| "Reflections by Jill" - A Weekly Commentary on One Life to Live | |
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REFLECTIONS BY JILL….It is hard to find the words to describe the sadness I felt watching the past week on One Life To Live. Watching what Viki and Clint went through in their quest to find out what really happened to Jessica when she was a little girl was so hard to watch. I can’t remember the last time something was so painfully hard to watch. We knew…we were warned in an interview with Dena Higley that what happened to Jessica was bad and was going to be very dark….but I guess I just didn’t want to believe how awful it could be, because the minute Clint recovered that box from beneath the floorboards of that old house and we saw tapes with Tess’ name on them, I just sat shaking my head in disbelief. I guess I didn’t want to believe that Jessica could have been used repeated like that to make disgusting movies while Niki either didn’t know it was happening over and over or just didn’t care.
The scenes were so powerfully done…the way they kept showing little Jessica sitting on the bed and then superimposing Tess grown up sitting on the bed talking to Nash. It was horrible to watch and at the same time you couldn’t take your eyes off of it.
When Clint and Viki turned on the tape and saw what was going on, I kept hoping that they would just turn it off, knowing what they were looking at. The fact that they watched the entire tape…using my own imagination was hard enough to sit with…but watching Viki’s shock, horror and pain was something that I couldn’t get out of my mind for a long time when the episode was over. And watching Clint break down only added to the sadness. When Viki is the center of a scene like that, Erika is just amazing in the way she can just bring you right into it and make you feel in your gut what Viki is feeling. I give major kudos this week to Jerry ver Dorn for jumping into this storyline and making me feel the same things. Clint’s pain was as painful to see as Viki’s and I give Jerry a lot of credit for the way he so seamlessly moved into this storyline.
I can only imagine what’s going to happen when Tess returns to Llanview and it all comes out that Viki and Clint now know the secret that gave birth to her. You can only ask the questions…what is Tess’s reaction going to be?…how will Nash deal with what’s happened?….and most of all, how is Viki going to deal with what she now knows and what happened to her precious daughter when Niki was in charge of her welfare? It’s dark…it’s incredibly hard to watch…but as I expected, the acting is incredible and I like nothing better than being drawn into the hearts of the characters.
Well, there is nothing happy to move on to this week, but we’ll move on anyway.
I was amazed and surprised that John opened up as much as he did to the shrink, Crosby. I think it’s more than John wanting his badge back. I think he knows now that unless he finds a way to deal with things, he won’t be able to move on and have a life. I enjoyed listening to him reminisce about his dad taking the family out on Sundays when he was a young boy, with Michael in the stroller and going for ice cream. It reminded me a lot of when I was a kid with my dad. I was glad that he didn’t clam up after Natalie burst into his office without knocking and I was glad again to see that Crosby is not just one of those pesky bureaucrats who is out to give John a hard time like I originally thought he was. It was neat the way he gave John back his badge and I had to laugh when he told John to work on his father’s case and not go near Todd’s case. Yeah, like John’s going to do that. I’m sure he’ll do both.
And Natalie is going to become a Forensic Technician. Hmmm…how convenient that she needs a detective to work with in the field and there just happens to be a gorgeous one that she loves available. I had to laugh…can you imagine someone like Roxy turning around and seeing that her son is going to school to become a private investigator and her daughter is going to be a “big shot” at the police department? It just might drive Roxy over the edge trying to figure out how her kids turned out this way…LOL!
John and Natalie were interesting to watch last week. At first, John accepted that Natalie just wanted to help him after Crosby left and John had so much to think about. He even asked her to just sit with him. It was another story when he blew up when she went to him and wanted to work with him on his father’s case and he flat out refused. It was interesting to see John backing off and insisting she not get involved…and Natalie being frustrated that he wouldn’t let her in. I wasn’t surprised when John blasted her and said, “You wanted me out of you life and now you’ve got it.” We know he didn’t mean it…and Natalie knows that, too. It’s obvious that with John taking baby steps toward getting on with a normal life…and Natalie trying to grow and find her own way…they need to be easier on each other. Natalie needs to give John his space and John needs to accept that she wants to be a part of helping him. Personally, I can’t wait to see them working together.
Kevin is really going through a mess in his life dealing with…or not dealing with the fact that he cannot give Kelly a baby. Getting drunk and making a scene at The Palace was just stupid and the fact that he did it at Spencer’s award ceremony was even worse.
OK…when we mention Spencer’s name we have to talk about the Manning case, don’t we? I wonder how poor Starr would feel if she knew that calling Spencer to come and get her, Jack and Blair when their car got stuck in the mountains caused her father to see something that would change their lives forever.
Speaking of painful scenes on the show…how sad was it to have to watch Todd standing at the window of the cabin watching Blair make love with Spencer. Ich…there are dozens of reasons why I thought that was disgusting, but even more disgusting than Todd having to watch the scene was the fact that it even happened. I don’t know why I ever think that Blair has gotten as stupid as she can get when she always proves me wrong. All of a sudden she pops out of the bedroom and decides she’s going to give it up to Spencer. That was disgusting even for Blair. Come on…there she was out in the middle of an open living room having sex with the guy with her two children asleep right there in the house. I was waiting for her to get even dumber and make some comment about them sleeping like logs and that they wouldn’t wake up…but she didn’t even give Starr and Jack enough thought to wonder if they’d wake up and wander into the living room only to have their poor little eyes seared by that disgusting sight. Oh, I was so mad at her I could have spit.
I have to admit, when Todd sank down into the snow outside the cabin and put his hand around that big axe, I wanted to yell, “Now we’re talking…go for it Todd.”
I wanted to smack Spencer when he could barely contain his joy at finding Todd’s wedding ring outside, knowing that Todd saw him with Blair. And Spencer sure didn’t hesitate to tell the cops that Todd had been there and turn over the ring. Blair was mighty helpful to the cops, too, wasn’t she? The only thing I’m looking forward to is Blair suffering for what she did and Todd walking away from her. Even if it doesn’t last forever, I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts. Of course, I never forget that Todd is responsible in a big way for all that has happened to him, but Blair’s behavior is inexcusable.
And when is Bo going to show Paige the door? You just look at her and you know she’s hiding a ton of lies. And now we can be pretty convinced that David was the one who shot John and Michael’s father and Paige was the surgeon who was responsible for his death on the operating table (unless we’re going to be treated to another sick storyline where Spencer engineered the whole thing to make it look like that’s what happened). It was interesting to see how John was saying that he was going to get the killer who shot his father and the doctor who showed up drunk and let him bleed to death on the operating table…and then have the scene switch over to David and Paige admitting what they had done.
How stupid was it that Paige scrubbed every inch of that room where Spencer had kept Margaret and then Evangeline finds her pager right there on the floor. I’m enjoying Evangeline secretly helping Todd. She’s doing a good job of aiding and abetting a fugitive and this side of her is kind of fun to watch, especially when she threatened Paige with going to the police with what she knows. And once again, Paige walks away without giving an explanation for why she’s in the middle of all of this.
What’s with Dorian’s new assistant? Is Daryl so impressed with Dorian that he is willing to do her dirty work for her? And why does she so easily trust him? I loved it when Rex got Dorian alone and let her know that he knows she was responsible for what happened to him in New York. I can only imagine what she’s going to cook up next for Rex and now that she’s got a willing accomplice, watch out!
I thought Tess was pretty dumb the way she stood up to Mr. Reston when he showed up at the vineyard and threatened her. I laughed when she told him and Nash that she wasn’t afraid of him and that he should take his crazy daughter and get out of their lives. Does she have that short a memory? Has she forgotten that the man nearly had Nash beaten to death?
It made me mad that with all the sadness and darkness we had to watch last week, we couldn’t even see a happy moment between Marcie and Michael. It saddened me when they had that bad fight about having kids…with Michael wanting to wait and Marcie wanting kids right away. Honesty, I have to say that I understand Marcie’s side of the argument…she needs the family thing…but it’s not like she’s at an age where she has to start worrying about it tomorrow and I think a bit of a compromise is in order. Michael probably doesn’t need to wait five years and Marcie certainly doesn’t have to conceive on her wedding night. It was wrong for her to basically tell him that it was her way or no way at all.
All in all it was a very dark week on our show. I’m hoping it doesn’t stay that way for long because of course we know that the drama keeps us watching on the edge of our seats, but there hasn’t been any balance of happiness on the show lately and that’s just plain depressing. We need to have things lighten up a bit…at least on some streets in Llanview.
See ya
next week….
Jill Berry
FAN
FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS
Just a note…many people have asked me what the meaning of "LOL" is since I use it often. For those who asked, it means either "Laughing out loud" or "Laughing on line."
