I had a hard time watching One Life to Live last week for various reasons. Throughout the week, I either felt like I had seen it all before, I was being forced to watch unimportant characters, or it was dragging with no end in sight. I hope things get better because I can't take another week of fast forwarding and waiting for the show to end.
I admit that I haven't always been a big fan of Todd and Blair. There are times when I've rooted for them to make it, and there other times where I've found it hard to care at all. I grew tired of their repetitive cycle that they call a relationship. Todd would tell Blair a lie. Blair finds out about it and leaves him, and then she takes him back. It's happened so many times that I just assumed that Todd and Blair would always reunite no matter what. However, when Margaret kidnapped Todd and Blair, it was a new direction for them. They were both in danger, and it wasn't because of a deep, dark secret Todd had been keeping. I started to care about them again and wanted them to overcome Margaret's reign of terror. However, the aftermath of Margaret's torture is bringing Todd and Blair back to their old ways. Todd decided to take matters into his own hands regarding Margaret instead of letting the police handle it. I can't blame Todd for not trusting the LPD, but he should have trusted Blair enough to be honest about Margaret. Todd didn't have to lie about Margaret being pregnant, and he didn't need to sneak around to deal with Margaret behind her back. We don't know exactly what happened in the boat, but Todd came back soaking wet without Margaret. We can surmise that she is most likely dead. Blair caught Todd coming home in different clothes after that ordeal, and she decided to believe his lies rather quickly. Blair should know better, and her instincts should be going into overdrive about this. Instead, Todd makes some romantic remarks, and Blair forgets all about it. Here we go again. Blair will find out about Margaret, her pregnancy, and Todd's role in Margaret's disappearance, and Blair will probably leave Todd yet again. Yawn. The only part of this whole storyline that I find interesting is how Todd is dealing with Starr's questions. Their relationship could be strained from all of this, especially since Todd hasn't been completely honest with Starr about what happened to him and about Margaret. Will she still trust him when she finds out the truth? Will she take her dad's side or back up her mom? Whatever happens, I hope that Todd and Starr's relationship is at the core of this storyline. We've seen Todd and Blair go through the ins and outs of their relationship many times. Now that Starr is growing up, there is more potential for storylines between her and her parents. I hope that potential is recognized and used. Otherwise, the rest of this storyline might be the same old, recycled one we've seen so many times before.
Next, I have felt absolutely inundated with scenes including Paige. She is everywhere, and she has suddenly become a main character of the show. She's chief of staff at the hospital, she is moving in with Bo, and Matthew thinks she would be a great mom. Okay, did I miss something? When she first came to Llanview, we saw her occasionally and knew very little about her. Now, we see her a lot and still know very little about her. I sincerely hope all of the dialogue regarding Paige's potential of being a great mother isn't leading to her becoming pregnant with Bo's child. Matthew's discussion with Bo about having a sibling was great until he said that Paige would be a good mom. Did he even mention Nora? We went from having Paige be a minor character to someone we see or hear about all the time. At the same time, Nora hasn't had any scenes at alll lately. She isn't even mentioned that much. If the writers are attempting to replace Nora with Paige, they will have a hard time accomplishing it. Paige still isn't half has interesting as Nora is, and she doesn't have the connections or the history in Llanview that Nora does. Forsaking one character for another hardly ever works, especially when the one being forsaken is as popular as Nora. I don't know if this is what is happening for sure, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Nora has been scarce, and Paige is always around these days. I would much rather see Bo and Nora work on mending their relationship than watch Bo and Paige's forced happiness. Their relationship still doesn't seem real, and it doesn't make sense. Meanwhile, we have to watch Spencer taunt Paige about her mysterious past without learning anything about it. If Paige is going to be a more prominent character, we need to learn more about her and her past with Spencer. That would also help make Spencer more tolerable as a prominent character. Paige and Spencer collectively consume too much of the show, and that is unnecessary, considering that there are so many great characters that we hardly ever see. Paige is not a replacement for Nora or anyone else, and her presence shouldn't be forced on us.
While we didn't see much of Tess and Nash last week, I am dismayed that they are still disconnected from Llanview and Jessica's family. We've already seen their relationship thrive away from Jessica's friends and family. They need to come back to Llanview now, so that Nash can learn the truth about Jessica, and we can see the DID dealt with in some way. It's even worse that few people in Llanview know about Jessica's situation, and the ones that do, aren't doing much about it. Bo has known about Jessica's DID for a couple of weeks now, and he doesn't seem to care about it. He also doesn't seem to be looking for her. After the exhaustive search for Natalie, I find it odd that Bo isn't doing that much to find Jessica. He knows she is in trouble, and he is one of the few people that knows. I also don't understand why Bo hasn't told Kevin about Jessica's DID. Kevin knows a lot about the illness, since he watched Viki battle it for years. It would have made more sense for Jessica to tell Kevin about her situation before she told Antonio. He is her family, and he knows what to do to help her. As I've said before, the best part of this whole storyline will be when Jessica's family deals with her DID together. So far, the only family members that now are both too consumed with other things to worry about her. That is disappointing, especially since the Buchanans are supposed to be a strong family unit. Once Viki returns from London with Clint, I hope we see the Buchanans help Jessica. This storyline has been developing for almost a year, and it's time for the best part of it to begin.
Finally, I am getting tired of watching Dorian forsake her relationship with David to snoop around in Spencer's past. She won't listen to his pleas to stay out of it, and she continues to lie to him about what she is doing. Dorian and David make a great couple, but she doesn't appreciate it. She lost David once because of her meddling, and she hasn't learned anything from it. She is even blackmailing Adriana to make sure she can find information on Spencer. While I love watching Dorian attempt to use a computer, I find her obsession with investigating Spencer to be irritating. Dorian has always been a little over the top, and I even consider that to be one of her endearing qualities. However, I would love to see her appreciate what she has and concentrate on her wedding and future with David rather than sneak around, lie to David, and manipulate Adriana. She's done enough of that and needs to move on to something else. Dorian has been meddling excessively, even for her, and it's time for there to be some moderation. Dorian is a great character, and I hate having to say that her antics merit pressing the fast forward button. She needs to be saved from herself (or from the writers). Help!
Have a pleasant week!
Until next time,
Dawn
