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I mentioned this earlier -- that Vanessa said only excitement was missing from her life with Doug. Then why was she having so much sex with escorts? She indicated her sex life with Doug was fine. And what the hell kind of excitement does greasy Joey provide? The thrill of being with a criminal? This just makes Vanessa or to be a completely and total slut who's also a criminal. She doesn't have to do any of this to get rid of Joey, and that better not be the excuse for all this.

Exactly right. The casino owner should have been Black. Instead, they went with Elon as the "bad Black guy" and have given him little to do.

I am so glad I'm not the only one noticing this. You guys know that I'm a white guy. This makes me so angry that I have no words. I was afraid to post about it thinking I might have it wrong, or that I'm making too much of this. I also wondered if my general dislike of the Joey character played into my feelings. But I don't think I'm making too much of this at all, and I don't like where the story is going. And now we get this POS white guy taking credit for where Izaiah is in life? Are you f.ucking kidding me? Now we have the white Madame who's going to feed escorts to all the rich women of color while she also condescends to the Latino hunk who screwed her. All of this has really turned me off.

Right, and it's not just about the number of episodes. It's about his involvement in the lives of so many others -- and having power or control over Black people.

That means half the episodes this month.

-- I think Jen Jacob has just been OK as Ashley in these emotional scenes, not bad but certainly not great. The problem is that the actor hasn't made us sympathize with her at all. Even the crying scenes come off as selfish and immature. -- Naomi warns Ashley not to blindside her mother, and Ashley agrees. Ten seconds later, Ashley texts Jacob. Are you kidding me??? -- Naomi isn't much better. She's upset with Derek keeping secrets, yet won't even tell her own MOTHER that Ashley isn't over Andre. She's disgusting. -- I agree that Joey has become too large a player on this show. I do not want a white mobster controlling and owning Black people. -- The escort story is also problematic. Are we going to see one beautiful Black woman after another who needs an escort service??? -- And why would the Cherry Blossoms woman go to frickin Uptown with her escort??? -- Vanessa the hoe told Joey that Doug gave her everything but "excitement," and that's what Joey gives her. Would that be the "excitement" of being a whore who cheats on her husband by screwing a casino mobster on a gaming table? She's trash.

What a terrible, terrible end to the Ronnie story. It was great to see Erika Sleezak again, but this resolution is horrendous. Having Tracy APOLOGIZE to her??? Excuse me??? Sending her off like she's some wonderful human??? Frank was unable to create a compromised, gray character -- and keep her that way. I have no problem with Ronnie being complex, but this wrap up is just stupid. If they wanted to send her out with a warm hug, different writing was needed to say she was in danger, blackmailed, or something else. These last scenes were a DISASTER.

-- Naomi tells Ashley that she and Jacob will have a "come to Jesus" moment over Jacob's decision not to report on Derek's progress? Are you effing kidding me? -- Naomi was obnoxious. Like Ashley, she immediately erupted at Derek and stormed off, telling Jacob that Derek wouldn't be staying the night at their place. She is as insufferable as Ashley. -- We keep hearing that Ashley bathed and helped Derek at every turn. That's nice, but how did he get to Uptown??? -- Golden Corral Casino Mobster Joey is now some father figure to Izaiah. I get making connections, but I'm sick of this shlt. I'm sick of Joey either controlling Black people or having a hold on them or leading them around. I'm sick of the idea that these Black characters wouldn't be who they are without this lameass slimy mob boss. I really think it's a misfire from this show. -- The dialogue between Izaiah and Joey veered very closely into "Let's have Joey act all young and hip and with it." Another mistake.

It is HILARIOUS to see Deacon go to Taylor for therapy and do nothing but offer advice to her about her life.

Yeah, just because Cwikly and Ford are "better" than Carlivati does not mean what their writing is good. I agree completely -- those were scenes and not story. All of it was beyond boring. And I'm repeating myself, but those Horton Square scenes yesterday were eye-rolling and laughable. The director literally lined up 6 actors side-by-side to recite their lines. It was an "Everyone gets a line" scene. The baby carriage again was the stand-in for Tesoro....but wait! We got very obvious baby shots inserted. So badly done. NONE of it worked. Greg Rikaart tried and Al Calderon again over-emoted, but I felt nothing for them. I don't care about them or that baby because the show never led me to care. And yet? I was disappointed and floored that Johnny and Chanel didn't in some way keep the Tesoro name.

