5 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

I liked today, it was awesome. I enjoyed the flashback and wish for more outside scenes. I think it's revolutionary the way they're handling Martin and Bradley's relationship and placement on the canvas, so please celebrate that. Both actors gave it their all. Watching Brandon Claybon in that car, smiling, cracking jokes, and being carefree, is what I hope to see more of from him in the future.

Wait...no...what???

I thought those scenes in the car were horrible.

It was like..

Martin: And then he said Mary had a little lamb

Martin:

Vernon:

The reveal also fell flat to me because I was also expecting more. My general feeling was, "That's it?" I figured that's what this was, but maybe Martin could've been doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing at the time of the incident. 

With that said, it is believable that Martin would not have been believed by the police or even the public. Some would've said he was playing the "race card." I wish they had played those beats since they're going there anyway. 

The writers also need to give Martin/Vernon some breathing room. They are each other's shadow. Vernon isn't this OTT with his other grandkids and Ted/Martin barely have a connection. 

I wish they'd commit to making a Dupree a flat-out villain. Vernon acting simple that he didn't know murder would be involved is a choice. 

On a superficial note, Tamara Tunie looked amazing. Anita Dupree always looks so regal. She has the best wigs on the show. 

Edited July 16Jul 16 by CrazySexyQ

16 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

I liked today, it was awesome. I enjoyed the flashback and wish for more outside scenes. I think it's revolutionary the way they're handling Martin and Bradley's relationship and placement on the canvas, so please celebrate that. Both actors gave it their all. Watching Brandon Claybon in that car, smiling, cracking jokes, and being carefree, is what I hope to see more of from him in the future.

 

 

I agree. And he is the clear LEAD!

Love this. Great post. 

31 minutes ago, janea4old said:

I'm not convinced that there needs to be a twist.  To me, the story stands on its own.

 

26 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

I don't disagree, but when the actor himself says no one has guessed what happened... I think we all expected a twist at that point (or at least me haha). I mean, several people guessed a hate crime and political coverup. 

Oh *that* twist.  Yeah I don't know if there's anything unforeseen coming.

1 hour ago, alwaysAMC said:

Definitely felt like a Friday episode. I enjoyed the flashbacks and being able to see it all. But, it really wasn't that edgy or surprising. Was everything covered up solely because of their political status? Generally I would just assume this was all self-defense and there would be a good way to defend them through the legal process. The man had a gun and they threatened and beat on them first.... am I missing anything? 

Now that I'm coming down off the high of a good episode...in terms of story, I am on the fence about it as well.

 

Unless there is a twist or great fallout...which that I can totally see cuz Nicole's reaction alone...I wonder if Martin's Secret is a letdown for me.

20 minutes ago, GLATWT88 said:

I'm having a difficult time understanding why Vernon's first instinct was a cover up. Vernon is a well respected civil rights leader with good standing in his community. Martin is a congressman with a similar reputation as far as we are concerned. They are a wealthy and well connected family as well as being in with the police,  they have the "best" lawyer as a family memeber.

Of course race plays a role in their apprehension, but they have clout, money, and status on their side. There story was credible. Why would they pull over the side of a random road to beat some guys, one of which was armed. So why would two reputable men be involved in an intentional murder with two men they have no connection with. Furthermore, Vernon called Marcel and Elon...they could have easily doctored a report than favored the Duprees. That would have been more realistic than two officers just risk their careers and freedom to hide a crime of this magnitude. Bill is the best, but he couldn't argue Vernon and Martin out of this? 

And what's Joey's role? To intimidate the police and Kenny? To transfer funds for Vernon so it's not tied to the Duprees?  

+1 to all of this.

I'm also very confused as to why so many people needed to be involved in this cover up. If Vernon has connections, he has fixers other than Bill on speed dial. He could have just made a call and revealed a true dark side. No need for dirty cops, mobsters, hustlers and a plastic surgeon. 

The show needs a male Dupree who was exiled for being completely ruthless and would've damaged the family's reputation. It could be a way of explaining why Vernon is preoccupied with Martin, to "replace" his son. 

 

Were the car scenes plain? Yeah. But I felt it established for sure how pre-secret Martin was. And it was nice to see a different Martin and I thought BC did a good job of that. 

1 hour ago, alexisfan07 said:

Mike Manning finally being the chance to show why he was hired today! He was outstanding.

This storyline has been fantastic for him. Never cared for him on Days but really enjoy him now.

I guess I had no expectations so I’m not let down and am just enjoying the ride. 

While I did think that there were quite a few holes in the reveal and the build up too, and admittedly was expecting a little more, I don't feel completely let down. I'm curious to see what happens next. Btw, all of that "you'll never guess it" promotion was kinda for nothing lol 

Brandon Claybon's acting really ping-pongs back and forth a lot, but today did seem like one of the better days. But still, Mike Manning has been carrying this part of the storyline on his back and that was no different today. I couldn't be happier that he got a second chance to show off his acting talents on a soap. Next year's Emmys are gonna be a very tough competition.

And I know some people were posting that they felt BTG was implying that Smitty may be killed off, but if they did that, that would be a huge, huge boneheaded decision. 

I also really enjoyed today's round of Vernon vs. Bill. I'm still Team Bill though lol

And hopefully, somebody paid Orphey Gene for the income that she's losing tonight for this canceled press conference 😂😂

Edited July 16Jul 16 by AbcNbc247

Having us in on the crime/secret from earlier on would have made everything land better, IMO. Chronologically, the story generally makes sense, but just one teeny tiny adjustment putting us in the know of what happened would have directed our suspense more where it should have gone, towards “What happens with Smiddeeee finds out?” and “How long will Kenny get by?”

Mike Manning really is a good performer on this show. Never saw much of him on DAYS, but I can only imagine how much easier it is to connect to the script on BTG. Brandon Claybon is like Ronn Moss and half the cast of Passions - at this point, who he is as an actor has become who Martin is as a character. My dear Cornelius Smith could take over in the role, and I’d be disappointed bc Martin without the facial expressions, random smiles, and “Smiddeeee” just ain’t Martin. Can a character be typecast to a type of actor?

27 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

and admittedly was expecting a little more, I don't feel completely let down. I'm curious to see what happens next.

I think that's where I'm currently sitting as well. We'll see how I feel once I do a rewatch.

27 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

And hopefully, somebody paid Orphey Gene for the income that she's losing tonight for this canceled press conference 😂😂

Especially when she's got Zucchini & Onions as her featured side dish!   

1 hour ago, ReddFoxx said:

The idea is probably that even a prominent Black man would not have been believed even in a situation of self-defense. And on top of that it is a soap so the characters have to make an already bad situation ten times worse.

Two great points, the latter being LOL. 

The secret was already more or less revealed for the most part over course of the past couple of months so I wasn't let down. The suspense has shifted to what happens now and if the cover up will backfire.

The Martin reveal was just so predictable and it just shows that the Duprees are just as corrupt as any other powerful family.  

Nicole's reaction will be epic once she finds out about this.. but of course, the show will find yet another opportunity to feature Dani (a one note character)

The one thing I noticed about the show is the rotating of characters in and out of focus.. with the majority of characters not being seen for several episodes.   The only character constantly shown, even though the majority of her appearances are basically a waste, is Dani.  

Yesterday and today.. there wasn't any reason for her to be on.

 

Edited July 16Jul 16 by Soaplovers