I am interested again in what is happening in Oakdale, and I can hardly wait until see the next day's episode. Did they truly listen to the viewers and are they now working hard to tell some real stories of interest? Right now, I say - yes, things are moving in the right direction, as characters are interacting, and Oakdale feels like a community again.
Jack is on a Mission
Jack Snyder is doing as much as he can to right the wrong of accidentally killing his brother; he wants to find someone to fill the void for Katie by finding one of her past loves. It is absolutely great that he has never thrown his hat in the ring for that post. I am so happy that he has not even thought about that prospect, and the writers did not go there either.
What is so great about this story is that we are seeing the true Jack Snyder that came to Oakdale all those years ago. He is away from Janet - honestly, she was sucking the life out of the character; she is too much for Jack. Don't get me wrong, Janet is a strong woman, and so is Carly, but Janet is different; Carly can show her vulnerabilities, whereas Janet wants her hand in everything that is in her orbit. Janet is a busybody, and she is not the woman that Jack should be with; they don't spark the fire that he had with Carly. The time that Jack and Carly have been away from each other has been good, and we can see that now seems to be the time to put them back together.
On his quest, he has run into these much missed characters from the past - how nice was it to see Dr. Ben? We wondered what the heck happened to him after he just disappeared from Oakdale one day with no explanation. Now where is Dr. John Dixon? I won't go there today. Then he goes to see Mike Kasnoff, who is now married with a child. The part about these small vignettes is that these characters have interesting stories, so we were filled in on how their lives did continue after leaving Oakdale. I could see Mike and his wife coming back to Oakdale one day - actually it wouldn't be a bad thing if they did.
I am enjoying that Carly is trying to get to Jack and help him; she knows that she is the only one who can really get to him. The scene where she goes to the box and gets the compass was perfectly symbolic of the strength of this couple. Next week looks even better as they run into the man that broke them up - Simon Frazier.
Poor Katie
I thought that I would not like this Ghost storyline; however this is really good. Is Henry the Whoopi Goldberg character? And is he going to recite the line shortly, "Katie, you're in danger girl"? I don't believe this story will go there, though on second thought, it looks like Simon may be coming into this, so at some point there might be some danger. I can't predict where this is going, which is good for a change with this show; I am willing to watch and enjoy how things unfold on a daily basis.
I miss the character of Brad and am sorry he is dead, however the TPTB have really made his death work story-wise: Jack is struggling, and we get to see past characters; there is serious conflict with Henry and Katie. We also see how difficult it is for Katie, who always wanted a child and now has to do this alone without the man she really wanted it with. Brad also has his troubles in not being at rest himself, because of his need to make sure Katie is fine before he truly transitions. There is so much going on here that it is worth watching to see the real drama.
Damian Can't Stay Out of Trouble
How is Damian going to get rid of Meg and keep Lily where he wants her? It is going to be quite difficult for Mr. Grimaldi. Meg will not go away easily, and she is getting some of what she wants - but she is actually making herself look incredibly cheap by throwing herself at this man who does not want her. She never did any of these things with Paul; oh, Paul was the one obsessed with her, so he was the crazy one in that relationship.
We have to remember that many years ago, Meg was a schemer, and manipulated situations to get what she wanted; I know we thought she evolved and learned from her teenage mistakes. Why Damian Grimald,i though? She knew Damian was drawn to Lily, and we know that Lily and Meg have had a rocky history - is it that Meg does not want Lily to take another man away from her like she did with Dusty when they were teenagers? What is Meg's problem right now?
Damian needs to use a firm hand with Meg to get her to back off; he thinks that she has the ammunition to do him in, so he is giving her what she wants. How long will it be before he starts to sleep with her to keep her quiet? Meg is a loose cannon right now, and Damian needs to tread lightly with her; no matter what he does, Lily is going to be hurt. I guess that's what she gets for impulsively marrying him after her husband had been gone for ten minutes.
The Professor is Gone
I think that the character of Mason was not fully thought out in the beginning; he was not written the way he should have been to create any interest for the character. Why was he always wearing that scarf? Like Luke said the other day, he should have grabbed the scarf - he should have done it because it was a poor fashion statement. Okay, when all I can say about a character is something picking on his fashion sense, then what was the point of his character, anyway?
Now that Damian corrected that mistake by getting Mason fired and possibly sent out of town, it looks like Noah may have new troubles because of the accident caused by the fireworks and falling off the ladder.
I have to wonder what can happen to create some new excitement for Luke and Noah - if there is anything serious wrong with Noah, he is going to try to push Luke away. Their story is just one recycle after another. Where are their friends? It just seems like they are alone together in this small part of town as the "gay couple" - there should be more to them than that.
Who is Mick Dante?
Based on the reaction to Paul Ryan and the Stenbeck name - is it possible that he is another Stenbeck heir, or could he be James Stenbeck's latest pawn to get his hands on his money again because he is not dead again? This is just my initial reaction.
Please don't let him get involved with Alison, because we all know where they will go. Let me back up, there are new writers and maybe there will be some different things happening with the Alison Stewart character now.
It does seem that she may not be done with Casey quite yet. It also looks like Maddie and Casey may not have an easy way back to each other, as Hunter and Maddie did make a connection. This is what I like about better writing - the lines are not clearly drawn, and this story has some interesting dynamics.
Let's see what some readers are saying:
Ali said," I'm really enjoying the drama on ATWT. The murder of Brad has created the great drama and acting. I felt Katie's and Jack's pain. ATWT hasn't been better. I love Craig and Rosanna together. Emily and Paul are really great together too. I would like to see Meg go a little askew with her "thing" for Damian. I don't think the demise of the Brad Snyder character was a bad move at all. It's just what the show needed."
M said, "As much as I loved Katie getting up to talk at the funeral, come on where was Bob, all the veterans, you mean to tell me that Katie's own brother-in-law would not be there to support his sister, talk about an empty church ... how unreal, they could have at least got extras to sit in the pews???"
Ken said, "Please stop saying Brad is dead!! I don't believe it, not for a second! This is OAKDALE for crying out loud (even if it does look suspiciously like Brooklyn). People can die right before your eyes and be buried and not actually be dead. Take Dusty, for example. He even had an AUTOPSY and he became undead just in the nick of time (albeit with really bad hair). And what about Holden? Col. Winston Mayer? James Stenbeck for crying out loud!?! I could go on, but you know what I mean. I've always said that when I die, I want to die in Oakdale. That way, when I'm ready to come back, I just can just phone Christopher Goutman and renegotiate my contract."
Crystal said, "Excuse me, but why are Janet & (to a lesser degree) Liberty ready to jump on Jack on the off chance he may have been impaired that resulted in killing Brad? Who's uncle came to Oakdale, and who was eager to use her uncle (when it suited Janet) to stop Liberty from having an abortion? Didn't mind him being somewhat shady when it suited her! Love the interaction with Brad & Henry! Sorry that Austin Peck was let go, he was such a treat to watch & see mature - in a Brad sort of way."
Finally, as things are changing for the better and we will be seeing more characters from the past: Simon and Molly. Let's hope we get a chance to see Emma, Susan, Lisa, and Tom. Where the heck has Tom been throughout this whole time since Brad's death? One more thing, I certainly hope that this does not become the Mick Dante show, and continues to give equal time to all the other stories playing right now.
That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson
