"Guiding Light" mini-cap 4/24: Making it official
At the Beacon, a frustrated Olivia (Crystal Chappell) is in the closet — looking for Emma’s hat. Where is Doris when you need her? Natalia (Jessica Leccia) walks in. That passkey from her housekeeping days comes in handy. She tells Olivia that she didn’t know she would be there. Did Emma send up the Nat signal?
Natalia and Emma share a maternal moment and talk about today’s Betsy Ross performance. This is the new, 21st century, school production of the progressive Betsy Ross who sews the first PFLAG. A cold-spirited Liv asks Natalia if she told Rafe about “us." Natalia says she didn’t know what to say. Unfortunately, all the copies of Coming Out for Dummies were checked out at the library. Liv doesn’t want Natalia at Emma’s play.
At Company, Blake kisses Frank on the cheek. She says she’ll call him and take him out. She better not bake him cookies or the next GL couple will be Flake or, better yet, Blank. Frank gets a call about Rafe. He turns on his Nat tracker, and off goes Inspector Clue-doh in pursuit.
At the school, Natalia’s expression says, “How do we tell Ms. Jennings we really are what she was thinking?” Don’t worry, Nat, she never believed you in the first place.
Alone in the classroom, Olivia chides Nat that she doesn’t know what comes after saying "I love you." Nat snaps back, "Then you tell me then."Flashback. Hell, party of two. Judging by the fire and brimstone, Liv has been sneaking peeks in her hotel room’s Bible. If she gives up shellfish and relinquishes her property, we will know for sure. Liv, get out of Leviticus. Page forward, it gets better!
Olivia keeps asking Nat if she's thought this through. Well, Liv, let’s re-cap: Just yesterday Nat confessed at the grave of her dead husband that she is in love with her best friend, left her dim groom at the altar, and trekked back through a blinding snowstorm to the Otalia farmhouse of love. I’m thinking Nat is spot on when she says she has been unable to think about anything else.
Imagining the guilt and the public judgment, Liv says it’s best the romance is over before it started. Liv provokes Nat to walk away and forget she ever said I love you. Like a freshman tired of being stuffed in her locker, Natalia suddenly stands up to Liv’s mean girl persona. Natalia accuses Liv of always thinking she knows better because she is worldly and has been around (and around.) Ah! Plumber Josh told Nat about the Saran Wrap.
As if watching the Lifetime Network for reference, Olivia points out they would have to face so many more obstacles than other couples. The ice queen thaws as Nat takes Liv’s hand, looks deeply into her eyes and says, "I know what it means to tell someone you love them." Affected, Liv tells Natalia her religion is like a carry-on bag with a broken wheel. She will have to drag it around Hades in that puffy coat. Nat counters that her religion is more a tote bag of love. Putting Natalia’s hands up to her cheek, Olivia wants to know if it’s that kind of love in her bag. Natalia lets go, but feeling unsteady, returns for another handhold.
Frank runs up the stairs and interrupts. He always knows where to find Natalia! Does he have a GPS (girlfriend positioning satellite)? Did they finally have Emma fitted with a locator chip since she is always wandering off? Seeing Frank, Otalia let go of their hand caress. There has got to be a special class somewhere in this school for this man.
Since their attempt at “opposite marriage” turned into a big white mess, Rafe has to report to the halfway house by nightfall. Natalia leaves with Frank to see Rafe. Rafe again tells Nat that he just wants to see her happy to be with someone she loves, not just someone to be his daddy. That can be arranged. How about Rafe has two mommies? Who’s your daddy now?
They stop in to see Father Ray before Rafe has to leave. About the wedding, he says there is no right or wrong way to move forward, everyone is different — except for those of us who are the same. Father Ray wants them to light three candles, one for blessings and health, one for loved ones, and the third for God’s forgiveness of sins and living according to His teachings. Natalia’s thinking, well, two out of three ain’t bad.
Natalia is sad after Rafe leaves. Olivia and Emma happen to be strolling by the church. It was such a nice day for a walk. Yesterday’s blizzard had melted away. Natalia asks Liv to come into the church. I’m not sure that is what Liv meant by “You can ask me anything."
Olivia, Emma, and Natalia sit quietly in a pew. Liv breaks the silence and wants to know what they are doing there. Nat says they are “being together” and puts her hand over Liv’s hand. Olivia smiles for the first time today, comforted that it is her here with Natalia and not Frank — though if I were Liv, until they disable the Nat tracker, I would be looking over my shoulder.
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Natalia is at peace. It will be difficult, but life with Liv is going to be OK. Natalia knows that God loves her and wants her to be happy. He said so in that best-selling book He authored; I think it was an Oprah selection. Otalia, Emma, and Rafe are a family defined by their love for each other.
Liv wants to know what’s next for them. Nat wants to take some time and think. Oy vey! Enough with the thinking — just live it. Have a meal or something. Right on cue, Emma comes back hungry from wherever she wandered off. She wants spaghetti and her two moms to share it with her. Otalia walk out holding hands…is it me, or does anyone else have visions of Lady and Tramp right now?
They arrive for dinner. Emma wanders off to a friend. The bartender asks if they are together. Nat says they are friends — good friends. Liv clarifies and says Otalia, party of two. The meal starts out new and awkward. The food arrives; Emma is back and wants to know why they are not holding hands. The little matchmaker covers with grace. The awkwardness falls away as they start speaking laundry. The meal ends, Emma overnights with a friend, and Natalia offers Liv a ride home.
There is that all too familiar tension at Liv’s door. Nat wants to come in, but she is not ready for this yet. In the vein of an old black and white classic, they hold hands, they smile and say goodnight. Olivia leans against the closed door and smiles, for the first time as Otalia.
For updates and in-between Otalia postings go to www.mindschmootz.net.
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Comments
Otalia
Buggy
Okay...I'm feeling as giggly and happy as a 15-yr-old after her first real kiss; GL has delivered such a wonderful love story that I am hypothetically squealing. Thanks for the oh so humorous recap.
Ummm...about the episode on Friday....HOT I tell you...HOT; I am in agreement with many of you who commented that, if we are this affected by handholding, what are we going to do when they kiss and then when they finally make love? We will all die happy is all I can say.
buggy
love the recaps
"Liv tells Natalia her religion is like a carry-on bag with a broken wheel. She will have to drag it around Hades in that puffy coat."
This line made me LMAO. Has anyone noticed that Emma now has a puffy coat, just to try and make Natalia's coat not look out of place.
Also good news people: http://soapscenestoremember.webs.com/cbspage.htm#371451007
Looks like Lifetime are getting closer to agreeing to take Guiding Light on. Let Lifetime know you want to see GL and will follow it to the network if it is picked up (Big Purple dreams have got contact details and are also running a postcard campaign for international viewers, please help save this program if only for Otalia - http://z8.invisionfree.com/otaliafans/index.php?showforum=30 )
Awesome recap! Man... do I
Awesome recap! Man... do I have a thing for these two! Especially Crystal... hallelujah! *sigh* Still waiting for that first real kiss!
BetweenThaLines
A suggestion
Soaps.com publishes a recap of every day's episode on their site. Comments are allowed and I've noticed there are 2 camps of folks that comment on Otalia: Enthusiastically for and righteously against.
I wonder if we could utilize social psychology and have many of us head over there and post positive comments about Otalia. See if that changes the nay-sayers. The idea is to show how many folks are not ony fine with this coupling but down-right giddy over them.
If interested, head to the main site first for a free registration: http://www.soaps.com/ and then head to the daily updates for GL: http://www.soaps.com/guidinglight/. The updates are nearly as great as these ones but...
I've noticed some wonderfully snarky comments made on the site that should have made a dent against the righteous folks but, instead, they seemed to get energized from them, becoming more righteous in response. What might work better is for viewers of that site to be overwhelmed with so many people excited about these two characters.
Just a thought.
Meanwhile, it's great reading these comments and the comments on Otaliafan's youtube site.
Hear hear!
I think this is a great idea -- we need to respond to those folks on soaps.com and stop allowing their voices to dominate. We've lurked too long in the shadows. The folks at GL have done a brave thing to make this love story mainstream -- let's not stay segregated but branch out! Let them know that we're never going to the closet again and we will demand more stories be told! Even if it is only one of the best storylines going on a daytime drama!
http://amyking.org
Scary
Yes, it got ugly
At the time of my suggestion, the comments weren't that bad. In fact, over the past week, there was this "connection" made with 2 of the posters, one of whom had been rather vocal against Otalia.
And then "mom of 6" goes all fire and brimstone on everyone with a couple of her followers right behind her. (Although Stewart_Wade's comments were great!)
Certainly, none of us need to read hate like that as we've experienced it enough in our lives. Although I still think there is strength in numbers and lots of positive comments can certainly cause a good movement, there will be those who'll likely never change.
Purple...
The Otalia Smile
Love your recap :-) Yes, they are indeed a pair of smitten kittens at the end of this week. It was great to see Natalia finally stand up to Olivia. It was a beautifully written piece and Jessica delivered it brilliantly. Crystal, of course was her usual brilliant self. The scene at the church was so touching (in all senses of the word) and it was so cute to see their awkwardness at dinner. Of course, little jellybean having done her bit to get her two mommies together, promptly disappeared for the evening, to give Otalia their first uninterrupted meal together. As for the looks from Olivia at the end of the night....definitely...thudworthy. Crystal Chappell definitely knows how to turn up the heat!! For once though, we the viewers are not left angst ridden over the weekend, as we watch both Olivia and Natalia smile at the end....both of them are exactly where they want to be, and the sexual tension is beginning to build between these two. I, for one, definitely want it!! :-))
As for your comment about 'Flake' or 'Blank'....lol.
