| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….Wow, I was still rejoicing last week over the demise of Paul Cramer and figured that happiness would carry me for a while…when I read the exhilarating news that the Santis were officially axed from One Life To Live. That’s right, the news is out that Tico and Sonia are officially being removed. Now, don’t get me wrong…I don’t enjoy seeing any actors lose their jobs, but with the way the Santi characters were brought onto the show, it was only a matter of time before the powers that be realized that they were not only unpopular, but that they dominated every aspect of the show and the fans were not willing to tolerate the darkness any more. I couldn’t be happier.
Some people wrote in to me last week and mentioned that I left one obvious suspect in Paul’s murder off my list…and that was Tico. Yes, I did leave him off the list, but honestly, he’s so obvious that I figured it couldn’t be him. He has a reason to want just about everyone on the show dead to satisfy his own personal agenda, so I figured it would be someone else who killed Paul. It wouldn’t be much of a mystery if it was Tico, would it? I know he’s definitely leaving the show, so who knows? If you think about it, Tico has his own reasons for killing off Kevin’s entire family…Kelly for being a “screwed up” ex-wife who can’t stand by her husband in his campaign…Jessica for having the nerve to disobey her archaic husband…Natalie for being found bloody in the graveyard two days before the election…and Viki for being a devoted mother to Jessica, which puts a crimp in his plans to isolate his new wife, not to mention her brother’s chance at winning the election. Tico has already done away with poor Judge Hernandez and did it with a smile on his face. I wouldn’t put it past him to find a way to make even little Jamie disappear. We know he would love to dispose of Sonia for being a secret agent. That smile on his face hides a volcanic temper. So…Paul is just one of the many thorns in his side these days.
Enough about the Santis for now…I want to take some time to say a big thank you to whomever it was who finally decided to give Kelly her mind and her scruples back. It sure took her long enough. I don’t really buy all that stuff about her not knowing that Paul was lying when he told her the baby was given to him by a homeless woman. In the emotional state she was in at the time she lost her baby, she didn’t want to think about anything but the story Paul told her. If she really wants to be honest with herself, she will admit that she worked overtime to hide that baby’s origin from the beginning…from trying to cover up the discrepancies in the blood types…to fending off all the comments from people saying he didn’t look like her or Kevin…to aligning herself with Todd at any cost to keep her secret. But putting all that aside for now, I think Kelly is going to suffer a lot for her part in this whole baby scam and the fact that she has gotten hold of herself and now wants to do the right thing and give Ace back to his mother…even though he is her whole life…is monumental. She has finally realized that she has to start her life over and standing up to Kevin the way she did made me stand up and cheer. It looks like she won’t get to carry out her plan the way she wants to and there will probably be a big price for her to pay. I hope she does well in her job at the university and I hope she accepts Viki’s offer and moves into the carriage house. That will really burn Kevin, won’t it?
And Kevin…he sure did come close to hitting Kelly the other day didn’t he? I guess he finally remembered that his mama taught him never to lay a hand on a woman. What a horrible fool he is. He has about as much love for that baby as I have for Tico Santi. I’m sure you get my point. Nothing matters to him aside from the election and he will stomp on anyone who gets in his way. He’s getting more and more like a Santi than a Buchanan, don’t you think? Not that the Buchanans (Asa actually) have the cleanest hands, but at last with Asa we get a good laugh every now and then. There’s nothing funny about Kevin and this election…and there sure isn’t anything funny about Tico.
Do you think Evangeline is tying too many strings around John’s neck? She sure stepped over the line, in my opinion, when she confronted him about his concern and attention to Natalie. I think she should know him better than to push him like that and I’m glad he didn’t back down, letting her know that he and Natalie are friends and he will always care about Natalie. Towards the end of last week Evangeline finally backed off…whether she liked it or not…and encouraged John to go find and take care of Natalie. I don’t think John is in any way ready to be cornered the way Evangeline cornered him. I know he has feelings for her…and I know she has deep feelings for him…but he’s not the kind of guy who is ready to be grilled about his actions that way.
And what about Marcie and Michael? I was ready to see an engagement there at Rodi’s and that sure fell apart fast. I can see both of their points of view. Michael definitely has put up with a lot when it comes to Marcie feeling she has to solve the problems of her whole family and all of her friends…and I can see Marcie being a bit put off by Michael implying that she is selfish. I don’t think she’s selfish…but I do think that she needs to get off her soapbox a bit. The writers are letting her character get a little too obnoxious and self-righteous and it’s time to turn her back around.
