This was a busy week in Oakdale so I have to wonder what is being planned for November sweeps if so much is happening now.

Luke and Noah
What a major turnaround for Noah's father in such a short period of time - he accepts his son for who he is and invites his new boyfriend on a fishing trip. Luke bought this even after Maddie told about her doubts. Anyone who has met Col. Mayer knows that this man is wound up very tight and is very set in beliefs. There is no way he was real and it is proof in the fact that at the end of Friday's show he was pointing a rifle at Luke.

Over time, Luke has been a bit gullible in accepting the good in people like his biological father, Damian who was trying to get him sent off to a deprogramming camp and getting his trust fund and now trusting Noah's father just to have a boyfriend. However, he is a teenager and he is finally able to have someone in his life that likes him back - so I can see him not looking really close at the motives of Noah's father.

In the midst of all of this is Dusty who collapsed at Lily's feet and pointed at Winston as his attacker. Of course, when Lily tells Holden, he gets angry at her once again. This is not Lily's fault because Holden should have picked up on what he had been told about Noah's father previously and even after Maddie voiced her concerns to him as well.

So I guess now: Holden, Lily and Maddie will all being running up to the lake to stop the Colonel from his plan to get rid of his son's boyfriend. Did this guy think this through? If he gets rid of Luke then at some point Noah will find another man to love - the fact of the matter is that his son is gay.

Alison and Aaron
These two never seem to be on the same page for more than a few minutes before their innate differences get in the way. Alison was right when she told Aaron that he likes Sofie because she is needy and when she is herself then he is not that interested.

I believe that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with Aaron and Holden - they both want something different than what they have. I can see so much of Holden in Aaron in the way he treats Alison but is so tender and kind with the very needy Sofie. Holden is similar in that he wants perfection with Lily and is always looking for her to do wrong.

Holden has made his share of mistakes - what were the circumstances around Aaron's conception? Both Holden and Aaron need to give Lily and Alison the benefit of doubt as neither one of them is perfection.

Jack and Carly
Why didn't she say something before the wedding then we would be preparing for a deathbed wedding before she dies. Jack does not love Katie and it so obvious because he has not left Carly's side since he found out about her terminal illness. I would rather Jack and Carly any day over the sappiness between Jack and Katie - Jack seems as if he is forcing himself to be with her and just doesn't know how to tell her the truth. He did tell her the truth that time when he was unconscious - Katie just chose to ignore it.

The scenes with Carly and anyone right now are just the best - Maura West is giving this her all once again and she could easily win her second Emmy with some of these scenes. (Off the record, she may have to battle, Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) from B&B next year.)

I like everyone is waiting for a miracle cure so Jack and Carly can be together; if she lives then I strongly believe Jack will want to be with her over Katie. Katie can then be with Brad who is more her type.

Paul and Rosanna and Craig and Meg
What a mess this story is? Rosanna has been brought back to conspire with Craig, the person who put her in the hospital in the first place. Paul is pretending he wants to be with Rosanna when he truly loves Meg - the proof he when he jumped into bed with her the first chance he got. Craig is being Craig by manipulating every situation to his advantage. Well, I am bored with the whole mess.

A reader, Frankie said so much of what I have been thinking, "So, we are supposed to believe that Rosanna finds out her only living relative (Carly) is dying, yet she never even skips a beat before she's back to obsessing over how to keep Paul away from Meg. We waited all this time for Rosanna's return, only to have the writers turn her into some shallow self absorbed moron. The Rosanna we all loved was so sharp and business savvy that she would never have let Craig con her into believing she could hold onto Paul by letting Craig go free. I just hate when the writers do this to a character. Let's hope they get it together soon and come up with something a little more believable for this truly great actress."

Here are some additional thoughts from readers:

Kenrick, "ATWT is still my favorite show but it irks me when everything seems to happen in a vacuum. Family members completely ignore each other. Gwen, Carly, Rosanna are all kind of related but have hardly any contact. Does Rosanna even know that Gwen and Carly are sisters? Katie gets married (several times) and there is never a mention of her brother Craig or her mother Lyla. Among all the barely credible storylines like Rosanna's overnight recovery and re-discovered business skills and Will and Gwen's asking an ex porn star and drug addict to bear their child, some real family scenes would help the show to be more real and easier to relate to."

Hope said, "You are so right when you say that "things are so compartmentalized nowadays in Oakdale." I remember storylines that everyone was involved in, or at least knew enough to talk about at the Mona Lisa. I can't believe how much things have changed - especially with weddings. It used to be that everyone in town was invited to the weddings. Now, Craig wasn't even at Katie's wedding because he isn't part of that storyline. That doesn't make sense - he is her brother. Also, Nancy didn't show up for the wedding after she gave Katie her pearl necklace, but I didn't hear a mention of Nancy at all. The compartmentalization needs to stop. Granted soaps are not entirely realistic, but if I'm supposed believe any of this, at least have the bride's family show up for the wedding!"

Lauren said, "Carly's scene with Jack in the hospital actually moved me to tears. I haven't cried since Jennifer died. I also think the writers have done an amazing job in Brad's character development. In the beginning, I totally FF'd through all of his scenes, now I can't wait to see him! My only gripe still is and will probably always be about Paul. Really, I don't want to see him with Ro, Kelley Hensley is a better actress than what they have been slinging her way for her big return. I also don't want to see him with Meg. As awful as this sounds, I wish he would fall off another cliff, and they could not actually find the body!"

Finally, will Barbara ever get her own storyline again away from her sons? I think instead of having Winston Mayer as a murderer - he could have taken his mind off of Noah's issues and found love of his own with Barbara. I think they could have been a good match.

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson