| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
|
REFLECTIONS BY JILL….
Have we dwelled enough on the fact that John rescued Natalie before he rescued Evangeline? I can’t believe all the hoopla over that scene. It was obvious from the beginning. John ran in…the fire had been set under Natalie first…Natalie was already unconscious and closer to being burned than Evangeline. Where was the decision? I am so sick of Evangeline’s mother. What an annoying hag. “Baby, do you mean to tell me that John rescued Natalie first? Doesn’t that show you once and for all how he feels about you?” They probably should have banned Evangeline’s mother from her hospital room for all the good she did.
Frankly, I don’t think John had anything to apologize for and I was glad that at the police station, when Nora told John to stay away from Evangeline he told her to basically mind her own business when he said, “It’s my call.” Why do killers always want to torment John? I mean, I know why the Music Box Killer went after him, but why this killer? Or killers?
I thought Evangeline was out of line when she confronted John at the scene of the kidnapping and started in again about him rescuing Natalie first. I thought the guy already felt bad enough about people thinking he made the choice because of his feelings for Natalie…and when Evangeline psychoanalyzed him and said that he rescued Natalie first because he needs her to be a victim that he can rescue, I thought she was over the line. Even if she was correct in her “diagnosis”, she picked the wrong time to let him have it, especially when no one knows yet whether Natalie is dead, or alive and being tortured somewhere and John feels responsible.
I also don’t think John should have kissed Evangeline. Once again it was his way (he believes) of showing her how he feels about her and obviously it was the wrong thing to do because she’s not accepting his lips as an “I love you” any more. I’d say it’s about time.
Poor Marcie. I felt so bad for her when Viki laced into her about what a horrible thing she had done by writing The Killing Club book. Marcie probably wishes she never learned how to write her name, let alone a novel. Obviously, Viki has to be really upset to tear into anyone for any reason. She’s just over the top with worry over Natalie and Jessica and Marcie had to bear the brunt of it all. I’m sure Viki will have some kind words for Marcie when this is all over, but I think Marcie has had just about all she deserves. I was glad that she finally told Viki that she wasn’t going to apologize because she know Viki didn’t want to hear that, but that she was doing all she could to help the police find the killer. Marcie was right and justified in saying that.
I loved Dorian’s proposal to David. I liked seeing her get down on one knee and propose to him, finally setting a date. Too bad she can’t contain her curiosity about his brother, Spencer, who is working his hardest to torment David every chance he gets, not to mention Kevin. And I laughed so hard at those scenes with Dorian, David and the wedding planner. I am always pleasantly surprised at the comedy that is written for David. I laughed so hard when the wedding planner said she was going to make all their dreams come true and David said, “Can you make it so that this thing on my foot doesn’t grow back?” The way she glared at him was priceless. Of course, to her, what could be more important than flowers and cake?
And it was very interesting hearing David tell Dorian how his father trained him and Spencer in the art of the con. No wonder those two brothers grew up to be so slick.
And was Kevin’s profession of love to Kelly too little too late? Those were nice scenes at the carriage house where he told her that she was the love of his life and he didn’t want to waste any more time being alone. I’ve been waiting a long time for him to see the light and was glad that he finally told her that he was not going to let work or ambition get in the way of what’s important any more. I was sorry that Kelly didn’t react the way he wanted her to, and I did feel hurt for Kevin, but let’s face it, you can’t blame Kelly for not jumping right back into the fire after all they’ve been through just because Duke’s kidnapping has made Kevin have an epiphany.
I guess we’ll have to allow for Nora being a bit testy and on edge. It couldn’t have been easy for her to face taking an HIV test and then telling Bo about it. I think he handled it really well and I enjoyed seeing the compassion and caring that still exists between those two. It’s too bad Bo never got to do what he really wanted to do to Daniel. It would have been sweet to see.
Kudos to Ilene Kristin for her portrayal of Roxy’s grief at the police station. She was right to remind everyone that even though she wasn’t the greatest mother in the world, she loves Natalie and is as much her mother as Viki is. There was none of the silly, drunk, English-battering Roxy there…just a distraught mother who is sick over her daughter’s disappearance. That was a job well done.
