22 minutes ago, Antoyne said:

When I was last watching I believe she had drama with Julian? If that tells you how long ago I was regularly watching before last year.

That was part of her pointless ONS and pregnancy with Julian, which led to Leo who didn't need to exist but I'm glad he does now I guess. She had a fair amount of on/off flirtation with Scorpio, as Robert/TR was Lisa's real life crush BITD and they also had great chemistry onscreen; they went on a caper together at one point and Ned got very jealous but I don't think much actually happened between them. I kind of wish the show had made more of that before it was too late - the new, kooky Quartermaine mistress of the house caught up in a strange affair with an older superspy.

Since then, she hasn't had much.

delete

Edited September 27Sep 27 by Vee

2 hours ago, Vee said:

They used Olivia pretty heavy in the 2010s and off and on in the last five years. I'm okay with them having a bit of a break though I love LLC, but I do hate that we see Ned so little lately. I'm also probably the only person who wants Lois back regularly (and Rena has indicated she will continue, which is good) after eating a ton of humble pie.

 

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

The show could use WK and LLC a lot better.  I thought Rena sort of pushed LLC out because she's Lois lite, but they rarely use Rena as well.  I actually think Olivia is just a mixture of Lois, Kate, and Brenda combined in a haphazard fashion-and that is not LLC's fault.

On paper, Olivia and Lois are very similar, and even in performance as I think in both cases it was the performer who made the character what it was, but onscreen they aren't as similar as they could be, especially after the Gio reveal. 

I'd be glad to see Lois on more often, if the show can figure out what to do with her. 

LLC is definitely disadvantaged by the show’s wealth of great actresses over 50. She’s as good as Watros, West, Kerr, etc., but at a certain point the story can only serve so many temperamental rich ladies who look great in a midi dress.

I kept thinking this week what a disaster it would’ve been if JE hadn’t agreed to come back full-time a couple of years ago. As good as SB has been, there almost would have been no way to honor Monica properly without her. 

11 hours ago, ranger1rg said:

I agree. Except on very rare occasions, Chad never exhibited that steely spine that Rory Gibson has in spades. We'd get a really good performance out of him on a Monday, and then on Tuesday we were back to milquetoast Michael.

Gibson was accepted so quickly and so dramatically as Michael that it was eye-opening. Yes, he's been terrific, but part of the reason is also that Chad Duell wasn't making an impact.

I think Rory had some advantages Duell didn't, as they let him join the show with a bang, making a move against Willow and Drew that many had wanted to see for months. There's also the freshness of a new hire. 

With that said, while I didn't mind Duell (admittedly I was not watching on a frequent basis for...well, a very long time), I do think Rory brings more maturity to the part (even though he's almost a decade younger), and makes sense for a new era - Duell, to me, was Carly's son, while Rory is more of his own man, or has the potential to be. Physically he's also a good match for a young Alan, and a young Jason and AJ. 

There are many paths the show could take with Rory's Michael, if they try. I really hope they try.

1 hour ago, bossruen said:

LLC is definitely disadvantaged by the show’s wealth of great actresses over 50. She’s as good as Watros, West, Kerr, etc., but at a certain point the story can only serve so many temperamental rich ladies who look great in a midi dress.

I think LLC's Olivia has more grounded purpose than all those characters.  She's Rocco and Gio's grandmother, Leo's mother, Ned's wife, BLQ's stepmother, and a defacto head of the Q's.  The show just doesn't use her in that capacity.  She's almost always giving advice while serving food.

45 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I think Rory had some advantages Duell didn't, as they let him join the show with a bang, making a move against Willow and Drew that many had wanted to see for months. There's also the freshness of a new hire. 

With that said, while I didn't mind Duell (admittedly I was not watching on a frequent basis for...well, a very long time), I do think Rory brings more maturity to the part (even though he's almost a decade younger), and makes sense for a new era - Duell, to me, was Carly's son, while Rory is more of his own man, or has the potential to be. Physically he's also a good match for a young Alan, and a young Jason and AJ. 

There are many paths the show could take with Rory's Michael, if they try. I really hope they try.

I would agree Rory got some advantages right out of the gate.  It was clear Duell was bored with his material, but Rory got a different take on Michael.  

I think the change was needed both in casting and writing.  Chad's Michael was often written as more of a sad sack and Rory's Michael takes charge.  That being said, I really liked a lot of CD's early work as teenage Michael.

Yes, they absolutely used Duell’s departure as an opportunity to revamp Michael as a character.

I read of recap of Friday's episode, so can someone tell me why Martin hates Tracy?

5 hours ago, reallyhateskateonlost said:

She needs to do like Laura on Little House did with Nellie, push her in her wheelchair down a hill lmao

1 hour ago, dragonflies said:

She needs to do like Laura on Little House did with Nellie, push her in her wheelchair down a hill lmao

1 hour ago, Bright Eyes said:

I read of recap of Friday's episode, so can someone tell me why Martin hates Tracy?

I think this hatred stems from Tracy's interference in Martin and Lucy's relationship. Tracy schemed to break them up, and it worked. Lucy moved on to Scott at the time.

18 hours ago, carolineg said:

Again, I think Steve is really good when it comes to emotional drama as odd as that sounds.  Especially when he personally cares, which he obviously does with Leslie Charleson.  Something about him being Stone Cold and breaking at the right emotional moments really makes it more real.

It been a welcome return this time as far as his investment in having emotional scenes. Before he was Stone Cold, but was still Jason Morgan, he still showed a lot of emotion. At a certain point with the dual volatility going on with Sonny/Carly, it kind of felt like Jason was the only stable one in that group. Steve has done an excellent job this week with both having restraint, and also letting the emotion out.

What a treat to see Erika acting with Jane. I can’t believe how long OLTL has been gone. What a terrible decision that was.

I feel Steve Burton has hit his stride in this return. And while he was always good at Jason, I just feel he emotes in a way that I don't feel that resonated with me before like it does now. I'm not sure how to explain it well. Perhaps it's because he was given stuff to do, and it was there and okay. Or he was more relationship based which SB could always do. But this time around, with trying to connect Jason more with his kids and standing more alone as a character, Steve has centered Jason at this time in his life better. Okay, I'm rambling. 

19 hours ago, Antoyne said:

 

Liz being there for Jason the last two days has been perfect too @Taoboi, I know you’ve had to enjoy this too.

 

You know me soooooooo well. Iol. I won't get to it before tomorrow, but I saw a soap blogger posted the episode and it plays immediately and I about fell out and went back the first 3 seconds. I also swooned. But someone pointed out that Liz was there for Jason when Alan died, too, so it fits she would be there for him now that Monica is gone. 

 

Heck, I've been enjoying the increased scenes between Liz and Jason Drew as well. It's funny how they don't interact at all since that John Doe/Fake Jason stuff. And now they be circling.