In regards to Vernon, I hate that the show can't quite figure out how to write for his character that isn't just holding Anita's purse. He has a long and varied history that can be mined for story.. yet the show seems insistent on focusing more on Anita then on Vernon.

The only time the show actually used his character was when Anita was off on her tour and he was involved with the Martin secret. It was refreshing to see the men given some focus for a change.

I think the one weakness that the soap still has is that the show is over-correcting for a problem that happened in the past. Too much focus is given on the female characters while the male characters are given less focus.. even though some of them have potential to be more interesting if given focus (i.e. Andre).

Unpopular opinion, but Andre/Dani is basically just surface level. The hints about Andre's backstory tell me that there is a lot more than meets the eye and I wish the writers would focus more on that and less on Dani (who is kind of surface right now).

I also wish the show would delve more into how Dani was as a parent because there is a lot of damage in her two kids that is as much her fault as it is Bill's fault. The writing would be so much better for Dani if we delved more into how narcissism and being coddled by Vernon affected how she parented her daughters.

Matriarchs are such a cornerstone of soap opera that it's unsurprising that so much care and attention has been put into developing Anita's character. Although, there were a few months there that I felt she was being underutilized.

I do think that Vernon needs to be allowed his own space within this soap to be fully utilized. They have given him a lot of background - civil rights activist, politician, lecturer at a prestigious institution. However, that can only go so far when there are no sets to really cater to that type of storytelling. As of now, we know the Wonder Twins, Izaiah, and Vernon are all connected to Banneker. I think Bill went to Banneker considering the pillow on his office couch. I don't know if a college hall set would lend itself to being a good set, but it would give us another side to Vernon.

On another note, I do find it interesting how often the writers have had Donnell and Deanna drinking in their last few appearances. Firstly, are they of age? You're usually of age when you are a college junior/senior, I assumed both were younger but I may be wrong. Also, Gen Z isn't really drinking like that.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by GLATWT88

4-13

Ooooo can we keep her?

This week is off to a great start. I thought it was surprisingly strong for a Monday. Then again, it was Jazmen on the script so I should be surprised.

But for keeping her...I was talking about Lia. Throwing Nicole under the bus. Manipulating Ashley. Giving Silk Press Sheila a run for her money because their catfight was vicious. And then her history with Marcel. We even got a hint of backstory cuz...who IS her husband? Don't think I didn't notice he was not mentioned by name. In the span of an episode, I saw more potential in her than any of her other appearances. Heck, I said back when SilkPress tried to kill Laura at the hospital, that it could have been a storyline for Ashley that she got accused of doing her job wrong by a higher authority figure, making Ashley question if she really wanted her dream job...a story having to do with her and not just her triangle with Derek and Andre. Who would have thought a year later, Ashley now has to deal with an authority figure that questions everything about her. It's a shame Lia ain't staying because I now see the potential in her being a villain after this episode. I definitely want a Round 2 for her and Silk Press Sheila.

So Ashley got a promotion? Congrats!

Well-played, Donnell. I have not liked that he came to town to look into Doug's death, but that storyline fizzled. So it's great that he was part of Deanna's quest to figure out the timeline of Joey and Vanessa's relationship. I continue to love the Deanna storyline because she's going to stumble into something that Vanessa and Joey are going to wish she has not. And I can't say enough about the actress with her 'Dru Jr' self. She says sooooooooo much with her eyes and I love it.

I still can't believe that Nicole has been thrown into this plasma ring storyline now. The more Nicole, the merrier for me. And I guess in hindsight, it is a heroine move to be accused of something that she didn't do. Gee thanks Smitty. I did like she went to confront him though.

For something nice about SilkPress, I liked she was a (jealous) person this episode and not a cartoon. And I never not like her with Marcel.