After the Slasher story was over, things in Oakdale are as complicated as ever with other stories being brought to the forefront like Jade's pregnancy, Maddie trying to recover from her ordeal , Carly and Jack trying to get on with their lives without each other and the never-ending saga of Paul and Emily.

Jade's Pregnancy
I have thought a lot about this since she announced to Will that she was pregnant and I don't believe her for a moment that this is the truth. Jade is a pathological liar and can lie to try to get whatever she wants. Will is such a gullible mark. Here is how he should have proceeded since everyone is town knows she is an opportunistic liar. First of all, he should not have just taken her word for all of this - he should have taken her directly to his uncle, Dr. Bob Hughes for another test.

Let's think about this - what would truly make Gwen not want to be with Will. Jade admitted that she knows that Gwen was unable to get pregnant. She has been talking a lot lately about how she has no one and she is so alone in Oakdale. So right now, the easiest way is to get someone who will be responsible and accept her and this baby. I believe that this baby thing is truly a hoax. One other point, why would see be so resistant to an available man like Dallas that has shown some interest in her? Will has a trust fund to give her some of the things she wanted when she was with the Snyders.

She is also using the fact now that she has no job as another reason for Will to feel responsible for her. Casey made a mistake in judgment, to keep her close would have been a better option than letting loose to play the victim in Will's eyes. I know he thinks that he was protecting Gwen but I think made things worst for Gwen and Will.

Maddie's Recovery
Poor Maddie, she has had so much to deal with lately. It was so kind of Margo to invite back to her house to live. Maddie does seem to have grown up a bit here. She told Casey the right thing about him enjoying his first year of college without her hindering his fun. He needed to enjoy this time and she needs to heal from her ordeal. I have no doubt that she and Casey will continue to be a close couple.

Paul and Emily
Again I need to say how much these two are bothering me. I am glad that Emily knows that Paul is trying once again to pull the wool over her eyes. Why does this guy feel the need to have to control every facet of his life and everyone else's around him? In addition, why is Meg just standing there being a weak participant in this whole thing as opposed to standing up and letting him know he is wrong.

I want Emily to move on and it seems that she and Henry are getting closer. Lately, the only times that Henry has seemed alive is when he is with Emily. I like the fact that Emily is being as good of a friend to him as he was to her.

Jack and Carly
We all know that the best part of watching these two is them finding their way back together. It will be soon but why did they have to get a divorce - in order to have a big soap opera wedding when they get back together. Hopefully that the divorce was invalid for some reason and they are still married. However, this Simon angle is becoming more irritating than it was. Jack is a fool and needs to suffer a little bit before getting Carly back.

Simon has some type of an agenda and I am not sure what that is. I would imagine that Katie is somehow on his mind. Speaking of Katie, is she taking this baby thing too far? Mike does want to have a baby but as always Katie is taking things a bit over the top. Is there a problem? Mike and Katie need a story to showcase them without making them look like you want to fast forward every time you see them on the screen.

Dusty and Lucy
Is this too soon for Dusty? Barbara thinks so and Lucinda doesn't as they had words to that effect. I thought that was great moment. Barbara is so good no matter what she is doing and Lucinda needs to be showcased as much as possible so to see them together on opposite sides is such a joy.

I think that Dusty and Lucy will become a couple in time; they will have to deal with complications like Barbara or Lucinda or maybe Craig. He has been mentioned a lot lately so I am sure we will be seeing the new Craig very soon.

Readers have been filling my mailbox with their opinions about the recent events in Oakdale:

Diana said, "When I read that Jade would drop a bomb on Will this week. I thought, Not again. I just know she is pregnant. This SL is so old, predictable and boring .Everybody doesn't get pregnant the first time except on the soaps. Certainly the writers can come up with something better."

Cherry said, "I think it's safe to say the next thing Jade will throw at Will and Gwen's healing path will be getting pregnant. She and Will did sleep together for second time and with Will's luck - he will be a daddy. I do agree with some of the viewers...I don't think Eve should have been the Slasher. The actor playing Eve was really good! Her portrayal as an angry/insane/ heartbroken sister to Maddie was terrific. I actually felt sorry for the character. In all cases the Slasher story ended well. I just hope Maddie and Casey make it out okay and stay a couple. Casey has to stay in there for Maddie or else all the devotion he had for Maddie that showed during their break up will be for nothing."

Carolyn said, "Why was it that Eve's cell phone worked up at the lake when no one else's did? Henry calls her to check on Maddie and she's supposedly in Chicago. Really she's at the lake killing all those kids. It made no sense. I think they should have had B.J. Green come back as the Slasher in a final twist of revenge."

Belinda said, "I was just telling my son that I was willing to bet anything that Jade is going to come up pregnant that are her ways of letting Gwen know that she and Will slept together again. I really wished she was the Slasher so Oakdale could be rid of her. If they want to wake Lily, they should tell her that Holden let Jade hold little Ethan and that she want to be his nanny. What is Holden and Luke thinking."

Linda said, "Ok, we now know what Jade has in store for Will and I am SO disappointed in the writers!! How many times in this soap alone are we going to go through the whole unplanned pregnancy thing? It is SO old and out of date. I like most of the storylines these days, except for that and the Lucy/Dusty story."

Yellow Rose said, "I for one am so weary of the tedious s/l of Emily and Paul. I just mute through their scenes. I am a viewer from day one!!"

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson