I've never been very fond of puzzles. That's a line muttered by Jake at the close of last week's shows. I'm not sure why someone wouldn't like puzzles. I personally love everything about them. Jigsaw, crossword, whodunits -- you name it, I'll try to solve them. I'd have to think that the only time someone wouldn't like a puzzle is if they knew that the solution was going to be something that they didn't want to see or know.
Jake is a doctor, and I am sure he knew that something wasn't quite right with Angie's delivery even before Cara told him that something didn't make sense. Even Angie senses that something's up, and she has the challenge of not being able to see what's going on around her.
What I cannot figure out yet is how the truth will come out. We've only recently come off the Damon and Bailey storyline where a young mother gave up a baby without the baby's father knowing. That same storyline involved Liza adopting a baby, only to have the birthmother change her mind. No, little Maya putting a baby in a box and then plopping the box off in a police car isn't quite the same as a formal adoption contract, but it has a similar feel. You just know it's not going to end well.
It appears that Maya has already started to change her mind about giving up her baby because she's visited the police station, stuttered and stammered nonsensically to Brot, and then raced off. I'd imagine it's only a matter of time before Brot puts the pieces together or Maya comes across Angie and the baby in the park.
I am not sure if it's the fact that I've lived in a large city for most of my life or some sort of character flaw that I have, but there is no way that I am letting a stranger into my home just because she says her car broke down. Doesn't matter if she's beautiful or not, because that's usually how they catch you off-guard. Send in a pretty woman... then POW!
However, I do admire that Kendall had the wherewithal to pick "Sheila's" pocket in order to get a look at her driver's license. For so long, Kendall has been a "woe is me" heroine, unlike the feisty schemer who once conned her mother into stabbing Dimitri Marick with a letter opener. I know that the damsel in distress is a staple of soap opera story and most Lifetime movies, but it seems to be a bit overdone on All My Children. Every woman is a victim of something.
The ultimate victim last week, I suppose, was Diana. Right up until the very end, Diana was pleading with Ricky, reminding him of how good they used to be together.
I certainly don't condone violence, but there is a strange bit of irony in that Diana was so strongly advocating for Ricky to kill Kendall -- and ultimately it was Ricky who turned on Diana. Ricky is a murderer (now a two-time killer), and I don't know why Diana trusted the "sinister minister," as the husband of one reader calls Ricky. I can't quite figure out if Ricky really has feelings for Kendall or if he really has his own self-interest in mind and wants to make sure all of the incriminating evidence against him is destroyed before... doing whatever it is he is going to do to Kendall. One thing I do know is that there's no way Ricky can be an undercover FBI agent after strangling Diana.
If you're not invested in Griffin Castillo, then I suppose there's no conceivable storyline that will make you care about the character. But since this column has a "puzzle" theme to it, I have to admit that Ricky has apparently done an amazing job of framing Griffin. Looking at the evidence, I'd think he was guilty. Let's see, there were the plane tickets, the fact that Griffin changed his story about knowing Diana, and the ongoing story about stolen drugs. All of these little bits of doubt are making the good doctor look more and more like his mentor, David Hayward.
Over the past few weeks, many of you have written in to let me know that you've picked up on some sort of connection between Marissa and Bianca. I think we all know that lately, at least on AMC, no one crosses paths with another character unless something is brewing. Yeah, yeah... Marissa is representing Bianca in her custody battle with Reese. I also get the feeling that the writers are planning to have Marissa "represent" a whole lot more than just that.
Keeping the legal theme, here's why I object to the storyline. Every one of Bianca's romances has involved some sort of questioning. Maggie Stone insisted that she wasn't gay or bisexual. At one point, she was furious with Bianca for insinuating that she could be "that way." It wasn't until after Jonathan Lavery hit Maggie that she seemed open to the idea of being with another woman. Lena Kundera started off as a con artist who seduced men and women equally to get what she wanted. Zarf revealed that he felt his outer, physical identity did not match the way he felt inside, and transitioned in Zoe. Even the most recent storyline with Reese had the sensational, pre-wedding twist of Reese kissing Zach, Bianca's brother-in-law.
Can't anyone be gay just because they're gay?
I don't think I'm breaking any sort of news here by saying that there are some viewers who do not approve of a gay or lesbian storyline on All My Children. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I personally don't think it does anyone any good to have the big, bad homosexual character "convert" another apparently heterosexual character. I suppose it might be considered groundbreaking or intriguing to have a man and a woman fighting over the same lady, but I always worry that somewhere, someone will be thinking that being gay or lesbian is something that people can just turn on or off on a whim.
Putting aside that Bianca isn't over Reese yet -- and I don't expect her to be -- I have to wonder why she can't go back to the Blue Angel bar or post a personal ad on whatever Pine Valley's personals web site is called. Most fans of Bianca want to see the character happy -- whether it be with a contract player or someone playing a recurring role.
To find out what actress Christina Bennett Lind thinks of Bianca's romantic prospects, you're going to want to tune in to Soap Central Live on Friday, April 15. Christina will be my special guest -- and you can be sure I'm going to ask her about a potential "Marianca" storyline [NOTE: After the posting of this article, I learned that the couple name is "Minx," for Marissa + Binx]. The show airs live at 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific. For more information, check out the Soap Central Live page at https://www.soapcentral.com/radio/.
It will be interesting to see how all of these storylines play out now that Lorraine Broderick is back onboard as head writer. Since this column is interactive, I'd like to know how you'd like to see Lorraine craft the storylines that are currently in place. If you dislike a storyline, what should she do to make it right? I'll share some of your thoughts in next week's column. As I've said many times before, this column isn't complete without all of its pieces -- and you, the fans, are a very integral part of the process. I look forward to reading your thoughts, and I'll be back here again next week.
dan
