It was never a retcon.

I don’t recall her being called out exactly. Sometimes Bobbie would talk about what she had overcome, even in scenes with Ruby. Luke seemed to take offense at questioning their past, but some of that was because he didn’t think any of them should be ashamed for having to survive. And especially later Ruby was very happy Bobbie had Tony and such a stable life.

15 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

I don’t recall her being called out exactly. Sometimes Bobbie would talk about what she had overcome, even in scenes with Ruby. Luke seemed to take offense at questioning their past, but some of that was because he didn’t think any of them should be ashamed for having to survive. And especially later Ruby was very happy Bobbie had Tony and such a stable life.

Maybe madams were though of as different back in the day? There is a point in late 1983 where Bobbie and Ruby's past is outed by Jackie Templeton ( and 40 plus years later her son would be trying to put Bobbie's grandson in jail) during Luke's campaign for Mayor and they acted like an outing of a person spending a few years as a sex worker as a teenager and a person who presumably spend decades running girls were equivalent outings.

2 hours ago, Spin865 said:

Maybe madams were though of as different back in the day?

The whole situation was not thought about the same way on tv or in real life. Look at Jackie’s article- it’s about shaming them. Now it would be about the trauma of the trafficked person, and hopefully about their resilience. Especially Bobbie’s resilience.

As far as Ruby is concerned, had Norma lived longer and been in good health they could have revisited this just like they did with Luke/Laura. But on the show, up to her death, her past as a madam was sometimes used to try to shame her, and she was pretty consistent in the fact that they lived a hard life, and were trying to survive. But she wasn’t ashamed. If Bobbie had trauma about it as an adult (and of course she would), she loved Ruby more than she felt traumatized by her. But again, had the show invested in Bobbie really at all after Carly as far as depth of the material things might be different.

Jackie Zeman doesn’t get enough credit for her work as Bobbie. She should have at least one Emmy for her early work, or for BJ’s heart story. But then again, Genie should have won for lead when Lucky “died”, or the year she was nominated for the Nikolas reveal, or both. Jackie’s own bright personality is there sometimes, but so is Bobbie’s grit, and her compassion. It’s fascinating to watch her early years, because Bobbie is vicious towards Laura, sexy with Scotty, often combative with Luke and almost bubbly as a student nurse with Jessie.

Did they ever make clear if Aunt Ruby forced Bobbie into the life of a prostitute, or if Aunt Ruby just reluctantly went along with it, seeing it as the only way to make ends meet in their life of poverty?

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by Jdee43

4 hours ago, Jdee43 said:

Did they ever make clear if Aunt Ruby forced Bobbie into the life of a prostitute, or if Aunt Ruby just reluctantly went along with it, seeing it as the only way to make ends meet in their life of poverty?

I don’t remember seeing a scene where they really got into discussing it, but I have read other people on other boards recall something along the lines of “she knew Bobbie was going to be a prostitute anyway so she’s safer with her as her madam”.

One of the reasons I hated the Spencer flashback anniversary episode, though well cast and incredibly acted, was it kind of muddied up the timeline and circumstances for me. Plus Ron of course had to pull a name out of obscurity just for a hollow twist and quick death with Pat. Some things not mentioned in decades and rarely before then should just stay that way.

Bobbie is clearly still a young child in those flashbacks, so them going on the run at that point was strange because they seemed a little closer in age before that retcon. Luke was supposed to be older but not Geary’s age. To me, the way they spoke about it for years was that they had a hard time getting to Ruby. I assumed they had already been exploited before they got there, and their rational of being safer with Ruby than on the streets was the face value of what they always said about that time. Doesn’t mean Bobbie wasn’t trafficked and that Ruby should have protected her from the life. But they never explored it that way onscreen.

Being poor and desperate always seemed to be what was traumatic and lingered for both of them. Bobbie ended up looking for establishment, and Luke for money/power and autonomy.

Edited 20 minutes ago20 min by titan1978