Is it just me, or was Lucky a completely different person last week?  The transformation was amazing – simply amazing.  Now THAT is a Lucky I can get behind.  Likewise for Sam, if I could actually believe one word that ever comes out of her mouth.  The scenes between Lucky and Sam on the docks – when he was confronting Sam for her latest vindictive swipe at Jason and Lizzeh through Carly – is an example of what this soap and these characters CAN and should be.

 

(Don’t get me wrong, I have never asked for perfection, from either the soaps or the characters themselves.  Soap characters need to have some flaws or they’d be completely insufferable in a different way.)

 

Back to the subject of Lucky…

 

I love that he LISTENED to Lizzeh, when she went over to Sam’s to confront her about her loose lips.  I love that he didn’t automatically side with Sam, as he’s been wont to do of late.  I love that he went to Lizzeh the next day and actually DISCUSSED the issues they were facing where Jake was concerned.  I love that he didn’t lecture her or criticize her or call her names.  I love that they were civil with one another.  I love that he didn’t defend Sam to Lizzeh but tried to explain his take on her actions.  I love that Lizzeh was able to sympathize with Sam’s deepest pain (though the jury is still out on that one) but still not give her a pass on what she’s done and that Lucky could actually SEE that’s what Lizzeh was doing.  Wasn’t too fond of the little dig at The Jason, but for Lucky, it was still REAL progress.   The only thing that would have made me happier at that point?  Lizzeh’s response to him stating that he KNEW in his heart that Sam would never do anything to endanger Jake.

 

*eyeroll*

 

Instead of her asking him if he REALLY believed that, I really would have liked to see her calmly and gently tell him the whole truth about Sam’s part in the Jakenapping and the subsequent thugs-in-the-park episode.  Why?  Not because I’m a vindictive shrew, I assure you, but because it would have meant that the whole truth was finally out there.  That would allow all of them to move forward for real, and I think we’re all ready for that.  While we’re on the subject of full-disclosure, I’d also like for Lizzeh to go right ahead and tell Carly about that, too.  Why?  Again, not because I am a vindictive shrew, but because it would divert some of Carly’s venom AWAY from Lizzeh (for a while) and allow her to focus on Sam.  Sam is an adult.  She is the one who set Carly off, she should be the one to deal with some of the fallout of that.

 

Forcibly steers subject back to matter at hand…Lucky!

 

I love that he called Sam on her garbage.  I love that he saw what she did for what it REALLY was – and he didn’t even KNOW that Sam had gone over to Carly’s house and started the trouble herself!  I love that he owned his own part in the slow death of his marriage (FINALLY!) and that he flat out told her that he didn’t want to be part of any ongoing garbage – not even hers.  I love that he was quietly supportive – in his understanding of her warpiness – but at the same time, flat-out telling her that they didn’t stand a chance at anything real together as long as she continued to behave the way she always does.  He was dead-bang-on when he told her that she needed to get help for her problem – just like he needed help to get control of his own demon (addiction).

 

What I’d like to know is WHO hit Lucky with that well-deserved Clue-by-Four and WHY didn’t we get to see it?!  I mean, I’m ecstatic that Lucky is finally starting to act and sound like Lucky Spencer SHOULD, it’s just that the change was so sudden and unexpected that I nearly got whiplash!  (Can it be that one of my New Year’s wishes has been fulfilled?!)  At any rate, I really do love to give credit where credit is due and, for once, Lucky is due some credit.  Here’s hoping it lasts!

 

Carly, Carly, Carly…

 

*sigh*

 

We all knew there would be hell to pay when Carly was finally let in on the Jake-truth, and we weren’t wrong.  I don’t say “we weren’t disappointed” because I, for one, was VERY disappointed in her.  I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating:  When Laura Wright FIRST took over the role of Carly and got to the point where she saw – REALLY SAW – how toxic Sonny was for her, she turned a corner and began to show some genuine character growth.  Unfortunately, that growth didn’t last.  There was the whole Baby John-Spencer debacle (showing she didn’t learn anything from the AJ-Michael travesty) and there were the inevitable slip-ups since then, but her blind rage and determination to “get Jake for Jason” despite what JASON wants is placing Carly square back at the place where so many will utterly loathe and despise her.  Why?  Why can’t this be an instance where Carly actually does the unexpected?  Why can’t Carly – for once – recognize the place where Jason and Lizzeh are coming from?

 

It wasn’t so long ago that Carly was genuinely, truly afraid for the lives of her children – when Letitia was murdered in Carly’s own home.   She GOT it then.  It reminded her that, no matter how hard they try, Sonny and Jason cannot 100% guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen to the children.  I advocated for the reveal right then and there, but sadly, I didn’t get my wish.  THAT would have been the perfect time for Carly to learn the Jake-truth.  She wouldn’t have been able to argue that Jason can keep Jake safe and protected.  She could have seen THEN just why Jason and Lizzeh are so justified in being afraid for her children.  Yes, she still would have been hurt and pissed that it was kept from her for so long, but she would have been in the right mindset to actually listen to them and keep from doing something stupid, thoughtless and careless.  Now?  A little too much time has passed and she’s forgotten about how close to home the danger really hit.

 

Another Carly gripe?  What happened to her wanting Michael to begin emulating Jax instead of Sonny or Jason?  She KNEW that Michael is in serious danger of turning into a little mob kingpin any moment now and she was afraid.  Yet the writers do a complete 180 and suddenly Michael is just going through a phase?  WTF?!  Suddenly, she doesn’t have a moment to spare for the husband she claims to love beyond all due madness and wants to have a child with?  WTF?!  We all know that Carly has been way too invested in Jason’s life and personal beeswax, but this is taking her Jason-lurve/obsession to a whole new level.   Please…STOP THE MADNESS!!!!

 

Can I just bring up my love of all things Diane Miller?  Yes, I know I gush about her and her portrayer, but I can’t help it!  I love that they are building some back story to Diane.  I loved, loved, loved her story about her experiences as a young Public Defender and totally sympathized with her plight over how to deal with her scumbag client.  I know *I* didn’t feel bad for the guy over his being served that special brand of prison “justice” for his crimes.  (I have a sixteen year old daughter, so that one really hit home!)  I loved, loved, LOVED the Diane/Alexis scenes.  All of them.  Those two are GOLD!  For once, they weren’t reduced only to mere comic relief – there were some genuinely real and touching scenes between them and I loved every minute of it!  Also loved that the predicted outcome regarding the dresses did NOT come to pass – the dresses provided via Kate Howard were NOT identical, but were in fact, the original creations they were reported to be.  Well done!  Also, while it wasn’t the girls night out I dreamed of when I wanted to see these ladies in a bar, it was pretty darn good.  Now, if only the writers will put Diane and Alexis together as partners in their own firm!

 

OLTL:

 

Mucho kudos to Kathy Brier for her portrayal of Marcie Walsh McBain last week.  She was totally believable as the crazed, desperate woman she has become.  Damned fine acting on her part – despite the fact that I loathe how she turned on a dime and decided that Todd didn’t deserve to have HIS son (yes, Marcie, the boy IS his son, not yours) despite the fact that she had previously supported him getting his son back. Guess that only applies as long as it’s not the boy she was raising…)  Anyway – as I said, damned fine acting on KB’s part.  Must have been fun for her to stretch her wings a little.  That said, I am sooooooooo monumentally happy that this storyline is finally coming to an end.  Now, if only Rex and Adriana were held accountable for their part in that mess…

 

AMC:

 

The sanctification of Saint Greenlee is continuing full-steam ahead.

 

*shakes head*

 

I know that some of the fans out there are pissed off beyond belief about Kendall setting Greenlee up for bogus kidnapping charges but COME ON!!!  I don’t agree with what she did either, let me be crystal clear on that point, but I know where Kendall was coming from, and it’s not like Greens didn’t give her reasons to be afraid.  (that’s not an excuse, mind you, for Kendall stooping to that level, but it explains much)  I hate, loathe and despise that we are being force-fed the notion that Greenlee is absolved of all her sins simply because the accident is not what caused Spike’s deafness.  Many Zendall fans went to the trouble and took the time to remind (read: reinforce) that fact for me last week.  In fact, the fabulous Sharon sent me the link to a YouTube video, which illustrates this point quite succinctly:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz2qjb_CCHM

 

(THANK YOU, SHARON!!)  I’m not saying that Greenlee didn’t/doesn’t need to be rehabilitated – she does – but why, why, WHY do they insist on destroying one character in order to salvage another?  (I know, I know, it’s a question I’ve asked before, and the answer is still the same:  LAZY WRITING!)  Some of you won’t or can’t believe/agree with this, but Kendall really is a beloved character to many, many fans; and Greenlee’s ongoing sanctification is a slap in the face.  It’s a slap in the face, not only to Kendall fans, but to other fans as well.  Why?  Because, it reeks of Frons’ habit of ramming his own agenda down the throats of soap fans in general.  Doesn’t matter that this particular incidence doesn’t really absolve Greenlee of all the other horrible things she HAS done.  It doesn’t change the fact that Greenlee never really came clean about the fact that she WAS in fact abducting Spike after Kendall trusted him to her care.  It doesn’t change the fact that she DID very nearly cause his death when she got in the accident – an accident that never would have happened if she hadn’t taken Spike to begin with.  Add all of that to the despicable way they are touting the return of Rebecca Budig as “The REAL Greenlee” all over the airwaves and print media and it further sours the sanctification campaign for Greenlee.