alwaysAMC

LOL! You're right, I'm out of my mind This is me reacting to your post (if you know Phaedra Parks at all): Anyway, thanks for breaking it down for me. Sounds like I need Friday happy hour!

No it's alphabetical between the two openings - the A-whatever is opening 1 and whatever-Z is opening 2. So in theory, if his last name started with an A, he'd be first in opening 1 and they would have had to remove Maurice (who was in opening 2), which requires edits to both. Unless I'm going crazy haha

Well, it's alphabetical, so they got lucky with the actor's name fitting into place like that. Otherwise, if they stayed alphabetical, they could have had to change both.

Cady McClain and Jon Lindstrom had a scene together!! They're either friendly (which is great) or they're just professionals (which is great).

LOL - I wonder why Smitty was so weird with Vanessa.

YES! Glad it worked out - now Leslie is with Eva and Kat with her Dad. And they didn't have to rearrange the other opening at all.

LOL - such a good point. They think it'll go over well and be glamorous and amazing, but sometimes it just ends up being cringe. This wedding so far is a little cringe. They have ducks walking around the hotel foyer and towards the camera, for heck's sake haha.

They just aired a montage of Marcus and Dahlia swimming, with music playing in the background singing "Skin to Skin", for 4 MINUTES. No joke or exaggeration. 4 minutes of them swimming at nighttime, no dialogue, just swimming. WTF.

LOL - literally just added an edit to my post, because as I'm watching live right now, Dahlia is swimming in the pool alone and there is Marcus. So annoying. And Phillip just revealed himself to Rick. I have to stop watching now, but curious to see how those interactions go!

I would have bought it if Ed/Rick/Michelle were all there, but 1) Ed said he couldn't go because he had to work, to which even someone highlighted that he's chief of staff and could easily go if he wanted; 2) Michelle got on the plane with Rick to go, but J showed up and the Spaulding's kicked him off because why would they want another random teenager to go, so Michelle ran off the plane after him and Rick just let her go (haha, it was kind of dumb); and 3) Rick and A-M have barely said 2 words to each other in the 15 months I've been watching so far, so it was weird he's now just by himself with the Spauldings/Coopers. But I know now why they're doing this, Rick is clearly there because Phillip has shown up. Very plot-driven, but at least I’m getting old flashbacks of Rick/Phillip during this. Slight correction - Ed never showed up on the plane, just Rick and Michelle. Ed had already made the decision he wasn't going. Once 'Slutchelle' (haha!) ran off, I thought it was so weird that Rick either didn't run off after her, or didn't call from the plane to tell Ed. It was only when Blake called Rick, who happened to be with Ed at the hospital, that he happened to tell Ed, in midair, "oh hey, you may want to go find Michelle, she ran off" hahaha. Yeah, I get that being a location shoot, they had to minimize the number of people, but to have Dahlia there over Bridget still irks me. I get it, at this point, Bridget wouldn't have any connections to any of the people there outside of Lucy, just still hurts. ETA: Ugh, and now Marcus shows up!

Ahh interesting. Yeah, that's sad for A-M. I will say, he and Nick became fast friends when Susan started working at Spaulding. A-M/Lucy/Nick/Susan had a lot of double dates in those 7 months. A-M was Nick's best man at his wedding to Susan, which now that I think about it, is odd that he wouldn't have considered Fletcher. I remember those two were so close at the paper, and even living together with Ben. Once Tangie left SF, Nick left the paper, and Fletcher/Holly were rarely seen... so I guess they felt that friendship wasn't shown often enough anymore (which again, lazy writing).

Going back to this, I'm even more confused why Amanda would say that only a year later (lazy writers), because I'm watching April 29, 1996 right now and literally all of the current on-air Spauldings (Alan, Alex, Amanda, A-M) and Coopers (Buzz, Lucy, Frank, Eleni) are on a plane together for Lucy/A-M's wedding. Along with Reva (which right now makes sense because she's married to Buzz), Dahlia (so out of place, but by default because they can't let a high school kid they just took in stay home alone), and a very random Rick (he's barely had any interaction with any of these characters all year haha). It's like a madhouse on that plane, which is pretty comical because most of them don't get along... but they very much know each other. Still miffed that Bridget is totally forgotten here. And David. And Nick/Susan! Couldn't they have waited to fire them until after this wedding? It was only like 2 months later. They had to make Alan be A-M's best man (which is wild to me) bc A-M doesn't even have any real friends on the show right now.

