Reflections by Jill - A Weekly Commentary for OLTL for October 8, 2007

And wow, what a way for Marcie to find out the truth. I have to say that I sat in awe at Kathy Brier’s performance when Marcie, in a furious state, confronted Michael at the hospital. Who could blame her? And Michael had no choice but to stand there and take it and he deserved it, even though we all know he kept the secret to protect and preserve his family, right or wrong. The acting was incredible. I could feel Marcie’s pain, hurt and anger as she relentlessly went at Michael for what he did. And she was right about all of it. He didn’t leave her any options by keeping the secret. They could have been more prepared for Todd had they been working together and I believe that the worst part of all this is that Marcie has had almost a whole year more of bonding with Tommy at this point. That is not to say that she wouldn’t have been devastated to lose him, but the past year of Tommy’s life has been the most important year so far, where like she told the judge, she taught him to walk and talk. Tommy also had this year to bond even tighter with Marcie and Michael so it is now harder for everyone and hardest on that little boy. It tore at my heart when Marcie looked at Michael and said, “If we lose Tommy it will be all your fault and I will never forgive you.” I knew this was going to be sad and it’s only going to get worse. Michael and Marcie love each other so much. How will they get through this? It was hard for Michael to hear Marcie remind him that Lindsay killed a man for them, but Michael refused to take responsibility for Lindsay killing Spencer. I guess he just can’t wrap his mind around that.

And wasn’t it just like Todd to lie to that nurse at the hospital, saying he was Tommy’s uncle so that he could get his hands on him. That nurse should be severely reprimanded for handing Tommy over to someone without proof of who he is. And there’s Todd, disgusting and obnoxious as ever, laughing in Michael’s face, as if he already knows which way the judge is going to decide the case.

It’s a little confusing watching John and Marty getting so much closer when we know Christina Chambers is leaving. I wonder what that’s all about. I’ll bet Natalie would have like it if John took her on a nice little picnic like he did for Marty, even though he made sure to say it was not a date. John sure has a long way to go in the “express your feelings” department. He didn’t show much progress in that area when they were trying to say how they feel and he said, “I like you”. Gee John, it was bad enough that you made Marty speak first, but “I like you” is not even as good as a third grade boy showing his emotions by pulling a girl’s pigtails. I guess it worked for Marty because she told him he didn’t need to talk and then they fell on the blanket and got on with it. Yeah, yeah, all of John’s women buy that silent treatment in the beginning but they tire of it quickly.

One thing I can say for John is that it’s good to see that he is finally turning to someone when he needs emotional support, no matter how lamely he goes about it. It was obvious that he was very worried about Tommy’s fate and needed someone to be with. Marty happened to be the lucky girl.

Now we’re moving full steam ahead with Langston’s story and I am really happy about this. This young woman is doing a great job of portraying Langston with all her many facets and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens, especially since Dorian has decided to involve herself. I wonder if hiring Rex was such a good idea, but that’s Dorian going full steam ahead in her own way no matter what. Rex wasn’t very convincing as the cable guy, was he?

The strain of the secret she’s keeping is finally bringing Langston to the point where she can’t take it any more and breaking down the other day with Markko was just the tip of the iceberg. She has never had so many people around her who cared and wanted to help her and watching her handle it is very interesting. She’s terrified that someone will find out her secret and now Dorian has done just that.

I did get a good laugh out of Shawn posing as Talia’s boyfriend, George, even though it was the silliest and most transparent and childish thing they could have done. Antonio couldn’t have bought that act when Layla threw Shawn and Talia together, but I died laughing when Shawn decided to go along with the act and kissed Talia. That guy is adorable and I’ve been waiting for him to get something going as far as a storyline. He may not be George for long, but I hope he gets involved in something good in Llanview.

And Miles is in therapy. Well, Whoopty Doo! Aren’t you glad that he finally knows that you need to think before you act on things? At this point, who cares? Hey, what’s the big deal about destroying a few lives then getting on with your own with a little bit of therapy?

It’s obvious how much Cristian still loves and misses Evangeline, even though Sarah seems to be slipping into his life. I wonder when we’re ever going to get a resolution to Evangeline’s storyline. Will she remain in a coma and just be forgotten? I hope not. Cristian needs to be able to move on and if there’s a chance Evangeline will recover, it needs to happen with a recast of the role, or end the storyline. Layla needs closure even more than Cristian does.

It’s going to be hard for me to watch what goes on in that custody case this week. I’d like to have a television that gives me the ability to put a big black dot on Todd’s face so I don’t have to watch him. No such luck. Too bad I’m not one of those people that like to fast forward through what I don’t like to see.

See ya next week.

Jill