The highlights of this week in Oakdale were Katie marrying the unlikely Henry with Mike falling apart, Barbara gets released from jail once again, Aaron and Alison consummate their love and the arrival of Celia Ortega.
Katie/ Henry/Mike/ Jennifer
It's hard to believe that Katie actually went through with her wedding to Henry. It's also hard to believe that Mike allowed the wedding to take place. There was so much emotion at this wedding from all sides which made it so fascinating to watch. Katie wanted to do right by Henry by giving this gift of marriage; Henry was waiting for Mike or Katie to stop the ceremony; Mike was having a truly difficult time trying to let the woman he really wants marry another man and Jennifer knowing that Mike has feelings for Katie was waiting for her world to collapse around her - this is the type of drama that makes Oakdale a fun place to be when it is being done right.
In true soap opera form, there are a number of questions that we have to wait to be answered: Will Katie and Henry stay married for any length of time? Will Katie forget her love for Mike? Will Mike try to have a relationship with Jennifer knowing he really loves Katie? These are the things that will keep us tuning in tomorrow.
Barbara is free again
Barbara can always get out of any scrap she gets herself into. The one thing that I don't like about the current writing team is that - no one is ever really punished for their misdeeds. Barbara should not be able to roam around Oakdale committing more crimes while Rosanna takes the blame just to get back her lost son. I, personally, am not liking the part that Rosanna is playing in this. How will she explain her part in this because it is totally illogical - only if she says that the reason she did this to Emily was to make sure Will did not come to live with them. Is there any other explanation?
On the topic of Will, he is so confused. He wants to have his mother in his life but Barbara is such a train wreck who can only cause him pain. He wants Alison as a girlfriend because she is the only one who has really been nice to him and I can see them as a couple when Aaron says goodbye to Oakdale.
Is it just me or did Alison and Aaron become suddenly boring now that they are admitting their feelings and attempting to be a real couple? I wanted to fast-forward a few times while they were trying to find a place to make love. However, Alison became more interesting when she was talking to Will.
Celia Ortega
She is suffering from the same syndrome that Peyton List did when she first arrived as Lucy - her acting skills need some work. So far, she is not winning me over because she is so over the top. I know she will need some time but this is sometimes the problem with these younger actors. I do hope that the writers let us get used to her before they shove her down our throats with a relationship with someone like Will or Casey or Luke. We need to care about her before we want to invest in a story about her.
The Snyders vs. Julia and Keith
I need to preface what I want to say with I like Sarah Brown as an actress but I really hate the character of Julia Larrabee. Why did she have to say nasty things to teenager, Luke? Why is she not spending any time with her son, JJ? The sooner Julia leaves the better. Holden is using her - not maliciously but he will always be in love with Lily because "they are a part of each other."
It is great to have Kin Shriner as Keith trying to protect his sister. Whatever happened in El Paso must have been a huge but the team of Carly and Lily will find out the whole truth. These two ladies together are terrific and I enjoy watching them together fight against Julia.
Finally, ATWT has made some good casting choices of late especially in the teen department specially Jesse Soffer as Will and Jake Weary as Luke - these two guys are doing magnificent jobs as teens trying to protect their families as best they can - I comment the TPTB for getting both of these roles right.
That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson
