18 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I still think Ted has more chemistry with Shanice then with June

:P

7 hours ago, Chris B said:

I remember Sheila Ducksworth did say that the vast majority of Michele's bible would make it to air. One thing we do know changed is Karla mentioned Andre/Dani became a bigger thing due to the chemistry. My guess is that originally Andre/Ashley were the end game couple and Derek would've become a villain as a result. There seemed to be some hints to him going to the dark side but that has largely went away.

I KNEW IT!!!!

I've been said the story was going to be Dani/Bill/Hayley. And how the story was developed Hayley was clearly a spoiler since Dani and Bill got more development (and side stories) than her. Dani/Andre was a happy accident (that and @kalbir were on board for from go) and the show realized that. Loved it or hated it, people were talking about it. And now, just about everyone has come around to it. Lightning in a bottle. And now it's Bill/Dani/Andre and audience is still talking AND still split. Love it. Add on The Hamilton Widow © @Maxim doing Kristen Dimera circa late 90s and the story has so much legs.

I would say the same for Andre/Ashley and have said that as well. And the audience...WAS...NOT...HAVING...IT. Though I did love the Dark Derek storyline (and I believe Vee called that happening from go), it did turn abruptly back to Aw Shooms Derek again quick.

Good to see this show can course correction. And some confirmation it did in the case of Dani/Andre.

17 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Dani/Andre was a happy accident (that and @kalbir were on board for from go) and the show realized that. Loved it or hated it, people were talking about it. And now, just about everyone has come around to it. Lightning in a bottle.

Whether it was planned or not, Andre/Dani were off the charts heat generating from the first week.

11 hours ago, Vee said:

Why not? They need to tie off the Carlton thread.

I thought the Carlton thread was tied off when Nicole told him she wasn't interested in anything romantic and just wanted to be friends. If they wanted to return to the coupling, they should have written those scenes differently.

10 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

I thought the Carlton thread was tied off when Nicole told him she wasn't interested in anything romantic and just wanted to be friends. If they wanted to return to the coupling, they should have written those scenes differently.

Except Carlton is still at Garland Memorial. If Nicole gets involved with Rollins they should address the Carlton in the room. I think this is a plot beat doing that. She tries it on with him now that Rollins has piqued her interest re: getting back out there as a single woman, and it doesn't work out. Done.

Edited yesterday at 08:23 PM1 day by Vee

11 minutes ago, Vee said:

Except Carlton is still at Garland Memorial. If Nicole gets involved with Rollins they should address the Carlton in the room. I think this is a plot beat doing that. She tries it on with him now that Rollins has piqued her interest re: getting back out there as a single woman, and it doesn't work out. Done.

I hear you on that. It's possible the previews of Nicole and Carlton are misleading, and that this "date" with Carlton will cement that there's nothing romantic between them.

5 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

I hear you on that. It's possible the previews of Nicole and Carlton are misleading, and that this "date" with Carlton will cement that there's nothing romantic between them.

They clearly intend Greg Vaughan for her. I suspect this is just tying the Carlton thread off, or they may try using Carlton as a spoiler for awhile (which is fine).

Edited yesterday at 08:44 PM1 day by Vee

10 hours ago, Chris B said:

One thing we do know changed is Karla mentioned Andre/Dani became a bigger thing due to the chemistry.

Yes I saw where Karla said that! I was too busy to post the interview or comment at the time. When I saw that, I thought, Aha!

1 hour ago, Vee said:

They clearly intend Greg Vaughan for her. I suspect this is just tying the Carlton thread off, or they may try using Carlton as a spoiler for awhile (which is fine).

Since Greg Vaughan is not on contract, I fear we might see him about as often as we see Cady McClain. Appearing about two days each month, and seeming to be a very important character, then disappearing for another month -- over and over again. That doesn't work for Cady's character and it won't work for Greg's character. TPTB can't build a believable romance between Nicole and Kial under those circumstances.

6 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Since Greg Vaughan is not on contract, I fear we might see him about as often as we see Cady McClain.

Highly doubt it. They have heavily hyped him up for months. I suspect he will be as 'recurring' as Jon Lindstrom, who may as well be on contract.

4 minutes ago, Vee said:

Highly doubt it. They have heavily hyped him up for months. I suspect he will be as 'recurring' as Jon Lindstrom, who may as well be on contract.

I hope you are correct.

I'm still catching up, but watching post-Winterfest and I'm really loving some of the outfits (something I've always said BTG has done well overall), which further confuses me as to what the hell happened with wardrobe for WF and just what the whole point of WF was in general. We had Naomi in her casual, basic sweater she probably got on Amazon meanwhile Eva was dressed as sexy Bride of Frankenstein.

I guess WF was there to remind us how charitable the Duprees are, but it didn't drive any story. Bill passing out would have been great at WF, preferably somewhere more private and Hayley freaking out trying to revive him.

