B&B: Week of April 28, 2008

[JackPeyton]

im just gonna put it out there.\

best. single. episode. of. a. soap. opera. all. DECADE!

[MarkH]

Releasing all these story beats to the press hasn't done a THING for ratings.

Don't you think it is time for the practice to end? Give us our shocking surprises back?

[ian]

KKL was at the top of her game. JG I didnt like so much, WDV was great. An overall great episode.

Now, in a tragic twist of fate watch the heart not be a match... omg could you imagine?

[Cheap21]

I cant believe they killed off Storm. Man I wish he was still around

[Cat]

Same here.

Don't get me wrong. It was an amazing episode. I admit it. I cried. Like the wuss I am. WdV and KKL have their Emmy reels as far as I am concerned. And B&B has its Best Show reel. The Logan kids montage was an added bit of poignancy, a nod to a once-core founding family on this show.

But while in plot terms, this has been a home run, in the long-term this just consolidates the stagnancy that B&B has been struggling with for the past decade. The status quo, i.e.: Ridge, Nick and the women who worship them. This whole story was used to demonize Storm -- and prop up the Mount Rushmore twins, both hypocritical, self-righteous bores who live by the mantra Do as I say, not as I do. (And where was Brooke's Greatest Love, Ridge, btw? At the hospital with his devastated beloved? )

Storm's gesture was heroic and tragic and the right thing to do considering the corner he had been painted in. But keeping this character alive, fleshing out the boyish vulnerability WdV brought to the role along with Storm's demons, his Dark Side, his volcanic anger, might have helped to spur B&B (and the Logans) forward. Man, what I would have given to see Storm-Ashley be taken somewhere halfway meaningful. The potential of a Storm-Felicia pairing remains horribly unfulfilled. But isn't that the story of B&B's life? Wasted potential in favor of the Ridge/Brooke/Nick/Taylor merry-go-round?

If this story actually drives the show somewhere new -- gives Brooke new purpose (she was by turns awesome and wrathful on Friday and yesterday), the Logan sisters a new force -- then I will eat my words. But right now, while I give full props to B&B for producing its best episode in a decade and keeping it an unspoiled surprise, it also feels a little... bittersweet.

[bandbfan]

I think that what happened was great. I'm just surprised that it wasn't leaked.

[SOAPSFOREVER]

While the episode was very dramatic and very well directed and produced, I have to wonder about the state of daytime when a character commits suicide and it passes for "entertainment." I don't care that Storm sacrificed his life for his sister, as a viewer I don't want to watch this kind of tragedy played out on my television. It feels like total emotional exploitation, a "shock and awe" moment that B&B is so famous for. If I thought for one moment that it would have a lasting, defining impact on any of the characters on this show, I might (grudgingly) see a point to what happened. But as any longtime viewer of this show knows characters on B&B never change, no matter what horrific things happen to them or their loved ones. The writers seem incapable of moving the characters forward, maturing them, finding new dimensions. I also think B&B scarificed a character and an actor who had great potential, especially on a show that has few leading men with star potential. So while it's easy to get caught up in a well directed episode, I give this plot device a big thumbs down. It's overtly manipulative, and is obviously B&B's attempt at putting two episodes together for next year's Emmy reel (Have we ever in daytime seen so man extras in a hospital, so many cameras and unique camera angles? This episode was so far and above the usual B&B fare, which again points to the problem with how Emmys are awarded. Soaps shouldn't be allowed to produce Emmy episodes. They aren't representative of the work most do day in and out.)

[JackPeyton]

^i do see what you are saying, but i dont think it was entertainment in that falling of the char LOLing kind of way. more of in a compelling shocking 'OMG' kind of way that evokes emotions of sadness and what not.

[Laurie]

After reading all these positive comments, I decided to watch today. Cried my eyes out. That last scene where Brooke put Storm's jacket over Donna's shoulders and they hugged

[YRBB]

Another little jewel of an episode (Written by Patrick Mulcahey and Directed by Cynthia J. Popp). The surgery scenes looked so very real. I liked Ashley telling Brooke and Donna what happened. Nick finally stopped being a jerk for a moment and cared about somebody else. I wasn't too crazy about Brooke's scene with Storm's body, but I liked how she held on to his jacket and then put it on Donna. Katherine Kelly Lang was just amazing.

[Antoyne]

I teared up as Brooke realized what had happened and then Donna saw and that scream..Nice job all around.

[sheilaforever]

Amen

[P.J.]

^^^^agree...these past few days just make the campy-tastic feel of regular B&B feel even more hollow.

I liked today. Except for the vibe that Storm is being romanticized for his "gift". (That clunky explanation of Ash's was groan worthy...)

And the ultra-realistic looking heart just lying on Katie's chest....eeewwww...

[DaytimeFan]

I am floored again.

Another sensational episode. KKL's Emmy reel is complete. It will be the ultimate slap in the face if she can't get a nod next year with this work. She has outdone herself.

[Chris B]

Today's episode was even better. I love that such a major event doesn't involve Stephanie at all, but it's still so compelling. It's a good sign for what B&B can do post Flannery if they allow Katherine Kelly Lang to continue on this path of maturing Brooke.