I resent so much about this show. It’s wastefulness. Its gender politics. Its juvenile worship of violence. It’s disrespect for its own history. It’s disdain for its own fans.
I think the thing I resent most of all, though, is that it still has the ability to make me cry, even when the story is as blatantly cheap, manipulative, short-sighted and derivative as this one. But they centered the whole thing around the two prettiest natural criers on the canvas! It would take a stronger woman than I am to resist these faces:
So pretty! And yet… so rage inducing, because seriously, GH? These actors — like the audience — deserve better. They deserve stories that are more than cheap stunts and pale imitations of better writers’ work. (Claire Labine had the chops to kill a child and make it mean something. Bob Guza? You, sir… are no Claire Labine. And boy, does it ever show with this hot mess.)
Even if I was willing to forgive the blatant thievery (which I am so, so not), this isn’t even a good retelling. You know what made BJ’s heart so compelling? It wasn’t the shock of killing a kid. It was the months of careful build up. It was the way all the threads of the story worked perfectly to wring maximum emotional truth out of every character. Let’s just say that this version has been lacking in that regard:
– Maxie getting the miracle heart had dramatic weight because we’d been waiting for it, watching her slowly waste away. Now we get Josslyn going from having a mild case of the sniffles to full on, five alarm cancer in the space of about two days.
– BJ’s death caught Bobbie and Tony in the middle of the lowest point in their marriage. All their interactions as grieving parents were even more fraught because he’d just discovered her affair with Damien. But Elizabeth and Lucky have barely acknowledged each other’s existence for months before last week. And the show would evidently still like us to forget that Jason and Elizabeth were ever anything more than sperm and egg donors to one another, judging by how carefully the writing has worked to keep them from sharing a single scene while their child lay dying.
(I mean, really, show. We get it. You hate Liason fans. But you already broke up their couple, so could you maybe stop kicking them already?)
– The tension of watching Felicia and Frisco’s joy over finding a donor, unaware that it was their niece, was one of the most deliciously heartbreaking parts of the story. In Guza’s version, there’s no tension. Everyone in town seems to now take it as a given that Jason has a connection to Jake. Everyone except Monica, of course, who’s yet to even put in an appearance. Gee, if only there was a qualified heart surgeon on staff who could have performed the surgery, not realizing she was actually working on her grandchild until it was too late! Thank God they didn’t go that route. People might get the impression they were actually watching a soap opera.
But beyond the laziness of copying almost every element of this story — and beyond the sloppy, half-assed way it’s being told — I think the thing that pisses me off the most is that you just know every single character is going to hold this up as the reason why being in the mob isn’t actually any more of a danger than any other “profession.” Because we could all get hit by a bus tomorrow, right? And that’s totally as likely as being gunned down on the street because you’re a fucking hit man.
(I swear to God, I know they’re probably going to use this story as the catalyst for Jason and Sam deciding it’s a-okay to bring their own little bundle of joy into his life of neverending violence and bullshit. And it really makes me do a full body clench of hatred. This show, you guys. This effing, effing show.)
I can’t believe this is the “story dictated” reason they were going to kick Rebecca Herbst to the curb. What unbelievable hacks.
Despair in the Afternoon 
I so agree with everything you said. I can’t even watch this mess. First of all, to kill off a child that could be the center of so many future storylines, is a huge mistake. Secondly, to not let the biological parents of said child, who were once in love with each other and going to get married, not even share more than one scene, is ridiculous.
And to use this to justify that a hitman should have a child with his current girlfriend (who fyi wanted the child to die, and sorry the audience DOES NOT FORGET), is pathetic. And quite frankly, bad writing over all.
And GH was planning on killing off Jake and writing Rebecca Herbst out. I seriously doubt they will give her a storyline after this… they will just use this next year to naturally phase her out.
what a disappointment this show is.
And why would a show alienate the fans of a popular couple (Jason & Elizabeth)?? Isn’t the point to get people to WATCH THE SHOW???
I’ve been weeping my eyes out watching this, but you’re right, Guza is no Labine. What’s saving this from being a complete clusterf*** is the acting; JJ and BH are bringing it full-force. When they cry, I cry. At first, I was a little disappointed with the silent scene behind the window, because I wanted to hear them, wanted to have that visceral emotional moment. But then I figured, the dialogue is so crappy that maybe? Shooting through the window kept the moment pure and un-Guzafied. We didn’t need the words, the acting told us that Lucky and Liz just lost their whole world, and they’ll never be whole again.
Wish we hadn’t gotten the dialogue on the roof. LW tried to play it that even Carly was a little ashamed of herself- but the dialogue was practically, “Sorry bout yer baby, can we have a kidney pleeze?” Awful. Just awful stuff. This wretched awful show.
The thing I resent the MOST is that it is so poorly conceived and written. Yes the actors are working their butts off to make slop in to gold…but the fact remains the story sloppily written. There are holes all through it. Holes a mile wide not to mention convenient lapses of memory.
1) Elizabeth lives in a cul de sac so there is no through traffic to wipe a child out
2) Elizabeth lives out of town where it is really quiet so unless you are actually driving to Elizabeth’s house to see her there is no reason to be driving past in a cul de sac – the same glaring anomalie happened when Lisa was supposed to be “driving past” a few months ago.
3) No blood on Elizabeth
4) No blood on Jake’s shirt
5) In fact it appears that before running out Jake removed his shirt or maybe he woke up and gave it to mommy while unconcious on the road
6) ELizabeth who found Jake and brought him to the hospital is not allowed to see him. Why?
7) Robin despite never being told seems to know Jason is the daddy
8) Joss has stage 5 kidney cancer with no symptoms until last week and only then it was a high temperature. Surely there is a side story here to charge Jax Carly and the nanny for child neglect that NO ONE realized this child was ill
9) Why isn’t that selfish troll Carly demanding to be tested to donate her own kidney? Why is she hanging around like a vulture ready to bash Elizabeth but just handy to hear there are spare organs going begging?
10) What is Sam doing watching over Jakes’s operation? It wasn’t enough she stood around and let Jake get kidnapped or hired men with guns to terrorize him and his family in the park. She just had to be there to make sure he was dead ? Disgusting.
I could accept all this better if the story was well written with no WTF moments. But it isn’t, someone doesn’t give a toss about telling a good story or their own reputation as a writer.
SHAME ON GH AND ABC AND DISNEY
I agree with everything you said. I’m so drained by this show and its plot point stories. They reduced the wonderful, full of potential Jake character to a plot point. And it’s ridiculous that they did not allow Jason and Elizabeth scenes together. I love your point about Monica not being involved. The actors did a great job, the show did not. And I want Jake to be alive. This is just painful.
Well, we all know that Guza just loves his violence and since he had a teenager die in the December bus accident it was now time for a toddler to die!
Liason was given the whole “danger danger danger” mantra for four years and Jason saw or held his son at least 3 or 4 times. What an effing waste of a s/l between Liason and Cake.
Jake’s death and Joss’s cancer s/l will all conclude after 3 days of story telling, because Guza is more interested in the upcoming “who dun it” that killed a toddler. Asshat!
The last place that Sam needs to be is any where near that precious little boy that she tried to kill after he was born. It still turns my stomach knowing that Lucky and Jason boinked Sam after knowing that she tried to kill Jake and would have succeeded if the men from the park and Maureen were not caught.
GH thought it would so much easier to fire RH and then kill off Liz/Jake in order to proceed with a JaSam baby, but soap fans don’t forget when someone hurts a child.
Guza/Frons has gone out of their way the last 2 years to keep Liason from sharing any scenes so why would the death of their son be any different? On any other daytime soap, Liason would be front and center with their children instead of on opposite sides of the canvas for years at a time. I think we can all say that backstage agenda’s have killed most of our soaps.
And there you have it in a nutshell
You have voiced what thousands of fans are feeling
But of course the viewers do not matter this story is all about agenda so it is okay for Jason to replace Jake with another child
WTH, are any of these writers parents, do any of them see how asinine that whole idea is.
This show has gone down hill will it ever see the top again. I am doubtfull
I totally agree with this post and the comments, well said by all. All the actors have been amazing throughout this craptastic story and even the dialogue has been better than usual, but neither group can really make up for all the problems with this story. So as to not repeat what others have said, I”ll just add my own:
– Where is Monica? From today’s surgery scenes it appears as though Jake either only had brain injuries or they didn’t get past them, as the brain has ventricular cavaties too. Even if she’s not going to be in the OR, which would have been awesome soapyness, she has every right to now find out that Jake is her grandson. Monica was also the surgeon who performed the transplant from BJ to Maxie, and a scene between Monica and Bobbie would not only be a great shout out to the history that is being so poorly ripped off, but Bobbie could help both Monica and Liz cope with this loss. They’re also both friends of Liz and would totally understand what she’s going through as Monica has lost AJ, Alan, Emily, Dawn, Lila, and now Jake.
