Valentini's Folly Takes Shape: GH Fans Meet the Real Todd Manning!

Okay, so I watched GH live on Monday.  At about the half way point, I heard a distinct “thud” and felt as if I was thrown off balance as I rocked forward a little.  Know why? It was at that moment that Todd allowed Tea to think Sam’s baby was hers. And, it was at that moment when I realized what the noise was, as well as the sensation.  It was the sound of the OLTL bus, which I am firmly on, running over the GH fans, all at once.  And there must not be too many as I wasn't even thrown off the couch.  There’s no looking back now, Kids, it’s over.  They just gave Todd the story many of them have been waiting for for years.  It’s official.  GH is dead and OLTL is reborn.  Long may she reign.

You have to give these guys credit.  It would seem I rarely do but those of you who kept up with my rants on TWOP know that I was an FV cheerleader for quite some time.  He has the balls to do what must be done and he was blindly devoted to OLTL.  So, he had me from the jump.  Carlivati- not so much.  Anyone who penned the rapemance is on my shitlist- knowing that was Victor or not is irrelevant. It was nauseating.  And going ahead with revisiting the old Frat House Rape Trio from Hell story instead of waiting for Howarth to come back and be in it is a travesty.  Bad boy, Nimnuts, bad!!

Yet you do have to admire their balls at this point. They know what they’re doing. As I understand it, this is the culmination of years of watching and hoping for many of these fans and look what Valentini did with it.  He made it about Todd.  My God. Even as an out of the closet Todd fan, I think that may be a bit low.  But, hey, it’s crunch time so, do what you gotta do.

I’ve said adamantly that this “endeavor”, as we’ll call it, was never about saving GH.  That should be getting more clear by the day. This is about finishing OLTL- or resurrecting it- as just as the age old question “Where’s Blair?” is officially answered (and thank you for that, BTW, official word makes life so much easier) we have her and Todd’s pivotal moment revisited.  So, is this a chance to revisit the “DBL” as it’s known?

To the uninitiated viewer, that means the “Dead Baby Lie” where Todd, angry and psychotically jealous that he thought Blair was having Max’s baby, delivered it and then told her it was dead.  His need to have her to himself was paramount and sharing her with “Max’s baby” was not an option.  So, in Todd fashion, he “moved him out of the way”.  Of course, that baby was Jack and he was Todd’s and that started another whole thing that, to this day, is still an issue. Especially with Jack.

Is it a coincidence that Blair’s impending arrival is announced as this story plays out to some extent again?  Or will it finally be the thing that brings some closure to the issue? If that moment was meant to keep them apart forever, they wouldn’t have come back together twice since.  Is this the time to make it up?  We’ll see but the timing is suspect to me, as is most else with Mr. Valentini’s folly.  But, again, it’s never dull and he’s as dedicated to getting us our show back as anyone, so you have to give him credit for that.

What I liked best about this baby thing is that it was really Todd on my screen. Not fun guy who doesn’t play by the rules. Not cute guy with the kickass body who Carly might hit on.  Not the guy who brings flowers and loves his kid.  No. This was Todd. Todd whose life is always out of control. Todd who makes mistakes and acts on impulse.  Todd who is unreliable and "does stupid things every day", as he told Blair in the finale. 

It was Todd. The Todd I know and have known for twenty years.  It was the Todd GH fans need to meet. He’s not just funny or fun or someone who looks nice in a suit. He’s a selfish man who puts his needs above others. He’s a man who plays by his own rules and if others get hurt, he feels guilty but it won’t stop him.  As he told Blair as she was asleep during the DBL, he does what he has to do to get the job done. And that’s what he did.  As he walked out with Tea, we saw Todd. Looking satisfied that he could play hero, that Tea no longer looked at him with derision and that he could maybe now get what he wants- forgiveness from all of them. And his family back. Coincidence that this is just when we get the Blair announcement?  HHMMM...I don't think so.

Todd wants his family back. That's it. Using demented Todd logic, I see how this could work.  He will regret taking Sam's baby and he may try to make it better. But he did, nonetheless. Heather manipulated him.  That's true. But he did it because he's TODD!! That's him.  I have no doubt he'll go on a quest for Tea's real baby and it will bring him to not so dead Victor.  But that's not the point here.

Let's get into his nasty little mind for a second, shall we? If he let Tea's baby die, everyone would hate him more.  BUT if he saves the baby, he's the hero and everyone will forgive him to some extent. Then maybe, just maybe, Viki and Jack and Blair will relent and start to let him in again.  As Tea said, he will "worm his way back into his family's hearts".  And Todd agreed that "everyone is good at something".  He knows Blair and Viki love him and want to forgive him. He has to give them a reason.  Viki hates when Todd gives into his "dark side".  She won't sit for it, not "at'all". This shows his good side and trying to make up for offing Slow Bro. Here's one of my favorite scenes when Viki lectures Todd on not giving in to his demons and won't take his crap "at'all". It starts at about 1:13.  Sorry about the icky Tomas/Blair scene....I mean Sam, yeah, Sam.

This is Todd as we've always known him, only a little more hesitant. He's grown but not completely. He still will give in to his selfish tendencies, just not as easily.  We saw him try to do the right thing but he didn't go through with it. He could have taken his hits with Tea and not taken Sam's kid....but he didn't.  He gave in to his worse tendencies and made the bad decision, as Todd's all about the bad decisions because, well, he's Todd.


So, thank you, Valentini, for keeping Todd "Todd".  It was ugly, but so is most of Todd's history. He's not one of GH's hoodlums with the heart of gold. He's a real anti-hero.  He's not easy to love but, like Blair and Viki and Starr and Jess, we do anyway.  In spite of who he is. Yet GH fans won't.  And that's the point.  Again, I'll repeat.  Valentini does not care about GH, it's fans, it's stories, or it's survival.  It's about his show, his characters, his long term stories, and it's becoming more and more obvious every day. 

You don't hijack a major story that has been in the making for years and make it about something else if you want to focus on the task at hand.  You focus on the GH slant and Sam and Jason. They were the characters who were supposed to be the focus but they weren't even really present in this whole thing. Sam passes out and Jason is chatting with McBain, another OLTL face, who's making him look like the shithead that he is. They weren't important here.  It was about Todd's angst, Todd's history, and Todd's future. It's a hard pill for the GH fans to swallow, but FV is forcing it down their throats. Their show is over.  Deal with it. It was a loser and he's not going to try and save it. It's his show now.  Get on board or get off.  Let's see what they'll do.

GH is over and has been since the new regime took hold of it. They came in planning the finale and they still are.  But a show will continue. It just won't be GH.  Oh well. Sucks for them.  But, like Todd, we're selfish.  Good for us! But, we do feel a little bad..................