P.J.

They did a soft reboot on Nadine just months into her arrival in town. Initially, while still vaguely a gold-digger, she's at least sympathetic enough to catch Ross' attention. She even does some good deed when she lets Josh swipe her clothes so he can escape after going on trial. But once Vanessa hits town, she's a lot more grasping and bordering trashy. And pushy and ditzy. Leaning into the more comic aspects of her was probably also to distance her from what she'd done re: Peter. While not outright evil (like when Eddie engineers Michelle thinking Hope was dead) she'd still really skated on all her lies, aside from losing Billy.

Nadine had started betraying Billy before HB, before leaking Vanessa's name. Nadine handed (or told) Roger that Billy was secretly converting a warehouse (that was next to the Towers Spaulding was building) into a homeless shelter back in the Spring of '90. Then he wanted her to spy on Billy to see if he had the deed to the land the Towers was built on. But she always managed to slide by. Either it was deemed unimportant after the fact, or Van wouldn't be able to prove it, or her kids would cover for her. Frank even covers for her about leaking Vanessa's name, it's the reporter who told Billy. Objectively, Nadine's insecurities aren't unfounded, but she always just goes that step too far. She handled the entire situation badly. First she accused Van of making it up to get Billy's attention, then she said she deserved it, which really cheesed Billy off. But yeah---Billy lost it when he found out she'd leaked Vanessa's name, and not only was he having divorce papers drawn up, he was telling Vanessa he wanted her back (which was the worst kept secret in town). If not for her sleeping with Fletcher, he'd have put a ring on it, (Which I find endearing as a Billy/Van fan.) Nadine is who Reva would've been in the hands of most writers. A shorter term antagonist/speed bump to the Billy/Van end game. And now I want to go rewatch all that arc.

If you're going to start '92, start in January. All but the first week is there. Just a tidbit of background on the Billy/Van clip---it was right after their first major breakup. Billy proposed, but each found out the other was broke. Van gave him a blackeye, and left town for a bit. (Hence the zinger Van hurls about meeting honest men.) The tiny bit that was cut out was Vanessa telling him she'd realized she'd been relying on men all her life and that she'd made a resolution not to continue doing that. The way she squeaks "I LIVE HERE!" just slays me.

Re: Gilly. It wasn't just about this or David, but how she'd let herself get sucked into being Roger's henchwoman over the past year. Holly really spent '92 in a tailspin, first with realizing Daniel St John was a killer, then with Ross and Blake's affair coming to light. Roger began using Gilly and spreading his influence at WSPR. While all the while Gilly was assuring Hamp she wasn't going to play Roger's game and was actually protecting Holly's interests, etc. By the end of '92 or very beginning of '93, Roger fires Holly and I think keeps promising Gilly the job. Then Roger blackmails her, and instead of just telling Hamp, she sandbags HB. (which isn't even about HB, but humiliating Billy, who's given Hart a job).

I disagree somewhat. I think Alan was needed on the canvas. Just a better Alan, written like Alan, and not some huffy-puffy Daddy Warbucks that let women walk all over him. I agree about Alan's unveiling, complete with Alex, ALEX, dramatically fainting. Roger's mask I can be more forgiving about, because it was meant to be a shock to Springfield (even if we knew by then he was still alive). The swinging vine? Yeah, that was overkill. He could've simply fallen out of the loft, and surprised everyone. I didn't mind Buzz putting the screws to Nadine. It was everything else--the fake accent, the obnoxious persona (even more obnoxious than screaming, arm-flapping Buzz), the general smarminess of him, that just grated. I just caught part of Reva's arrival. Gosh, Chris Bernau was so perfect as Alan.

Oh, me too. It really decimated my playlists. The vault is great, but I had my playlists fine-tuned.

Sometimes you just need that break. I love Phillip, but I don't miss him in the '91-'93 period at all.

Considering the BIG names that leave in '90-'91, that GL didn't crash was an accomplishment. Of course, they'd also brought back Roger, Holly, Billy, Van, and Mindy. But I think we've all seen shows that even one departure leaves a big hole in the canvas. It's a challenge. Even when you know what's going on. :) Guys don't wear gloves often. This and Quint and Nola's engagement ball are the only ones I really recall them doing that. Maybe Mindy's fairytale wedding. That outfit on Maeve is pure glam. I'm not the fashion expert by any means, but it's sexy without being blatant. Vanessa was our little fashion darling at this point in time.