– Jocelyn/Josslyn, which ever is correct, has a type of cancer whose symptoms don’t necessarily make themselves evident for months and months like Maxie’s illness. However, one of the most common symptoms of Wilms’ Tumors is a hard mass in the abdomen that would either be visible to the eye or felt when a child J’s age was being changed or dressed. Stage 5 just means that she has tumors in both kidneys; it could actually be worse as a Stage 5 diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean the cancer has spread to the blood or other organs of the body. To be a little fair to TPTB, it does seem as though the sequence of events was: big meeting at DATV, GH budget slashed by 50%, RH fired, four weeks later RH was rehired. Since this was taped about mid Feb, just before the show went dark for a week, they may not have had the time to back out of this story and they had to change the end for RH since she wasn’t leaving afterall. It’s possible that that change was made just before they shot this, but if they changed the outcome for RH, why not change it for Jake too, assuming that was possible given the timing?
– Why Jake? Of all the young kids on the show, he has the most story left to tell. I don’t want to see them kill off any of the kids, but if they absolutely had to, why not Cam or Spencer instead? Jake is part Hardy, Webber, Q, and Spencer by adoption. Even though a lot of people know that Jason is Jake’s biological father, the only Q’s who know are Jason and now Tracy. There are so many obvious stories left surrounding Jake: The Q’s reaction to the news and all the hoopla that will create as Edward will want him for ELQ, Tracy may see this as a cut out of her inheritence or that left for Ned and Dillon, Monica has a grandson she didn’t know about, etc. Alan has an heir afterall so what does that mean for the Q’s, Jake, and Liz? If Jake’s parentage becomes public, would Carly push Jason to seek custody of him and would Jason now see that issue differently? What sort of impact would this have on Jason and Sam, if any, and would they finally deal with all that Sam did to Jake, Liz, and Jason? If this information became public would that put Cam, Aiden, Jake, and Liz in any danger?
Spencer is part Cassadine, Webber, and Corinthos so there’s all sorts of room for stories for him, but with Tyler Christopher now leaving the show, I doubt we’ll see any of it now. Cam is Liz’s son and Lucky’s by adoption, but Zander is dead, I believe. Unless TPTB are suddenly going to get creative and write stories into which he can be incorporated or for him, like Robin and the Asian Quarter story or later with Casey the Alien, he’s the most expendable of all the kids. I like Cam and wouldn’t want to see him killed off either, but if they absolutely had to do it, he makes a more logical victim than Jake. Even Morgan would make more sense than Jake in some ways because we see him about as often as we see Spencer, but two of Carly’s kids might be a bit much even for Guza.
– If TPTB absolutely had to do this story, then why not after the bus crash? They wouldn’t have needed any sort of build up for an illness, just two very badly injured kids. It could have been between any combination of Cam, Spencer, and Jake as Jake and Cam are only slightly more genetically linked than they are to Spencer.
– Where is Morgan? If he’s not going to be at the hospital, how hard is a line about Mercedes staying with him or why isn’t Michael with him? It’s possible that was written and just didn’t make it to air, but that’s still just as obvious omission as Monica and Bobbie.
I sort of like Dante and Sam working together as it makes more sense than Jason and Dante, and it was a nice touch to have Sam admit that it might be uncomfortable for Liz to have her at the hospital. Although given all with which Liz has to now process and deal, she might not even really notice or care that Sam is there since she’s with Jason.
I’ve heard a rumor that Steve Burton supposedly said that he thought the JaSam baby idea was dropped, which I hope is true. I’m a JaSam fan, but they shouldn’t have children, and killing off Jake isn’t going to change that, and I’m not the only JaSammer who feels that way.
As for the whole Who Done It, I agree that TPTB seem more concerned about that aspect than anything else. Jake may be a young child, but someone had to realize they hit something. You feel it when your car hits a curb, goes over the bumps between lanes, or even hits something as light as trash cans, so a driver not realizing he/she hit Jake? Not stopping is a whole separate issue. A) if it’s someone viewers know and like (so all the suspects for the most part except Lisa and Theo and maybe Sonny), why didn’t they know they hit something; B) why didn’t they come forward once they realized they may have hit Jake (Sonny and Theo get a pass on that as they might not know thety might have hit Jake); C) how do you redeem a character from killing a child and then not coming forward unless they didn’t know? If it had to be a character like Luke, Robin, or Carly, wouldn’t it have been better to have staged it as a real accident and have them stop and try to help Jake? Isn’t the trauma of knowing you killed a child because you were distracted or got sick or something and having to deal with the consequences (emotional, social, etc) enough drama? Why must this be a hit and run? Although if it rids PC of Lisa…. :)
I forgot to mention too that Guza once said in an interview that the only story Claire Labine really had was Stone. For the sake of argument, even if that statement was true, which it’s not because Wendy Riche has said that she wanted to do an AIDS storyline since she hit GH and that was before Labine, it was still only a million times better than the best story Guza ever penned. Bitter much?
I remember reading that interview with my jaw on the floor. I had to check to make sure it wasn’t some angry fan parody because it was so ridiculous. Every now and then I think that Guza gets unfairly used as a scapegoat for everything that’s wrong with the show when realistically, there are things (like the budget) that he has no control over. But then I remember his delusional arrogance when he talks about how awesome he is and how Claire Labine was one trick pony/hack. And my rage rises again.
OMG, HATE.
I totally and completely agree. Guza may be the head writer, but he’s not the only PTB and there have been some good stories and great couples that have come out of his reign. That being said, I could not believe that he not only had the gaul to publically say that about CL, a fellow writer, but to say that she only had one good story. He should know better than anyone that rightfully or wrongfully, the head writer gets credit/crap for every story on the show under his/her tenure unless the audience knows otherwise, like with Liz’s rape and the stories that came out of it. And then where’s the head of the reporter who actually printed it. I’m glad he did, but still. Though if I recall correctly, the interview/article had more gush oozing out of it than a 12 year old girl who just received Jonas Brothers or Bieber tickets.
Bravo! You put into words everything I was thinking . GH is lucky that Steve, Becky and JJ are extremely talented actors because the writing is horrid. I doubt i will be sticking around after this senseless storyline ends. Not a fan of their intended direction.
Thank you for writing this. Now that I am a parent it leaves another level of resentment for me. I hate that they are using the death of a child as a cheap emotional stunt.
Also, can’t adults donate portions of their kidneys for children? I’m sorry but as far as I know the kidney is the easiest organ to get a donation for and is more likely to be a match if it is from a biological relative. Of course the show is going to say they are a match, but it would be much more likely that Carly, Jax, Bobby, Michael or Morgan would be a better donor and not require the death of a child. Also, way to only have this story be built up in one day. God, I hate this show.
Yeah. I mean, traditionally, when there’s a paternity secret, the medical crisis is used as a way to force the secret out. So for maximum dramatic impact, we should see Jake needing a donation of some sort that only Jason would be able to provide. Joss and Jake being matches makes so much less sense than Maxie and BJ because there’s no relation there.
Ugh. This show.
I’m not watching live but last night I did watch the clips, never even shed a tear. Now I’m not that hard-hearted but I see this death of this child for what it is. A reason for Jason and Sam to have that baby but first we need to kill off that pesky Jake so the audience will accept said spawn of Sam and Jason. As if! I have not forgotten what Sam does to little children. Also there is the fact that I no longer like the major characters in the story. I hate Lucky, I hate Jason and I hate Carly and I barely know Joss. You know Jason’s godchild, the one is he willingly to step up and be a parent to if anything should happen to her parents. But he couldn’t be a parent to Jake because of danger, danger. Give me a break, GH!! I feel nothing for Jason’s pain, I hope he wallows in it forever. I only watched the clip to see Becky’s acting chops and yup, she still has it. Becky can act circles around anybody on that show, bless her heart, I wish she had went to a soap I would watch cuz GH will never have my viewship again. This is what GH has done for me, taken a show I have watched since forever and totally and systemmaticly ruined it for me, all for some mad man’s agenda.
Everything you said is exactly how I feel. The whole story is ridiculous. Jake does not have to die and ,honestly, I feel nothing for Carly and Joss… that is how badly this is written. We are subjected to stupidity for months and months (The Balkan) and yet this is just rushed through. While I think the actors are doing a remarkable job, especially Rebecca Herbst, I hate this story so much because it is nothing but agenda driven.
Oh for Fuck’s sake. Sam didn’t try and KILL Jake. *rme* And that little baby would have been ash a long time ago if she didn’t save his life. i for one am crying buckets over this storyline, yes it’s sad but I think a lot of good might come from it. As sad as this is, I hope some good comes out of it. Elizabeth belongs with Lucky. She’ll tell him about Aiden being his, and they can lean on each other. I also think this will change Jason’s mind about being a father. I hope him and Sam go for the procedure and start the family they’ve tried for years to have. Why DOESN’T JASAM deserve to have a family???? They were actively trying for years! Lawdy knows Jasam deserve that! Finally I’d like to see a Liason friendship. One where they’re not kept away from each other. They have a right to grieve with each other over their biological son’s death. They will always care about each other & I love their friendship
Wow… It’s a wonder what show you have been watching. A woman watched a child kidnapped and walked around for days not saying anything. Asked her mother what would happen to someone that withheld information, went to mother’s house and taunted her that they were the same now making mother think her child was dead. Would NOT let her on TV to find her son, when child was found, she went and hired men with REAL guns to hold them on 2 innocent children, had an affair with woman’s husband and you seem to think that because she saved Jake in the 2nd kidnapping that it erases what she did? God, I hope no one ever does that to your children, I would like to see how forgiving you would be as a parent.Sam is a con artist thru and thru and will never change. This show has been ruined by agenda’s that clearly do NOT have the backing or we would not have seen 1.6,1.7 and 1.8 ratings. And don’t even try to say it weasn’t them. It has been proved over and over that when she is promoted, viewers turn OFF their TV’s. New lowest ratings are when she was featured. GMAB… The soap genre isn’t dieing… Only GH is from it’s agenda’s due to an actress that can not fit anywhere on canvas and carry her own storyline and needs to ride on the coat tails of others.
Except that the soap genre IS dying. There have been talks of cancelling AMC and One Life to Live. General Hospital ratings are going up a little in the last couple of months and seems to be the only ABC soap safe for NOW. Please do not act like Kelly Monaco is the sole reason for all soaps declining. Like I said, soaps in general are dying out (probably because of the massive surge in the cheapness reality shows provide) and GH’s rating have declined over the years. I think like 20+ million people watched Luke & Laura’s wedding. It must be flattering to think one woman has so much power. I get Liason fans are upset but let’s not act like it’s all on the character of Sam for ratings declining. Is she the reason ATWT was cancelled?? I wonder how that happened… And please point out where I said that the good that Sam did erased all the bad she did? Even Sam still owns up to the atrocity she committed. And don’t act like Liz hasn’t committed some absolutely terrible things on that show. It’s a soap opera. Drama is why we watch. They had to completely destroy how many characters just for Liason? Let’s see… Sam, Ric, Lucky, Maxie… they destroyed LnL, Rexis, Jasam… all for what? 2 years of a boring couple with repeated scripts every week. A lot of people didn’t buy it. What Sam did was awful, but Jason forgave her and moved on. Jasam have had 6+ years of great drama. I love that couple as do many many many others! Both couples have a lot of fans.
On a side note, I think the writers are trying to fix their mistake in making Jake Jason’s son. They shouldn’t have killed him off IMO. They should’ve just made him Lucky’s. I think the writers didn’t like the fact Jason wasn’t a part of his first born child, especially after he wanted a baby with Sam, basically fathering Michael, was going to raise Sam’s baby with Sonny, was going to raise baby Hope, actively tried to have a baby with Sam for over 2 years, became Joss’s Godfather… but couldn’t be near his biological son at all. Didn’t make a lick of sense!
First of all we will agreee to disagree and I never said she had anything to do with the other soaps and sorry I dont believe the genre is dieing if it was, Y&R wouldn’t have the numbers they have but ABC is all about agenda’s. Not only on GH but on the others as well as Brian Frons wants what he wants and not what the majority of fans want. Second the character of Samantha McCall is the reason for the depleted ratings. This is a character that has yet to pay for any of her deeds and sorry ratings prove that this is not what the majority of viewers want, if it was, the numbers would of been good the past two years as this agenda was forced upon it’s viewers. Elizabeth is not perfect at all and never said she was and has PAID the piper for her sins and has made the audience and all the characters are aware of Elizabeth’s wrong doings because, she owns up to hers and never ever says it was a “lapse in judgement”. The character of Sam if she ever cared about what she did would not of asked Elizabeth in Kelly’s to keep it down when she called her on her crap so, that no one would know of her dealings. Trying to convince anyone that this disgusting character acted like she was sorry is just funny as it has been the BIG elephant in the room for awhile as they never discuss it because of the backlash. The bottom line is GH is agenda written for Frons and his pet. PA’s have confirmed her mess that she says when she opens her mouth. Jason having anything to do with a woman that threatened his son is done Out of Character of who he is and how he has been written since he became Jason Morgan. The bottom line is NO ONE knows of Sam’s dealings and everyone knows of Elizabeth’s. But , that’s what happens when agenda’s are written.
I think Sam’s story has been poorly handled in a LOT of ways, but IMO, it’s unrealistic to place all the blame for the show’s problems on any one character. There is more than enough suck to go around. Liz and Jason have a big fanbase; so do Jason and Sam. That’s just facts. I think the writing would have been better served if it was more respectful to both groups, but clearly that ship has long since sailed…
In any case, it probably is best to simply agree to disagree on this one, if only because once you’ve argued into the margins, it’s really hard to read the comments. :)
Too bad the majority of viewers don’t agree. They bring in the LOWEST ratings in GH history.
So love your couple, but when they have to fire a fan fav to try and force this couple down peoples throats, then when the fans revolt, so they KILL a child, that is straight up pathetic, and people see it for exactly what it is.
