Can’t avoid it any longer, can’t ignore it any longer, the boards are blazing and everyone wants to know the same thing,  Where did Rafe go and who is this in his place?  Did falling from grace mean falling into an abyss of ambiguity so wide and so deep as to completely obliterate Rafe’s character and personality.  Was it really necessary to tear down so totally everything that made this character so special, so different from every other contrived male character in soapdom.  Was it really necessary to tear apart the one story that probably drew more fans to PC than any other story in its history.  Did falling from grace mean giving  the writers carte blanche to bury everything Rafe is and has been so drastically to move a dubious plot line forward. Apparently so.

Disillusionment, disappointment, disbelief, boredom and apathy are all over the boards every day now as we desperately search for some sign of encouragement, some clue that was Rafe. Comments like “the Rafe I fell in love with is dead”,  “He’s acting like a confused fool”  “Rafe, get a clue”, “PodRafe” abound.   I’m tired of caring what Rafe does or doesn’t do.  This whole character makes no sense at this point, has no connection to the Rafe we all fell in love with.  We know he is in there somewhere, locked away, waiting for the day the writers deem is “the day” to emerge and restore everyone’s faith in this character, but for now he’s been brain dead for far too long.  We’ve had precious few moments ,snippets of his true self, bits and pieces here and there but for the most part what we have now is a sorry imitation of the real thing.  Where is the fighting spirit, the strength of will and stubbornness that is Rafe.   I thought PC was immune to this kind of dragged out and dragged through the mud story line.  I thought, silly me, the 13 week arc idea was actually working, moving story lines forward and to resolution so brilliantly.  We are now in our 17^th week is it of the “disappearance” of Rafe and frankly, its all starting to wear very thin, even for a professed addict like me.

Its been very difficult watching this total character assassination of  Rafe unfold.  His innate character and soul could not have disappeared so completely along with his memory loss.  Where’s his backbone, his instincts, his smarts…those don’t automatically disappear with the loss of a few brain cells. The name of the game now is how much of Livvie’s whining and moaning and constant lies and deceptive abuse is Rafe going to take before he revolts and pushes back with any degree of believability here.  We’ve revolted, its time he does too.  He can only play the confused, desperate, grateful, pathetic lost angel with Livvie for so long.  We can’t take it anymore and neither should he.  It’s time for Rafe to seek out the truth of his existence.  He should have begun that process immediately upon tumbling back to earth, that’s what the Rafe we had been given since he first appeared would have done. That’s what you would expect any creature to do, human, mortal, angel, whatever.  Memory loss or no memory loss. Apparently that’s not what the writers thought any of us would actually want to watch.  Instead, we have to digest a piece of writing  that makes very little sense, and is infuriating to no end.   The Rafe we knew would have left no stone unturned in seeking out the truth of his life in PC before allowing himself to fall prey so easily to the machinations of a beautiful woman.  Hell anyone with half a brain would have.  Yeah, yeah, yeah he fell back to earth desperate to believe his life had meaning, he had made connections along the way, had loved and been loved, and there was Livvie confirming it all for him, but memory loss or no memory loss, Rafe would have investigated his existence, his familial connections, anything to try to figure out what and why he was there.   He would have investigated every memory flash, every feeling of unease, but most of all would have followed more of his instincts as to what does and doesn’t feel right. 

We’ll just have to view the countless brainless instances as a by-product of the struggling, confused, lost clueless, amnesiac that Rafe is at the moment. Because if we don’t, when he finally regains his memory, and we all know he will, we will  never be able to view this character as the bright, shining light he once was. What’s the point here. I’m exhausted watching the writers use this as a ruse to pull apart a magical couple in order to string along the very viewers who fell in love with that couple, stood behind them and supported the pairing when many wouldn’t.  And for what, you can’t waste chemistry between actors like this, Rafe and Alison will obviously reunite, but news flash writers, we would still be watching PC if Rafe and Alison were not torn apart, believe me the thrill of that relationship wouldn’t have faded any time soon.  This mix n’ match couple thing is not the drama most of us want to see.  As for luring new viewers to this show, I’m not sure this Rafe is the attraction he once was, (no offense intended to the wonderful Brian Gaskill who is as marvelous and handsome as ever).  This Rafe is coming off as a cuckolded, brow beaten lug with no backbone or gumption to stand up to his manipulative and conniving wife.  We know the truth and beauty and strength of  his character and soul, and wait for that inevitable day it re-emerges, but for those who don’t know it, who may have tuned in this week, or last week or the week before and are getting this version , will they even have the patience and fortitude to stick it through.  If we don’t start seeing some more concrete signs that Rafe is slowing finding his way back to himself, will we… 

Comments/feedback?
Email me  musings@soaptownusa.com