaration to James Westmont as they lay out her options now that she's been banished from the ranch, and it resonates - she can get the money if Gary divorces her, but she still wants more than that, still wants him, and with her fantasy of life as Greg Sumner's First Lady/female self punctured it seems like she's only now fully beginning to process how much she still wants Gary after all the awful shít she's done just for her. Much of the next several eps as well as the last one are about Abby getting what's coming to her and then having to reckon with herself, on the ragged edge. She's exiled to the upper-level penthouse apartment of her beloved Apolune/GEE offices, which are locked down by Gary and his lawyers. She lives there for real now. She tries to connect with Olivia at Westfork, but isn't welcome there either by Gary or her kids. Possibly Abby's most ignoble moment this episode though comes early, as she tries to cover for the disconnected phone service at her offices to Mark St. Claire, breezily claiming it's a problem with the line and trying to shine him on for more cash, pretending Apolune (and Abby) are still functional. This is Abby's core vulnerability exposed; trying to wheel and deal with a much bigger shark even in the face of adversity and increasingly abject humiliation. She has been small before and is determined never to be again, even as she is losing essential services and needs. I can relate. Wolfbridge has Abby over a barrel for cash, and their demands are simple: Get Gary to unfreeze his assets for Apolune and take her back to ensure the future of Lotus Point, or else. There's a vicious shaming moment for her when St. Claire smiles and says, 'be sure to let us know when your phone is reconnected.' Sumner has his own charm offensive still in full effect, hoping to wheedle Mack (re-drafted onto the commission) into letting go of Wolfbridge. Mack retakes the job after being assured by the governor that he'd be working for him and not Sumner, allowed to continue to quietly pursue Wolfbridge behind Greg's back - are the governor and his aide legit? I have my doubts. Karen is pissed about Mack staying on the hunt, alluding to more offscreen group sessions and the need to move forward. "It's over, forget it, isn't that what you said to me?" she snaps. "About Diana?” My jaw dropped when she took it there, which I wasn't expecting at this last date; it was a smart move to couple Karen's fixated drive to save Diana with Mack’s equally obsessive drive against Wolfbridge, with neither of them fully letting the other in. These issues with the relatively new marrieds still fester, not fully resolved, and I'm glad. "I lost one husband because of his ideals," Karen says, "and I'm not gonna lose another one. I refuse." Mack says he's dropping it all which is of course a lie. He's about to make his marital issues much, much worse. Ben and Val remain cute together; they planned to jet off to El Salvador but Val is of course too pregnant, which soon leads to a silly subplot for Ben that I don't see a major purpose in. There's a cute speech from Ben about the still-purely-singular baby though, who he immediately refers to as 'she', saying she can be "anything she wants to be. The three of us are gonna do things together that none of us have ever done before. Things that you and I could never do alone." Doug Sheehan is so good at this sensitive, wry male stuff. There's a whimsy and openness to him that is still masculine. The Olivia (and Olivia/Gary) thread continues this week, with them bonding more as she comes to him to talk about her day at school, craving any sense of familial normalcy. Gary for his part is kind and attentive but still unique in how he approaches kids, in that he does so with pure candor. He tells Olivia how he's feeling about the situation with her mother and then plainly but not unkindly tells her needs to be alone. Except Olivia is too, and you can see her take the unintended blow behind her eyes. "I don't trust anybody," Gary admits to Cathy, who's still trying to mend fences with him by working the ranch. The writers also wisely make Gary's trauma and betrayal a character beat beyond just the Abby, Cathy, etc. situation; it extends outward, like it would in a more conventional (or mainstream-acceptable) primetime drama, when he blows off Mack who is desperate to get access to Abby's Apolune files. "Look at you," Mack jabs. "Poor Gary Ewing. Lied to, cheated, misunderstood. You never hurt anybody." He has a point. But his cutting into Gary's self-pity does help move him to action later. Not without a few peaks and valleys though! Desperate to win Gary back (for herself or Ray or both?), Cathy gives us one of the big moments of the season for me, willingly re-donning Ciji's amazing red space-age dress and holding another impromptu concert in her and Gary's beloved sex gym. It's all deeply fetishistic and ritualized, coupled with Lisa Hartman's vaguely Pat Benatar-esque masculine voice belting out Journey, then lipsyncing and turning down the lights. "This is what you wanted me for, isn't it?" Cathy pleads to the incensed Gary with resignation. "You don't want a ranch hand." "That's all I want," Gary lies. "The only time you were ever interested in me, the only time you ever paid any attention to me is when you thought you could make me into Ciji," Cathy counters. But Gary says it stopped being about Ciji long ago - that his need for Cathy is about her. I'm not sure how much I buy into Ciji not being a factor, but I do think Cathy is a considerably different woman ('of the land!' as Miss Ellie would likely crow) and I think Gary is drawn to her unpretentiousness, athleticism and candor. I was legit surprised when Gary and Cathy actually slept together - I hadn't expected it, but I was into it and pleased. I quite like them together, sue me; like I said, her masculine energy and toughness plays well with Gary's internal thoughtfulness. There's another interesting and slightly edgy moment in the afterglow, as the camera cuts in mid-conversation as Cathy tells Gary about discovering her parents having sex, and later a little cloaked banter about exactly when she lost her virginity (pretty sure Gary doesn't wanna know). Again, not domestic topics you often got on early/mid-'80s TV. In the morning Gary is rough with her in bed at first as he tries to take her again (she even says 'you're hurting me') then very tender after apologizing, which is a very quick beat that doesn't appear to be followed up on but an interesting note nonetheless. Incidentally, Cathy's country twang and dialect ("dadgum!") has gotten a lot more pronounced in recent eps. Sorry but I really enjoy these two together - I was not expecting the Cathy character to work for me, and I know it doesn't last with these two but it's a refreshing affair in some strange way right now. I feel for poor Maria the maid walking in on them in this episode though; she's seen it all! Meanwhile, Olivia has of course taken the wrong lesson from Gary's words and decided to run away. After a nice bit with her saying good morning to all the ranch staff who know her well at this point, she takes to hiking down the road like Bill Bixby at the end of The Incredible Hulk. . She's going by a Big & Tall Men's Store! Past garbage-eating hobos! I would think she cannot possibly walk all the way into and through LA proper and all the way back to Seaview Circle unscathed or with functioning feet (I'm not even sure where Seaview is supposed to be located - near Santa Monica?) but somehow she does. Good Lord. "I used to hear you were idealistic," Laura says, challenging Greg this week with the intriguing backstory Ben provided for us on Sumner many episodes ago, re: his days as California's own Bernie Sanders. "I was idealistic," Greg concedes. "But let me tell you where my ideals got me: For the past twelve years I have been a member of the state assembly. In twelve years I've stood for all of the right things." But it got him nowhere. With no bills passed and perceived as not being a team player, Greg tells Laura that on his recent 44th birthday, he gave himself a present: "Flexibility. I became flexible. [...] "And when I finally get to where I'm going I'll be an idealist again." He can confess this to Laura, I think and not to Abby because Abby is simply infatuated with his power and empire and would probably never ask (or care). Laura is becoming Sumner's confidant more and more in recent episodes and will only grow moreso. I still can't believe Olivia walked all the way to Val's, but I am very pleased the show still remembers that bond which harkens back to Olivia's very first episode. I shouldn't be surprised anymore at their attention to detail. Val of course calls Gary, while Lilimae calls Abby purely for trolling value. Olivia's begging to stay with Val is just gutting, but Gary still doesn't let up on the candor when he gets to the cul-de-sac. He is once again plainly honest with Olivia when she asks if he and Abby will divorce, and says "I think so" - in front of a bedridden Val, no less. There is a great quiet moment when Abby arrives at the cul-de-sac, alone in the dark and surveying the neighborhood she used to be a part of, gathering her strength to venture forth to Val's front door as Mrs. Ewing. Lilimae of course needles her about Gary being up there with Val 'for an hour' in front of poor Ben. When Gary does come down with Olivia Abby surprisingly loses it, begging for forgiveness in front of the whole household. Why can't he forgive her like Cathy or Laura (did he forgive Laura though)? "You're my wife," Gary hisses. Abby's face folds inward as she turns away, and it's once again on Olivia to be the adult with her mother, embracing her and giving her some small bit of solace. "Gary’s gonna divorce you," she says simply. "I guess I better get used to living with you." Abby can barely keep herself together, totally humiliated as Olivia says goodbye to all. The domestic arena of the neighborhood is as strong as ever because of its deep character and story roots, even with supporting players like the kids. And of course we end on another shot of Val and Gary down bad for each other as poor Ben watches. Episode 21 (No Trumpets, No Drums): Abby: Listen to this, cause it's important. If a man were conducting his business the way I've been conducting mine, he'd be admired for his aggressiveness but if a woman does it she's considered a shrew. A career is just as important for a woman as it is for a man. I alluded to this speech last time. Abby is right about how the Greg Sumners of the world are worshipped but she's condemned when she tries to embody him. But Olivia is not totally impressed with her mother's rationale for her behavior as they reconvene at Abby's penthouse: "How many fathers am I going to have before you get through?" Abby downplays her actions and says Gary will understand, that she did it for her kids, but Olivia calls her on their never asking for the shít she's been pulling. Even after getting served with divorce papers this episode, Abby remains certain Gary will miss her - 'he'll come around.' He's coming alright: Gary and Cathy are still at it! Lisa Hartman looks amazing in just a masculine white tank top and very butch hair; again, Gary is presented as almost prettier than her, even though she's still beautiful. This is another ep credited to Scott Hamner, long a writer for Y&R I believe. But Creeper Ray isn't so happy with Cathy, as he drops the genially condescending mask and finally gets physical with his wife(?), knocking her around. The sexualized violence is constant with this character, who twists her her arm while kissing her neck. Poor Cathy. Mack is somehow managing back at the commission even with Evil Barbara, the ancient executive assistant, still on the job for Wolfbridge. Greg comes by to schmooze and try to feel his old friend out but Mack plays dumb. Greg seems satisfied with Mack's change of heart: "Next thing I know you’ll be running for office." He's eager to renew their friendship, while Mack plays it remote but accommodating. Back home, there's another cute revolving-camera MacKenzie family dinner scene, with Karen, Mack and the boys bantering about everything but group therapy sessions to their sex lives, while Mack glosses over what he promises is now a much more quiet job at the commission with less risk. He's telling no one what he's up to, not a visiting Ben or his wife. There are, after all, ears everywhere. Mack does confronts Abby though - he promises immunity and a way back to Gary if she helps him with the Group. Abby seems initially willing at the mention of Gary but plays it guarded; she then leaks the meeting immediately to Sumner, and suggests she’ll tell Mack everything if Greg can't make St. Claire back off her. Sure enough, Mack knew Abby would run directly to Wolfbridge, which was a smart play on his part. There is a neat sequence in a darkened room where Mack with his old stool pigeon in the pitch-black shadows. Meanwhile, Greg gives it a shot with charming St. Claire about Abby, who says there's one option remaining: Take their concerns directly to Gary Ewing. I do really enjoy Ben and Mack's new friendship - Mack saying 'will you write to me?' was great. Ben and Val say their goodbyes over his stocks of colored plant food, which is adorable. There's a great bit with Joan Van Ark lost amidst the swaths of flowers, thinking about Gary and her pregnancy, then a remarkably swoony beachside farewell with Ben. As was previously noted, Greg and Laura are now commiserating more and more often outside of just sex. He is consistently seeking her counsel and shoulder. They agree Abby is desperate and in over her head, and Laura privately sympathizes 'just a little.' Greg is spurred by their shared concern to ask Abby if she needs help, trying to intercede with his masters like he did Mack, still thinking he can control all things til he can be the good man again. Abby skewers them both. "Laura's always had a big mouth," she snaps. "But I suppose you know that firsthand by now." Standards and Practices, line one. Abby is too proud to ask for help at first, but in a series of close-ups finally breaks a little and hesitantly finds a way to ask Sumner for aid. There's a tender moment as Greg gives her some condolences about her pending divorce: "The guy's obviously got no taste." It's still Olivia Hours! I love that little Tonya Crowe even has a co-starring credit now, just like Claudia Lonow did last season. Poor Olivia tries to curry Gary's favor by playing the piano full force for him at the ranch, but breaks down under the pressure of Gary's breakup with Abby. Olivia hopes against hope they'll reunite, even as Gary assures her she's always welcome there. I do wonder how Gary will figure into the well-known addiction storyline for Olivia in a few years; it would be very unlike KL not to weave him in given this wonderful sustained relationship they're giving a surprising amount of play for a kid, let alone a primetime soap kid. Of all soap kids they're often the ones least seen and heard due to the supercharged strife and sexuality on the nighttime soaps. Not on Knots. Olivia does of course spot Gary with Cathy and confronts her. Sure, blame the soft butch. Laura and Cathy finally get to clear the air re: Gary in a nice scene. "For as long as I've known Gary he has never been alone," Laura says simply. She says that instead of booze, he '[drowns] his troubles in the next available woman. [...] Gary's a binger." Sex, love and money have replaced alcohol for him. With Laura juxtaposing Val and Abby against Cathy - saying one provided home and security and the other excitement and ambition - Cathy says she hopes she can give him all of the above. She wants Ray gone, but he assaults her just in time for Gary to spot him. Gary chases Ray into the Chip Roberts Memorial Stables and after a considerable struggle (Ray is a real thug, Gary is just an ex-juicer yuppie) Gary pummels the creep, taking out his aggression over Abby and going a bit too far as he smothers Ray face-first in horse dung, because why not. Ray vows revenge. Sure thing. Val gets her big twins reveal this episode, much to the joy of herself, Lilimae and Karen in a cute series of scenes. JVA plays the mixture of happiness and anxiety well though, both doubled as she realizes her increased responsibility to Gary and the truth. The ladies celebrate just as the bad and to my mind fairly pointless news about Ben going MIA comes over the phone from El Salvador. This would seem to be to be another example of the writers 'winging it' as Gollance says about the final act of the season, as I just don't see the need, unless it's meant to crystalize Val's commitment to Ben. Anyway, onward.

