Before I begin, I'd like to thank my friend Ryan for filling in for me two weeks ago. If you happened to miss his great column, I encourage you to check out by clicking here. You can also check out nearly six years' worth of archived columns in Two Scoops archives. It is a great read and outlines several things that the show needs to do to save itself this year.
A lot of decisions were made on the show while I was away, and it looks we are heading into an interesting February sweeps! Dorian has decided to deal with Mitch on her own, Stacy realized she can't use Mitch to her benefit and went to Rex for help, Gigi predictably chose Schuyler, Natalie and John fell into familiar territory, the teens decided to move in together, Ross decided to come clean with Dani, Blair and Elijah made a decision, and David Vickers decided to grace Llanview with his presence again.
I feel bad for Dorian and her current situation. She is determined to protect her family from Mitch and is willing to do just about anything to do that. However, she lost her family as a result. I understand why Dorian's family is so upset, given their history with Lowell. However, I wish at least one member of Dorian's family would question her motives instead of rushing to judgment and storming out. That's typical of Dorian's family, but it's still disappointing.
I would think at least one person would have noticed the changes in Dorian's behavior. She was a nervous wreck on Christmas and has been acting in a nervous way ever since. While Dorian is hardly an , it was hard to watch Blair rebuff Dorian when Dorian tried to reach out. I wanted Dorian to tell Blair the truth instead of grandstanding, but it isn't something that Dorian would ever do. She feels she can deal with Mitch on her own and is determined to protect the ones she loves.
Dorian's family should know that she usually has ulterior motives for the things she does, so I wish someone in her family would figure it out and try to help her instead of giving her attitude at every turn. People know that Mitch is back and that Dorian has a sordid history with him. It is really sad that John knows Dorian better than her own family. Shame on the Cramer women!
I hope that Charlie doesn't agree to help Dorian kill Mitch. It seems like he will, since Charlie stumbled into the same bar where Dorian revealed her plan. However, I don't want to see Charlie do anything that jeopardizes his marriage or his freedom. Dorian is in a bad situation right now, but Charlie isn't in the right state of mind to make a decision. I hope she doesn't use his current vulnerability to accomplish her mission, but I have a bad feeling about it. I hope I am wrong!
Stacy is finally starting to realize that Mitch isn't someone who she can manipulate. He and that creepy nurse were able to shake her confidence and create fear in her with little effort, and now she knows how dangerous Mitch and his followers can be. She finally understands that Mitch has a way of getting what he wants, and right now, all he wants is Stacy's baby. Who knows how he will react once he learns that Stacy's baby isn't Rex's (and why doesn't he know that now?!), but for the moment, he has Stacy almost wishing she hadn't lied about the baby's father!
Even though I understand Rex's rationale, I wish he weren't moving back in with Stacy. It is his apartment, and Stacy is in danger, but I don't want to see Stacy do things to win Rex's love again. Lately, we've hardly seen Rex and Stacy together, so it's been okay, but if I have to see her pretend to cook or take off her shirt to woo him, I will have to fast-forward. The only good thing about this living situation is that Oliver is working for Rex, which will undoubtedly lead to him learning that he is the father of Stacy's baby. All I can say is I can't wait for this story to end and for Stacy to leave Llanview.
Meanwhile, Gigi has decided to move on with Schuyler, and I am not surprised that she did. In fact, I've been expecting her to have this revelation for a while now. I don't think Gigi and Schuyler have a big future together, and I think their relationship will be brief. Gigi chose Schuyler because he is the anti-Rex in her eyes. Schuyler seems like the drama-free option, and that looks pretty good to her, especially considering that Stacy is scheduled to give birth soon. When she looks at Schuyler, she doesn't see Stacy with a baby and all of the other problems she's had with Rex. She sees a guy who is into her and only her.
I can't blame her for wanting to ditch Rex for a while. He has been acting like the stereotypical jealous boyfriend and has tried to blame her for all of their problems. He has been anything but supportive or understanding, and she ends up fighting with him on a regular basis. Schuyler, on the other hand, has been there for her whenever things got tough, and he doesn't take her on a guilt trip every chance he gets. I think Schuyler would look great to anyone in Gigi's situation.
However, once Stacy and her baby are out of the way, and once Gigi learns that Schuyler has been keeping a big secret from her, she will be done with him. I don't know if she'll get back together with Rex or even if she should, but I firmly believe that Gigi and Schuyler's days are numbered. Overall, Schuyler is a decent guy (except for the whole secret thing), but he is the rebound guy for Gigi, and that rarely works out. Sorry, Schuyler!
Then we have Natalie and John. It is obvious that we are heading towards a reunion between Natalie and John as they fall into their old patterns. In the interest of full disclosure, I disliked them as a couple before, so I am not rooting for them to reunite. However, if the writers insist on doing this reunion, I wish they would find a better way. So far, their story is boring and predictable. I know John is supposed to be Natalie's hero for covering for her, but he never faces real consequences for his actions, so how much of a risk is he really taking? He does something that is against the rules and/or law at least once a year and always ends up back at the LPD. It's a regular day in John's life when he does these things.
