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No big bombshells this week, just lots of interesting incremental
steps to move the stories along. It looks like (hoping, hoping) that Will’s legal problems may (finally) be resolved
in the coming weeks, R.J. and Roseanne are turning up the heat on their respective prey: Bo and Cris, Viki passed
her first hurdle, Sophia stumbled on another secret, and Bo’s got a new lady in his life (yes, another one!)
It looks like Jess has come full circle – still torn between Will and Cristian. Very upset by her grandfather’s
actions, Jess told Will she’d do what she could to try to get Asa to confess. After Jess left (to visit Viki),
Will and Cris agreed to team up to get the truth from Asa. Cris will try to ingratiate himself with Asa in the
hopes that he’ll uncover some dirt. Not a bad plan, but there was one problem – Asa has flown the coop (guess Phil
Carey is taking a much-needed vacation). Cris thinks Jessica should get involved, but Will doesn’t want to ask
her to betray her grandfather. But as the idea of Will going to prison becomes increasingly real to Jess, she’s
more determined than ever to help him out.
Saucy Roseanne tried her best to vamp Cris back into her bed by parading around the Penthouse in her birthday suit,
but Cris wasn’t biting.
Antonio gave Jess the 411 about the situation with Roseanne and Cris, and this time, Jess didn’t freak out. Instead,
she took the bull by the horns and headed to the penthouse to see for herself. Roseanne tried to give her rival
the bum’s rush, but Cris invited her in. Soon the former sweethearts were watching scary videos, eating popcorn,
and getting all cozy together. Roseanne was fit to be tied.
Apparently, Roseanne thinks the best defense is a strong offense. To prove her point (that she and Cris are man
and wife), she threw a wedding reception at the diner and essentially blackmailed her “husband” into staying for
the festivities.
After Asa clocked Ben with his cane, Blair tried to call 911, but Max wouldn’t let her. Then Ben came to and brushed
off Sam’s attempts to call an ambulance and press charges. Thanks to Skye, Mr. Van Dyke had gotten away. Blair
told Sam she’d be happy to testify against Asa on assault charges. Asa called her a traitor and Max said he’d keep
her in line. Fat chance.
Meanwhile, Skye is sticking close to Max, hoping to capitalize on the rift with Blair. Doesn’t Skye have any pride?
She’s pathetic waiting in the shadows for Max to throw her a crumb of attention.
In a mind-boggling coincidence, Ben sought medical assistance for his Asa-inflicted injuries from an old college
chum who just happened to work at the Cherryvale Clinic. Before long, Ben had run into Joey who was sorely tempted
to spill the beans about his mother’s illness. The situation verged on the ludicrous as Ben sat in the waiting
room with his eyes closed (because the doctor had put in drops to dilate his pupils), while barely three feet
away from him Viki was wheeled into surgery.
During her stay at Cherryvale, Viki is keeping a laptop diary of her thoughts. Prior to the surgery, she received
some good news: the cancer has not spread to any of her major organs. Whether or not it’s present in her lymph
nodes can only be determined after the surgery.
Kelly, Kevin, Joey, and Jess stopped by for a visit. Everyone tried to keep things light and Jess brought some
family mementos – Joey’s old mitt, Kevin’s binky, and an old doll from Viki’s childhood. The next morning, prior
to surgery, Jess and Joey showed up – but not Kevin as he was “otherwise engaged.” Kelly was conspicuously MIA
as well.
As Viki underwent her surgery, visions of Ben danced in her head, swirling, giddy romantic fantasies of slow-dancing
and bubble baths.
It didn’t take much for Sophia to lure Kevin and Kelly into her trap, and they were both too stupid or too distracted
by their overactive hormones to figure out who had locked them in together in a police storage locker.
Eventually, their mutual attraction got the better of them and they ended up in another clinch. Sophia was gloating
in triumph until Kevin mentioned Viki’s breast cancer. Realizing what Joey is going through, Sophia won’t be able
to hurt him further by showing him the tape – rats!
But tape or no tape, Joey senses that something is amiss. After he heard their story about being mysteriously locked
up together all night, Joey asked Kevin and Kelly pointblank: Is something going on between you two?
Unhappy with the brush-off he was getting from the D.A.’s office, R.J. held a press conference to accuse Bo of
brutality and the LPD of covering it up. Even though Antonio and Kevin attacked his credibility, R.J. stuck to
his story and wouldn’t back down.
When Hank asked John Sykes for an account of what happened at Rodi’s, he got stonewalled. Hank doesn’t want to
believe it, but R.J.’s “crazy crusade” (Hank’s words) just might be based in truth.
With all that’s going on in so many American cities, TPTB at OLTL would have to be incredibly naïve not to
realize that the issue of race is lurking beneath the surface of this storyline. My take on the situation is that
it doesn’t involve race. I don’t believe Bo went off on R.J. because he’s black; however, the issue of class is
very much in play. There has long been arrogance to the way Bo does his job as police commissioner. Whether he’s
aware of it or not, Bo’s sense of Buchanan entitlement allows him to break the rules when he wants to (e.g., when
he falsely confessed to Georgie Phillips’s murder, when he let Cris and Will get away with breaking into Asa’s
home), and that’s not cricket. Nora Buchanan (who’s still half in love with her ex-husband) may think he’s the
best police commissioner Llanview ever had – but Midge disagrees.
One of the most irritating things about soaps is how the designated “good” characters can get away with murder
(literally, in the case of AMC’s Brooke English), while the “bad” characters can’t catch a break even when they’ve
legitimately been wronged (e.g., A.J. Quartermaine on GH). Personally, I’m in R.J.’s corner on this one and I’m
also greatly enjoying his theatrical grandstanding.
