Three.

No real shocks today on the episode, and let's face it, we've all been reeling from a certain news item today so it's hard to concentrate. And sometimes I feel like I'm just sapped emotionally. It's been so intense for so long now, I'm just exhausted. So I'll be brief(ish).

Gigi had applied on Shane's behalf to an art institute in London (named after Phil Jimenez -- very cool!), and he was accepted. Looks like the Gigi, Rex, and Shane departure story is going to be a move to London so Shane can delve into creating comic books! Sweet as can be, and a good exit story for three people who were not slated to continue online. 

 

But poor Roxy! Of course she'll be happy for her grandson, but she'll be so lonely!

In other "cleaning up shop for those not continuing online" news, Shaun (Sean Ringgold was going online) broke up with Vivian (Kearran Giovanni was not) because she won't marry him, and Starr and James called it quits because she'll never be in love with him the way she was in love with Cole. (In that case, neither Alderson nor Rodriguez were going online, but I'd wager that they split them up to keep Kristen Alderson available to bring her back into a major story if it became an option.) And Starr got her own exit story later in the episode when Rick made a pitch to her that will be a major advance to her pop music career (Snooze.).

But it's always fun to see Rick, who was thrilled by her recent tragedy and how marketable it makes her!

Neela apologized to Jack for turning over his confession tape to Shane and then admitted she'd been falling for him. These scenes seemed more like laying groundwork for a longer arc had the show continued on, so they didn't exactly have me on the edge of my seat. I also understand that Andrew Trischitta (Jack) has an adoring teen girl fanbase, so you know, you gotta give 'em some crumbs and show the boy with the purty hair!

Man, I'm really running out of steam here, y'all! The emotional rollercoaster is taking it right out of me.

Matthew came back to town to check in on Bo and Nora after their ordeal and told Destiny he feels bad for the way he treated her, but that he's still not ready for fatherhood. Sounds about right. I'm sure we'll be treated to an awkward, over-the-top birthing scene in some unusual location that changes Matthew's mind or something (we've all seen soaps before), but on the other hand? Shenell Edmonds was going online and Eddie Alderson was not. So who's to say? I still don't like the repeat of the teen parents storyline here, but I do care about what happens to Destiny and Matthew (and their families) so I admit I'm still curious. Nervous, but curious.

The big story today, though, was of course John and Natalie finally having their big talk. I mean... I was rooting for it because they've been dangling it for so freaking long, but I have to admit it was a better payoff than I'd thought. 

First of all, Liam!

And then... 

Natalie: I was at my worst, I was full of pride. I was stubborn, scared. I lied to you. And even if, at the time, I thought it was for all the right reasons, I was willing to marry you with that lie between us and that is something that I never wanted to do. And I am ashamed of that. I didn't -- I didn't trust you enough to tell you the truth. But I didn't want to lose you. So I guess you can add "coward" to that list, too.

John: Are you done?

Natalie: Well, that depends! Can you forgive me?

John: You're gonna let me talk. I was angry. I don't like to be lied to, especially by someone that means this much to me. 

Natalie: I'm so sorry. (Long pause.) I mean, does that mean that we can't get past this?

John: You made a serious mistake. But I could have handled it better. I drank too much too often, I slept with someone else, and I did all that to hurt you. I couldn't handle thinking that Liam wasn't mine. I look back at myself... and I see someone I don't even recognize and I am ashamed of that. I took a bad situation and made it worse. I failed you, and I failed Liam, and I failed myself. You want to know if I can -- if I can forgive you? The real question is, can you forgive me?

And of course, we know the answer. Wow! I've gotten so frustrated with this storyline these past several months but I have to give credit: this is exactly what they both needed to say to each other. And he talked instead of grunting, he smiled instead of brooding! This was a damn fine reunion scene. Color me impressed. (I'm just choosing to forget his little "then get those lips over here" line. It makes it all better.) 

And then they finally got it on! And they were excited and it was awkward and full of nervous laughter, which I loved. Often those "handily rip each other's clothes off with total confidence" sex scenes look so forced to me, and this felt very human and real and, frankly, like they were dying for it.

