52 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

The surprise was it was placed at the end of the episode thus making it a cliffhanger. For once, the writers actually wrote an old school soap opera episode

And I'm saying it would have been a good surprise and cliffhanger if they hadn't given it away last week.

5 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

At the risk of being laughed at I'll add my 2 cents.

Giving Jacob/Naomi a bedroom was a choice and they had to later redress it as a living room. Which shows they can redress a set quite effectively.

Then Nicole got an office off her living room which I don't think we have seen for quite a while. Whereas Vernon/Anita need an extra room more.

Caffeine Fix seemed to start off as a thrown together space which came into play when they realized there weren't enough meeting places. It's been changed since then. Now they are mentioning The Atrium, which I think is the complex where Caffeine Fix is located.

Remember in the first ep we saw the foyer of Bill/Hayley's house. Where did it go? And have we seen the reception area at Bill's office lately? Hayley/Tomas could have met there rather than the coffee shop.

Yes, they needed to think/plan better at the start in terms of sets and occupations.

Good points. We also saw the outside of Bill and Hayley's place when Dani was trying to break in and was caught by security. There was some greenery if I remember correctly...an outdoor space would be nice.

The Atrium seems like a food court/mall. When I lived in Europe, there were indoor food courts all over the place. They weren't connected to malls, just a building with a bunch of food stalls inside. Sorta like an Eatly or Mercado Little Spain in NYC. The idea is fine, the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

3 hours ago, Taoboi said:

I never thought I would say this, but...UGH at Ted and Nicole.

I stay enjoying seeing Martin. What a difference a year makes.

It's funny watching Hayley being mad over Babygate knowing that the walls are closing in on her and Bill will be mad at her soon enough...

Have to agree on Martin. I would never have thought I would be saying this a year ago.

I'm all caught up. I love how when someone comments about storylines being dropped and like magic the show revisits it. Case in point, Martin's and Vernon's ordeal. Martin is still dealing with the ramifications and I accepted his explaination of staying as busy as possible.

I absolutely love the friendship Vanessa has with both Nicole and Dani. It's so believable to me. I still think Vanessa is a hot mess but that's another post.

Also, put me in the category of being a fan of Ashley & Grayson. I love how the show pivoted with Ashley and Derek and I've never liked the characters more. But, I do hope Grayson makes it out his current mess alive.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by skiman12082004

12 hours ago, GLATWT88 said:

Have to agree on Martin. I would never have thought I would be saying this a year ago.

IKR. Granted I was one of his early likers, but there was a long stretch of time where BC really wasn't on the screen and it was felt. (perhaps BC was on vacation?) But I've really enjoyed the increase in his presence this week and last. It was only during his scenes with Vernon and especially Nicole yesterday that I just thought about how natural BC seems now. Comfortable in his skin and in Martin and how much growth he had over the past year that he's highly enjoyable.

11 hours ago, skiman12082004 said:

I love how when someone comments about storylines being dropped and like magic the show revisits it.

I admit that has always been a fun little in-joke around here. Same with characters, too.

11 hours ago, skiman12082004 said:

I absolutely love the friendship Vanessa has with both Nicole and Dani. It's so believable to me. I still think Vanessa is a hot mess but that's another post.

Same. At this point, they make Vanessa more bearable and/or interesting. At least for me. I was so happy to get a 'Dani Longlegs' out of her this past week.

11 hours ago, skiman12082004 said:

Also, put me in the category of being a fan of Ashley & Grayson. I love how the show pivoted with Ashley and Derek and I've never liked the characters more.

Very much this. Ashley has recovered from last year nicely and by doing what the audience wanted...be supporting and NOT crazy neurotic. So her with Grayson has been near perfect. And it does help they do have internal AND external drama to keep them interesting. So not boring to me at all.

Writers:
Jamey Giddens
Danielle Paige

Director:
Steven Williford

Oh good, it looks like Vernon will be ok. We didn't really need that story right now.

I like seeing the country club used as a nighttime drink spot. They should use that more often vs. using Uptown so much.

I could do without Ashley's Tide commercials today - goodness. One was enough, but now two? Washing your laundry isn't a storyline haha. I know, I know... it comes with P&G haha.

original release date: Thursday, April 23, 2026 | writers: Jamey Giddens, Danielle Paige | director: Steven Williford

Thoughts:

• Well, it sounds like Vernon has some good news, so that is a promising sign.

• Well, Martin just spit out his news to Bradley. Hopefully he can ease into the conversation a bit better than he is right now.

• No Focaccia? Oh no. That is horrible. But it looks like Jan is on the way to save the day!

• Vanessa still wants in on Joey's businesses. Glad to see she is still working her angle to infiltrate his businesses and hopefully can implode them from the inside out. Or, at the very least, push Joey out of them.

• Vernon, you really could have... eased into the news a bit more gently than you did. Because the happiness on Anita's face just turned into the purest mixture of concern, confusion, and uncertainty.

• So Joey wants to give Vanessa a drawer? That is super romantic. And "back atcha, kid" when she says she loves him. I feel like he is suspicious of her intentions, but I know my Vandanna is going to do this the smart way.

• Ren does not play around... he is one scary MFer... I can see why Lia employed him.

• Grayson is stronger than I am... I would be curled up in a ball, crying, and ready to just bleed out right there.

• I hate that Bradley and Martin are backpedalling in their relationship. They came so far, and now it feels like they are slipping too easily back into where they were before.

• That Vitamin D is always a pain in the buttocks. Been there. Done that.