I guess it's good that Natalie has an ally during this awful time in her life, but it's hard for me to even watch all of this transpire. This story has been done before, and I didn't like it the first time. I am sure that fans of John and Natalie must be happy about the direction these two characters are heading, but I just find myself waiting for the next scene!
Langston and Markko almost fall into the same category. As I've said before, I find most of Langston and Markko's plot points to be frivolous. Markko's jealousy over Ford, and Langston and Markko's desire to move in together is hardly gripping television. I couldn't believe how they decided to find another apartment after one night of living with Starr, Cole, and Hope. While that is too many people living in the same apartment, if Langston and Markko give up that easily on things, they have a long road ahead.
It's interesting that Markko's financial issues seem to have disappeared and he can suddenly afford to pay rent with Langston. As I recall, Markko moved in with Cole because Marty was paying the rent. I also remember Markko not wanting to even borrow money from Langston, so I guess the money plot point was just as frivolous as I thought! I really hope that Langston and Markko's apartment "woes" don't take up too much airtime. I don't know how much of it I can watch!
I have to say that I liked Todd and Blair's conversation about Starr wanting to move in with Cole. It felt like a real conversation that real parents would have when facing the same situation. They came to the realization that they had to let Starr go because she was going to leave anyway. I was absolutely shocked to hear Blair tell Starr and Cole that they would have to pay their own bills. For some reason, I always figured that Todd and Blair would bankroll Starr for as long as she wanted or needed it, so I was surprised to hear Todd and Blair take a hard line with Starr.
While I am not a huge fan of Starr, I think it will be interesting to see how Cole and Starr do on their own and how Blair and Todd will be there for them. It will be even more interesting to see if Todd can actually let Starr live her own life or if he will interfere and do things that he thinks are best for her. He made it very clear that he didn't want to lose "another daughter," so time will tell if he can truly let Starr be in charge of her own life.
It looks like he will get to know Dani soon, as she finally learned that Todd is her biological father. Before that, I enjoyed seeing Téa and Dani bond in Tahiti, even if it was over a sad event. We've hardly seen any nice mother/daughter moments, so I am glad that Téa took Dani to Tahiti to grieve for Ross. Of course, it turned out that grieving was unnecessary, but that's beside the point. Téa was a good mother to Dani in her time of need, and I am glad we got to see that before Ross reappeared.
It seems like the writers are having a lot of trouble deciding who Ross is. He was the carefree surfer (with a con-artist past) when he saw him last year, then he turned into the big, bad wolf, and now he is back as the calm, rational man who wants Dani to know the truth and to get to know her biological father. I am glad that falling off of the bridge (and learning that Dani tried to kill Todd) made Ross so level-headed, but I wonder if it is for real or if it is an act. Whatever the case may be, I am glad that Ross was the one to tell Dani the truth. She needed to hear it from him to believe it, even if she didn't like what she heard.
I know there has been some debate about whether Téa blackmailed Dani into going back to Llanview by offering not to tell the authorities about Ross. Téa's method wasn't optimal, but I think Téa wants to make sure that Dani has the opportunity to get to know Todd. If given the choice, Dani would stay with Ross. Dani and Todd didn't exactly hit it off when they met, and Dani has been carrying a grudge against him since he shot Ross. At this point, she needs to get to know Todd while knowing that he is her biological father, and when Téa promised to protect Ross, that got Dani to agree to it. Téa is anxious to get back to Todd for her own desires, but I think she is trying to help Dani too.
As for Blair and Elijah, their relationship has been casual and frivolous, but I like it for an important reason. This is the first time in a long time that Blair isn't doing something to get Todd back. She is having fun and living her life without worrying about what Todd is doing or whether Téa is around. I doubt that Blair and Elijah will ever be a super couple or anything close to it, but it is great to see Blair focus on someone other than Todd for a change!
David returned with a score to settle after the debut of "Ugly David." I enjoyed the inside jokes and the premise of the fake viral video. I loved David's shock at seeing himself portrayed as a nerd. David always provides some much-needed comic relief, and his reaction to receiving an 87 cent check from Ford was priceless. That will teach David to be so greedy all of the time!
I hope David also has some serious interactions during his visit in Llanview. I still want to see Bo and David get to know each other as father and son, and I also want Dorian and David to get past their issues and get back together. They talked briefly last week, but they really need to work things out. I realize that David's visits are usually short, but every time he leaves, I feel like it's too soon!
Finally, the One Life to Live Fan Club party will be on October 9, 2010, in New York City. If you've never attended this annual event, it's a great way to meet members of the cast and to meet fans of the show from around the country. Tickets are currently on sale, and there is a limited number available. For more information about this event, please visit www.oltlfanclub.com and click on "Events." The party will benefit St. Jude Children's Research, so it's also a great way to help those in need. Check it out!
Until next time,
Dawn
