Reflections by Jill - A Weekly Commentary for OLTL for October 29, 2007

FAN FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS

Sally writes: “I find the Llanview police department unbelievable. The writers should read a police procedural manual. Marcie climbs out a window and what, down a fire escape with a toddler, drives off, and within two minutes the police know she took off with the kid, but the police commissioner stands around with a surly smirk on his face for TWO HOURS in the kidnapper's apartment and tells the father to shut up? There would have been an Amber Alert out so fast Marcie wouldn't have made it past the Llanview post office. It's always the welfare of the child first, not the emotional state of the adults. For that matter, in a custody hearing like that, with the judge ordering police escort for the transfer, Michael and Marcie would have been escorted and under surveillance, not just Todd.”

Dear Sally: I think in this case you are assuming that art imitates life, which on a soap opera never really happens. Considering the fact that this is a soap opera and considering the fact that no one believed that Marcie was a threat to the child, I can understand why Bo didn’t want to go crazy and have Marcie hunted down like a dog. Of course in real life things would be different but on One Life to Live, I cheered for Bo when he told Todd to shut up. Todd makes every situation worse and in the long run, Bo and John were not going to just let Marcie get away forever with Tommy. They thought she’d come back on her own and she didn’t. Obviously there wouldn’t be enough drama if everything went according to plan and let’s face it; in real life, the judge might be having his head examined right now for making the decision he made. At least that’s what I think should happen.

Judy writes: “Last year we had to watch Blair go after Marty with everything she had. And for the life of me I still can't figure out what Marty did to her. Now we have to watch her go after Marcie. Why does she care so much about Margaret's kid? Has she forgotten that she locked her in a car trunk for months? And do we really think that she will raise Todd's kid and they will be one big happy family? I don't think so. I don't know why the writers feel they have to make Blair obnoxious every couple of months.”

Dear Judy: I agree with you about Blair. I recently said that most of the time I like her but when she tangles with Todd, she loses her mind. Her love for him makes her do very stupid things and maybe this time she will see the light and realize that taking on this child is more than she can handle, even for Todd. Marty didn’t do anything to Blair. I guess it’s hard for Blair to come to terms with the fact that Todd committed a rape at all so having Marty in her face makes Blair remember that thing about Todd that is the most horrible. I would think it would be very hard to justify loving a man who could do that to another woman so Blair will always be conflicted when it comes to Marty and be defensive of Todd. It’s sick, but true.

Teresa writes: “Okay, I have one thing to say about John and Marty. HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT! What was the point of John and Natalie having that conversation at the pool table at Rodi's, if they weren't at least going to TRY and be friends again? And John telling Natalie that if he saw her kissing another guy it wouldn't exactly thrill him? They've barely had any interaction since that conversation, so what was the point? What I'm trying to say is that John and Natalie have been to hell and back. It would be nice to see them survive some additional "life experiences" and then come back full circle, to each other, where they belong.”

Dear Teresa: There are lots of fans who are not sorry to see Marty leave Llanview and who don’t care for the John/Marty pairing. I agree with you and I, too, wish that those scenes John and Natalie had at Rodi’s could have led to more between them. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens in the future because Marty is leaving, John will be on his own again and Natalie is now lamenting over Jared. Natalie has been having several of what you call life experiences since separating from John and I don’t see that she’s come very far. Her obvious conflicted feelings about Jared are a perfect example. Not only is she drawn to him in spite of all the reasons she shouldn’t be, but she so openly shows her jealousy that I’m embarrassed for her when she does it. I’d love for Natalie and John both to grow up and find each other somewhere down the line. Will it happen in my lifetime?

Martha writes: “Marcie and Michael are innocent in a way. Marcie can be a real bitch, but the writer's write her bitchiness in a way that the fans cannot fault her. I guess that's what keeps us watching through insulting storylines and really bad writing. We care and see things differently.”

Dear Martha: Wow, in all the time she’s been on the show, I have never thought of Marcie as a bitch. She’s very emphatic when it comes to how she feels about things and she’s fierce about the people she loves, but I think she has a heart of gold and never hurt or intended to hurt anyone. She felt hurt and betrayed by Michael and I think that because of what a loyal person she is, she never dreamed that someone she loves and trusts as much as she does Michael would keep such a life destroying secret from her and let the rug be pulled out from under her like it was.