GH: April 2024 Discussion Thread

[Taoboi]

Well, it definitely feels like they are picking up the rivalry that was starting to grow before the recast so I'm happy to see it and hear about it. 

[Vee]

Kate Mansi is giving the show her all and deserves a much stronger acting/chemistry partner than Blaze, male or female.  If fireworks get going with scheming Natalia at Deception I am all for it, but I want a better romantic option for Kristina. I fear this is all setup for Blaze finding her voice and her strength, and while I can see the merit of that storyline I'm just not that interested in this character.

[Contessa Donatella]

I love Kristina. I think Kate Mansi is doing a great job. FinalMolly is also. I noticed the other day as she was spitting out dialog, a barrage of legal eagle speak. And when Kristina is with Alison she is mature, interesting, complex, empathetic. When she is with others she had a tendency to be nonsensical. Her dialog the other day with Nina did not make much sense. Twice she has picked fights with Joss but lost! I can appreciate that they need a foil for Joss & I like that budding female rivalry. The show badly needs to invest in Kraze. In a few weeks their airtime has been less than 8 minutes. On YouTube their love scene is over 5 million views. Typically some of those people will tune into the show. At this point they would find nothing of the couple there. They are either a couple or they're not.

[Liberty City]

I like Kristina & Alison (a.k.a. Blaze), however, I too feel like there's got to be a better romantic match for Kate Mansi. But the push for them as a couple of giving me obsessed fan vibes ⏤ the same way people harped on Kristina & Parker, and that is turning me off to them. At this point, let their storyline ride-out the pregnancy, then re-group and possibly find another romantic interest. Hell, find a way to poach Brytni Sarpy back from The Young and the Restless (where she is essentially recurring) and bring Valerie back to the canvas. Mansi & Sarpy could be good together, especially under Patrick Mulcahey's pen.

[Planet Soap]

As bad as Josslyn can become I loved seeing her call out Sonny for what he really is, and I loved that Carly did not disagree with her. But...who cares if Sonny beat up Cyrus --- a criminal? Why is that what sparks outrage amongst all the other things Sonny has done?

There Molly is again, caught up in a clear conflict of interest then defending her sister in the end.

 GH has a habit of having a decent villain, but then dragging them out past their expiration date: Cyrus and Esme ("now dead")

Edited April 6, 2024 by Planet Soap

[carolineg]

I don't mind Kraze at all, but I don't think the actress that plays Blaze is up to par with Mansi and they aren't compelling enough to be an "A" couple.  I just don't care about Blaze that much and this homophobic mother story isn't helping.  It just feels very dated for the year 2024.  With the investment the show has put in Mansi I agree they could find someone better for her.  

Even when Joss is right, there is something so smug about EM's delivery that you want her to be wrong lol.

I think all soaps have the same issue with villains, especially Days (Orpheus, Clyde, Kristen, etc).  GH did the same thing with Nelle.  They find a good actor and feel like they need to keep them forever even when the story is burnt out. 

[BoldRestless]

Kristina being written as a Sonny apologist doesn't work for me. She was nearly killed by a car bomb and had a show called Mob Princess and she's going to pretend she has no idea what he does? She's taken a major step back from the girl who processed her abusive boyfriend by realizing Sonny was abusive and abusive doesn't always mean hitting.

 

I'm not saying she can't love her father or the relationship can't evolve, especially since he supported her coming out. But I would expect her, out of all his children, to see the shades of grey. Its crazy that Michael at this point acknowledges who Sonny is more than she does.

Edited April 6, 2024 by BoldRestless

[Liberty City]

I know a lot find it dated in 2024, but it is still a reality for a lot of people, especially in a post-45 era (45 meaning the 45th President, who I refuse to outright name). I could name a lot of other tropes / storylines that feel more dated than this, and part of me is hoping the story will eventually lead Kristina to double-think her relationship with Blaze once her nephew / niece is born, and it puts another story into motion for Kristina. Because, like you said, with the investment that has clearly been put into Mansi as Kristina, I hope for something more. The recast came at an unfortunate time ⏤ a forced multi-recast of Molly, a Writer's Strike and then eventual head writing change ⏤ so at this point, I am just riding the ride to see where things eventually lead.

Uhm, Kristina has been a Sonny apologist since Lexi Ainsworth returned to the role in 2015. The only genuine time they had Kristina really speak out against her father's life was when Lindsey Morgan came in with the Mob Princess storyline and was driven by anger.

[j swift]

It feels very Taylor Swift coded, and I wouldn't be surprised if they try to set up a PR relationship that turns to love and becomes the reason that Blaze and Kristina break up.

[Planet Soap]

YUP. Unlike the Bold & the Beautiful, GH doesnt rush through stories which burns out villains. GH writes improperly for villains. Trying to get us to smypathize with Esme & Cyrus hasn't been working (for me at least).

Yup. If I recall correctly, hasn't Kristina been one of the most vocal children in calling her father out before Michael did?

Anyway thats the GH trope. Have people call out the mobsters then go right back to propping them in a few years.

Edited April 6, 2024 by Planet Soap

[carolineg]

I agree there are a lot of dated stories on GH like all the baby stories.  I am not saying Blaze's situation doesn't currently exist.  It's just something we have seen many times before.  I am just not finding anything captivating enough about Kraze to root for them long term.  I really don't mind them.  They just don't have quite enough chemistry or quite enough of an interesting story for me invest in them or see them as a star pairing.

[Contessa Donatella]

Frankly, I am not surprised. With them only having 8 minutes together in 3 weeks, why should fans invest in them if the show isn't? 

[BetterForgotten]

You know, I never cared for Sam and Dante and always felt like they were thrown together because they had no idea what to do with either character. That and Kelly Monaco appeared to be in an acting coma for like a decade.

However, the more thoughtful day to day writing has made care and accept them. I can now totally buy them as couple and that they love each other. I also think their blended family with Rocco, Danny, and Scout is adorable, and those blended family scenes on Friday had a lot of heart.

Edited April 6, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[Contessa Donatella]

Really enjoyed it, too, but my favorite moment was the delicious soapy irony of Sam being suspicious that Danny didn't come directly home with the others & then it turned out he had gone by Eckert's to get donuts to celebrate Dante's homecoming! I love Patrick & his concept of family drama. 

[titan1978]

Here is my problem with Kristina’s love life. It reeks of what the prior writing regimes under Frank have been doing (except RC). If this was intended to be a major story and couple the build up would have not been basically filler material. I feel the same way about Dante and Sam, Robert/Diane, Terry/Yuri, even Cody/Sasha. It’s just people together because they were there, not because there was an actual intent or they were given any actual story. It’s why we also have Laura/Kevin.

Kristina and Molly should have been in younger lead stories for years, not hit and miss and used just to have something for Sonny and Alexis to do (Dawn of Day).

Mansi should be mixing it up and in major story. Instead she’s in a surrogacy story that should have been dropped for many reasons, and a relationship with nowhere near enough fire in it. And I don’t dislike Blaze, I just question the investment.

I have never cared about Sam. And I agree they just put them together because they needed something for both of them. And PM and Korte have made the pairing work and family too!