Watching Leslie go so hard for her mother, Barbara, whom she had never met, actually had me wondering about Laura and her family. I wonder why they didn't play the beat of her kinfolk visiting her at the hospital, and even threatening to sue Nicole if nothing happens to Leslie. 

I read a comment that some didn't find the Hawtrone's that compelling. I disagree; the window of opportunity has always been there. Imagine Jacob doing the right thing, exposing Martin's secret, and turning in his father.  The material (Jibre) could get would certainly be compelling, especially with his own family.

2 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

No problem! We've all been there. I've been on this board for over 15 years, and that's always been the culture. For whatever reason, people are acting brand new and super sensitive when it comes to BTG.  I understand and respect if you need to remove yourself from the thread for a little while, but I hope you return soon. It's (authentic) posts like yours that have kept me lurking on the board.

I agree. In the end of the day... what other people think about a show is what other people think about a show. 🤷‍♂️Period. Nothing more and nothing less. Comments about a fictional soap opera should never be taken personally, IMO. The recurring passive aggressive comments when... this or that... doesn't suit what someone here wants to read... are more destructive to the atmosphere than the actual critical comments about the show. We are grown adults-community and nobody can expect from anyone in whatever topic, section, conversation etc... anything... other than to follow the rules and etiquette of the forum. I am empathetic to the people who get annoyed with criticism - I feel you, but you can't always get the exact atmosphere you are looking for. You may be on cloud nine about the show and find that people being critical is... suffocating you, but that is your problem. Nobody is required to adjust their reaction to everyone else. If someone doesn't like certain aspects of the show or even hates them... they should still be able to voice their opinion without feeling the dread of it. And... with 1 or 2 exceptions which are blatant tr-lling (people who I have on ignore and have never engaged with), I haven't seen anyone on the SON board act out of order. Quite the contrary - people here have been utmost respectful to the fact the this is a new show and problems are to be expected. So, yeah... we should all feel free to speak our minds about the show... and I too appreciate all kinds of reviews. BTG is far, I mean far from perfect and there is plenty to discuss in all the ways they could improve and change. We all know that the show is having growing pains, but I fear... some of the issues are deeper than that. They can get resolved with time or get even worse. That is all in the hands of the writers. 

And I agree with what @DemetriKane said about the female cast on BTG - IMO, the best female cast on any soap opera right now. These ladies are just pure fire. And they bring it every single episode. 

33 minutes ago, DemetriKane said:

I would like to hear you elaborate on this. With love...

I'm going to refrain from elaborating at this time. 

I'm going to continue keep it positive and enjoy the show. 😊

 

I’ll keep it brief.

While I like the idea of Leslie being Barbara’s daughter, I can’t fully enjoy the scenes with Anita because everything happened overnight—it’s simply too soon to care or to believe it. If I wanted light-speed storytelling, I’d watch a primetime soap. I also wonder how fast they’ll move from this reveal to the next one, whatever it is  

There are a million weird things about this storyline, including how Peaches showed up, dropped the bomb, and left like nothing happened. And why was Peaches marketed as Leslie’s worst nightmare…?! (See attachment)

[oh and remember that convoluted backstory we had at the beginning - when we were struggling to get familiar with all the characters - where Eva was pretending to be Leslie’s foster child? It was all worth it because now Eva got a throwaway line saying “Oh but your story with Peaches is the same story that you had me sell when we moved to town!”]

Also, I’m extremely uncomfortable with the S-word being thrown around so often. Television writers should know that openly discussing suicide can lead to increased cases. That’s why suicide is often handled delicately in the news. This is a soap—there are countless ways to address it without being so blunt every time.

I’ve seen similar comments on Reddit, with people finding the June storyline pretty offensive from a foster child/parent perspective. The writers need to understand that social issues can’t just be thrown in as random plot devices.