• Damn. Seems like Lia might have a soft spot for Grayson... but her continuing to cut the cameras? That seems very, very risky and also highly suspicious.

• HOW IN THE HELL DID GRAYSON GET FROM GARLAND TO ASHLEY'S APARTMENT LIKE THAT?! He must be superhuman! G'damn!

• Wow! What a thoughtful present from Vanessa for Anita. I love seeing her check-in on her, too. And the Harbour Hideaway? Sounds like a beautiful little boutique shop!

• Ashley, now is NOT the time to make this as personal as you are trying to... you have to keep a level head to keep Grayson alive.

• BHAM! Anita is ready for some... intimate relations with Vernon, and I can tell he is ready, too. Love seeing it.

• Vanessa, who the Hell is in that picture frame? Two randoms. And a sound garden? Hahaha.

• Jan, sweetie, nice to see you, but you have got to go NOW!

Notes:

• Happy we get back-to-back Paige episodes but a shame she is paired with writer², One of their best scriptwriters, with their worst breakdown writer. Praying by this summer we get word the problem is gone and hopefully with another name, like we got with Natalie Minardi Slater.

• Williford did a real good job at re-shooting Grayson's stabbing that Sonia Blangiardo-Goins did in yesterday's episode. It was a bit different but kept the same amount of suspense without the breathing room.

• I cannot stop laughing at how close Martin's bodyguard is to him. If Bradley and Martin start having intimate relations, will he be right there, too?

• First we are shown how to use a dishwasher with Cascade, and now we are being shown (loosely) how to do laundry with Tide. I will say, as a Tide user since I can remember, they are a top-notch brand. But I am a liquid person. Not a pod.

-- Grayson left the HOSPITAL to go to Ashley's apartment for help. What??? Did he take an Uber to get there?

-- And what does Ashley do to help him after saying his life might be in danger? She tells him "Start at the beginning and tell me how you got here." 😂🤣

-- Jacob sent Smitty to the hospital to find Grayson. Yeah, that's quite an undercover operation those two have going.

-- Jacob's code-switching with Ren is hilarious. His street accent is too much.

-- Vanessa decorates Joey's apartment with a photo of two people we can't identify? And a sand garden? Jesus, this writing. A woman her age getting an extra drawer at her man's apartment isn't all that romantic to me.

-- Vanessa wants more involvement in Joey's businesses, even if they're dangerous. Yeah, she doesn't give a rat's ass about her kids.

-- The reason I'm against a storyline of Martin running for the Senate is because they will not address any elephant in the room, so it won't be at all realistic. Already we're hearing "the Party" because they won't say he's a Democrat. They won't name the state. I assume it's Maryland, which is solid blue, so claiming Martin needs to run to hold the seat is ludicrous. It's also WAY too late when primaries are already in process.

Also, if it is Maryland, a candidate CANNOT run for Senate and Congress at the same time. Is he giving up his seat, or are we going to fake it there, too?

"It's just a soap" doesn't work. I hate stories that completely take me out of the moment. It's why I hated it last year when Martin thought of running for president. Nothing about it was realistic.

Of course it was a bad Jamey Giddens episode. SMH. Such stupid predictable rhetoric by @Liberty City BTG was great today. I’ve become a fan of Jamey Giddens because of LibertyCity. Keep in mind that Michele Val Jean, Sheila Ducksworth, Julie Hanan Carruthers and all of those Executive Producers listed sign off of Jamey Giddens’ breakdowns before they air. If his breakdowns are so bad, it’s on them to make changes and all accounts say that Michele Val Jean personally wanted Jamey and got him from Days. I’m a fan of Jamey now. Thanks Liberty. I very much enjoyed todays episode of BTG.

16 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

Also, if it is Maryland, a candidate CANNOT run for Senate and Congress at the same time. Is he giving up his seat, or are we going to fake it there, too?

yesterday, he stated clearly to nicole that he was considering a senate run in 2028.

7 minutes ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

yesterday, he stated clearly to nicole that he was considering a senate run in 2028.

Thanks. I missed that. However, the Maryland seat -- if we are talking Maryland -- is held by Chris Van Hollen, a very popular Democratic Senator in a very blue state.

If they want to do politics on this show, fine. I'm just asking for some sense of realism and that I don't have to pretend I'm clueless about the world around me.

26 minutes ago, TEdgeofNight said:

Of course it was a bad Jamey Giddens episode. SMH. Such stupid predictable rhetoric by @Liberty City BTG was great today. I’ve become a fan of Jamey Giddens because of LibertyCity. Keep in mind that Michele Val Jean, Sheila Ducksworth, Julie Hanan Carruthers and all of those Executive Producers listed sign off of Jamey Giddens’ breakdowns before they air. If his breakdowns are so bad, it’s on them to make changes and all accounts say that Michele Val Jean personally wanted Jamey and got him from Days. I’m a fan of Jamey now. Thanks Liberty. I very much enjoyed todays episode of BTG.

It's amazing that these horrific breakdowns are all saved by perfect scripts.

Maybe Lynette will meet Doug and they hatch a Bonnie & Clyde revenge plot. Seriously, I liked the actors and now we've been told both characters are presumed dead without a physical body to speak of.

I genuinely wish I had any interest at all or saw even an ounce of rooting value for Vanessa and Joey given how they’re on CONSTANTLY.

Jacob’s fake street accent is so bad, I can’t believe these people even buy his act.

Edited 51 minutes ago51 min by Antoyne