Apparently, you're not in good hands with all saints. Give us 15 minutes and we could have run a background check on that guy in your hospital room that's claiming to be a minister. Okay, so maybe I am being silly and having a little fun at Eddie Matos' expense -- but you get the idea.
In my last column, I'd asked you guys if it seemed like there might be more to Reverend Ricky's story than meets the eye. Well here we are just two weeks later and we know that Ricky is one of the bad guys. He may not just be one of the bad guys -- he may be the bad guy. Though we don't know the entire story at this point in time, we do know that Ricky has claimed responsibility for Zach's death. In true soap fashion -- and like the movies of the 1950s -- there's a dame involved. Ricky couldn't just be a bad guy looking out for himself; he just had to have a female partner that he's in love with.
This all leads me to the big question: Is Ricky even a man of the cloth? Did anyone think to drop by for Sunday service to listen to the man preach? Does anyone in Pine Valley even go to church? Sure, it may seem like I am giving the writers a hard time -- but I have to say that it's actually quite brilliant on their part. We've all heard stories about people who've opened their doors to people who've said they were from the local utility company only to have those people turn out to be crooks. I don't know how many people who think to question someone who said they were a minister.
And if Ricky is not an ordained minister... then where does that leave Ryan and Greenlee? I'll tell you where: right back where they started from. They say that God works in mysterious ways... so let's review. Greenlee was run off the road on her wedding day and now they may have been "married" by someone who wasn't even legally able to marry them. If that isn't some sort of sign that Ryan and Greenlee are not supposed to be together then I don't know what is. Carol Ann, Carol Ann... move towards the light.
I have to say that I am more than a little miffed by Erica's decision not to attend Ryan and Greenlee's wedding. I understand that Erica and Greenlee are hardly "besties," as the kids say, but I'm not sure that's enough of a reason to stay away. Sometimes when you're involved with someone, you need to do things that you might not necessarily choose to do on your own. Jack wanted Erica to be at the wedding, so she should have gone.
On top of that, Erica and Ryan used to be best friends, so I'd think that Erica would want to be there for her "friend." Sure, they were also lovers, but when has that ever kept someone away from a wedding? My gosh, if you couldn't go to the wedding of someone you were once intimate with, the pews would be empty... and then who would Reverend Ricky minister to?
Remind me that if I ever need baked goods in a hurry to call Krystal. In about 15 minutes, Krystal not only whipped up a meal for Ryan and Greenlee's entire wedding party, but she also found time to make a beautifully decorated wedding cake.
Speaking of weddings, how quickly the afterglow of the first gay wedding on the soaps has worn off. I suppose there is still an ironic bit of history. Bianca and Reese's failed marriage is the first gay divorce in daytime history. That's about the only humor I can find in the matter. Not only are Bianca and Reese divorcing, but they are doing so via Skype... or Twitter... or something like that. It just seems like a really shoddy way to work around a storyline snafu. Tamara Braun apparently was either unwilling or unable to return to the show. Recast the role! It seems like every other character on the show has been recast. Was someone afraid that one more recast would be "too many?"
I don't really want to see Bianca and Reese break up, but I think that there would be more story if an angry Reese returned to the States and became embroiled in a knock-down, drag-out divorce with Reese. That could have given Christina Bennett Lind some meaty material to sink her teeth into, but I do have to say that she's been doing a great job with what she has been given.
In spooky news from the real world: How strange was it that the day Reese didn't show up in Pine Valley, actress Tamara Braun was re-hired by Days of our Lives. In fact, I think NBC waited until after All My Children had aired in the East to announce that Braun was headed back to Salem.
I thought that Annie's "exit" was wonderfully soapy. Poor Marissa, though, two clunks on the head in just a few months? She may be forced to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the season. But more importantly, back to Annie. Everything fell into place quite nicely. I'm glad that Annie didn't make it out of town without first being spotted -- because it was perfect that the person to see her was the one person in town who might be even more unstable than her: David Hayward. I always thought that Annie and David would have made a good couple. They could have been a force to be reckoned with.
One of the biggest gripes that I've had with AMC in the past year -- and I know that many of you feel the same way -- is the lack of established characters that are on the canvas. The veteran performers that we know and love are either no longer with the show, or they are not given storylines. In an age of stretched budgets, shows cannot afford to hire actors and then pay them to sit around and do nothing until a story has time to build. Money -- that's the reason so many new characters are instantly forced into storylines before viewers care about them.
That said, I think that there has been a nice build to Cara's storyline. Sure, she's been front and center since her debut, but it hasn't been quite as in-your-face as Griffin's. I think it helps that Cara's predicament has been exacerbated by other characters -- characters that we do care about. Jake may or may not have feelings for his ex-wife, and it certainly didn't help that Cara is still wearing her wedding ring. That made Amanda want Cara gone, so Amanda started making phone calls to cause a little trouble, and then -- Oops! That call to Immigration may get Cara deported to Mexico, and I think we all know that Amanda probably made her life a lot more complicated than it would have been had she just turned a blind eye to what was going on.
Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to get dressed up like a minister and see if anyone will invite me into their home for a free meal -- and then because I'm a bit unstable, I'm gonna hop in the car and flee town. But not before calling the Feds on myself.
dan
