| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Daniel behind bars all week long, having to put up with all of his devoted visitors. Gee, whose visit did I enjoy best? It’s hard to say. I did love Bo’s visit, watching him torment the heck out of Daniel, leaving him those horrible pictures of Jen to think about. I loved Nora’s visit, especially when she gave Daniel those annulment papers and he tore them up in her face, telling her that he knows the reason she really came in person was because she loves him so much. Oh boy, Daniel, I think you really do have a case for an insanity plea. I couldn’t believe it when they brought Riley down to the jail for trying to buy drugs and Daniel said to him, “Don’t let this ruin your life.” Is he kidding? He’s been ruining Riley’s life since the kid was born and thinks Riley can just blow this off and move on? Daniel, wake up and smell the musty jail cell…you murdered the love of your son’s life…the reason he straightened out his act, grew up and got a life.
But by far, the most fun visit for me was from Lindsay. Poor Lindsay, I feel so sad for her…she has lost so much…but say what you will…I laughed and cheered her on when she got Daniel in that headlock against the jail cell bars. I wonder if big, macho Daniel had any clue that Linz had it in her to grab him like that. She really should have knocked his head against the bars a few times. Uh-oh, violent streak coming out…LOL!
Back to Riley for a minute…that was a very powerful scene between he and his dear old dad. You could just feel his broken heart when he asked Daniel, “Did Jen scream? Did she beg for mercy? Having watched Jen’s actual murder, it was like living it all over again. And all the while, to every person who came to see him, Daniel maintained his innocence with a self-assurance that made me think even he might believe he is innocent. But not quite. He’s probably working his way towards an insanity plea and obviously he’s not going to admit to jaywalking, let along murdering anyone.
I loved the scene where Nora bailed out Riley and told him he had a place in her home for as long as he wanted one…and ignoring Daniel as she sprung Riley from jail was priceless. Yep, she really loves you to pieces Daniel.
Just as an aside…I enjoyed the contrast in the fact that no one, not even Kelly, had any bad words for Daniel when it came to murdering Paul. So much for a life badly lived, huh Paul?
It was nice to see Rachel again. Too bad we only get to see her for funerals and bogus weddings. I thought she was a little hard on Bo, but honestly, she had a right to be. I know Nora was an idiot for marrying Daniel, and I surely loved seeing him publicly humiliated, but I didn’t enjoy seeing it happen to Nora. She was right…Bo could have waiting until after the swearing in and then arrested Daniel privately. He did get a good deal of pleasure out of that arrest, but Nora was the one who suffered and I don’t think he meant for that to happen. And when Nora finally got to confront Bo, I think in a way she was right. Bo did try to call her several times, but he did see her the night before the swearing in and he could have come right out and told her what was going on instead of hinting around about Daniel. If he mentioned that he had evidence about the murders, I don’t think she would have totally discounted what he had to say. In any event, it was a big slam when she accused Bo of arresting Daniel in public to get back at her for sleeping with Sam. I don’t think that crossed Bo’s mind, but he’s human. Who knows? He hasn’t always been the most forgiving person…although he has been hurt a lot.
One thing I will say for Bo…he said it all when he left Nora’s house with the parting words, “Daniel Coulson never deserved an intelligent, beautiful woman like you who had so much to offer him.” I still say Bo and Nora belong together. Let’s get to it already.
Did you love Bo’s talk with Matthew? I sure did. I’m always amazed at kids today. There was nothing Bo could tell Matthew that he didn’t understand or already know. You have to love that kid.
OK…on to Jessica/Tessica…sorry, couldn’t help myself. I think it’s great that Jess finally knows whom she’s dealing with and that Tess is a “real” person who is living a life outside of her own. It was hard to watch Jess find out all the things that Tess has been up to. I don’t know what hurt Jess more…finding out that Tess has been with lots of men and is well known for it…or finding out that Tess has made it her mission to destroy Antonio’s chances of getting Jamie back. I say that it’s great that Jess finally knows what’s going on because at least now we can see this storyline opening up and hopefully see an end to it in the not to distant future. I can hope, can’t I? I am not happy about the fact that Viki is going to suffer a major heart attack after a big argument with Tess and I’m sure that will just destroy Jessica. I was glad that she was able to fight off Tess and “get out” the other day, but will she remain so strong? Obviously not if Tess is going to send Viki over the edge.