I know some have sung the praises of the latter half of the infamous Season 13 and even Season 14, so I'll be curious about it when/if I get there lol. A story featuring Val and Greg Sumner does sound interesting, at least. I only had a glimpse of it when sneaking a peek at Claudia Lonow's return appearance in the final season and it was a real shift to see the early '90s look and style changes, as well as a much older Diana and Val and Gary's preteen twins. That's the power of longform soap opera, which KL qualifies as given its length of run; you can watch people grow and change in relative real time. I'd definitely be curious on people's opinions of Seasons 7-9 as I approach them, or earlier. It's welcome any time, you don't need to wait on me. It's also been interesting for me hitting the Peter Dunne golden era, as like I've said I am most familiar with him from his run on the final season of Melrose Place, which revitalized that show considerably and should not have been cancelled - yet I'm pretty sure it was also a fairly similar riff on his story with Ciji, only replacing her with Rena Sofer and a crime in the past. I sure wish Khan was here.

I don't see any reason to relitigate the PP soaps in this thread, and I'm a dude who could talk about them til the cows come home lol. I already covered this in either this thread or the earlier one wherever Errol and I discussed it a few days ago and it's pretty OT, but I'll just say it again: Yes, Erika Slezak is 100% right that PP didn't know how to produce the show consistently because its owners were pure grifters, but I don't fully agree with her about not liking pushing the envelope or the more racy content, or the change in tone. I thought it was necessary to modernize some of that and a lot of it was done well, it's just that some of the stories weren't fully baked and production wasn't consistent, so style became the order of the day. Erika is entitled to her opinion; she also didn't care for Linda Gottlieb personally and professionally and loved the JFP era, and I still worship the ground Erika walks on despite vehemently disagreeing on that. I do certainly agree some of the stories at OLTL 2.0 needed work, but growing pains aside I think it was a pretty strong start for those short-lived shows overall. And that's the last I'm sayin' about it in here.

