One Life to Live had a little bit of everything last week. David and Dorian finally got married, Jack's cruel behavior was finally revealed, Viki caught Charlie and Echo at an awkward time, Clint had a big revelation, and "reality" came to Llanview.
There was also some news behind the scenes, as we learned that Susan Haskell has been let go. This is hardly a surprise to most people. Marty's purpose for being in Llanview started to disappear when she broke up with John and when Cole went to prison. When Marty started acting like a revenge-hungry, crazy person, I was pretty sure her days were numbered, and now we know for sure. I have mixed feelings about all of this. While Marty's story has run its course, aside from a few loose ends surrounding the paternity tests, I find it hard to believe that a new story couldn't be written for her. She has a long history in Llanview , so I don't believe there is nothing left for her to do. Marty has never been my favorite character, but I'd rather see her in stay in Llanview than to have additional new characters join the show!
Moving along to the events in Llanview, I was happy that Dorian and David finally got married. I wish their wedding hadn't been rushed and done at the last minute, but at least nothing happened to stop it this time. It will be interesting to see how Dorian and David's marriage goes, especially since Tuc Watkins isn't going to be on the show for long. It would be awful if Dorian were missing for long periods of time because of this marriage, so I hope she has other things to do on the show while David is gone. By the way, I loved the dialogue between David and Dorian about Tuc Watkins being a hack. It's great when the writers can "wink" at us with stuff like that!
After Viki witnessed Dorian's wedding, she soon found out that her own marriage was in trouble. While Tess is annoying and mean-spirited, I was happy that she sent Viki the picture of Charlie and Echo kissing. Viki has a right to know that Charlie has been cheating on her, especially since Charlie has thought of every excuse possible to avoid telling her himself. I hate to see Viki and Charlie's marriage end like this, though. They met in an unexpected way, and Viki ended up finding happiness that she had been missing for years before meeting Charlie. Now, knowing that Charlie is nothing more than an unfaithful husband, it's hard to remember why I liked him in the first place. I hope Viki doesn't even think twice about leaving Charlie. She's put up with enough from him, and she deserves better. All of this is more proof that nothing good happens at the Minute Man Motel!
I don't know why Charlie's character had to be taken in this awful direction, nor do I know why he had to be written out. I know that people suspect that this is all leading to a reunion between Viki and Clint, but I can't see that happening in the near future. Viki doesn't even know the extent of Clint's actions yet, and she's already disgusted. I can't see her falling in love with him again. It wouldn't make sense.
Meanwhile, Clint told Bo and Nora that Matthew shot Eddie Ford. I have to admit there have been some great cliffhangers surrounding this murder mystery, and while many people have speculated that Matthew did it for a while now, it was still a good cliffhanger! I don't want to believe that Matthew could kill anyone. Clint could be lying to make Bo and Nora suffer, but I don't think he would do that to Matthew. He tricked Matthew into thinking his parents were having affairs, but accusing him of murder would be going too far even for Clint. I suspect that there is more to this story. I hope there is. While Matthew has become a dark, jaded character, I don't want him to be a murderer too. Regardless, I can't wait to see what happens with this on Monday.
The other cliffhanger we saw was Gigi and Rex finding Shane's suicide letter. I hope that Shane doesn't go through with it. He is a good kid, and it would be very hard to watch. While I think this story was slapped together and set up poorly, there is a lot of interesting, emotional material in it. We got to see Gigi and Rex's horror and heartbreak when they learned about Shane's agony, and we also go to see Starr's reaction to finding out that her brother has been a bully without her even suspecting it. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out and where Jack will go as a character after this. He was turned into a bully overnight, so will he stop being that way too? I doubt it, but now that the truth is out, hopefully he will face some consequences for his horrible actions.
Speaking of horrible actions, Robert Ford continued to further his own cause at Jessica's expense. I was relieved when Jessica finally re-emerged, and then dismayed to see Ford do everything he could to get Tess to come back. Ford has shown an utter lack of concern for Jessica's mental health, and he continued that trend when he took advantage of Jessica's vulnerability last week. I was surprised to see Jessica accept Brody so quickly after she re-emerged. It was like she forgot she was mad at him before she split into Tess. Maybe Jessica was so shocked to find herself in Cutter's hotel room and to learn she was married to Ford that Brody was the only familiar thing in her life at the moment. I guess it's moot since Tess is back, but it will be interesting to see how Jessica acts toward Brody next time she comes back. I hope that happens soon!
I realize I spoke too soon a couple of weeks ago about Natalie finally taking the hint and leaving John alone. The lies she told John are not on the same level as him keeping details of a murder investigation to himself. She still hasn't admitted the severity of what she did to John, and it's frustrating to watch her sugarcoat it. I hope she really does give up on John soon. It's painful to watch their interactions these days. I might not be rooting for John and Kelly as a couple, but at least their scenes aren't uncomfortable to watch.
I am glad that James and Deanna finally saw each other in Llanview. Deanna's story has been boring so far, especially since most of her airtime has involved staring at MyFace on her laptop. To be fair, I think I am reluctant to invest in new characters, since we've been bombarded with them recently. However, I will give her a chance, especially now that she's interacted with someone we actually know. I am glad she didn't go through with her plan of doing a porn movie, but that's mostly because I am tired of seeing the porn industry's presence in Llanview. Enough already!
As for reality coming to Llanview, I thought Kourtney Kardashian's appearance was frivolous and only proved that the writers don't know what to do with Cristian these days. However, if her appearance got even one person to watch the show that never had before, I can live with it for one day. As for Wendy Williams as Phyllis Rose, I still wish she would interact with people in Llanview, but it was fun to watch Clint react to what she reported. He looked uncomfortable, which is a realistic reaction to hearing someone else talk about you!
Finally, I know there have been many rumors circulating in cyberspace about the future of One Life to Live. I don't know what is happening, but I think it's important to support the show right now and let ABC know that you want it to stay on the air. Even if these rumors turn out to be yet another false alarm, it never hurts to let the network know what you think!
Until next time,
Dawn
