GH: April 2024 Discussion Thread

[Vee]

Ava is a cartoon in the best way possible for me. Maura always delivers. And she can do the quiet stuff too, when they give her something decent (like those scenes eviscerating Nikolas early last year).

[carolineg]

You know I can take or leave Ava and Maura West, but I will always feel like Ava is ill defined.  Is she a villainess to be feared?  A wacky romantic heroine?  A caricature of a human?  I hope PM begins to shape Ava as a character better and go with the villainous mob threat over any romantic story with Sonny.  We've discussed this before, but Ava is definitely a character that has suffered from lack of motivation for years now.

[Liberty City]

I'm just trying to be realistic; John will see it as "You and Sonny took Karen from me, so I'm going to take Carly from you." And maybe they have a fetish for hair? I don't judge on that.

Haha. She can play it over-the-top, yes. And she wasn't as... exaggerated as Carly or even Diane... I think it's how she plays Ava.

Yup; she turns shït into gold in the best way, even when the writing is not there.

I feel like she was a woman in a man's world... and then the "writer" kept corner-writing her, and subsequent regimes just lost the plot. I feel like the interim strike team were beginning to restore Ava, and now we are seeing Mulcahey re-flush her out, and I love it.

[BetterForgotten]

Like so many on this show, it’s a wonder why she’s lasted so long beyond Maura’s talents.

But, honestly, where does Ava go after this storyline and after she’s exposed? At some point, this type of character has an expiration date and when they stretch it for a long time, the character is aimless as hell. 

[Vee]

She started as a campy villain with some layers and humanity for certain things and that's who she still is AFAIC. I think it's well defined when they stick to what she's good at. When they tried to soften her up as a romantic heroine for various men (Griffin, Nikolas) they messed her up.

I'm not worried. Again, it is the Alex Olanov formula from OLTL. Protect her with power and a villain can run another couple years at least (and I would keep her for that time). But yes, she's already been here forever.

[Contessa Donatella]

And, that is a thing! So it's interesting. Long ago & far away MW despaired that she'd never win an Emmy. Because she preferred playing everything very very nuanced. And, all of her actor friends were telling her she'd have go much more "out there" to ever win the statue thing! So, somehow she found her way to playing nuanced most of the time but then really flinging it out there on occasion. And, as we know, it worked for her. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I find it fascinating when anyone is not in Maura's thrall! I loved her Carly Tenney-Snyder on ATWT but to me Ava Jerome is the part Maura was born to play. I do like it better when she has good writing & she didn't have it for most of the last year. But, now, whatever the heck she is up to, I am enjoying the ride. 

[Khan]

I agree!

[carolineg]

But Sonny didn't take Karen from Jagger?  They had their happy ending and Jagger ruined it.  It's such a petty reason to be mad when the actual victim in the whole situation decided to forgive Sonny years ago.

I mean, you don't give up MW?  Even if I don't love her she's too big of a daytime get to not keep her around.

Yup.  100% agree.

There are a couple of things I have been clear about here on this board and that is 1. I don't get Gina Tognoni and 2.  I don't get Maura West. I don't dislike either one I am just more on the 

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 side of things.

[Contessa Donatella]

I know & I remember. So many things we agree about. But these two? Uh, no. However, I consider not agreeing with soap fan friends to be a hallmark of that kind of friendship. With AW there was Vicky/Lisa, Vicky/Marley, Kathleen/Frankie. With DAYS there was Real Roman/John & also Kim: Shane or Steve. Disagreeing is ubiquitous and also half the fun! The way you are about them is the way I am about Joss. Unlike many I do not dislike her but I would never call myself a fan either. 

[Liberty City]

Oh, she isn't going anywhere. At all. Especially when she was hired for five days originally, and signed before she started. Whew.

You love her. Haha. But I also haven't mentioned her in a while, haha.

[BetterForgotten]

Honestly, not like they’re in danger of not being able to get her back if they did drop her. She’s never made it in primetime/film (and is probably considered too “old” at this point), she was miscast and then fired at Y&R (with Susan Walters now being back as Diane as well), she’s not Brad Bell’s material at B&B and would likely be out of there as soon as she got hired lol, and I don’t see DAYS hiring someone in her age range for a long term role.

Not saying she’s at the top of my firing list, but the character was aimless for years. Frank’s big problem is hiring and re-hiring people he considers “name” talent and keeping them on the show when the writing has never been there to support the characters lasting so long.

To me, if you don’t earn your place on the canvas with a role that has meaning and with writing to support you, you can go. Regardless of the talent level.

Edited April 10, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[BoldRestless]

I actually think yesterday was the worst Carly propping I've ever seen in my life.

 

First,  they slip in a throwaway line about Jason leaving half his estate to Carly and splitting the rest between his sons?! 

 

Then, Olivia comes over just to gratuitously vent about how much better Carly is as a partner than Nina, down to her choice in color scheme. Cool, collected, Carly knows how to make customers happy and keep her employees productive, while mean hag Nina has the temerity to fire an employee with performance issues. (Let's not forget that if she wanted to, Carly could totally run Crimson better than Nina and even outsmarted Tracy in an ad negotiation). 

 

Finally, badass Carly isn't afraid to confront the thugs beating up an FBI agent, running towards the danger, and playing the Good Samaritan.

 

Maybe one of those, but all of them, in one episode...

Edited April 10, 2024 by BoldRestless

[BetterForgotten]

That rubbed me so wrong, lol. Carly gets half the estate and then his sons are left to split the rest? Not totally inconsistent with his characterization, I guess, but it continues to be glaring what a horrible father Jason was and continues to be (with very few checking him on that ) and why his sons their mothers have every right hate and be horrible people to Carly and Jason. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Neither have I!