"Review bombing" is a very common and well known troll practice these days towards films, TV shows or other media that are perceived as 'woke.' When users spam user review sites, YT comment sections, etc. they do this often to try and smear any project they deem too progressive, usually because it features women, people of color, LGBT folks or other minorities. You can google it. It didn't start here. Your opinion of this show isn't the issue here. You're entitled to your opinion (as are the Tolkien scholars and fans who seem to love it); I personally don't give a shít about LOTR or this show. But the fact is The Rings of Power was targeted by right wing trolls just like many, many other pieces of media because its marketing has focused on what they perceive as a 'woke Galadriel' as a feminist heroine. They are spamming these sites for that reason and because it features Black actors and other minorities in key roles. People can hold whatever individual opinion they want, but when it comes to the mass negative spamming for these products it is not a organic criticism issue, It is incels and misogynists.

I believe the only reviews being deleted (not from critics, but from RT users) are because it's been a target of right wing incel review bombing, a common tactic of theirs for any project with diversity and/or female leads in recent years.

I am very curious about it myself - bringing in a Dallas writer to KL (or a KL writer to Dallas, which I will get to as I browse that show off and on) seems so anathema to me. I've obviously heard very mixed things about the next couple seasons after S6, but it's that sort of wilderness or experimental period that intrigues me too; it sort of goes beyond the bounds of what I am somewhat prepared for. I've also heard Season 9 is good but I have no idea. I'm excited to see the Williams family and Karen's boys growing into their own storylines, however good or bad, and Nicollette Sheridan. I am well aware of the Latham/Lechowick team's complicated and controversial reputation, but my only experience with them firsthand was their dreadful work at Y&R. I'm not dismissing them out of hand here because I know some loved what they did at Knots, some hated it and many were inbetween. I also know the show remained popular. Either way, once I'm out of the supposed golden era with Peter Dunne I am very curious, because I know there was a lot people loved well after and I want to see what it was for myself. I may or may not do some more regular episodic discussions for Season 6, but I can't keep this up forever and will start discussing the show more in overview as I watch at some point going forward.

Literally never heard of this website in my life, and any list that includes Gina Tognoni's Phyllis is a laugh.

Yes it is.

There is absolutely zero chance anyone currently sitting pretty and making bank on B&B, a show with overseas popularity and ensured longevity for now, would go work at DAYS.

More purges at CNN:

Donna Swajeski's GL work was mediocre to me, but it was also stymied by being produced by a hardcore Mormon who thought the show's entire focus should be turning all the women (including the very hesitantly featured lesbians) into brood mares. Pass.

That's nuts that they could screw with the affiliates like that.

