Good & Bad Paternity/Maternity Reveals & Changes

[titan1978]

Any longtime fans care to comment on Francesca James as Kitty/Kelly on AMC?  They didn’t share any screen time as far as I know.  An interesting way to bring her back to the show.  Was this successful?

[dragonflies]

I thought the reveal of Jack Finnegan being Finn's dad on BOLD was really good. 

[j swift]

I'm not a fan of an adult paternity reveal, because they are usually so unrealistic. 

(A). What adult would change their last name and disregard the man that raised them just because they happened to move to the same town as the guy who once had sex with their mom? (B) The whole inheritance thing where a person becomes instantly rich because they find out that their biological father is wealthy ignores that estate laws enable to people to leave their wealth to whomever they please, and being a child is not a guarantee of being an heir (e.g. Leona Helmsley's kids, she left her millions to her dog). (C) Characters often never reference their family of origin again once their paternity is revealed, as if now that they've met this guy, they can never send a holiday card to the rest of their family ever again.

So, I nominate a recent example as worst to the Cassadines Valentine and Victor reveal.  Not only is it a retcon that makes no sense in terms of what we've seen on screen, but also, it is totally unnecessary for the story being told.  The close second in that same family would be the reveal that Nikolas's father was Stefan and not Stavros.  Totally didn't matter to the story, made no sense in terms of the characters, and therefore completely an unnecessary plot detail.  As for Alexis being a Cassadine, that was an interesting backstory, but once Stefan died, I don't know that it has had much of a payoff in terms of story.

[Broderick]

If Jack Smith wanted to alter the dynamics of Jill Foster & Kay Chancellor, there are so many things he could've done other than making them mother and daughter ... Kay could've suffered a stroke (not from a "maternity reveal", but from her years of drinking and smoking), and Jill could've reluctantly become her primary caregiver.  To reward Jill for helping her, Kay could've reached the realization that Jill was the obvious person to run Chancellor Industries and offered her the job.  Jill could've done some impressive work, and then pissed Kay off either by a bad business decision or personal decision.  Kay could've become furious with Jill, but still respected her for helping during her stroke and for doing a successful job at Chancellor.  There was so much history that went into their relationship -- WITHOUT them being biologically related -- and their dynamics could've constantly shifted.  Jack Smith went for shock value, and it intrinsically ruined the entire canvas.   

[Dr Neil Curtis]

Days -

Good: Parker being Philip’s son

Bad: Parker being Daniel’s son (And done with Philip being off camera)

Daniel and Summer being Maggie’s. 

[Planet Soap]

How did you all feel about the Lucky, Liz, Nick, Aiden paternity drama? I dislike the destruction that it caused to the Lucky and Liz that was built up so much in the late 90s.

GOOD-GH: AJ is Alan's son not Rick's, a confusion caused by "Bombay Phenotype Syndrome". The reveal at the party and the satisfaction that came from Lesley slapping Monica was an epic climax. 1979-1983 Alan and Monica were on fire. At their most toxic, vicious and comically entertaining. The story also displayed Leslie's sheer class and dignity, a trait passed down to Laura. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by ironlion

[Darn]

Hated it. It was just Emmy bait for JJ. What they should’ve done was work overtime to reestablish the love JJ and RH’s versions of the characters had for each other and then find some other road block. Not Liz effing Nikolas. Liz had also just gotten done with another who’s the daddy involving one of the same man.

But no, Lucky calling Liz a whore was more important. 

[DRW50]

You could really see Guza's contempt for that character (and likely the women who had helped write the rape story) when he had Lucky tell Liz the only time she was of worth to him was when she was bleeding in the snow after being raped. 

I never really liked JJ Lucky, honestly, or the punishing, misogynist nostalgia that surrounded his take on the character, and that moment will always cement why.

[Vee]

Which is why JJ quit again. According to his own interviews, he had expected a romance for Lucky and Elizabeth and got them broken up and him paired with a newbie, and found the rest of his material unrelentingly dark and bleak.

[dragonflies]

Nina/Willow is AWFUL, the crap Willow is spewing about Harmony being better than Nina, the same Harmony who let her be raped by a cult leader and now she's acting like Carly is better than Nina as well 

 

All this does is make me root for Nina and Willow to die from her cancer

[Darn]

They certainly put in the work to make Lucky his father’s son. Luke, who demonized Laura for *checks notes* getting raped (by someone who wasn’t him, maybe that’s what pissed him off) and being forced to abandon her son to a bunch of psychotic European hillbillies.

The Carly thing is mostly annoying to me because apparently WE’RE supposed to believe it too. Fine, let Willow think she’s amazing but clearly the show thinks she’s wonderful and in the right all of the time.
 

Carly has been a cretin since her first episode and that hasn’t changed one iota. So her as Mother Earth, matriarch and beacon of light in Port Charles is laughable.

In other news, I used to hate that Summer was actually Nick’s daughter on Y&R. I just wanted Jack to win for once but now I don’t care.

You know what I really hate? When characters, especially ones who HAD parents, in their 20s and 30s start calling their newly discovered parents mom or dad. Sam was damn near 30 when she found out Alexis was her mom. And it still rings false when she calls her mom all these years later I’m sorry.

And Carly calling Bobbie “mama”. You’re not 3. And you had a mother who loved you your whole life!

I’m sure in the long run it’s works as an audience shorthand but I hate it.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Darn

[dragonflies]

Even her fans think she doesn’t pay lol

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[Darn]

Michael was mad for 3 episodes! I guess he’s not allowed to be angry with both his parents at the same time.

And Willow didn’t give a fùck at all.

[Vee]

I don't mind it with Sam. That relationship was nasty early on, and they did the work with her and Alexis. Plus I'm not sure Sam ever had much of a family let alone a mother. Her adopted father (played by Melrose's Stanley Kamel, IIRC) was a grifter. IIRC she never called Julian "Dad" and that was appropriate.

Carly and Bobbie I also don't mind - I feel they did the work, in addition to Virginia.

[Darn]

You’re kinder than me!

BTW I just watched the Virginia scenes where she finds out exactly Carly was up to while avoiding her and oof, rough stuff. I mean great stuff, Bobbie and Tony did not let up, but difficult to see this woman’s vision of her daughter crumble like. I don’t know who the actress was but she was amazing.