Also, my thoughts on the evolution of Bert Bauer:
I have very mixed feelings about the reformation of Bert Bauer. I was completely unaware that Bert’s cancer crisis was used as a bridge to heal some of the wounds between Mike and his mother. The relationship between Mike and Bert is very complex, and I think this has been lost to time. As a result, it has been overshadowed by the Ed / Bill dynamic of the later 1960s. Here, in the late 1950s/early 1960s, not only is the Bert - Mike dynamic a powder keg for domestic drama, it is the primary fuel source for the animosity between dueling matriarchs Bert Bauer and Meta Bauer Banning.
Early in the year, Bert’s realization that she is becoming like her own controlling mother was a critical insight into Bert’s psychology, which is something we get with all the characters this year. The tension between Meta and Bert remains very strong throughout the first half of the year with Meta and Bert both feel vital to the canvas and fully realized characters. I wish more shows did this sort of matriarchal rivalry with one more sympathetic and one more controlling mother figure. I think the mellowing of Bert could potentially set in motion a long term shift that leads to Meta’s eventual departure several years down the line.
With that said, every time in the summaries I expected a more sympathetic Bert, there was a shift back to the more devious, cunning, and manipulative nature that fuels so much of the familial conflict on the series. In 1961, the great love of Bert’s life isn’t Bill Bauer, but her son, Mike. With Mike back from Venezuela in late 1961, maybe Bert will finally let Mike move on, but I am not convinced we won’t see the eventual pendulum swing back in the direction of Bert the family agitator.
With a more toothless, at times at least, Bert, a new enemy has emerged for the Bauer family, Alex Bowden. Alex is a captivity complex character who seems to shift into a bit of a neurotic mess towards the end of the year, but that may have been a misreading on my part. When Alex first arrives, he is presented as a sort of modern day aging playboy in the mold of Charles Cunningham and Ted White before him. In particular, when he recalls his complicated childhood revealing that his parents divorced and he was neglected, I was reminded of David White’s recalling his son Ted’s childhood during Meta’s murder trial. The Guiding Light loves to have echoes of the past, and I don’t hate that.
Alex’s childhood also provided an interesting insight into his marriage to Doris. You could see why Alex might not be so quick to dispose of Doris having seen the impact it had on his own parents and sense that there may have been, at one point, a true desire to make it work. Ultimately though, it would appear that Alex ended up repeating the mistakes of his own parents and sets in motion yet another round of misery and emotional destruction through his involvement with Robin.
The set up of Bert and Alex as potential partners in crime only for Alex to reveal that he is onto Bert is delightful. Very early on, Alex shows that he has no use for strong, independent women in control of their own lives. He equally has conflicts, to a much lesser degree, with Marie Wallace Grant and Meta Bauer Banning. He doesn’t like women who don’t crumble under his control. It would have been equally captivating, if Alex had managed to get Bill Bauer, a weak man, under his control. For a moment, when Alex had his lawyer George Hayes investigate Bill, I thought this might be where it was heading. And what a delight it would have been for Alex to shower Bill with money and for Bert to have to convince BIll not to chase the golden road leading to wealth. I would be curious to see if Alex ends up interacting more with the fairly secondary Bill Bauer at this point in the story.
The build of Alex and Bert’s dynamic is intriguing as they are such different characters united beautifully by circumstance. Bert is such a low level domestic schemer compared to Alex, who is pathologically manipulative and psychologically cruel. The dynamic each individual has with Robin Lang is complicated, but neither is positive. By maintaining Robin’s ties to the Bauer clan not only through Mike, but through Meta as well, Robin becomes central as the crux of the conflict in the war between Alex and the Bauers. It’s fascinating as I believe this dynamic continues with Alex and the Bauers when Alex becomes involved with Mike’s second wife, Julie, as well.
Bert being frightened by Alex was also a nice change of pace as Bert seems to lose power and position with this man around. This is why I would be curious to possibly see Bill in Alex’s employ especially if this were to occur during the reformation of Bert Bauer. Dragging out a new reverend character in August to play a part in the absolution of Bert Bauer was a nice nod to the show’s origins in both 1937 and 1947.
Alex seems to make enemies with everyone in the Bauer clan to the point I wonder if Nixon was considering a murder mystery. He fights with Bert over Robin and Mike’s relationship, would have fought with Mike if he was in Los Angeles, sparred with Meta, caused Papa to state that no one would keep him from loving his granddaughter, and Bruce seems to be set in motion as a potential foe when Bruce succeeds Dick as Alex’s physician during his gastrointestinal crisis late in the year. One could only imagine Ed is off in the attic somewhere play fighting with a make believe Alex Bowden.
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