So I've got like seven episodes banked here. We'll go through them in small groups or pairs over the next few days, and I've still got two more to go to wrap this wild season. From Tommy Krasker's indispensable KL essays, and his interview with longtime staff writer Richard Gollance: Episode 17 (Second Chances): Bill Duke Hours again! Ben and Mack are hot on the trail of Apolune this week, with Karen looped in fresh out of rehab. She's the one who remembers the Abby link through the haze of her pill months and Laura's fateful visit re: Lotus Point. But both she and Ben come up empty - Ben in his search for the poor old Marcuses who have been frightened into silence after having their beachfront home burnt down by Wolfbridge, and Karen by getting straight up gaslit by Laura about the Lotus Point offer. Laura pretends it never happened and suggests Karen imagined it due to her addiction. Cold as ice! Laura and Greg Sumner are increasingly made for each other. For as despised as he was at OLTL, Arthur Burghardt did do some good work in film and TV over the years and he's good again this ep, returning as the compromised DA who warns Mack his law license is in danger. And to add insult to injury, Barbara - the oldest living Confederate widow and known Wolfbridge mole - is back in the crime commission offices now that Mack is out, all but taunting him with glee as his office keys don't work anymore. When Mack goes to Sumner, Greg makes one very true statement amidst his endless stream of charm offensive: "I'm just a cog in a big wheel that's gotta keep on turning." Mack has a nice small beat with Karen and the boys that seems to me to build off of his and Karen's fight last time and his breakdown in her arms, where he acknowledges 'we're family' - perhaps finally understanding and fully embracing it for the first time himself - and admitting to his wife he's scared, while Karen is in this moment the quiet and strong rock vs. her streetwise macho husband, again a departure from Dallas. Next he's on to staking out a Wolfbridge shell business that is essentially a listening post/communications hub for the central powers. All this Wolfbridge stuff is a lot for Abby, who futilely tries pushing back on the quietly terrifying Mark St. Claire, a fruitless pursuit she will return to again and again over several episodes. She has a limit, but St. Claire is consistently unfazed, disinterested and implacable - Joseph Chapman's performance just keeps topping itself as the eps go by. Abby tries to put on a carefree face with Sumner - "I've won! But then I usually do!" - but it's a show of bravado in the face of danger to a man she's still trying to impress. Greg warns her to not get in too deep with Wolfbridge, but Abby isn't ready to admit how much help she really needs and how serious her situation is becoming. (BTW, I think that's a for sale at Abby's old house in the cul-de-sac but don't quote me.) It was nice to see Karen and Gary chat at the ranch with her clean and apologizing for some of her remarks, but this of course leads to the sadly inevitable return of Diana from story limbo. Diana is pleasant enough to Karen in the wake of rehab, etc. but guarded, possibly because (from my lips to God's ears) she is finally starting to process her own shame and culpability in the Chip/Ciji affair. It's all polite pleasantries until Karen tries for more and Diana moves towards another fùcking tantrum when Karen tries to push her on what's happened between them. Diana's instantly back to whining about not being a child and Karen not being able to tell her what to do, just like she's been doing for every single season of this show since the literal pilot. It's the world's longest and worst teenage rebellion, with a body count, and I am just so over it. Soon, Diana is howling away to her long-suffering brothers as they crawl across the massive vistas of Westfork. "She tried to keep me and Chip apart!" To which Michael has the perfect reply: "Yeah, she sure was wrong about him!" Gary works on Diana a bit too, invoking his tortured relationship with the Ewing dynasty, but nobody is making her face the facts about the depth of what she did for Chip, to enable and protect him; I guess the writers just want this entire thread over with. It infuriates me. Gary works on Diana a bit too, invoking his tortured relationship with the Ewing dynasty. The final scene with Karen at the house after Mack's assault by Wolfbridge (left battered and bloodied in his car, something that must have been especially traumatic for the widow Fairgate) is good at least, as Karen doesn't kowtow to Diana or beg for her forgiveness or understanding, she's simply blunt and straightforward: "Take the label of 'mother' off me and treat me with the same respect and courtesy you treat anyone else. And don't live your life out of anger at me." That's as close a confrontation with Diana and admission of fault as anyone seems to give to or get from her, as Diana immediately melts and whines for Mommy and gets her hug as she tries to leave and I guess all is well now. Ugh. Whatever, fine. Let's move on, the show says. Mack: Why El Salvador? Ben: It's a great chance. Mack: For what? Ben: To continue the way of life I've always lived, Mack. Ben and Val are very sweet together as they struggle to get past stuff here, articulating their positions. I really liked the quiet and offhandedly candid exchange above where Ben admits it would be all too easy to go back to the vagabond life he knows. I also loved the big Karen and Val scene of the week, even if they were biking in long sleeves and pants in SoCal. Karen allows that Gary has really changed, and Val admits they were "seeing each other again for awhile" recently and reveals her pregnancy to her overjoyed best friend. I love how Bill Duke lets this all play in one long, unbroken shot of the women hiking up the hill with their bikes, moving in closer on them as we see the joy, relief and trepidation all on Val's face at once as she tells Karen her baby/babies are Gary's - and I love Karen's reactions. So heartwarming! The investigator who calls Gary and gives him Cathy's murder rap while he's in bed with Abby is literally a Discount M. Emmet Walsh from Blood Simple. Anyway, Gary has a neat array of scenes here where he openly toys with Abby and Cathy while plotting his next move. There's a moment when he's out baling hay where Abby moves slightly in for a goodbye kiss, and he pulls back just subtly enough for it to be felt by her but deniable by him as him doing his work. Speaking of Cathy, her civilian wear as she visits Abby's waterfront lair is considerably more upscale-trash than the easygoing ranch girl, all zebra print, big earrings and a hot black leather skirt. Abby wants to pay her off and get her out of town but Cathy likes being with Gary too much. "See ya at the ranch!" she crows. Another fave sequence this ep is when Sumner pulls the same rose gag and 'bonsoir' line on Laura as he did on Abby (as Duke fakes us out with the camera to think it's Abby answering the door). Hilariously, Laura immediately ignores him and goes for the liquor, leading to a very candid exchange about their affair, particularly unique re: single/divorced mothers in the early '80s and on network television: Greg: Everybody wants something. Laura: What do you want? Greg: I want it to be simple. Laura: You know my husband left me eight months ago. You think you're the first? I didn't get hung up on any of them, I won't get hung up on you. Unlike Abby, Laura does not view power as an aphrodisiac because she is no longer romantic about men, or about power or perhaps anything else at all. Laura is also concerned about construction being sped up on Lotus Point; given Wolfbridge's history with cutting corners on development projects and getting people killed, she should be. Sumner plays it cool with both Laura and Abby throughout the hour, never letting on to Abby as he blows her off for Laura. Laura can't seem to care less either way, yet. The close of the ep is great as Mack stakes out the Wolfbridge listening post while using Eric(!) as his inside man to take a project in for Apolune. It's a family affair! Does Karen know he drafted her son? Sure enough, Laura shows up to pick up material for Apolune and Mack is on her tail. What a cliffhanger. Episode 18 (Lest the Truth be Known): This episode and the next couple were written by (or at least credited to) Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, known in modern Internet parlance as "CowLip," the IRL partnered creative team who were the showrunners for the 2000s-era American Queer as Folk as well as Sisters (and the early gay-themed TV film An Early Frost with Aidan Quinn)! Those are two names I was not expecting to see, and two I know many of us have mixed feelings about lol. Apparently they were one of a number of freelancers for Knots. And these are great eps, regardless of who penned them - I know often on TV the showrunners and core staff do many passes to rewrite freelancers for tone, character and house style, so it's anyone's guess, really. This is Constance McCashin's week, as Laura comes into tight