And the pillow talk was just awesome. They talked about how this great moment doesn't mean everything's going to be perfect and they shouldn't expect that. And he was about to tell her he loved her and she tried to stop him since, you know, poor, haunted, brooding John has trouble saying "I love you" and she didn't want him to have to go through that traumatic ordeal, but he wouldn't let her stop him! He told her, and she said it was worth the wait. Very nice.

And oh yeah, he smiled.

Well done, writers and Melissa Archer and Michael Easton. Very, very sweet scenes for a couple I'd not always been able to really get behind. Pretty perfect.

So let's bask in this afterglow while we can. Both Archer and Easton were slated to move to the online version, so this was a complete reunion that was going to propel their relationship forward. Now with that off the table and Easton heading to General Hospital as John, who knows what's next (it's certainly possible that he's going to Port Charles on assignment and will check in back home, or that Archer will be headed west herself at some point, but who knows for now, it's all speculation). We have a while to bask in this being how Natalie and John's story was meant to be on One Life to Live. And somehow I find myself a believer!

So again, comment guidelines: be gentle with each other, and please leave us alone if you think the show sucks and deserves cancellation!

And again I ask: how's everyone holding up? And did today's big GH casting announcement ease the pain or stress you out? Or are you still just not sure? Is everyone crazy-psyched to see Agnes Nixon on tomorrow's episode? I know it'll make me cry in a nano-second.

Comments

[Dawn]

Happy doesn't describe my joy at the Mannings going to GH. :D I just have no words other than YAY! YAY! YIPPE KY-YAY MF!

[Verona]

Ditto! Sign me exhausted.

[C]

"But poor Roxy! Of course she'll be happy for her grandson, but she'll be so lonely!"

Hmmm...I guess we'll just have to bring back her best friend and her best friend's bf and their little girl. And, hell, let's toss in her incarcerated bio son too. ;)

[Kade]

I'm torn over the big news item today - on one hand, I know I should be happy at the chance to see some of my faves after Friday, but on the other hand... we soap fans have been jerked around so much since April ("The shows are cancelled! Wait, they're not! Wait, they are! Wait, these guys are moving over here now!") that I wish we could get one clear decision, for closure's sake. Guess even now that's too much for a soap fan to ask for.

And, saving the worst for last, does this mean I have to suffer through Sonny and Jason just to see Todd and Blair?

I wish TPTB could just make up their damn minds so I can make up a good ending in my head already.

Ack! Between denial, the news-yoyo and a protective coating of criticism, I feel like I'm going to explode!

[Dawn]

Question. It talks about Starr, Todd and Blair coming. What about Jack (I could truly care less) and Sam? Are they staying behind in Llanview?

[Louise]

It doesn't sound like there are plans to move Jack and Sam. Maybe they'll refer to Sam a lot and he'll always be upstairs and eventually bring in a little actor with glasses? And perhaps Jack will be in military school...

[LB]

AT (who plays Jack) says he's not part of the deal at this point. That could change?

Is it too much to say that RC and FV's reasons for doing this is to a) boost ratings with a sweeps stunt but also b) give Manning fans a better ending since the one coming on Friday won't be that good? Do RC and FV care that much?

I know GH fans are pissed and that is their right. But I can't help but feel a little happy that RC gets another chance to fix this.

[Louise]

I have to be honest, I don't know why GH fans would be upset. The show is terrible right now and has been for a while. It needs a shake-up. RC has always been better at balancing screen time so this doesn't mean a bunch of firings over there. God forbid we see Sonny and Kate having the exact same conversation 15% less!

[LadyBug]

OLTL was a rocking today! My poor Roxie Balsom.

As for GH? Shrug. The soap is horrible and has been for a very long time.

[Dawn]

I am a GH fan and I LOVE this. A lot of fans are angry because it is more "newbies" coming in taking screen time away from an established cast. The problem is the "established" cast other than Sonny, Carly and Jason, haven't had any decent screen time in years. Pretty much since the show became mobcentric. That had to do with the writing, not new cast members being brought in.

[Crystal]

I haven't stopped smiling since I read the news, even if the logistics make my head hurt. The potential Sonny/Blair pairing makes me ill, on the other hand Michael Easton and Kelly Monaco have always had an easy chemistry.

