GH: August 2024 Discussion Thread

[TEdgeofNight]

GH has been incredible since Patrick Mulcahey’s exit. He cannot headwrite or co-headwrite a soap.  He needed to be cut (yawn)and it happened. Moving on, fantastic scenes at the cemetery. This is what soaps do best. Kate Mansi doesn’t thrill me but she tries. There will be emmy’s but not for Mansi. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I have predicted - and I rarely predict anything - not a darker or more evil Kristina but Krazy Kookoo Kristina. Remember this is a woman who lost a baby AND her partner on the same day. If they push just a little more, which I believe they intend to do, Kristina may go completely off her rocker. Her first symptom was delusional thinking. From her Daddy Sonny she got the narcissists's gene. From her mom, Alexis she got the ability to perform mental gymnastics to support unsupportable suppositions. 

[dragonflies]

I'm not a big Lexi fan but I think she'd have been miles better. Mansi chews the scenery too much

[Contessa Donatella]

It's really irrelevant. For whatever reason Frank wanted Lexi to sign a contract. She declined. That was it. 

The only thing I can think is that Lexi regularly took other jobs & he wanted someone to focus on GH. 

Of course, I disagree about Mansi's obvious talent. That, too is irrelevant. 

[ranger1rg]

The "Kate Mansi wasn't good" bandwagon is really on a roll.

Gee, what a surprise since so many on social media went after her for not "sufficiently" supporting the Kraze relationship and Jacqueline Grace Lopez. Arguing with "fans" hasn't helped her, and the stories grew about how difficult she is.

So now we get all these comparisons with Kristen Vaganos. Yes, KV has been superb, but I don't think it's fair to bring up that comparison in every scene. They're different characters with different motivations.

I saw Mansi allowing Vaganos to shine, doing what she needed to do to allow Kristen to rule that scene. If you had a problem with Mansi when her character collapsed, OK. But all these posts about her? Doesn't work for me.

I've read that Rick Hearst and Lindsay Hartley were "so wonderful" in those scenes. No, they weren't -- because they did very little. They were good, but in my mind not worth bringing up at all. I guess we're elevating everyone to "That's your Emmy reel!"

And no, Lexi Ainsworth would not have been better in those Kristina scenes.

I fully expect pushback on this post. I just wish people could praise Kristen Vaganos without criticizing Kate Mansi at the same time.

Edited August 25, 2024 by ranger1rg

[Contessa Donatella]

You tell 'em, cowboy!!! 

[carolineg]

I personally thought Mansi's graveyard scenes were a bit much.  It was very OTT.  KM has pretty much done a great job otherwise so I just chalked it up to a bad choice in the moment.  

I do see what people are saying about Mansi not making Kristina likeable.  Like @titan1978 said SJB's Carly was a master at walking that line between selfish but still rootable.  I think Mansi needs to infuse a bit more vulnerability into her performances.  I still think she's doing a very good job-just missing the mark sometimes.

[detroitpiston]

@ranger1rg I don’t see a bandwagon here specifically, just people who watched the scenes and made the same observations and shared them. I haven’t seen people here comparing KV and Mansi in every scene either, in fact plenty of us have praised KV without doing so and mentioned both of their work as outstanding collectively the last few months. When it came to this specific episode however many felt KM didn’t measure up to what her costars brought and I think its perfectly fair to mention that.

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Now I do agree that I see a lot of people elsewhere revisioning Lexi Ainsworth as this great thespian who should never have been recast just because of dislike for Kate Mansi as a person, and I find it so disingenuous lol. I’ve found Kristina grating no matter who’s playing her but Mansi has been solid moving the character into a real lead for the show. The comments on her lack of playing any vulnerability with the role are absolutely valid as well though.

Edited August 25, 2024 by detroitpiston

[ranger1rg]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't need Kristina to show any vulnerability at this point.

[Contessa Donatella]

I don't see a problem with people basically saying she's doing a good job but she can do better. She's a young woman. No reason not to think she can grow. I do think her writing is more difficult. But the biggest takeaway is that we have these two fine actresses with this challenging high drama story being told and they are both recasts & neither has been in their role for as much as a year. For that reason I think the people saying one of them is horrible somehow has lost their grip on any level of reasonable expectation. Horrible is simply not on this screen when it comes to the Davis women. 

[Aragorn]

I love both Molly and Kristina.

Josslyn and Trina have been boring me all summer, except when Josslyn rescued Kristina.

Kristina>Josslyn

Molly>Trina

The show ended Sprina and now has ended Kraze. 

Kraze>Sprina

Esme ruined Sprina and Natalia ruined Kraze.

