I remember you saying how Ross’ feelings about that baby might start becoming a problem because of the way he reacted to Charity’s fake labor pains and I think there was even a moment when he held Leyla. It’s funny to think about that now. That plot feels so removed at the moment. The main reminder it exists is through his beef with Mack. He’s also kind of part of the Lewis (non)drama and is trying to sleep with any woman he can. If there are any, maybe the baby Leyla feelings will resurface when they shift the focus from Charity’s SA to the original story instead.
Well that was like three plots ago. Haha.
The way that they can't stick to a single story and see it through...
The way that characters have to just lobotomize half of their brains just to exist for these other stories without having any feelings or concerns about ones they should be a part of or should be having or history they have etc....
The way the show has forgotten basic storytelling principles...
Like I know soap characters often revert to type but within a story, there should be growth and change and an arc...
A relationship should be invested in and have an arc that plays out over a longer period of time than two episodes and then off screen forever and then suddenly serious once they're on screen again...
Sorry this is like a general rant but I'm using this ask to make it...
I just feel like they forgot that if they invest in these characters as full people with full lives and histories and complications of other stories they may be involved in, then we will invest in them more too.
Instead it feels like literally nothing matters because they just throw in these little mini plots where they just do the same things over and over again and never learn or change (see Cain, see Kev) or the story keeps mutating (see the Baby Story) or characters show up with "big secrets" but those big secrets are pointless and there's not really a bigger picture and each little secret feels like filler and a waste of time (see Serena even though I like her) or characters have too many plots and seem to forget half of them for the sake of others until suddenly it's time for the first to be relevant again(see Ross, see Mack sometimes) or characters have to forget very relevant history to be props for other characters (see Robert, see Aaron) or relationships form after two seconds of pointless conflict to never be seen again until it's time for background scenes or more pointless two seconds of conflict and suddenly they're serious (see pretty much every new relationship)....
I just want the people running this show to care! To invest in their characters and stories in ways that make us want to invest in them.
No one wants to watch Cain go through variations of the same plot every week and have to keep having an "aha" moment only to forget it two seconds later and have to repeat the cycle all over again while being horrible to everyone.
The reasons why relationships of the past had people more excited for them, early Coira, Robron, Vanity (debatable but go with me), Genhil, Ross and Donna, Val and Eric, Nicola and Jimmy etc etc is because we saw them, actually saw them. We saw them get together, we saw them be together over extended stories with relationship arcs. You cared about them as characters and as couples and you wanted to root for them. Now they just throw people together with no purpose other than the plot of the moment and then months later they're having some epic fight about their relationship (Dawn and Joe) and it's like why are you people even together?!
I just want to care again! I want stories to matter! I want characters to feel things! I want new relationships to feel exciting!
Look I found something to yell about again!
Sorry anon for hijacking your ask to do so. I swear there's something of an answer in there. Haha
