Could I possibly love GUIDING LIGHT and Otalia and Phillip and Bizzie any more than I do right now? I honestly don’t know. Seriously, I think I need to be medicated or something, because I cannot stop raving about the show every chance I get. I feel like this is the All GL Love, All The Time blog. But you know what…? I figure we’ve only got a couple of more months to share this kind of passion and excitement over a great soap opera, so I’m just going to keep doing it. 

•So, first things first, Otalia are awesome, and Rafe’s timing isn’t! I empathize with his confusion and frustration over his mom’s “BFF” (How cute was Emma calling Otalia that? I may have made a squee noise!), but did he have to interrupt Liv and Nat flirting and cuddling not once but twice? I have stressed over and over how one of the most beautiful aspects of Otalia is the organic nature of the love story, and that was effortlessly characterized today, as the women frankly talked about whether or not sex will be a component of the relationship and teased each other. I LOL-ed when Natalia offered to show Liv her “I love Olivia dance.” Wonder what that involves? 

News broke today that Crystal Chappell will be reprising her role as DAYS’ Carly Manning this fall, and I know that puts a damper on many fans’ hopes for GL moving elsewhere and the Otalia story continuing. But to put a positive spin on things, this says to me that Olivia and Natalia are going to have a complete story. Wherever it ends up, whatever happens, we’ll get to see the outcome. I just hope Rafe doesn’t see fit to interrupt any future canoodling! 

•I could watch Bill and Lizzie be adorable all day. I really could. It was especially hilarious to see them playing mock softball at the office, given my fond memories of Marcy Rylan from the annual Tammy Rubin Rice celebrity softball game that’s held in Brooklyn. She’d help all the girls turn their T-shirts into the most awesome, stylish, duds! And she always had cute sandals! 

•Could James BE any more of a pampered mama’s boy? I actually kept muttering, “Oh shut up, Beth!” and “Oh, shut up, James!” the whole episode, because the kid made his own prison cot and deserves to lie in it… without designer sheets from The Beacon. I mean, I enjoy James, but man up! Your own clothes, pasta and cake from Company, and electronic doo-dads to amuse yourself with? Rafe, who had a far less comfy stint in the clink, should head over to the county jail and give him a beatdown. 

•We got a Nola shout-out from Rick, who is industriously planning the Bauer Barbecue. Not to knock the past few years of Cooper-helmed shindigs, but Bauers planning the Bauer Barbecue…will wonders never cease? 

•And you know you’ve been watching GL too closely when you make note that the pasta the judge in James’ trial was eating was too thick to be linguini. I need help.

originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com