focus and into the sights of the Wolfbridge Group. The episode opens as Laura unwittingly brings Mack's dummy bait right to Sumner's pleasuredome suite, where the chewed-up and spit-out Mack confronts them about Apolune. Laura, losing it, mentions Mark St. Claire, but Sumner denies all and tries to bluster his way out of it by insisting he can get them all out of the 'mess [Mack's] put them in' - and here's where I begin to believe Greg believes it, that he can make everything right and outmaneuver Wolfbridge in his own way if Mack just lays off. This is teeming arrogance if true and sociopathy if he's performing, but it soon becomes clear he is not. Greg believes his own hype. After the incident, St. Claire calls the Apolune officers to threaten the frazzled Laura re: Mack, dropping a mention of her sons in his vacant and officious way. Abby asks her what it was about with genuine concern, but Laura can't let her in. This is the world they're in thanks to all their choices. Bruce Fairbairn makes a memorable debut this episode as Ray, Cathy's hunky but very bad news ex, who has arrived at Westfork to stalk his girl and get into some wild vehicular-related hijinks. My new favorite blonde on blonde couple of the season is drifting apart due to Gary's well-earned distrust of Cathy; he tries to get her to level with him but they're talking past each other most of the time. Pretty soon she's got bigger problems though, as Ray is chasing Cathy's horse with his car through what must obviously be not-very-well-traveled portions of Westfork! Smashing through fences and no one comes running! Okay. Ray is very hairy and very attractive but clearly first a little and then a lot nuts. Initially there's a relentlessly sunny, unsettling lovebombing angle to his behavior with a controlling mania beneath. His whole fetish for calling her "my cat" is a lot too. Ray is equal parts charismatic and suffocatingly menacing even as he maneuvers Cathy (his wife??) back into bed with some trepidation on her part. I hadn't realized Ray has been planned for a long time; he was mentioned when Cathy first met Gary, asking him if 'Ray' had sent him. Somehow I wasn't surprised to hear Ray and Cathy first met when she was 13 (oof). Ugly as it is, it fits the characters' dark background and the predator nature of Ray - the look on Lisa Hartman's face in the 'afterglow' as they reminisce is deeply haunted, equal parts twisted longing, codependency and pure fear and despair. Not sure you could get away with this kind of subtext and casual sex framed around grooming and abuse on network TV today. They sing together at his firm urging; she's clearly frightened of him but can't resist his gravitational pull and control. Ray wants to take her 'home,' and there's no arguing as he oh so gently insists. Ben and Mack make a hell of a team at this point, strategizing about Laura and Apolune at none other than KL Motors (would Sid be proud?). At the same time, Ben and Val are still working their way back to reconciliation while Lilimae clucks over him going to El Salvador. They make out by the fire later and are just very easy and cute. Ben wants her to go with him but she thinks he's uncomfortable staying there with her situation as it is. "I feel like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle," Ben admits. "Your life is all set up, it's all arranged. You've got it set up exactly the way you want it." But there's a lightness and flirtation to their energy despite the subject matter as Val teases, "I'm not inflexible. I could change." Keeping it more playful and easy is good for this couple vs. the past often dour dramas of Gary and Val from some prior seasons. You know it's gotten real when the Avery house is back! With Westmont as a guest no less, as he and Laura discuss Mark St. Claire, the Wolfbridge skullduggery and generally saving their asses. Even Jason No. Whatever appears as Laura keeps him at home and starts furtively watching the windows while getting way too many hang-up calls. Her paranoia builds as night falls over Seaview Circle, and a shadow crosses her curtains and sliding doors - it's Karen, who finally has some stuff out with her old friend over Wolfbridge and Apolune. The "R" word is mentioned as Karen says Mack was there for Laura when she lost her husband, but doesn't quite go so far as to acknowledging Karen herself wasn't, though once again I would note Karen had other concerns at the time, like her fugitive daughter and getting high, and Laura was awfully myopic about her belief that Richard killed Ciji. There's also a series of nice little character vignettes throughout this episode: Diana and Karen at the dealership as Diana gets a new car, admitting she needs a little financial help from her mom without a lot of high theater whining. A fun, normal convo with Karen and Val in the kitchen as they discuss their men and their pasts, and Karen admits sometimes she still compares Mack and Sid. There's Ben and Lilimae bonding over their shared wanderlust. "You’ve lived quite a life," he tells her; "I still am," Lilimae replies. She says this is the best part of her life, not the endless traveling - "at some point you have to be able to look someone in the eye, and know that they know you." Great stuff. There's also a funny moment where Diana belatedly realizes she may in fact be Aunt Abby's nepotism baby in her new and presumably short-lived position at Gary Ewing Enterprises, which I strain not to call GEE. Abby is maternal again as she gives her niece a little office wardrobe advice on her sleeves: "Roll 'em up." She also pales when Diana mentions Mack getting beat up - she still has a heart and soul, and once again we see she did not sign up for what Wolfbridge brings to the table, and is perhaps reminded again of Sid. Meanwhile, Mack is back at Sumner HQ haranguing him in public! There has to be another angle on this because he is making himself a considerable liability. Karen and Mack strategize over Laura and Greg, getting one of them to break, and there's a morbid touch as Karen realizes the dead men on Apolune's fake board of directors are all from the plane crash which killed Sid's uncle who bequeathed her the 'quadraplex' at Lotus Point. Woof. Anyway, Lotus Point is all Apolune's now. Abby tries to placate the frightened Laura with the promise of a long business lunch, and tries to focus discussion on how they got Lotus Point for a song vs. much higher costs, to talk not only Laura but herself into feeling better about Wolfbridge - it clearly turns Laura's stomach. Laura finally confronts Greg about St. Claire and how he could've knew about her mentioning his name to Mack. Sumner denies spilling the beans and tries to throw her out because in his mind the simplicity of their arrangement is over, but Laura isn't Abby and isn't so easily deterred; when pressed, he denies they could've threatened her kids. He wants to believe it, wants to find a way to control the situation: "I personally guarantee your children’s safety," he soothes. Like Mack's? When Laura finally leaves she has Sumner rattled, snapping at his guards. A creepy beat late in the ep comes when Ray corners Abby - he was her first contact point for Cathy in Arkansas. Meanwhile, Cathy returns to her and Gary's beloved sex gym on Ray's orders. This story is pure film noir at this point. Cathy tries to reunite with Gary, but Gary makes her confess about her past - and her murder rap. There's great shadows and angles by director Larry Elikann throughout this ep, but especially near the conclusion, shooting the Avery house from above as Laura comes home in the dark. More phantom callers finally push her to flee right across the street to the MacKenzies and admit that yes, Apolune is Abby's. Won't Wolfbridge see her? They have to have a bug and a tail on all of them by now. Episode 19 (…So Shall You Reap): Gary (to Abby): You're so damn good it's terrifying. I've never seen anybody lie as well as you do. Sure enough, Laura tells Karen and Mack all. "Your husband died; he left you with a flourishing business, right?" Laura explains to Karen, reasoning out her choices. "I just wanted mine." She acknowledges she did indeed sell Daniel (only breaking even). Karen, to her credit, doesn't judge Laura. Yet, anyway. I wouldn't blame her. Yes, things are going south quickly but don't worry - Smilin' Greg Sumner has a plan. He's "working on" helping Mack, really! Abby, for her part, has a self-serving solution: Sell Karen's last scrap of owned Lotus Point property to her! Greg is clearly tired of her finagling, increasingly tired of her, and still sore about betraying his best friend. Armed with Laura's dirt, Mack busts in on Abby and Westmont, full of threats to expose them. But in the aftermath Abby initially is unfazed, leading to her unmasking herself in perhaps her most heinous scene in the entire series so far: "I don’t care about Gary," she breezily tells Westmont. "Even if he does find out, even if he takes me to court, I'm covered" - because of Cathy, who she procured to seduce Gary and make him look like a dangerous obsessive over Ciji. Abby: Tell me: What would you call that kind of behavior? Westmont: Sick. Abby: Exactly. Now, I'm supposed to entrust my affairs to someone who’s running around trying to recreate a dead girl? She even invokes Gary's alcoholism, and insists she can 'protect' the business from him. I think Abby believed some of this line once, last season and perhaps early in this one, but not any time lately. She really has thrown the man she loved over and I think I know why (but not quite when). But I'll get to that later. As expected, Cathy has taken the murder rap for Hairy Psychopath Ray. What I did not expect was her confessing most everything if not all to Gary. They really are cute together, but they'll get even more appealing in the next ep which I'll dig into another time. Gary swiftly confronts Laura, having presumably discovered the truth from Mack offscreen (that happens a lot this season) that Abby owns Apolune and Lotus Point; Laura admits all and gives Abby up. Gary's response is great: "Thanks, I always wondered what friendship was worth." So she's fired, right? But never fear: Smilin' Greg Sumner has great news for the MacKenzies - he's finally bailed out Mack by diming out Abby on the land variance! Incredible. Mack and Karen are not amused. Greg is the ultimate politician, trying to schmooze them and eager to happily gloss over the details of whoever framed Mack to begin with. Mack of course isn't having any of it, but William Devane is amazing here. The mask simply does not slip, period; he is firmly convinced, at any time, that he can control this rapidly spiraling situation, that he can restore his friendships and relationships and that he can win the day through sheer force of personality and will. Greg and Karen alone together at his campaign office is another story; Michele Lee and Karen can match him because her energy is different than Mack's, in her intensity. When Karen warns Sumner she won't leave him alone until he makes things right for Mack, I believe her. There's some nice camerawork as they pull around the raging fireplace in Gary and Abby's bedroom at Westfork as he waits for his traitorous wife, then boils over on her in short order, throwing her out in a great scene. "I don't ever wanna remember that I loved you," Gary seethes. Abby retreats to her office lair and tries to strategize with Westmont, refusing to accept the possibility of divorce. Not long after is a classic exchange I think everyone knows: Westmont: Half of Gary's money is a fortune. Abby: All of Gary's money is a fortune. Half of it is half a fortune. Her odd, flirtatious but mostly platonic friendship with Westmont is always fun. Abby kicks back alone in her home-sized penthouse but can't get Greg on the phone. Later, there's a moment of real danger as creeper Ray drops in on her penthouse loft, scoping out the joint and drinking her wine while she is visibly uncomfortable, increasingly in over her head in every area. At the other end of the canvas, Ben casually proposes to Val over a good sandwich lol. He's ready to raise her baby/babies! Ben and Val have been on a low burn til recently but are still very sweet, and there's an adorable scene with them cuddling and listening to her babies kicking. There's another great doubles sequence with Karen and Val and Ben and Mack paired off again, having some lighter times amidst the relative chaos, cross-cutting back and forth between each pair of men and women as they discuss the situation. Both Ben and Val explain that they craved and guarded their independence and then found more: "The more he lets me know him, the more I find out about myself," Val says. And with Mack's coaching (and presumably his talk with Lilimae last time), Ben says that "being intimate, being open with someone you love, that's the only kind of freedom there is." The whole sequence is a lovely little tone poem for the couple, but FWIW I think they're getting shotgun wed a bit too soon. Next we have Gary sitting down with yes, Olivia at the duck pond on the ranch, and I absolutely love that they've returned to this relationship and character thread so unexpectedly after it being absent for awhile. Olivia heard Gary and Abby fighting and knows what's going down, but she continues her quiet reverie over the ducks she watched grow up here, having gone through so many homes and families. They discuss the different ducks and their idiosyncrasies or physical characteristics, like one 'needing glasses'. "Maybe that's what we need," Gary muses. "Rose colored glasses." Olivia finally breaks down in Gary's arms and begs not to leave, and oh, it's just heartwrenching stuff. Other primetime soaps simply do not do this shīt with the supporting characters and kids, not back then and generally not in the '90s. (Interestingly, on Krasker's blog Richard Gollance suggests that the whole duck pond sequence might have been a Peter Dunne creation, as using ducks was often a favored signature of his.) With the rest of her life basically in meltdown, Abby bravely tries to imitate Greg's rose maneuver and comes to his hotel suite throwing game. She gets a bit more than she bargained for; Greg is flummoxed as she opens the bedroom door to discover a clearly delighted Laura in his bed. Ha! They don't show us the fallout though - really, what more is to be said? - and instead cut to a gorgeously shadowed meeting with Greg and St. Claire, with Greg once again playing schmoozer-in-chief to sell Wolfbridge on his taking Mack back into the fold, promising he can defuse Mack and contain him. Sumner is playing every side against the other, supremely confident in himself. I'm surprised Wolfbridge doesn't just kill Mack tbh. But somehow Greg sells it and announces Mack's return to the crime commission with great fanfare on live TV, and to Mack's chagrin. Abby doesn't have to go home but she can't stay here! You can see the play of conflicting emotions on Donna Mills' face when it's finally real for Abby as she packs her things at the ranch vs. her gaming her strategy out for Westmont early on; her choked voice as she calls for Gary one more time and then tries to swallow her tears is authentic. Reality, it seems, has begun to sink in. Olivia waits for her outside, but tells Abby that she and Brian aren't coming. "I don't want to live with you," she says. "I'd rather run away than be with you." (She makes good on that soon.) Suddenly you have two extreme character poles presented in a single episode: Abby at her most awful at the top of the hour as she lays out her scheme to discredit and neutralize Gary, and also her most heartbreaking as she's cast out, dejected and alone, from Westfork, without her children and the man she still loves despite what she's done and all she blusters and threatens. Yet somehow the show make it totally plausible and emotional for the audience, totally organic within the same deeply contradictory antiheroine. You condemn what she has done and said while also feeling for her consequences. Nobody could do this but Donna Mills - GH and Melrose Place never had her measure. And now, my armchair psychoanalyst hot take on Abby this season: All of this has happened because Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing doesn't just want Greg Sumner - she wants to be Greg Sumner. As she will explain to Olivia in an upcoming episode, if a man does what Abby does in the Me Decade '80s he is hailed and celebrated as a conqueror; if a woman does it she is a conniving whore. When Abby first met Sumner she was instantly infatuated, not just with the man IMO but with the power, the prestige and the force of will. Everything she's done to burrow herself into Lotus Point and Wolfbridge has embedded her deeper with Greg Sumner, to play the game like Sumner, at stakes and with gamepieces she is IMO not yet capable of playing with. She does Sumner-like things not just in business but to the people she loves, thinking she can make it all right later (just as Sumner is trying to do now with the MacKenzies). Abby is clearly infatuated and sprung for Greg, but I don't believe she fully stopped loving Gary (hence her vetoing Cathy and Gary sleeping together); I think she has just sectioned off that aspect of herself and her psyche so much at this point after so many months as to make it toxic, cavalier and remote. Yet it's not gone from her heart; she turns wrathful in this episode when challenged early by Mack, but crumples when faced with the actual blowback upon the reveal. (I don't know when she first came up with the Cathy scheme, but Richard Gollance surprisingly claims they knew from the start Abby would be behind it - I have my doubts she thought it up before meeting Greg and seeing how he operated.) That's my take anyway, and it's not meant to be charitable. What Abby has done to Gary and said about him in this episode was despicable. Yet she still loves him in her way, still loves her kids. But her ambition, her drive and her dream of being a woman for the '80s - like Greg Sumner's campaign ads call him 'the man for the '80s' - of being Greg Sumner - have overtaken everything. Just my ten cents. More to come! Woof, I have four more of these to do (and two eps left in the season after).