Esme>Natalia

We have had three months of Gio and he has given the show nothing. They should have recast Cam instead.

Cam>Gio

Edited August 25, 2024 by Aragorn

[titan1978]

In my post I also said her choice is fine to not show vulnerability. It’s the show that has chosen to show almost every beat of the story from Kristina’s angle. The writing until now hasn’t featured much of Molly and TJ, except to create conflict for Kristina. The show is demonstrating they want us to feel something for and about Kristina that Mansi is not bringing out. She projected plenty of it when she watched Sonny beat Dex down. Even though the history of Kristina knowing who her father is has been presented for years, I bought that because of Mansi.

I compare her to those others because often the talent, especially now, has to bring something to the stage that the scripts and story do not have. Her work around the baby storyline has really been one note. 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

As it happens, I agree that she is playing one note. However, I think it's a choice & an effective one. She's beating a drum & the drum is pounding out a rhythm & the message is me me me me and my baby my baby my baby. She lost her life partner the same day the baby died - and she almost did. She just threw Ali away. There was no room for anything but me me me me and the baby the baby the baby. Kristina's in big trouble. She has been since she had her first delusional thought, which was: They never fight. They just had a fight. They're going to break up. He won't let Molly see the baby the baby the baby. I have to save the baby for Molly. She's been doing mental gymnastics ever since to support unsupportable suppositions. 

[Taoboi]

8-12

 

Well, I had to get around to it some time, didn't I?

 

It's a given that I'm sticking around for the returns for much discussed reasons. But as I say on other threads, it was already getting to be a chore before CVE's name officially popped up on the screen. However, I don't like to think negatively which is what I was saying before that name officially popped up on the screen. So I cannot promise I won't drag or read like @titan1978 did a few weeks back and I loved because it echoed a lot of how I felt. However, I do like to see positive beats, and I do give credit where it's due. But if B&B can bounce back after months of bad writing and Y&R can find some form of momentum after losing it and being unevenly slow after two weeks of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks...then I can at least hope I see momentum pop up here since 'action' is back glancing at posts here and there. 

 

That said...seeing Natalia walk into Kristina's room to get her to break up with Blaze. As soon as I saw her in the door I was like THIS BIT@H! 

 

In the credit where it's due department...I liked how they had Willow go back to nursing. I thought that was set up well and didn't feel jarring. KMcMil did a great job showing her remembering how she feels about helping others. 

 

I'm waiting for the moment that I can join the majority of people who keep saying TJ and Molly have not gotten much focus on the baby loss aftermath. From where I'm watching, it does not seem the case. Yes, the focus is on Kristina primarily, but I cannot say or see that they are not getting nothing. Sorry. It appears they are doing a slow burn on a rift coming between them and I felt that was being done well. In my weeks of not watching, I still thought about TJ breaking down in the apartment...not knowing Molly was on the other side of the door and just walked away. And this episode TJ is furious at Molly for being so closed off. I feel their conflict is very organic and sadly realistic from personal experience. If anything, it is making me think of Nick and Sharon losing Cassie on Y&R where one was breaking down while the other person was closing off. And I feel both of them are doing a great job.

 

SMH at Nina. It's already clear...just like with what the New/Old Writers are doing with Ava...that they are dumbing her down again without any nuances, and it's sad to watch since I've enjoyed the Nina/Drew arc under PM...and the potential for where the addition of Willow to it will go. I do love that Maxie seems to still have the new fire (and KS has been looking great) she had under PM's writing. 

 

MMmmm my Beast. lol. I am happy to see Brennan stay and why I thought that. But that was while PM was writing. I'm unsure I feel as good with these New/Old Writers. That said, Charles Mesure did have great chemistry IMHO with both LW and FH so good to see the New/Old Writers playing him with BOTH of them. And aha! Finally someone re: Anna figured out he's behind Carly being free. 

 

 

[Vee]

I think Mansi carried the show for most of the spring tbh. She surprised me with how well she fit in, and I was not some big fan of hers from DAYS. The simple truth is I don't care about that endless surrogacy storyline so I don't really care about those scenes. Sure, she had a bad day from what I saw in those gravesite clips; most soap actors do. But I'd still rather watch her regularly than another ten interminable years of T.J. and Molly doing nothing. The time to make me invest in them was a minimum of five years ago. It's time to cut bait on this whole storyline, finally write them out and move on.

Soap Twitter sees one mid set of actors have a few good days and then goes 'give them all the Emmys! Frontburner story!' They get all excited and think they're gonna move the needle and that everything they're saying has a massive impact. It's not reality.

Edited August 26, 2024 by Vee