Even with her character dominating AMC of late, I'm trying really hard to stick to my pledge to give Sabine Singh, the new Greenlee, a real shot at owning the role ... but I must admit, the urge to call her "NotLee" is a little too overwhelming at times. As much as I loathed the original Ryan/Greenlee pairing for the way it completely ignored the characters' histories, I at least bought that there was some sort of connection between them. Yes, the pairing was forced, but there was some chemistry between Cameron Matheson and Rebecca Budig. With Sabine in the role, it's even harder for me to buy the whole Ryan/Greenlee "soulmate" crud that AMC pushed on us before Rebecca left.
My problem with this Ryan/Annie/Greenlee triangle is that I honestly don't care who Ryan ends up with. If I was forced to choose, I'd pick Annie, just because that pairing annoys me a little bit less. But honestly, without Rebecca there, it's really hard to get invested. The daytime recasts I've loved the most are the ones that took some time to ease into the role. It's been all Greenlee, all the time since she came back. It's a bit too much to take. If I hear the words "move on" ("We've moved on," "It's time to move on," etc.) one more time, I'm going to scream.
Frankly, anything that puts Ryan on my screen more is bad. We even had to watch Ryan and Annie exchange vows for s second time! An abbreviated version, but still - that is major overkill. And with Greenlee reinvested in getting her life back, we're bound to get more of the same. My hope for this storyline is fading quickly. And it's being hastened by the fact that the novelty of having Greens back has worn off. She's back to ticking me off royally (read: she's got me yelling at the TV again).
The first example was this line to Kendall: "I was willing to let you carry my baby." Talk about cojones. Kendall volunteered to carry your baby, Greens. Don't treat it like some incredible privilege you bestowed from on high. Secondly, was Greenlee's reaction to Zach's confession, when he told her he caused the blackout that destroyed the Greenlee/Ryan babies-to-be. First thing's first - nobody gets away with slapping Zach Slater on my watch. I was right there with Kendall, wanting to lunge at that little girl and lay into her. Yes, Zach bears some responsibility for causing the blackout (a bad move, to be sure) but as Kendall pointed out, she was the one who choose to use her own eggs (an even worse move, at least at the time). I can't believe Greenlee has the gall to call Kendall out for forgiving her husband, when Greens is doing the exact same thing with Ryan (almost two years after the fact!) ARGH!
At least Zach and Kendall were able to knock Greens down a peg by evening the score at Fusion. It turns out that Greens put a rider in the contract with Babe - if profits dipped far enough, Babe's shares reverted back to Ms. Dupres-Lavery. But Zach gave Kendall Cambias shares to make them equal partners. As much as Greenlee annoys me, I am glad that Babe has no stake in Fusion anymore. In a perfect world, Kendall would own the whole company, or just walk away and start over on her own. But anything that pushes Babe's butt out the door is fine by me.
Hannah & Zach? I Don't Think So!
While the Slaters were busy dealing with the Green menace, Hannah was sneaking around their condo, even helping herself to one of Spike's shirts. How freaking disturbing was that?! I hope that wasn't supposed to endear me to this woman, because all it did was give me the creeps. When Josh confronted her, she played the "my-son-is-dead" card, complete with a full-on emotional breakdown. But the real fireworks happened when Zach showed up and Hannah asked - no, demanded - that Zach give her back the life he stole from her, complete with his baby. In true soap style, the next time we saw Zach, he was alone in Hannah's room (she left town "permanently"), leaving the viewer to decide whether he gave in to the crazy request. Of course, AMC wants us to believe that Zach complied.
So let me get this straight: I am supposed to believe that Zach Slater, a man who has tortured himself endlessly over conceiving a child he wasn't able to raise, went out of his way to conceive a child he will never be able to raise. That way, little Ethan Jr. can show up in 25 years so Zach can re-live this torture again. Oh yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense.
