Reflections by Jill - A Weekly Commentary for One Life to Live for July 25, 2006

Todd is very much on my mind this week. He is the only character in all the time I’ve been watching the show that makes me love him and hate him all in the same hour.

Of course, the love part comes in whenever I get a chance to see Todd tormenting Spencer and that Hospital Board Meeting was so much fun to watch. Spencer thought he was just going to breeze through that meeting with everyone loving and worshipping the ground he walks on and it was a joy to watch his face as Todd was introduced as the newest board member. Without a doubt, Todd bought his way into that chair just like he uses his money to manipulate everything else in his life, but it’s nothing Spencer wouldn’t have done if given the chance.

I wonder if Spencer even has a bundle left in the bank after all the people he’s had to pay off to keep his secrets. Anyway, I loved it but I was sorry that the original board members weren’t there. Viki should have been there (her face would have been worth seeing when Todd walked in) and Dorian would have been too happy to remain seated after Spencer was put on probation. But there was nothing better than the look on Todd’s face as he watched Spencer’s face when they gave Spencer the news. Was there ever a better opportunity to use the phrase “the cat who ate the canary?”

I loved Spencer’s little attempt to explain to the board how his hotel room got trashed and wound up on the front page of The Sun. I love seeing him squirm.

And of course when I talk about what I love about Todd, I am always reminded of all the times I want to just smack the guy. I can’t figure out what right he has to be jealous of Cristian and Evangeline. There was never anything romantic between Todd and Evangeline and although what they went through with his trial and his stint on death row has made them what I consider friends for life, Todd has no business sticking his nose into Evangeline’s private life. I think it was wonderful that he brought that doctor over from Europe to see Evangeline, but he never lets anyone forget that he treats his money like an almighty power. It was bad enough that he intruded on Cris and Evangeline in the park; he did help her when she lost her cane. But he had to insinuate that Cris wasn’t taking care of her. It’s too bad Todd didn’t overhear Cris and Evangeline telling each other that they were falling in love. Todd needed to hear that.

Todd knows how to push Cristian’s buttons and I can’t believe how far out of line Todd was when he broke down Evangeline’s door when she and Cris were in an intimate situation. I couldn’t believe his nerve when he told her she was making a mistake in getting serious with Cristian. And yes, Cris went behind her back to try and raise the money for her surgery by fighting, but Todd was so much worse because not only did he manipulate the entire situation behind Evangeline’s back, but he stood there and spelled out how he brought the doctor over and cut a check for his expenses and his missed appointments. That was just plain crass and tacky. And of course Evangeline is sick of both of them fighting over her and trying to run her life and now she’s had a bad accident trying to get away from them and Todd can only blame himself. I just wanted to strangle him for that whole episode.

And now we know that David did not kill Thomas McBain. Oh, big surprise. It was fun to listen to Spencer squirming on that tape during his conversation with David. David has it pretty much figured out that Spencer shot Thomas McBain and it’s too bad Hugh didn’t get a total confession out of Spencer from that bug. I’m sure it’s not admissible in court, but I can’t wait to see what John does with the information. Maybe he can choke the truth out of Spencer like Spencer choked Blair. I felt sorry for David when he was explaining to Spencer that his entire life has been based on running from the fact that he killed a man and now he knows that he didn’t even do it.

And then we have Blair. In typical Blair fashion, she is now motivated more by her jealousy of Todd and Evangeline’s closeness that she is by wanting to repay Todd for not believing in him. I think that Spencer is already onto Blair’s scheme. She’s done too many things that he is questioning, like talking to John McBain and showing up at the police station and let’s not forget all the times he’s caught her snooping. Not too bright, Blair. But one thing that was more than interesting was when Blair shared some of her tawdry past with Spencer and she got him to admit to some of the dirt from his past, like his buddy Lenny the forger. Now we can probably figure out how Bo’s signature was so hard to refute on those release forms for Margaret’s body.