BTG: July 2025 Discussion Thread

1 hour ago, Broderick said:

I've finally accepted the wisdom of Martin being the Dupree grandson instead of the son.  When Nicole walked into the house at the end of Thursday's show and saw Anita & Vernon hovering all over him and patting on him, I laughed my butt off.  You could tell how incensed Nicole was that her (overbearing) parents had pretty much taken over the parenting of her kid.

Anita's lines were hilarious.  "You can stay here as LONG as you want, baby.  And bring the children!!  They can stay here too!!"

She acted like her world was complete, now that Sweet Baby was in her grandmotherly clutches.  She never once suggested that he take his ass home where he belongs.  "You're my HEART!" she cooed as she hugged him till she nearly strangled him.  

I think the (dark) humor of their entire relationship stems from the way they shoved Nicole & Ted aside and just took over Martin for themselves. 

I think there's a lot to play with Martin being the oldest male grandson and being favoured by Anita and Vernon. It could certainly lead to interesting interactions with Nicole (overachiever who felt she had something to prove) and Dani (underachiever who never felt good enough). Not sure if they'll go full on with that resentment though, especially considering Nicole is Martin's mother (even though they've barely had any scenes together). But it would certainly be something different.

Anita was definitely ready to kick Smitty to the curb, if need be 😄

When Nicole stormed off into the night, Anita pretty much just shrugged it off.  "There goes Nicole.  Who needs her?  Where's my Sweet Baby?  I need to pat on him some more before I tuck him in for the night!"  

If you enjoyed this week, I’m happy for you—and I genuinely want BTG to succeed regardless of my own feelings. But if you’re triggered by criticism, please be advised: the following message will be extremely critical.

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I don’t even have the words to describe how disappointed and cringed out I am—not just by this week, but by the entire breakdown and plotting of the Martin storyline. As GLATWT and ranger have pointed out, the plot is riddled with holes. Nobody knows if Martin remembered or didn’t remember, why he confided in Nicole, or what the big threat with Kenny even was. Kenny wanted money—so what? It’s not like the Duprees are strapped for cash. So that never really came off as a real threat. And now the Duprees are acting all scandalized that Kenny’s been killed… but it’s not even the first time he’s been killed, lol. I don’t believe for one minute that Marcel actually offed Kenny, he’ll obviously reappear to clear everyone’s conscience. It’s all so bland, uninspired, and straight out of a Harmony book. And honestly, I don’t see how this storyline is supposed to create growth for any of the characters. So really, it’s not even a story.

If you look at the last few months, the other major arc was Leslie’s reveal. And that had massive plot holes too—what exactly was Leslie hoping to gain by outing Ted? Weeks later, it’s become clear the writers had no long-term direction. The characters are stuck in a lull, and the writers clearly don’t know what to do with them. The same thing is happening with the Martin plot. The writers don’t know where they’re going—and honestly, they don’t even seem to know where they are right now. That press conference at Orphey Gene with Bill buying time? Completely ludicrous.

I disagree with the idea that the show is exploring Nicole’s role in the family. The writers are treating her like an afterthought. Just look at how Kat is used in this storyline—she’s a total non-factor. MVJ needs serious support when it comes to structuring these storylines. She’s no Bill Bell or Agnes Nixon, and sorry but Guza is not the answer. Let’s see what the new head writer brings.

Extra comments on other storylines:

- Jacob NEEDS to hook up with Kat or Smitty because we need SPICE. This show plays it way too safe. It shouldn’t give viewers what they think they want, but what they secretly crave. And sorry, “spice” is not Dani and Andre hooking up for the upteenth time in their toxic relationship, and it’s definitely not Chelsea talking about her 'fluid' love life.

- Naomi calling that invisible number on the photo, and the woman on the other end hanging up on her… really? In just five months we’ve already had this kind of scene with Anita and Sharon, and the mystery-voice-offscreen thing with Barbara. It’s a tired ’90s trope (like giving birth in an elevator), based on the idea of fixed telephones and they’ve already recycled it.

I’m sure I’m forgetting more (like Martin and Smitty AIMLESSLY walking around the park), but I’m just really frustrated with this show. There are so many missed opportunities. And no, the show does not cover every single beat.

