Hell’s Waiting Room – Dorian, Viki and Charlie

By Todd

The importance of Dorian’s actions concerning Viki and Charlie is in sole regards to Dorian’s late husband Mel Hayes. Also, there is some history to Dorian and Charlie.

Charlie found Dorian at the Buchanan Estate in Texas after Alex had hit Dorian with her car. Dorian technically brought Charlie to Llanview and he was a guest at Dorian’s home. Then there was Jared, Charlie’s’ son, who had the ammo to help Dorian acquire Buchanan Enterprises.

As Mel said in his first appearance on the 40th anniversary shows, Dorian was quite possibly starting to bond with Charlie — or Dorian at least admitted he had a “rough charm.”  And, as Mel said when Dorian found out that Charlie was interested in Viki, she was scared to take a chance on him because Viki was interested in him.

Now, in the way they have written Mel’s returns and Dorian’s latest crossroads, she is trying to “atone” for drugging Charlie in the BE takeover and dumping his body for silence, and trying to get Charlie to kill Mitch.

So, what it comes down to is that Dorian sees her actions as doing right by her own late husband to make him happy.  Also, Mel convinced Dorian to care about her own soul in the afterlife. If you go back to ’98 when Dorian was in “Hell” after being shot, her issues with Viki were part of the reasons she went there.

They haven’t written it on-screen but it is obvious Dorian is afraid of returning to Hell’s waiting room, and she believes that the right course is for Viki and Charlie to stay together. It only makes sense if you follow Mel’s worries over Dorian’s soul, and the times when Dorian was being written at the top of show.

Right now, it seems they have just simplified Dorian. There could be a future temptation of romance between Charlie and Dorian, but the show isn’t showing us much as far as what’s ahead for Dorian. I could be wrong.

To view more:

• My Friend Charlie
• Miracles – Mel Visits Dorian (Part One)
• Cold – Dorian’s Soul

Blair’s Dramatic Legacy

By Laurel

There’s so much that I could say about the dynamic Blair Cramer. Love her or hate her she is a force with which to be reckoned.  Some might say that she is just all diva!  However, I have another theory.  Blair is afraid and, dare I say, a lot like Dorian.

So here it is:  Blair is a Drama Seeker.  She needs the drama.  It feeds her soul and sadly lets her down as well.  The drama gives her a purpose and her need for it could even be considered a co-dependent relationship.

Look at Blair’s history.  She has had good men in her life, but the drama builds and then they’re packing.   Blair wants to be loved but won’t admit that she needs a man much less give in to a good man.  Case in point — the ever so hot and adorable Elijah! I find myself screaming, “Wake up Blair and smell the drama-free love of a good man!”

There was also Max.  She fell madly in love with Max, but sought after the uber rich Asa Buchanan.  Shall we scream it together?  ”What were you thinking, Blair?”

Here’s the real deal.  She didn’t want Max until someone else did and now Blair won’t want Eli until someone else does.  It is sad that she won’t give in to such a good man.

So where does this need for drama come from?  Consider why Blair came to Llanview to begin with.  She sought to get revenge against Dorian at any cost. She has blamed Dorian for not only her mother’s problems, but also her own problems with men.  It’s as if the Cramer women have been cast a crown of endowment where they revel in fighting the acceptance of true and sincere love.

I venture to say that Blair is carrying on a bigger legacy and pray that Starr and her strong spirit will break the cycle. Starr may well struggle with finding and accepting love from a good man just as the other Cramer women have done.  Unlike them, she will fight for love and won’t settle for anything less than what she deserves.

Drama.  It all goes back to a deep down longing for the drama that makes Blair feel alive. Perhaps that is why no matter how hard she tries, she will always have a place in her heart for Todd beyond that of him being the father of her children. Blair feels a connection with Todd.  Although she claims she doesn’t want him, she can’t let go of him.

Thus, the legacy will continue.

(However, I am rooting for Eli; but hoping against hope that he doesn’t get hurt in the process.)

No Longer Together

Recently, Dorian showed up at the apartment where her daughter and grand-niece live with their boyfriends.  She had tickets to a sold out concert to give them, and took some time alone with Langston to remind her of what a great guy Markko is.  Not only did Dorian’s praise for Markko seem to be a complete turn around from opinions she held in the past, but it also seemed she might have been using the tickets as an excuse to meddle or at least force herself into whatever might be happening with the teens.

I really think Dorian actually did just want to show up and give her girls those tickets.  It isn’t being addressed on the show but it only makes perfect sense that not having Langston and Starr at home is driving Dorian berserk and she is looking for any excuse she can to see them without waiting to be invited.  Dorian is extremely family oriented almost to the point of being obsessed.