Henry and AM do work together when AM uncovers Roger's embezzlement. And Henry mentored all the Spauldings (Alan before they all came to town, Amanda, Phillip and AM a little bit) but he was never going to chose them over Van. Billy never trusted the Spauldings, and never, ever would've allowed them into Lewis. There's a point where a Lewis-Spaulding merger is floated (when Phillip is taking over Spaulding) but Billy is offscreen for that and HB and Alex's romance (which would've put him on the defensive as well). The only Spaulding he partially trusted was Nick, and that soured over time. And I loved AM as well. Even when he was a stinker.

Point taken. And the Presidency is a step below the Chairman, which is always (mostly) in Spaulding hands.

lol...I complain, but I get it. And the Van/AM rivalry pushes them both to uncomfortable points and stirs up the drama (AM sabotages Van's negotiations and she ends up in a bidding war with Billy and ends up sleeping with a client which is part of her spiraling after getting dumped by Billy, and winds up with Jack Kiley's attempted rape)....and leads to so much intertwined story. And just before Alex leaves, AM has had it and tells her off about her subconsciously pitting people against each other the same way Brandon pitted her and Alan against each other, and he's got a point. It's one of the best scenes with RH and BM.

@alwaysAMC and about a minute into this clip

Well....but I love Alex's introduction. It sets her up perfectly. She's doing her own surveillance (she realizes Alan's connived with Bradley, that Phillip/Beth are in love and Alan doesn't like it, that Ross hates Alan, Alan is scheming to land Vanessa, etc) and learning all sorts of secrets that she'll use against Alan, but you also know she has affection for Alan, Phillip and Henry. As Reva says, "she's a woman to be reckoned with." For every "big" splash and masquerade/mask, there's also AM parachuting into the Bauer barbecue, AM & Dinah crashing into pregnant Harley's car, Alan finding Reva in the middle of a massage in Tulsa, Ross being Roger's lawyer, Josh showing up as Reva wanders Springfield after her non-wedding to Kyle, Billy being the hammer to threaten Will, or Van simply showing up to hand Henry a copy of the London Times. All perfect in their own way.

There is an annoying tendency the show had of making anyone named Spaulding entitled to run Spaulding. Amanda was a music student with about two seconds of business experience before she just pushed her way to the Presidency when Alan went to jail. Phillip had a semester of college (although Alex does spend some time grooming him), and Alan Michael (at this point) had already been Roger's patsy once before Alex sets up a competition between Van and "the runt" (Van's words, not mine) for the Presidency. Vanessa was a businesswoman when A-M was born, FCOL. Now maybe it was just Alex's way of testing A-M's mettle, and maybe she knew Van wouldn't let the youngster win...but it's insulting on levels that Vanessa has to continually prove herself. Meanwhile, all a Spaulding needs is the name. (There's also Nick and later Lizzie, but you get my point.) There's also Van's loyalty to the Lewises at play at times, but still.

Wait till you see Hamp's bachelor party. The entire episode is the guys, it's hilarious. The girl Hamp is with is his daughter Kat, played by Nia Long. I loved Hamp. Vanessa isn't overdressed---although coming from the era you've watched, I can understand your reaction. Vanessa was always dressed to perfection in the before times. Right now she's president of Spaulding. Though this is kind of the start of the "let's turn Van into a JFP clone" era and she starts being swathed in extra fabric. Van didn't usually do turtlenecks. And YES...Vanessa is still a bit jelly when Henry lavishes attention on his substitute daughter figures. She did not take the news of Henry claiming to have fathered Jenna well----at all. I see there's a bit of tension between Fletch and Billy. It's after Van dumped Fletch. :D and fun fact---that gathering? Aside from Hamp, Van's had all of them. The Reva-less Era? PERFECTION. It's not even until Buzz shows up that it ever feels like one character is eating the show.

Kim and Michael actually aren't on the show together for very long. I don't think TPTB purposely kept Reva and Roger out of each other's orbits, but there just wasn't an organic way to throw them into the same story. Reva was hardly ever involved in the business side of anything, she didn't have a daughter old enough to fall into his clutches, and with Billy in jail, the Lewises were mostly off his radar. It's not like Reva didn't interact with established characters around town, but a lot of times, she was anchoring her own story with new characters. Just as an example, she and Ross rarely interacted on a personal level until Dylan was dating Sam (his niece). Reva would always be off fight to wrestle Josh (or any man) away from a woman, or getting family, or off walking into paintings and getting cloned.

Other than the postpartum story in '90, which is a couple of episodes, I don't think so. Definitely not before the postpartum story, as Kim was busy in the Dylan story and then her maternity leave.

While Rick/Mindy (definitely) and Frank/Blake (sort of) come out of nowhere, at least Wheeler had been half-hinting at Van/Billy over the past year or so. Even though Van rarely got POV moments, there were times when Bill was hurt or something where she'd tell Billy she needed him. I don't even really think it was about giving Van a happy ending as much as it was giving Billy a happy ending. I never understood the Reva/Jeff relationship, so I'm going with it was to keep Cole relevant on canvas and his fans happy.

@GL95 I could see Alex having to reluctantly take Jenna into the company, and either Jenna forcing Vanessa out (in retaliation for Henry's lie) or Van ditching Spaulding rather than take orders from a Roger-influenced Jenna. For me, it's nice to see Billy and Van working together. LOL...all Spauldings get corrupted by the power of Spaulding.

I like fun, flirty Nicole. The woman shouldn't have to dispense psychological advice 24/7. While I think the cotillion story is overly melodramatic, (do I really need to hear a teenager worried about her IG followers), it does warm my heart to hear Tamara Tunie doling out life affirming advice ala Kim Hughes or Emma Snyder. It just speaks to the longevity of the form, and what a good matriarch adds to it.

Maybe it's just the difference between being younger/clean shaven and older/stubble. He looks like he's had a jaw transplant. lol I'm not even sure how long Leonard was in the role before his accident. Didn't someone say Moniz's entrance was delayed while they recast the role? Okay--yeah, you've missed all the Billy/Roger drama.

Randy? Rex. Have you watched Roger losing the Towers in '90? I think that would make it clear that Billy is a big threat where Roger's concerned. What kills me about this period is I think there's an episode missing. After Van/AM/Henry lose Spaulding, she goes to Billy and wants him to hire her. It seems like the next episode should pick up with her talking him into it. But I think the next one I found was her showing up at Lewis and trying to nail a deal. I think it probably feels like a weird transition because it had to be reworked when Bev left. I'd love to find out what was originally planned. 'Cause Alex losing Spaulding would've been all kinds of wrong. Actually, I think Leonard Stabb was a good Hart. And that's what Roger's son should have been---one part [!@#$%^&*], one part idealist and his own worst enemy, determined not to be his father, but finding himself sliding into it anyway.

I will ask this in a safe space. I'm watching BTG. Has Jordi V's face always been that huge? I can't explain it, it just looks strangely to me.

Maybe validation is a better descriptor. Josh (for better or not) was the only one who ever seemed to have the ability to convince her she wasn't that poor little housekeeper's daughter who would always be on the outside looking in. I know shows that are ending (if they know they are) want to tie things up in neat little bows. (I was ecstatic when Harvey and Donna ended up together on Suits, and goodness knows I wouldn't have given crap one about who ended up together on GL aside from Billy and Van.) But the last few years of Reva and Bud were so off-putting to me, it just really felt false. *crushed* But I totally understand about say Frank/Blake, Dinah/Mallet, or Shayne/Marina. Wheeler probably would've preferred to marry off Olivia/Natalia. Or maybe saved Bill/Lizzie for the end.

I didn't think Reva's hookups were casual. A lot of times she jumped from man to man for stability. Then she'd convince herself she was in love. If there was ever a moment for a John Conboy-esque FU to TIIC, it should've been Wheeler refusing to let Josh and Reva riding off into the sunset. Just as Josh and Reve were ready to climb into that absurdly old truck, ol Jeff should've popped out from behind some bushes and said "honey, I'm home." What did I care? lol...I got my happy ending. But of course, choosing chaos was never in Wheeler's wheelhouse.