I have to say…I loved Viki last week. Well, I always love Viki, but she was really in her element last week (except when she told Dorian she was backing Kevin because he’s her son…enough devotion to Kevin, Viki…he doesn’t deserve it). Didn’t you just love the way she barged into Tico’s house to see Jessica? I thought his teeth would fall out from holding back his temper. I think he picked the wrong wife if he wanted someone he could hide out in his tower. And it’s so cool the way Viki acknowledges his presence with her unique combination of politeness and nose in the air. I loved her conversations with Natalie and with Carlotta. I like the fact that she and Carlotta have maintained a close relationship, although we never really get to see much of it. But nothing was better than her conversation with Antonio where she told him how much everyone loved him and that he should take advantage of the fact that right now they are still waiting for him to come back to them and he shouldn’t wait too long and risk that they won’t be there when he’s ready to come back. Her analogy about her situation with Ben was beautiful. Of course, I never mind hearing Ben mentioned on the show, especially by a devoted Viki, but when she talked about wishing she could have one more hour or one more day with him…and that Natalie felt the same way about Cristian…I applauded and thought that this is the stuff we need to get back to. I was happy that Antonio invited her to sit down and that he at least listened to what she had to say.
I can’t wait to see Bo and Nora pull a fast one on Asa…boy does he deserve it!
In closing, I have a farewell question for Paul Cramer. I was wondering about the fact that he tried to use sex so many times to get money out of people and get revenge. It was disgusting the way he attacked Jen at the Love House and it was totally disturbing to watch the way he tried to rape Natalie before he knocked her out and left her unconscious. My question is…does Paul really believe that everyone thinks he’s as irresistible as he thinks he is? Personally, I think he’s the poster child for celibacy.
See ya next week...
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
Sue writes: “Do you think that John knows that Cristian is still alive and that is why it has been so hard to get it on with Natalie and easier with Van?”
Dear Sue: I can only give you my opinion because I don’t know anything for sure, but I don’t think John knows that Cristian is alive. I don’t think he could live with himself if he saw Natalie going through the pain she’s been through in the past year (which he does feel responsible for) and not tell her. I will say that I have heard a rumor (I don’t know if it’s true) that Evangeline knows that Cristian is alive and hasn’t been able to reveal what she knows…and I have no idea why. Don’t quote me. Wouldn’t that just be an explosive revelation if and when Natalie found out….not to mention John.
Stephanie writes: “I’m a big fan of OLTL and a big fan of Cristian and Natalie. I hope that when he comes back nothing will go wrong with them and they stay together. Is she going to be able to talk to him again and are there going to stay together? If they don't, that’s going to suck. I mean, everyone wanted them to get together so badly and then they finally do then they get married. I love them…they are so awesome everyone else loves them, too.”
Dear Stephanie: Considering that OLTL is a soap opera, I wouldn’t count on having smooth sailing for he and Natalie when Cristian comes back. We don’t yet know the details behind his return. I know there are a lot of Cristian/Natalie fans out there. If we combine those fans with the John/Natalie fans…and the John/Evangeline fans in one big arena, we could have a really fun fan battle on our hands. Personally, I can’t really agree with you from what I’ve seen of Natalie and Cristian’s history. I never did see that much chemistry between these two, but I think his return is going to be a major jaw-dropper and I can’t wait to see how all the dominoes fall. Actually, it’s always been my feeling that Jessica and Cristian were meant to be together…I still am not totally convinced that they should be with anyone else but each other.
Ann writes: “Thursday's show was like a blast from the past. No Santis in sight. Just great scenes between Viki and Natalie, Bo and Nora, etc. Ah, if only we could get the core group of veterans back on front burner status....then I might have something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. With OLTL shut down for a week, with changes at the top, any chance we'll get back to the stuff that made the show so great?”
Dear Ann: My biggest wish for the show is the same as yours…that we get back to the core characters and families on the show and concentrate on the talent we have after the fallout from that shutdown week settles down. It’s such a breath of fresh air when we get that rare episode where no Santis pop across our screens. Hopefully, it won’t be too long after Thanksgiving that we never have to see them again.
Billkathybill writes: “Please tell me who was the Music Box killer?”
Dear Billkathybill: The Music Box Killer was Dr. Stephen Haver. Whew, thank goodness he’s gone.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2004
