July 31, 2007
Wow!Okay,
I'll be the first one to admit it. As much as I HATE, LOATHE, and
DESPISE the fact that we are enduring yet another (in a long line of
tragic stories) "babies in peril" storyline - the
Spike-Ian-Kendall-Zach story has me riveted. It has been a LONG time
since AMC made me cry, but dang it if they haven't got me tearing
through the Kleenex box!!
We were promised a heart-wrenching, soul-searing scene, in which
Kendall is on her way to the operating room to deliver a much too
premature baby Ian, only to look over at one point to discover that
her firstborn son, Spike, is traveling right beside her on his own
gurney. My heart stopped as it finally registered on her that the
child she was seeing was, in fact, her own son. In the seconds before
Kendall turned her head, and the scene moved into slo-motion, I found
myself screaming for Zach or Erica, a nurse, SOMEBODY to move between
the two gurneys so that Kendall would not see poor Spike, but alas...
Kudos to 'Lish Minshew, for her powerful acting in that scene (and
others to come). The look of sheer horror, fear, and grief on her
face were spot on, and her agonized wail "Spiiiiiiike!!" It literally
sent shivers down my spine and I had to go and spontaneously hug my
own child.
Now, here's something I almost never get a chance to say --- Kudos, as
well, to Susan Lucci and Erica Kane and, yes, the writers; for finally
allowing Erica to behave like a mother and grandmother. (she actually
UTTERED the word "Grandmother" - though not in reference to herself)
They even dressed her in more appropriate clothing for a change. The
black was a bit somber - considering the circumstances - but that
dress was so much more flattering and age-appropriate than most
anything else she's worn in ages. I love it when Erica brings out her
"Strong Kane-Women" speech. And she brought up Mona! (*sob*) It
is, during times like these, when Erica shines the brightest. She was
strong and supportive, kind and reassuring - to KENDALL - just like
Kendall needed her to be. For once, this wasn't about Erica. And
ya'all... When Kendall "broke" on Monday's show and Erica tearfully
took her in her arms and told her to let go and it was okay...?
This stone-cold-hearted cynic was done for! Of course, I was already
halfway gone when Zach finally let go of his own rigid self-control.
*sobs more*
We've all been clamoring for our long-lost "Love in the afternoon"
stories, and I still am. However... one very important component in
Daytime Drama IS, well... DRAMA. There is nothing more dramatic than
what we're seeing right now. For those of you who go waaay back, as I
do, and who watched General Hospital and experienced the "BJ's heart"
storyline, you know what I'm talking about. Everyone involved in
that storyline brought their "A-game" and that is what I see happening
with the Spike-Ian story on AMC. Of everyone involved, I can see only
one character who is NOT tugging at my heartstrings: (You guessed
it!) Ryass. He's shown faint glimmerings of hope, but he's not quite
"up there" where Zach, Kendall, Erica, Jack are - and I find that very
sad. I was hoping that THIS story would be one that would finally
show me that all hope is not lost for this character - maybe there's
still time for that; I don't know, but I sure hope so.
I wanted to feel Ryan's pain and fear as he sat by Spike's crib,
waxing on about the future and all the things they were going to do
together, but I couldn't. On soap message boards everywhere people
are asking why it is that Ryan (Cameron Mathison) can't manage to
squeeze out a few tears for his son? Why we can't feel his pain the
way we can feel Kendall or Zach's, and even Erica and Jack's. Both TK
and CM are essentially acting opposite dolls (as opposed to living
babies) in their scenes, but why is TK's performance so much more
believable and oh so much more heartbreaking? In fact, I actually
PHYSICALLY cringed, when Ryan grabbed Greenlee and manhandled her away
from Spike's crib. As angry as I am at Greenlee for causing Spike's
injuries, Ryan getting physical, bordering on violence, just took me
back to that scene at the casino hotel, when he had his fist raised to
Greenlee's face. I honestly thought he was going to beat her right
then and there, and it bothered me. Why? It just brought home what a
neanderthalithic jerk Ryass is and has been for a long time.
