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The fallout from Thanksgiving week continues. Kevin is going
from bad to worse, while Max is improving -- or is he?
Unfortunately, Tim Gibbs is back in scenery-chewing mode. Staring down the barrel of the robber's gun (and I was
right, it was Sophia's no-good
brother Freddie), Kevin acted recklessly (and Gibbs overacted) by daring the crooks to blow him away since life
isn't worth living without Grace. If you want to die, that's fine -- go kill yourself, but Kevin's irresponsible
behavior endangered others and that is inexcusable. Ultimately, R.J. and Cristian (with Kevin's help, I'll admit
that) overpowered the two hoods and the LPD (late as ever) showed up to haul away the bad guys.
Then, still groggy from his well-deserved pistol-whipping, Kevin staggered over to the cemetery and went night-night
on Grace's grave. And that’s where Kelly discovered him the next day. TG's over-emoting in these scenes was less
than compelling, especially in contrast with Gina T's sensitive performance. It makes sense that Kelly is the one
reaching out to Kevin, given her history of loss and her close relationship to Grace, but is this going to turn
romantic? It would be completely in character for selfish horn-dog Kevin to take advantage of Kelly's caring heart,
and typical of Kelly's chronic poor judgment when it comes to men. Already, Joey is on the alert, confused and
suspicious of Kelly's overprotective attitude toward his brother. Brother vs. brother is potentially good drama,
but how much can Joey forgive? (Though I must say, he could be a bit more compassionate about Kelly's concern for
Kevin.)
Kevin continued his orgy of anger and self-pity to the point that Bo finally had to arrest him after Kevin punched
out Zack in the Banner newsroom!
Late last week, Max opened his eyes briefly and was almost fully recovered by Tuesday (well, sort of). Apparently,
there's something wrong with Max, possibly brain-damage. (Given the usual hare-brained schemes he comes up with,
it just might be an improvement!) Max alternates between periods of lucidity and a weird Rainman-like routine.
And as I predicted, he doesn't remember confessing the truth to Renee. Even though her fake son is out of the woods,
Renee is still in a tight spot. Asa is so happy and relieved that Max has improved that she can't bring herself
to deliver the devastating news of his “son’s” deception. Yet, at the same time, she can't live with the lie, and
there's also the matter of her true son's identity. Blair's doing her level best to convince Renee to keep quiet,
but Asa can't help but notice that's something's up with his wife. I mean, Renee looks positively nauseated every
time she looks at Max! (Midge has that same problem on occasion.)
And pesky Skye is still causing problems. When she showed up at the hospital with a get well plant for Max, Blair
went ballistic. Then Renee threatened Skye to keep a tight lip and did a pretty good job of convincing Ms. Chandler
that claming up would be to her advantage. Renee also told Skye to move out -- pronto. Conceding the battle, if
not the war, Ms. handler packed her bags. But don't count her out just yet. Sneaky Skye has a new ace in the hole
thanks to Starr.
Remember a few weeks ago when Blair and Max "lost" the adoption certificate with the name of Asa and
Renee's real son? Well, guess who had it: Starr. And when she couldn't wheedle Skye's pretty silver hairbrush out
of her, she offered to trade. This new information gives Skye a big chunk of leverage, right when she needed it.
Dorian offered to let Skye move in with her. Skye knows the offer is too good to be true, but given Renee's ultimatum,
she agreed.
Now that Max is out of immediate danger, Asa is back on the war path against Ben, busily drumming up support on
the hospital board to have him
ousted. Of course, Skye managed to whisper a few poisoned words in his ear, claiming that Ben said he wanted to
kill Max (I can't remember, is Skye making this up completely or taking Ben's remarks out of context?).
My reaction to all of this: yawn. Who cares if Ben loses his medical license? I certainly don't. But just to bring
home the point that Ben loves, loves, loves being a doctor, Ben and Viki found a lost sick little girl (Emma Doyle)
on the Llanfair grounds, and good ol' Doc Ben patched her up right quick, positively beaming with healing pride
the whole time. For a brief moment, I entertained the comforting fantasy of Ben falling in love with Emma's mommy,
becoming the little girl's new daddy, and leaving town. Hey, I can dream, can't I?
Bo met the newest addition to the LPD (Sophia), who gave him a lot of hot air about being overqualified, then stated,
"I've always wanted to give public service a try." Leery at first, Bo was soon won over when Sophia handled
a domestic violence call with sensitivity and professionalism.
Sophia is getting the full backstory treatment these days. When her bad news brother was brought into the station,
we quickly found out that Sophia had been deserted by her mom and ripped off by her creepy brother. John's eyes
welled up with soulful concern... (Rae who?)
Finally, Viki had a long overdue heart-to-heart with Jessica about Will, asking her daughter pointblank if this
relationship is just rebound from Cristian. Jessica said no, but we know better, don't we? Bo and Jess also had
a discussion about Will. Just like Nora, Jess is working hard to convince herself that she's happy with her current
romantic situation.
Jess has now spoken to Kelly, Nora, Viki, and Bo about her romantic quandary, and not one of them has given her
the advice Midge feels she needs. Someone should sit Jessica down and tell her that gratitude and affection are
not the same as love, and that just because Will loves her (or claims to), she's not obliged to return his feelings.
Hillary B. Smith had more comedy to play this week. (I love it!) After overhearing Hank tell Sam a couple of whoppers
about Nora's behavior post-matrimony, Nora surprised Sam by coming to bed in a long flannel nightie, fuzzy pink
slippers, a face full of cold cream, and a head full of rollers. But Sam called her bluff by acting totally nonplussed
and agreeable. Very funny.
Later in the week, Lindsay spied Sam in the company of a beautiful young blonde at the Diner and immediately jumped
to the most damning conclusion (it didn't help that Sam was acting secretive). Then Nora walked in. Lindsay promised
Sam she'd distract Nora but couldn't resist spilling the beans: Sam had not gone to work and was meeting up with
the blonde at such-and-such address.
Of course, it was all innocent. The woman turned out to be a real estate agent. Yes, Sam was buying Nora a dream
house. Hoping for the worst, nosey Lindsay showed up, and when she saw a happy Sam and Nora busily making plans
for their future, she turned chartreuse with envy.
It's so typical of Lindsay that she's always her own worst enemy. Things couldn't be better between her and Bo
right now, but she can't resist trying to hurry things along -- and that's not what Bo wants. It's gonna take more
than a delectable red teddy, satin peignoir, and fuzzy mules to make a gun-shy Bo Buchanan rush to the alter.
Tidbits:
- Between Renee, Skye, and Nora, it's a real redhead convention
at OLTL these days.
- On soaps, fellas are always buying homes as a surprise for
their lady loves -- but how many women would really want to be uninvolved in such a major decision?
- Nora to Sam about Lindsay, "She just can't be happy for
us, can she?" Gee, Nora, how happy are you for Lindsay and Bo?
- Sam and Lindsay's bantering ex-spouse routine is tres amusing.
- Gee, was it that hard for people to figure out that Kevin might
be at Grace's grave?
- OLTL could turn into the Lindsay/Nora hour and you wouldn't
hear me complain. Even on their best behavior, these two last about 30 second before the barbs start flying fast
and furious.
- What former set has been refurbished as Sam and Nora's new
home? Is it Bo and Nora's old place? *sniff*
- Midge was disgusted by the hold-up at the diner! How retrograde
-- three women cowering in the corner while the men battle the baddies. UGH!
- Soap fans are used to characters routinely divulging deep dark
secrets a scant two feet away from the person they're hiding the truth from, but the way Renee and Blair were screaming
at the top of their lungs right outside Max's hospital room (with Asa inside) was too much!
- Say, does Nora need to work from home because Will's new office
set is her old one?
- It's obvious from the size of Max's new gauze turban that he
did not shave his head for this current storyline, unlike OLTL alum Judith Light who's getting rave reviews on
Broadway in Witt.
- Bad Continuity Alert! Kevin got all freaked out when he found
Grace's resume, only it should've read "Grace Monroe" at the top. She didn't know her name was Davidson
when she started working at the Banner -- aha!
- Right on, Zack! Zack laid it on the line with his boss-cum-friend,
telling him "You're drunk" -- and got sucker-punched for his troubles.
- Starr is a much better schemer than her mommy and a pretty
slick negotiator too.
- R.J. gave Roseanne some good advice this week: Quit hovering
over Cris and let him chase you for a change. Maybe he should take over Rae's advice column?
- Apparently, Dorian is cozying up to Skye to help both Blair
and Viki. Just wait till Viki finds out!
Here's the line of the week:
- Renee to Blair with withering contempt, "Innocence is not your strong suit." Hee
hee!
Till next week!
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