Sure, Zach feels incredible guilt about what "he did" to Hannah and I can even see him buying into the "you ruined two lives" garbage that Ms. Nichols threw at him when she was pleading her case. But there is no way I will accept that Zach Slater would: a) cheat on the wife he loves (who's pregnant with his child!), or b) father a child under those twisted circumstances. A baby as an IOU? Give me a freaking break. Back when Kendall and Greenlee were planning the surrogacy, Zach himself said it was a terrible burden for a child to bear, being the reason for her mother to live. Sorry, I just don't buy it.
Of course, I'm sure Hannah will come back pregnant (November sweeps, anyone?), claiming to be carrying the Cambias heir, but I'd bet good money the kid will be Josh's. Or maybe she'll come back, pretending to be pregnant, just in time to snatch Zach and Kendall's baby (think Baby Switch 2004, with Hannah as Babe). In any case, I don't believe for a second that Zach did anything with that woman but tell her to get lost.
Kids, Kisses and KWAK
It looks like AMC has worked on their timing, since this year they are actually setting up the teen storyline before the summer hits. We got a big dose of Sean and Colby this week, with Sean still keeping his trysts with Ava a secret, even when Colby confronted him directly. As I've mentioned before, when they turn the volume down on Colby, she's actually not too bad. Plus, she's scored points with me for actually giving a damn about Adam. That said, the romance with Sean is cute, but it doesn't really have me hooked. I'd prefer that to watching Sean get nasty with the Lily-lookalike, though.
Speaking of which, Ava stirred up some more trouble, getting caught by Erica's reality show camera crew while fooling around with Sean. Later, Di tried to convince her to avoid temptation to dress up as Lily (Di was speaking from experience, having impersonated Dixie for so long). And finally, the week ended with Jonathan and Ava having a heart-to-heart of sorts at the boathouse. The scenes were OK, but it's still creepy to me to see Jonathan kissing Ava. The age factor, plus the Lily replacement factor still makes a little nauseous.
Speaking of nausea, watching the new, improved Martin clan bond over beers at the Roadside bar was enough to make me lose my lunch. First of all, why does Ruth get stuck at home with the baby?! Joe and Opal are out living it up while she stays home?! Come on! On a more serious note, I really, really don't want to see Tad & Krystal, Part 2, but I think that's where they're headed. Tad deserves so much better than that woman. Hopefully, when the truth about Kate/Kathy comes out, the writers can start to build a Tad/Julia pairing, leaving Jamie free to reunite with Babe and leave town. But it was fun to watch Krystal bark at Adam about how her babydoll could take care of her, not knowing Babe had lost all of her Fusion shares. I hope Adam destroys her with that lawsuit.
Oh, and to anyone interested in the continuing Erica/Jack saga, nothing much changed. It's a pretty standard formula by now. Jack makes Erica uncomfortable in front of the cameras (this week, he kissed her to celebrate their anniversary), Erica and Jack fight, Erica and Jack make up, Erica and Jack pretend they don't still love each other, Erica and Jack exchange longing gazes. Rewind, replay, etc. Just reunite them already!
Adventures in New York City
As I mentioned in my last column, I was lucky enough to attend a charity event at Prohibition, a NYC-based restaurant, which raised money for AIDS Walk New York. Hosted by POZ Magazine, the event was definitely worth the trip to Manhattan. While I loved my Super Soap Weekend experience last year, it didn't really afford me the chance to talk to a lot of AMC stars. This event, however, gave me the chance to talk with people I wouldn't be able to see at SSW. Chrishell Stause (Amanda) was an absolute sweetheart, who chatted with a group of us for a while, answering all of our questions about the show and hearing out our crazy storyline ideas.
And as much as I hate Jonathan Lavery, I officially have a crush on his portrayer, Jeff Branson. He was kind, funny and gracious, not to mention understanding of our feelings towards his character. He was truly a pleasure to speak with (and to look at!) And, of course, there was the amazing Thorsten Kaye (Zach), who many of us came to see specifically. From the minute he walked through the door, he was the centre of attention - it took him 30 minutes to take a 30-second walk to the back of the restaurant! But through it all he was patient, sweet and made sure to make time for everyone, despite his busy schedule. And did I mention that the man is GORGEOUS?! To all the friends I met and made, thanks for making it a night to remember.
-- Kristine
