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I feel like the show had an opportunity to do some interesting with Elena for the first time ever after she found out about Nate and Victoria. She could have turned vengeful and evil and wanted revenge. Instead, this show avoids drama like people trying to avoid Covid.

I wonder what the purpose of keeping Elena on contract even is at this point. It seems like the money could be freed up to bring in some much-needed new blood.

Thank God the writers reminded us in this episode that: 1. Carter is "like family." 2. Luna is amazing and beautiful. I almost forgot! (Not!) That being said, I'm convinced Poppy is dying and those "mints" are keeping her from falling out dead at any moment. She'll marry Bill and die in his arms. Although, I would love it if it turned out she just had really bad acid reflux, and those mints were her antacids...LOL This show desperately needs at least one more restaurant/coffee house set...something. So, Bill, who's supposed to be uber-rich takes Poppy for ALL THREE DATES to Deacon's restaurant where Sheila works. Deacon and Sheila...two people he supposedly hates beyond everything else! If I was Poppy, I'd be like...Dude, do you not know ANY OTHER place in LOS ANGELES and are you really rich???" How much money can it cost to have just one more set???

Good for her bringing all of this to light and standing up for herself. This kind of rampant abuse and toxic behavior is rampant in the industry. I once used to work in production and saw it and experienced it all the time. It's such a competitive business that people will, sadly, put up with a lot of nonsense and downright abuse that simply would not fly in other industries. There appears to now be at least...some...fighting back that this type of work atmosphere should not be considered "normal."

My guess is that Poppy's dying and those are her meds. This show is NOT about being subtle, so as soon as those mints became a thing...

ITA

Me, too! And, if the genre has any chance of surviving, they need new fresh blood and not the same writers recycling the same stories. There have to be some "young-ish" new writers out there who could breathe new life into these shows while still maintaining the parts the old school fans love. I think of what David Kreizman did for GL or Hogan Sheffer for ATWT and Ron Carlivati's OLTL back in the 2000s. Not perfect tenures, but they brought a new, exciting perspective. Where the rest of television, primetime and streaming, is always looking for new writers with new stories, daytime seems obsessed with not evolving.

I totally forgot about her and didn't realize she wasn't even still part of the cast! I think they had an opportunity to have her turn to the dark side after what happened with Nate, but as always lately, this show avoids drama as if it's a mandate.

I do hate what they seem to be doing with Ashley, and I'm not sure what the point of it is. The real shame IMO is that I thought ED and TSJ had real chemistry and seemed to enjoy working together. But, this story destroyed that potential, and it's made Tucker's character downright unforgivable.

So, Steffy's hair is soooo dark now, I actually thought for a hot second that Finn was kissing Luna when I first turned on the TV! I was like...what the hell?! LOL And, in case we forgot, we were told for the milionth time that Finn saved Eric's life, but I'm not sure anyone really knows how. All we needed was for someone to poke their head in that office to remind us for the millionth that Carter is "like family" and Thomas has "changed." The RJ and Zende stuff could be SO MUCH better if it were more subtle and gradually built. I'm glad Zende mentioned the orphanage and getting adopted. That would be interesting to explore becasue it would get into who he really is deep inside and how it's imapcted him. Who am I kidding? This show doesn't do deep. To make things interesting, Luna should actually be looking at Zende and thinking...hmmmm...I might have more in common with THIS guy than the one who's had everything handed to him. Dare I dream?

I think US soaps tend to be pretty bad about not cutting dead weight when it comes to characters and freshening up the canvas with new characters to develop brand new stories. I think British soaps are much better at this. Which characters currently airing do you think have gone past their current usefulness? It doesn't mean that they couldn't come back in the future, but they really have no current purpose on their show, are just simply played out, or have been written into a corner. For me... B&B - Liam, Katie, Paris (is she still really on?), Thomas, Sheila Y&R - Adam, Sally, Phyllis, Chelsea, and perhaps even Billy. DAYS - Brady, Kristen, Stefan, Leo, and dare I see Kayla, Steve, and Roman.

OMG...that would actually be a great reveal...twisted as all hell, but great! There has to be something bigger about the rift between Li and Poppy than Li didn't like the way she handled her hospital gift shop job.

