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Didn't Bill...just in the last episode...tell Luna she needed to leave and be gone before he got back from a meeting??? Yet, she was still there...in a new outfit and just hanging out. WTH? A few weeks from now, no one when even talk about the lame "takeover." It'll be back to the same repetitive dialogue. Carter will be back to being Ridge's "best friend" and "just like family." That's been one of the shows issues for a VERY long time. There are no story repercussions. It's more like everything just resets right back to what it was before. I can't believe we had to see that damn stapler again.

I loved Thursday's episode, but I have to admit that this was the first episode of BTG that I felt a little...bored. I don't know if it's the writing, the acting, a combo, but for me, it feels like Ashley and Derek just suck all the energy out of scenes that they appear in. The characters are just so...bland. I still don't know why I should even care about these two people. Derek, especially. I mean, who is this guy, besides saving cats??? It almost feels like Derek and Ashley belong on some other show or a Hallmark G-rated rom-com with the perky perfect "Girl next door" heroine and the generically handsome white guy. They feel sort of shoehorned in to show "Hey, we got white people, too!" But, the characters are not developed or interesting...at all. I can't fathom why Derek is even fascinated by Ashley. I feel like what happened yesterday is what should have aired today if that makes sense. I'd also like to see Anita and Vernon dig more into their own relationship beyond their children and grandchildren.

I really, really wished CBS would have given BTG the timeslot right after Y&R to give it the best shot for its launch, and then moved B&B to air right after it. I really feel like B&B doesn't even try at this point. Everyone's dialogue just repeats...over and over and over. There's no nuance, no long-term impacts of any story, and the show has grown stale and old fashion. How can a show that takes place in the FASHION industry in LOS ANGELES not have a single gay or Latino character in 2025? Instead, we get boring characters like Elecktra (that name!) and Will to "lead" the young characters. Serial killers get pardoned. "Business stories" are a yawn. A horrible, horrible recast for Taylor (not the fault of RB), and a total misogynistic lead in Ridge. Brooke has been reduced to just begging Ridge for scraps. I feel like when I do check out some of the show it's just to hate watch it. BTG is a million times better!

THIS! What would have been good would have been if the Forresters threatened to call the police, and Bill said, "That's fine. But, then I'll need to tell them that Taylor shot me." And, we're supposed to believe that Bill got Luna a full pardon for TWO murders. If they had to get Luna out of jail, the best way would have been to somehow reveal that she wasn't the one who killed Tom and Hollis...only "thought" she did due to a mental break. A HUUUUUUGE stretch but would have made a tiny bit more sense.

I was surprised to see Robert Christopher Riley, who played Michael Culhane on Dynasty, pop up as a co-worker of Ted's who attended the gala. The way Nicole interacted with him for a moment seemed to imply there was more to come with him...maybe her love interest down the line???

I suspect the Joey/Doug casino story is going to somehow connect to a larger story on the show. Just a hunch.

The Dimeras are what ultimately turned me off the show and when I stopped watching on any regular basis. They started to take over everything, and so many of the characters were interchangeable...Stefan and EJ, for example. And, then Megan showed up, and Kristen has become a cartoon character. Chad was the only character in the family that was "human." I always liked his relationship with Theo, too, when they played that.

I suspect that Joey the casino dude has bigger plans for Doug the doctor once he gets him so far in debt, Doug will have to do anything he tells him to do...probably something medical related at the hospital if I had to guess. This was the first episode that I started to kinda feel Martin. The little bit of physical affection between him and Smitty was long overdue. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the actors playing their kids were. It's still hard to believe they have almost GROWN children. We really need a line, at least, that says something like...Remember, when we adopted them and they were only 11 and 12? It'd still be stretch, but it would help some at least. I could see Martin wanting to adopt only to create a "family image" that he wanted. Silk Press Sheila is sooooo good, but as others said, I hope they don't write her into a corner too fast. I love that gleam she gets in her eye! I would also like to know why NOW is the time she's plotting her revenge. Why did she wait so long? Ashley and Derek...oh, man. The most exciting thing about Derek is he had a ceiling fall on top of him. I'm still not sure what their purpose is on the canvas besides being "token whites." Smitty and Vanessa are connected to the core characters...and they actually have personality. So, they work in the context of the show. It's hard to know if it's really the actors, too, because in all fairness, they haven't been given that much to work with. But, every time they're on, I start to lose interest until we switch to other characters. Derek needs to turn psychotic, or we find out that Ashley is also working part-time as a hooker...something...ANYTHING.... to make them interesting!!

Chase raping Ciara on the Horton living room couch was such a HORRIBLE story twist. The character of Chase actually had potential, not to mention the story itself was so unnecessary and wrong on many, many levels.

Even though no one really dies on DAYS, killing Abigail was such a bad, depressing story. Billy Flynn had grown into arguably the best actor on the show. I really enjoyed Chad's relationship with Julie, too. Hopefully, he'll be well-used at Y&R.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that Ted was seeing..or at least sleeping with...Leslie first. Then, he met Nicole at the medical conference and left Leslie for her. IF, a big IF, that's right, he didn't cheat on Nicole but had a short fling with Leslie before dating his wife. Leslie's pissed that Ted dropped her for Nicole, and she must have gotten pregnant around that time, too. Oh, Lord...Ashley and Derek. I didn't even understand why they were in the episode. Ashley has a little more spark than Derek, but still...the energy just dies when these two characters are together. They need some sort of an edge to make them interesting. I'm not surprised by Dani's reaction at the end. I get the feeling that Dani and Bill are that toxic couple that will NEVER truly be done with each other. They'll just torture each other over and over. If the show runs for years, I can see them actually getting back together at some point...and then breaking up again.