Dorian, in the past, has always been a very proactive character who likes to gather information and take matters into her own hands.  She’s also said several times that she is still not convinced that her girls are safe, even with Mitch — who is still a threat — behind bars.

However, recently she has stated that she is going to try to stop meddling so much. Still, we know it is in Dorian’s nature to be a protector — she’s been protecting her family since she was a little girl.  So apparently the responsibilities of being mayor are keeping her quite distracted.

Back to the visit….

Dorian has slowly been having an about-face in her opinion of Markko, but (until recently) she did not want Markko to know it. She wants to keep Markko terrified of her so that he’ll treat Langston with respect.  Dorian is both dad and mom to Langston, and it seems to come naturally to Dorian to show her scary side when she feels it appropriate.

Markko and Dorian started off on the wrong foot because early in Markko and Langston’s relationship, Langston was new to Dorian’s family and Markko was one of the kids with ripped jeans and dark tee-shirts.  Langston and Markko both felt like the “weird” kids. Dorian didn’t think Markko was good enough for Langston.

Starr and Cole got pregnant and ran away; and Langston and Markko knew about it, but kept their secret.  Dorian found Langston in Starr’s room while Markko hid in the closet, but a suspicious Dorian found a pregnancy book that Langston had stashed.  Markko, in an attempt to cover for Cole and Starr, popped out of the closet and said that Langston was pregnant. “Congratulations … Nana.”  Needless to say, Dorian sort-of went off the deep end.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gktkosFY7X0]

Langston and Markko endured and Dorian understood young love, and she came to see Markko as being very talented and smart like Langston.  She even practically gave her blessing when she found out that the kids were going to have sex for the first time on prom night — but not before telling Langston she was sad about it and trying to intimidate Markko!

Then, things really seemed to take a turn when Langston and Dorian hosted Markko’s graduation party and Dorian ruined it by getting drunk and telling his conservative parents about Langston and Markko’s little prom night secret.  Markko’s parents forbid him from ever seeing Langston again because she was not a good influence and her mother was even worse!!

And then, just when his parents were coming around and able to sit in the same room with Markko and Langston peacefully, Dorian announced on television that she was a lesbian!  (Although they seemed unhappy about it, Markko’s mom secretly voted for Dorian.  It should also be noted that Dorian is not a lesbian.)

I think Dorian really feels a bit guilty about all the drama she’s created in Langston and Markko’s relationship.  She has made her other two daughters mad at her so many times because of her meddling and mistakes, and she wants to try really hard to keep Langston happy.  I think that Markko and Lang have also been together long enough and Dorian sees Markko in a good enough light now that she really considers him a part of the family and genuinely wants the two to stay together.

Dorian has only had a few relationships where the man really treated her like a princess and “worshipped” her, and I think she understands the importance of having a man like that.  In a way, she was sort-of telling Langston without telling her, “Don’t make the same mistakes I did.  Don’t lose this one.  Don’t let this one go.”

I think it is also intuition.  Dorian knew something was wrong when Markko went to her house looking for Langston not that long ago.  Dorian surely knew that if Langston had been in the house, as she told Markko she would be, she would have at least said hello to her mother while there.  Dorian, I think, may realize that Langston is lying to Markko — but out of duty to her daughter isn’t saying anything.

Although Dorian currently has good relationships with all her girls, it wasn’t always so.  She doesn’t want to inadvertently cause problems in another of her mother-daughter relationships, much the same way Starr doesn’t want to lose her best friend.

From Never to Forever

By Laurel

As I watched Bo propose to Nora, I was as thrilled as any long time fan. However, when she hesitated it made total sense. Nora is a woman who likes to be in control. Over the past year, she hasn’t been in control of much.

First, there was Matthew’s paralyzing accident.  It left her feeling helpless.  When Matthew pursued the dangerous surgery that could help him walk again, she was even more distraught and fought to stop him.

When she and Bo confessed their love, she insisted on being the one to tell her then husband, Clint. Someone else beat her to it and she lost control of that situation as well.

There’s a very clear history with Nora. It goes well beyond this past year and clearly feeds into her insecurities with her relationship with Bo.

Bo walked away from her when she needed him most. An act that she believed she had committed out of love was thrown in her face when her arch-enemy, Lindsay, publicly told Nora’s secret. It was perhaps, one of the darkest moments in Nora’s life.

In an attempt to give Bo a baby, Nora slept with Sam. Sam was Lindsay’s ex and Lindsay was determined to destroy Nora’s so-called perfect life with Bo.

What would bring a dignified woman to make such a desperate choice?  In a word, fear.   She feared losing Bo.  Bo had tragically lost his son Drew and thought that he could no longer father his own child.

This was wonderful news to Lindsay who pounced on every opportunity to wreak havoc in Nora’s world.  So, at what should have been a night of celebration came pure humiliation when Lindsay publicly announced that Nora had slept with Sam.