Totally! When half the cast lives in this hotel room, to the viewer it's sooo odd because the room never changes. As you mentioned, just changing up the floral or maybe something that's hanging on the wall would help.

While Luna is a good START for some diversity the show needs a lot more to be relevant to 2024 and any potential new viewers. Not that I feel like they're even trying to get any new viewers at this point or to make the stories modern and forward-thinking. The fact that there are NO LATINO characters in a show set in Los Angeles is insane nor any gay characters at a fashion house (???) How many straight male fashion designers exist??? The few of them must ALL work at FC, I guess. LSV is probably the hottest man on the show, and they do zilch with him besides have characters randomly tell him he's "like family." It's like what racist white people used to say about their servants. "Oh, he's like family!" They kind of started to give Zende a story and that seemed to suddenly stop, too. He should have left FC and did his own fashion start up from the bottom to provide contrast to FC and some sort of new conflict! I think someone accidently locked Paris in a closet, and no one noticed she's been MIA for months. Although, I have to admit the character always came across as VERY flat to me. No spark even though everyone would tell her how "amazing" she was for a bit a there. Yet, we get repeated dialogue about how Thomas has changed. I mean, who would date the dude that told them their baby was dead. For real? I don't care how good of a lay he was. Steffy and Finn smooch and tell each other how amazing the other is. Ridge is always insufferable and self-absorbed. Liam...don't get me started. And the same lines are repeated every episode as if AI writes the scripts now. I really think I'm hate watching the show at this point...lol.

Oh, God! You're right! Esther did work there, too. Agreed. And, bring on her family and her origin story. The actress continues to shine sh*t into gold. Exactly. I seriously doubt the writers even know. What the hell was the point of giving Sharon this "company?" Now, poor Chance is reduced to reciting vague corporate jargon. This brings up ANOTHER bone I have to pick with the show these days. Almost EVERYONE is super successful and rich (and yacking on and on about their companies.) There are NO characters trying to improve their lot and life and climb their way up...a soap classic staple!

Sharon and her new "corporation." Snore. As if this show needed to talk about one more vague company that does zilch for the story. The show's obsession with these takeovers/mergers/CEOs is a head scratcher. It's ZERO interesting to hear the characters drone on and on about this company or that company. And, they seem determined to put EVERYONE in that "world." Chance leaves being a cop to do what??? To do some vague office job...why? Now, Abby wants in on the action, too, at Lily and Devon's ill-defined company. Soon, every single character (I wouldn't be surprised if Esther does next, too!) will work at one of these "companies." What is the story in any of this??? Viewers should really start doing a bingo game while watching. Squares could contain words such as...takeover, merger, CEO, COO, acquire, company, etc...

They're really breaking new ground with this character!

It's so true! Is there a fashion house on the planet that does not have gay employees....not to mention that this Los Angeles, where over half the population is Latino, but no Latin characters on the show. There's so much potential for this to be a more interesting show, but they just won't let it evolve. I mostly FF during watching.

ITA. After her initial introduction, they didn't seem to know what to do with her. It may have worked better if Karen had been a villian, the complete opposite of Caroline.

MW and LD have great chemistry as siblings right from the get go. I'd totally forgotten about the Lionel/Eden stuff.

