Having been raised in utero on soaps and grown up with several different passionate devotions to daytime television, I accept a certain level of drawn-out storylines, ridiculous events, and pointless characters.  I mean, who hasn’t laughed at some of the crazy accidents, overdoses, comas, natural disasters, etc. and thought, oh, come on…!  If one loves the genre, you just accept it as par for the course. Consequently, I simply cannot understand why so many people get their panties in a wad (or boxers, or briefs, to be fair) over slow moving stories, new characters, etc.  I mean, yes, change is not necessarily good and writers can make a world of difference, but ultimately, you stick with a soap because you know it, day in and day out, like an old friend who you love warts and all.   That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for criticism, of course, but it does mean that you ought to either find some kind of enjoyment from the show or stop watching it (and stop complaining about it endlessly!). 

This is why I am a OLTL fan and not ashamed to say it:  I like it.  I genuinely like it, look forward to it, tivo it, and watch it.  Yes there are bad storylines.  Yes there are annoying characters.  But by golly, I have to keep up with my Llanview news.  Am I the only one out here who actually thinks that Trevor St. John has added a new dimension to Todd’s character?  His jail scenes have shown a great deal of development in his character, as he struggles to deal with his situation without going crazy with the knowledge that he is innocent.  The irony of his death sentence is not lost on him—of all the horrific things he’s done in his lifetime, he is finally paying the price for a crime that he might have wanted to do but had the moral decency to hold himself back from committing.  I have hurt for Todd, as he has been brought low by Spencer to depths that even Spencer could not have orchestrated (i.e., Todd’s stumbling upon Spencer and Blair making love in the cabin).  Yes, I think Blair is idiotic and I don’t understand why she doesn’t feel shamed by her daughter’s dead on declarations about her actions with men, but let’s face it:  that is Blair’s character. It’s not a new development; she always sleeps with someone rather than dealing with her pain. Over and over the same pattern emerges:  she and Todd break up, so she tries to lose herself in a new man.  Even though it ticks me off, I try to see it as a comment on her flawed self worth:  instead of working through her issues and seeing herself for whom she really is and what she truly feels, she simply tries to see herself reflected in the eyes of a new and adoring guy.  Bleh.  She has terrible judgment but this is a SOAP OPERA, people.  Somebody’s got to hop to it and inevitably Blair will, with her equestrian good looks and troubled heart. 

As for John McBain, I love seeing the story unfold as he pursues the truth of his father’s death.  It is refreshing to finally glimpse into the inner turmoil that has made John so emotionally unavailable even to the people who love him most.  The character has really grown over the past months and grappled with depths of anger and remorse, hatred and the desire for revenge.  I feel the writers have really developed the character of John from a one dimensional, hardened cop to an emotionally broken, intense man who is struggling to come to terms with his demons.  Since he is such a brooding type, I love him with the irrational, fiery Natalie.  Her character has suffered poor writing over the past few years but ultimately I think Melissa Archer manages to rescue the core Natalie, time and time again.  Their dynamic makes me want to believe in their characters, even if they are in a hokey situation like the tornado or arguing on the plane. 

Before I comment on Evangeline’s blindness (a ridiculous plot twist that I can’t understand the need for, other than “justice is blind” or some sort of drivel but it is so totally soap opera… love the placement of little bandages all over her face!) let me wax nostalgic on how I have enjoyed the development of her role.  When Evangeline first came into the story as Mitch’s lawyer, she seemed very flat and cold.  Through her relationship with John, despite the catfight type qualities and the unlikely hand wringing that took her from mighty to mewling, she emerged as a real and powerful force.  Their doomed relationship carved out new attributes for her character and made her a real part of Llanview, allowing Renee Goldberry to display her amazing talent.  Watching her work to free Christian was a pleasure… I love the whole upright, Florence Nightingale of Law thing.  That being said, I don’t particularly like the fact that Evangeline is now being directed toward Christian as more than a friend.  There is definitely chemistry between them, but I would rather see it play out as friendship rather than as the weird exchange of partners between her and Natalie.  Besides, I think Evangeline and Todd share a dynamic that would be explosive onscreen.  The idea of putting socially conscious, just Evangeline with morally reprehensible, devil-may-care Todd is a delicious one, and I dread the thought of yet another Todd getting Blair back storyline… ugg…

I simply cannot comment on the recent events without touching on the incredibly uncomfortable scene between Kelly and Kevin at the rectory.  I loved the juxtaposition of the miserable ending of Kevin and Kelly’s relationship with the happy beginning of Michael and Marcie’s marriage—the scenes played well against one another, and served to highlight the intensity of the situations.  Heather Tom and Dan Gauthier did an amazing job of portraying the utter breakdown of their relationship.  My heart broke for Kelly when he spat such hateful words at her and roughly tore the engagement ring from her hand, leaving her sobbing, devastated, and crumpled on the floor.  I  may be the only person watching who likes Heather Tom in this role, but I think she does a great job of portraying the hunger that Kelly feels for a child and her attempts to make up for her past mistakes and find happiness.  Dan Gauthier really shines in storylines that allow him to, and he has certainly painted a clear picture of Kevin’s downward spiral. I’m not a huge fan of the whole lover’s triangle with Duke (no offense to the character of Duke, but he and Kevin look like brothers rather than father and son and the whole idea of him pursing Kelly is just distasteful), but I felt sorry to see him go.  The Buchanans deserve to have a new crop of men to carry on the dynasty, and killing Duke eliminated a character that could have been recast or kept on for future storylines.  Still, after seeing Kelly succumb to Duke amid a tornado was like reading a bodice ripper novel, and that was an icky but guilty pleasure.

Having Duke die did serve to provide a chance for Spencer to feel some pangs of guilt, though.  After watching Spencer’s inner struggle and his seemingly genuine remorse at Duke’s death did provide hope that the writers can humanize Spencer Truman enough to make him a permanent part of Llanview.  He’s evil and cruel, but not without soul, as Dorian accused him of being. I despised him at first but he has grown on me, as he could provide a much needed villain you love to hate.  For whatever reason, OLTL seems to demonize their villains to the point that you can no longer root for them on any level, which is a shameful loss of good actors/actresses.  They could take a page from comic books and give the villain the necessary dimension to blur the lines between bad and good.  Of course we hate what Spencer is doing to Todd but let us see him as a whole character, not just as a nemesis to the Buchanans or Todd’s framer.  I even think that he and Blair are starting to be a decent couple—something I never thought I’d write or think! 

Lastly, I adore Tess and Nash with their little Brennan.  Tess has started to evolve into a new person, a combination of Jess and herself (that sounds ridiculous but you know what I mean) which bodes well for a more Tess-like Jess post integration.  I especially like that she’s made nice with Antonio, enough that he can see her as more than an enemy (let’s hope).  I am excited to see how this story will play out, even if it means I have to watch Claudia Reston and her prig of a father dominate the screen.  Ugg.  Still, I like that I hate that, because that’s what makes me watch.  Gotta have the good and the ugly, and I am more than a little scared to see how Antonio will get mixed up in the scheme.  (On a side note, I still don’t understand why Tess and Natalie don’t get along… they have a lot more in common personality-wise than Jessica and Natalie ever did!) 

All in all, despite the ludicrous tornado and the drawn out tales, May sweeps are giving me my guilty fix of daytime drama.  (Just remember to take your daily suspension of disbelief!)

By Amber Barton