GH: April 2025 Discussion Thread

[prefab1]

I totally agree that the show has been misusing Josh Kelly badly for the past few months, but I hope they don't get rid of him. He's one of the very few actors in his age range on the show who projects warmth and a sense of humor, so I'd definitely keep him over guys like Josh Swickard or Donnell Turner. There's always a place on a soap for a handsome loveable rogue; they just need to start writing some material that taps into that side of his character. 

[Contessa Donatella]

With Cody I am afraid that it's be careful what you wish for. I say that because the last time they showed a  lot of interest in writing for him we got that whole feel sorry for yourself thing. Truly awful. 

[carolineg]

Oh, I agree that he's better than Josh Swickard and Donnell Turner.   I still find Chase likeable though.   I know @Vee and others have mentioned making Cody more of a playboy and cad and I do think that could work.  I was interested in seeing if Cody/Lulu might pan out.  Unfortunately, I get Josh Kelly confused with the other guy from OLTL that was dating Lulu before she went into her coma so that doesn't bode well for my interest level.

I just think Molly is such a basic choice for Cody.  There is really no conflict there except the fact that Molly oddly doesn't care about her life partner she was with for a decade and never talks about TJ lol.

[prefab1]

I can see the actors trying hard to make it work, but Molly-Cody seems like such a forced coupling. I can understand why the writers wanted to try the "opposites attract" formula with them, but Cody already had a perfectly good "opposites attract" relationship with Tracy that felt like it could blossom into a full-fledged romance. And Molly is in the middle of the Kristina/Alexis/Ric/Ava storyline, so she has plenty to do right now. There's no need to rush her into another romance after she lost her child and broke up with her weirdly memory-holed partner of over a decade.

[carolineg]

Again, 100% agree with you about Tracy/Cody.  The show would never go there, but one can dream.  I think it would be great!

I think Molly was just the simplest choice.  I am not sure anyone has ever given Cody that much thought.  It was so strange they made Sasha/Cody cousins after almost a year of trying to make that pairing happen.

[Vee]

It's more FV cheapjack utility plotting/couples: They exist, are on contract and/or are free, ergo they're paired regardless of whether it works. This is worst of all with the Black characters of course, and to an extent also with older vets in limbo. Kevin was available for Laura years ago and Frank clearly did not want to hire someone new for Genie, Jon Lindstrom could be depended on to appear and did not need a contract; thus a couple was born. What's almost as bad is how he has trained some fans to think like this: Insert Person A into Person B.

I do like Cody, or did like him a lot over the last year. He became kinder, more easygoing and less obnoxious. I love his bond with Tracy and I'd still put them together. But Molly is indeed so basic, and a spent character period who needs a long break from the canvas. This recast is serviceable but not interesting to me and the character is tired. Unfortunately I don't see them doing the Lulu spoiler pairing vs. Lulu/Dante, and Tracy is clearly not happening so if they can't find somewhere interesting to put him soon I might be tempted to cut him too. Which is too bad, because as I've said (and as @prefab1 did) mischievous but inherently decent (or less so!) guys like Cody, happy-go-lucky sort of studs like him, are what soaps often used as their bread and butter.

Chase OTOH I would can almost immediately, but not before having Willow use and dump him to screw with the Qs. He's like a little boy playing dress up and has no personality whatsoever. Curtis would also go.

Edited Saturday at 06:57 PM by Vee

[carolineg]

So, I almost got vibes last week that there could be a BLQ/Cody pairing.  Since Chase basically knows everything about the adoption I doubt those two will break up and I certainly don't wish the Amanda Setton modesty rules to fall on Josh Kelly.  So I guess Molly it is.

[prefab1]

I have mixed feelings about Molly. I think that the character is so thinly written that she could be written off the show tomorrow, and we'd barely notice. But I do think that Kristen Vaganos is doing a good job of bringing some specificity to the character, and with a bit of care, the writers could actually turn her into a key part of the canvas.

The big thing Molly has going for her is that she's very different from most of the female characters in her general age range. GH has way too many "spoiled princess" characters (Kristina, Brook Lynn, Lulu, Maxie) who are played by actresses pushing 40 but who frequently act like they're sorority girls. Molly is their complete opposite; she's actually too mature for her age, neurotic and responsible to a fault. 

I think the best thing they could do for Molly would be to match her up with a guy who has some of those same qualities, who's a bit nerdy and introverted and OCD. You're absolutely right that this would go against Frank's general tendencies to "Insert Person A into Person B" to maximize his budget. But if he can afford to bring two new guys onto the show to support Joss's spy storyline, then he could bring a guy on to be Molly's boyfriend (and to introduce a fresh male character type). 

Edited Saturday at 07:43 PM by prefab1

[Contessa Donatella]

Yabbut there are too many people already!!! A cast of 1000s, a cavalcade of stars, ... ugh. BLOATED! At least a dozen need to be cut before any additions!!

But, if Molly is to have a new relationship let's have it be very regular. She & TJ were outliers.

Possibly a minority rapport but IMO recasts Molly & Kristina have been perfection for what the characters were set to be doing.

[prefab1]

Absolutely--they need to cut some people first. They can start with the Sidwell-Ramirez family (though keep Marco for a while). And before they give Molly a new boyfriend, they could start with baby steps, like giving her some kind of interior life that doesn't revolve around her sister and mother.

I mean, at least half of Molly and Cody's scenes together have been set at the hospital. Would it kill the writers to have Molly say something like "I hope I don't run into my ex here," then have her open up to Cody about how tough the breakup has been on her? Or better still, she could say something like, "It still feels so weird coming to GH and not seeing TJ here. After we broke up, he took a fellowship at a research hospital in California..." and then open up about her feelings. It still boggles the mind that TJ, by far one of the longest-running black characters in the show's 62-year history, just basically vanished from the canvas and no longer even gets mentioned. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Absolutely! The not mentioning is so loud it's positively glaring!!!! How hard would it be to say  Doctors without Borders?

[prefab1]

That's a great idea! Maybe Jordan could take a moment in one of her scenes with Isaiah and go, "Say, thanks for recommending Doctors Without Borders to TJ. He called this morning, and he's really loving it there in Zambia." And then they could go back to arguing about Sidwell or whatever. 

Or better still, Jordan could say, "You know what, I'm tired talking about Sidwell. Let's talk about you. You've been in Port Charles for nearly 8 months now, and I still know almost nothing about your past. Are you related to the Llanview Gannons by any chance?"

[Vee]

I agree with that, I just don't think Vaganos is interesting enough to make it viable, not when Molly has lingered on canvas since birth with no breaks and very little compelling story as an adult. Like Adam Huss, she does a good job but can I see her leading story? No.

I think we need to miss Molly and forget her years of pointless omnipresence before you recast (or even bring back Hailey Pullos someday if she serves her time and debt to society, but I don't care which tbh) with someone more exciting to watch that still retains the unique element and specificity the character has always had going back to childhood, even when it was often annoying as they turned HP's Molly into Spinelli Jr. in the last Guza years. We need to begin to remember the aspects of that personality before she became a bland nobody sitting largely in the background for the last decade-plus, and then reinvent her with someone new or some new story after maybe several years' break.

Edited Saturday at 08:56 PM by Vee

[Contessa Donatella]

Well, look at that, it writes itself!

See, I don't per se object to their vanishing TJ. I just want them to actually do it. If he's going away, which he must be, just say it for cripes' sake instead of just this not knowing nothing. 

[jasonminer1974]

I think they just gave up and the homophobe?