There were a couple of other daughters for Rosa and Rueben. He mentions them in one very early episode. I want to say that one daughter was name Gabriella, and Rueben complained that she was always talking on the phone with her friends. The show could have easily rebuilt the Andrade family. I think they sort of began that in the early 90s when Santana and Rosa came back, but apparently Wanda DeJesus was not well-liked. They should have just brought back GG. In the early 90s, I think aging Brandon a bit with an actor who could actually pass as part-Latino would have been the right way to start a new teen set. Brandon could have been torn between living in the privileged Capwell world and getting to know his Andrade side. I've been rewatching the first 100 episodes which I haven't seen since I was a kid. A lot of the material is ROUGH and pretty boring, but there are highlights and hints at things to come. I find Lionel and Augusta's marriage truly fascinating and a breath of fresh air. Cruz is such a great character from the get-go. Mason's dialogue is sharp witted for the beginning. The quickly changing CCs is like whiplash though. I'd forgotten all about CC #2. Blink, and you'll miss him! The first two definitely didn't vibe in the role though. Recasting Joe just to kill him off so soon after feels not well thought out. I'm sure Joe was thought to be the lead hero long-term. Although, Cruz rightly so took that role later. The whole show practically revolves around Joe at first, and DW is pretty good. Any intel on why they let him go as well? And, Joe's death pretty much ends the Perkins family. Although, we know Amy sticks around for a bit. A big head scratcher for me is why they let Ava Lazar go. Does anyone have any details? She's stunning and has great chemistry with everyone...even all the CCs! She really works as Santana, and the character is complex and well-rounded with a very specific goal for her character. Also, the actor who plays Danny is actually a highlight of the silly teen stories. He has great comedic timing and would have worked well once the show leaned more into comedy. Poor Laken and Jade are just dreadfully annoying. They never seemed to get the casting of Laken right throughout the whole show. The first Laken just comes across as...boring and interchangeable. The whole Romeo/Juliet warring families was a good idea, but they needed a stronger actress. Yet, they keep JR for like a year when they drop others! Sophia wears her Dominic man drag for way too long. I don't understand why she still tries to do the "male voice" with Joe even though he knows she's a woman, and she knows that he knows! All that make-up for Dominic must have been so uncomfortable. Robin Wright comes off as very green at first IMO, but she eventually blossoms in the role. I'm up to where the earthquake is about to happen.

I agree. Love the actor, but the character feels played out. There's not really a place for him on the show anymore, and I think a lot of the audience was just burned out on the character and his going back and forth between Hope and Steffy so many times it became comical. I agree. I would like to have way more of Bill and way less of Ridge, who I think has become insufferable.

They definitely need a "bad girl" to play opposite Luna's "good girl." Would be interesting if this is the route they go, but she couldn't be paired with RJ since she would be his aunt!

I totally agree. It's gotten to the point that it's downright awkward every time they keep telling Carter he's "like family." There's a long history of characters of color not being fully utilized on the show. Carter hasn't had a storyline since the Quinn pairing (which I liked a lot). I guess he's supposed to be with Katie....who the hell knows? This is despite LSV being perhaps the most gorgeous actor on the show and full of charisma. After a year of being backburnered, Zende, another gorgeous actor, has had some sort of screentime recently, but I don't trust the writers to fully develop it. He should break away from the family business because he doesn't feel appreciated and start his own small scrappy company to provide contrast to FC (like Spectra was back in the day). Right now, everyone is super successful. We don't have any characters trying to claw their way up from their circumstances, and that's BORING. Paris, who is oddly still on contract, averaged less than one appearance a month last year. The only reason I can guess they've kept her on contract is to say they have one female black character...that they do zero with. Black female character? Check the box with Paris. Give her an actual story? Oh, hell no! The Avants (Maya, Nicole, Sasha), who had SOOO much potential, were basically tossed aside in the blink of an eye. Marcus, who wasn't even mentioned during Eric's "dying" despite being Eric and Donna's "son", Daisy, etc... Luna is an attempt to add more diversity, but the writers are not making her a complex, well-rounded character. She's just "perfect." Because of that, what's the long-term chances she'll stick around? Don't get me started that the show takes place in the fashion industry, but there are zero gay characters, and it's set in Los Angeles, but there are no Latino characters...despite LA being over 50% Latino. I realize it's a half-hour show, but you could still easily make the cast way more diverse than it is...and actually utilize these characters. How much money do the characters of Sheila, Liam, Katie, etc. cost the show but no longer add anything? You could probably add six (or more) early in their career actors for the salary that it takes to pay just Sheila, Liam, and Katie. I think British soaps, such as Hollyoaks, are much better at cutting dead weight characters and bringing in fresh blood when needed. It sort of feels like all the creative spark is gone, and the show is just limping along until it ends without evolving at all to stay current and relevant. It's such a shame. And, I always keep waiting for Finn to try to sell the other characters insurance. But, hey, at least Finn and Steffy think each other are "amazing" as they keep repeating to each other over and over.

They SOOOO need at least one more restaurant set.