Even though the dust is settling from Daniel's secrets being revealed, I still find One Life to Live worth watching everyday. There is such a good balance of characters and storylines right now, that there is really something to interest everyone. I just can't believe the difference of this show this summer compared to last summer. It's incredible. Here are just some of the things catching and keeping my attention.
Nora has had a difficult life for the past couple of weeks. She found out her husband was a liar and a murderer, she was publicly humiliated, and she was hounded by the press. Last week, however, she was able to pull herself together in order to help Riley. After posting his bail and asking him to stay at her house, Nora stepped up yet again and asked him to go to rehab. Nora and Riley's relationship as stepmother/stepson hasn't been developed much on screen at all. However, I really enjoyed their scenes last week. Nora told Riley not to let his father ruin his life, and Nora realized she was letting Daniel do that to her. Her conversation with Riley not only helped him solve his problems, but it helped her move on with her life too. I doubt Riley will ever return to Llanview. Just about everyone he was associated with on the show is gone now, and I don't think there would be a good storyline for him again. As a matter of fact, up until the past few weeks, he didn't have many scenes that were focused on him. He was either Flash's boyfriend, a member of the Love Crew, Daniel's son, Jen's boyfriend, or Marcie's friend. Once Daniel's secrets were revealed, we got to see Riley as his own character, and Jay Wilkison did an outstanding job of portraying Riley's anger, sadness, and frustration. It's too bad that he had to leave Llanview so soon; Jay Wilkison is a strong actor, and we had very little time to witness that. However, I digress. Even though his father betrayed him, Riley still has a family with Nora and Matthew. He knows that someone cares about him and wants him to have a good life. This is probably the only good thing to come out of Nora's marriage to Daniel, in spite of his father's betrayal. This was a good exit for Riley, as it was linked to his past troubles but also gave him hope for the future. Surprisingly, it was also a catalyst for Nora. After wallowing in her own sadness and anger, she saw how Daniel's actions affected other people. She realized that Matthew needed to be with her and had Bo bring him home. After some tense moments with Bo and Nora (and I still think Nora should forgive Bo), Matthew told Nora he blames himself for what happened to her. Trying to hide her shock at this statement, she did her best to assure him that nothing that happened was his fault. Matthew has turned out to be a very perceptive child. While nothing that happened is his fault, he knows a lot more about what has been happening than either Bo or Nora has expected. He knows that Bo and Nora aren't speaking, and he understood what Bo told him about Daniel. Nora helped her stepson and realized that her own son was more mature than she thought. Her scenes with Riley and Matthew were great and really showed that Nora is going to move on with her life. The old Nora is on her way back!
Next, I am interested to see who Spencer Truman is. We know that he is David's brother and that he has a past with Paige. Why does David hate him so much? David is usually the lighthearted one on One Life to Live, but last week, we saw anger and resentment towards Spencer, and he didn't have a sense of humor at all. While I think Spencer's introduction was a little silly, I am intrigued by his scenes with David, and to a lesser extent, with Paige. David Vickers has a long history on the show and learning more about his past will be great fun. We will finally learn how David came to be a con man with funny one-liners. It will also be interesting to see how and if Spencer affects David's relationship with Dorian. Spencer has taken an interest in Kelly, and we all know how protective Dorian is of "her girls." I for one want Dorian and David to stay together and make it to the alter, but Spencer seems like he is in the business of causing trouble, so Dorian and David could have a tough journey ahead of them. As for Paige, the logical explanation is that Spencer is the ex-husband she mentioned to Bo and Nora when she first arrived in Llanview. Obviously, there is more to the story, as she has been openly hostile to him, and she hasn't told Bo about Spencer yet. There have been rumors that there is "more to Paige than meets the eye," so Spencer's presence could tell us who Paige really is. I've always thought that taking a high caliber actress like Kimberlin Brown and placing her in a such an undeveloped role is an insult. However, her past with Spencer could add more depth to her character and make her more interesting. Paige has been a boring, almost useless character since she first came on the show, so I can't wait to see how Spencer's arrival changes all of that. I can't say I really like Spencer so far, but I think his character will create interesting storyline developments for others on the show, and I can't wait to see what happens.
After a long absence Carlo Hesser returned to One Life to Live to pay Asa a visit. It wasn't necessarily a happy reunion, but I think Carlo and Asa enjoyed their visit on some level. They have been enemies for a long time, but they have kept good tabs on each other over the years. While I was happy to see Carlo, I am not sure what I think of Asa's plan. He knows he is in big trouble for kidnapping Blair, so he thinks having her killed is the optimal solution to this problem. I realize Asa has been in his own world for quite some time, but this hardly makes sense. First of all, Blair has been through enough, and I don't think she should be the victim of yet another trauma. Second, Asa said there wouldn't be anyone to testify about his kidnapping Blair if she were dead. What about Todd? He knows where Blair was being held captive. What about the staff at the clinic? They could identify Asa as the person who brought Blair to the facility and told them she was crazy. Third, it wouldn't be that hard to trace Blair's murder to Asa. What is he thinking? I don't think he's thinking at all, and so far, no one has been able to get through to him. When I first heard Carlo was returning to the show, was thrilled. Now, I am wondering if I need to rethink that. I am afraid this plot twist will paint Asa into a corner. After being gone for so long (due to contract issues), I don't want to see him take futile actions that will make his family turn their backs on him again. He is a stubborn character, which is one of the traits that makes him great, but targeting Blair is taking things too far.
Finally, a storyline that has surprisingly has me captivated is Jessica's DID. Jessica realized that Tess exists and has tried to find out what Tess has been doing. I have to admit, Tess is a fun character. She's smart, funny, determined, and she doesn't let anyone walk all over her. However, Jessica wants to get rid of her alter and convinced her doctor to hypnotize her. Her doctor's actions once again confirm my suspicions that receiving any kind of treatment in Llanview is a bad idea. He let Jessica talk him into hypnotizing her and then let her walk out of his office about 10 seconds after he thought she came out of the hypnosis. I am beginning to think That Tess is smarter than just about anyone in Llanview at this point, and the scariest part is, she knows it. The only person that might be able to outsmart Tess is Todd, and we'll see if he succeeds or not. Even though Tess duped him, Dr. Jamison managed to get Tess to reveal that she was created because of a secret that is somehow related to Viki. Tess displayed a lot of hostility regarding Viki, but we don't know exactly why. There are several possibilities, but I think the reason is connected to Mitch. It's possible that Jessica never dealt with being switched at birth and later wasn't able to deal with being kidnapped by him. Something could have happened to her while he was holding her captive at Lion Heart, and she felt like Viki should have saved her. This is all just speculation on my part. For the next week, I would like all of you to share what you think Tess' secret is on our message boards. Specifically, I want to know what you think is the cause of Jessica's DID and how it relates to Viki ,as Tess revealed on Friday. I am sure there are several possibilities, and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!
Have a pleasant week, and I'll see you on the message boards!
Dawn
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