Thanks, I will enjoy my couple & enjoy my show as do many many others. Acting like Liason were this great supercouple like Luke & Laura or something is silly. And their amazing “love story” was HORRENDOUS! They were painful to watch. There were maybe 3 or 4 great Liason scenes in 2 years. After Emily’s funeral comes to mind. But sneaking around in safehouses and repeated conversations and “eye sex” was not my cup of tea. It was way too boring & frustrating
1) I agree that Sam trying to kill Jake is hyperbolic and untrue. Which is why I never said that. (I understand you’re responding to other commenters here…) But honestly? She cared more about punishing his parents than she did about his welfare. In the real world, that would be unforgiveable. On a soap I can look past it if enough time has passed and enough regret has been expressed. I don’t hate Sam. But I think it’s ridiculous that any of Jake’s parents have forgiven her to the extent that they did (and I include Jason, Lucky and Liz in that, much as I enjoy the idea of a Sam/Liz friendship.)
2) Wanting a child is not the same as deserving one. And I’m not talking about Sam here so much as Jason. I think it would be perfectly fine for her to have one with someone else. But Jason doesn’t “deserve” a child. Not with the choices he’s made for his life — choices he’s made it clear he’s unwilling or unable to change at this point.
3) Agreed on wanting to see a Liason friendship. :) That’s the way they started and I would rather see them continue that way then watch the show twist itself in knots to make it seem like they never even knew each other. But that’s a larger problem in general with the current writing — exes act like strangers all over the place. Drives me nuts!
Yes, making sure a child you wanted dead didn’t explode in a building goes above and beyond. Nobody else would do that. Sammy gets a gold star.
Great article-ITA!!! So many have said all that needs to be said, I have to acknowledge JJ and BH’s incredible emotional range yesterday, I know they will continue to floor me over the course of this story. All I can hope is that they don’t make this story all about the donor father Jason which isn’t looking too good. He watched as Jake died, and even got a flashback, but did we get that for LL2-his ACTUAL parents? GMAB. I adore SBu, but BH and JJ stole the show yesterday. BH was incredible, her pain was palpable and raw, JJ-he is unbelievable, combine JJ and BH in a scene-that is why I fell for them years ago. It reminds of what soaps used to be about, LOVE, romance, family-all of which is now gone along with much of the history. I miss heartwrenching drama like we used to get, now all we get is violence, and everything is Carly/Jason/Sonny-BLEH. I used to love that element of GH, now I loathe it. Guza is a hack and needs to go, as does those in charge who are ruining the soap for the fans. I read yesterday that Tyler Christopher has been let go now-WTH!! You’d think they’d wake up and realize that fans LOVE THEIR VETERANS, but nope, they are going to keep the newbie’s instead. Thank you for voicing your opinion in this article because the “heart” of GH has been missing for so long now, its been replaced with sleeze and quick turn around stories that destroy characters and for what? What will it take for those in charge to LISTEN TO THEIR FANS. =(
This story just reeks of the Frons Agenda. It was obviously meant to be the storyline that took Elizabeth off the show, but they had plenty of time to reshoot and rewrite elements of this story so that Jake didn’t have to die. It’s all about killing Jake to justify Jason and Sam having a baby. I thought it was incredibly tacky but ironic that Elizabeth didn’t get to view the surgery, but Sam did …after all she watched Jake get kidnapped and she watched Jake, Cam and Elizabeth held up at gunpoint by her own hired goons…so guess it makes sense that she gets to see the surgery that can’t save him. Hope Mr. Frons is happy with himself …he got rid of Jake ..too bad fans wouldn’t let him get rid of Becky …that must really burn him since he wants no ties to Jason and we can all say “hey being in the mob is just as dangerous as everyday life” ..so go ahead Jason and Sam …have a replacement baby. Sick.
Thanks for writing this article. You covered absolutely everything wrong with this storyline. It’s amazing that most can see that the killing of Jake is agenda driven; and someone needs to desperately rein in those that continue to wreak havoc on what remains of this once great soap opera. Against my better judgement I watched the clips, and while Becky and JJ were at their best, it was very hard to garner an ounce of sympathy for Jason. The father that gave up his son so willingly and never looked back. As another reader stated, he willingly accepted godfather responsibilities for Carly’s daughter while refusing to accept responsibilities for his own son. All that nobility and self-sacrafice went right out the window with that one act. This same father returned to the bed of the woman that wanted his son dead; she watched his kidnapping and had no intentions on ever letting his parents know of his kidnapper. She hired gunmen to go after a mother, an infant and a toddler. My memory is very clear and I will not forget. It’s amazing that this woman was allowed at the observation window to finally see the death of this same child. If Jake was killed to give this same woman and this same sperm donor a child, well, there just are no words.