Unaware of the firestorm that awaits him in Llanview, Bo confronted the woman who totaled his beloved bike. He
was angry at first, but soon softened when he noticed how upset she was. And we all know that nothing brings out
Bo’s knight-in-shining armor persona better than a damsel in distress.
Lacking transportation, Bo checked into a nearby inn. Naturally, he ran into the new mystery woman (Melanie) in
the dining room. After overhearing her on the phone telling someone to leave her alone (pretty blatant eavesdropping,
by the way), Bo’s interest was further peaked. Soon the two were bonding over fondue (yes, fondue), and Bo was
asking her to dance!
After cutting a rug or two, Bo and his new friend retired to their respective rooms, which oh-so-coincidentally
turned out to be adjoining rooms complete with shared door with an oh-so-convenient broken lock. And when Bo heard
Melanie crying in the night, of course, he just had to come in to “comfort” her.
I know it’s early and I will try to reserve judgment, but I am not enthusiastic about this new story for Bo. For
one thing, it’s just a little too easy for him to find another needy dame with which to distract himself. To my
way of thinking, Bo has serious unfinished business with both Nora and Lindsay, and until that’s worked out, he
should steer clear of rebound relationships. I also didn’t like that way he insinuated himself into this woman’s
life. She was clearly troubled (not to mention a good 10-15 years his junior), and it almost seemed as if he was
taking advantage of her neediness to soothe his own bruised ego.
The next morning before Bo awoke, Melanie snuck away, but when she ran into Sykes and Lisa in the lobby looking
for Bo, she told them she’d just seen him leave and then went back to the room to give Bo a heads-up.
Bo walked into a police station crawling with reporters and was just about to make a statement when Nora arrived
and insisted he speak with her first as legal counsel. Pressured by Hank, Bo complied. Although I was happy Bo
admitted his guilt to Nora, his smug attitude didn’t sit too well with me.
At home in bed, Lindsay saw the whole Bo/Nora situation unfolding on TV and headed down to the station. She and
Nora had a private conversation where Nora urged her to come clean with Bo and try to salvage their relationship.
Naturally, Lindsay didn’t believe for a moment that Nora had her best interests in mind.
While Nora was busy with Bo, Jared Hall had his day in court. Things looked bleak till grandfather Ed Hall (daytime
legend Al Freeman, Jr.) showed up to plead his grandson’s case. He looked wonderful and I hope he sticks around
Llanview for a while, at least long enough to interact with Bo and Viki and the rest of the “old timers.”
However, I have a few bones to pick with the defense offered at Jared’s hearing. For one thing, he didn’t come
forward until Tea threatened to expose him, so why should he get credit for “taking responsibility.” Secondly,
I don’t think he should have allowed his grandfather to take any of the blame for his own conduct. Can someone
please explain to me why Jared had to lie on his bar application about his past legal problems to avoid disappointing
his grandfather? Aren’t those documents confidential?
Snippets:
• Will should have a little chat with Antonio if he thinks he can handle
five years in Statesville.
• I
guess all Bo needed was a good roll in the hay to clear his head – men!
• Gee,
Ben must have a really cheap HMO if his doctor conducts medical exams in the clinic hallway!
• I
have to hand it to OLTL, I was really surprised when Viki’s plastic surgeon turned out to be Bo’s one-night stand.
• The
situation between Bo and R.J. puts Hank between a rock and a hard place and provides a great opportunity for Nathan
Purdee.
• If
Bo loses his job as commissioner, he can always pick up work at the nearest Arthur Murray Dance Studio!
• Melanie
must be an excellent surgeon: overnight she removed that stick that’s been stuck up Bo’s rear for weeks now.
• I
am really disliking Max lately. I really want Blair to make him suffer.
• I
imagine a fresh face (sans emotional baggage) looks pretty good to Bo ‘round about now, but I still hate it when
he dances with anyone but Nora!
• Since
when has Antonio become such a cheerleader for the LPD?!
• How
dare Kelly claim to be interested in getting the story for Bo’s benefit, she just wanted an excuse to go sniffing
after Kevin.
• LOL
at Sophia’s role-playing of both Kevin and Kelly.
• I’m
glad to see Jess and Cris starting over as friends. It may lead to something more, but it’s definitely a good beginning.
• SOFCPS
(Soap Opera Failing Cell Phone Syndrome) strikes again!
• Jared
is smart enough to know that a few football metaphors are just the “ticket” to soften up ol’ Hank “the Cannon”
Gannon.
• Wouldn’t
Todd have come up with some great Sun headlines over this R.J./Bo situation?
• Sophia
sure has a major sweet tooth!
• It
didn’t look like Kelly and Kevin were trying all that hard to escape. That storage locker was full of stuff they
could’ve used to jimmy the lock or bust the door off its hinges.
• I
like that Cris and Will are working together against Asa. And is it my imagination or has Cris jumped like 30 I.Q.
points in recent weeks? Now if only Joey could get a much-needed gray-matter infusion…
• I’m
not saying it’s a conscious decision, but it seems to me that Will is using the threat of prison time to gain sympathy
from Jessica – and it’s working!
• Maybe if Ben asked Sophia nicely using a few common courtesies, he might
get the information he wants!
• Viki
has a very pretty manicure.
• I
really get a charge out of that busybody reporter.
• Excuse
me, but isn’t Nora a bit of a rat to desert existing client Jared Hall to go rushing to Bo’s defense?
• Kudos
to Erika Slezak for playing Viki’s emergence from surgery in a realistic fashion – complete with bed hair and groggy
responses.
• Excuse
me, but the Carlotta Vega I know would never allow either one of her sons to sacrifice his happiness for her. I
think Cris should have called Roseanne’s bluff. Would she really have the nerve to close down the diner? Wouldn’t
the Angel Square community have come to Carlotta’s rescue?
Till next week!
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