I love them and this shot was perfect!

Video vixen? I thought it was cute bc she had rhythm

11 hours ago, Taoboi said:

LMAO!!! First that Beyonce song...which has been on my mind. And now an EMPIRE gif right when I was considering finishing the series not even 24 hours ago. Stop lol.

Oh, yeah...a long time coming. And happy to see you're enjoying.

That said...quit! lol. People have been lurking on you for ages. I'm still heated that JG ran off with your idea of Heather/Daniel/Lily on Y&R plot beat to plot beat. And then he wrecked it. I can't.

OMG, how did I forget about that??! That was so far left-field that I mention an actress that hadn't been on the show in nearly a decade and six weeks down the line we read Val is going to be on the show. Even she was shocked. I didn't watch when tiic decided to kill Heather but that was foolish imo.

@Cheap21 The way the ballroom scenes were filmed (even the rotation around Tyrell & Jessica) reminded me of some memorable sequences from P&G soaps.

29 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

@Cheap21 The way the ballroom scenes were filmed (even the rotation around Tyrell & Jessica) reminded me of some memorable sequences from P&G soaps.

This was my facorite shot. Loved the chorepgraphy and cinemetagrophy of it all

The cotillion and the rest of the episode was fantastic! Best episode of the show in a very long time, possibly the best ever. The anniversary party episodes were great but this time out, we had TWO big events happening simultaneously. And yes, I agree with other posters that the plasma storyline was poorly executed from the start BUT at least we are getting an exciting conclusion. If Derek is the one who is going to die (which I’m willing to bet money on at this point), I’m glad he will die saving Jacob. When I first saw him pop up at the warehouse, I thought he was gonna get shot as an “innocent bystander” sort of thing, possibly including him being the reason the plasma bust doesn’t go as planned. But it looks like he’ll be dying while heroically saving his friend, which is a more fitting end (in my opinion). Plus I have really liked his character since he started working at the clinic and stopped being quite so obsessed with Ashley.

30 minutes ago, Cheap21 said:

This was my facorite shot. Loved the chorepgraphy and cinemetagrophy of it all

I thought those formations were great! I think the choreographer probably guided the director's hands on these in terms of making her vision clear.

1 hour ago, Romalotti said:

it looks like he’ll be dying while heroically saving his friend, which is a more fitting end (in my opinion).

I think having Derek kick the bucket while saving a friend is a good "circular ending" to the character's trajectory. He debuted last year as a fireman who was injured heroically saving a kittycat from a burning building. Now he can exit as an ex-fireman who heroically dies while saving a friend in a warehouse. Good literary closing for a character who was always a complete waste of time.

Jacob seemed to preview that yesterday when Derek wandered into the warehouse, with his mouth hanging open stupidly. ("Don't you ever get tired of trying to SAVE everyone?")

Writers:
Teresa Zimmerman
Skyy Sandifer

Director:
Steven Williford

Shut up Dani! She has no need to speak, she's just doing her typical main character syndrome posturing lol

Derek...are we surprised?

I love that they actually hired extras so this feels like a real gala

original release date: Wednesday, May 20, 2026 | writers: Teresa Zimmerman, Skyy Sandifer | director: Steven Williford

Thoughts:

• Derek wanted to be a damn hero so bad... and now, it looks like he might just die a damn hero.

• Francesca won platinum deb? Sure. Even Deanna knows that answer is wrong. 🤣

• Jessica taking Tyrell to her family's beach house is cute. A special place for her.

• Anastasia is making an absolute fool of herself... and misspelling Francesca's name? Haha. That is hilarious. She looks ridiculous... and a drunk Nathan looks foolish as Hell, too.

• NO WAY NATHAN SWAPPED THE RESULTS! Hilarious! What a dummy. Cannot even spell correctly. Should have spent less time drinking and treating women like garbage and paid more attention in school.

• So Lia has a heart condition, huh? When did that come into play? Why do I feel like she might be playing Marcel in an attempt to get out of this situation in the same way she was beginning with Jacob?

• YAY SAMANTHA! The true platinum deb of this year's cotillion.

• "Ride of diIiIiEeEe!" Okay, Nathan. No sleep that off and continue being horrible.

• Half a snap to Francesca for passing the sash and crown over to Samantha, even if her attitude was nasty.

• Ashley, sweetheart, I am going to need you to keep it together. Now is not the time to just stop and break down... and not the "I love you" as Derek's likely last words.

• Oh, yay! We get to see Bradley and Martin both dance with Samantha... and to a beautiful rendition of Tchaikovsky's "Grande valse villageoise".

• GET HER ASS ASHLEY! GET HER ASS! Damn, even Lia flinched in fear of Ashley. That says so much.

• Not Chelsea and Martin making out throughout the country club and Barrington County. Ha. Katherine thought she ate that, but they one-upped her.

• So, I guess that ice cream that you offered to get is off the table now, Deanna? Right?

• Dani is a dancing queen at the cotillion, and it is beautiful to witness.

• I do like seeing Anita and June continue to get along with each other.

• Not Bradley claiming Samantha as his child, while Tyrell is Martin's, ha!

• Vanessa asked for honesty, and I absolutely know Joey is not being honest.

• Well, R.I.P. Derek Baldwin. He got to die the hero he believed himself to be.

Notes:

• Both Zimmerman and Sandifer picked up well where Michael Montgomery and Judy Tate last left off. Another fantastic episode with some great flow and the momentum never once stopped.

• So happy that Williford returned to direct today's episode after the brilliant work he did yesterday. It creates immediate consistency across the episodes, which I do appreciate.

• Jeresa Featherstone and her team's work carried over exceptionally well into today's episode. And again, Bruton Jones and his team did great with the new ballroom set, as well as the warehouse location, which I assume was shot at night at Doraville Assembly.

• More kudos to Kurt Farquhar for the music in today's episode and the choreographer who did an exceptional job. Amazing teamwork overall by everyone involved in the past two episodes.

• The cast has been excellent these past two episodes, and Jen Jacob (Ashley) did an exceptional job in her scenes today. Truly exceptional. I felt every single thing she was feeling. And Ernestine Johnson (Shanice) followed right behind her.

• Whoever edited the episode needed to be a bit more careful. Andre is actively taking photographs with the debutantes and their families, yet when Jessica's parents were speaking to Anita and Vernon, he was in the background with Dani, speaking with others.

I mean it has been foreshadowed since the start of the soap that Derek wouldn't be long in the world going all the way back to his injury saving a cat, losing the ability to walk due to exerting himself so much, and now taking a bullet for his buddy. So my question is.....why wasn't Derek a cop and Jacob's partner instead of a fire fighter?

Both Jen and Ernestine did good work with Ernestine's expressions and eyes doing the acting...with Jen alternating between grief, guilt, and pure hatred (toward Lia). We all have to remember the 1:1 exchange between Ashley and Hayley with Ashley practically putting his feet on the neck of Hayley.