5 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Carlton gives me the creeps. What's his backstory? Is he divorced or has he just been lying in wait for Nicole all these years?

Lying in wait. Nicole was the one who got away. If I remember correctly, I believe he knew Nicole before he even knew Ted. But why the time he got the nerve to say something she met Ted at that conference.

1-8

I do continue to like the Kat angle to Anita's cancer story. How long has it been on a soap when something happens to a character and everyone just falls in line? It used to be something would happen in a town and people would pick sides. Or, the opposition would be one-note. So it's nice to see something refreshing. I find Kat's position in the testing to be relatable almost to a scary degree. I also like that the testing of Dani/Nicole has been carried out throughout the week, allowing so many different POVs to be explored. The story, for all of its heaviness, has been allowed to breathe. Thankfully, there has been a counterpoint to that...most of which was more comedic. So well-done.

I was not expecting that Kat vs Chelesa fight the first time around. So rewatching it. It still holds up well. And realistic as well because that is the kind of conversation a close family member would have with another. It hit a little bit too close to home actually due to some recent family news but still well done.

Anita wanting a last good moment (that's Mardi Gras themed) before the real heaviness of the story beats start was also well done. TT is just acting her butt off. And uh oh at Naomi getting the baby. Foreshadowing again, writers?

Sidenotes:

Because I can't say it enough...I love that Nicole (and Vernon, too) are horror fans.

Nice Martin/Smitty scenes. Looking/acting like a real couple. What a difference an almost year makes.

Nice Dani/Andre scenes, too.

2 hours ago, Taoboi said:

I agree. We really don't have any stakes with Izaiah/Eva. I think I said that myself either yesterday or a few days ago. I like the writers are giving Eva/Izaiah time to grow, but it's time for some conflict for sure. It seems like the writers are still in 'build them into a couple before stakes' mode or doing what they did with Dani/Bill after the first few weeks of the show by having them be in separate stories so the audience got to know them and would feel something once their storylines converged again. Well, that last part is IF they go there with Eva/Izaiah/Kat down the road...which is what I feel is going on and why currently Eva and Kat have their own stories going on. Add on how they have completely vanished Tomas from that story as well right down to book in-jokes is just another reason I feel he will be exiting left at some point (Febuary Sweeps?). So unless they converge the plot again, I would say the Hawthornes' disapproval of Eva would have to come into play if they want any kind of conflict at the moment.

Oh, I lived for Dani's shading Ashley every chance she got. LOL!!! Ashley was one of my favorite characters when the show started and I wanted to see the good idealistic girl get her dream job and then reality kicked in. And there were so many ways to write around that that developed her character. SPS potentially framing her for Laura's second almost-death and having to clear her name. Her being onto Hayley and the fake pregnancy as someone else mentioned. Even the drama with her and Derek moving in together had sooome potential at first. But how Ashley was handled was just...smh. People winded up on Derek's side against her than her and she's the main character. That's not good.

You really want Tomas gone LOL

In regards to Kat/Eva.. a secret to good feud is allowing both sides to cool off and not engage with one another.. or else it becomes either too stale or too over the top (I.e. Jill/Katherine on Y & R). Right now, Kat is dealing with family issues while Eva is trying to start over with a new guy that's single.

If the plan was to make Derek a psycho/bad guy... than the writers were so off base. There have been hints about him being obsessive over Ashley going all the way back to episode 1 where his whole existence seemed to revolve around her. He also had the head injury, also used Shanice to make Ashley jealous, held off telling Ashley he was getting feeling his legs, basically blackmailed Shanice into not telling Ashley about his progress, threw shade at Jacob about being honest with Naomi, and then after he was found out and hanging out with Jacob.. he said he still believed he could get Ashley back. Lastly, his NYE awkwardness was him still trying to determine if he should make a move on her, but was doing the boy scout thing.

Maybe they just dropped Derek when season 2 started, but the way he was acting wasn't the way someone with closure would act.

Time will tell.

3 hours ago, Broderick said:

And I could be dead wrong.

But there's been a TON of literary symbolism going on the past few episodes that points to Naomi being pregnant. It's the type of thing writers & readers jump onto.

Anita yelled at Tracy the other day and broke a teacup. As she flung the cup, Senator Dupree walked in just as Anita yelled, "I want more grandchildren!"

