A while back when I first started writing this column on a regular basis, I said how much I wanted to see Amanda get a front burner storyline. Of course, I also said that I wanted it to have to do with something other than sex. Someone over at All My Children heard me - or at least part of what I said.
Amanda is pregnant and she doesn't know by whom. The "Who's the daddy?" storylines are staples of soap opera storytelling. Here is the problem that I have with this plot and most of the Maury Povich DNA testing episodes: why are these women letting every Tom, Harry, and Dick... intercourse them without protection? I am guessing that in the course of six months or so, Amanda has had unprotected sex with three men. How can you sleep with three, four, fifteen guys and not know who's the father?! Hey, Amanda: it's only the Trojans in your email that can give you viruses. The ones at the pharmacy actually prevent them!
Stepping away from the Public Service Announcement, Amanda's potential baby daddies aren't exactly Pine Valley's most upstanding citizens. David likes to drug people and make as many people unhappy as possible. JR has fallen off the wagon and he can be one of the bad boys himself. Then there's poor Jake, who apparently is not part of the baby equation, who has always wanted a child of his own. I actually liked the jab JR gave about Jake giving his sperm to friends. It was a nice nod to history.
Meanwhile, Erica Kane is less one child, a child she didn't even know she had until about two years ago. The amount of time that passed between Josh's shooting and Kendall's heart transplant was about 2.5 minutes. I get that Kendall was slowly dying, but where was the agonizing decision about removing Josh from life support? If Erica doesn't seem to care about her son dying, why should viewers?
In fairness, I did get a little choked up as Erica was holding Josh's hand as he was led into the elevator and, later, into the operating room. I just wish there had been a little more time to see Erica go through all the emotions that were involved in making that decision. The next thing we knew, Erica was blasting Pete Cortlandt over a missing apostrophe. What I remembered after that episode aired was that it took Erica weeks to shed a single tear when her mother, Mona, died. Erica kept saying that she was fine, but when it finally came time to bury her mother, Erica fell apart. I'm wondering if the writers will revisit this. I don't think Josh's death will hit Erica as hard as Mona's did (or as Kendall or Bianca's deaths would have). So I don't think there is any reason to fear for Erica's sobriety...
... and we already have one pill popper on the show. Oh, Krystal, Krystal, Krystal. I'd offer to smack some sense into you, but I'm afraid that those pills you're taken have numbed you. Still, a few slaps might be fun. Just for kicks, ya know. Krystal is going to be in a far worse place after she learns that her savior is more of a devil. Will anyone be there to pick up the pieces? I don't think that Tad will, but, oddly, I can see Opal being there for Krystal. Opal is a woman who also made some mistakes in the past and a powerful bonding story could come from all this. And it could move Opal towards that Myrtle-like character that the show needs.
As much as I love seeing Annie be cuckoo, last week's air duct bonding with Aidan took the wind out of my sails. As the Friday AMC recapper, Audra, says in her new video blog, "Annie is at her best when she's killing people." Ah, so true. Sitting near the air duct and psychically holding hands? Really? Since Melissa Claire Egan (Annie), isn't going anywhere, it seems apparent that we're destined to see Annie and Aidan as lovers in the near future. None of Aidan's romances have really worked out for him. That love affair with Maureen "Don't call me Maria" Gorman flopped and Aidan's marriage to Greenlee lasted just a little longer than Josh did on life support.
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