We're just days away from the end of season one. One Life to Live is going out of its first season with a bang. The show is hitting its stride right now, which leaves me disappointed that we're heading into a hiatus but also truly excited for season two. This week was the week for big revelations.
Big Reveals At the very end of last week's episodes, we saw the tattoo on Jeffrey's foot. I positively lost it. Jeffrey was the very last person I expected, and, even after we saw the tattoo, I was sure he'd been somehow coerced or duped into participating in the shady organization of tattooed people.
One Life to Live managed to rock my world once again when we found out that Jeffrey is not only a willing participant but is instrumental in the mystery organization's plans. I was shocked to hear that Jeffrey's presence in Llanview was engineered as far back as his meeting Matthew. And I loved being caught so off guard! What do you think about this new facet to Jeffrey's character, readers? I think it's a brilliant soapy twist. There hadn't been a moment that made me shriek in surprise like this since Victor appeared at the end of the very first episode.
Hide your babies. Hide your husbands. Lock up your medicine cabinets while you're at it. Be extra sure to do those things if you are a member of or have any relationship with the Lord family. Carl Peterson, Jeffrey's mentor, is in town, and I have a feeling his sister, Allison Perkins, can't be too far behind.
That's right, Carl's sister is none other than Allison Perkins, who most recently was responsible for holding Victor hostage but also, along with Mitch Laurence, was responsible for keeping Natalie away from Viki and keeping the secret that Viki actually had two daughters. Does Carl have his own beef with the Lord family, or is he riding the coattails of his sister's insanity?
It sounds like this might be a long-running family feud that Carl and his sister have hung onto. Carl told Jeffrey he couldn't believe that Victor and Todd, as the children of Victor Lord Sr. and Irene Manning, didn't know anything about the organization. Were Victor Sr. and Irene perhaps members of the organization who betrayed it somehow? Or were they part of a rival organization and/or trying to bring the organization down? Carl told Jeffrey that Clint had tried to bring the organization down. I'll be interested to see all this backstory revealed and see how it ties together.
Let me take a moment to give a shout-out to the formidable Ron Raines. He was the perfect pick to play the leader of this evil organization because he has such a powerful and commanding presence. He can awe you and give chills all at the same time, and I can't wait to see how his role expands.
Viewers weren't the only ones to get a shock this week. Téa learned Blair and Todd had married. Maybe she wasn't so much shocked as she was disappointed. I said recently that I longed for the days when Téa and Blair's relationship had a little more bite, and this week's scenes delivered. Téa calling Blair an idiot in an exhausted tone and then pulling a blanket over her head as if to shut out the idiocy warmed my heart. The thing I love most about these two is the perfect mixture of love and animosity.
That mix was so very evident when Téa screamed at Blair to leave her house and, when Blair refused, broke down and yelled that she was full of rage. Téa's been through more than any one person should have to handle -- losing her baby, losing Victor, having her surviving child and many other people she cares about in constant danger -- and Blair's one of the few people she's allowed to see just how much that is affecting her.
Blair took Téa's shouting in stride because these two understand each other better than perhaps anyone else. Blair looked like her heart was breaking for Téa, and she's probably missing Todd just as much and Téa is missing Victor. But sometimes these ladies just aren't in the mood to do mushy.
Blair left Téa's house as requested but not before uttering, "But you're still going to the party, bitch, so dress nice." And that was just the approach Téa needed. She doesn't want anyone feeling sorry for her. Téa's resignation as Blair shut the door and Téa shouted after her, "What are you going to wear?" was the perfect end to an amazing scene. I love the way these two can bounce from drama to comedy so seamlessly and still make it all emotionally truthful. It's my hope we'll continue to see a lot of focus on their relationship next season.
In the reveal we all knew was coming, Clint finally found out Bo was his replacement as Man of the Year. I can't possibly be the only one who thinks he's about to rage, can I?
I'm glad we saw Bo be torn about accepting the Man of the Year position. I also appreciate that Bo's first reaction was to talk to Nora before making any decision. I've always loved Bo and Nora, and it was so heartbreaking to see the turmoil their marriage went through not long before the televised series ended. I enjoy seeing them on such solid footing now and being so supportive of one another. Every show needs a central, relatively stable, loving couple in the midst of everyone else's shenanigans, and Bo and Nora are filling that role nicely. They also have the right mix of chemistry and humor in the relationship to ensure that being the stable couple on the show never means they're boring to watch.
Clint has no idea that Bo was conflicted about Man of the Year. In fact, I'm sure that, in his mind, this is one more piece of evidence that Bo is out to get him. Losing Man of the Year to his own brother might just lead to that breakdown Carl was hoping for when he had Jeffrey start slipping Clint the pills. I've been less than impressed with Clint lately, and now I feel I owe him an apology for all the bad-mouthing I've been doing, seeing as how the poor dude is being drugged.
Hopes for the Future I'd love to hear in the comments what you are most looking forward to or hoping for in next week's season-ending episodes and looking forward into season two. Carrying on with the Clint story, I have a feeling the show might drag out his downward spiral a little longer, but I'm truly looking forward to Viki, Natalie, Bo, and Nora finding out that Clint's being drugged and his breakdown is being orchestrated.
Will the revelation push the family further apart as Clint blames them all for thinking the worst of him and shutting him out? Or will the family band together to support Clint and to fight a common enemy? I'm especially eager to see how Viki reacts and hope the reveal will lead to her being determined to break the story and get justice for Clint.
For next week, I'm anticipating Clint's inevitable drunken crashing of the Man of the Year ceremony. I feel a little bad looking forward to it now that I know he's being driven to a breakdown by circumstances out of his control. But I can't help it. I love a good party-crashing scene. I'm certain it's going to be awkwardly delightful.
As for the person responsible for drugging Clint, I'm anticipating Jeffrey growing increasingly conflicted about his role in this conspiracy. Jeffrey said something that sounded very sincere to Carl about Viki being a good woman. I'd love to see Jeffrey start to waver in his loyalty to Carl and the organization as he sees more of the damage his actions are causing Viki and her family. Maybe Jeffrey's feelings for Destiny -- assuming they're genuine or become genuine -- might also contribute to his guilt. What can I say? I love a good redemption story.
Dani showed up on the red carpet of the Man of the Year event at the end of this week, saying something to Arturo about how her mother probably wouldn't freak out too much. I laughed and laughed and vowed to watch those episodes as soon as possible. Téa is going to freak out a ton about Arturo and Dani, readers, and I simply cannot wait.
I have to admit that I'm beginning to hope we'll see a Téa and Dean hookup in season two. Téa called Dean out on his drug dealing this week, and I loved her "What makes you think I'm an idiot?" when he tried to evade the accusation. While she tried to make it clear nothing was going to happen between them, she seemed to enjoy their banter, as did I.
Téa has been known to love herself a bad boy or two. Plus, she's in just a bad enough place emotionally that I can see her doing something reckless like getting involved with Dean. Plus, can't you just imagine the delicious mother/daughter fights that would arise between Téa and Dani if Dani was dating an older bad boy and Téa was dating a younger bad boy?
Whatever happens, I shall be anxiously anticipating season two! And, I'll be live tweeting the season finale on Monday, August 19, at 6:15 Eastern/3:15 Pacific Time. I hope you'll join me at @WhatsADirigible.
A Few "YouScoops" from soapcentral.com Readers
Lauren wrote in to say she doesn't see chemistry between Destiny and Jeffrey like I do.
I have to disagree with you a little on Destiny/Jeffrey. I just don't see the chemistry. They're cute enough for a little scene I guess and in real life, maybe that's who you would pick. But I still get the sense that she'd jump into Matthew's arms (& bed) without thinking twice about Jeffrey if the opportunity presents itself.
Aside from the bit about chemistry, I agree with you, Lauren. I do feel like Destiny would take Matthew back in an instant if he asked. I think she's still madly in love with Matthew. The reason I can't really get behind the Matthew and Destiny pairing is because I don't think Matthew has ever felt the same way about her. I do think he loves her as a friend and obviously has some attraction to her, but I don't think he's ever been in love with her the way he was in love with Dani and the way he's starting to feel about Michelle now. I've also never gotten over how shabbily he treated her when she got pregnant. My dislike of him as a potential partner for her is only compounded by the way he lets her work herself ragged to support Drew with little to no help from him now.
Lauren went on to say:
And good, sweet Jeffrey with good, sweet Destiny just is not compelling soap coupledom for me. That is why I was SO EXCITED to see that tattoo. I doubt he's all evil but all of the sudden he's not perfect and that is exactly what I was waiting for with this character but also totally beyond my wildest dreams of how they could make him a little more grey.
As you may have noticed above, I'm extremely excited about this development too. I was already loving Jeffrey and Destiny/Jeffrey but this just opens up so many more possibilities for the character and the stories he's involved in. Introducing Jeffrey as the ultimate good guy and waiting to reveal him as part of the big-bad-organization that's haunted all of season one was a brilliant move on the part of the writers. I'm ready to go on the ride and see where this takes us in season two!
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