Thanks for your latest recap @alwaysAMC
Sad to say the very silly material with Abby's super-hearing is what her implant story is likely most remembered for (and got some tsk-tsks in the soap press at the time). At least Amy got something to do, I guess.
I find Susan irritating even in your synopses. Her behavior is natural, I suppose, but that doesn't make it worth watching. And it's difficult to care about Beth given her antics.
(was Beth a tennis ace in high school?)
If I had written this story, if it was a mandate to write this story with these three characters, I would have had Beth, going through an extensive mental breakdown which she increasingly struggles to hide, befriend Susan. I would have her, due to what happened with her stepfather abusing her, and how Carl abused both her and Lizzie, become paranoid that Jim had abused his wife (based on some comments she overhears Jim making about his late wife's "troubles") and was abusing Susan. Susan would initially not say much about this because Harley is busy with work and her pregnancy so she just appreciates having a maternal figure, but when she realizes that Beth is planning to kill Jim to protect her, she finally starts being honest with her. Beth is filled with shame and self-loathing, and shouts that she is becoming what she has always feared.
Beth then nearly commits suicide via pills before Jim and Susan find her and take her to the hospital. Beth then goes away for several months, with Jim visiting her regularly, drawn to her in spite of her problems (we could learn that his late wife also had serious mental problems). When Beth finally returns to Springfield, she tries to stay away from Jim, but with Susan's encouragement, they begin a relationship.
By
DRW50 ·
