I have to admit that part of me is still in denial that One Life to Live is ending in January. It feels far away, even though it's not. Blair reminded me of this, as she sang the theme song and summed up the situation well by saying "This is too sad." Since the show will be ending soon, I believe every minute of every episode should count. We should be spared the obligatory filler scenes that soap operas rely on, and the focus should be on the important characters instead of trivial ones. I know it is a lot to ask, but I want One Life to Live to leave it all out on the field now through January.
I simply don't care about Nate and Deanna's friendship. I don't need to see them discussing anything. I don't like Nate and never have. As for Deanna, she is very new to Llanview and doesn't serve a purpose at this point. James has practically forgotten that she exists, so she isn't a foil for James and Starr anymore, and her friendship with Nate is a nonstarter because it is completely frivolous. Why must I watch these two characters share scene after scene, while Bo and Nora aren't seen for days after they learned that Matthew needed brain surgery?! It doesn't make sense.
I also consider the scenes with Tomas/Blair and James/Starr to be filler because nothing actually happened. I realize that running into each other at the Palace was awkward, and it's not a situation anyone would care to be in, but since both of their "big nights" were ultimately foiled, the scenes were pointless. At this point, I don't care if James and Starr move forward; they have become the most boring couple on the show. As for Blair and Tomas, I still don't think Blair should trust Tomas yet. He is still vague about too many things, and she doesn't know that much about him. Blair has mentioned her experience with Eli a few times, but it hasn't made her that hesitant to get closer to Tomas. I hope she is more cautious this time, but I doubt she will be.
I am very happy that Tess has been taken to St. Ann's. Jessica's revolving door of personalities has been getting old, especially with the recent addition of Wes. The scenes of "Wes" hitting on women were silly, and they served no other purpose than to kill time. Cutter showed his true colors when he bilked Clint for his money and mansion, but at least he got Tess under control. I suspect Clint has a plan to get his mansion back for his family, even if he is dying. He's known about Cutter and Aubrey for a while, so I can't imagine he was caught completely off-guard by Cutter's demands. Either way, Tess is hopefully going to disappear so Jessica can come back.
I hope Ford doesn't help Tess get out of St. Ann's. I don't know why he takes Tess's threats seriously. She's not a real person, although he doesn't seem to know that. I don't want to see Ford and Tess become a couple. I don't care how many good deeds Ford does on his redemption tour. He still took advantage of Jessica and then willingly kept her from receiving the treatment she needed when Tess emerged. Now that Tess and Ford seem to care about each other, I think they will become a couple, or Jessica and Ford will when Jessica re-emerges, but I just don't see the appeal.
The last example of filler scenes is Rama faking her pregnancy. Rama is still a new character, and while I liked how she handled Aubrey, I don't care that she is in a bind because she's not really pregnant. There are several ways to handle a fake pregnancy in soap opera land, so I don't know why we had to watch her act like there wasn't a solution. I don't care that she lied or how she will fix it. She is a minor character, and I don't care what happens to her, especially when time on the show is so precious.
I was happy to see Joey confront Aubrey about her deception. He has been acting like a fool for months, so I am glad he didn't accept Aubrey's pleas of how she has changed. I would be content if Aubrey were to pack her bags and leave Llanview forever. I don't care about her any more than I care about Rama. I don't want or need to see her character be redeemed. She's not that important. The best thing to come out of this story is to see Joey finally use his brain again after so many months of being duped. It's about time!
I am intrigued with Todd's story. It looks like Roger Howarth might be Todd, based on his realizations from Friday's episode. He remembered Starr, Blair, and Téa. This might be a false lead, but he seems like Todd for now. I like this story because I honestly don't know what will happen next. There are so few stories that have true suspense in them, and this one makes me want to watch the next episode.
As for Marty, she certainly is resourceful. She managed to find a place to stay and ample blackmail material in very little time! I think Marty's actions have been over the top, and most of them weren't necessary to make us think she is crazy. With the show ending, I guess Marty will be leaving in a big way, but trying to murder people so she could have John is excessive!
I liked that Roxy finally returned from Las Vegas to see Natalie. Roxy isn't included in a lot of important scenes with Natalie and Rex, so I am always happy to see when she is. Madame Delphina's visit was interesting too. It might qualify as one of the filler scenes I discussed above, but at least she foreshadowed what will happen with Todd and with Liam's paternity. She also brought some much-needed humor to a dark show.
As for Matthew's head injury and subsequent surgery, the first thing that came to mind was "Hasn't this character been through enough?" He's been paralyzed, he killed a man, and now he has a serious brain injury. Enough is enough! On the other hand, I think this story will to lead some intense, emotionally charged scenes. We've already seen a little of that, as Bo and Nora tried to figure out what happened to Matthew, but there is even more to come. I could watch Bo, Nora, and Matthew read the phone book to each other, and it would be riveting, so putting them in such an intense situation will definitely be worth watching. I hope we will see them continuously as this story progresses instead of shelving them for days in favor of filler scenes!
Finally, please don't forget to continue writing and calling ABC and its sponsors to let them know what you think about the cancellation of the show. People have been requesting the contact information, and it can all be found at soapcentral.com/sos. ABC is counting on us becoming complacent about the show ending, and we shouldn't give the network that satisfaction!
Until next time,
Dawn
