Vee

Please screencap this, I am behind lol. 10K?? Randy, come on.

We had what feels like ten years of Willow being 'normal' and it was one of the most boring characters this show ever had. Only the affair with Drew made her interesting. Also, Nina's family is not a core group on this show. It never has been, because most of them were either boring or two-dimensional and placed there to give Nina more grounding. Nina herself was just an excuse for another surprise stunt hire (Michelle Stafford) in the Cartini epoch which didn't pan out as they hoped before descending into another years-long sunk cost fallacy for FV. While Cynthia Watros has done a heroic job with a mess of a character and I thought Mulcahey was on track to make her and Drew really work last year, that's done. And even if that couple had flown, it still wouldn't have made her larger family some robust tree. Dead Wooden Nathan, Dead Nelle, Michael Easton #3 and guest star Donna Mills don't make a worthwhile bloodline. Those characters were worthless. I enjoy watching Watros, but at some point soon I would probably get rid of Nina. Because her one good option last year is now closed to her and she does nothing but weep over Willow, and the character was otherwise played out years before the recast. Soap Twitter these days acts like any character that has a few fans suddenly is 'core' or part of a core family whenever they get maybe a hundred RTs. But the potential merits of these characters are individual. I'm not interested in Nina's family being built out, because Nina's family largely sucks. The drama here is in further Mildred Pierce-esque mother/daughter mutual destruction.

I highly doubt that's happening. But I would leave them in the dirt and have fun with it, and eventually let Willow branch out into other men and schemes, possibly after both a) shooting Drew and b) blackmailing him into marriage while getting away with it all. And yeah, the Mike timeline/character choice makes zero sense. I almost never watched in that period either. I just remember Margaux, ugh.

If Jacob has anything to show me as Ashley, now is the time. Letting the token white girl go psycho would be great.

I think they were running out her contract? If she had one. I know they were running out Miller's, so whatserface (Margaux? Woof) had a few kisses with Drew or something. The whole backstory with Mike and her dad was so dumb.

Nina is a nutjob. I enjoy Watros' version up to a point but I don't care about her family lasting beyond these characters and their (IMO) finite potential. I think it'd be a mistake to burn her or Drew too soon, but knowing GH they will. Of course I'd expected them to kill Drew at New Year's and here we are. I think they could both drive drama for at least a couple years to come.

Why redeem her? She's far more interesting like this. Elizabeth Hendrickson's character had a few more turns. When they lost interest in her she turned up as a clueless member of Shiloh's cult and also got chemistry tested heavily with Billy Miller's Drew while they were running out his contract in C-story. Then she left town. Exactly. Which is another reason I wouldn't get rid of her any time soon, since this Willow/Drew/etc. saga is the only wholly interesting and organic one on this show and KMM is giving great performances. It's like when people say she and Drew have to go - do they really? Or are they the only fully exciting story engines on the show bc people hate them and are invested? I'd let Willow run several more years yet as she descends to full crazy rich divorcee territory. Then I'd off her.

Well, Claire was also a Brendabot, yes. I forgot her. Liz Hendrickson's terrible character also came close to getting involved. Thank God that didn't happen. Would've been so gross.

It is time to just park Sonny with Alexis in a light, secret affair where she keeps him in check and they can spar in a more gentle, Nancy Meyers-esque way until such time as someone relents and brings back Vanessa Marcil. Yes, this is a containment method (as would be bringing back Brenda to be paired with him and then take over most of their story), but I am pragmatic. Dropping Sonny would mean the show taking a real hit with viewers and while in a perfect world I'd be rid of him, I'd sooner work with what I think is possible. Plus I think there is still meat in Sonny and Brenda, and little else for his character. The latest pointless ADA is definitely giving 2000s Brendabot vibes a la Kristin Minter, Reese, Hannah, Sam, etc. though I don't think they're intentional since FV is Brenda-phobic and it's a clear excuse to hire Carlo Rota's wife. It's embarrassing to watch for all involved.

I thought so, but it seems like people keep calling her Leslie.

For me, as I keep saying, the consistently most interesting thing about BTG is how it feels like a strange and new melding of very, very old classical soap staples, and declarative storytelling/exposition or dynamics, or even meandering domestic bits (be it Bell-style that Val Jean clearly picked up at B&B, or even dating back to Phillips) with hyper-modern material as well - sometimes fresh and sometimes awkward or cringe, both very redolent of the Prospect Park soaps. Then there is some stuff that is clearly, deeply culturally specific for MVJ and the writing staff. I am glad it's a diverse creative team. But honestly, given what he did with some similar material not just at B&B but during his brief and tortured run at GH last year, it does make me wish MVJ could drag her old pal Mulcahey back out of retirement to work on some of this too. Among others from the old GH corps.

