OLTL: Discussion for the week November 8

[alexisfan07]

They figured they'd have more to lose with James initiating I'm sure since they're trying to pimp James so much and Starr already has a understanding, built-in fanbase. That said, I do love James.

I thought Langston and Ford were surprisingly cute. I think the reason I hated Langston for so long after the Markko debacle was because of how hurt Markko was. Now that Markko is breathing lighter and smiling and moving on, I can like Langston again for not holding Markko's life and heart hostage.

[Khan]

I'm already thinking who could be the culprit in the big we've-written-him-into-a-corner-so-let's-just-kill-the-bastard "Who Killed Clint?" mystery. How awful and tragic is that?

[SFK]

Ugh, that sounds awful and I hope that does not happen, but that scenario would not surprise me in the least. I'm going to have a *little* more faith in FV and RC though, I think they have *some* semblance of respect for Clint, if not Cliki, from their '80s love.

AMD@GH, yeah, I think emoticon's new.

Starr and James having sex is real love/lust, but looks mostly like grief sex to me... well, at least grief pressed FF on the little dance they've been doing. Starr's having her Monster's Ball, "Make mih feel GOOOOD!" moment, and if they do in fact go all the way today, I predict that she'll be mad guilty come Monday.

[Heatherhcb]

OMG it has been forever since I posted here. I really don't watch OLTL on a regular basis but I did watch two days this week.

Fist the party is boring. Todd and Tea are a horribly boring couple. Damn this is worse than Todd/Van. Don't get me started on Dani singing to her mother. Can we say corney. I get that she is happy that her mother is alive and she is a great singer but did she really need to sing at the party? Also why would Todd want her too. That seems the exact opposite of what Todd would want. Speaking of opposite day, why would Todd be having a party instead of spending time with Starr who just had her world blown apart!!! I am glad that at least Blair was there for Starr. I loved their converstaion and wish that it had been longer. Less Todd/Tea more Blair/Starr!!!

Thank god that Marty showed up because that party was on life support. Marty/John/NAt is one of my favorite storylines right now. I love bitchy Marty and I hope that we get some more great Nat/Marty scenes. I am team Jolie all the way but it is fun to watch Marty self destruct.

I am loving Rex/Kelly. Even though it is totally gross that he married Adrianna, they have chemistry and I can actually tolerate them around each other. That kiss was hot. Gigi and Chris kiss was not hot!!! It looked really really bad.

Clint is the man. I am loving evil Clint. He reminds me of Evil Kevin back in the day. I just can't believe that he would let Shane suffer if he was a match- that is NOT something Clint would do. You are wrong writters, wrong.

I am loving DAddy Ford. Hell he makes the Ford's interesting and that is hard to do. Also please kill Inez- soon.

James needs to back away form Starr. Jesus give her some time to grieve Cole. If I was Blair I would have sent James away. James comes off too much of a stalker to me. I cringed when she kissed him, but I get it she is in pain. She did the same thing with Schulyer.

PS I am giving Tea the benefit of the doubt in choosing such a fugly dress. She must be still suffering from the drugs.

[Khan]

I just keep thinking about what Doug Marland wrote in "How NOT to Wreck a Show": If the audience says, "He would not do that," then you have failed. Yes, I get that the writers are trying to establish that Clint has changed, and not for the better. The truth is, though, Clint risked a lot to bring Cord and Maria into the Buchanan family fold (not to mention the fact that he went out of his way to adopt another man's children); and even old Asa (God rest his irascible soul) would have thought twice before allowing a young boy to almost die of leukemia just to keep secret the fact that they were somehow related. (He might not have wanted Rex and Shane to be in his family, but once the truth had come out, he would have made damn sure they started behaving like Buchanans!) To me, the fact that Echo is Rex's mom means nothing; the real Clint would have 'fessed up. Nor do I give a [!@#$%^&*], really, that JvD is turning in solid work as "New Clint." I'm glad he has risen to the challenge, but what difference does that make if his character's integrity, which has been at the core of Clint from the beginning and one of the biggest reasons why longtime fans loved him, has been compromised? He, KZ, Erika, Brian Kerwin, JPL, the directors, and Ron and Frank could all win Emmys for this [!@#$%^&*] next year, and I'll still feel it's the worst kind of character assassination to have been committed on a veteran character in a long time.

But, you know, whatever. They rewrote history to say Victor was a child molester, and that Viki (and not Dorian) killed him, and everyone practically praised them to the skies for it. ONE LIFE thinks it's okay to do this to Clint, b/c we've allowed them to do it before, we're allowing them to do it now, and we'll probably allow them to do it again.

[DRW50]

I think the idea is that -- the story is worth it, so history doesn't matter.

My question -- is the story worth it? And could this story be told a different way?

If nothing else it seems like they are moving away from "Clint is the new Asa", and just saying Clint is a complete sociopath, which Asa was not. So, if that plot point is gone, then I won't exactly be sad, but it seems they're moving on to something even more stark.

[OLTL_fan]

OMGG can someone please kill Langston?!

[Khan]

IMO, no story is ever worth it.

Yes. Definitely. I'm not saying a Clint/Echo love child is entirely out of the realm of possibilities. I just believe they've gone about this all wrong with no hopes for a salvage.

[Khan]

There's a certain "writer" (who shall remain nameless) who apparently compares Hogan Sheffer to Ernest Hemingway.

Seriously.

Damn....

If being depressed that ECT took away his ability to write didn't make Papa Hemingway take a shotgun to his head at the end, being compared to Hogan Frigging Sheffer definitely would.

[DRW50]

In terms of dark history rewrites, Tina as Victor's daughter (which was somewhat dark -- Viki walking in on her father nailing her college friend) and Viki's sexual abuse as a child (very very dark), were so successful with viewers, along with Todd as the Lord heir; ever since then I feel like someone at ABC has believed that if you tell ugly history rewriting stories, then that means they will automatically work. Especially that Heart of the Lord story, which just torched history for the sake of it. At the time I thought that might be a wakeup call but instead you have the Tess stuff and now this with Clint. I think that the show gets a jolt out of these stories but it tears away at a lot of the foundation, and the show's attempts to ever build a new foundation don't work, it just ends up seeming like some sort of harem (like the Todd stuff) or forced and bland new characters (the Fords).

[Vee]

Yeah, I'm just not buying that it's huge character assassination, but then I haven't had much problem with "Dark Clint" in the last couple of years. I think it was a natural if controversial evolution of the character in the wake of the loss of Asa, and very appropriate and ironic given their history.

Re: Shane, I may be wrong but I believe Clint says he would've stepped in if not for Stacy/Mitch. That's fine. A little cold, but he's been cold for awhile. And he has reason to dislike Rex. He's retreated into Asa's darkest hours. I don't think he's a sociopath, and I think they addressed the Shane issue in order to prove that. I don't think it's character assassination and I don't think it comes anywhere close to the 2003 Victor resurrection.

The only thing I won't buy is that Echo and Clint had any kind of extended affair.

[DRW50]

I see what you're saying, but it is going to be about Clint's moral relativism or is it going to be about poor Rex and his family being hurt by evil Clint? The show has no problem with moral relativism for characters they like (such as Todd, or Kim), but if Clint is just this dark cloud who is there to cause problems and drive story for others, they aren't going to make an effort. A lot of viewers are just going to see him as some guy who let a child spend months and months believing he was near death.

[TeamEric]

Clint isn't a sociopath. And you're watching same feed I am, Vee, b/c Clint clearly stated his people kept a careful watch on Shane's medical condition and was ready to step in to save him only then Stacy showed up.

As for Clint's other actions:

Jailing David - David started this feud with blackmailing Kim out of town. I detest David so I am hoping Clint keeps him locked up for years!

Beating up Ford - ITA with ES in her latest newsletter Clint should have hurt him worse.

Rex - I totally get why Clint wants nothing to do with this useless jerk who is also the son of a woman who tried to frame him for murder! It's not fair to compare to Natalie "conning" as she's his and Viki's true "Jessie" and was kidnapped from them.

Echo - please continue to twist the knife, Clint, I am on his side!

Matthew - this is the grey area for me as I adore Matt and really enjoyed Clint/Matt's relationship in the past. Clint truly CARED for Matthew and if he's just trying to lure him away from Bo, I'm ok. But if he HURTS Matt in any real way then Clint crossed a line.

[Vee]

But that's not what Clint did. The only reason he didn't act re: Shane was because Stacy/Mitch entered the picture and were a match; therefore, Shane was treated. I don't believe Clint would've twiddled his thumbs if Roxy hadn't been able to get to Mitch. He might've concealed his identity as Shane's donor, but he would've acted.

I see your point and I can't dispute it. It's a problem with the show and with soaps in general these days, but at the same time, the show clearly loves writing for JVD as as a strong, controlling Clint, and that pre-dates his involvement with Kim. (But I think she'll be back eventually, because he's never, ever stopped mentioning her.) You or I may not always approve of how he's handled, but I don't at all agree that he's only being used as a punching bag for Rex or whoever else. They love writing for him. The question is are they going to keep him gray, or only use him to show Rex to be a valiant contrast, and I agree that's an issue. I don't think it can be disputed that Rex has a valid complaint against Clint over all this, but at the same time I root much more for Clint and his POV. And while Rex is totally overexposed and not one of my favorites, I do think he's fared much better since this story began and I am liking the dynamics involved. All I can do is enjoy the story in the current moment. If Clint is vanquished, shamed and spends months with his tail between his legs a la Kevin, then I'll call bullshit, but I don't see him doing it. Clint just doesn't give a [!@#$%^&*].

[TeamEric]

Let's not forget Rex comes off looking less than honorable by hiding from great friend, Bo, that his son is imprisoned in Morocco. The sole reason to hide that? Poor little Gigi may get her scholarship cut. Boohoo, a man is in JAIL, Bo's son and Rex only cares about college fund?!! That's a very lame reason and made Rex look like a first class jerk and not worthy of being Bo's surrogate son.

Rex also just shared intimate details of his sex life with his EX which made him look like SLIME.

I don't see so far Rex coming off as the valiant, wonderful person. He comes off as always, a very weak-willed less than honorable guy.