As for Kat: she keeps saying Tomas is bad in bed, but what’s her benchmark? What experience does she even have to make that judgment? She was a virgin before Tomas. Here’s hoping a Kat–Jacob affair comes out of this, because we need MESS—and that Jacob–Naomi duo is absolutely sleep-inducing.

Edited August 21Aug 21 by Aback

@Aback I saw several comments suggesting that perhaps Peaches is faking her illness and trying to pull a con on Leslie once she gets the money. That could be interesting. Very valid point made about the sensitivity of the social issue on the show. 

28 minutes ago, MontyB said:

I'm going to refrain from elaborating at this time. 

I'm going to continue keep it positive and enjoy the show. 😊

 

I certainly understand that!🙂

48 minutes ago, Maxim said:

I agree. In the end of the day... what other people think about a show is what other people think about a show. 🤷‍♂️Period. Nothing more and nothing less. Comments about a fictional soap opera should never be taken personally, IMO. The recurring passive aggressive comments when... this or that... doesn't suit what someone here wants to read... are more destructive to the atmosphere than the actual critical comments about the show. We are grown adults-community and nobody can expect from anyone in whatever topic, section, conversation etc... anything... other than to follow the rules and etiquette of the forum. I am empathetic to the people who get annoyed with criticism - I feel you, but you can't always get the exact atmosphere you are looking for. You may be on cloud nine about the show and find that people being critical is... suffocating you, but that is your problem. Nobody is required to adjust their reaction to everyone else. If someone doesn't like certain aspects of the show or even hates them... they should still be able to voice their opinion without feeling the dread of it. And... with 1 or 2 exceptions which are blatant tr-lling (people who I have on ignore and have never engaged with), I haven't seen anyone on the SON board act out of order. Quite the contrary - people here have been utmost respectful to the fact the this is a new show and problems are to be expected. So, yeah... we should all feel free to speak our minds about the show... and I too appreciate all kinds of reviews. BTG is far, I mean far from perfect and there is plenty to discuss in all the ways they could improve and change. We all know that the show is having growing pains, but I fear... some of the issues are deeper than that. They can get resolved with time or get even worse. That is all in the hands of the writers. 

And I agree with what @DemetriKane said about the female cast on BTG - IMO, the best female cast on any soap opera right now. These ladies are just pure fire. And they bring it every single episode. 

Appreciate your thoughtful input - your perspective was both helpful and refreshing. Thank you.

Writers:
Christopher Dunn
Danielle Paige

Director:
Anthony Pascarelli

i wish they would have waited until the kids were out of high school or had them be curious about their biological family. Naomi doing what she did was wrong.

i do wish the male characters were stronger.

Vanessa had better remember where her loyalty lies.

date: Thursday, August 21, 2025 | Christopher Dunn, Danielle Paige | Anthony Pascarelli

• Dana is out spending money before it is even officially hers. We have all seen how this plays out in scripted television. Keep going.
• I have said it before, and I say it again: the love and support Anita and Vernon give to each other is so beautiful.
• I appreciate the continued relationship between Andre and Ted; I like seeing how close they are.
• Dani... your snarky, jealous side is showing, again! Put her away!
• Bill Hamilton...? Oh, this is interesting. What is he about to contribute?
• I appreciate what Dana is saying about that voice in her head, but she needs to be very careful about ignoring it.
• Did Dana go get a blowout before she went to meet Ted? Because her hair is now curled a bit from what she had at Orphey Gene's. And she is a glutton for punishment by continuing to go after Ted.
• Bill is still looking for respect from the Duprees; I am sure she will provide it now more than ever to stop Dana from whatever it is she could end up doing, but at what further cost?
• Did Dana... just call Anita... her sugar mama? Oh, sweetie, if she ever heard you, that smack you got the other day? You would receive one three times as painful.
• I wish Katherine would begin to trust the words Eva is saying and how much she is hurting about the end of Nicole and Ted's marriage. And oop... Eva just hit that nerve where Katherine and Tomas are concerned.
• Wow. Talk about having self-respect for yourself. Good job, Dani. There may be genuine hope for you yet!
• Oh, Dana is looking into property within Fairmont Crest and is using Vanessa to do it. Oh, this is not going to be good, but it will be juicy!
• Finally... a mention of the attempted two-time murder of Laura! At least someone is acknowledging it.
• Well, Dana wants beyond the gates. It will be interesting to see what she ends up with.

