GH: January 2024 Discussion Thread

[carolineg]

Laura Wright just seems like the popular girl in high school even though she's 50 plus now.  What you are saying makes sense because I do have a hard time believing she was an outcast or struggled.  But her version of Carly really hasn't struggled.  She doesn't have an enemy like Robin or Brenda that makes her feel on the outs or not popular if that makes sense?  She has Nina who is clearly scared of Carly.

[Liberty City]

Wright is definitely the "popular girl in high school" as you so-well put it. And I think that has factored into the past regimes' writing of her in the past 10+ or so years. I've always advocated that Carly has become "untouchable" by anyone. She may receive a finger or two, but never a full hand. Last I can genuinely recall was Alexis calling her a "bitch" during the Wolf-era (right prior to the "writer"'s material coming in). There were some glimmers of it with Brenda's temporary return and the introduction of Kelly Sullivan's Kate (which should have lasted longer), but, since then... it just feels like "saint Carly" is what every writer has come to bring forth, and that is just not Carly. If anything, she should be perceiving herself as "saint Carly," while continuing to be served by other residents.

It was cute seeing Liz reach out to Carly following Bobbie's passing, but their continued moments prior and after... it just isn't at the root of those characters. Same with Carly & Sam. Yes, people develop overtime, but this is also a soap opera where we can stretch that a bit. Even having Ava soften towards Carly feels so... off.

[dragonflies]

I wouldn't mind Sam and Liz being friendly at this stage of their lives. They literally no longer have a reason for animosity towards each other. Now both though should hate Carly forever 

[Contessa Donatella]

Yabbut there was that recent time when Carly offered to Ava that she stay the night so she'd be there in the morning when Avery woke up ... Seems to me they've each softened to the other. 

[carolineg]

There was a moment in Brenda's return right before the wedding where Robin and Brenda are talking crap about Carly (who had literally snuck into Jason's place lol) and Carly was eavesdropping and she cried over what they said.   It was one of the rare times I thought Carly actually felt intimated by these women and worked for the character.

[Liberty City]

Another upside of Wolf's regime (highly underrated and short-sighted). I vaguely remember those scenes, too!

[carolineg]

It was actually tail end Guza.  The one time Brenda/Robin got to put up a fight against Carly that wasn't lopsided.  I mean, we also had to live through Sonny taking his ex wife on a journey to find Brenda, his current wife's child.  Lol, Oh Guza!

[Liberty City]

LOL. Yes, I remember that, too! Haha.

[titan1978]

We had an over correction. During JFP and especially Guza, hardly anybody was friendly with each other for long. Guza loved pitting the “titans” against each other. There was never a shortage of conflict between the characters.

Frank and the writers since RC have stripped that all away. I get them mellowing with age. But nobody has any real, lasting animosity with consequence anymore except Nina/Carly. And that feels weak because they won’t let Nina lean into being a psychopath. Which would do the entire show some good. Bring on Annie part 2!

I do think the only character that was allowed to win over Carly was Robin. Even rich bitch Carly knew Jason would forgive Robin for anything. And she blew up both fake paternities and didn’t suffer like Nina is for turning over two people that broke the law. The whole town thinks Nina is awful!

[DynamiteKiddo]

I've been tuning in for Bobbie's memorial, but I honestly haven't meaningfully watched since AJ was killed off (again!), but I've always kept myself abreast through the boards and recaps.  But I really wanted to comment on LW/Carly--I fully endorse her.  I can't quite articulate how much I did (and will always) despise Sonny, Carly and Jason because of Guza (& Pratt) and JFP's psychotic obsession with them . . . and Tamara Braun, I think, gets an unfair rap for playing Carly too soft, too polished, even too nice.  That was not my interpretation of her Carly--she may not have been as "hard" as SJB (or LW, imo) but she has this electric quality that SJB and LW (and certainly JB) don't have . . . TB could spit her words like LW can but she added this totally unhinged quality to the way Carly would speak/yell that somehow equally communicated her superiority complex and her mania.  Because even though Carly didn't start on top, she wouldn't settle for anything less than top, and over the years, she did and continues to do whatever necessary to hold onto her power and position.  Then comes LW (I'll skip over poor JB) and fully embodies a bully Carly that we hadn't experienced (like that) since SJB and it was such an effective take on the character that I think jolted the audience into seriously reacting to her, esp. coming off JB.  It's like LW took SJB's hard meanness and TB's smug superiority (albeit she never fully could replicate) AND added her own very, very LOUD pushiness and we had this hybrid Carly that was a vision, esp. in her first few months opposite Robin and then later on in the Jake paternity saga.  And when Carly actually (only for five minutes) took responsibility for making Michael a mob prince when he was shot and comatose, LW played a complete self-awareness that I don't know SJB or TB would've.  Even when she found out about Jake--her confrontation with Jason was wrought with so much visceral hurt, while I imagine SJB would have played that quiet with the wheels feverishly turning and TB would have had Carly have a feral breakdown . . . they would have done great, but Carly's selfish rant about how she needed to be first in Jason's life made her come off as sympathetic as she was selfish.  She really excels with being terrible AND giving Carly a pov that the audience can invest in.  I think the show is lucky to have found LW since they're determined to keep Carly as the female lead.  Now I read some stuff about Carly and Liz going to the same girls' night AND that is such a profound bastardization of both characters and their relationship and if Carly has been doing that kind of s for the past 10 years, then the fault lies in the writing lolol.  But this very sympathetic writing Carly has been getting through Bobbie's eppys is nothing new--since I started watching in 2000, the writing has never held Carly accountable and she's always received a heavy-handed, lopsided slant.  Which has always made her infuriating for me.

edit: with all this said, Tamara Braun is my favorite Carly and I would welcome her back lol.  Though it's totally unnecessary.

Edited January 17, 2024 by DynamiteKiddo

[Liberty City]

It baffles me in a city where Carly, Drew AND Michael committed insider trading that Nina Reeves is the GUILTY party for reporting this to her lawyer, who then called the SEC on behalf of his client.

[Khan]

That's when you need someone like Tracy to speak up: "Anyone who commits insider trading without covering their tracks deserves to get caught!"

Edited January 17, 2024 by Khan

[Contessa Donatella]

And Happy Birthday to her portrayer! 

[titan1978]

That would be perfect!

The person that mentioned Judith Light’s Karen from OLTL has given me the perfect comparison. Karen Wolek was capable of nearly anything, and it both fit and worked. That’s how I feel about SJB’s Carly. She was/is capable of anything, and those rash decisions are one of her trademarks. The other Carly’s just don’t have that extra layer of impulse driven mistakes, panic about them, and that leads to more destruction.

Karen trying to protect Jenny with swapping Katrina’s baby for her dead one is something I could easily see SJB’s Carly doing, but for herself. And she also had audience sympathy, even through her mistakes. Like Karen.

[Contessa Donatella]

Speaking of Judith Light, have you seen her in JULIAonmax? For a few minutes I honestly did not even recognize her. Then I was astounded. She is such a chameleon.