No knocked up soap character ever has an abortion if they go to the clinic. Usually they give us the wasted garbage of the father rushing in at the last minute to stop her but in this case they'd be tripping all over each other to get to her. If an abortion ever happens it's quietly and off screen. This is not an entertaining "who's the Daddy" times two. I like Jess and Brody but Natalie and John (or John and anybody) leave me cold. MA is a stunner but they seem to force her pairings. I started watching again after many years when Asa died. At the time I thought she had more chemistry with Chuck at the Texas ranch than she did with JB's Jared.

Natalie's whole abortion dilemma was so contrived. Really? She's going to abort her baby, which very well could be John's just to spare Jessica's feelings in case it's Brody's. No one is that protective of a sibling that tried to kill them. I like Natalie's protective streak, but this is just silly.

I agree.

At the time I thought she had more chemistry with Chuck at the Texas ranch than she did with JB's Jared.

As did I.

What I'd love to see OL do:

Natalie decides not to go through with the abortion, but to leave town instead (rather than risk everyone and Jessica finding out that Brody could be the dad). She heads to Paris Arizona, where she and Chuck cross paths again. Chuck senses Natalie is keeping secrets about her "babydaddy;" being her friend, however, he chooses not to pry. The closer they get to Nat's due date, though, and the more time "Chat" spends together, the deeper Chuck's feelings become and the more his curiosity about the baby grows.

Eventually, Chuck helps Natalie give birth to a boy, whom she names Jared. Something she says during the delivery, however, prompts Chuck to travel to Llanview and get to the bottom of things.

Chuck arrives, though, in the aftermath of Jessica finally realizing that Brody fathered her sister's baby. (To wit: she learns it first from John, then confronts Brody at the top of the stairs at Llanfair. When Brody admits the truth, Jessica lashes out at him, loses her balance and falls down the stairs, ultimately causing her to lose her baby.) Chuck learns why Jessica is at the hospital, and he tells Brody that Natalie is in Arizona and has just given birth to his son. Together, Brody and Chuck travel there; Chuck, clearly heartbroken, reunites father and son. Natalie admits she isn't entirely sure Brody is Jared's father, so Brody agrees to a DNA test, which comes back positive. Natalie is reluctant to return to Llanview, b/c she doesn't want to upset Jessica's life any further -- Khan: "Oh, please, Jessica is a big girl, she'll get over it!" -- but when Brody suggests uprooting his life and moving to Arizona to be closer to the two of them, she relents.

Back in Llanview, Brody decides to leave Jessica and ask Natalie to marry him. (Remember: he wanted to be a real husband to Gigi and father to Shane, even though he knew Shane wasn't really his; so Brody, I think, tends to be a "traditional" sort of guy. Plus, this is a good time to learn that, when he was a child, Brody's own father walked out on the family to live with another woman.) Natalie feels obligated to accept his proposal, since Brody gave up his relationship with Jessica to start a family with her. Viki (if ES isn't on vacation again at this point) is beside herself over her daughters' dilemmas. Jessica, confused and hurt by Brody and Nat's betrayal, starts to engage in very Tess-like behavior (but, it should be noted, she does not actually regress back into Tess, or any other alter), luring James into a hot-and-heavy sexual relationship.

However, when Jessica realizes Natalie might still have feelings for Chuck, she seizes an opportunity to win Brody back. Jessica swipes Natalie's cell phone, then sends Chuck a text message, begging him to come back to Llanview. Chuck does, and announces he loves Natalie and won't give up again on winning her affections. Natalie returns Brody's engagement ring, because even though she cannot say she absolutely loves Chuck, she cannot she absolutely doesn't either, and needs time to think about it. Natalie promises Brody can see Jared all he wants, but that's of little comfort to Brody, who gets drunk and almost goes to bed again with Jessica, until he realizes it was she who sent the text message that brought Chuck back to Llanview in the first place.

From there:

Chuck treats Natalie to an old-fashioned courtship, which reminds Clint and Viki of their own, and leaves Charlie the odd-man-out. It might take recasting Clint, but the endgame here is Chuck and Natalie having a double wedding with Clint and Viki. Charlie is left vulnerable once again to Dorian's advances; soon, though, a triangle develops between the two of them and Roxy (who -- GASP! -- actually gives up drinking in order to prove herself to Charlie).

Jessica picks up where she and James left off (once she realizes her and Brody are "done"). Clint and Viki grow concerned about her reckless behavior (i.e., drinking, excessive partying, etc.) and threaten to sue for legal custody of Bree in order to scare her back into responsibility. Inez, too, is concerned that her behavior is having a negative impact on James' life and wants Jessica to stay away from her son. Ultimately, everyone's worst fears happen: Jessica and James are involved in an auto accident. However, although James survives the crash, Jessica is eventually declared brain dead, and Clint and Viki (and everyone else) must cope with their daughter's death.

Brody leaves Llanview for a bit, but returns (still played by Mark Lawson, hopefully). Of course, Natalie wants her son to be a constant presence in his dad's life, and vice-versa, and she hopes that doing so will help stabilize Brody's life. However, when the Buchanans and Cramers watch helplessly as he seduces and marries Langston in record time, it's clear he is, in fact, a very changed man....

Can Inez' sister come in and be what Maria was to Clint and Viki? I'd say Inez herself, but Jessica Leccia would never be able to pull it off.

Edited August 4, 201015 yr by Amello

Natalie's whole abortion dilemma was so contrived. Really? She's going to abort her baby, which very well could be John's just to spare Jessica's feelings in case it's Brody's. No one is that protective of a sibling that tried to kill them. I like Natalie's protective streak, but this is just silly.

I take it more as being about Natalie's longtime sense of shame and self-loathing, although I doubt the show is going there.

I've apparently missed a lot with regards to this show. Can somebody please tell me why Elijah is suddenly psycho? I've learned that he killed Melinda among other dastardly deeds!

I've apparently missed a lot with regards to this show. Can somebody please tell me why Elijah is suddenly psycho? I've learned that he killed Melinda among other dastardly deeds!

lol - soaps have no reason why someone is psycho... its a cheap plot point and there it is, then everyone just moves on. *sigh* so much for exploring sudden changes. They just shrug and say guess he was crazy all along. Aw well, who wants more mashed potatoes?

Natalie's whole abortion dilemma was so contrived. Really? She's going to abort her baby, which very well could be John's just to spare Jessica's feelings in case it's Brody's. No one is that protective of a sibling that tried to kill them. I like Natalie's protective streak, but this is just silly.

I agree, it is ridiculous.

Why is the M-A-Y-O-R of Llanview banging back bourbon shots out in public??

Ford and James are moving into Sky and Rachel's old apartment.

Oh great. Ford brother banter. FABulous.

Okay, officially sick of Eli. And please Blair, don't be a dummy this time.

Why is the M-A-Y-O-R of Llanview banging back bourbon shots out in public??

And yet certain fans don't demand she step down.

"AGAIN!? She just doesn't give up,does she!?"

Ford and James are moving into Sky and Rachel's old apartment.

They least they could do is do it shirtless.

And yet certain fans don't demand she step down.

And what's worse, it makes Dorian look STUPID which we know she isn't. Petty, sure, but not dumb enough for this foolishness, the Mayor dressed like Lana Turner in Imitation of Life doing shots with a hooker and a gigolo at Rodi's?? GMAFB.

Edited August 4, 201015 yr by SFK