22 hours ago, kalbir said:

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

Since Chelesa's diva hair toss.

On 12/11/2025 at 11:34 AM, Cheap21 said:

I love how Kat clocks people

That tickled me to no end. I don't think they could ever make me hate Kat.

On 12/11/2025 at 11:40 AM, Maxim said:

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

THIS.

On 12/11/2025 at 11:50 AM, Cheap21 said:

I usually hate her makeup but its flawless today too

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And THIS is why she is just as guilty as her mama. She enables her and is an accomplice

Same. I watched that episode and just rolled my eyes so hard.

16 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Since Chelesa's diva hair toss.

You love a good diva hair toss.

I wonder at what point characters that aren't clicking will be finally written out.

I think the actress that plays Ashley is actually a good actress, but the writing for the character just isn't there. My brain also dies anytime Derek appears.

3 minutes ago, 1974mdp said:

I wonder at what point characters that aren't clicking will be finally written out.

I think the actress that plays Ashley is actually a good actress, but the writing for the character just isn't there. My brain also dies anytime Derek appears.

I think the Ashley character can be salvaged, but it seems as though MVJ and co don't want to take the time to refocus the character. She works in the hospital scenes when interacting with Shanice and the other characters.. and could be used effectively in medical stories... but the Mary Sue persona is what needs to go.

With Dani/Andre taking off, I think the writers are trying to figure out what to do with Ashley.. and perhaps maybe keeping her in a supporting role or focus more on her family background would help.

On 12/12/2025 at 12:55 AM, Chris B said:

I saw an interview with Jen Jacob on Instagram and she mentioned how the story is developed and it seems like this mess they have going was planned from the beginning for Ashley/Derek. It amazes me that even with the reaction to those characters they still haven't pivoted. I've given up hope on recasts but at least change it up. The story just doesn't work.

Now with Tomas, I do think the story is fine but the actor is just dreadful.

Wasn't it said they had a 6 month plan and weren't going to deviate from it? IMO it's been a bit detrimental to the show. They need to deviate and listen to feedback

57 minutes ago, kalbir said:

You love a good diva hair toss.

I suuuuuure do!!! :)

22 minutes ago, 1974mdp said:

I wonder at what point characters that aren't clicking will be finally written out.

I think the actress that plays Ashley is actually a good actress, but the writing for the character just isn't there. My brain also dies anytime Derek appears.

I admit that I've wondered that as well. And I truly believe this story of Tomas trying to make Kat his wife for status is going to wind up being his exit storyline because Kat (and Eva) both have history and chemistry now in the actor playing Izaiah.

I feel that as well. Ashley was an early fave of mine when the show started. And I liked the actress. But the writing did her NO favors.

10 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

Wasn't it said they had a 6 month plan and weren't going to deviate from it? IMO it's been a bit detrimental to the show. They need to deviate and listen to feedback

But that's the thing. Thanks to Chris mentioning Karla's comments, we know that the show has finally made it beyond the filming point where the show has hit the online/audience feedback. And they have and/or are making adjustments like the soaps used to do BITD.

I was happy to hear that the other day because I've been saying for months that MVJ seems so focused on Bill/Dani and Andre/Ashley as endgame when the real fire was Dani/Andre so no need for his feelings for Ashley and Bill with his chemistry and drama with Dani makes a classic soap triangle. Moreso (Bill/Dani as endgame) since the show went out of its way to give Dani and Bill separate storylines so we get to see their character development instead of Hayley who got no development until recently. Meanwhile, Ashley works best in supporting vs the lead the writers were making her out as. And they can do so much better with her in that department by growing Ashley up through her 'dream' job as she called it.

She works in the hospital scenes when interacting with Shanice and the other characters.. and could be used effectively in medical stories... but the Mary Sue persona is what needs to go.

With Dani/Andre taking off, I think the writers are trying to figure out what to do with Ashley.. and perhaps maybe keeping her in a supporting role or focus more on her family background would help.

Great minds.

2 hours ago, Taoboi said:

She works in the hospital scenes when interacting with Shanice and the other characters.. and could be used effectively in medical stories... but the Mary Sue persona is what needs to go.

With Dani/Andre taking off, I think the writers are trying to figure out what to do with Ashley.. and perhaps maybe keeping her in a supporting role or focus more on her family background would help.

Great minds.

Agree that great minds can think alike :)

In terms of Derek, I see the show doing one of two things based on the most recent episodes that featured him.

1) They do the gradual fade-out of the character until he stops appearing and is occasionally mentioned by Jacob (i.e. still living and existing in town, just not being seen). We saw some evidence with him having a group of co workers he's friends with, plus a female co worker interested in him... so possibly we see him regain his walking and go back to his life with the Fire crew and eventually we stop seeing them on air.

2) His mentioning to Jacob that he hopes to win Ashley back signals that perhaps the dark side we saw glimpses of has been hidden and will rear itself if she appears to be moving on with a new guy.

In terms of Ashley, the show seems committed to keeping her character on the show especially since she was shown in the Thanksgiving episode having a quiet day with Jan and Mona as they discuss Black Friday shopping, food, and other day to day matters... so I think delving into her backstory in terms of who her father is would be a good place for the show to go while keeping her as a good friend to Naomi, Shanice, and a good nurse during medical stories.

Perhaps one of the children of the handsome new doctor could be her love interest down the line.