I just realized I’ve never once mentioned Derek and Ashley. I think that says all it needs to about how I feel about them.

8 minutes ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

wondered about that. thought it might have been production issues, then i realized how well they took advantage of black history month to promote the show. 

I don't believe it's production issues; I think it was smart allowing them to bank a third month's worth of episodes, and allowing them to have more time to settle into a proper working groove (a.k.a. not rushing anyone). It was smart, in my eyes. Plus, with the inauguration, it avoided some potential preemptions that could have easily happened.

17 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I don't believe it's production issues; I think it was smart allowing them to bank a third month's worth of episodes, and allowing them to have more time to settle into a proper working groove (a.k.a. not rushing anyone). It was smart, in my eyes. Plus, with the inauguration, it avoided some potential preemptions that could have easily happened.

I mean, we know there were production issues - stuff like the lighting equipment not having arrived and CBS forcing them to start filming because they didn't want to delay it further. We also know that they spent time reshooting scenes, had to get an experienced soap videographer out of retirement to help them out and Tamara Tunie sending out an e-mail about "professionalism" (ouch), so it wouldn't surprise me if it did get delayed from whatever projected airdate CBS had in mind. I guess we'll see next week if there's a big set up for the pre-emption cliffhanger and that's why this week's Friday cliffhanger seemed off (or rather, seemed to have happened on Thursday). 

26 minutes ago, te. said:

I mean, we know there were production issues - stuff like the lighting equipment not having arrived and CBS forcing them to start filming because they didn't want to delay it further. We also know that they spent time reshooting scenes, had to get an experienced soap videographer out of retirement to help them out and Tamara Tunie sending out an e-mail about "professionalism" (ouch), so it wouldn't surprise me if it did get delayed from whatever projected airdate CBS had in mind. I guess we'll see next week if there's a big set up for the pre-emption cliffhanger and that's why this week's Friday cliffhanger seemed off (or rather, seemed to have happened on Thursday). 

BUT! The premiere date was removed by the time production was due to begin; it went from "January 2025" to "early 2025," so it's clear plans were changed from April to October 2025. 😉 Either way, I think pushing back to February from January was smart.

And I fully disagree about the cliffhanger thing; Thursday's didn't feel like a Friday ending, and I didn't see any issue in how yesterday's ended, at all.

Friday's episode was a weird one for me. 

-Tomas throwing in a random Spanish word here and there is cringe. Why do they write Hispanic characters this way? It's cliche and awkward. Have him speak on the phone with subtitles or interact with another Spanish speaking character if that was so necessary, but the amor, muchísimo, etc when just thrown in there to be thrown in there is giving Ricky Ricardo vibes.

-Derek/Ashley/Andre. Wow, this is painful. There is nothing remotely interesting about Ashley. We don't even have the full backstory between Ashley and Andre, but their romance is just not believable. I like whoever said that watching Derek and Ashley scenes feels like watching a different show. 

-Haley and Bill scenes actually made me uncomfortable. There was just a weird uncomfortability about it to me. I don't know if it was the writing that was bad or Haley's acting that seemed off today or maybe a bit of both. 

7 minutes ago, GLATWT88 said:

-Tomas throwing in a random Spanish word here and there is cringe. Why do they write Hispanic characters this way? It's cliche and awkward. Have him speak on the phone with subtitles or interact with another Spanish speaking character if that was so necessary, but the amor, muchísimo, etc when just thrown in there to be thrown in there is giving Ricky Ricardo vibes.

It may be cliché, but someone I'm close to says it has happened in his lifetime, so it is true to life in some aspects.

Sean Freeman's (Andre) real name is Derek Kennedy. Derek? Is this supposed to be a coincidence?

Do people not realize what Bill did to Dani is why she's like this?? I doubt she was a "villain" till he cheated on her then rubbed her nose in it by moving into Fairmont

 

 

Nikki Newman vibes. #BeyondTheGates pic.twitter.com/CFAQlCLKFF

— Gossip Soaps 💋 (@gossipsoaps) March 14, 2025

9 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Do people not realize what Bill did to Dani is why she's like this?? I doubt she was a "villain" till he cheated on her then rubbed her nose in it by moving into Fairmont

I don't even think it was merely him cheating; it's been established Bill had cheated before, but it was bringing it into the home she shared with him and with Hayley specifically that drove her to this Betty Broderick-level of behaviour. It's fully believable; at the launch of the serial, according to Karla Mosley, it'd only been six months since the divorce had been finalised.

Edited March 15Mar 15 by Liberty City

@dragonflies Dead at that tweet 🤣

16 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Do people not realize what Bill did to Dani is why she's like this?? I doubt she was a "villain" till he cheated on her then rubbed her nose in it by moving into Fairmont

 

 

Accurate (i.e. Dani and Nikki comparisons)

I have a feeling Dani has always been impulsive and emotionally unstable.  That flashback we were shown was from Dani's perspective... but seeing how the family walks on egg shells whenever Dani is around tells me that this isn't a new thing going on with Dani.

 

9 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I don't even think it was merely him cheating; it's been established Bill had cheated before, but it was bringing it into the home she shared with him and with Hayley specifically that drove her to this Betty Broderick-level of behaviour. It's fully believable; at the launch of the serial, according to Karla Mosley, it'd only been six months since the divorce had been finalised.

2 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

4 hours ago, Maxim said:

And speaking of Andre - he needs some photography lessons... Because seeing the photos he takes - Yikes. Bad photography. 😂

Thank you for this. I thought I was the only one giving the side-eye to Andre's photography. I took better photos years ago with my Samsung 10. That collage of Ashley was laughably bad.

Honestly, some of the mantle photos in BTG homes look lousy, too. That framed photo of Bill and Hayley that Dani smashed was cheap looking, and no way would Anita Dupree want that weirdly posed photo of her kids on her mantle.

 

33 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Accurate (i.e. Dani and Nikki comparisons)

I have a feeling Dani has always been impulsive and emotionally unstable.  That flashback we were shown was from Dani's perspective... but seeing how the family walks on egg shells whenever Dani is around tells me that this isn't a new thing going on with Dani.

 

It’s clear this isn’t new behavior for her. The Bill and Hayley situation just exacerbated her already poor behavior.

Edited March 15Mar 15 by Antoyne