GH: A few spoilers from TV GUIDE

[John]

Ok I must be having a brain fart. What did VM do to irk FV. She was on the show for like maybe a month in 2013. it was always a guest stint.

 

On Joss : FV wants her to be Starr Manning. Issue is that Starr actually had personality and this is nothing about Eden its how they write Joss. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by John

[titan1978]

The only thing I remember is Vanessa being quoted as having met with him back then before her guest stint for the 50th.  She was very complimentary of him.  She did express the Michael thing being kind of childish for a grown woman, more of a dig at RC’s writing than FV.

Much like Jonathan Jackson, I don’t know what the actual issue is on his end.  These are natural returns that should have happened.  Same with Lulu actually

I love Vanessa, and Brenda.  But I don’t see a place for her for more than a short term return.  Robin, Jason, Jax and the Q’s she interacted with are gone.  Sonny is in a relationship.  Maybe they finally go forward with her and Dante?

[John]

I wonder If Dex is either Brendas Kid or Lilly's kid with Sonny and she is still alive and Dex has no idea Sonny is his Dad

[carolineg]

The only thing I remember hearing is that she was a diva on set around the 50th anniversary.  Something about not wanting to dress up for the cast photo and she isn't in formal attire, but the dress she was wearing to talk to Sonny in when you look at the official photos.  Idk, I think she is super protective of the character of Brenda to the point she might be annoying and won't work for peanuts, but I don't think it's anything ridiculous.  We've never heard anything bad from VM or FV officially.  They have always spoke complimentary of one another.

As far as Brenda long term, they would have to pivot her character.  Put her at Deception, have her interact with Brooklyn, Lucy, Maxie, Sasha, Laura, etc.  I don't think it would be a mistake to have her be friendly with Carly or Ava and have her and Carly take on Nina.  I would not go with her and Dante because that's weird, but she is cornered into the Sonny relationship as I can't really see her with anyone else on canvas, so of course she'd be Roger Howarth's main love interest immediately

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Vanessa, Mo, and Lilly Melgar are all hispanic and Dex is like the whitest person in the world lol  

[John]

That wont stop FV

[carolineg]

Probably not, but he could at least have brunette or have black hair if they were going in that direction.  The kid that played Dev literally looked like a Sonny/Brenda child and I thought maybe Brenda lost Alec again, but they didn't go there with him.  He felt vaguely the right age and situation.  I don't know how old the actor that plays Dex is, but he feels old to be Brenda's kid.  

ETA he is only 25, so I guess he could be her son lol

Edited March 22, 2023 by carolineg

[John]

thats why id lean more with Lilly being the Mom cause the age would fit and maybe Lilly is Mason & Austin's boss

[Vee]

Dex is too old to be Alec Barrett. Let's not do this again like the embarrassment with people trying to make Oscar happen. The obvious way to bring Alec on is find a talented young LGBT teen to play the role, not try to awkwardly kludge existing randos into somehow being able to be the progeny of THEE Brenda Barrett.

I would never buy that with Carly, lol. I just can't see Brenda breaking bread with Carly, or with the woman who seduced Sonny after framing A.J. and getting him killed (Brenda had a friendly relationship with A.J. to the end). Brenda is an island unto herself with a lot of the current cast, but that's okay because so many of the longterm vet characters adore her and she has such a legendary image/background as an in-universe celebrity that she generates stories. 

I would have Brenda involved with Deception and Lucy to a degree (Nina would probably go insane again and leave or die), but I would make it part of something much bigger or just blow the company up again to something even higher-tier than it currently is. Brenda is not meant to be running Crimson, for example; Brenda is the cover story at Crimson. The current Deception, etc. workplace is too small for Brenda's public stature. Sasha and Maxie would cease to exist, Sasha permanently and Maxie for a good few years. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Vee

[carolineg]

Idk, it probably makes no sense, but I have always sorta liked the idea of Carly/Brenda taking on a common enemy together and unwittingly becoming friends.  They do have a lot in common.  I would also take an Ava/Brenda friendship, but I don't see that happening either.

Brenda is an island on her own but only if you make her that way.  She doesn't necessarily have a history with Anna, but you could just slot her in because she's Robin's bff.  She has Ned, Lucy, Laura, Kevin, Sam, Dante, Michael, Kristina, Molly, etc. etc  She might not have been super close with all these people, but it wouldn't be difficult to establish those relationships.  Deception probably is too small for Brenda's public stature, but she has a close bond with it because it gave her the modeling start.  I would scale back on Brenda being "the most famous supermodel ever" because that doesn't even jive with Brenda character really.  Not every man or woman wants her or wants to be her.  She was pretty much just adored by Sonny/Jax not the entire world.  I think Guza went too far into his adoration with Vanessa and made Brenda too famous for the logistics of an actual soap.

[Planet Soap]

The whole Brenda may have slept with Michael thing was odd and out of left field considering she knew him as a child. 

That is true, most of the characters for Brenda to play off of are gone. Jason, AJ, Robin, Jax. She would have to go against Nina and maybe have some interactions with Sam or Drew, IDK.

Leslie Charleson needs to make an appearence assuming she's well and so does Tony Geary. Now that COVID is over I wonder if they'll allow Steve Burton to return. That would be a perfect opportunity for him to be paired with Brenda now that Britt is gone. 

It would have made more sense to say Jason is missing than presumed dead--yet again.

Edited March 22, 2023 by ironlion

[John]

I believe Steve is still filming DOOL

[Vee]

I think she can establish new relationships, sure. But I also think she has enough as is to root her. I don't think you can scale Brenda's stature back at this point though, nor do I want to - there are very few soap characters that become that kind of public-facing figure in their universes and are able to last long-term but I do think Brenda can choose to do different things while re-settling in PC and then most of her bigger public life can be offscreen. And I don't think Brenda losing it all or being humbled is that interesting or fun. Like Victor on Y&R or Erica on AMC, much of her global affairs can be filtered through the lens of what happens on GH and in Port Charles and that is manageable enough, JMO.

The Quartermaines adore Brenda, Ned adores Brenda, Lucy adores Brenda and the footprint of Brenda is still massive across the town and in the mob circle. That is enough to make her relevant.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Vee

[carolineg]

There is no situation where you would not take Brenda back.  If you are on third characters for RW and Easton you can make Brenda work.  I just have never been fond of Brenda is everything to everyone.  She's hella awesome, but I prefer her more humbled.  Idk, I liked a more scrappy Brenda always trying to be the most, but not quite getting there, thwarted by silly decisions.

[Vee]

I get that. I think you can have her run into some PR trouble which helps knock her down for a bit and bring her back to town, but I would never totally strip it all from Brenda. I think some characters are just meant to be the icon.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Vee

[carolineg]

Yes.  There really isn't a situation where Vanessa Marcil in the 90's wouldn't be the most successful model because she is so beautiful, but I think scrappy underdog works for Brenda/Vanessa moreso than icon.  And it works for her and Sonny.  Sonny Corinthos isn't going to be bagging the most famous supermodel of all time because of...all the things Sonny is.  And they don't necessarily lean in to the fact she was so young and it was a fairly abusive situation.   I love it but the red flags are there EVERYWHERE.  He was an absolute dick to Brenda all the time.  She's a chemistry magnet, but a little limited as far as acting.  I have never found her to take a role where it wasn't a variation on Brenda.