Look, it’s a blog entry NOT about GUIDING LIGHT! (At least to start off with.) Instead, I’m going to lead with ONE LIFE TO LIVE and ALL MY CHILDREN, both of which I’ve started catching up on.

I tuned in to AMC for Jake and Amanda’s wedding, which was an adorable laugh-fest, and the birth of Amanda’s son, which was a six-hanky sobfest. That baby was so cute, so tiny and sleepy, and Chrishell Stause knocked the goodbye scenes with him out of the park. I also really adore her chemistry with Ricky Paull Goldin. This is one of those cases where an actor is brought on for one thing but takes off in a completely different way. Goldin came on with Beth Ehlers from That Show I’m Not Mentioning Until Later, ostensibly to try and recapture their Gus/Harley couple spark, but it’s Jake and Amanda that really caught fire. They’re funny and romantic — and Jake totally rocked those orange-pink scrubs!

Less pleasing to the eye was Dorian’s meltdown at Markko’s graduation party on OLTL. I was horrified, and if you know me and my hot buttons, I think you know exactly why. So, getting dumped and drunk turns Dorian Lord into an over-privileged bigot? Come on. Sure, I remember it being pretty painful when Carlotta was her maid and then gradually shifted over to the Angel Square storyline, but was it anywhere near this outwardly offensive? Thinking Markko’s parents were the help?! The way she belittled Shaun and his “little friend” and then talked down to Moe and Noelle?! I wanted to hide under my desk. Sure, Dorian’s stuck-up but her daughters Adrianna and Langston are both half-Latin, and I just think that was a poor, poor direction for the writers to take her. I actually cheered Langston yelling at her and shoving her in the pool.

On the bright side for OLTL, I got up to speed on the Kyle/Fish storyline this weekend (what there is of it) and can safely say that if handled correctly, it has potential! I love the contrast between serious, job-oriented Fish and major screw-up Kyle. I love that there’s clear UST (Unresolved Sexual Tension) between them, and I can’t wait to see more. Plus, I’ve loved Brett Claywell since he played Tim on ONE TREE HILL.

Now, to the obligatory GL squee. Rafe’s reaction to Olivia and Natalia’s uber-chaste love affair was spot-on. His bewilderment at his religious mother purportedly going against everything she taught him was completely understandable. It wasn’t as simple as, “Ew! Mom! You’re gay?!” It was, “Are you still the woman who raised me?” And that’s a question he’s going to have to find the answer to in his own time, realizing that, yes, Natalia is still the woman of faith and virtue who taught him right from wrong. However, I did have to laugh at Frank slipping Rafe booze after all was said and done. I think one of my favorite parts of “Kamikaze GL,” (see Joe’s blog for the explanation of THAT) is that do-gooder Frank is turning into such a bitter, cranky rebel. It’s about time!

originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com