As I watched One Life to Live last week, I realized that more and more of the show is taking place inside Llanview High School. Some episodes feel like an episode of Saved by the Bell or a show on the CW. While I understand that drugs are a big problem in schools today, I don't like that One Life to Live is dedicating so much time to this story at the actual school. Cole and Matthew are both dealing with drug issues, which can make for an interesting story, but not if 90% of the story is comprised of scenes in the high school. If the writers want to continue with this story, they really need to incorporate the adults (i.e. parents) into the story. We had a couple of scenes with Bo and Nora confronting Matthew, but it didn't amount to anything, and it feels like it didn't happen. What if Marty were to find Cole's drugs? Would her maternal instinct return? I would find that to be much more interesting than watching "Mr. J" profess the evils of drugs to a high school class. Just about every time I see that a scene will be taking place in the high school, I want to hit the fast forward button. The teen scene is taking over the show, and while I like Langston, Markko, and sometimes even Starr and Cole, I wish we didn't have to see them at school almost everyday. There are way too many characters on this show that need a story and don't have one for the teen scene to be shoved down our throats like this. What concerns me the most is that if the teens are the focus of the show in January, they might just consume the entire show in the summer!
I also don't care about Lola and what she knows about her mother's death. Actually, I don't care about the Montez family as a whole, and I almost don't want to know what Téa's connection to them is. They don't add anything constructive to this show, but they manage to be on more than some of the core characters. I understand that Lola is becoming part of the teen scene, but the show already has enough teens. Vanessa is annoying and makes Cristian look like an idiot on each time we see them together, and the fact is, we barely know Ray Montez. I realize many people were excited to have A Martinez join the show, but the Montez family story is a dud. I still think that the character of Ray Montez could have been introduced without bringing his ex-wife and daughter onto the show. We don't see Ray interact with Lola and Vanessa, so there is a gap in their story. We barely know Lola, but we are supposed to care about who killed her mother. We are also supposed to believe that Lola is an enormous threat to Langston and Markko's relationship. We rarely see Langston and Markko as a couple anyway, so they don't need a threat or complication. Lola doesn't fit in with the rest of the teens, and her stepmother doesn't fit in anywhere. I just don't know what the powers that be can see in Lola and Vanessa that I don't. I see two characters who are pointless and who invade scenes for no reason. At this point, I think Vanessa and Lola's story needs to be wrapped up, so that other characters that actually matter get a chance to be seen!
I've written before about how I feel that too much of the show's focus is placed on Todd. I know that he has many fans out there, but I feel like the shows turns into the Todd hour at times. However, I am surprised to say that I actually liked the trial scenes. It is great to see Nora in action in the courtroom, and she and Téa have an interesting dynamic as opponents. I felt bad for Starr because Nora and Téa were playing tug of war over her, as she had to decide if she would tell the truth about Todd. She and Todd have had a bad year, and their relationship has suffered tremendously. However, Starr still feels at least a shred of love and loyalty towards her father, as she couldn't say that he was going to steal her baby. Of course, Téa was the catalyst of all of this, as she made a point of telling Starr that Todd tried to kill himself. Téa certainly is a master manipulator; she knew exactly how to get Starr to testify in a way that would exonerate Todd. Téa picked the right profession; she is great at defending her clients, even when they are guilty of their crimes! Starr's torment was obvious as she struggled to answer Nora's question and even after Nora told her she would perjure herself if she changed her testimony. I think we can all guess what the outcome of Todd's trial will be, but the scenes have been interesting and intense so far. I expected to be bored to tears by this trial, but this was the most interesting part of the show last week!
By the way, does anyone think that Todd killed Janet/Lee? I don't. He might have been handling the bloody knife over Janet/Lee's body, but that is far too convenient for him to be the murderer! Of course, I don't know that much about her past, but it seems like there can't be that many people who want to KLIL her. They might not like her or ever want to see her again, but who would go to all of the trouble to find her and murder her without hiding the evidence? I don't think that Janet/Lee's murder will inspire a huge murder mystery, but it will be interesting to see who did it. I wish that the writers would have told us more about her background so that viewers (like me) who didn't see her when she was on the first time would have a better idea of who she really is. Instead, we barely knew Janet, and unless she comes back to life, we probably never will.
I am surprised that I am not enjoying Dorian and David's scenes this time around. They usually have chemistry that is off the charts, and it is usually fun to watch one trick the other. However, this story is an exception to that rule. Robin Strasser and Tuc Watkins are always wonderful, but the material they have to work with is not. We all know that Dorian is tricking David so that she can eventually get the Buchanan money. This sounds familiar, doesn't it? Wait! Alex did the same thing to David after she found out he was the Buchanan heir. Why must we see the same story with Dorian? To make matters worse, we already saw her dupe the Buchanans and steal B.E. She barely escaped having charges brought against her, so the fact that she is trying to do it again so soon is stupid. She already has money, so her quest to get the Buchanan money again is silly. I realize that Dorian has made it her life's goal to seek revenge on the Buchanans, but she needs to try something new. I like that Robin Strasser and Tuc Watkins are getting so much air time; I just wish they had a better story to go with it!
It looks like Jessica and Natalie are going to have a long year, as Jessica realized that Natalie is still furious with her. Jessica seemed to think that all would be forgiven when she walked through the door at Llanfair, because she is JESSICA! However, Natalie quickly put her in her place. Even when Jessica tried to acknowledge what she let Tess do to Natalie and Jared, Natalie didn't want to hear about it. I don't know how Natalie and Jessica will manage to live under the same roof, and I think they need some major therapy. It also looks like an unconventional custody battle is brewing, as Natalie is determined to keep Jessica away from Bree and Chloe/Hope. I can see why Natalie doesn't think Jessica shouldn't be near her own kids, but Natalie is only their aunt. Jessica's doctor think it's okay for Jessica to be with them, so Natalie really doesn't have any authority over what is best for Bree and Chloe/Hope. It will be interesting to see how far this goes. Natalie has grown attached to Jessica's daughters, so she might not give up on her quest to protect them! I feel bad for Viki; she never gets any peace and quiet, and now her daughters are at odds. Maybe one day they will both move out permanently and not expect Viki to solve all of their problems. They can act like real adults for a change!
Finally, I liked how Gigi seemed to "know" who Emma Bradley was when Natalie told her about David's parentage. I don't particularly like being reminded of 1968, but it was a nice touch, considering that Gigi "was" Emma Bradley!
Until next time,
Dawn