I’m finally caught up. Some thoughts:

• I think the show is coming together nicely. I had some trouble connecting with it earlier but it’s slowly become a bit of pop culture comfort food for me. 
• I feel like a lot of the actors have finally figured out who their characters are. We’re starting to see some of these actors and characters break out. Shanice is a perfect example of this. The actress & character popped so the show gave her more to do and that turned her into the kind of connective character soaps have always needed. She added layers to Bill’s stroke and the Ashley/Derek story, such as it was.
• After all these months I’ve decided which characters I care about: Anita & Vernon, Nicole Martin/Smitty family and which ones I don’t: anything and everything to do with Chelsea. Just to be clear, I know I’m not the target audience for Chelsea and/or her stories. She’s meant to appeal to the Gen-Z/infuencer set and I hope it’s paying off.
• One of the things I appreciate is how the different generations on this show speak in ways that are authentic. I don’t understand half of what Chelsea, Kat, Tyrell, or Samatha say but the older characters sound just fine to me. Kudos to the script writers. Soaps are a generational art form and this show gets that and the “Martin’s Secret” storyline shows that. I can’t imagine a Black viewer of any age who couldn’t relate to “our car broke down on a dark road and white racists showed up and wanted to kill us.”

Anyway I have more thoughts but my edible is kicking in.

 

1 hour ago, marceline said:

I’m finally caught up. Some thoughts:

• I think the show is coming together nicely. I had some trouble connecting with it earlier but it’s slowly become a bit of pop culture comfort food for me. 
• I feel like a lot of the actors have finally figured out who their characters are. We’re starting to see some of these actors and characters break out. Shanice is a perfect example of this. The actress & character popped so the show gave her more to do and that turned her into the kind of connective character soaps have always needed. She added layers to Bill’s stroke and the Ashley/Derek story, such as it was.
• After all these months I’ve decided which characters I care about: Anita & Vernon, Nicole Martin/Smitty family and which ones I don’t: anything and everything to do with Chelsea. Just to be clear, I know I’m not the target audience for Chelsea and/or her stories. She’s meant to appeal to the Gen-Z/infuencer set and I hope it’s paying off.
• One of the things I appreciate is how the different generations on this show speak in ways that are authentic. I don’t understand half of what Chelsea, Kat, Tyrell, or Samatha say but the older characters sound just fine to me. Kudos to the script writers. Soaps are a generational art form and this show gets that and the “Martin’s Secret” storyline shows that. I can’t imagine a Black viewer of any age who couldn’t relate to “our car broke down on a dark road and white racists showed up and wanted to kill us.”

Anyway I have more thoughts but my edible is kicking in.

 

Love this!!

If the strange dynamics that have played out in the Anita&Vernon/Martin/Nicole&Ted relationships are intentional and an avenue to show how the grandparents have co-opted the parental role from Nicole/Ted because a) Martin is the first grandchild and b) he is the only male Dupree offspring, I can live with it. I know we have all beat a dead horse that Martin should've been Anita and Dante Green's...ermm Vernon's child, but it just isn't so. If this is the alternative then I can roll with it. It would have been more believable if Nicole had been a teen mom or something and Anita pretty much raised Martin, but I guess there is an aspect of doting that happens with the first grandchild. Also, Martin has followed closely in his grandad's footsteps either by admiration for his grandad or by design. 

I wonder how goody two shoes cop Jacob is going to handle not only the revelation that Martin and Vernon covered up a murder because they were victims of a hate crime, but that his father was involved. It seems that as a black man and police officer, Jacob is caught in the middle. He is very much by the book and black and white - something his father doesn't seem to be. While I am sure Jacob will empathize with Martin, I do not feel he would think they shouldn't have gone above the law. 

One other thing I noticed and I wonder if others feel the same is that the drama seems to be muted. The tension is not overt or palpable. I know that one of the goals with BTG may have been to modernize the soap opera, but many times it feels like the tension is missing. It feels like things just are. They happened and that's what it is, but there is no deep suspense or drama. 

 

Edited July 20Jul 20 by GLATWT88

4 hours ago, marceline said:

Which [characters] I don’t [care about]: anything and everything to do with Chelsea. Just to be clear, I know I’m not the target audience for Chelsea and/or her stories.

For me, it's not about the target audience here. I just don't think we're getting a relationship between Chelsea and Madison that's based on anything. We know they're hot for each other and that they go to Uptown to gaze at each other. That's it.

Madison does not come off like a professional/doctor and Chelsea comes off as vapid as ever. I won't applaud a gay relationship  on a show merely because the characters are gay. I need more than that.