You will notice that I brought up Jack (Walt Willey) earlier, and it's
with good reason. For some reason, his lack of tears isn't bothering
me as much as Ryan's lack of tears is. Perhaps it's because Jack is
showing a wide range of emotions without the tears, while Ryan is
displaying only anger. (Which is not to say that Ryan doesn't have a
right to be angry - he does - but he should be feeling more than that,
IMO.) Jack is a man who is truly caught between a rock and a hard
place. He cares deeply for Kendall, Spike and newborn Ian; but
Greenlee is his daughter. He is noticeably horrified AND saddened
that she would even consider doing what she did (Spikenapping Spike)
but he isn't about to abandon her, like almost every other person of
importance in her life has done. I don't see his support of Greenlee
as him DEFENDING her at all. She is his daughter, and she is
virtually alone in the world. He wasn't there for her while she was
growing up - a time when she so clearly and desperately needed a
parent who actually gave a damn about her and her needs - he is not
about to abandon her now. Hopefully, Jack will be able to FINALLY
convince Greenlee to get the psychological help she should have gotten
waaaaaay back, when Leo "died."
Everything changed for her when Leo died. Everything. Greenlee was
never the same person again, after she lost Leo. It seemed, after a
while, that she'd bounced back, but I don't believe she ever really
did. Her morphing into Pod-Greenlee when she snagged Ryan is further
proof that the woman was not all there. In that last year, before
Rebecca Budig departed the role of Greenlee, Greens took some MAJOR
blows to the psyche. Major. As if being married to Ryan weren't bad
enough, she had to suffer through the whole Jonathug nonsense, the
drugging and almost dying, the kidnapping and almost being blown up in
a cave, the Ryass over-the-top anger, him coming ]thisclose[
to beating her to a pulp upon learning that she'd had herself
inseminated, and then him driving over a cliff (while fully cognizant
of the fact that Greens was witnessing his leap firsthand), his fake
death, then miscarriage, then learning she could never have children
(I think that was Madden being evil though - I'm guessing she CAN have
children), and then Ryass coming back from the dead (learning that he
faked it) and finally learning that Kendall was carrying her own
child, not Greens...
I'm mentally exhausted just thinking about it! Of course the woman
needs psychological help after all that! She NEVER really dealt with
any of it. They still haven't really said what Greenlee did while
she was away, but it's obvious that she didn't get the help she
needed. In fact, she regressed! She somehow talked herself into
believing that what Ryan did to her wasn't really all that bad, and
that he was the only man she could ever love, or who would ever love
her. Now, lest anyone think for one moment that I am DEFENDING
Greenlee myself? Let me assure you, I am not. I'm pissed as all get
out at her for Spikenapping that sweet, innocent little baby. I'm mad
that she let herself get so worked up that she didn't know better than
to pull the car over, take a few deep breaths and THEN reach for the
phone - or, better yet, simply stop the car, breathe, and then just
turn around and head back to Pine Valley. I'm pissed that Greens -
who has NEVER had a problem before with expressing herself before -
didn't stand up and just shout to everyone in Fusion that she was
losing it and couldn't BEAR to be in the same room with Spike, let
alone the same car, because she thought of him as hers and she knew
she couldn't have him. Greens has gone to some pretty extensive
lengths to make herself heard before, why not this time?
*deep sigh*
Looking ahead. It doesn't look like Greens is in for an easy ride of
it, and it's much too early to even be thinking about redemption, but.
What are the odds that Kendall and Greenlee (we'll leave everyone else
out of it for now) can ever repair or rebuild their friendship. I say
the odds are nil to HELL NO but, then again, I would never have
imagined that Bianca would once again be BFF's with Babe after she
kept Miranda from her for nearly a year, so what do I know? What say
you, my friends? Will Kendall ever be able to forgive and move past
this deepest of betrayals?
Have a few drinks and ponder on that a while.
CC
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