Chuckle. Snort. Chuckle. Sigh. How is it possible that in four or five days Port Charles could make such an about face and actually give the audience what it hungers for most? Human interaction, conflict based in relationships, humor, poignancy, a nod to the shows history and a patchwork of all the actors still employed. The conflict(s) may still have its roots in those overdone supernatural devices but it doesn’t matter, this kind of drama is buyable on every level. The vampire lovers still have the vampires, and “good” ones at that, but now those who, ahem, are less than enamored with the fanged ones have something else to sink their teeth into. 

Good story. Imagine that.

I just can’t help but think that TPTB knew this arc would be Port Charles swan song. Or they were at least prepared for it to be. They couldn’t possibly have known so far into the future, hey a crystal ball couldn’t have helped open their eyes back then, that loyal viewers would have reached their limits of tolerance right on cue, just in time for one last arc to turn it all around.  

I know better than anyone that my musings have gotten very predictable, the same lecture over and over again about balancing the supernatural intriguing but overly plot driven stories with, character driven themes of human interest interaction, love, betrayal, desire, infidelity, deception, hate that would lend depth to the devices, all leading up to a point of some sort, a resolution of some sort. 

Looks like The Gift is heading in that direction. Looks like the darkness has been vanquished and the characters, while obviously still dealing with the fallout of all that evil manipulation, may find some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. The brave new world, that seemed to take forever to set up, has arrived and we might just get an entertaining chance to experience, along with everyone else on the show, what that new world is going to mean to Port Charles’ fantasy reality. Not a dark and scary reality, filled with only vampires and their selfish needs and wants, but a balanced world relatively speaking between humans and the undead, whose only evidence right now of actually being dead is largely implied, a spot in our memories. No more blood, no more feeding, no more green and red contact lenses, no more appearing and disappearing. Oh we know it’s all still hanging around but mercifully we’re not subjected to it every minute of every day we watch the drama unfold. 

If all this happened in record time, well so be it. That’s Port Charles. I have a sneaking suspicion we’re all going to be very tired of one little ring but for now it is solving problems, making beautiful women appear, stopping bank robberies, fixing wrong lunch orders, making snow appear in July, and the doozie of all doozies, turning bad Kevin back into good Kevin. 

Wish upon a ring. Port Charles’ last tongue in cheek device to wish away all the gloom and bring enlightenment.

I’m having fun again so no picking apart the nonsense today, okay well maybe just a little.  Yes, there’s still a lot of nonsense, but its early on, DESIRE hasn’t completely worn off but it’s well on its way. Haven’t been able to say “fun” in a very long time. How enjoyable it is to watch Jamal fall in love again, watching him rediscover the innocence, silliness and hope that falling in love brings.  How incredibly rewarding it was to watch Chris both share his success with and at the same time single handedly memorialize his best bud Eve, his colleague and friend Karen and his ode to being the last intern standing with his patented humor and pathos while getting drunk on his famous martinis.  Full circle.   

Rafe has at last become a real, live man, full of emotions and resentment that he can’t easily push away in his usual saintly manner.  Rafe and Alison are still being written to struggle, but at least it’s a relationship struggle now. There’s doubt, resignation, wariness, loss of trust, insecurity in their union – just like real couples.  Rafe is behaving like most men finally, denying there’s a problem, refusing to talk about it, stomping his foot and hightailing it out of there when he doesn’t want to deal with any of it. He can’t let go of what’s happened, no matter what he says, so he runs right over to the one person he can take it all out on, Livvie.  While Alison and Caleb have their bonding moment, with Caleb showing his newfound humanity and sensitivity, Livvie and Rafe have their usual sparring session, full of sexual tension and anger, sharp words and that line drawn in the sand that we’re never quite sure they’ll cross over or not. What ensues as these four face each other has obviously set us up for the continuing conflict between the two sets of lovers – jealousy being the operative word here.

I really am ignoring that sledgehammer coming down again, could Alison be experiencing morning sickness pray tell, because as Port Charles always teases, all is not as it seems and I’m betting either this will hold true here as well, or the thought of throwing a pregnancy into the mix that only has three months to play out is just too hard for me to wrap my brain around right now. I’m not interested at this point in time, watching everything else that has been so wearily set up break down as Rafe and Alison focus on a baby. Much as the diehard Rali fans would love it to be a fitting ending to their love story it just isn’t appropriate right now. Perhaps the last show of the series Alison can race in and declare the proof of their love is blooming, again coming full circle, but not now. I’m sure I’ll get lots of mail on this point of view, so sling it my way, I’m ready, but I’m not backing down. 

Ian has suddenly decided to go look for his life again and with the return of Kevin, pat though it may have been, this triangle might actually have some chance at a believable turn.  I have said all along I was a Lucy and Ian fan, but can Lucy really turn her back on her doc if he is truly returned to the man he once was.  Full circle yet again.

All that’s missing is Frank who has once again been left out in the cold after his poignant farewell to Karen, his character’s actions unresolved, their reasons unexplained.  So many plot holes have been closed this week, I’m guessing Frank isn’t far behind so I’ll wait and see.

But I do have one final question for the week – if Jamal has figured out he can make his wishes come true with Caleb’s ring, why hasn’t he wished himself human again yet?  And will he lose the ring before he gets the chance?  (and if all this happens on Friday’s episode, disregard my comments, press time came one day early this week).

 

...until we muse again Port Charles Fans









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