Yeah, I know -- we have crazy stalker Alison following them around. That's also stupid and a complete 180 from how she was written in with her husband, who's now disappeared.

I would also prefer SOME kind of pushback to Chelsea being queer (yeah, I know, she's "fluid."} Why does every single member of her family so easily accept her fluidity and queerness? You mean no one questions her trying to break up Alison's relationship and now moving on to Madison in a lightning-fast way?

Look, I'm gay. I get it that it's refreshing to see characters who are unapologetically gay and accepted. But this is a SOAP. Besides, it's just not believable that everyone in their universe would be so accepting.

 

4 hours ago, marceline said:

One of the things I appreciate is how the different generations on this show speak in ways that are authentic. I don’t understand half of what Chelsea, Kat, Tyrell, or Samatha say but the older characters sound just fine to me.

I agree in part, but disagree in part. I have no problem understanding the younger characters even with all that slang thrown in. But that phrase -- "all that slang" -- is the problem.

Writers are forcing young characters to use WAY too much slang. It's absolutely forced. Last week, Samantha (who looks like a grown adult using kids' slang, but that's another story) used the word "tea" multiple times. Then Tyrell used the word "tea" when talking to her. Are you kidding me with this? Teenage boys do not talk about "the tea."

The crazy thing is that "the tea" isn't slang that's used only by young people. 

 

14 hours ago, Aback said:

I don’t believe for one minute that Marcel actually offed Kenny, he’ll obviously reappear to clear everyone’s conscience.

Aback, your post was pretty critical, but I have to agree in essence with many points you made, including this one. I do not think Kenny is dead. His blood would be on too many hands, including Jacob's father. They're not going to bury those characters as killers.

Yeah, Martin killed Kenny's brother, but at least that was in self-defense. It's just crazy to me that all these powerful and brilliant men decided the way to get rid of Kenny was to bring in Joey the town mobster. I mean, my God.

 

14 hours ago, Aback said:

Martin and Smitty AIMLESSLY walking around the park

Yeah, that bothered me, too. I love outdoor remotes, but that did not make sense. Smitty showing up there had me LMAO, and that was followed by Kenny right behind him. They had a brief conversation that went nowhere. What was the point?

5 hours ago, marceline said:

I’m finally caught up. Some thoughts:

• I think the show is coming together nicely. I had some trouble connecting with it earlier but it’s slowly become a bit of pop culture comfort food for me. 
• I feel like a lot of the actors have finally figured out who their characters are. We’re starting to see some of these actors and characters break out. Shanice is a perfect example of this. The actress & character popped so the show gave her more to do and that turned her into the kind of connective character soaps have always needed. She added layers to Bill’s stroke and the Ashley/Derek story, such as it was.
• After all these months I’ve decided which characters I care about: Anita & Vernon, Nicole Martin/Smitty family and which ones I don’t: anything and everything to do with Chelsea. Just to be clear, I know I’m not the target audience for Chelsea and/or her stories. She’s meant to appeal to the Gen-Z/infuencer set and I hope it’s paying off.
• One of the things I appreciate is how the different generations on this show speak in ways that are authentic. I don’t understand half of what Chelsea, Kat, Tyrell, or Samatha say but the older characters sound just fine to me. Kudos to the script writers. Soaps are a generational art form and this show gets that and the “Martin’s Secret” storyline shows that. I can’t imagine a Black viewer of any age who couldn’t relate to “our car broke down on a dark road and white racists showed up and wanted to kill us.”

Anyway I have more thoughts but my edible is kicking in.

 

I've been waiting for you to post on in. And that was worth the wait. Also love you are a Nicole lover.

43 minutes ago, GLATWT88 said:

I wonder how goody two shoes cop Jacob is going to handle not only the revelation that Martin and Vernon covered up a murder because they were victims of a hate crime, but that his father was involved.

Now that we have gotten to the reveal and the fallout is about to start, that is part of the story that I'm really looking forward to because I feel the show has done a good job of establishing Jacob and his relationship with his father (as well as teased other family members) that I want to see how he reacts to the news. 

 

45 minutes ago, GLATWT88 said:

One other thing I noticed and I wonder if others feel the same is that the drama seems to be muted. The tension is not overt or palpable. I know that one of the goals with BTG may have been to modernize the soap opera, but many times it feels like the tension is missing. It feels like things just are. They happened and that's what it is, but there is no deep suspense or drama. 

