It's that time again the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, people are coming back from the dead, and pregnant women are being kidnapped from creepy island spas. The wonders of May Sweeps.
Mommy's Home Cheers!
JR finally same face to face with Dixie this week. Unfortunately for Junior, Mom was sipping a martini with Josh at the Seasons East casino bar when he found her. David, who taunted JR and Dixie as Ms. Cooney tried to explain herself to her son, engineered the nightmare scenario. I love David as much as the next gal maybe more but I was hoping he would just shut up. Although I was annoyed when Babe started slamming on him, but that's mostly because I remember all the insane things David did for her, while she seems to have forgotten.
Dixie finally managed to get JR alone and the confrontation that followed was amazing. Cady McClain was great as Dixie, but I have to give Jacob Young the biggest kudos for his heartbreaking portrayal of JR. Watching Junior try to rationalize his mother's absence she must have had amnesia, she must have been horribly injured was painful to watch, and once his anger set in, he didn't go over the top. "Who are you lady?" he asked angrily, before he poured himself a drink. And his parting shot "So much for together forever, eh Mom?" was perfect.
While JR made his way to the Fusion building to see Kendall (he ended up encountering Erin and kissed her in his drunken state), his family gathered at the Chandler mansion to try to figure out where he had gone. When Junior finally showed up, Tad, Di, Jamie, Brooke, Adam, Krystal and Babe practically smothered the man in sympathy. When Dixie showed up shortly after, JR coolly dismissed his mother, gave her back her necklace and brushed off the whole back-from-dead encounter as no big deal. Yeah, right.
Just Spit It Out, Dix!
The rest of the Chandlers and Martins rightfully proceeded to rake Dixie over the coals and demanded she tell them why she stayed away for four years (I expect we'll hear the phrase "four years" about twice per episode for the next six months). Of course, Dixie refused to reveal her reasoning, which isn't going to make her any more sympathetic to her family or to AMC fans. When the Dixie return was announced, we were promised a very good reason for her absence, and as of now, we still have nothing. It's obviously got something to do with Dr. Madden and Kate, but after suffering through two months of lurking, my patience is almost shot. I hope that Dixie's encounter with Greg at the end of Friday's episode means that this much-touted explanation is on its way.
It may be too late to appease JR, though. After realizing that Janet was telling the truth about his mother's miraculous return, Junior got to thinking that the she may have also been telling the truth about Babe and her plot to divorce her new hubby and steal Little Adam. After visiting Janet in an attempt to figure out Babe's true intentions, JR ended up at a construction site, where he pictured Babe being crushed under an avalanche of lumber and cinder blocks. Um, OK. That's quite a leap, Junior - to go from doing sappy sketches of your wife to plotting her murder in a matter of hours. Careful - these types of plans have a way of backfiring, big time.
The Kane-Montgomery clan also had their share of drama this week. I would give you a recap of the latest near-reveal of Josh's parentage, but it was pretty much more of the same. Erica threatens to divulge everything, goes to Josh to tell him the truth, and then, at the last moment, changes her mind. Yawn.
Get Thee to Boarding School
Erica did find time to criticize her husband's behavior, after Jack and Ryan walked in on a fully clothed Jonathan and Lily "practicing" sleeping in the same bed. When I heard about this stomach-churning plot twist, I figured Jack would blow a gasket. But no - he angrily, but calmly, got Lily out of the Lavery apartment and headed back home, where he decided it was best to send his daughter back to boarding school. Meanwhile, Ryan tried to talk some sense into his brother. Even though I totally disagreed with what JonnyBoy was saying, he did make some good points where Ryan was concerned. It's not as though Ryan hasn't made some questionable choices recently.
When he wasn't trying to reason with Jonathan, Ryan was trying to find Kendall, who'd taken off for parts unknown with Dr. Madden's help. While Erica was experiencing the world's creepiest come on courtesy of the good doctor, Ryan and Julia decided to confront Madden about his false diagnosis of Nurse Santos. Did it not occur to them that Greg would cover his tracks? The man took a fetus from one woman's womb and implanted it into another! I don't think falsifying patient notes is exactly beyond his capabilities.
Madden had secretly shipped Kendall off to his private spa reserved for his pregnant patients. Even Kendall was a little creeped out by the island retreat and the Madden groupies. She was particularly freaked out when she awoke to find Dr. Madden watching her sleep. Luckily, when she woke up the second time, a much friendlier face greeted her.
Are You Kidnapping Me? Yep.
After doing some sleuthing of his own, Zach tracked down his ex at the spa - or Freak Island or Camp Cupcake, as he referred to it. After some cajoling, he even managed to convince an angry Kendall to go somewhere private and chat. Seems Zach had stolen Erica and Jack's yacht for his little mission. As the boat began to pull away from the docks, Zach and Kendall started to open up to one another.
These were the moments I and countless other Zach/Kendall fans had been waiting for since the Mardi Gras fiasco. Zach offered a heartfelt mea culpa, apologizing again for causing the blackout and taking Kendall's choices away from her. Kendall, in turn, explained to Zach that his betrayal was the reason she couldn't raise the baby. She said that she feared resenting her child for costing her the man she loved. And while this was going on, I sat slack-jawed as, back in Pine Valley, I heard Ryan defend Zach to Erica. Those are the types of scenes that AMC needs to write for Ryan if they ever want fans to like him again. It's a tall order, but Friday's scenes were a step in the right direction.
I wish there was a way to explain how moving and magical the Zach/Kendall scenes were, but I know that my words would fall short. I don't think I've ever been as emotionally invested in another soap couple as I am with Kendall and Zach, and I cannot wait to see what next week brings (and from what I've heard, I won't be disappointed). Thank you Alicia Minshew and Thorsten Kaye for keeping this couple as dynamic, funny and romantic as they've ever been.
And The Emmy Goes to... Someone Else
Speaking of Thorsten, he missed out on a much-deserved Emmy nod last Friday, losing to General Hospital's Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer) for the best leading actor award. I was pulling for Kaye, but after seeing Geary's reel, it was clear he was the man to beat. But I'm placing my early bets on Thorsten coming out on top next year, given all the incredible work he's done during the first half of 2006.
Bobbie Eakes and Leven Rambin also lost in their respective categories, but they were in tough against some very stiff competition. AMC did have a strong contingent on hand, with Justin Bruening, Alexa Havins, Jacob Young, Cady McClain and Susan Lucci all appearing as presenters. Thorsten Kaye and Alicia Minshew were greeted by very loud cheers when they stepped on stage together, and Cameron Mathison played co-host in the Emmy Fan Zone. It was a fun show, even if AMC came away with no trophies. Hopefully, they will have a more successful run next time around.
Well, that about does it for me. See you back here in two weeks, in the thick of May sweeps.
-- Kristine
