I would consider myself something of a spoiler addict. Since I started hanging out in the online soap community, they've been too tempting to avoid. The thing that bothers me the most about my little addiction is the thought that the real impact of certain scenes is lost on me, because I know what's coming. This week, those fears were put to rest. Even though I knew about almost every detail ahead of time, I was surprised at how moved I was by the Mardi Gras fallout.
Now, that's not to say that I necessarily enjoyed everything I saw, but for the most part, I was impressed.
My Igloo Or Yours?
The big blast set up this week's "igloos" - isolated pockets where certain characters were trapped and forced to wait together to be rescued. And in true soap opera fashion, the pairings weren't exactly random. Funny how that works out, eh?
Erica was trapped with sudden-son Josh, where the still-reeling La Kane was trying to learn more about her new offspring. For me, the one thing that might make the very dislikeable Josh more appealing is seeing how he deals with discovering his true parentage. It would appear that he doesn't know the real story yet, even though Erica may have inadvertently tipped him off when she groggily referred to him as her son after she was pulled from the rubble.
One interaction I really enjoyed was the one between Josh and Dr. Joe, the boy's biological grandfather. Josh's impromptu medical procedure on Erica - using a pocket knife, cigarette lighter and a plastic straw to fashion a make-shift breathing tube - seemed to illicit pride from Joe, who commented to Tad about Josh being a natural doctor (like so many other Martin men). It was a small moment, but it was very sweet.
Elsewhere, Krystal and Adam were literally trapped on top of each other and somehow managed to maneuver their bodies enough to make love amongst the ruins. I could try to speculate on the logistics of this love scene, but picturing Adam and Krystal having sex is a little too psychologically damaging. I did mildly enjoy Adam's reaction to his wife's "death" and I admit that I giggled when a not-so-dead Krystal snarked at her grieving hubby from underneath a sheet in the morgue. As her mama was prematurely pronounced dead, Babe was stranded alone, unable to reach JR, who was frantically searching for his ex-wife. Unfortunately for Babe, Janet was the one to rescue her. I think that's what they call being thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Memory Lane
Dixie managed to move about the ball undetected before the blast, only to end up stranded all by herself when everything went boom. Of course, Tad, JR and Jamie were the ones who came thisclose to finding her - but she escaped on her own in the nick of time, and went to Wildwind to confront Di. I can't wait to see that on Monday! While she was buried, Dixie overheard former flame David bribe Palmer into restoring his medical license. The blast was too much for old Pete's heart, and David withheld his medication until Cortlandt agreed to David's terms.
I'm sure some people were a little unnerved by Dr. Davey's behaviour, but personally, I loved this return to form. That was vintage David Hayward - the man who put Adam's life in danger just to further his career, the man who drugged an entire boatload of people with Libidizone. David, like Adam Chandler, is one of those characters that you're drawn to despite being disgusted by what he's capable of. I'm hoping that David's return to Pine Valley Hospital will mean a return to the front burner for his portrayer, Vincent Irrizary.
Back to our fair Dixie (who looks amazing, by the way) - my favorite part of her scenes were the flashbacks. We got some early-nineties footage of Dix with her Uncle Palmer, as well as some scenes of Dixie and David (is it just me, or was Dixie almost smiling when recalling making love to the good doctor?). And of course, there were a smattering of Tad/Dixie scenes. My favorite - the 1993 scene when Tad recalled the music box he gave Dixie, and the pair was finally reunited after he returned from the dead. I guess with one resurrection apiece, they're even.
The Ick Factor
In yet another "igloo", Lily and Jonathan tried to figure out a way to be together despite their familys' objections. When Lily spoke of running away so that Jack couldn't send her back to her old school, Jonathan suggested that the pair run away together - and get married. Um, OK...
I understand that there are people out there who really enjoy Lily and Jonathan. And even though I'm not a fan of the pair, I'll admit that there have been one or two occasions where I thought they were fairly sweet together. But this week brought everything into perspective for me. Married? Lily is, in her words, "almost 18" and Jonathan is at best in his late 20s, more likely his early 30s. I'm sorry, I couldn't help but cringe when I heard these two talking about marriage and sex this week. Not mention that Jonathan once terrorized and tried to kill Lily. The all-around ick factor is just too high for me.
Speaking of icky, when I heard that Ryan and Kendall would be trapped together after the explosion and would subsequently bond over their baby, I could imagine about a million scenarios I would rather endure - an unnecessary root canal and Chinese water torture came to mind. And for the most part, I hated watching this stuff. But if one thing was made clear to me after this week's Rendall-fest, it's that these two are not in love with each other. I've always said that Ryan and Kendall need to deal with the baby and their issues, painful as it might be to watch, and that's what they were forced to do this week.
Much has been made of Kendall's suggestion that the two exes reunite for the sake of the child. Personally, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Kendall seemed so half-hearted, and they were in such an extreme situation, that I chalked it up to some sleeping-with-Jonathan style insanity from Ms. Hart. Even if these two try to form some kind of relationship in the coming weeks, while Zach and Kendall will likely be apart, I'm not too worried. It would be about the baby and nothing more - it's clear to me who Kendall is in love with.
Pass the Kleenex
There were a few tear-jerking moments this week - Stuart and Jack were both badly injured, and watching hysterical relatives search for their loved ones was quite touching. The most heart-rending moments, however, were between Ethan, Simone and Zach, as a seriously injured Ethan was on death's door. I was wiping away tears when Simone spoke to Ethan's mum (he was hallucinating) about their wedding plans, and as Zach declared his love for his son, goading him into fighting for his life one minute and poignantly asking for Ethan's forgiveness the next. But my heart didn't break until an ever-defiant Ethan told his father that he would never forgive him. ARGH! Let's just say that doesn't make me any sadder that Ethan's on his way out.
By the way, just in case anyone was still confused, the actress playing Lily right now is only a temporary recast for Leven Rambin, who is expected to be back by the end of the month. Speaking of Leven, I want to congratulate her, along with Thorsten Kaye (Zach) and Bobbie Eakes (Krystal), on their Emmy nominations. I'll be pulling for all them.
That's it for this week. See you back here soon!
-- Kristine