Liz belongs with Lucky….a man who took drugs, pushed her down, twice, cheated with Sarah, Maxie and Sam, called her a whore and a rutting animal and said she wasn’t the same girl he pulled from the bushes all those years ago, which she wouldn’t have been in the park in the first place if Lucky haven’t stood her up. No, I don’t think Liz belongs with Lucky.
You’re right. Liz doesn’t deserve Lucky anymore. After she forgave him for all the bad things he did to her what did she do? Hmm continuously slept with his brother, told him she loved him, all while making plans with Lucky to be married. Liz is no saint. I do think it’s funny though after being with Lucky, Ric, and Jason that it was NIKOLAS who awoken her sexual side. Who knew Nik was the best sex Liz ever had? Ew. Glad Lucky & Nik finally moved on too. I still don’t understand what Liz wants? She doesn’t want Nik anymore, but doesn’t want him with Brooklyn?
How did my name change on here????? lol
Lucky knows ALL about banging siblings, so maybe Liz took his queue?
;)
Haha touche ;) I actually like Liz & Lucky though. And I like Jasam. However I DO like Liason as friends and I DO think it’s bs that they can’t even share scenes together. The show really does bring out passion in people. I didn’t like Liason as a couple even though i went in with an open mind, it was the same ole same ole with them… but I still watched and just focused on other storylines. I loved when Jasam got back together. Now that RH is hired back, there’s always a possibility of Liason down the road. That’s what’s so great abt soaps! It changes with the wind :)
ITA with your article. Great Job as usual. The acting has been stellar but the story is so rushed. It’s as though they are trying to run a race to get to the ‘good’ part RME; the ‘who done it’. Becky Herbst has been phenomenal. She has pretty much ripped my heart out every day since it happened and JJ and S Burton have been fabulous as well. I am not an LL2 fan by any means but JJ and BH work off each other so well and SBurton playing Jason on the outside looking in is very effective but all these people deserve a much better story and so does Jake not just a few days of tears and then on to the usual suspects (all men) running around looking for the ‘bad’ guy.
Thank you for stating so eloquently what I and many other viewers are feeling.
My question is this: Why? Why are FruzaPhelps allowed to continue in this vein year after year after year? Why hasn’t someone at the top tried to stop this train wreck? Why are the writers allowed to take a sensitive topic such as killing a child (in particular “this child”) and condense it down to it being all about Carly and Jason and Lucky? Why do they think viewers are not going to want to throw a brick through their tv when it’s shown that Joss has a fever and suddenly Stage 5 cancer? Why must they insist on condescending to their viewers? Why don’t they know how transparent their true motives are in doing this storyline? Finally, why do they hate Liason fans so much? So much in fact that they cut off their nose to spite their face? Even when it would make sense to use their history in a storyline, they ignore it or pretend it never happened. Any other soap with a couple that has as strong and loyal a fan base as Liason would see it as a boon and would try to draw in viewers rather than repel them.
I will never forgive them for what they have done to this show. I will never forgive their obtuse, shortsighted, ignorant decision to boot Becky to the curb ostensibly for THIS storyline? I am glad Becky is back where she wants to be and I have much admiration for her. But now that I see what this whole “storyline dictated” bs is all about I can’t help but wish she and her extremely large fan base could go to another soap that would appreciate that gift and use it to their advantage.
As it stands right now, I will never EVER waste another hour on GH unless Frons, Guza and Phelps are out.
The only ones that will think this story is okay are those that want Jason and the woman that endangered and wanted this child dead, together. It’s rushed, it has too many holes and it is turning my stomach. To kill off Jake to make another couple work, that hasn’t worked for over 2 1/2yrs is unacceptable!! Elizabeth does not belong with Lucky. He has been both verbally and physically abusive. She should be with Jason, the man she has been in love with since he saved her in the bar so many years ago! Agenda does not belong in the soap world.
Whitewashing the deadbeat so he can spawn with the baby stalking whore by KILLING A CHILD will fail harder than anything has ever failed on GH.
Agendas kill shows, ain’t no two ways around it. JaWhore has brought in the lowest ratings in GH history. The pathetic fact that they are SO desperate to make this failed pairing work that they tried to fire the actress they felt was the major threat (then Fronsie got his ass handed to him) so now they’ll kill the deadbeat kid is the most pathetic, contrived, agenda laced piece of shit ever seen.
See, we’ll ALL forget what a deadbeat douche bag Jason was, and he’ll have his ‘come to Jesus’ moment and realize he was a deadbeat for no darn reason, and kids can die by getting hit by non-existent cars in quiet courts where no cars ever speed in. Then the whore gets knocked up and it’s all good. Try again. GH finally shot itself in the foot. Frons picked the wrong time and fanbase to fuck with. We’ll kill this show. Mark my words.
Please watch the name calling. I agree with most of the substance of your comment, but the use of “whore” is unnecessary. Thanks!
