It was a short week for One Life to Live, as ABC decided it would be better to show a recent rerun than show a new episode. I disagree with this logic, and if the powers that be insist on saddling us with reruns, they could at least show one from a few years ago that would be more interesting to watch. For example, wouldn't it have been fun to see one of the special 4th of July episodes that were created during Gary Tomlin's reign (i.e. the jailhouse musical number)? I don't think there should ever be reruns of soaps, unless they are on SOAPnet. Of course, the powers that be didn't ask me, so we were stuck with a rerun from a few months ago. Yippee! Let's move on to the 4 days of NEW material that we got to see!
When I was a kid and would see weddings on TV or even in person, I remember that my mom would sometimes say "They are nowhere near ready to get married!" At the time, I was miffed that my mom was trying to ruin such a nice event. Last week, as I watched Starr and Cole try to convince people that they were ready for marriage, I found myself mimicking my mom. How times change! Starr keeps telling people how she has grown up and is ready for adult responsibilities, but her actions say something very different. Using emotional blackmail to get permission from her father to marry Cole is just the latest example. Starr seems to have a "Do what I want, or you're gone," mentality, which makes her maturity level plummet. I understand that Todd has done some horrible things over the years, and Starr has had to deal with many of them. It's understandable that she has trust issues with him and that she doesn't want him interfering. However, threatening to cut people off or having a temper tantrum over the possibility of not getting something she wants is hardly evidence of being an adult. She also pouted when Blair tried to be a naysayer. I am surprised that Blair caved so easily. She brought up several valid points of why Starr and Cole should wait, and Starr declared that Blair was unsupportive if she didn't sign the permission form. Starr has a lot of growing up to do, and I still wish this wedding wouldn't happen. As I've said before, I am not sure why she and Cole are being built up to be a major couple on the show. They aren't ready for that status yet, and I don't believe they are ready for marriage either. Besides not being able to support themselves, I am sure Starr will go running back to Blair once things get the least bit difficult. I actually know adults who behave that way, but they certainly look childish when they do it!
While Starr and Cole prepared for their rushed nuptials, Blair, Todd, and Téa were busy being jealous of each other. It's amazing how Blair despises Todd and wants to keep his kids away from him one day, but is jealous of his relationship with Téa the next. She needs to make up her mind! It seems like Todd has, at least temporarily, made up his mind to be with Téa, and I can handle that! I am tired of the Blair and Todd rollercoaster, so I like that they aren't together. I don't think Todd and Téa's relationship is healthy; Téa seems to be somewhat of a masochist when it comes to her feelings, but she knows what she's getting. She's talked about how she knows Todd is bad for her many times, and she knows the downfalls of being with him. If she's okay with it, then I can live with it too!
Speaking of dysfunctional relationships, I was dismayed to see John return to the LPD. It's been refreshing to not see him doing what he wants to solve the crime of his choice, without regard for others. The LPD will never be the best police department, but bringing John back doesn't help. John isn't a good cop. Maybe he would be a good private investigator or detective, but he has proven many times that rules and laws don't work for him. He wants to do his own thing on his own terms. That is why I enjoyed seeing Judge Runyon be suspicious of John's idea of using Cole as an undercover agent. He has to be one of the most level headed, reasonable judges we've seen since Judge Fitzwater. He knew that John's motives were personal and called him on it. John, of course, didn't care and proceeded to force his idea on the judge anyway, but it was still great to see someone challenge John. I will never understand why so many people in Llanview revere him, when he has broken so many rules. I guess history will repeat itself as John "graces" the LPD with his presence yet again. Some things never change!
As John returned to the LPD, the bag of blood became a constant presence on the show. Was it put on recurring status or something? I feel like it is a cast member because we have seen it so much. I know shows are trying to cut budgets, but adding inanimate objects to the cast is not the answer! How can so many people feel comfortable handling a bag of blood? They act like it's a bottle of water or something! Also, what is up with that creepy nurse? Could she be any more cryptic? She seemed like a perfectly normal person when we saw her the first time at the hospital. Somehow, she went to seemingly normal to extremely creepy in the matter of a couple of months! I almost felt a little bad for Stacy when the nurse waved the infamous bag in her face. Almost.
I hope that Rex and Gigi find the bag soon so that this story can finally end. I am thrilled that Rex knows the truth about both Gigi and Stacy. I don't blame him for not immediately warming up to Gigi after he learned the truth. He has a right to feel betrayed; Gigi didn't have enough faith in him to tell him the truth and let him help. As I've said before, I give Gigi a little slack because she was under enormous pressure to save Shane's life and didn't want anything to risk it. However, she took a BIG risk by breaking up with Rex. He could have moved on by now or could have written Gigi off completely. However, I firmly believe that Gigi and Rex will be a happy couple again, but I think it will take some time. Rex has to absorb all of the new information he has learned, and Gigi and Rex need to focus on finding the missing cells for Shane. Once things have settled down, I am sure Gigi will forgive Rex for his time with Stacy (if he tells her!), and Rex will get over what Gigi decided to do. These two characters have been through a lot, and I think they can survive the train wreck named Stacy! We still have a long way to go before this story is resolved, but it was music to my ears when Gigi told Rex the truth without letting anyone or anything stop her! I was so afraid that a priest would visit Ultraviolet and make Gigi rethink her decision. There have been so many roadblocks in this story that it almost felt too good to be true that the moment of truth finally arrived! Now we just have to get Roxy to speak up!
Moving on to Dorian, it was kind of sad to watch her attempt to make amends with everyone she fired and/or shunned at the graduation party. I am glad she realized that she made mistakes when she was drunk and tried to fix them. Of course, she appears to be doing it to help Langston, but I am still glad she is reaching out to Moe and Shaun. They seem to understand her, almost like R.J., and she needs people like that around her! I don't think her idea of having a dinner party to woo Markko's parents will work, but it should be interesting to see everyone get together. Dinner parties are hardly ever civil affairs on this show, so I can't wait to see what happens! I know that Viki and Charlie won't give Dorian any leeway or mercy, but I hope they still attend the party. We haven't seen them all together in a long time! By the way, wasn't it great that Dorian mentioned saving Viki's life? That was such a great moment for them last year, and I am glad it was remembered!
Finally, I can't wait for Clint and Nora and Viki and Charlie's wedding day to arrive. It's getting interesting with there being an undercurrent of tension between Clint, Nora, and Bo. I hope Nora doesn't actually marry Clint. She couldn't possibly act more like she doesn't want to marry him. She even invited Bo on their date! Clint responded by trying to control the situation by asking Bo to be his best man. I guess he figures that nothing will happen between Bo and Nora if Bo is obligated to be there for Clint. I am sure Clint would have asked Bo if he were marrying someone else, but he made a point of asking him at an awkward time! As for Viki and Charlie, I am amazed that they think they can get married without Dorian's involvement. I bet she will crash the ceremony just to spite them. She also never misses an opportunity to spite Clint, so I think Viki and Charlie need to brace themselves for anything! There hasn't been a double wedding on this show for years, so I think it will be fun to watch, even if only half of the couples tie the knot!
Until next time,
Dawn
