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I think Alexa Havins has been polarizing. A large segment of fans love her and what she's done with the role, while others say she's a good actor but they hate the way Lulu is written -- as someone who interferes and is a harpy. I personally think she's been a terrific recast.

Agree with this completely. Definitely more sympathetic and fatherly, and there's strong chemistry with Nicole.

An ENTIRE FCKING SHOW about going to Nice to see Dumas. JFC.

It's really strange. DAYS did such a great job getting back characters/actors from the past that it's odd there's no Alison Sweeney. I have no evidence of anything, but I'm going to put this on Sweeney. Maybe she had to make another pie in some Hallmark Mystery movie. Christopher Sean was so good. That was some real and beautiful acting. Then there's Chandler Massey, who continues to either smirk through scenes or stand around acting like a dope. WTF is going on with him? Overall, the cast continues to do stellar work. It doesn't get much better than this. If this were the end of DAYS' run, it would be a fitting legacy,

While we never believed that and never wanted that for Nikki.

It just reinforces everything that's wrong with this couple and this show, doesn't it? It's not romantic, it's not sexy, it's not anything. Instead, I end up thinking about the set -- how long it took to put up even more greenery to remind us we're in the park, that the weather in WI must be really mild to produce those full-bloom roses, and how adorable that they've added tables so people can carry Panera there to eat.

-- Gio is bringing the cake in that lifeguard getup. -- Why are Laura and Sonny at the Metro Court pool? 😂 I look forward to seeing all the characters who show up at this pool all summer. Oh, look, there's Ezra! 🤣 -- Couldn't Brennan have done a better job -- or any job at all -- of keeping Anna from investigating Dalton? Seemed to me that all he did was give her every reason to do that. -- GH does the courtroom stuff very well. We get absurd lines of questioning that no one objects to or that the judge allows, but it's good TV.

There's nothing about the Kyle/Claire pairing that makes me say "Damn, I really want them together." Yep. Everything interesting about her was swept away. We were supposed to be moved by that bracelet, but all I could think of was "We never see these kids." Oh, and hearing Harrison had a charm was LOL Exactly. It's vets rinsing and repeating all the old hits. Josh Griffith thinks honoring history means giving us the same stories over again. Where are the young people on this show? WTH is going on? Cole is a perfect example to represent everything JG is. He does reference history and bring characters back, but it's invariably a huge disappointment. Cole has done NOTHING since his return. Now he's sick, and instead of us worrying about him, we're smirking because these wealthy people won't call a doctor. I don't think anyone cares if he lives or dies. Complete disaster. The Alexander Dumas story is the worst of all. ALL this buildup for ALL these months -- you just know it's going to land with a thud. Even the best writer couldn't follow through with something good. Will any of it matter? Two days after we see all these shocked faces when Dumas appears, we'll be back to talking about takeovers and changes in job titles. None of this will change unless Josh Griffith is fired, and unfortunately, the ratings aren't calling for a firing. I will never understand why Y&R and B&B are immune to long periods of relly bad storytelling.

Very happy to see GH hit #1 on Hulu! The show's been on fire and deserves the added eyeballs.

-- What a stupid party. Devon and Abby leave while Victor goes upstairs to the GCAC bar and talks with Kyle. Then we see Jack giving Nikki ANOTHER birthday toast as if the party has just begun. Huh??? -- This party perfectly encapsulates sweeps month for this show: lame, deadly, boring af. -- Once again, Cole gets really sick and no one insists on an ambulance or the ER. They really want him dead, don't they? Instead we hear multiple characters say "Gee, I hope Victoria doesn't catch it." Cole will be dead before Dumas. -- Kyle is really offering to make a contract with Victor so he can continue to see Claire? Jesus Wept. -- And then the shoe ends with Victor praising Nikki for softening his heart over the years -- after we've seen him treat Kyle, Michael, and Jack like sh_it for days.

-- Tamara Tunie was good today, but can we hold back on handing out Emmys? I'm not seeing that yet. -- So Anita has Barbara's entire letter committed to memory, yet it took her DECADES to reach out to Tracy and Sharon? Uh....ok. I don't get the impression that THE DUPREES spent a lot of time thinking about the little people. -- We again heard "Articulettes Strong," this time in the letter. Make it stop already. -- I'll wait and see on this "Anita's Sin" story. My bottom line is that it's unfair to point blame when someone takes his/her own life. -- I thought Tomas looked fine af in that suit today, and that the fit was perfect. -- Why is Basic Ashley kissing her boyfriend while at work in the hospital? I find that inappropriate and ridiculous. Ashley still doesn't act like someone in love. -- The 3-way conversation among Ashley, Derek, and Andre was awkward as hell. -- Hayley was embarrassing for taking her pregnancy test to Dani's. Dani is embarrassing to harp on it. These two need to stay away from each other. -- Dani treats Andre like crap. What he sees in her beyond the physical, I have no idea. No way is either of these two in love. -- Also clueless? Bill and Hayley for thinking Naomi would love hearing about the pregnancy.

I'm glad there's a pool set if only for the eye candy. I do think they need to be careful when filming. Today, the direction was off with Kai in the pool -- it looked like he was sitting in a wading pool, and it was clear there was no depth to the water. Also, as I mentioned before, the view from those large windows looks fake as hell.

Wow. I cried just seeing that photo.

-- Good to see the (wading) pool set return, but they really need to do something with the static landscape outside those large windows. It looks so fake. -- Joss showing up at the pool because she's "working with" Dalton is all kinds of hilarious. Te WSB is special LOL -- Was Joss late for her court appearance because she was strutting around the pool in high heels and a bikini? Make it make sense. -- Alexis moves from one "She can do 30 years for this" storyline to another. What a lawyer. -- Maurice Benard had another really bad day. He's clearly reading cue cards in every scene and spends a ton of time looking at the ground. When everyone in the Gio story is making a pilgrimage to visit him like he's the Godfather, that's a problem. -- I am glad that Gio is going to the pool tomorrow.😂😍

All good news to me, although I'd be fine if Natalia was just never mentioned again. GH followed the "Let's hire a daytime favorite and make the audience hate her" script. When they tried -- unsuccessfully -- to redeem her for her homophobia with Blaze, they incredibly doubled down and had her pull it again with Marco. Eva LaRue should be able to sue GH for defamation. EVERYTHING Natalia did and said made us hate her. Who thought any of this would work?

-- The fashions are at least something to talk about, because we're definitely not getting any story. I mean, this stuff is dreadful. -- I do like how they're dressing Nikki. Its hugely different from before, but I'll take it. -- At least she doesn't look like Ashley, who's dressed like a clinically-depressed Cruella DeVille. -- Nick without a jacket just looks odd. -- I see Mark Grossman again gained about 15 lbs. when he was away on vacation. The sharp cheekbones are gone and the double chin is back. Hate to be mean, but I hope he loses the weight. -- All that talk about all Claire did to plan that "party." Excuse me? There's nothing go on, and outside of some tacky Happy Birthday signage and tablecloths from Kohls, I don't know what they're talking about.

Completely agree with you. I think Bonita Brisker has been really good as Sharon. What Anita did was obviously awful, so she doesn't need to reign anything in. We're getting a good look at someone who's struggled in life compared to Anita "We're the Duprees!" Williams. -- Anita is starting to look foolish for dredging all this up just so she can get her ass back on stage. Is she so delusional she doesn't realize how she hurt Sharon and Tracy? -- Anita's line to Vernon "How can I expect Sharon to forgive me when I haven't forgiven myself" struck me as really selfish. After all that with Sharon, Anita again made it all about herself. -- Does anyone really believe Anita wants equal billing if the Articulettes reunite? -- Colby Muhammad continues to be a standout. Her Kat more than holds her own with Leslie. -- The writing was very good for the father/daughter scene between Ted and Eva. It wasn't so good between Ted and Martin in their father/son scene. It didn't play like family to me, especially when Ted referred to "my wife" when talking about Nicole to Martin. -- Overall, a very solid show today.

Just beautifully done. I could name some minor quibbles, but I won't, because what DAYS gave us today was golden. That was soap opera at its finest, paying homage to history and legacy and actors and the audience. This is why we love soaps.

I cannot believe what a mess the Liz/Lucky writing is. It all seems like an afterthought and plays like filler. Liz is written like she's on a ton of pain medication and is in lala land. During the Nurses Ball, she acted "Oh, well" about the Gio reveal. Now she's "Oh, well" upon hearing what Lucky thinks of Kristina cutting the brakes on Rick''s car.

