As I watched this abbreviated week in Oakdale, I was happy to see the slasher tale end at just the right time with an unlikely culprit, Carly and Jack inching closer and closer to divorce, Paul still manipulating both of the women in his life: Meg and Emily and Katie not owning up to her true feelings for Simon and wondering where was Jade while all the teens were being killed.

The Slasher Revealed
It is finally over and overall this was not a bad story. It moved quickly and it was suspenseful - it kept us guessing as to the true identity of the killer. Immediately, I thought it was Louis, the rapist/ child molester or possibly Jade who disappeared every time there was a killing only to find out it was Eve Browning, Maddie's loyal sister. I thought that Eve could have been a good match for Jack to take his mind off of Carly. I think the character had more potential than what she was given. This story would have had more punch if the killer had been someone other than Eve like one of the Inturns that tried out or one of the kids we had gotten to know of the bunch. Nevertheless, this story did serve its purpose as good summer tale for the teens of Oakdale; now they can go back to school, hopefully there will be counselors for them to talk to since so many of their classmates have been murdered.

Since Jade is not the Slasher, where was she on a deserted lake while multiple killings happened? All she could provide as an explanation is that she was walking - she could have walked back to Oakdale in all that time. I guess Jade is needed to continue to mess up Will and Gwen's marriage. Will and Gwen are starting the process of getting close again so what is Jade going to do now in order to throw a wrench into their reconciliation.

Let's hope with this Slasher business over that Maddie can get the help she needs (paging Dr. Michaels) after admitting her rape and learning her sister was the murderer who blamed her for all of her troubles. I hope that she can also find her way back to the man who saved her life twice - Casey. Casey and Maddie are a good couple and he was miserable when they were not together. Casey has changed a lot since he met Maddie and became more of the kid he used to be. I don't want the fallout of Will and Gwen to cause problems for Casey and Maddie finding their way back to each other.

Jack and Carly
I want Jack and Carly to get back together but I am enjoying Carly with Simon also. We know that every scene with Jack and Carly that they both are just playing along and want to be back together. Jack is a proud man who is finding it difficult to admit that he made a rash decision about this divorce. The first woman he took a liking to since Carly is a serial killer - is that a sign or what?

Carly likes what Simon is bringing to her life because he is accepting her for just who she is. However, she is going to have problems with her friend, Katie. Katie definitely has feelings for Simon and Simon told her that she is trying too hard to act like she didn't; this is going to cause some problems for her and Mike. What else could they be doing right now anyway? Mike and Katie are sometimes are little too cutesy and lovey-dovey for me.

Paul/Emily/ Meg
This group continues to drive me crazy because Paul is constantly trying to have his cake and eat it too. Meg has finally decided that she wants to get married but he feels he needs to hide it from Emily. If he and Emily are not together, she should be able to accept the fact that Paul and Meg are moving along with their relationship. It's not fair for Meg to have to hide from Emily. This story needs some reworking by getting Emily involved with someone else like Henry and letting Meg and Paul have a true relationship - I don't think that Paul can do this without some friction from somewhere.

Before I get to the reader comments, I have to say what great work was done by Scott Holmes and Ellen Dolan this week when they realized that something could have happened to Casey at Raven Lake. Just watching them this week shows that these two need a real storyline - front burner without adding a third person. There is still a lot of life in these characters who should not be left in the background.

I got some interesting comments from readers regarding all the major happenings in Oakdale right now:

Erik said, "Thank you for pointing out how boring the Paul/Meg/Emily triangle has become. Paul and Meg are a great couple, but the Emily angle is tired. There's so much conflict with Meg's family that could be played instead of more Emily scheming. The rest of the SLs are moving along nicely except for this one."

Anna said, "I just want to comment about the inept police in Oakdale. Could the writers find any possible way to make them look more stupid? For instance when Louis attacked Maddie and all the cops rushed in. Louis went out the back door they had not stationed an officer there and not one officer attempted to chase or stop him. I wish they could come up with some way once in a while so that Oakdale's finest could appear to have some smarts. This kind of thing happens all the time on this show!"

Leslie said, "A few weeks back I thought the slasher was Louis. Then last week, my theory was blown out of the water. I am totally confused now -- which is good! This is the first time in a long time, I can't figure out the mystery. Kudos to ATWT's writers. I, like you, am beginning to lean towards Eve. She is creepy and just Jack's flavor. I'll keep watching."

Leanne says, "I agree with you on Carly and Simon. I LOVE them together. I would love to see them stick together for awhile. Imagine the fun things they could do together with all their scheming, if Carly would just be who she is and not try to be perfect for Jack."

Kelly said, "I have to totally disagree about Paul and Emily! To me, they are the couple to root for here. Meg's passive aggressive attempts to force Paul to do what she wants, completely ignoring his personality, are horrible to watch. Emily loves all of Paul, and Paul's genuine sparkle comes out around Emily. I hope Paul realizes his attraction to Emily hasn't gone away (and seeing him look at her lately, it's obvious it hasn't) and these two troubled, tortured souls spark up Oakdale for years to come!"

Becca said, "Ok, if your suppose to be in love with your wife as much as Will is to Gwen, I don't think that he should have been hanging around with Jade after Gwen found out they slept together, let alone sleep with her again. I was disappointed in the writing of this storyline. Even if Gwen was going to take Will back, I don't think she should after his actions, after the fact. Also I'm disappointed that Eve was the killer. And the fact that you couldn't even see half of the scenes at the Lake at night. And Jade, I think we can do without her character. I do like the way Maddie's character played all during her crisis -very well done. But again, I need to remember it's just another soap."

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson