In the meantime, Krystal's anger subsides as she realizes how much she loves Adam as much as he loves her. Kendall overhears Julia talking to Ryan about her baby, but is shocked to find out adoption is the game plan. Jonathan visits Janet in jail and wants to know "Why me?" He finds himself empathizing with our favorite psycho and later shocks Lily with this revelation. She is ready to break up over the fact. The jury is still out how I feel about this unlikely pairing. Yes, Jonathan appears to be a changed, caring man......but the age difference is disturbing due to her situation and condition. Their friendship is sweet, but if she were to be with an older man I would have preferred Aidan. He has the maturity and gentle soul. I didn't realize it more until they had Erin lose her virginity to him this past week. He was always respectful and loving to Anita, Kendall, and Maria in the past, so that was a good choice. It was nice to have them show two couples double dating and having fun bowling. It seemed like this was an evening of romance as Tad/Di, Aidan/Erin, JR/Babe, and Ryan/Kendall were together. Tad was almost interrupted by Zach's revelation of Dixie being alive, but a perfectly timed call from her to Zach stopped it. She later calls her half-sister to have a meeting. I will share my predictions and thoughts on various couplings later in the column.
Ryan and Kendall are truly bonding and getting back to their old selves. Kendall admits she welcomes the old Ryan. She surprises him with a kiss and request to make love to her. That threw me for a loop since she couldn't do that with Zach, but question answered when she said Dr Madden medically cleared her. Ok then. You could see the old magic between these two, but I have always felt that no matter what man they pair Alicia Minshew with, there is chemistry. Prime examples are Ethan, JR, Aidan, Zach, and the aforementioned Ryan. She is amazing. Now the question is, will they go back to the comfort zone with these expectant parents or just allow them to co-parent as single adults? I don't see Kendall going the adoption route in the end. I just wish Bianca and Miranda were closer to make a difference with her maternal feelings. Having a young niece around more often would give her that exposure to children. There are no young ‘uns left in Pine Valley to do this with.
Janet Dillon's over-the-top behavior was definitely interesting to watch especially due to Kate Collin's portrayal of the demented woman. There were times I cried out, "Enough already", yet you couldn't stop watching to see what she would do next. I have enjoyed the way the writers have been true to the rich history on AMC overall.....BUT I was appalled over two storylines. I did not like that they had Trevor's character/body end up in a freezer. He was a kind, comical, interesting man. His love for Natalie was unique and special, he also loved Lily's mother, and later forgave Janet and made her his wife. They had a good family life then with Tim and Amanda. I can understand her psychosis returning, but Trevor as her victim? Shocking beyond words. You have to remember I have watched AMC all 36 years while pregnant with my first daughter during the premiere. The characters are like your extended family. My daughter later started watching the show and James Kiberd was her favorite actor and reason to be interested. I surprised her with a personal meeting at a play he was in on Cape Cod. She considers that one of her best birthday presents. Needless-to-say, she stopped watching AMC after he departed, so imagine how she felt when I had to break it to her recently what they did to Trevor's character. She had always secretly hoped he would return to Pine Valley, she keeps an eye on his website. I guess I can see the rationale of having Janet go this far and needing Amanda to deal with this tragedy, but I will never enjoy it!!!
Another sore subject while we are on them was the way they handled Erica's abortion. It was groundbreaking and provocative back in the 70's and something everyone was talking about. AMC was one of the best soap operas on the air, and they handled some great stories within the first decade and beyond. Why mess with it? Then they are having Erica consider poisoning the doctor who performed the abortion and kept the male embryo......slipping "slow-acting non-traceable poison" into his tea. It amazes me how even Erica Kane can get away with such immoral and inappropriate behavior. She has stabbed two men and kidnapped a baby to name a few of her transgressions, but never seems to learn from her misdeeds. Jackson isn't close by to keep her in check either. Poor Jack seems to be the only one who has suffered the longest from that infamous explosion. It was a great loss to have Ethan's demise. I really enjoyed the character and the actor's portrayal since he wandered into town. It seems like it would have been beneficial to keep him in the mix and work on his relationship with his father, see him happily married to someone, and his ties to Kendall and Bianca. Very sad.
SUELLEN'S PREDICTIONS
It was nice to see how you all voted for the Dankie Awards Dan posts annually. I agreed with all of them. My favorite actors to watch and root for are Kendall and Zach. I was looking forward to Myrtle being his "best man". Zach is a complicated but interesting man. He has proven to be a real friend as he helped Julia when she was first hiding out and now Dixie, not to mention helping Ryan get out of town. Yes, he has made poor choices and made mistakes, but overall he is a good man. He is definitely ideal for Kendall as he loves her unconditionally. I have often thought that not only did he cause the blackout in the fertility clinic, but also possibly he pulled an Adam Chandler and switched the sperm with his. It is a stretch, but look how far they stretch when it serves their purpose. What a twist that would be if Ryan's infertility blew up in his face and Kendall was carrying Zach's baby. I am torn on that outcome. I would hate to think it would be the only reason Kendall would want to keep her baby because of her deep love for Mr. Slater. Anyway, I am predicting Kendall and Zach will find their way back to each other. My friend, Renee, feels they would both be better off on their own for a while. Learn how to cope with their losses and situations, interesting thought. I do see JR/Babe giving it the old college try. Jamie feels a lot of compassion and mixed feelings toward Amanda, and they could build a deeper bond. I really like Tad with Di, Kelli Giddish is so convincing, subtle, and good in the part. Don't get me wrong, I was always a Tad/Dixie fan, but I feel there have been too many changes and at a point of no going back. I am sure a lot depends on WHY Dixie felt impelled to stay away this long. Obviously, she has had some health issues. When they had her go to David's cabin, I am thinking this couple will reunite. You have to admit Dr Hayward loved her deeply and is obsessed in finding out if she is truly alive. They had an unusual connection. Ryan would probably be better now with someone like Julia. Mutual respect and admiration with a fresh start. Somehow, the two con artists have conned us and Adam/Krystal are fun to watch. I would have preferred Adam with Brooke again, but am hoping they find a good match for under-used Brooke and she can just remain good friends with her exes. She has that extraordinary ability to be there for Adam, Tad, Tom, and Edmund no matter what. It would nice to see Opal and Palmer reunite and have their daily bantering. There are so many characters on the canvass but not used or have uninteresting storylines. I am not surprised Anita will be exiting and what about Del, Danielle, Reggie, and Simone? Not much going on.
NICE BEING ABOARD
Wow, it was so nice being back at Two Scoops again. I have really missed sharing my thoughts; hearing from you devoted fans, and just being in the loop. A big thank you to Kristine for contacting me for coverage, I hope she had a nice vacation and really enjoy her column bi-weekly. She has been a big asset for the site and a nice complement with Mary. I will be the back-up columnist for these two nice ladies; so will catch up with you here periodically. Feel free to share your current thoughts with me now and always.
Since stepping down six months ago, I did do a lot on my "Have To Do List", but as with anyone, I still have a long way to go. The best part was having so much quality time with Ellen, my granddaughter, who just turned ONE yesterday. We had a nice party for her with family and friends and she took her first steps on her own for all of us to witness. It was very emotional and heart-warming. Quite often she stays with me in the den while I watch AMC and I noticed no matter what she is doing, even if she isn't facing the TV screen, when the opening credits come on (snappy music)........she has to turn around and listen/watch the whole time. She has since she was very young, do you think she inherited her grandma's love for OUR FAVORITE SHOW??? HMMMM, imagine how many of life's lessons she will learn from those folk in sleepy little Pine Valley. Ok, maybe I should re-think her exposure to it. I also plan to attend Super Soap Weekend in Florida this year with old AMC pals. Please let me know if any of you out there plan to attend. It is always such a great adventure and we can have a SOC reunion of sorts. I am hoping one day our editor, Dan, will make it down and see what he has been missing!!!! I did get some very sad news in late December, one of the women I have been in touch with for years through the column (and we have met three times) passed away. She was a wonderful woman with a beautiful family, married for 40 plus years. She was a BIG Dixie fan, wrote and shared many short stories with Dixie as her main character. I keep thinking of how she missed out on seeing her return, she had prayed for that. Life has so many strange twists, as we know too well watching soap operas as part of it all.
See you next time with best regards always,
Suellen