(Hmmm, Clint did the same thing to Nora.  Public humiliation is not a friend.)

In an instant, the love of her life walked away.  Bo is old-fashioned.  He wants and needs honesty, but he wants and needs Nora.  He realized that he had judged her when it took about 15 years for him to even forgive her.  As for Nora, she fears disappointing the man who has finally forgiven her.  I think it is safe to say that he is the love of her life.  She would do anything for him and now he is asking her to jump back into the unknown — marriage.

She must be vulnerable. She must let go and trust him to catch her. Watching her fight that fear of letting Bo take her heart again was beautiful and sincere.  For a moment she was caught up in Bo’s plan for their future, but the reality of the past took over.  She was clearly torn by her excitement and her fear.  Bo saw right through it all and reached out to catch her.

The Infidelity Clause

Before Clint and Kim’s recent marriage, Clint had Kim sign a prenuptial agreement that has an infidelity clause. This specific clause of the legal document has been brought up a couple of times since then.

Now, any smart businessman with millions of dollars on the line should probably enter into an agreement of marriage with a signed prenup, and surely this was the case when Clint married Nora not that long ago.

As the infidelity clause is continually brought up (as if foreshadowing doom for Kim and Clint) it is important to remember the events of Clint’s last couple of relationships.

First, there was the situation at the end of his relationship with Dorian. To make a long story short, Dorian unexpectedly showed up for a visit while Clint was in Texas and found him kissing Nora in the stables.  Assuming Clint was cheating on her, a stunned and hurt Dorian cried on David’s shoulder and Dorian and David ended up sleeping together. Needless to say, Clint was angry and looking for his rifle when he found the two the next morning.

Next up, Clint’s marriage to Nora went bust when she fell back in love with his brother, Bo. Perhaps Nora and Bo had only kissed at the point when Clint found out about their affair of the heart, but as far as Clint knew or was concerned, Nora was cheating on him. The divorce was quick.

That brings us to Kim, who helped facilitate Clint’s finding out about Bo and Nora, and who was quick to help him get even by staging a scene of herself and Clint in bed together for Nora to walk in on.  Kim managed to snag Clint by using the custody battle for Sierra Rose as a reason to get married and hopefully secure her status as a suitable parent.

But the way their relationship started was all too easy. Clint has become very good at falling into the arms of a new woman while the other slips away — Dorian to Nora to Kim. If the pattern was to hold, he could anticipate Kim cheating on him, couldn’t he?

It seems Clint really wants to understand Kim and help her. He really seems to like having her around. But the infidelity clause is one to note — whether it is supposed to be a cryptic reference to a future storyline or a dark reminder of Clint’s past relationships.

The Queen of Self Preservation

By Natalia Robin
Edited by Jen

Roxanne Balsom wants those around her to be happy and she is so full of life that she turns off many.  She clearly can’t be the mother that she wants to be because she can’t let go of her demons.  I think she hurts so deeply that she just can’t give her real self to others. When she does share the deeper part of herself it is painful. What has happened to her to make her feel such pain but also put on such a bravado at the same time?

Most of the time Roxy only gives us the brazen half drunken side of her.  We rarely see her as the vulnerable character that she really is.  Roxy has buried her pain so deeply that in order to keep it from haunting her, she turns to the bottle.  Survival — that’s her niche and if it means drinking until the pain is tolerable, then so be it.  I dare not say that she is a functional alcoholic because I just don’t think that alcoholic and functional are compatible mates.

That being said, this week Roxy finally faced Rex and Natalie — really faced them and the fact that she was not Rex’s mother.  Roxy admitted that she knew that her baby had died.  It didn’t matter who the baby’s father was — she lost a child, and now she lost another, Rex.

The pain was evident on Rex’s face, but he gave Roxy the much needed acceptance that she longed for. He told her that biology didn’t matter.  Remember Thanksgiving when they were barely speaking as this whole fiasco began to take root?  Rex was so angry that Roxy had hid his parentage from him.  Now with a twist in true soap opera fashion — surprise — Mitch is not Rex’s father after all.

Roxy was not only facing the fact that she lost Rex as her biological son.  She also had to mourn for the child that she never grieved over because she accepted Rex as her baby all those years ago, instead of the one that she believed died.

And if Rex is not her son, then Shane is not her grandson, which means Roxy has had to face the loss of two children and two grandchildren in less than a year.  For many months she thought Sierra Rose was going to be her second grandchild.  She even showed up at the hospital with balloons when she thought Stacy was in labor.

What a bittersweet moment as we listened to her describe her baby and the fact that she knew deep down that her child had died, but was not able to accept it.  Instead, she claimed Rex as her own.  This revelation adds a very real layer to her persona and I hope that we will continue to see her explore this dark and twisted bittersweet pain.