Marissa moves in
I want to like Marissa. SO far she hasn't done too much to annoy me, but her drunken Chopsticks serenade with David didn't really score any points with me. I did, however, enjoy that she liked the fact that David's home has a name. But, shh!! We're not supposed to say the word "Wildwind" for fear that the evil boogeyman Michael Nader might appear. I think it is such a horrible thing that Michael Nader hasn't been asked to return to All My Children. Dimitri was so vital to the show during its 1990s heyday. We all know that the actor had a situation with substance abuse, but who in Hollywood hasn't had some sort of scandal? So many of our so-called "stars" of the day have actually been made stars by scandal. But that's another issue.
So Babe has a brunette twin. Brittany Allen really does look as if she could pass as kin to Bobbie Eakes. Or maybe it's just the hair. Regardless, why didn't the show ask Amanda Baker (Babe #2) to come back to the show? I guess then we'd all know that Marissa was a Babe clone. Having a new actress come aboard does allow the show to build the mystery a bit more about who she really is.
I found Marissa giving David a massage a little icky. Also her remark of, "I think we're an awful lot alike" wasn't even remotely clever. What's next? David and Marissa get tipsy and make out? Yeah, I can do without that.
What is going to be her end game? After everyone learns that she's Mirabella (I couldn't think of another name that sounded like Arabella), so what? She's already interacted with JR and Scott, but I don't see her becoming a love interest for JR. That'd be a little too weird -- and for whatever reason Marissa looks younger than babe. Is that possible? If a child was unaborted, I supposed anything is possible... With JR out of the picture, I guess that leaves just Scott.
"This is business. We don't do honorable"
I have to admit that I was a bit surprised by Erica's about-face with her instructions to Adam about whether or not to tell his family that he's not well. One could argue that they've known Adam hasn't been well for many, many years. That's neither here nor there.
So rather than tell Colby, JR, Scott, and the rest of the Chandler clan that he's been sick, Adam decided to start a little skirmish between his son and his nephew. The winner gets control of Chandler Enterprises. Poor Colby was left out in the cold because, of course, we know from watching the show lately that girls can't possibly run a multi-million dollar company. Silly Colby for thinking that she could!
Adam also put himself in the line of fire. If the competition between JR and Scott wasn't enough, now Stuart has revealed that Adam was seen caressing some sort of satin ribbon the day that Dixie was killed. I really wish that I had some old episodes of AMC lying about so that I could see exactly how Adam reacted the day that Dixie was killed. Did he say anything like, "Dixie?! Dixie is dead?" Of course he didn't because Adam may be many things, but he is not a killer. I'm not sure that that point will be well-received by those that loved Dixie and, by association, those that loved Babe. After all, whoever poisoned Dixie really wanted Babe dead.
As for Scott, his famous last words of "I won't change" to Stuart are going to come back to bite him on the butt. Stuart is wise for warning Scott about entering this battle royale for Chandler Enterprises. It will change him -- we all know that. The question is how will it change him -- and will the changes be irrevocable?
Public Offering
Kendall and Ryan have decided to take their relationship public. Am I the only one that doesn't buy that Kendall loves Ryan? I say that not because I dislike Kendall and Ryan, or Ryan, or Kendall and Zach. I say that as a viewer with a feel for human behavior issues. Kendall is running to Ryan, but she seems so damned unhappy -- even when she is basking in the afterglow of sex.
Quite frankly, it annoys me and I don't want to dwell much more on this because it's bringing down the flow of my column!
Walking wounded
So many readers have written in over the past few weeks to ask if Cornelius Smith, Jr. (Frankie) was leaving the show. With Frankie being deployed in Iraq, it seemed like there was going to be no way to explain how Frankie could be returned to Pine Valley. Now, it seems as though we've gotten our answer: Frankie has been severely wounded. This will be a very delicate line for AMC's writers. How do you mix a pretend battlefield victim with a real-life victim?
I See Almost Dead People
Opal's visions are a bit creepy. First she caught Annie red-handed outside Ryan's apartment. Of course, Annie wasn't really there... Then, Opal saw Tad with what looked like a bullet-wound to the head. That can't be good. Finally, she saw Adam with a white sheet drawn over his body and a massive gunshot wound to the chest. We all know that there is a murder coming up in the next week or so, but are Opal's visions a warning? If so, it looks like Annie will be the one with blood on her hands -- literally. But isn't she off in the Maldives somewhere trying to elude capture? And why would she want to kill Tad? Or maybe Tad will find out that Annie was the one that killed Dixie. But that doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense to me either. Then there's Adam. Everyone seems to be mad at him lately - especially now that he is being implicated in Dixie's death.
"Bianca Montgomery, I want you be happy"
I am sure that there are legions of fans that will never agree with what I am about to say, but I'm going to say it anyway. I am glad that Bianca and Reese finally got their happy ending. It is certainly not the way that "Rianca" fans would have written the story, but better late than never.
The four-day reunion of Bianca and Reese was taut with emotions -- real emotions. There had been screw ups on everyone's part -- Bianca, Reese, Zach, and Kendall. I like that Kendall and Zach put aside their own differences to do what was needed to get these two women back together. Even Erica jumped into the mix by telling Reese to go find Bianca and to never let her go.
The sperm donation and pre-wedding tongue wrestling incidents will never be erased from the minds of ardent Bianca and Reese fans, but, at least for now, there is a real reason to believe in true love.
dan
