I cannot, for the life of me, understand why Todd Manning is not sitting in a jail cell at this very moment. This is a man who assaulted and with his temper could have killed two innocent young men, neither of whom he had a right to put his hands on. He physically assaulted Markko to find out where Starr was and then he nearly killed Cole when he found them together.

I was shocked and appalled at Todd’s behavior last week and this time I think he went way over the line in doing what he felt needed to be done to feed his own sick ego and demented mind. Honestly, this is a very sick man. I think he needs to be behind bars because there is no way he would submit to the kind of intense therapy he would need to be a whole human being. He’d have to admit that he needed help and that’s not going to happen.

I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to all the horrific things Todd did last week. What was worse? Was it the way he beat up Markko and Cole after completely losing his mind in anger? Was it scaring and threatening Langston when he confronted her and asked, “Are you just jealous of Starr, jealous that she has two parents and yours are dead?” Was it completely misjudging the situation he walked in on between Starr and Cole and didn’t even stop to realize that if he had even listened to his daughter once in his life he would know that she was there because she wanted to be? Or was the most horrific thing Todd did last week finally shattering his beloved daughter’s image of him and letting her see him for what he truly is?

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t necessarily condone a sixteen-year old girl and boy having sex, although I do live in the present world where people like Blair and Todd should have wondered a long time ago if this was going on. Todd has refused from day one to believe that Starr and Cole want to be together and that it has nothing to do with him or what he did to Cole’s mother years ago. Todd had a definite break with reality last week when confronted with the situation and I don’t know if he’s truly lost it, or if he is just too selfish to admit that everything that happened is completely his fault. It was as if Todd was in a stupor when he kept spewing that garbage about Starr being raped and how he finally figured out that Cole came to Llanview and plotted all this time to hurt Starr to get back at him for raping his mother.

And let’s remember that this is not the first time Todd has tried to kill Cole. He nearly choked Cole to death at the airport last year when the kids tried to run away together. Todd refuses to figure out that these kids just want to be together and it has nothing to do with him. Cole is lucky he’s still alive and I can certainly understand why John went over to Dorian’s house and knocked Todd’s lights out for hurting Cole (I applauded him), but I can’t understand why Nora and John haven’t tried to persuade Cole to press charges against Todd. No matter what you think about Starr and Cole having sex, she is at the age of consent and there are grounds for locking Todd up. I also think Markko’s family should come forward and press charges. There was no reason for Todd to put his hands on either of those young men and there is less of a reason to put your hands on anyone else’s child.

Honestly, I felt sorriest for Starr in all of this. This young woman who has idolized her father her entire life and has believed that he’s wonderful even though he’s “different” has had her dreams shattered and all that she ever thought about him is gone. My heart went out to her when she tried to reason with Todd before she went off with Cole. Todd didn’t want to hear a word anyone in his family had to say about moving to Hawaii and he even made a joke of Starr’s concern when he told he she’d make new friends and she’d probably have a new boyfriend every week. Gee, what a way to find out that your father is actually the degenerate that everyone says he is and really doesn’t care what you think or how you feel.

You could tell that Starr’s heart was broken and all her illusions shattered when she finally got home and Todd kept yelling that she was raped. I don’t remember when I’ve heard a more truthful rant than when Todd wouldn’t listen to Starr, told he that he thinks he loves her too much and she said, “I think you love yourself a little too much. You do horrible things that hurt everybody else but you. It’s easy to tell somebody that you love them but acting on it is something completely different.” Todd couldn’t take it when she told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t raped and that she wanted to be with Cole. He couldn’t understand that he was totally responsible for pushing Starr into Cole’s arms in a way that she probably wouldn’t have decided on for a while yet. Instead, Todd got more and more infuriated until he couldn’t take it any more and THREE TIMES he nearly backhanded Starr. I was horrified watching this. He came so close to hitting her that I cringed watching that scene.

And then Blair finally stepped in. She should have stepped in when she first found Todd beating on Cole and thrown him out of Dorian’s house the minute he stepped back in it. You could look at Blair’s face and tell that she was horrified at what Todd had done and at how he had gone off the deep end in his assessment of what happened and why it happened. And then Blair finally stepped in. She should have stepped in when she first found Todd beating on Cole and thrown him out of Dorian’s house the minute he stepped back in it. You could look at Blair’s face and tell that she was horrified at what Todd had done and at how he had gone off the deep end in his assessment of what happened and why it happened. However, even though Blair threatened that if Todd every lifted a hand to one of his kids again he’d never see them again, she let him stick around and that’s not something she should have done. At least Starr had Blair on her side, to understand and comfort her, but at this point, Blair had no business trying to smooth things over for Todd and that’s what she was trying to do. Stupid! For once, I would applaud Dorian if she packed Todd’s bags herself and threw him out of her house.