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…)

After being thrilled by Otalia’s ability to pass the flirting baton, I felt a cooling off period would be on the horizon for TV’s hottest couple. Since Guiding Light’s Otalia story line is following “old school soap opera,” I am familiar with a decrease in intensity before it ramps back up again. As I have stated before, the Otalia story line is riding a roller coaster. There are climbs up the track and dips down the track, and you cannot always stay inside a vertical loop. You have to ride on level track for a bit. Keeping that I mind, I felt the week of May 25 for Otalia could be summed up as one word: a “frankenclipse.”

Frankenclipse – the eclipsing and/or interruption of Otalia’s happy and private moments, usually by Frank Cooper; however, this term can be applied to any Guiding Light character that dims Otalia’s light.

Heavenly Bodies

The May 27 episode kicked off with Olivia and Natalia taking care of Beacon business with Greg, the Banquet Manager. I wondered if Greg picked up on the undercurrents between Olivia and Natalia based on an “oooohh kay” look he gave them in the May 20 episode. Obviously, Natalia was wondering the same thing when she noticed the way he was looking at her and Olivia. When I watched this scene, I thought Greg would make some sly comment about how he knew what was going on between Olivia and Natalia. Instead, he threw me into a bit of a laughing loop when he asked about Olivia’s shoes and complimented them. I concurred with Olivia’s flashy, “Oh!” response to Greg because he made me a fan afterwards. Guiding Light, Greg might be your version of As the World Turns’ Henry Coleman. Keep him because he is fantastic (and not just because he admired Olivia’s shoes). (more…)

The Otalia scenes for the week of May 18 made me ache but in the most pleasurable of ways. Smiling is an unintended side effect whenever I watch Otalia on Guiding Light, but this week, I think I broke a new record for Otalia-related smiles.

“Happiness pulses with every beat of my heart.” ~Emily Logan Decens

As I watched Olivia scurry down the sidewalk to Natalia’s front door on the May 19 episode, it reminded me of how I feel when I come home to Guiding Light. Just like Olivia, I am anxious to return to my newfound love. I don’t perform a quick breath check when I come home to my sweetheart though (aka the Guiding Light). That quick two-second scene was hysterical yet true to life, especially when you’re starting a new relationship. You want to make sure you look good (and smell good) – something I’m sure Olivia and Natalia are thinking about based on the past few weeks. The happy anxiousness on Olivia’s face as she knocked on the door showed me just how much she missed Natalia while she was away. To me, Olivia’s face conveyed a “can’t wait to see my baby” expression as she all but barged her way inside the farmhouse. I then watched as that happy anxiousness transformed into joyful relief as Olivia and Natalia clinched each other – as if they’ve been a part for months rather than days.

When I saw Olivia and Natalia hug each other in the way they did, I had another one of those jaw-dropping moments that often occurs with this story line. The naturalness and ease of how Olivia and Natalia clinched each other showed more progression in their comfort level as a potential couple. They’ve hugged each other numerous times over the past several months but not in a romantic way. In fact, what Olivia and Natalia did wasn’t a hug. Their embrace was passionate, and they showed me through their body language these two are head over heels in love. When they pulled away from each other, I noticed the loving and glowing smiles Olivia and Natalia gave each other. I also noticed a moment where I felt Olivia wanted to kiss Natalia. Instead, Olivia held herself in check, caught her breath, and got past that moment by asking about Emma. (more…)

[Credit: screen capture by http://otalia.ausxip.com]

Hola Otalians,

I wanted to take a moment to announce a very special blog post I am planning for none other than Jessica Leccia (Natalia Rivera) – one-half of the super duo known as Otalia on Guiding Light.

On May 18, I found myself watching some Otalia clips to conduct more research on the Natalia and Olivia characters (seriously, I was). As I watched, I found myself realizing that Jessica Leccia deserves a truckload of love for the wonderful job she does portraying Natalia Rivera. I started thinking “out loud” and twittered my thoughts on how fascinating Leccia’s facial expressions are. Of course, my fellow Otalians on Twitter and I started discussing the subject. Out of that discussion, I realized that I wanted to write a special edition blog post totally dedicated to Jessica Leccia. Part of me was still on the fence about writing the post – mostly because of the amount of time it would take for what I had in mind. However, the Team Dimples (aka Jessica Leccia aka Dimples the Freakin Superhero) fans on Twitter made their voices heard…via outright blackmail!

Team Dimples pulled out every dirty yet awesome trick in the book and pushed me right over the ledge. Honestly, it was not that hard for them to convince me to move forward. My only concern was the amount of time. In the end, I felt that Jessica Leccia deserved a special post. With a “decision” made to write the post, I am going to outline what I am planning for the special Jessica Leccia edition blog post and answer any potential questions.

What will the post focus on?

I will select about 5-10 of my favorite Otalia scenes where I focus exclusively on Jessica Leccia’s portrayal as Natalia Rivera. Specifically, I want to take time to break down and analyze her facial expressions in my favorite scenes. I will write my interpretations of what I see with her non-verbal communication. For me, I find that Jessica Leccia has some of the most fascinating facial expressions when she’s acting. Her facial expressions are understated yet expressive because there is so much there that pulls me in every single time. (more…)