Of all the things that happened on One Life to Live last week, nothing surprised me more than the return of the previews at the end of each episode. When they were first removed, I figured that they would never return. I am not sure why the decision was made to bring the previews back, but I think it's a good sign that the remaining soap operas won't be completely stripped of "bells and whistles."
I also think it's a good sign that veteran characters like Viki, Dorian, Clint, Bo, and Nora are all front and center in stories that don't revolve around their children. It is great to see all of these characters back in action. I hope this trend continues and isn't merely a fluke. I don't know what brought on this late-year resurgence for the show, but I am enjoying it!
As I've said before, Echo DiSavoy's return to Llanview has been great and has re-energized the show. Viki and Charlie are in the middle of some very soapy drama, which is long overdue for this couple. They've spent too much time being in the background and supporting Jessica and Natalie's stories. I am glad that they are focused on themselves. It's interesting that Charlie doesn't understand Viki's objections to Echo staying at Llanfair, especially after she kissed Charlie. I don't know if Charlie is playing dumb or merely seeing what he wants to see, but he needs to catch a clue. Viki and Echo cannot live under the same roof for long. There is going to be a nasty fight if they do!
One of the things I am enjoying most about Echo's intrusion into Viki's life is that Viki and Dorian's relationship is being utilized. While these two women have been enemies for decades, they genuinely care about each other, and it's great to see Dorian help Viki, even if I do believe she is subconsciously deriving just a little glee from Viki's predicament. It's just how Viki and Dorian are, and it's fun to watch.
As for Bo and Nora, it was hard to watch their scenes last week, as "Nora" told Bo to cheat on her with Inez, and Bo told her she was acting like a child. I guess this is a reason why people shouldn't argue through text messages! I wish Bo had realized something was off and done something about it, but he continued to take the bait and responded in kind all week. Nora has an excuse for "her" text messages. What is Bo's? I guess I can't be too hard on him; he doesn't know Nora isn't actually saying this stuff, and he doesn't know that she's been kidnapped. It just seems like he shouldn't be so quick to fire back at her with insensitive comments. By the way, is anyone ever going to notice that Nora is missing?
Eddie and Nora's scenes were very difficult to watch last week. Eddie is far too good at being a creep. I am glad he didn't get that far when he started to undress Nora. That moment made my skin crawl, and I am sure I'm not the only one! John Wesley Shipp is doing a phenomenal job with this role, and I can see why he is a Daytime Emmy award winner! I am glad that Rex is about to find Nora because I don't know how much more I could take of Eddie taunting and traumatizing Nora. She can't be rescued soon enough!
I've said before that I like the dark side of Clint we've been seeing for the last few months. However, he is going too far with dragging Matthew into the situation with Bo and Nora that he orchestrated. Having Matthew call Nora when he knew Eddie would answer was low, and sending Matthew to watch Inez "seduce" Bo was even worse. I hope Matthew will ultimately be the one to expose Clint's bad deeds. I haven't liked Matthew's drastic change in personality since Dani dumped him, and now that he's starting to see what Clint is really capable of, maybe Matthew won't be so eager to follow in his footsteps!
It looks like Kelly might finally be getting a decent story. I felt bad for her when she had to watch Joey propose to Aubrey after everything that Kelly went through to tell Joey how she felt. She also thought she had a new friend in Aubrey, but now, they are rivals and will probably have a fight or two in the future. I like this story so far because it involves two characters we know well and one we are just getting to know, so there is a reason to be interested. Even after just a few days, this story is much better than the story of Melinda's death. I hope it stays that way.
It's amazing that after everything Joey has gone through, he still thinks it's a good idea to propose marriage after a month of knowing Aubrey. I guess Joey is the hopeless romantic of the Buchanan family, even when everyone else rejected his position. It will be interesting to see what Clint finds out about Aubrey, since he assumes that she's a gold digger. Whether she is purposefully hiding something, or if there is something we would be surprised to know, I am curious to learn what her story is. Knowing Robert Ford doesn't really mean anything, so I hope we find out more soon.
As for Marty and Natalie, their fights are starting to get boring. All they want to do is slap each other and blame each other for their problems. It's getting old! Marty is out for revenge, even though her son was actually guilty of murder, and Natalie continues to let Marty taunt her about telling John the truth. Must they keep rehashing these same points?
I don't know why Natalie was surprised that Marty had the paternity test results. She's known for weeks that Marty is out to get her. Natalie has had ample opportunity to take away Marty's power by telling John the truth, but she hasn't done anything to take charge of the situation. She can't blame Marty if/when she exposes the truth. Natalie hasn't done anything to stop her except make idle threats.
I was encouraged that Natalie finally decided to tell John the truth on Friday, but now that John has proposed, I doubt she will go through with it. I suspect that she will accept his proposal and continue to act like nothing is wrong, giving Marty even more time to blindside John with the truth. It feels like this story has been going on forever, and I don't know how much more of this I can watch.
Finally, I thought the scenes at the gym were basically eye candy and filler, except that they further proved that Eddie's days in Llanview are numbered. I think that one of Eddie's sons or maybe even Inez will get rid of Eddie once and for all in the near future and that we will have a murder mystery to figure out. It's been a while since that's happened, so it could be interesting.
Until next time,
Dawn
