Some of my readers have asked a few questions on Crystal Chappell’s big announcement through blog comments, emails, and tweets on Twitter. I addressed how I felt mostly through Twitter, but I realize not everyone uses Twitter or follows me for that matter. Others have asked questions about my Otalia posts, and some have asked me if I would follow Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia’s careers once Guiding Light concludes this September. I decided to address all of these questions in this blog post, but I have also decided to discuss the state of soap operas as well. I feel like I can’t discuss the Crystal Chappell announcement and my Otalia posts without also discussing how I feel about soap operas. I think once you finish reading this post, you will have a clear indication on my thoughts.

Thoughts on Crystal Chappell’s Announcement

Around midnight on June 12, 2009, I discovered the news that Crystal Chappell was returning to Days of Our Lives as Dr. Carly Manning. Crystal Chappell currently plays Olivia Spencer on Guiding Light and is one-half of the super couple known as Otalia. I started seeing a flood of tweets on Twitter about the news, but I waited to read a story confirming the news. Once I had confirmation, the crushing pain I felt was absolutely startling and very unexpected. As I said on Twitter, it felt like something had pierced my heart once the news hit me.

At first, I felt denial and disbelief that this was happening. For weeks, I have been fighting to keep Otalia and Guiding Light alive. I knew that time was ticking on the clock towards September 18, which is the final airdate for the show on CBS. I knew that Guiding Light had not found a new home, but it didn’t stop me from trying my best to save it. Once I got past the denial and disbelief, sadness enveloped me because I knew that Otalia was as good as over. (more…)

I’ve caught on to how Guiding Light swings the pendulum for Otalia; therefore, I was (somewhat) mentally prepared for this week’s episodes. I am extremely grateful I had a beautiful Otalia experience the week of June 8 because I knew the week of June 15 was going to be a painful Otalia experience. As many of you know, I don’t read spoilers because I must maintain a “pure” Otalia experience to write these posts, but I was going with my instincts. I knew the writers would dip this roller coaster ride down into a deep valley of depression, and I knew there would be few lighthearted, smile-inducing moments. As predicted, I was right.

The June 15 episode picked up right after Rafe called his mother, Natalia, out over her interactions with Olivia from the June 12, 2009 episode. At the end of the June 12 episode, I felt Natalia knew Rafe spotted the intimacy between her and Olivia. In the beginning of the June 15 episode, I thought Natalia was trying to play the denial card with Rafe. Deep down, I think she knew he suspected the truth, but I felt Natalia was hoping he didn’t know about Olivia yet. When he asked, again, what was going on, Natalia’s replied that they were getting ready for dinner. Albeit true, that wasn’t all Natalia and Olivia were doing before Rafe’s outburst over their intimate behavior. Olivia decided to play along with Natalia’s denial response by agreeing they were preparing for his celebratory dinner. Rafe responded by snapping at Olivia with a bit of “Rafertude.” Natalia immediately addressed it by demanding he stop speaking to Olivia in a bad tone of voice. However, Rafe was building up to a full-blown “Rafertude” when he fired back at Natalia about how she raised him to adhere to the Bible and Catholic church’s teachings. After Rafe demanded an explanation once more, Natalia finally admitted to herself that he was clued in on her romantic relationship with Olivia. (more…)

The week of June 8 provided a four-day Otalia week filled with spectacular highs and new twists. While the Otalia rollercoaster has been on level track, the story zoomed through new yet thrilling loops that left me stunned, dazed, and amazed by the time this week’s ride ended.

The June 9 episode started with Natalia fulfilling her promise by spending more quality time with her son, Rafe. Natalia planned a day of volunteering at her church – as head of the cookie committee – along with Rafe. When she went up to his room to see if he was ready to leave, Natalia found Rafe still sleeping until she awakened him. Granted, Rafe woke up with a bit of his “Raftertude,” but I actually considered his response with Natalia normal. I can recall not being in the best of moods when my mother woke me up for school as a kid. I sometimes had a bit of my own “Rafertude” since I am not a morning person; maybe Rafe isn’t either. Additionally, he had to abide by prison rules by being “ordered” to sleep and wake up at a certain time, so he was probably enjoying sleeping by “Rafe’s rules” instead.

When I watched Natalia urge Rafe to get up and get his day started, I felt like I was watching another normal mother/son interaction. Despite Natalia’s attempt to get Rafe involved in normal yet helpful activities, he wasn’t too keen on the idea. Rafe felt that she didn’t need him to a part of the cookie committee but Natalia did. I saw this effort was a way for Natalia to spend quality time with Rafe by helping him adjust and feel better about himself. I agreed with Natalia’s assessment that the best way to take your mind off your own problems is to serve the community. Volunteering their time to escape from their problems was something they both needed but for different reasons. I would notice that volunteering, as escapism, would be a theme for the June 9 episode. After Natalia urged Rafe once more to help her, his “Rafertude” evolved into a temper tantrum – complete with a child-like response of kicking the bed covers. Instead of getting upset at Rafe, I was actually laughing at this scene. Natalia refused to let his temper tantrum deter her goal of getting him ready and going with her to the church. Her sunny response of “Let’s go” as she pulled the covers away and left Rafe’s room made me laugh again with encouragement. Natalia was not about to give up helping Rafe like she promised. This particular scene reminded me of the October 6, 2008 episode when Natalia found Olivia sleeping in a room (other than her own) at the Beacon. In the October 6, 2008 episode, Olivia conveyed a bit of her own “Rafertude” towards Natalia once she was awakened. Just like Natalia was trying to help Rafe in the June 9 episode, she helped Olivia by saving her skin with Decker, Olivia’s boss with Galaxy Hotels. (more…)

The big purple freeway known as Otalia has been an important infrastructure project to Guiding Light. The freeway project had to be architected by Ellen Wheeler and Jill Lorie Hurst. Freeway construction had to begin, which took several months and up to a year to complete for some portions of the roads. Even after the lanes were built, there have been moments of clear traffic and moments of congestion. The Otalia scenes for the week of June 1 offered some speed bumps and potholes; however, there were not any serious road hazards that could cause a breakdown on the Otalia expressway.

The Otalia episode for June 1 started with Olivia and Springfield’s (as well as “Calidornia’s”) frenemy mayor, Doris Wolfe. Olivia sought Doris’ advice by asking how long the adjustment period would occur for newly released inmates, namely Natalia’s son Rafe. Olivia explained her fears about Rafe’s struggles during his adjustment period, and I could hear the anxious frustration in her words. For the past couple of weeks, I wrote how I felt Olivia was ready to be out in the open with Natalia. The fact that Olivia turned to Doris for advice proved to me that the “fear monster” had consumed her again. While Olivia feels like Doris is the only person who understands what she feels, I also think Doris offers her a friendly ear. Olivia has turned to Doris on a couple occasions in the past whenever the “fear monster” consumes her.

March 26, 2009 Episode

To give you a refresher, Natalia almost kissed Olivia while she was sleeping from sedative after a scare with her heart. While Olivia stopped the kiss from happening, she definitely wanted it to happen based on her reaction after Natalia left. Olivia was still in some form of denial and fear of the unknown, even though she was already head over heels in love with Natalia. This denial and fear drove Olivia to Doris. She talked about how she viewed her attraction to Natalia vs. her attraction and power she’s always held over men. In that episode, Olivia expressed how she didn’t want to give up the familiar part of her for the unknown with Natalia. (more…)

Hello Otalians,

Many of you know that one of my main goals in writing about Otalia weekly is to bring in new and old fans. I am here to say that it is working based on some feedback I have received. Since I hopped on the purple express known as Otalia, I have been very supportive about the show and the people who make it: the crew, Ellen Wheeler, Jill Lorie Hurst, and the actors. For about a month or so, I have emailed fan letters to Jessica Leccia and Crystal Chappell. These letters offer my appreciation for their work, and I copy/paste my Otalia posts in the letters for their enjoyment. However, I felt that I wanted to extend that appreciation further and did so.

I sent a hardcopy appreciation letter to Jill Lorie Hurst the week of May 25 and on June 2. The letter I sent the week of May 25 was the first time I have never sent appreciation letters to a writer before. It is not something I do or think about doing. However, I could not ignore the beautiful job Jill Lorie Hurst has been doing with the writing for Otalia. I have no idea if she is aware of my blog posts. Therefore, I wanted to send her something personally from me. Little did I know, this was a second step – outside of just emailing Jessica and Crystal – towards an unknown effort at the time. (more…)