Starting next month, I'll be doing a new week in review segment each week featuring a breakdown of stories and what is working/not working for one of the soaps. I'm going to kick things off a little early with a review of this week's episodes of GUIDING LIGHT.
SYNOPSIS:
Much of the week revolved around the return of Shayne Lewis to Springfield and how that intersected with the wedding of Mallet and Marina. Monday kicked off with a neat voice over from Shayne as he watched family and friends who have moved on with their lives over the past five years. Eventually he made his way Company where the Coopers lured Marina for a surprise family-attended wedding.
Before Shayne could interrupt the wedding himself, Daisy did her best to ruin the day on her own by insisting Grady be there as her date. The thought of Grady set Frank off. Mallet tried to remind everyone that it was Marina's special day but she bolted for some fresh air, demanding peace and harmony when she returned.
Before the wedding even started Mallet had shared an emotional reunion with Dinah. He told her, "I loved you so intensely I never thought I would love anybody else." He insisted he had found love again with Marina and was happy so she hugged and congratulated him. She also insisted that Bill was innocent of kidnapping Lizzie.
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After seeing Dinah with Mallet and knowing he was going to marry his old flame, Marina, Shayne had a run-in with the cop outside the courthouse. Mallet didn't know who Shayne was. I know a new actor is in the role, the wonderful Jeff Branson, but Dinah and Mallet having no clue who he is seems rather odd to me. Anyway, after the Grady wedding interruption, Shayne finally had a reunion with Marina. She was taken aback at how bitter he seemed but told him to call her and left to go back to the wedding.
The wedding started again but this time Shayne interrupted. Eventually Shayne flung himself at Mallet and punched him in the face. Dinah tried to break things up, after being shocked at the revelation of who Shayne really was. Dinah and Shayne were arrested and spent the night in jail.
Josh bailed Shayne out the next morning and he had an emotional reunion with his parents. He told Reva and Josh that Marah knew nothing about him being in a wheelchair now, and Reva prevented Josh from telling him about her leukemia. Later, a doctor told Reva and Josh that Shayne might not ever get out of his wheelchair as Shayne was leaving the hospital with Dinah's help.
At the Bauer cabin, Bill kept peppering her Lizzie with questions about the kidnapping. When Bill voiced suspicions about an MIA Dinah, Lizzie reminded him that Dinah had stood by him while she was missing, and assured Bill that Dinah loved him. Bill called Dinah to thank her for supporting him during the kidnapping. Dinah was glad to hear Bill's voice, but she felt guilty listening to him go on and on about how much he appreciated her help. Later, Bill overheard Lizzie on the phone admitting to someone that she did have doubts about Bill.
Alan was furious when his private investigator told him Lizzie left town. He then accused Beth of not being a good mother because she was more concerned with school than looking after her daughter. Alan said she needs to get her priorities straight, and Beth told Alan not to take her for granted. Beth went to see Coop and they ended up spending the night together.
Natalia was surprised to learn that Olivia resigned from her position with Galaxy. Olivia claimed it wasn't a big deal, because she wanted to focus on the Beacon. Meanwhile Natalia arrived at Company and Buzz and Frank told her about the Christmas tree sale Frank set up to help pay for Rafe's legal fees. Natalia was thankful for Frank's gesture, and even more excited when she was able to see (but not touch) Rafe. Olivia met with Decker and offered him one last chance to give Natalia her money back. If he refused, she told him he'd be hearing from her lawyer, because she believed she'd been unfairly fired due to her heart condition. Later, Olivia went to Company to tell Natalia that she'd convinced Decker to return her money. Natalia saw through a story Olivia told about the money not making it on time and realized Olivia had sacrified her job for her.
Christina told Remy she had to visit her grandmother, Loretta, in the hospital and he offered to go with her. At the hospital, Chistian went to get her grandmother some ice cream, leaving Loretta to ask Remy what his intentions were with her granddaughter. Remy confessed that he and Christina were actually married, and Loretta told Remy a little about Christina's history. When she mentioned that Christina's dad wasn't in her life, Remy told Loretta how he had to fight to be in Max's life. After his chat with Loretta, Christina asked Remy to tell her all about Max.
Elsewhere, Grady told Dinah that he did her a favor by framing Bill for Lizzie's kidnapping since she was part of the kidnapping plan. Despite Lizzie's objections, Bill went to the police and gave Frank a statement about her kidnapping, which damaged Bill's claim that he didn't do it.
WHAT WORKED:
- Shayne's return to Springfield. Branson is the best actor to ever play this role.
- Most of Marina and Mallet's wedding, aside from Grady and Daisy.
- Olivia and Natalia. Their friendship is a real highlight of this show.
- Remy and Christina. These two have chemistry and their relationship reminds of a good, old-school soap romance.
- The reunions - Shayne/Marina, Shayne/Reva, Dinah/Mallet - all rang true and were acted brilliantly.
WHAT DID NOT WORK:
- Grady and Daisy. Daisy could not have been more annoying at the wedding if she tried.
- Grady and Cyrus. I just can't get into or care about any conversation they have together.
- Eleni's return. She did not have a significant role this week, but I was hoping for some type of special moment between Frank and Eleni at their daughter's wedding. That type of family moment is way more important to see than Frank freaking out about the likes of Grady.
- Despite the evidence, as a fan, it bugs me that so many people are convinced Bill is guilty. This is one issue soaps have when the cops (Frank, Mallet) are so close to their cases.
RATING FOR THE WEEK (out of 10):
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