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HOME / Columns / My View of Llanview / My View of Llanview: May 15 Edition

My View of Llanview

My View of Llanview: May 15 Edition

HOME / Columns / My View of Llanview / My View of Llanview: May 15 Edition

My View of Llanview

My View of Llanview: May 15 Edition

My View of Llanview: May 15 Edition

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — The less we see of the mess called Wes, the better.

Leave it up to Ron Carlivati to kill a good story. Okay, so the story wasn’t all that great to begin with. Even so, with one swoop of his pen, Carlivati effective ruined the Jessica/Tess/Bess/Wes/Hess/Dess/whoever storyline last week.

As if Jessica and her rhyming alternate personalities weren’t already ridiculous enough (and yes, I realize that Viki has a rhyming alter [Niki] as well, but that’s beside the point), this latest action was the icing on the cake. In theory, giving Jessica a male alter sounds plausible, since many actual DID patients do just that, however, in this instance it is too outlandish and idiotic, even for a soap opera. And that should tell you something.

For starters, Jessica’s reasoning for creating Wes appears to be largely non-existent. What possible reason could he have for being “born” and just what purpose could he serve? From the show’s perspective, they will probably try and argue that the real Wes was an old Navy Seal buddy of Brody’s and that Jessica created him to represent the friendship she has with Brody or something stupid like that. As far-fetched as that sounds, however, it could perhaps be acceptable. That is until you remember that Jessica had very little contact with Wes when he was alive, although she was only really learned about him through some stories Brody told her, it makes this storyline even more perplexing.

At least when Viki created her two male alters, they clearly represented something and served very important functions. Tommy expressed the rage that Viki had for all the times her father had molested her. And her Victor Lord personality was the embodiment of her father (the majority of DID sufferers tend to create an alter with the personality of their attacker), who wanted her to take the secret to the grave and kill herself. Wes, however, does neither of those things. Instead he is portrayed as a fun-loving, macho kind of guy. If the writers had really wanted this storyline to work, they could and should have created a male alter that represented the man who molested Jessica in that seedy bar Niki took her to as kid, or one that took on the persona of Jessica’s diabolical, cult leader biological father, Mitch Laurence. But not Brody’s dead best friend Wes Granger.

To further complicate matters, Wes seems to have no idea that he is a man trapped inside a woman’s body and mind. He has no recollection of Jessica or Tess (or even Bess for that matter), and thinks them as just some really hot girls he would like to hook up with. While a host personality and his/her various alters may not always remember everything that was done by the others while they were in control, there are least aware of the others existence. Tommy knew about Niki and Jean and the others, and vice versa. But Wes has no earthly idea whatsoever who Jess and Tess are.

Furthermore, is it too much of a stretch to ponder what Wes thought when he went into the bathroom of Cutter’s hotel room to change into some of his clothes? I mean, he had to have noticed that things looked a little out of place for a man. Surely he had to wonder why he was suddenly wearing a bra and panties, had on lipstick, and had to set down to pee. But, at least you have to admit that this makes 30-year-old Teen Jessica going back to high school again with people half her age, and freaking out about not having a date to the prom and trying desperately to lose her virginity, look like Masterpiece Theater.

As moronic as this storyline has already been, however, I fear that the worst may be yet to come. While I admit that I chuckle whenever I think about Ford’s reaction when he learns his ex-wife is now a man, I worry about how much longer all of this is going to continue. And by that, I mean the entire Jessica storyline, not just Wes. How disturbing is it that Cutter will put the moves on his mentally disturbed wife (who isn’t even a real person to begin with), who now thinks she is a man, so that he can bring her back in order to have her committed to St. Ann’s so he can extort her family in order for him to get his hands on her host personality’s money? Almost as disturbing as Wes trying to pick up where the real Wes Granger left off before his death with his “lady love” Marty Saybrooke. Just please don’t let Jess, er I mean Wes, put the moves on Marty and try to have sex with her. There’s an image none of us need in our heads. Yikes!

Speaking of Marty, as much as I hate the fact that her entire storyline revolves around John McBain (sorry, but he’s just not worth all this trouble), I have to admit that she makes one hell of a good psycho. She has been quite entertaining these past few days, even as she has been running around town stabbing and throwing people off roofs, murdering mental health care professionals, assaulting police officers, kidnapping babies, switching DNA test results, waving guns at teenagers, and preparing a romantic dinner for her fantasy boyfriend all at the same time. Damn, she’s good…lol.

Moving on, congratulations to “CBRVA” and “Judy146,” both of whom correctly identified last time’s mystery “OLTL” celebrity guest star, which was John Cullum. In 1969, Cullum as appeared as Artie Duncan on “One Life to Live.” From 1990-95, he appeared as bartender Holling Vincoeur.

In case you missed the clues, here they are:

This Tennessee born actor gained some northern exposure when he appeared in Llanview in the late 1960s and on stage after leaving town, but didn’t achieve primetime success until more than two decades later.

Now it’s time to play another round of “Llanview, Who Am I?,” a new feature where you have to use the clues to figure out the identity of some mystery celebrity from “OLTL’s” past. See if you can figure it out. Good luck!!!

In 2009, this former TV newsman moderated a debate between Llanview’s mayoral candidates.

So who is this mystery group from the past? I’ll have the answers in the May 30th edition of My View of Llanview. And don’t forget to check out my Twitter page for all the latest “OLTL” news and information at SON.

Now, before I wrap up this column, I’m going to look into my crystal ball and give you a quick sneak peek at a few things coming up a few weeks down the road. A father is confronted by his son. One child’s parents receive some devastating news. Someone gets advice from an unlikely source. And one Llanview resident’s condition takes a turn for the worse, while his/her family remains in the dark about their loved one’s prognosis.

Well that’s concludes yet another column. Have a great day! Take care and stay safe. And until next time remember, we only have “One Life to Live”…

  • One Life to Live
  • Ron Carlivati
  • John Cullum
  • Northern Exposure

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