Notes:

• Finally... Keith D. Robinson in clothing that fits him! More of this is needed.
• The inchessss on Karla Mosley are stunning, and I am happy to see they are sticking around for a bit.

2 hours ago, Maxim said:

I am empathetic to the people who get annoyed with criticism - I feel you, but you can't always get the exact atmosphere you are looking for. You may be on cloud nine about the show and find that people being critical is... suffocating you, but that is your problem. Nobody is required to adjust their reaction to everyone else. If someone doesn't like certain aspects of the show or even hates them... they should still be able to voice their opinion without feeling the dread of it.

2 hours ago, Maxim said:

So, yeah... we should all feel free to speak our minds about the show... and I too appreciate all kinds of reviews. BTG is far, I mean far from perfect and there is plenty to discuss in all the ways they could improve and change. We all know that the show is having growing pains, but I fear... some of the issues are deeper than that.

I appreciate what you've said here, and I admit that's probably because a majority of the bullet points I offer in a post are in the negative file. I don't tr_oll the show -- I like it way too much to do that -- but I'm honest with my takes. YMMV.

Yesterday, I was over the moon with the Anita/Leslie scenes, and I offered praise. The rest? A very mixed bag that included some awful acting and odd writing. I don't expect anyone else to agree with me; on the other hand, I'm not going to sing only the show's praises because some posters here love everything, or at least refuse to speak of anything that isn't working.

If you told me I could watch only 2 soaps, BTG would be one of them. It entertains me and fascinates me in ways the others do not. You shouldn't mistake my complaints as a call for cancellation or anything like that. I want it to be better, that's all.

I think since the beginning people in the BTG threads have spent way more time talking about criticism, what is appropriate criticism vs. what isn't, or how their criticism is being censored or please scroll down if you don't want criticism, etc. as opposed to any censorship actually happening here. We are here on page 81 of August, and it's not exactly a nonstop lovefest.

I happen to agree with a great many criticisms of the show. With the exception of a few obvious tr0lls (yes, that is still a word on Al Gore's Internet, and we can't pretend they don't exist on Soap Opera Network and haven't for 2 decades) I think this criticism is largely because most people here are so engaged that they are so intense about those critiques or back and forth. But I think if folks in these threads stopped talking so much about what criticism is alright or whether it's going to be allowed, we'd find there is very little being suppressed. The same as people who genuinely enjoy the show or disagree about X, Y or Z on BTG are not just lying to other posters or themselves.

It's just not that serious.

Edited August 21Aug 21 by Vee

4 hours ago, Maxim said:

And I agree with what @DemetriKane said about the female cast on BTG - IMO, the best female cast on any soap opera right now. These ladies are just pure fire. And they bring it every single episode. 

The women are great, with only a couple exceptions we’ve all discussed (MG, JJ, RRM, Cady if we’re including recurring folks). The men, on average, don’t match up. Not even close. (Santa Barbara had a SUPERB male cast.) And the eye candy is much too subtle.

Edited August 21Aug 21 by Faulkner

I saw an interview with Sheila Ducksworth (exec producer) a while back, and she made the comment [paraphrasing here] that one of the greatest challenges in launching a daytime serial in this era is determining how to tell the stories in a way that appeals to traditional viewers (those who are accustomed to most of the beats being played on-screen) without exhausting the patience of the 18-49 demo, who've become accustomed to faster paced developments.  She didn't get way down in the weeds with it, but clearly it's something that's constantly on their minds in the writing room and in the production offices.  

One of my issues is the pacing as the speed of some plots work and others don’t for that reason. Bill having a stroke and being okay so quickly or Madison as a character generally but other things seem so long.