Reflections by Jill - A Weekly Commentary for OLTL for May 6, 2008

I feel really sorry for Starr. You have to wonder what the future will hold for a 16-year old girl who has already been through the ringer. I give Starr a lot of credit because even though she is so confused and is not sure which way to turn, she at least took a minute to think about all the reasons why she shouldn’t run away with Cole. I think she ran away with Cole feeling that she really didn’t want to do it, but knowing that she had to make a choice thanks to her father. Starr did state her concerns about leaving her family and friends behind and worried about how she and Cole would survive and let’s face it, that disgusting place they wound up in isn’t quite her idea of romantic bliss. She also remembers running away successfully a couple of summers ago and that her time on the run was not fun for her. However, she has grown up a lot since then and she and Cole only see how desperate they are to be together now, especially with a baby on the way. Cole knows that Starr is giving up a lot and he is really giving up nothing, but he is sincere about marrying her and making a good family with her and in his 17-year old mind, he thinks he can make it work. When Starr was faced with the do or die decision, she decided to go with her heart. Who could blame her? Dealing with an unreasonable father was not the answer for her.

I also felt sorry for Langston. She was put in a very bad position having to deal with Starr leaving and having to deal with Todd and Blair when the found out that Starr had run away. Langston says she’s not afraid of Todd; brave girl, I’d be terrified of him. I think it’s disgusting that Langston has to suffer the same scrutiny as Starr and is treated so abusively by Todd. And finally Dorian decides to come home and walks into the commotion over Starr running away. It’s about time she showed up to take care of her new daughter instead of herself. I loved it when she told Todd that if he hurt Langston she’d kill him, but I wish she had put aside her own selfishness and vengefulness toward Clint long enough to be there for her new daughter when she really needed her all along.

I really wish Starr had confided in Viki and told her that she is pregnant. I don’t know if Viki would have been able to promise to keep the secret, but she probably could have given Starr good advice. On the other hand, Viki doesn’t actually understand just how horrible Todd has been to live with, so she still has that “Todd means well” attitude, so maybe Starr was smart not to confide in her. Viki does know how to keep a confidence and I laughed at Todd when he found Starr talking to Viki and when Starr left the room he just assumed Viki would tell them what she and Starr talked about. I guess he doesn’t know his sister as well as he thought he did.

I guess Blair has finally had it with Todd (THIS TIME!) Even though I never expect Blair to keep her word and walk out on Todd forever, I was gleefully applauding her last week when she finally had enough of him not taking responsibility for everything that has happened to their family, called him a STUPID BASTARD, slapped him (I loved that) and told him she was through with him. What was totally hysterical and very pathetic was Todd’s shock that he could possibly be blamed for anything. OMG, his expression said, “Who me? What could I Possibly have done?” It was evident that he blamed everyone but himself when he stormed back home after not getting any help finding Starr and Cole, and blamed John for Cole running off with Starr. John just blows Todd off, which is what he deserves. Blair blames Todd for causing the problems but she should also blame herself for wearing blinders for so long.

The offices of Buchanan Enterprises seem to be the hotbed of intrigue and illicit romance, don’t they? How do they ever get any work done when Jared and Natalie are ripping their clothes off behind a locked office door and Rex and Gigi have been using the boardroom every day to battle their attraction for each other? Now Jared has swept Natalie away to the ranch by lying to her and telling her that the family is meeting there. You had to know that they would fight for about a minute and not be able to resist each other for longer than that. Jared poured out his heart to Natalie, telling her how much he loved her and how badly he regrets making the decision he made to deceive her family and especially her. I guess when he bared his soul she lost all desire to resist and finally gave up the good fight. Even though I want to see Natalie with someone else, I do see the chemistry between her and Jared and I can see them as a couple. What the future holds for them is anyone’s guess, especially since David is about to show up and blackmail them. Hmmmm.

I am getting very tired of Rex and Gigi tiptoeing around each other these days. Rex refuses to admit to himself that he has feelings for Gigi because he obviously feels locked into his wedding to Adriana and of course, he does love her. What he didn’t count on was the fact that he would develop such a strong tie to Shane and that his feelings for Gigi would resurface so easily. At least Gigi finally broke down and admitted to Marcie that she still has feelings for Rex. Will Rex face the truth before the wedding?

I have to say that the whole mess of a storyline with Adriana tracking down Brody and bringing him back to Llanview is ridiculous. Brody is obnoxious; Adriana is more like Dorian every single day and Layla doesn’t have a brain in her head if she thinks it is wise to stay involved in this mess. Brody isn’t exactly what I would call desirable, but I’m sure he’s going to clean up nicely. However, right now he’s quite obnoxious. And having Layla find him in his hotel room after he slept with the woman from across the hall was just tacky. We need more to keep us interested than Adriana masterminding her ridiculous, jealousy-driven plans and ordering Layla and Dorian to carry them out. Dorian obviously feels the need to kiss up to Adriana to keep her in her life, but Layla can’t possibly think this is what friends ask friends to do. She is being used and Adriana is ordering her around to do her bidding like someone she doesn’t even care about.