-- Only 20 minutes in, but already enjoying Dani & Andre. Lots of chemistry there. -- Ashley is absolutely insufferable. We should be raking Derek over the coals for his deception, but she's so awful we're siding WITH him. She's a liar and she did far worse to Derek than he did to her. -- Diego is in even better shape than he was when the show premiered. Dayum. And anyone who says the guy isn't good looking and hot is blind. "He's no Patrick Swayze" is a ridiculous comparison in any event. -- Vanessa continues to be a whore.

-- What Derek did was wrong, but let's not pretend Ashley wasn't looking for ANY excuse to dump him. -- Those scenes watching Derek and Ashley try to emote were painful. -- Ever notice that Ashley and Eva both have the same stainless steel refrigerator in their places? The problem is that both of them open from the wrong side. -- Sean Freeman did a nice job in those scenes with KM. I don't see anything wrong with his facial expressions. -- Leslie's lunch with Eva shows she hasn't changed at all. -- Ted should have told Nicole he'll be attending Winterfest alone, but the guy is an idiot. He'll either ask Eva to go with him or somehow end up there with Leslie because he's a MORON. -- Kind of hilarious that Garland Memorial never has any patients.

-- The Tesoro adoption storyline was one big dud to me. They never made me care about that kid and seeing 6 actors lined up and getting emotional in Horton Square did nothing for me. -- And Johnny and Chanel just wheeled Tesoro off in the baby carriage? THIS is how adoptions are completed? Jesus. -- Now Johnny and Chanel can parent in their 8'x10' apartment.

-- I'm actually OK with the Slezak stuff. I didn't expect much better than this. It was great to see her, and we got some good scenes, ending with Tracy getting the house. -- Was it great or even good? It was meh, but if we remove all those scenes, I don't think the show is any better. I don't trust that we'd see anything that was "you blew me away" material. -- The scenes that worked for me today were Tracy/Gio and Alexis/Danny. Lots of emotion, well-played by all of them. -- The Sonny/D.A. scenes are cringe. Just embarrassing. Nothing we got with the Ronnie storyline was this pathetic.

LMAO every time they use that model runway at Forrester. Their "creations" all look like they came off the rack at Kohls, while FC execs act like they're on to something.

-- Why can't pathetic Ashley just tell Derek "I want a long engagement"? -- I'm still waiting to see why Andre was ever attracted to Ashley.

😂 Honestly, I always thought Diego was an escort. I thought Hoe Vanessa was paying him from the beginning.

-- The writing has really hurt Naomi. She's become unlikable and unreasonable. No idea why we should root for her. She thinks Jacob is the one who needs therapy? It's bad when Chelsea is the mature one and the voice of reason. -- Hayley and Randy do so many dumb things it makes me wonder how they've taken down so many marks. -- More Diego, please. -- Vanessa is probably working to take down Joey, but I still find her "method" ridiculous and stupid. Taking over an escort service? This woman is a hoebag. She didn't mourn Doug at all, and she was slutting with escorts long before we met her. -- Vanessa really has to spread 'em for sleazy, slimy, greasy Joey in order to bring Joey down? -- I agree about the sets problem. Hayley continually meeting Randy at the casino is especially absurd. -- While I appreciate the small cafe set -- they needed another meeting place -- the execution is off. Something about it is claustrophobic and not inviting.

I could not agree with every single word of this any more. I was so happy when Tracy got the house, but they wrecked it today with Tracy vs. Everyone. Portia vs Jordan was good stuff, but yeah, she's clueless and unaware. Writers continually throw her under the bus. I feel nothing for Laura. She is no moral voice of authority, that's for sure.

Just started today's show and already I'm howling. -- Anastasia's return was perfect camp. She's so ridiculous, yet perfect for someone to go after a ridiculous mobster like Golden Corral Mobster Joey Armstrong. -- Joey in that "Don't All Mobsters Wear Leather To The Country Club?" sportcoat. He's such a lowlife wannabe. -- Love the difference in the way Dani is dressed compared to Hayley. Dani's outfit is model-chic perfection, while Hayley looks like a hoochie mama on her way to the club because she wants free drinks. -- And what would a Ron Carlivati-written episode be without one of our members again saying the breakdown is awful -- without providing a single reason. 😂

It's a GREAT song, no question. Clifton Davis is still a good looking guy even at 80, but damn, was he fine in the 70s when he was on the comedy That's My Mama.

My guess is that Vernon is getting singing lessons from Sharon. We heard him singing -- badly -- earlier in the episode. We also know that in real life, Clifton Davis knows music. He wrote the song "Never Can Say Goodbye" which was a huge hit for the Jackson 5 and for Gloria Gaynor. I wouldn't be surprised if Vernon sings that to Anita at Winterfest.

TMG is great. Here's where I need the writing to help her out and make me believe this softer side is not an act.