That aside, Hayley had me cackling! "I'm not a barista."

I also feel the chemistry between NuTed and Shanice more than anything we got with Ted and Nicole. I actually wouldn't mind seeing that pairing go further.

GV is doing a great job and Nicole and Kial work. Interested to see where writers take this.

We honestly need Samantha to go away for Spring Break and come back as at least a 20-something college girly. This teen thing is a stretch for her and I am actually enjoying what they are pushing with the free clinic (as unrealistic as it is) but I feel like it would better if Samantha was older. Keep the actress just make her older.

Dani and Kat was really nice to watch. I'm glad she heard Kat out about Eva and didn't push her any further. I thought that was real. Everyone else just seems to want Kat to pretend nothing happened.

Tomas has got to be recast. After Kat and Dani's talk, I was thinking about all the story we have had with Kat/Tomas/Eva and how AA is so bad I really can't see past the acting. Tomas actually did have a bond/friendship with Eva first, so of course he would want Kat to stop bashing her, but AA is so bad that these details are lost to me I'm just like boo you suck, Kat leave his ass.

4 hours ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Since Greg Vaughan is not on contract, I fear we might see him about as often as we see Cady McClain. Appearing about two days each month, and seeming to be a very important character, then disappearing for another month -- over and over again. That doesn't work for Cady's character and it won't work for Greg's character. TPTB can't build a believable romance between Nicole and Kial under those circumstances.

Other than Dani/Andre.... the show can barely build a believable romance between characters on contract... and Dani/Andre was a happy accident.

@Taoboi I don't know if awshucks Derek is fully back... the darkness could be under wraps and could come out down the line again.

Erika Kirk, oops, I mean Hayley Hamilton looked so rattled at the client that was in Bill's office. Could be someone who was in on a scam with her at one time or maybe a relative of one of her victims.

On 12/10/2025 at 12:38 AM, Maxim said:

This show handles drinking in a very bizarre way. That's all I'm going to say. Next time someone becomes an alcoholic and then stops drinking just as abruptly to serve the plot... we'll talk again.

OMG I agree! I can't put my finger on it but there's something morbid about it. Same thing for gambling.

On 12/10/2025 at 1:18 AM, ranger1rg said:

Let me also point out that one reason I have a huge problem with Joey and Vanessa is that they are white people running roughshod over Blacks and POC -- blackmailing, controlling the police department, working over a sitting Congressman, operating the escort service that so many POC in the area apparently need.

I know that everything isn't about race, but I expected this show to be more sensitive to the optics. I'm white, but I hate the optics to so much of this. You cannot throw in historical references and talk about Black legacy and then follow through with white people in control.

Big agree.

On 12/11/2025 at 7:58 PM, Melroser said:

This Hayley "kill Bill" story makes me laugh. I was so excited when it started because it was a great twist and made Hayley far more interesting. Now it seems to be played for comedy.

Honestly it's been campy from the get-go. If one enjoys it, they should make peace with the fact it's pure camp.

On 12/11/2025 at 8:40 PM, Maxim said:

She looks stunning. That hat is such a vibe. I need it!

Kat's hat was giving Lindsey McKeon's Marah (GL) vibes when SATC's stylist Patricia Field joined the show.

On 12/12/2025 at 12:51 AM, ranger1rg said:

-- Madison and Chelsea kissing at the hospital is really inappropriate. Do these writers think that's cute? It's not.

-- Also, I wish we got to see the conversations that moved Madison and Chelsea to make up. Instead, it was skip the show and move on to the tell.

Madison is such an underdeveloped character - she can be a genius doctor and then a teenager - and the whole relationship with Chelsea is treated as an afterthought. This show has too many characters and too few (talented) writers.

Extra comments:

• Greg Vaughn is a pro and a stud, however I don't see where the story is with him and Nicole. There's no stakes, no tension. Mark my words: they will tease a big secret with Kial in the next few months, that's all they can do story-wise.

• Speaking of love stories: how grand can these love stories be if the most exciting thing these couples can do is bounce between cafes and book a hotel room? If I see that hotel room one more time, I'll scream. They have a huge problem with sets.

• I have liked Vanessa so far but I don't understand what they want to do with her.

• While WF was a bust, I'm enjoying the new writing and I'm loving the direction lately. They're experimenting a lot - and succeeding.

• Loving Leslie & Marcel.

• I literally have no idea what's next for Ashley and Derek. Not that I'm worried at all, but they've been written into a corner. They were isolated before, they're even more isolated now.

• I don't see any chemistry between Shanice & Ted. In fact, I don't see any chemistry between Keith's Ted and ANYONE.

Does anybody think that Eva is actually redeemable at this point? Because I have no idea where the writers are even going with Leslie & Eva at this point and I really didn't like how Eva acted with Laura the other day. Am I a moron for wanting to believe the best in Eva? I just don't know anymore.