Then, at the Mardi Gras celebration following Epiphany, Naomi (of all people) "got the baby". And Naomi didn't say it once, but yelled it twice, to drive the point home, that SHE was the one who "got the baby". Anita then brought Naomi a crown, which seemed to symbolize Anita "passing something" to Naomi (the triple negative cancer gene). At the end of the episode, Naomi presented Anita with a gift, by placing the crown on Anita's head for the photograph, indicating that Naomi would be "gifting" something to Anita later (the grandbaby that Anita told Tracy she wanted).

I love everything you said. I had similar thoughts about the foreshadowing, too. I think you're 100% right.

Someone mentioned the specificity of detail with the lighting throughout the entire episode, that yellow hue representing the sunrise and beginning of a new day. That just magnified my love for this episode. The attention to detail is so on point.

While I completely understood why Vernon lied to Anita about the test results coming in, I think it's not going to go over well when Anita finds out and you know she will.

5 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

You really want Tomas gone LOL

In regards to Kat/Eva.. a secret to good feud is allowing both sides to cool off and not engage with one another.. or else it becomes either too stale or too over the top (I.e. Jill/Katherine on Y & R). Right now, Kat is dealing with family issues while Eva is trying to start over with a new guy that's single.

If the plan was to make Derek a psycho/bad guy... than the writers were so off base. There have been hints about him being obsessive over Ashley going all the way back to episode 1 where his whole existence seemed to revolve around her. He also had the head injury, also used Shanice to make Ashley jealous, held off telling Ashley he was getting feeling his legs, basically blackmailed Shanice into not telling Ashley about his progress, threw shade at Jacob about being honest with Naomi, and then after he was found out and hanging out with Jacob.. he said he still believed he could get Ashley back. Lastly, his NYE awkwardness was him still trying to determine if he should make a move on her, but was doing the boy scout thing.

Maybe they just dropped Derek when season 2 started, but the way he was acting wasn't the way someone with closure would act.

Time will tell.

I not only on that. re: Tomas. I really feel the writers are doing everything to drop anvils. If he makes it to 2027 I will be shocked.

As I know Jill and Katherine all too well. lol. I definitely think it's a good thing to have Kat and Eva separate for a little bit. Perhaps Eva will get some self-reflection. After all, Kat WAS ready to bury the hatchet with her before Tomas walked out in front of her in nothing but a towel. And I definitely like what we are seeing with Kat in the Anita Cancer story. Even Tomas is acting like a boyfriend to her for a change. So much more enjoyable than watching Tomas try to gaslight Kat into being his wife though that is coming.

I liked Derek in his himbo era. And I liked the Dark Derek era, too....cuz who would have thought the himbo would be blackmailing his nurse/potential love interest AND gaslighting his BFF for a girl that's not into him? More reason while him verbally destroying Ashley was so awesome and...GROWTH. But...alas.

I don't know the specifics, but I believe I read somewhere Ben Gavin has another role on an upcoming show or movie. Maybe he asked to go recurring to do that and they will still take Derek to the dark side once Ashley & Grayson are a thing, down the line. Just a guess on my part but who knows? 🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️

On 1/7/2026 at 4:49 PM, ranger1rg said:

I did a little research on cotillions, because I honestly thought they were a thing of the past and that the show was off base. I was wrong -- cotillions are still a thing, especially in the South AND in the Delmarva area, which is close to DC.

Oh, yes. VERY.

On 1/7/2026 at 7:25 PM, Soaplovers said:

I like how the show writes Vanessa and her friendships with both Dani and Nicole. With Dani, Vanessa displays a bit of that naughty element that's been missing while with Nicole.. she becomes more together and supportive. This kind of writing goes a long way in making a character more layered because you don't interact with all your friends in the same manner. Vanessa and how she interacts in 1:1 scenes with Dani and Nicole is a prime example of that.

Same.

On 1/7/2026 at 7:25 PM, Soaplovers said:

I'm not seeing the conflict and/or forbidden aspect of their coupling like there was when she was with Tomas. I'm going to assume that either his ex will be coming into the picture to provide some conflict or the show will try to insert Tomas as an obstacle.. or maybe the show will actually make the Hawthorne's the second family of the show and have them be the obstacle for the two.

I totally forgot about the ex angle.

They should just let Derek fade away and disappear. No need to destroy the character any further. They should do the same with Ashley, but for some reason they are keeping her..

At this point, Ashley can be the token, getting a C story every once in a while.

Nicole when she sees Vanessa is about to go do business with Leslie

Vanessa gonna need to be yanked up for real!