Maggiered1015 writes: "I have to respectfully disagree with you on your assessment of Natalie regarding her jealousy of Evangeline which meant she was being immature. If Natalie had voiced her displeasure to both John and Cristian about Evangeline, this would have shown her immaturity. Being jealous is really a character flaw and does not signify maturity since many mature adults have this trait. Instead, Natalie said nothing and chose to leave the station to have lunch with Roxy. What I saw was a young woman who has been so traumatized in her relationship with both John and Cristian that Natalie decided to bury her feelings instead of facing them head on. I really can't blame Natalie because she buried Cristian twice and had moved on with John who has his own issues, so her past and present collided causing her much pain to deal with. Natalie does not want to hurt either man and loves both of them in different ways. So she thinks if she is just friends with them, she can keep them in her life and help them when they need her. Natalie needs to confront her feelings and face, which man is her past, and which man is her future. From what I see on the screen, John always seems to be Natalie's first choice, which means he is probably the one in her heart. I think Natalie will always love Cristian because he was her first love, but is in love with John, the man that understands her and accepts her as she is."
Dear Maggiered1015: You are not the only one who has called me on the fact that I called Natalie immature last week. I am the first one to admit that Natalie has come a very long way since she first arrived in Llanview when it comes to maturity. And no one can say that I am not a fan who almost always stands behind Natalie. Maybe immature is not the right word to use, but I just feel that although the jealousy is a very normal thing for Natalie to experience, I think she should be very aware (as Roxy advised her) that if she doesn't decide on what to do about John and Cristian soon, then there is a good chance that she'll wind up with neither one. Whining over the fact that John and Cris are focused on Evangeline is a normal reaction, but not very useful at this point. Maybe in her heart Natalie assumes that they will both be waiting around for her decision and since Cristian has made it clear that with a little encouragement he would wait forever, maybe Natalie is feeling a bit too secure that she has time. It's a terrible position for her to be in and I agree with you that Cristian was her past and John should be her future.
LChand6725 writes: "For my personal use, what are the ages and names of Asa's sons. Are there any daughters?"
Dear LChand6725: Oh boy…no easy questions from you! OK. I don't know the ages but I guess I can estimate…and keep in mind that ages change to suit the storyline. I don't believe that Asa had any daughters…at least none have come to light as of this date. As far as sons go, I believe there are only three...Clint, who is the oldest and I think he should be close to 60 years old realistically if not older. Then there is Bo, who I'd say is somewhere in his early 50's…and then (and I'll say "is" instead of "was" because he'll never be gone for me) there is my beloved Ben, the long lost Buchanan heir, who should be somewhere in his mid 40's since he was a good 10 years younger than Viki. Max Holden posed as the long lost Buke son but he was a fake. If anyone knows of any others I missed, please feel free to holler at me. Of course, we don't know the true parentage of Spencer and David just yet…so I might have to revise this one day soon.
lward4 writes: "Just one thing....is it wrong to run Hugh out of town on a rail and maybe let Dorian go with him for the horrible thing she put Adriana and Rex through? Poor Evangeline. Her story to Hugh wasn't that crazy. He'd lock up his own mother (if he had one)."
Dear lward4: No, it's not wrong to want to run these two annoying people out of town. I don't think I'd miss Hugh, but I do want to see Dorian hang around because as bad as she gets, I love seeing her get blown out of the water, only to start another nasty scheme that she thinks will succeed. Most of them backfire in her face…and I just love that.
Kecrn1 writes: "I have had this suspicion for some time now and wonder what your opinion is. I think it's possible that it was Tess, not Cristian who killed Tico Santi. Remember how Jessica was found passed out outside his room and couldn't remember anything that happened. Then when she accused Antonio, I think that was also Tess. As for Cristian's flashbacks, he may have remembered being programmed to kill Tico but never actually did it, or else Tico was already dead when he went to his hospital room. What do you think?"
Dear
Kecrn1: Wow, there's an idea that never crossed my mind, but it does have great
possibilities. Although Jess did see a man in the room with Tico before she
passed out, it could have been something totally innocent and maybe she did go
in and do the deed before she passed out. Who knows? I wouldn't think anything
would come of this unless it suits the storyline to go back to Tico's murder,
because Cristian was vindicated since he was under Carlo's mind-controlling
influence. Personally, I hope they never mention Tico's name again. The time he
spent in Llanview was a horrible period to have to watch and a waste of good
screen time.
© Copyright by Katherine
Thurston, 2006