Martin comes off as perhaps the only reason his married Smitty...and adopted kids...is because it would give him a good public image. Smitty needs to tell Martin to shut the hell up. Wow...talk about selfish! I didn't see Chelsea's three-way coming! I wonder where THAT'S going to go! Ashley and Jacob continue to be snoozeville for me. Ashley is slightly better, but there just isn't anything to the Jacob character. Who is he outside of dating Ashley? If I was Dani, I'd be walking up in that country club with my hot new young man on my arm!

Agreed! And, also they need to give more younger characters with fresh, modern takes on storytelling a chance. I had Y&R on for a few minutes today, and it was Yawnsville compared to BTG. Just more and more and more talk about vague companies and who's going to control them. I swear that you could do a Y&R drinking game and have to take a shot anytime someone says CEO, COO, takeover, etc. Why do TPTB there think their viewers care about any of that? Sorry...I got sidetracked.

Good point about the age! Now, if he said he wanted to run in 4 years, that would be much more believable.

ITA. They could at least throw in a line saying that they adopted them when they were 11 and 12 years old, for example. Then, it would be much more believable. At least Smitty got to give Martin a quick kiss on the cheek. The lack of affection and tenderness between them has been striking compared to the other couples. If Martin's going to be running for president, he needs to work on being less wooden! LOL I LOVE Leslie. She is soooo messy, and I'm here for it. Jacob is SOOOO hot, and the actor has a nice ease to him that is missing in Martin. Ashley's growing on me, but they really need to have her in scenes with Naomi a lot more to tie her into things. Her boyfriend (Brian?) just falls flat. He still comes across as just generic handsome guy who we are just supposed to think is hot. How much is the actor, the writing, etc, I don't know, but if I had to pick the first character to fade into the background it would be him. He needs an edge...or something...to make him interesting.

Or....here's a crazy theory on my end. What if Ted is NOT TED, but his identical twin brother who has taken over Ted's like and the real Ted is dead? This could explain Ted not recognizing Leslie and why Ted needed an identical twin in the first place.

I know that they're still listed in the credits, but I wonder if Thomas and RJ really are still on contract at this point...sort of how Paris was listed for months with zero appearances.

Oh, I LOVED this side-eyed look from Anita, and how they all sat back down. OOOO...ITA. They should have brought in Ashely right when Laura was brought in for her accident. Ashley's first few episodes felt so out of place with the rest of things, and frankly, a bit boring. I wonder if some of including her was just them wanting to show some diversity in the cast. Her boyfriend...I can't remember his name...seems to just be generic handsome dude.

Oh, wow! I missed the part where Ted's brother was a twin! That could be super twisty! And, Ted's long-lost love child! I'm super interested to see where that's going. I loved the cliffhanger and then gun at the end. Super campy and soapy, and I love it! Martin was a little better today. Maybe the actor is starting to settle in a bit more. Of all the Dupree grandkids, Naomi is my favorite so far. Ashley's elevator and pregnant woman drama should have been her first episode IMO.

I still don't know what the endgame for Luna is if she outright killed two people. It'd be another groan-worthy recon, but it would make the story better if they could figure out a way she didn't kill Tom and Hollis. Not sure how that could be, but crazier things have happened on soaps. Because without that, where does the story go from here. Daphne and her smelling is FF material for me. The only way this character could be saved is if it were revealed that she was actually playing everyone, wasn't even French, and hell bent on destroying the Forresters. I've said it over and over...but I wish RB would have been cast as a brand new character without the Taylor baggage. It would have made for a much more interesting story. Maybe BB will watch Beyond the Gates and feel the need to finally bring the show to 2025. Probably not, but one can hope.

I loved the twist with Leslie at the end. I didn't see that coming! Definitely intrigued. I SOOOO want to like Martin, but the actor has come across as very stiff. It's true the first two episodes he had a LOT of exposition dialogue, and that's very hard to make sound natural. But, I didn't get any sense of intimacy in scenes with his husband or talking about their children. Mike Manning has soap experience already, so I felt he already showed up with his A-game. I'm way more interested in Smitty. I like how Martin/Smitty are obviously set up for a big story, but the approach to Martin needs to change...loosen him up. I'm finding that I'm enjoying each episode more and more...a very good sign! All the other shows feel very dated in comparison.

LOL, right? I thought Finn was going to have to draw her a map. Not quite as on it as you'd expect for a business exec. "What happened to your child with Poppy, Finn?" Uh...can you do math, Steffy?

My first guess is that Ted may turn out to be Eva's father, and the two are in two plotting revenge against his family.

I loved both the Dani and Nicole characters, and their contrast as sisters. Excellent choice on casting these two characters! I mean, you can understand why Dani's pissed, especially with her daughter's friend practically growing up in their house! Since this is a soap, I'm curious to see what inevitable secrets we'll find out about Nicole and Anita. There have to be cracks in Nicole's perfect life. After being tossed aside by B&B, I'm glad Karla Mosley is really getting some material to sink her teeth into. Ashley and as someone else mentioned "the boyfriend" were a bit snoozeville for me. I understand that they wanted to show them, but they should have been given something more exciting to play. Maybe Ashley could have had a major emergency to deal with on her first day at work, for example. A phone call between her and Naomi would have tied Ashley in better, too. Very excited to see how the week develops!

SOOOOOO excited! I really hope the show does well - live views + streaming. If it does, it may get the other shows to up their game which they DESPERATELY need.