So I’ve already loosed my venom on B&B’s poor Katie Logan. Now that I’ve gotten all that bile out of my system I’m actually at a very zen place with Katie. I don’t mind her anymore. Clearly it’s time I cleansed some more and came to terms with a few other characters who drive me nuts. Oddly enough, the topic of today’s spewage is also a Katie … GH’s Kate Howard. Now, when it occurred to me that #2 on my soap opera dart board had the same moniker as #1, I started wondering if I had deep-seeded Kate Issues. There was a girl in high school named Kate who was really mean to me. Maybe I’m just lashing out at poor, unsuspecting Kates and Katies because of that? Except that theory doesn’t hold water. I like all the other Kates I know. DAYS’ Kate Roberts, my boss’ cute daughter, Kate Hudson … oh, wait, there’s Katie “Kate Cruise” Holmes, but I don’t think that counts. 

Where was I? 

Ah, yes, Kate Howard! So, I don’t like Kate, and it’s not a consistent, festering hate. Sometimes she doesn’t bug me at all. She and Sonny are off in their little bubble and more power to ’em! I’m not invested in the couple, but if they stay together I have a better chance of seeing Carly and Jax survive into 2009. My dislike of Kate usually pops up in the context of her Big Dramatic Identity Secret. It sets my teeth on edge that she Anglicized her name from Connie Falconeri in order to succeed in the fashion industry. That is the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. This point has been made a thousand times by our magazine, by bloggers, etc. Italian people are pretty much synonymous with fashion. You’d think Ms. Falconeri would have no problems! But, unfortunately, the Italian name goes along with Kate’s embarrassment with her Brooklyn upbringing. There’s a dozen reasons you can tell GH is put together in California (like Max and Diane rooting for the Dodgers! SACRILEGE!) but the biggest, most glaring ones, come from Kate’s storyline. No real New Yorker is ever ashamed of coming from Brooklyn. It’s a badge of honor. (Tangential shout-out to GOSSIP GIRL: Williamsburg is not the wrong side of the tracks.) I’m not from New York originally, but two of my close friends are, and watching them whip out the Brooklyn cred is awesome. 

Then, there’s how Kate runs Crimson. She’s a demanding, condescending boss with a STAFF OF THREE. How do you put out a glossy mag like Crimson with Clarice and two crazy assistants who are never in the office? Kate’s this super famous editor that apparently has one heck of a rep…and she doesn’t do anything except bark orders at people and name-drop. Though she does have meetings that Sonny interrupts, and there’s apparently fashion designers involved and mannequins with designer dresses on them. But let’s not forget that she thinks having a fake affair with married Jax sells issues. What?! That’s not a “woman who can have it all,” Kate. That’s a dirty tramp. If what a magazine staff does on their own time made the issues fly off the shelves, every one of us at WEEKLY would be squiring some handsome lad about on our arms for the paparazzi. (Although, I’m willing to do that if anyone wants to volunteer…) 

I like Kate the best when her guard is down, when she lets Connie peek through and Megan Ward does that completely over the top, nasal accent. That’s charming. That’s something to connect to. This character has so much potential to be a good one. To be more than a collection of false images of New York and icky messages about denying who you are to get ahead. Kate’s a working woman, confident and successful. Can’t she be those things without being insufferable? What is GH trying to say about competent women with ambition?

originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com