Slow Burn

I had a lot of hopes, recently, for some developments that seemed to be brewing. For some stories there is still hope. Others, I fear, have been blown.

 

Neil hasn't really had much of a romantic life lately. And, you know what? That's okay. In real life not every person jumps from one relationship to another. In fact, many people take a break in between relationships to take stock of themselves and do a little self-examination. Neil is a great guy. He hasn't had the best run in the romance department. Very few viewers enjoyed his relationship with Karen (I did, but I am well aware that I am in the minority). Then there was Tyra… well, thankfully it seemed like the writers cut their losses on that story and they should be lauded for that decision. Over the past two weeks or so we've seen Neil and Ashley in the same orbit. That made sense. It seemed organic and interesting.

 

I was SO hoping for a slow burn with Neil and Ashley. (Actually, I had been hoping for a bit of Neil and Nina, but that is off topic, eh?) I liked how they countered one another. I liked that she grounded him a bit, especially where Malcolm was concerned. What I liked the most was that they seemed to have a true friendship. It occurred to me that down the road that friendship might develop into something more. I was unpleasantly surprised the other day when Ashley kissed Neil. It just seemed too quick and too out of character. It almost seemed like the writers knew that Eric Braeden's Victor was back so they rushed to create a conflict (and there are plenty of conflicts there already, I believe!). This hurried plot seemed a little too As the World Turns for my liking.

 

I might get kicked for saying this, but I felt very similarly about the Tucker/JoJo story and reveal. Why not play it out a little longer. Why hurry to the conclusion that A) JoJo isn't the real heir and B) Tucker is the Chancellor child? Most viewers guessed that JoJo couldn't be Katherine's baby. However, it could have been a lot of fun to make the characters wait a little longer for the news. The comedy aspect of JoJo at the estate was pretty good and could have really been delicious. It reminded of the days when Esther used to sneak in Tiny (Chloe's father) --- those fish out water/bull in the China Shop scenes can really do a lot to counter the heaviness of other plots.

 

If the powers that be were unhappy with William Russ' portrayal of Tucker (I wasn't, I only wished he'd been offered a haircut) why not wait to allow his replacement the chance to play the reveal/rage/revenge, etc? Again, I worry that this plot was truncated due to the return of Victor. Victor now will likely be pitted against Neil on both the personal and the professional fronts. I'll wait to see if that plays out, but I am not thrilled to see these two go against one another. I've always like the relationship and mutual respect they've had had for one another. (There has always been an underlying conflict in that Neil would never really be able to soar under Victor because he isn't blood, but that has always been tempered by respect.)

 

I have high hopes that when Amelia Heinle returns we'll see the relationship between Victoria and Billy develop (at a good pace!). In fact, I'd like to see where things go with Mac (can we please, PLEASE, have a new actress in this pivotal role?) and J.T. I hope that both of those stories move at a more sensible pace. Why hurry?

 

It made sense for Billy and Heather to sleep together so quickly. Hurrying made sense, to me at least, in the Sharon/Adam storyline. I just don't think it always make sense.