Okay, we have to talk about Tess. Last week, we were witness to yet another case of creative geography. Obviously, Tess got from Pennsylvania to New York in about five minutes. Why not? Now, I’m a New Yorker, so you can believe me when I tell you that the girl has good taste. She wound up taking that lovely carriage ride through Central Park and I died laughing when she wouldn’t pay the driver his $75.00, he called her a cheap tramp, and she told him that for $75.00 he should be the one pulling the cart. I say she has good taste because she wound up at my very favorite restaurant in the city, Tavern on the Green. She sure wasn’t kidding when she said that she couldn’t afford a glass of water in that place. I’ve been there twice in my life on special occasions and it’s worth every penny. Somehow, I guess Tess knew that. I loved watching her come on to the guy with the fancy car and it was hysterical to watch him turn her down over and over again. Now, here’s where the creative geography comes in. All of a sudden she hops into that jeep with a guy who looks more than willing to give her a ride and she follows the guy out to East Hampton. I guess the guy in the jeep had nothing else to do…or else he thought he’d get a big payoff for the ride…because East Hampton is about a two-hour drive from Manhattan. I howled at how unrealistic it was when she just hopped out of the jeep at the mansion, said thanks for the lift and he said, “No problem” and drove off…as if he drives beautiful girls all over New York State every day for a mere “thanks.” She acted as if he gave her a half a mile lift and he treated it the same way. Too funny. I’m curious to see what happens this week when Tess is still dealing with being turned down, which she obviously can’t fathom at all.
And finally…how is Viki’s heart taking the current devastation in her life? It’s not bad enough that Jessica has gone off, but now she has to deal with Natalie’s life or death situation. I loved the scene where she was looking at the photo album all by herself and came across pictures of Megan and then, of course, Ben. You know, they sure do make a lot of references to Ben these days and it’s been going on for a while. We didn’t hear nearly as much about him when he was fighting for his life and in a coma. I know TPTB want us to believe that this is Viki’s way of dealing with his death, but I say it’s time for him to come back. It’s more than obvious that all she needs to get through the quagmire that is her life is her Ben. Am I the only one who knows this to be true?
See ya next week...
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
Patty writes: “Why does everyone hate Nat? She is my favorite. I can relate to her character. My life challenges were a lot more than hers. But I root for her. Give her and Rex more family time and let her find some one to love her. She is great. Melissa Archer does a superb job. I have been watching the show for the last several months and she is one of the reasons besides Michael I keep retuning.”
Dear Patty: I don’t think everyone hates Natalie. I think the fans are generally disappointed with the direction her behavior has taken lately, but I, for one, have always been a fan of Natalie’s. It’s just been harder to root for her lately because she’s behaving in such an immature and unflattering way. Maybe what she’s going through now will convince her to grow up, face her life head on, find her self esteem again and make her life more meaningful…with or without John McBain.
Kotchkey writes: “I couldn't agree with you more about ASA. What a pain. I can't stand to watch him anymore. And, yes, Renee needs to 'out' him for the lying louse he is. Can't somebody kill him off, like Hesser, or maybe it's time for him to have a heart attack for real. To TPTB - kill him or replace him - please.”
Dear Kotchkey: Tell us how you really feel about Asa…LOL! Honestly, I can’t stand him either and I really don’t see much of a need for him to hang around Llanview these days, but there are obviously people who don’t agree with us. I’m sick of him getting away with everything and for that reason, I don’t really like the storylines that involve him making trouble, because he’ll never pay for what he does and I’m tired of watching him slink out of trouble all the time…it gets very boring after a while. I don’t think we need to kill him off…just send him off into the Texas sunset….permanently!
Mary writes: “I have been absolutely amazed at Bree Williamson’s (Jessica/Tess) acting the past two weeks. She has been superb, and I have enjoyed each one of her scenes. She is truly a wonderful actress, and I hope that she receives an award, when Soap Operas are honored this year.”
Dear Mary: I agree. Bree is doing a wonderful job. I usually want to shake Jess and smack Tess at the same time for different reasons…lol. I’d say she’d be a good candidate for an award next year…playing a dual role usually catches the eyes of the people doling out the awards.
Valerie writes: “I, too, am sick of the way Asa acts. He continues to do extremely mean and illegal things and continually gets away with it. I know he has status and money, but come on, it's just getting too unbelievable that someone could get away with what he does time and time again. I stopped watching the show some time back, but started watching again when Grace (I think that was her name) died. I think she was a love interest of either Kevin or Bo? I vaguely remember Asa being at least indirectly responsible for her death and not feeling any remorse whatsoever. And to boot, nothing was done to Asa for that poor woman's death. I also have to say how much I enjoy the character of David. I swear it's one of the reasons I'm still watching. He constantly makes me laugh at his comic timing. The drinking of wine with a straw was just priceless.
Dear Valerie: Yep, we sure do agree about Asa and I certainly could never forget how much he was responsible for Grace’s death. He let everyone search for her just long enough for her to be beyond the point of being saved. Being a huge fan of Ben and his family, I will never forget those heart wrenching scenes when Grace was pulled out of the river in that horrible storm and the heart-wrenching moments when Ben tried to save her life as Kevin lied over her body trying to will her to live and Sam looked on in horror. It was the beginning of the demise of the Rappaport/Davidson clan and a very dark day for this fan. On a lighter note, is there anyone who doesn’t love David? He brightens everyone’s day.
© Copyright by Katherine Thurston, 2005