I disagree, but I think I get what you mean if that makes sense. This comment makes me think of how I felt on Friday's episode where if it was a Thursday episode...it would have been fine. And the episode WAS good. However, Thursday's episode itself was a Thursday episode, allowing for character beats to be played and a bit of catch-up, so Friday felt a bit redundant to me. And then in the overall scheme of the week, Friday's episode came off really weak, off, and a little flat. It was just there.

 

Of course, I haven't rewatched it yet so I might change my mind.  

 

 

And PS. Disagree in general about the beat playing...easy to avoid as well if the disagreement over that is going to be triggering.  

I still am not convinced about the Martin storyline.

The Duprees are THE family in town, as witnessed by them summoning the Chief of Police who was prepared to aid in the cover up.

Surely that power and influence could be used to immediately swing into action and go public with what happened, exposing the racism and hate that can touch even an upper echelon family.

They were threatened with violence-there was a gun-and an elderly man was threatened. In self defence Martin lashed out.

They would have  highlighted an ongoing issue and being PR savvy have used it to their advantage.

As for Chelsea, that story has been half baked since Day 1. The 3 way was barely touched on and then an instant romance with an unsuitable partner followed up with a possible stalker. All too much.

I could see Bill being slightly cynical about his daughters fluid sexuality. 

 

You know what...Dani/Vanessa are friend goals. lol.

4 hours ago, GLATWT88 said:

It would have been more believable if Nicole had been a teen mom or something and Anita pretty much raised Martin, but I guess there is an aspect of doting that happens with the first grandchild.

of course, the ‘so exactly how old is martin?’ is never going away. but, one possibility is that nicole had him while while she and ted were residents or post-docs. both were overloaded, so anita and vernon stepped in to help and formed such a strong bond that it undermined martin’s relationship with his parents. 

14 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

I still am not convinced about the Martin storyline.

The Duprees are THE family in town, as witnessed by them summoning the Chief of Police who was prepared to aid in the cover up.

Surely that power and influence could be used to immediately swing into action and go public with what happened, exposing the racism and hate that can touch even an upper echelon family.

They were threatened with violence-there was a gun-and an elderly man was threatened. In self defence Martin lashed out.

They would have  highlighted an ongoing issue and being PR savvy have used it to their advantage.

As for Chelsea, that story has been half baked since Day 1. The 3 way was barely touched on and then an instant romance with an unsuitable partner followed up with a possible stalker. All too much.

I could see Bill being slightly cynical about his daughters fluid sexuality. 

 

 I wish I cared about Chelsea but I just don’t. Like you said we got the threeeay for like two episodes and now the ho is obsessed with her and she’s in an insta romance we’re supposed to care about. 

15 hours ago, GLATWT88 said:

One other thing I noticed and I wonder if others feel the same is that the drama seems to be muted. The tension is not overt or palpable. I know that one of the goals with BTG may have been to modernize the soap opera, but many times it feels like the tension is missing. It feels like things just are. They happened and that's what it is, but there is no deep suspense or drama. 

I think that comes with speeding up the storytelling. The Agnes Nixon mantra of "make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em wait" isn't going to work with new viewers. For example I'm glad we didn't have to sit through six months of the Martin story with the same hushed conversation over and over. They built it up and pulled the trigger (so to speak). Maybe when the show really found its lane and audience they can draw things out more.

56 minutes ago, Antoyne said:

 I wish I cared about Chelsea but I just don’t. Like you said we got the threeeay for like two episodes and now the ho is obsessed with her and she’s in an insta romance we’re supposed to care about. 

I kinda like Chelsea but I wish they'd play up the comedy like some British soap characters. I've said it before but she reminds me so much of Carmel on Hollyoaks who had a heart of gold but was as naive and dumb as it gets. Looking at the situations she gets herself in, that would be a great model to take Chelsea in. 

I could absolutely see Chelsea doing something inappropriate and public like this scene:

 

I was watching the Locher Room episode where the actress playing Chelsea was one of the guests.  After being able to solider through the awkwardness of Alan's interview skills, there was one statement from the actress describing Chelsea as being more like her mother Dani and I was baffled by that statement since Chelsea is almost the complete opposite of her mother Dani.  

So it's either the writing has changed to suit the actress and her strengths, or the actress isn't strong enough to convey that Chelsea is supposed to be a mini Dani.  

If I were to make any cuts to the Dupree brood, I would probably write out Chelsea since her character doesn't seem to fit on the show.. and based on her being such a successful influencer.. she should be globe trotting instead of staying in the area.