It’s a valid term. She’s a convicted prostitute as is Bobby and Ruby. So again, it’s the truth. But understood. Most of the girls on the show are sluts, those three are the only ones that can be called the ‘w’ word. I guess Michaels new ‘mommy’ looking chick now too.
It’s really not, regardless of her history. Let’s not pretend “whore” is a neutral descriptor or one with only one understood meaning. It’s a specifically gendered term that is commonly thrown at any woman who is disliked for any number of reasons. If you want to talk about an actual prostitute, use that term or “sex-worker” — at least on this blog.
(And most of the men are sluts too, if it comes down to it. But they don’t get called it nearly as often. Just like you don’t see people referring to “those whores, Ruby and Bobbie” very often. That’s why those are problematic insults. They’re aimed solely at women who people want to shame.)
I think the best scene, for me, yesterday was between Robin and Patrick. I truly believed Robin and Patrick are doctors. During the operation, I saw Robin be a mother, wife and friend. When they went to tell the parents, Patrick was all doctor like (he usually is) and Robin was just Robin (like she usually is) and stopped Patrick and said there was just too much damage. I really lost it when Jake died and Robin made it known to Patrick and then Robin shed a tear under her surgical mask. What a waste GH did to Robin and Patrick for over a year with the NON Fatal Attraction story. I call it non Fatal Attraction because the psycho is still around and should have died a long time ago.
Kudos to GH actors but ESPECIALLY Kimberly McCullough and Jason Thompson who together are unbeatable.
i agree about everything you said but Monica knows about Jake..Jason told her either after Alan or Emily died..
I thought Liz and Jason discussed telling Monica while she was in alcoholic rehab but decided against it. Then again, I didn’t think Robin knew either so…:)
That’s what I remember as well. I could be wrong… but if Monica DOES know, then it is even more egregious that she hasn’t been there during the last few days.
Monica does NOT know. See Jason and Liz sharing scenes raises ratings, and Frons can’t have that when he’s trying like hell to shove his failed pairing down peoples throats. He tried to fire the actress that wins every poll and the smackdown and his couple STILL tanked and the backlash was huge. So now he’ll kill their kid. He thinks Becky’s backlash was big, wait till after the fall out from this.
People aren’t stupid, they see this for what it is. Agenda driven Fronsie at his best.
I didn’t think that Monica or Robin knew either, but clearly Robin had to know for this story. Just another example of why plot point writing doesn’t work or make sense. Given the connection that TPTB allow Jason and Robin to still have, a miracle in and of itself in some ways, why couldn’t Robin have found Jason up on the roof top instead of Carly and Jason, distraught over Jake, tells her the truth? Jason/Liz need face time, but I won’t hold my breath for it.
I didn’t remember Robin or Michael finding out, but neither of them seemed surprised, so I figured I either forgot, or the writers did. Sadly, either is equally possible.
Jason told Michael relatively recently, but Robin???
I loved this article. It’s spot on. Guza’s half assed lame attempt to recreate the BJ/Maxie story is so lacking in substance. It’s only saving grace of this travesty is the stellar performances by Becky, JJ, SBu, LW. I hate this storyline because Jake’s death was unnecessary & he had so much future storyline potential. Once the emotional part of the story is over it will be back to business as usual “the mobbies” & poor Jake will be a distant memory. I agree that Frons’ agenda of pushing a couple that a majority really don’t care about is ludicrous. They aren’t a big enough draw to keep the ratings decent even though the writing isn’t great. Where is their large fanbase to help keep the ratings above a 1.6,1.7,1.8? So, giving them a replacement kid certainly won’t bring in ratings when JaLAME surely doesn’t.
Great article, once again! The lack of Monica and Bobbie in this story is horrible! Not to be nitpicky, but Michael is also Monica’s grandson, though the show never acknowledges that tie. I thought the performances were great, despite the writing!
Oh, good catch. Thanks!
I…don’t even know what to say. I’m off from work and just watched my first epsiode in months…when I heard someone mention Jake’s memorial, my heart stopped. I kept thinking there must be some new adult character named Jake that I didn’t know about, because there could be no way that they would kill off a child character – not THIS child character. There was no holding on to my denial after they cut to Elizabeth looking heartbroken. I am now also filled with hatred and snot, and also lots of questions. Like, why would they kill off a character that is a hotbed for future fantastic storylines? And why was the actual memorial held off-camera? I have a feeling the answers to both of those questions is a four-letter word spelled G-U-Z-A.
Oh, Natasha. Be so glad you escaped when you did.
(The leading theory is that this will pave the way for a Jason/Sam miracle baby, but who the eff knows. G-U-Z-A is right.)