It's looking like I may be in the minority, but nuTed is a major improvement to me. I agree, it will take a few days to get used to the higher pitched voice and smaller stature, but his acting is so much better. I can feel the emotions in his voice and face and it just feels more real and natural. Kat was great today too, giving us the tears and her softer side. Loved Leslie/Bill - we need more of this! Did y'all notice Leslie's snake necklace?? So creepy, but fitting for her haha. Tomorrow should be an updated intro with Keith, unless they repeat the second one for days until they get it updated.

Very interesting - thanks, @P.J. and @DeeVee! This makes me want to go back in time and start my watch at '89. I think I'm going to power through just a little more of '96 right now just to see A-M/Lucy marry (so I can see their happy ending), how Phillip enters the picture, more of Alex vs. Amanda (because that's so funny/amusing to me), and what happens to Blake's twin babies (the only things really keeping me going right now).

Thank you, all - so helpful! I didn’t realize Ross was Phillip’s bio uncle - how cool! What happened to his real parents, and I’m assuming Ross didn’t like Alan for swapping the babies? It does sound like the writers might be making some things up then with A-M and Phillip feuding, but we’ll see how it plays out. Phillip currently is in a home with a woman’s voice in the distance (not sure who this is yet), and he keeps looking at a newspaper with the Spaulding family picture. They finally revealed his face in a Friday cliffhanger, but it was so obvious his voice was Grant A’s haha. He has such a distinct voice to me. Very interesting, so are Fletcher and Rick at odds then since he was the brother? Honestly in the year since Rick has been back in SF, they’ve rarely, if ever, been in a scene together that I recall. The storyline with Blake right now getting pregnant off a one-night stand with Rick from a bar night after Blake was upset with Ross, and not knowing who the father is…. sounds similar to that Meredith storyline in a way haha. I remember someone posted an episode from the 80s of Rick smelling this scarf and Phillip lifting weights (so funny/strange), which made me think they were close friends in the beginning. I’m guessing this storyline put them at odds - did they ever recover before they both left SF or will this be a fractured friendship when Phillip returns? Sounds like I need to know more about this Beth character, as she’s pretty important to Phillip’s backstory. So I wonder if the lady he’s talking to in these current scenes is Beth, if they’re still together? That must be when Rick went to Chicago then and met Annie during the years he left SF. Thanks, again - this was all helpful background/context as I get to meet Phillip for the first time. I just have to get it out of my head he isn’t the bad Alec McIntyre (AMC) haha.

Ok GL friends - Phillip Spaulding is back! (April 19, 1996) Quick questions so I can get up to speed: 1) Why does Alan-Michael hate Phillip so much? Amanda put him on the wedding list and A-M got extremely upset and said he's the last person he'd ever want at his wedding. 2) Who is Meredith? With Blake's current pregnancy storyline, Rick and Ed have been talking about how Meredith (assuming Rick's girlfriend) left with Phillip's son (or something like that)? They also keep talking about how Blake/Rick were at odds over Phillip too. 3) They said Phillip left town to do community service and avoid getting arrested, or something to that effect. What did he do and why did he really leave? Thanks in advance

Haha, ok - now confirmed, yesterday was his last day That ending with Eva/Samantha and the family was really cute. I'm glad they're accepting her into the family in some way.

I just realized, we've already seen Maurice's Ted last day yesterday, since he isn't on today's episode. I don't even remember who he had his last scene with - was it Eva?

Same - it doesn't bother me when it's there, but does bother me when written into dialogue or takes away from emotional/important scenes. Same! Love Kat vs. Eva. I love a catty little relationship that eventually, slowly turns into some kind of acceptance/love for each other.

More Tide on display today haha. I like how Martin is trying to include Eva, but yeah, Kat's not having it and won't for a long time.

LOL - well, Peter was included in the grandkids' section, each named specifically with their $100K trusts. It must have been the abs... In Henry's will, he said it had to do with Hart having a chance at being a better person than his father, since his father isn't providing for him (I'm paraphrasing here, but it was about Roger). Still a little surprised...

Very happy we got Mona's reactions yesterday and now Jan's today. I'm so happy they aren't forgetting these minor characters.

Ambyr Michelle continues to win! That scene with Martin was good, and nice to see him be nice to her like that. I'm very curious who the guy is spying on everyone at Orphey's.

Honestly, reminds me of an older Kat!

Thank you!! So agree - I'm enjoying it!