Thanks for responding.

I’ve been thinking about @janea4oldreally smart post last month on the new writers, and  @Michael recent comments helped crystallize something for me—specifically, the difference between stories continuing on autopilot versus actual course corrections since the transition. This list isn’t about performance or quality shifts, just concrete story pivots that seem to reflect a new set of choices. I’m not including character work here, though I do think Philip and Kate are great examples of where the new team has started writing legacy characters more in line with their emotional and historical rhythms, rather than just as plot triggers when a scheme is needed.

Here are four storylines that stood out to me as having changed direction under Cwikly/Ford:

1. Jada and Shawn: Abandoned After Initial Setup
They slept together while Rafe was kidnapped, and there was a brief window—around EJ’s shooting—where it looked like a romantic arc was being seeded. But since the writing shift, it’s gone completely dormant. Most telling was this week’s lack of follow-up after Jada testified at EJ’s hearing. In a normal murder mystery arc, that includes a romance, we'd see Jada and Shawn together after the hearing, much like we see EJ and Belle interacting.

2. EJ’s Funding: Retcon or Expanded Mystery?
When EJ acquired the hospital, there was no indication that he required outside money. Now he’s been shown secretly moving funds toward a second project—possibly connected to Versavix or Stefano’s off-book holdings. That changes the shape of the arc. It’s no longer just “EJ bought the hospital”—it’s EJ is running multi-front operations, and the writers are laying a longer fuse than before.  Even the elevator gag, which was previously established has been integrated into the new plot.

3. Gwen: Reinserted With Intent
Gwen was announced as returning in July, which means the current writers had to create something fresh for her. What they’ve built—placing her at the Dimera mansion and pairing her in scenes with Kristen, Rachel, and EJ—feels deliberate. It’s not comic relief or isolated mischief; it’s legacy-adjacent plotting. A real change from how she was positioned at the end of her last run.

4. Cat: Elevated to ISA Asset
Cat was in danger of being backburnered as Marlena’s receptionist. Now she’s been reframed as a tech-savvy ISA operative with clear skills and genre purpose. It’s a genuine character upgrade, and it is an interesting way to suggest the pre-surgery Cat and how she was like her brother Aaron.

Takeaway:
These shifts propose that the new team isn’t just executing pre-written outlines—they’re restructuring stories in ways that align with classic genre logic: tighter plot interlocks, more emphasis on institutional roles (ISA, hospital board, Dimera biz), and smarter placement of characters in narrative ecosystems. It doesn’t mean everything’s fixed, but clearly they are not just blindly following someone else's outline.

Great post @j swift

It seems we were also spared a potential Gabi/Alex pairing too, which I think was a very good choice to make. 

And, I also think Doug III being written out suddenly was a pivot as well. 

Welcome back, Samantha Gene!

It was too bad that they couldn't get Ali Sweeney back for John's memorial, but Marlena and Sami's scenes today made up for it. They were beautiful. The apology to John (with flashbacks) was a long time coming too. And I'm glad that Sami also got to have scenes with Johnny. I like how she comforted him over everything that he's been going through. It was similar to the way that Marlena comforted her just a little while before that. And it was really nice to see. I have mixed feelings about the reasons why Sami isn't going to be in court supporting Johnny though but considering Ali's schedule, I guess they had no choice. 

And, welcome back JJ too. I wish the new team would invest more in his character. There's still a lot that they could do with him. A lot that doesn't involve him just being a possible spoiler for Chad and Cat. And I don't think that the ship has sailed yet for him and Gabi either. 

They dress him very well too 😂😂

Chad and Cat in the elevator did nothing for me though. And making Julie the bad guy in that situation seems a little Ron-like. Luckily, her and Marlena's talk about grief overshadowed that.

I gotta admit, Sami and Marlena got to me today. Tears were flowing. Well done, Deidre and Alison.

Julie needs to STFU. Chad doesn’t need to be alone forever. 

Today was a bit of a misfire.

But I did enjoy the situations that both Sarah and Xander were involved in. I'm glad that each had someone to talk about their separation. Sarah and Marlena actually work well together, and I wouldn't mind her being a part of whatever's going to happen to Marlena, especially if they're going there with her and Brady. And, we got mentions of Mickey and Neil too.

