Not to jump on this, but my biggest issue with the relationship is how it comes to define Vanessa, to the point of nothing being left of her. I did not hate Matt, but for someone who was a rough character when he met Vanessa, I thought he was sanctimonious. I also disliked the Matt/Dinah dynamics and how clear it was multiple regimes wanted them to sleep together but didn't have the guts to go through. And he's just not a compelling character. He could have been, with better writing, as I think Kurt was...OK when he got some tougher material later on (no spoilers), but the Matt we got was not that.
(this is just my opinion of course - I know they had a lot of fans and I don't remember ever hearing of them being crazy like some fan groups, other than driving Paul Rauch up the wall)
I didn't really care about who Vanessa ended up with in those years - my favorite Vanessa story (the custody battle over Peter) - had her alone. If she had gotten with someone I would have paired her with someone who was on her level of success, didn't feel threatened by her, could stand up to her, but also accept that she would push back on him. And someone with a good sense of humor as Vanessa, admittedly never a character prone to hilarity, needed that to balance her life.
(also someone who would not have sexual tension with Dinah - preferably, someone who would rather put her in a box and send her away)
I might have recast Justin Marler again. This would cause tension with Ross, as Justin was his brother, and they could bring back Sam, who would become like a daughter to Vanessa, causing tension with Dinah. I'd also be interested in seeing how Philip and Vanessa interacted due to Justin as I don't remember them ever being that involved in story.
By
DRW50 ·
