I have a feeling the Deanna story might go the same direction as the Phillip Spaulding story on GL when he believed that Beth was still alive. He was thought of as crazy, but as it turned out.. Beth was really alive.

I actually think Deanna is truly struggling with her grief and mental health, and is masking that with this tough exterior. It's realistic and a true portrayal of someone dealing with mental health issues and not wanting to be seen as weak.

Lastly, Ashley Abbott was a force of nature and tough as nails in her early days on YR before it was revealed that it was just a front for her masking her own insecurities and mental health issues.

Edited 19 hours ago19 hr by Soaplovers

Don't forget the amazing Mike reference which they blatantly stole from you! And this past week there was also an Essence reference. Mmmmh. Up next will be the reopening of the Laura Peterson case™. You should ask for them copyrights!

On 5/20/2026 at 5:53 AM, MontyB said:

So I don't think this storyline came from any fans anywhere online.

Why anyone would think MJV got this idea from anyone online is hysterical.

But do you read Ebony and Essence?

On 5/22/2026 at 2:08 AM, melanatedbtgfan said:

As for Joey, the reason why he's white is because of political correctness. I truly believe that if Joey was a black man instead there would be a lot of complaints. I think the show wants to establish Joey as the big gangster and then bring in a black gangster later to be his rival.

I think the reason why Joey is white, or even exists at all, is because MVJ has the hots for the actor and has some PTSD-like affection for the Sonny character. And it's clouding her judgement.

Edited 18 hours ago18 hr by Aback

I was more upset by Derek’s death than I expected to be. His character had actually improved a lot lately. He had finally become the one real thorn in Leslie’s side, and I also thought he had an interesting dynamic with Eva. So yeah, I’m genuinely sorry to see him go. He brought good vibes to the show. Now let’s hope Tomas is next.

As for Ashley mourning Derek… those scenes went on forever. They were way too long, and more importantly, they exposed the actress’s limitations. She was just whining and crying with the same mannerisms and tics over and over again. It wasn’t moving at all.

That said, I did notice something interesting in Ashley’s dialogue. The way she talked about Derek almost felt like a mea culpa from the writers themselves—as if they’d heard the audience feedback and folded it into her lines. It was like Ashley was suddenly aware of all the selfish, nonsensical, and ungrateful things she’d done. Or rather, the writers were aware of all the ridiculous choices they’d made her do.

As for the rest, I’m still fast-forwarding through Joey’s scenes.

And regarding Doug: I really hope he’s actually dead. I hate back-from-the-dead stories in soaps. Long-term, I genuinely think that trope has damaged the genre. So no, I’m not particularly eager to see him return—even though I would still choose Douglas over Joey a thousand times over.

The cotillion scenes were fun. Honestly, this entire week felt must-watch to me. I also liked Friday’s episode. It had a kind of punch and weight to it that the show had been lacking for a while, so hopefully that means something has changed behind the scenes.

As for the plasma storyline, it was objectively a failure. It felt completely inconsequentialfor Naomi and Jacob, who somehow come across as more annoying than ever. And I honestly don’t understand why we’re supposed to care about Lia’s future. We’ve had scenes between Marcel and Lia, but… why? Who even is she to us as viewers?

38 minutes ago, Aback said:

But do you read Ebony and Essence?

Read them for many years. I don't read them now.

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by MontyB

7 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Any classic ATWT viewers here? Does anyone remember when Barbara Ryan was having these dreams and visions of meeting and falling in love with this man during some medieval/gothic era? And from what I understand (I was very very young during that storyline, so admittedly, I don't remember details), the man, who turned out to be named Gunnar, appeared in the 'real world' of Oakdale and he and Barbara did indeed fall in love.

(The World Turns writers had obviously run out of fresh, original material for Barbara Ryan. So they lifted that entire storyline, scene for scene, from a 1970s film called On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Barbara Ryan became Daisy Gamble from the movie, and Gunnar took the role of Marc Chabot. My mama was watching World Turns daily back then, and she referred to Barbara & Gunnar's storyline as "On a Clear Day You Can See Desperation". 😅)

1 hour ago, Broderick said:

(The World Turns writers had obviously run out of fresh, original material for Barbara Ryan. So they lifted that entire storyline, scene for scene, from a 1970s film called On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Barbara Ryan became Daisy Gamble from the movie, and Gunnar took the role of Marc Chabot. My mama was watching World Turns daily back then, and she referred to Barbara & Gunnar's storyline as "On a Clear Day You Can See Desperation". 😅)

LOL!

Actually, Barbara came to life after Gunnar died. She turned kind of bad at that point, which was good.

20 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

I would love to see the character given another chance to restart his life, reunite with his kids, ultimately turn away from Vanessa and maybe even build a friendship (something more?) with Shanice? Unlike with Nicole and Carlton, I think Ted and Doug could genuinely maintain a friendship, even if Shanice and Doug eventually get together but only if the writing took time in building a friendship before going 'there'.

Count me in for everything you've mentioned here from this post.

In addition, I never felt anything for Ted/Shanice as a couple. In fact, I was one of the few who didn't mind him, Ted, developing something with June. I mean, Ted getting involved with his grandchildren's biological mother has drama written all over it. I mean, how would Martin/Smitty feel about it? As well as Tyrell/Samanta and even Nicole? Would June get fully involved, or would she be more cautious due to her past? Besides, Keith Robinson and Jasmine Burke still have chemistry from their days on Bounce TV's premiere primetime soap Saints and Sinners.

Speaking of the BTG next generation, I feel like they're getting a hand on Tyrell/Jessica/Chessy/Donnell and, of course, Deanna. I also love the latter's friendship with Kat too, though I do feel like Samantha is the weak link of that set, though I do hope since summer is approaching, they'll figure something out for her.

I've been holding off my opinion on this week, because I've been catching up, but didn't want to add some of my critiques until I got through the whole week.

Firstly, the Cotillion dresses, choreography, decor, and family scenes were exceptional and just beautiful legacy soap.

I hate this three to a table thing that they do at these big events. I'm not sure if this is for visual purposes to create the illusion of a fuller space or if it is for filming purposes, but it just looks weird to me and always takes me out of the fantasy.

The juxtaposition of the lively, celebratory Cotillion with the darker more ominous sting was brilliant. I loved how they played these along each other.

The fallout...Derek is dead. While I did feel sad, I won't lie and say I was a fan of the chatacter. I did start liking Derek a lot more once he was away from Ashley and I felt he would have been great as a secondary character and should have continued on. I feel like there were other deaths that would have had a greater impact. Heck, I would have gone for Jacob ending up in a coma after he saw the Impaler and being the only one to know the identity.

The consequences? Derek is dead. Okay. He was such a minor character at this point and the ramifications already seem to be fizzling out on that. Ashley seems to be the only one extremely distraught by all of it - even Jan was at work and not with her daughter which was weird IMO.

I was hoping that this Plasma Ring story would have been over by the end of May, but it seems like we will still focus on this Impaler. Lord, just make it stop.

The Cotillion needed more drama...and my goodness does this show love to prop up the Duprees and give them everything. It would have been more fitting if Samantha didn't win Platinum Deb, but maybe she ends up recognized by her peers as Miss Congeniality. They were really pushing the idea that she was warm and looked out for the other girls. Would have also been more entertaining to see Francesca be stripped of her deb role because of her grandmother's less than graceful behavior towards Samantha and her mother. We could have seen Samantha give Francesa grace and show that she is not her glamma. Either way, it wasn't spicy enough for me - it was too Winterfest and nothing of real consequence occurred, besides Naughty Nikky running off.

Edited 14 minutes ago14 min by GLATWT88