I do think Bill and Leslie (I still do not know which is her real name tbh) have real chemistry and are an inevitability at some point.

That is some wild revisionist history on Britt. She stole that damn baby. And Jason wasn't even there!

I was under the impression Fairmont Crest, etc. was just in or outside the District. I grew up in and around DC, but not in a gated community.

The Young and the Restless 2020s Experience.

For someone a little behind, when exactly did the mid whites break it off?

Apologies for not going back - is there an ATWT Vault?

Willow has been meant to be a villain for a while now. I have been preaching the gospel of Queen Bitch Willow for at least a year or two. If they lean into it I'm more than down. She needs to blackmail Drew Q into giving her a ring and a piece of his power too. She needs to be fully in that Susan Moore overdrive.

Imma be going backwards and forwards from today and on my backlog (which is a fair bit) here. This better be good!

Raise your hand if you're surprised. Sad.

No? People are either super invested in those couples or it's just sunk cost fallacy, so they keep watching year in, year out. The issue for me is that B&B (or DAYS) being bad is taken for granted at this point as people continue to watch, whereas if BTG has flaws it's time (from some people) for severe condemnation and an inquest every day. That's the disconnect for me. People still want to monitor what happens to Liam or Steffy or the latest disposable twunk Brad hired, but BTG is on the air less than six months and it feels like it gets more daily smoke from some. The exact opposite of what I said in my post you clearly didn't read. He's just here to try to get me to notice him, which is a pity since I don't see 99% of his posts. He should've been banned years ago for abusing other posters (it's most of his posting history) but as you may have noticed, we don't do that here and he counts on it to embolden his behavior.

I don't think what BTG is doing is the UK style. I think it's about their budget and breakdowns, and what the show is prioritizing. At times those are inconsistent. I do think its style is, as I've said before, a pastiche of something very modern combined with an emulation of the Bell/B&B classic style. And I think all that doesn't quite work, for many of the same reasons Faulkner has mentioned as well as ones I've talked about in the past. I think there's a ton of criticisms to give the show, and I've offered my share. I don't think valid criticism shouldn't be given to BTG and I've never said so. But I do think the impatient, dismissive attitude that treats the show like a lost cause less than half a year in and gives it less grace than really lazy or cooked shows like B&B (or over many years, DAYS) is a double standard, and IMO that's because some viewers are far more comfortable with the rot of those familiar shows whereas a new show is seen as an interloper or 'putting on airs'. I don't have time for that kind of attitude anymore than I have time for the tr0ll (because banning the word does not in any way eliminate the larger problems on this forum) that has been cheering for its demise since before the show first aired. It's clear BTG is very earnest, and wants to both educate and provide something a bit elevated in tone and build characters while growing story and pushing the envelope in some areas. You can do that if you're Y&R in the '90s, but this show ain't that. And I just don't necessarily think that idea of elevating or slow character-building are working with the story pace they need atm. I also think educating has to come with enough sizzle for the steak. Right now more stories need to go for the throat. And I do think the family/relations structure is a real problem for all the reasons other posters have indicated. Most of all I would like to see a serious reconsideration of the day to day writing staff, and consider moving the scripts towards the tone of '90s GH vs. a wan emulation of classic Y&R or the B&B of the last 20 years. All in all I think there are a number of good bones/structural elements for the show, but it needs to tighten up a lot of other things.

I don't think the dude is the second coming and I have my share of issues with his platform or circle, but a lot of those kind of folks are already calling Mamdani a sellout because for them actually being electable is a failure. What I do know is that if he (or any liberal or progressive) wins the Times will be on him like this every day. If you ask me to choose between a Nazi eugenicist platformed by the NY Times and Mamdani, it's always gonna be Door #2.

The Times is too busy today playing defense after platforming a white supremacist and eugenicist and trying to hide his identity in a goofy hit piece about Mamdani. Happy 4th, everyone.

Kin is the only actor on GH who has had that many final goodbyes. I wish him the best recovery, I know what that kind of struggle is like. I have every faith we will see him return again to complain on Twitter and exit at least once or twice more.