And at least now, somebody else knows about Tess. Todd has his suspicions that Jess hasn’t been herself lately, but since he tricked Ginger into telling him that her friend’s name is Tess, now we’ve got Todd in on the act and I couldn’t be happier.
It did my heart good to see RJ talking to his accountants about his financial troubles. For RJ, financial woes can only mean one thing…doing something criminal to get himself solvent again. I love it. I figure RJ can stay out of the criminal limelight for about as long as Antonio can control his temper…in other words, not very long. And it was good to see Rex agree to help Antonio get the goods on RJ.
Unbelievably, Rex is the new hero of Llanview. First he is the driving force behind bagging Daniel Coulson as a double murderer…then he agrees to help Antonio get the dirt on RJ (and I believe he’s doing it as much to do the right thing as to get back at RJ)…and then he decides to help Natalie in her hair-brained scheme to catch the Killing Club murderer (oh, we’ll get to stupid Natalie very soon). Of course, Rex foolishly decided to help Natalie because he knew she’d do it anyway and he was afraid of losing someone else close to him right after losing Jen. Could our little bad boy be growing up?
OK…on to Natalie. What the heck is wrong with this girl? Maybe those tight shirts are pushing too much pressure up to her brain. What other explanation could there be for her trying to use herself as bait to trap the killer? You’d think she knows John well enough at this point to know he’d blow his stack when he found out. Somehow I don’t believe she came up with this plan just because she is a target for the killer. She knew it would get John’s attention…and boy did she get results. No one can deny it…the most shocking line of the week came from John when he saved her life out in the woods and in his terror, without thinking about what he was going to say, he grabbed her and said, “The last thing I need is for someone I love to get killed again.” I have to tell you, my jaw dropped to the floor. FINALLY…someone got that boy to say the “L” word.
You have to give Natalie some credit. Instead of doing what I thought she’d do, which was to jump on him and gloat over getting him to admit his feelings, she took it in and was just satisfied to hear the words. I’m sure she was shocked into silence. She knew to be satisfied, walk away and not make John defend what he said or crawl back into his shell. Smart girl for once in her life.
And so, without thinking, John said it. You could have blown me over with a feather. With all the thinking he’s done on the subject, and as much as he knows it’s what Evangeline wants to hear from him, he blurts it out to Natalie. Hmmm…very interesting. Rumor has it that John and Evangeline won’t be together for much longer. I can just see the Internet burning up over what’s coming. Can’t wait.
By a show of hands, who wanted to smack sweet little Ginger when she was trying to get Adriana’s goat by trying to make her doubt Duke’s feelings for her. I hope Adriana puts her in her place with the same backbone she’s had lately with her mother and Asa. Someone mentioned that Ginger is somehow involved with Margaret. Oh no, here we go again. Just when Todd and Blair might have a chance at happiness, trouble is always just around the next turn.
It was such a big deal for Todd to admit to Blair that since his ordeal with Margaret he doesn’t feel like a man and that’s why he was so jealous of the big, impressive, good-looking Dr. Spencer Truman. I couldn’t believe I actually heard an honest admission of feelings from him. That was a great scene.
A big congratulations this week to Mark who has finally seen the light. I was wondering if he was ever going to realize Daniel was a killer, or if he was going to defend his lover to the end. I guess he finally realized what a disgusting guy he was in love with when he figured out that Daniel only wanted him for a phony alibi. Daniel…you are dirt.
And now the finger is pointing at Marcie’s agent as the murderer…again. I wish they’d make him the killer and get this over with. Enough of the serial killers already.
And in closing…a big congratulations to One Life To Live…this has been a really good sweeps period and the ratings are way up…higher than they’ve been in a very long time and right up there with the top soaps. It’s nice to see our show have some success. Here’s to the quality staying up there for a very long time!
See ya next week...
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
BrittNYNY writes: “I'm not sure if this is the right place to be sending my commentary, but I just saw the poll regarding the gay story line with Daniel and his secret lover, Mark. I couldn't vote my approval fast enough. I was so glad to see this poll so I had a way to voice the support I have been feeling for the bold and wonderful move ABC made in creating this story line. I appreciate it on so many levels. I love that the younger Mark is the one in the relationship who is completely comfortable with "who he is", his sexuality, and the fact that Daniel is not okay with who he is has caused so much damage far and wide. Lives lost, lives wrecked. I also appreciate that these guys are not stereotypical characters, that they are a truer representation of gay men than the ones commonly portrayed on TV. I'm going to actually admit that though I have watched OLTL very sporadically, at best, over the years (it's never been my favorite soap), this is the story line that hooked me in. I keep joking with my friend that just quit smoking that I now need a "Soap Opera Patch" to break my addiction to OLTL.”
Dear BrittNYNY: This is the right place to send any commentary you like and yes, there are tons of fans that like this storyline, myself included. I agree that in many ways it is very realistic. All you have to do is pick up a newspaper or turn on a talk show these days and you will find that most stereotypes are out the window. I am in favor of anything that pushes the envelope and gives us something on our soaps that we haven’t seen a thousand times before…and if you’re like me and have been watching soaps forever, you know that when a storyline actually surprises you, it’s wonderful. As for needing a “Soap Opera Patch”…if I were you I’d invent one of those immediately and get a patent quickly…that is something that would sell like hotcakes to all the soap addicts…that is, the ones who want to break the addition…count me out!
Dennis writes: “What will happen to Jen? Where will she go now? Will she come back like Michael did?”
Dear Dennis: For right now, we know that Jen is dead. Jessica Morris has left the show to pursue other acting opportunities and to my knowledge, there are no plans for the character of Jen to return…but I never say never.
Sue writes: “In the episode May 30th...Memorial Day...Jess/Tess was carrying the neatest red or burgundy shoulder bag with an extra wide natural leather strap. Any idea where she got that? I am a purse fanatic and rarely see one I like but this one is great! Please...where can I find out who makes or sells this bag?”
Dear Sue: People ask me wardrobe questions all the time and unfortunately, I have no idea who makes the bag you are referring to. You should write to the wardrobe department at the studio…maybe someone will give you an answer. The fact that you can tell them what episode it appeared in might help.
Sherry writes: “Evangeline might as well move her office in with John, since she spends all her time there. She is becoming a nosy, needy simpering fool! I'll be so glad when they break up like the spoilers are saying. Why is Nora mad at Bo? He tried to deal with Daniel's arrest in private, but she insisted on hearing everything right out in the open. It's not Bo's fault that she married Daniel, Bo tried to warn her about him. I wish Ben could come back to Viki. If not Mark Derwin, then Joe Penny. He could be a good match for Ben. Killing off Ben ended the most beautiful love story, ever!”
Dear Sherry: I agree about Evangeline. She is very nosy and spends more time snooping at the police station than working in her own office. I think John has shown a ton of patience in that respect. As far as Nora is concerned, she is mad at Bo…or she says she’s mad at Bo…because he didn’t find some way to tell her about Daniel before that very public arrest. Bo wasn’t totally right but Nora can’t deal with the fact that she messed up in the judgment department yet again, in my opinion, and Bo, acting the way he did, is a good person for her to take it out on. They’re both at fault…the whole Daniel situation is a mess. Hmmm…Ben’s return….I’d pay money to see that…and yes, Joe Penny would make a great Ben…let’s ask him if he wants to drop in and spend a few years working in New York.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2005
