It would have been a lot better than this conflict of interest stuff lol
I like messes and Eric, in love with Nicole but angry at her, sleeping with Sloan and also about to be a father would have been a pretty good mess. Jada could have been conflicted about how Eric is acting and could be questioning whether or not she wants to shut Eric out of the baby’s life, she could be lashing out at Sloan and Nicole, weaving Talia into it, etc. Rafe could still be a part of it, just have him be secondary in the story 😂😂
As for Maggie, if she was playing against any other actor/character, I’d agree with you about her not really being written as the villain, but with RSW, I’m not so sure. The agendas in the writing has been evident for years now.