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A short while ago, Teresa wrote "I can't wait to see how Cristian's return plays out. It should be interesting." Many readers, like Teresa, wrote in about Cristian's return, all expressing excitement and high levels of anticipation. However, what began as one of the most highly anticipated reunions of the year turned out to be one of the most boring reunions in soap history. Natalie seemed bored and even somewhat annoyed that she had been asked to go to the lodge to see here husband, the husband she thought was gone forever. She acted like he went out of town for a few days and his flight was briefly delayed; she didn't seem shocked or even interested in the fact that Cristian was alive. Typically, when a character returns from the "dead" as Cristian did, other characters on the show tend to say things like "Cristian is gone and is not coming back," or "Cristian is dead, an it is time to move on." Once the characters have all said and accepted that a character isn't coming back, the character will return to shock everyone. Of course, most viewers know a character will be returning long before it actually happens and aren't surprised at all. For soap viewers who already know what will happen, the payoff of a character's return is to see how the other characters react. For Natalie and Cristian's reunion and even Antonio and Cristian's reunion, there wasn't a payoff. The scenes were dull and lacked emotion. Natalie has been lamenting the fact that Cristian is gone for weeks, and when she saw him for the first time, she acted as if she didn't want him to be back. It didn't make sense for Natalie to be so emotionless during her scenes with Cristian when she claimed she felt so lost and out of control without him. Cristian's return should have been a shock and a dream come true for her, but that is not how she reacted at all. When Antonio discovered Cristian was alive, he showed a little more emotion than Natalie, but once again, his reunion with Cristian was lackluster too. Surprisingly, the most emotional re
union was between Jessica and Cristian. Jessica seemed both surprised and happy that Cristian was back and wasn't dead after all. She showed more emotion than Natalie and Antonio combined. To make things even worse, Carlotta doesn't even know that her son is alive yet; she is being kept in the dark until revenge has been sought on Tico. If anyone needs to know that Cristian is alive, it is Carlotta. She thinks she has lost both of her sons and has felt very alone. It is cruel not to tell Carlotta the truth after all she has been through with Antonio. Hopefully this plot against Tico won't take too long, and Carlotta will be reunited with her son in the very near future. It is a shame that a character like Cristian, who has so much history on One Life to Live, was given such a lackluster return.
The good thing about Cristian's return is that people listen to him. He and Antonio are working together as brothers to destory to destroy Tico. Cristian won't let Antonio act like he is not a Vega and is not Cristian's brother. Cristian reminded Antonio that he is still Carlotta's son, even if not biologically. On an even better note, Jessica actually believes what Cristian says about Tico and is willing to listen to his warnings. She isn't suspicious of Cristian's motives and realizes that Tico is responsible for Cristian's disappearance. She tried to help with Cristian and Antonio's plan, and she knows she has to get out of her marriage. While Cristian's return was received poorly by characters on the show, it is helping move storylines forward. As a side note, however, Cristian shouldn't have fallen for Tico's act of pretending not to know who Cristian was. After all, Tico ordered someone to kill Cristian. Why wouldn't Tico know what he looks like? After being held captive for a year, I suppose Cristian is allowed to have a lapse of judgment, but it could end up being dangerous for him. With any luck, Cristian and Antonio's plan will work, as it would be awful for Cristian to escape captivity only to be captured again!
Finally, people in Llanview are busy accusing each other of Paul's murder. Dorian has been accused by a few different people, she has accused Lindsay, others think R.J. did it, and Jen still looks very guilty. We are no closer to knowing who the killer is than we were 2 weeks ago. However, many viewers have changed their minds about who the killer is. When I reported results last time, the majority of people thought Cristian murdered Paul. Now, most people think Tico is behind Paul's death. Here are the new results for who people think killed Paul: Tico: 8, Jen: 4, Evangeline: 3, Riley: 2, and Rex: 1. I still think Tico is too obvious of a choice, since he has a reputation of having people killed. I was, however, surprised that a few people think Evangeline is Paul's killer. I have heard rumors that Evangeline's character is going to be taken in a different direction, but I really can't see her murdering anyone, which makes her an interesting choice. Out of the characters listed above, I think Rex would be the next likely killer, besides Tico. Rex has made it clear that he will go to extremes to protect Jen, and he didn't like Paul. We still don't know why he was hiding that gun. Many people assumed he was hiding it to cover up for someone else, but he could have been trying to cover his own tracks. I have a feeling it is going to be a while before the real killer is revealed, but it is interesting to see who people think the killer is. Keep sending me your ideas!
Until next time, Dawn