Nolan North (ex-PC and now legendary voice actor) guest starred on today's episode of the excellent Star Trek: Lower Decks as K'ranch, hunter of the stars. (That's Jack Quaid as Boimler the hunted and Dawnn Lewis as Captain Freeman. Some of the footage is zoomed in by the user apparently to avoid copyright strikes.)

I think people rarely get swayed by military-centric/'divisiveness' talking points these days, IMO. On these kind of issues the opposing sides are fairly baked in. Media is generally talking to the Beltway and themselves on these issues, and then grudgingly walking it back when the public fails to respond (as they did on Afghanistan).

Keilar is making this her hill to die on with replies and retweets of others despite continued ratios: As always: Beltway media venerate and worship their military/Pentagon sources, especially the ones who for decades insisted 'six more months' would do the job in Afghanistan. They were furious along with their sources when Biden pulled out of the region, and they still consider themselves more purely aligned with the military and 'the generals' who are their sources than anyone else in America or in government, which is how they talk like this so casually. it's a form of patriotism or service these journos feel they have been adopted into by quoting people on background in sympathy. And while Keilar may have a military family background, she's not military, she had nothing to say when Trump or Bush did this kind of pageantry and she is far from the only journo to behave like this. it will be a five minute fuss that the public doesn't care about and won't react to, but which will outrage talking heads fanning themselves for the vapors overnight. What else is new.