-- I know all these confrontation scenes are needed after the Gio reveal, but I hope this doesn't go on too long. It gets repetitive. -- It was good to see Gloria Cerullo (Lois' mother) but I could have done without the "Respect your elders" lecture. -- Just as I thought, Gio went to Sonny first. Guess he had to hear all the truth from the biggest criminal in town. And now the show ends with Dante visiting Sonny for some paternal wisdom. And the previews show Dante telling Sonny he owes him an apology? GMAFB. -- At least we're not getting Natalia thrown in. Eva LaRue seems to be on her way out....at least I hope she is. -- The preview with Gio walking in on his mother, grandmother, and great grandmother looks good, but let's move it along, people. -- The writing for Liz and Lucky is so damn weird. Would Liz really be so mellow and laid back when she hears from Lucky that he knew what Kristina did and that he's perfectly OK with covering it up?

GH: A- DAYS: A- BTG: B- B&B: F Y&R: F

The last thing I want on a new soap -- or on any soap -- is an actor thinking she's a kid in a candy store. I know Cady has plenty of fans, but I'm just not fond at all of all these accents (and accent changes) and tics. The show should INSIST she settle on a consistent character for Pamela -- now. The idea that these established soap actors get to play around like it's a game is bizarre. I don't like what she's doing at all, and the fact that I can't tell you what she's doing makes it even worse. The hour does fly by, and I do enjoy the show. I'm no longer on a high with the show and screaming "I love this show!" though. That's not a bad thing. We can't forget we're still in the first 6 months and every soap had to deal with first-year struggles and changes. I'm willing to give GATES time on all of it. In the meantime, though, I have to call out the stuff that isn't working. Yo're exactly right about the editing. Those "sudden drop offs to commercial"? I hate them. I think they're awful and poorly executed in all phases -- the timing, the music, the fade itself. I have no idea what they're doing. I've said this before: I think it's intentional. It's not just one director, and it's clearly a production choice. I think they want to be "the different soap." Sorry, this ain't the place to do that. They have not only ruined scene endings galore with these fades, but they have ruined cliffhangers. Ending a show with something dramatic followed by an "Oh, well" fade makes no sense to me.

-- I agree that the vibes are there, but I can also make the case that it's a pale imitation. That Neil Winters Lounge is already a pretty classy place, but the decor make it look tackier. Those Happy Birthday signs are tragic in design and color. The tablecloths look like they've been chosen by Helen Keller. Where is Claire? We hear stupid reasons for her lateness, but we all know it's because this show is too cheap to pay for too many actors in any one episode. It makes NO sense that Victoria has that toast to Nikki without Claire's presence. And where is Cole? Off coughing somewhere? -- The rest of the show was watching people open their black invitations from Alexander Dumas -- for a party on June 13...TWO WEEKS AWAY. So we got through the entire sweeps and still no Dumas? The big sweeps reveal is a party in France in 2 weeks??? Why anyone thinks this is good soap is beyond me.

Chandler Massey smirked in EVERY scene in which he appeared. He's not a good actor. He cannot get into character, ever, and plays every scene like he's Chandler running into an old friend on the street. I hate it because actors should take their work seriously and respect it and everyone around them. It's all so real, to the point where there's no sense trying to separate Drake from his character. I snarked a lot over the years about Drake Hogestyn's acting -- very arch, lots of tics, over-the-top at times -- but I also think he was a great soap star. There was so much humanity in everything he did, and he was always a comforting and stabilizing force on screen. Flashbacks on soaps are almost always special and fun, but does anyone come across as more loving and filled with humanity than John? I don't think so. DAYS has suffered a lot of loss in the past few years. For me, this one hits the hardest.

-- That accent Cady McClain is using is awful, and it was especially bad in her first scene. Make it stop. -- I agree with all the good and all the bad about Dani, but I do not want Andre to get swept up in her craziness. He deserves better. -- "Better" for Andre is not Ashley. The crazy thing is that the Andre/Dani and Andre/Ashley stories seem to be a part of separate universes. -- The jewelry guy (Adam) who sat with Dani and Pamela had my gaydar pinging. -- I will say the writers are working overtime to make us know Dani and Andre "aren't really related." -- I don't think Leslie will be arrested next week. I think Eva is going to remove the evidence -- that motorcycle helmet -- from the apartment, and that they'll find nothing on the search. -- That wig on Sharon is rough. Wow.