Show was great today (typically). It seems like all the character growth we've been waiting for with John McBain happened this week.

[Soapbaby]

Seriously. This was shockingly poor episode. I am happy for the Jolie fans though because John and Natalie's talk was good. We needed a little Viki, Clint, Blair and Todd to balance things out.

Louise - I SO respect your work and your tending to our feelings as the show winds down but today's episode reminded of all of the times I hated this show. The highs have been so high but the lows are SO low. There is no reason why Viki was not on EVERYDAY of the show's final week. The Morascos, The Patels and The Fords should have exited the canvas months ago ala Cristian Vega.

I am happy for The Mannings heading to Port Charles. I could do without Starr but, oh well. GH needs all the help it can get!

[LB]

What Dawn said. I get them being upset because they think it's taking away from other characters but I agree with you too Louise. That show sucks right now. The Manning addition can only improve it.

That said, I hope this is a short stint. Not quite long enough for my Mannings to fall apart like they always do. Not quite long enough to pair Todd with Carly or whoever else is on that show. The good news is Blair is definitely too tall for most of the men on that cast.

[Louise]

The reason that the most important characters -- Viki, Clint, Bo, etc -- haven't been on the show every day of the final week is because they were still working on a budget (that involved paying all the returnees)and those actors have maximums, and almost all the leads were moving on to the online or cable version of the show. I honestly don't believe for a second they would have spent this much time on Balsoms or Patels or Fords in the final week of OLTL if they'd known for certain. It's too bad, but it wasn't deliberate. They were trying to do good business. They certainly would have done it differently had they been given notice. It's not fair, but it's not the creative team at OLTL I'm upset with.

[Andrea]

I think yesterday and today sucked. So boring.

As for the GH news, I'm not thrilled with it. I hope that it's only a short term stint. I know that I wouldn't have wanted AMC characters to come over to OLTL once it was cancelled and start taking time away from the characters on the show, so I totally understand the GH fans who may have that mindset.

What I see happening is Todd and Blair are on the run and go to Port Charles and John follows the there. Don't know why Starr would show up there if she goes to fulfill her pop star dream, but she's there too. It eventually is discovered that Todd didn't kill Victor so Todd, Blair, and Starr leave back to Llanview and John stays behind to help stop the mob or something.

[Jessica]

I am a fan of GH and OLTL (although GH longer) and if I am being honest, I really don't like this idea of them coming to GH. I love Blair and Todd, not a fan of john but I do feel like it will take away from the show. I know people believe that the show "sucks" but I actually disagree and think that it has been slowly improving. If we constantly pick at the negatives, we will never see the positive in the show until it has ended. & I rather have a 'crappy' GH then no GH at all. However, with that being said, I am willing to wait and see and not completely judge yet. If they can execute it without ruining a lot of what i like about GH and bring in viewers then I will be happy!!

[Percysowner]

I have no idea if Todd and Blair can work on GH. I haven't watched GH in years, but I'll give it a go just for T&B. My one hope is that Sonny starts telling his long tragic story of his abusive childhood and Todd one ups him as no one else can. And I want him to do it with Todd snark and panache. That will make me happy.

[Louise]

It seems to me the bottom line is that the characters coming over from OLTL is an effort to improve GH's ratings and save the show. I'm all for giving them that chance.

GH has a wonderful cast (minus some of the random newbies) and good dialogue writers, it's just in a bleak repetitive rut. I think we should give the new showrunners a shot to revive it and support the effort, because it might mean keeping GH. If we stick with the status quo, it's 100% gone. I'm always PRO saving soaps!

[soapbaby]

Thanks for the explanation Louise. I was just really let down. I wouldn't have minded the other characters if they were better written and, in some cases, better acted. Some balance would've helped.

And if Starr runs off on the word of Rick The Porn Guy instead of following Cole, ugh.

The actor who portrayed James was very good.

[Sue B]

Why would Starr live out her pop star dream in upstate New York?

And on a side note - wth did Eddie Alderson do to the writers - kill their kitten? His character has been destroyed in the past two years. Ever since the car accident/wheelchair, his attitude has been horrible and he's just been a petulant brat.

I hope they will redeem him (or they just should have kept him in the coma....)

Thanks for the recaps Louise - it's making the week so much easier!!!

And lets' not even talk about HBS and RSW being basically teen drama backup players for the past year.

[Dawn]

I think the "who killed Victor" plot is going to spill over onto GH because Ted King was in talks to return too. Lord knows it has to be as Tomas. Both Alcazar brothers are dead.

[Bourgeois Nerd]

Well, I for one thing this episode was AWESOME! I think we've lost the calibration on our gauges after the fireworks episodes lately. This was full of soapy drama, a wide range of couples, and incredible dialogue. If a show gets me weepy about JAMES AND STARR and NATALIE AND JOHN then they're doing something right.

[Valcoholic]

OLTL has been awesome on the way out! And since my wishes there have been fulfilled (Ford dying, Jess re-Buked, Natalie being a badass; it's seriously like that Simpsons episode where Homer gives away a years worth of storylines), I have some new wishes with the cast going to godawful GH. 1) First time Sonny stutterbarks crap about his childhood, Todd awesomely shuts that crap down real quick. 2) First time Carly is shrieking, Blair awesomely Southern slaps the crap out of her. 3) McBain gets snarky with St. Jason, sets his box of pain on fire and runs off with Sam. 4) Total fanwank here, but as long as we're moving characters from one defunct soap, bring Jonathan from Guiding Light, if only for a day, to choke slam Spinelli until he is unable to speak again. All that might make GH watchable again! Here's to OLTL! It's going out awesome!

[marz]

And I have no doubt that Roxy is going with Rex and Gigi and Shane.

I loved today. And I loved "then get those lips over here" Because that's John, when he's happy.

And GH has repeated 4 conversations for 4 weeks now. Hurry, RC. And if you can have a tunnel collapse take out Cassandra-more points.

[soapbaby]

^^Vaholic - You are my hero! And you are right about wishes being fulfilled.

And I would pay money to watch your fantasy GH!!!

[Cam]

How with this help GH? as long as SL are Sonny centered GH is practically unwatchable. John & Sam would be only good if they were vampires, otherwise its like watching John& Tea. boring.boring boring.

[Elizabeth]

Great post as usual, Louise! As someone who has never cared much about John and Natalie either way, I was shocked by how satisfying their reunion was. If I'd known waiting for their damn talk would make it that good, I might not have been so annoyed all the times they put it off!

(And to those complaining about the show sucking -- really? Is it that hard to refrain for *one week* when your host specifically asks?)

[Louise]

Valholic, I like the way you think!

And really, RC likes John McBain way too much -- there's no way he's going to let the criminals always win on GH the way they do now. Here's hoping!

[Ron]

The John and Natalie scenes were so very good today. I had low expectations, I guess, with it being drawn out so long. And honestly, they weren't usually in my "favorites" category. But that changed today. Their conversation felt so right, and I thought the connection between the two was electric.

I know Shawn broke up with Viv because he was going onine and she wasn't, but IMO he acted like a Grade A jerk. She had made it clear to him that she was committed to him, marriage or not. But instead of believing in her, and in them, he acted like his bossy bigmouthed mother and did the whole "my way or the highway". Viv is well rid of him with that sort of attitude.

I liked the way Shane got his exit storyline, and somehow I feel that Roxy might just be tagging along to England. The mother country won't be the same if she does!

I have never watched GH, but I planned to pick it up when I heard that Ron C. and Frank V. were coming in. I thought that I'd see if they could do anything with it.
And now, with these actors coming on board, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Of course what I, what so many of us want is for OLTL to be continuing intact. But since that's not happening, I will take what I can get. I may be jumping from one deck to another as the Titantic sinks, but until then, I'm going to miss a chance to see more Todd and Blair, and even McBain and Starr. And who knows? Maybe we'll have a visit or two from some other Llanview residents. If Vicki can go to Paris, Texas, she can certainly go to New York State to see her brother....

[marz]

Great post, Ron.

Great blog, Louise.

I wonder if Clint might get Rex legitimately involved in BE while he's in UK.