A good week in Oakdale as there was so much that happened in just five days. The world just continues to turn in directions that you have to wonder where they will go next - with Damian turning up again, Lucy as a doctor, Katie killing Nick and Will becoming a real Ryan with his lies.

Bio-Dad Damian and Luciano
It is great to have Damian back in Oakdale as long as he is not trying to break up Lily and Holden. I certainly hope this all about his son and whomever else he needs to connect with in Oakdale. It was perfect that his second visit was to Lisa - I was hoping that the writers would not miss a beat there. I think the next person he needs to touch base with is Margo as they became really close after their plane crash years ago.

Luke sees his biological father for the first time in eight years (that's eight soap years). Since he finally came out, he is being more and more confident in who he is especially for those who have not come to accept him just yet. When he called Damian "Bio-Dad" - I thought that was funny and quite appropriate. He did soften up a bit later in the week when he finally had a chance to really talk to him. I do think that Lily and Damian should have waited for Holden to return so he could be included in their plan - what's the rush if Damian plans on sticking around for a while.

Luke is such a teenager as he thinks that he can say whatever he wants to any adult but when it comes time to speak the truth to Kevin - he can't get the words out. I thought that Kevin was the one following Luke because when Kevin made that comment about Jade that if someone let her go they must be gay - what was he really saying? Does he know more than he wants to share with Luke?

New Dr. Lucy Montgomery
It seems like just yesterday Lucy left to go to college and she come back in about a year as an intern - where do you sign up for an accelerated program like that? I said it earlier - this is soap time not real time so things like that can happen. My first impression of her is that I think I might like this new incarnation of Lucy. I wonder if she will have some Craigness to her this time and scheme a bit to be with Dusty.

As I watched her with Dusty, it was obvious that Dusty still has feelings for Lucy. Remember how he tried to hide his feelings for Jennifer by taking up with Meg when Jennifer didn't want to be with him. I am not saying just because Lucy is back he wants her though he needs to be honest about his feelings.

A red flag went up for Jennifer when she saw Lucy - she knows how Dusty felt about her. I do wonder how this will play out now that the actress playing Jennifer is leaving. I do not want to see two recasts at the same time vying for Dusty's attention.

Nick is Dead
Poor Nick, this character was doomed from the first time he rode into Oakdale and met Carly. I think as time went on, the character of Nick should have been sent off to another story away from Carly, Jack and Katie. He never met anyone outside of his immediate circle which was bad. Oh, he did have some interaction with Emily during the Paul investigation - now that could have been a good vehicle for Emily so she can get away from her obsessive relationship with Paul; that's another story.

This poor guy was really beaten up on this week: he was in a car accident that almost killed him, knocked out by Carly twice and finally shot in the chest by Katie. This show can really get rid of an unwanted character and his explanation for killing Maya only added to the uselessness of a story that had some potential in the beginning.

Just to show how meaningless this character became, he did not even receive a real death scene; Mike came from behind the curtain and announced that Nick was dead. I guess the point of this was that Nick is gone, Katie killed him in self-dense so she will not do any jail time or have to go on trial, Mike will not easily forgive her and while she waits then Simon will return to Oakdale.

Will - A Real Ryan
When did Will become a liar like his mother and brother? The answer has to be when he decided to listen in any way to Jade Taylor. This girl is trouble. Like Maddie said, why is now hanging around Will? What is this girl up to now? Quite frankly, does anyone really care? She needs to go away quickly because she is serving no worthwhile purpose in Oakdale - she has no attachments in town.

Will knows he did the wrong thing and he needs to make things right because he has never liked those qualities in his mother or brother. I know his motivation is to please his wife but he should know that she will love him regardless.

I do like the way that Maddie is saying the right stuff and being a true friend to Will and Gwen. Maddie is great and I am so rooting for her and Casey as a couple.

After my last column I received a few interesting emails:

Erik says, "It's too bad it is sweeps month and a character as worthless as Jade is involved in two front-burner SLs. What was wrong with sending her away after Holden gave her money? Now the writers are trying to make her sympathetic by giving her an uncaring dad and a backpack that doubles as a pillow. I laughed during those scenes because they do not excuse her vileness. Why Will would spend more time with her than his own wife is too stupid to talk about. Put her in an orange crate and ship her away like that one boring girl from last year."

Dana does not agree that Paul and Meg are good together, "WHAT? Are you watching? I certainly am not watching the same Paul and Meg that you are. Peg is 100 times worse than PRo ever was. Do you know how next to impossible that achievement is?"

Lou says the same, "I disagree with your latest column. I think Paul and Meg stink as a couple. They are nearly as boring as Paul and Rosanna, totally unsuited and what is worse - BORING."

Shelli has had it with Susan Stewart: "Can they stuff her in a closet or something. She is just driving me crazy with her whining and running around like she's wringing her hands at not knowing what to do. When they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. That is for sure Emily is just as crazy as Susan!"

Finally, thanks for all the emails. One more thought: how stupid is Emily to want Paul again? I hope her new best friend, Henry can help her see that Paul is a lost cause. Emily needs to move on like she said she was going to - maybe she is in the right place after all.

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson