As I watched the debut of Erica's latest television show, New Beginnings, a picture started forming in my head. I envisioned a meeting room at the All My Children offices. All the writers were there, working hard to come up with new and exciting ideas for our beloved show. They discussed the show's recent problems - sagging ratings, frustrated fans, go-nowhere storylines - and finally, one of them came up with a great idea.
"I know!" the writer exclaimed. "Let's have Erica Kane interview the chief architect in charge of the Grand Central Station renovation! That will really turn things around!"
Don't get me wrong, I love Erica Kane - it would be almost impossible to be an AMC fan if you didn't like her. But that two-day New Beginnings premiere was almost unbearable. I'm hoping that this was just a one-time event, and that in the future New Beginnings won't hog the majority of an episode. I think it's safe to say we watch AMC because of the AMC characters, not to see random celebrities interact with those characters.
One last gripe about New Beginnings: if AMC went to the trouble of taping a few scenes with Regis Philbin, why in the world wasn't Kelly Ripa there too? I absolutely loved the reference Erica made to her a few weeks back, when talking to Regis on the phone. Including Kelly, and a reference to her much beloved character, Hayley, would have been a nice nod to the long-time fans that had to put up with this talk show nonsense.
Those episodes weren't a total loss, though. The scenes with Kendall and Zach were excellent. I think we saw, for the first time, the depth of Zach's feelings for Kendall. When he was arguing with Kendall and Greenlee about their plan, he seemed genuinely concerned for his wife. As Myrtle said, this may be the most fired up we've seen Zach in his entire stint in Pine Valley. I'll acknowledge that part of his motivation was to keep his role is Ryan's "death" under wraps, but I truly believe his main concern was Kendall and her happiness.
Come On Zach, Stay for Dinner!
As much as I enjoyed the scenes at Erica's office, I was blown away by the interaction between Zach and Kendall back at her apartment. These are the types of moments that fans of this couple have waited weeks for. Zach finally admitted - in his own round-about way - that he had feelings for Kendall!
I was so touched that he gave her and the pregnancy plan his approval. Yes, I know, he may be lying - in fact, I think he probably is - but his words of praise for her courage and devotion, as well as his pledge to support her throughout the ordeal, were definitely the real deal. And when Kendall playfully asked for a divorce, and he looked straight at her and said she didn't really want one, my heart skipped a beat. A few beats, actually.
I was hoping that a kiss was imminent, especially when Kendall invited Zach to stay for dinner. So I was understandably disappointed when he left so abruptly - but it fits with the slow build of the couple, and keeps us wanting more. There are a lot of rumours swirling around about exactly where Zach went. Some say that he was on his way to the fertility clinic, to sabotage the surrogacy plan. Others say it has nothing to do with Kendall - that it had something to do with Julia. I tend to believe the former - but I guess we'll have to see what happens this week. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for this pairing.
On another Kendall-related note, I couldn't believe that Ryan referred to his relationship with her as a "short detour" on the way to his eventual marriage to Greenlee. He made it sound like they went out on a few dates - they were engaged, he helped her fake a pregnancy to save her from a murder wrap, and he only married his "true love" Greenlee after Kendall rejected his proposal!
If the writers are even considering reuniting Kendall and Ryan, this makes it all the more unbelievable. How bad would it look to viewers if Kendall, who has grown so much in the past few years, went back to Ryan - if that day ever comes, this "short detour" line will be the first thing I remember. I know it's not fair for us to force the writers into telling stories exactly how we want them to, but in this case, going with a Zach/Kendall relationship over a Kendall/Ryan reunion, seems to make sense on a lot of levels.
How Many PV Residents Can Fit in the Chandler Tunnels?
Wasn't it hilarious to see three people - Babe, Tad and Julia - all sneaking around the tunnels in the Chandler mansion? I have a hard time believing that they wouldn't have bumped into one another at some point. I'm surprised that Adam hasn't put a lock on any of those secret entrances - they aren't exactly secret anymore! There's practically a conga line going through there every day!
It broke my heart to see Tad beg "Dixie" for her help with The Dragon. I'm frustrated that Tad hasn't seen Di's refusal to help Julia as more of a red flag. The real Dixie would never withhold that type of information, especially if it could save the life of Maria's sister. Even Di knows that!
From what I've read, it looks like we'll know the identity of The Dragon by the end of the week. The safe bet looks like Garret, although I've heard it could be anyone from Del to Mimi. The woman Aidan met up with at SOS certainly bolted when Garret showed up, but she might have been running from Mimi too. The Dragon definitely knew she was there, considering she ended up dead in the alley!
Whether he's The Dragon or not, Garret has once again proven to be very creepy. The look he had on his face at the end of Friday's episode was sick. He was practically leering at that picture of Dani on his cell phone - and on the night before he's supposed to marry her mother! That is the definition of icky. I hope the writers don't take this story too far. With Bianca's rape storyline still so fresh in our minds, another sexual assault story would be a little too much to take.
Well, that about covers it for now. See you back here in two weeks!
-- Kristine