And I like that Xander had an idea as to what Gabi was trying to do. It was nice seeing him be so smart. I'm curious to see where he's going to go from here. I did feel a little bad for him after he confronted Sarah about her hugging Brady.

Everything else was... mehhhh

And yeah, I think it's time to kill Susan off. She has so many connections on the canvas, and yet adds absolutely nothing to it. At least, you'd get good drama from EJ, Johnny, etc. from that happening.

15 hours ago, SouthernChick said:

Julie needs to STFU. Chad doesn’t need to be alone forever. 

Julie’s at risk of slipping into parody again.

I’m all for Julie being Chad’s fierce defender—she’s his grand-aunt-in-law, helps raise his kids, and they’ve shared some great scenes together. Their little caper last summer, snooping into Cat’s past while she was still missing, was the right tone: nosy, loyal, oddly fun.

But this week’s outburst in front of Felicity felt like a step back. We’ve seen Julie evolve past her more reactive, conservative, finger-wagging phase after the time jump. This felt like a regression to a pre-time-jump version of her that we thought had grown.

If she wants to warn Chad about Cat, fine. But I wish she’d do it as a friend who sees red flags, not as a shrieking shrew trying to freeze him in Abigail’s memory. That doesn’t serve anyone.

And speaking of red flags: I still think Chad and Abigail’s relationship was romanticized past the point of truth. There were signs that their love came with a cost, especially to Abigail’s mental health. Julie insisting that no one will ever match that kind of “eternal love” isn’t just unhelpful, it’s slightly unkind.

10 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

And, we got mentions of Mickey and Neil too.

I enjoy Sarah's paternal callbacks, but what about Melissa?

She raised Sarah and Nathan.  They both became doctors. Yet, she rarely gets the props she deserves, and Neil gets all the credit for Sarah's career choices.

Melissa didn't raise Sarah.   She left town with Melissa as a teen, but Mickey and Maggie raised her.  So, sure, Melissa could have provided a good influence and help shape her choices, but just because Sarah was heavily de-aged with Godfrey doesn't change the fact Sarah was nearly an adult before she reappeared.  There's no indication Sarah regards Melissa as anything more than a sister, not some replacement mother.

11 minutes ago, carolineg said:

 She left town with Melissa as a teen, but Mickey and Maggie raised her.  So, sure, Melissa could have provided a good influence and help shape her choices

I thought about Sarah's early years with Micky and Maggie, but it's Melissa who shaped her through the pivotal seasons—high school, and likely college. Even if their bond didn’t resemble a traditional mother-daughter relationship, Melissa’s presence was formative. Raising two children who both graduated from medical school is no small feat; it speaks volumes about her steadiness and influence.

To me, Sarah’s academic discipline feels like Melissa’s legacy. The moral ambiguity? That, I chalk up to Neil. And Sarah's odd fashion styling, purely Maggie.😎

Edited August 5Aug 5 by j swift

On 8/2/2025 at 12:00 PM, j swift said:

I’ve been thinking about @janea4oldreally smart post last month on the new writers, and  @Michael recent comments helped crystallize something for me—specifically, the difference between stories continuing on autopilot versus actual course corrections since the transition. This list isn’t about performance or quality shifts, just concrete story pivots that seem to reflect a new set of choices. I’m not including character work here, though I do think Philip and Kate are great examples of where the new team has started writing legacy characters more in line with their emotional and historical rhythms, rather than just as plot triggers when a scheme is needed.

Here are four storylines that stood out to me as having changed direction under Cwikly/Ford:

1. Jada and Shawn: Abandoned After Initial Setup
They slept together while Rafe was kidnapped, and there was a brief window—around EJ’s shooting—where it looked like a romantic arc was being seeded. But since the writing shift, it’s gone completely dormant. Most telling was this week’s lack of follow-up after Jada testified at EJ’s hearing. In a normal murder mystery arc, that includes a romance, we'd see Jada and Shawn together after the hearing, much like we see EJ and Belle interacting.

2. EJ’s Funding: Retcon or Expanded Mystery?
When EJ acquired the hospital, there was no indication that he required outside money. Now he’s been shown secretly moving funds toward a second project—possibly connected to Versavix or Stefano’s off-book holdings. That changes the shape of the arc. It’s no longer just “EJ bought the hospital”—it’s EJ is running multi-front operations, and the writers are laying a longer fuse than before.  Even the elevator gag, which was previously established has been integrated into the new plot.

3. Gwen: Reinserted With Intent
Gwen was announced as returning in July, which means the current writers had to create something fresh for her. What they’ve built—placing her at the Dimera mansion and pairing her in scenes with Kristen, Rachel, and EJ—feels deliberate. It’s not comic relief or isolated mischief; it’s legacy-adjacent plotting. A real change from how she was positioned at the end of her last run.

4. Cat: Elevated to ISA Asset
Cat was in danger of being backburnered as Marlena’s receptionist. Now she’s been reframed as a tech-savvy ISA operative with clear skills and genre purpose. It’s a genuine character upgrade, and it is an interesting way to suggest the pre-surgery Cat and how she was like her brother Aaron.

Takeaway:
These shifts propose that the new team isn’t just executing pre-written outlines—they’re restructuring stories in ways that align with classic genre logic: tighter plot interlocks, more emphasis on institutional roles (ISA, hospital board, Dimera biz), and smarter placement of characters in narrative ecosystems. It doesn’t mean everything’s fixed, but clearly they are not just blindly following someone else's outline.

I think now that it's been a little over three months since Ford/Cwikely have taken over that what we're seeing is more and more what they're doing and planning.

My guess was that the first few weeks of their work did sort of follow outlines and/or where Ron C was wanting to take stories while making sure the day to day scripts were beefed up... but as time went on, I do agree that there did seem to be a shift/direction changes (i.e. Shawn/Jada, Cat's backstory being explored, and Doug III's story being resolved).

1 minute ago, j swift said:

I thought about Sarah's early years with Micky and Maggie, but it's Melissa who shaped her through the pivotal seasons—high school, and likely college. Even if their bond didn’t resemble a traditional mother-daughter relationship, Melissa’s presence was formative. Raising two children who both graduated from medical school is no small feat; it speaks volumes about her steadiness and influence.

To me, Sarah’s academic discipline feels like Melissa’s legacy. The moral ambiguity? That, I chalk up to Neil.😎

I would have to watch 1991 again, but I think Sarah was 16/17 when she left.  She was Carrie's contemporary.  She would have already been in high school.  Melissa was pretty much a hot mess circa 1991 after killing Emilio. Melissa wasn't academically minded.  I would say Melissa might have been a strong influence as I assumed she changed off screen, but I don't think we are to believe Mickey/Maggie/Neil weren't involved in Sarah's decisions or life.  Sarah said Neil inspired her to become a Dr.

Nathan and Sarah aren't meant to be the same age at all even if they probably are now with wonky SORAS'ing.  Melissa was pregnant (presumably with Nathan) in 1994 at Tom's funeral. Sarah was born in 1981, but would have been in college if we follow the initial aging.  Melissa wasn't raising two young kids ever.

33 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Melissa didn't raise Sarah.   She left town with Melissa as a teen, but Mickey and Maggie raised her.  So, sure, Melissa could have provided a good influence and help shape her choices, but just because Sarah was heavily de-aged with Godfrey doesn't change the fact Sarah was nearly an adult before she reappeared.  There's no indication Sarah regards Melissa as anything more than a sister, not some replacement mother.

Yep.

Sarah was an adult when Lindsey Godfrey was in preschool 😂😂

24 minutes ago, j swift said:

I thought about Sarah's early years with Micky and Maggie, but it's Melissa who shaped her through the pivotal seasons—high school, and likely college. Even if their bond didn’t resemble a traditional mother-daughter relationship, Melissa’s presence was formative. Raising two children who both graduated from medical school is no small feat; it speaks volumes about her steadiness and influence.

I think it's time for Melissa to come visit her sister 😂

 

22 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Melissa was pregnant (presumably with Nathan) in 1994 at Tom's funeral. Sarah was born in 1981, but would have been in college if we follow the initial aging.  Melissa wasn't raising two young kids ever.

I suppose Melissa’s influence would be diminished if Sarah took thirteen years to finish her degree. 🤔 Honestly, that's less academic persistence and more a tragic misallocation of student loans.

And sure, Melissa’s brief stint as a candy striper at University Hospital might've sparked something in both Sarah and Nathan, but I shouldn't romanticize it too much. Between the two of them, they've made some ethically dubious choices with medical test results that make me seriously question their moral compass.

Edited August 5Aug 5 by j swift