Cavity Alert!!!
It's been more than 24 hours and I'm still giddy over yesterday's episode. Awe the family togetherness in a church, the hand holding, the awkward banter, the awkward laughter, the awesome eye sex, door leaning, the gentle cajoling, more hand holding, and the smile of utter pleasure on Olivia's face, knowing full well she has got the girl. Oh it does my icy heart proud. I have to make a dental appointment ASAP, I have a new cavity from all that sweetness.
Otalia
The Wrench Will Likely Be Thrown @ Otalia ...
Hate to bust anyone's bubble here - but I'm a bit fearful of just how they are going to get Jessica off the show so that she can have that baby. She's going to need to leave soon so that she can take her official maternity leave until she returns in June (or was it July, she said?). She looks about eight months pregnant in these scenes, which means they couldn't have shot much longer than another week or two worth of show.
They've dropped a few hints already to let us know all will not be copacetic with Otalia shortly. First, despite Olivia being fearful of Natalia's inability to embrace their relationship openly, O has let down her guard because that's what love does to logic: destroys it. But Natalia's response to the waiter is very telling: she's not ready to acknowledge anything to anyone yet, except Olivia. Next, we have Alan making a very public statement that "We have to make tough decisions to protect our children." Natalia is convinced, still, that this relationship will somehow hurt Rafe.
So coming up, Natalia will tell Father Ray about the relationship. Now while he has seemed very supportive of Natalia up until now, I have my doubts that a representative of the Catholic church will openly embrace a lesbian relationship. He may not shoot it down, but he will likely cast doubt in Natalia's mind. It could be as open as "Whatever you do, Natalia, you must obey God's teachings." He already alluded to this mentality when he had Natalia and Rafe light the candles in church.
Next, we have Doris outing Natalia to Frank, who will likely and immediately turn on his Natalia lo-jack, find her and confront her in a shocked manner. In turn, Natalia will be taken aback, embarrased, and possibly even flee again. Who knows.
What I do know is that Olivia's initial suggestion to leave and think about God and everyone else on her list may be the outcome of these things upsetting Natalia's apple cart. She still wants everything to be on the down low while she figures it out. But she's got to deal with: 1) Frank's confrontation 2) Father Ray most likely will not happily bless a gay union and 3) the imminent widespread publicity of it all (esp since Olivia has already told half the town about her feelings). And so, perhaps Natalia is on her way out of town to really "think" about what it all means and to flee the fallout of being outed in a public way.
I'm just saying. I hope it doesn't go down in such a dramatic way, but this is a soap, after all. And drama is it's middle name ...
http://amyking.org
From what I hear, they've
From what I hear, they've shot a lot of scenes in preparation of the maternity leave and if they stretch out the storyline, it's possible we don't even notice Jessica's absense... or she'll be away for a week or two max... So it might not be as dramatic as that. I mean sure, they'll do soapy plot devices, for sure, this is a soap after all. But I have the utmost trust in the writers. They haven't done us wrong yet in the year they've been building this storyline so I have faith.
Actually they are a month
First of all, thank you so much for the entertaining recap. Loved it!!! This was a great week. I still have happy butterflies from friday's episode.
Ok,they are actually a month ahead on shooting scenes. So dependent on how long Jessica is out for maternity leave, she shouldn't appear absent on the show for a long period. There is also another option for Natalia to leave town for a bit and that is Rafe.
I don't see Natalia fleeing. She knows what she feels and isn't going anywhere. Will it be without obstacles, no. Natalia is going to have to work for it. Poor Olivia is carrying around some baggage. She's never had anyone choose her first. As much as she wants her happy ending, she's afraid. Finding true love is exciting, scary and wonderful thing.
It's been quite the journey thus far. No doubt there will be fall out to contend with, but Otalia will prevail.
Otalia
I am loving the recaps on Otalia. They make me laugh and smile. I love a little snark.
This show and storyline is amazing. Friday's episode was full of great moments. The holding hands and quiet reflection in the church, the awkward, yet ultimately fun moments at the restaurant, and the chemistry and looks given at the doorway scene made me incoherent for awhile. A heartwarming, fun, and happy episode that has left me smiling. I am loving the beginning of the next phase of the Otalia relationship.
Again great work and thanks for the recaps.
Wish you would do more of these. So funny !
Love your blog ! LMAO
And so it begins...
This Otalia Saga is taking me from the deepest heart-wrenching low to the highest suger-y purple castle of love in the sky.
This week was abso-frikkin-lutely fantastic!
"Father Ray wants them to light three candles, one for blessings and health, one for loved ones, and the third for God’s forgiveness of sins and living according to His teachings. Natalia’s thinking, well, two out of three ain’t bad."
LOL!
m.dawson, how you keep up the snark is baffling, I would've fangirl-thudded out on the floor already with all this goodness GL is throwing our way. You are a better woman than all of us :P.
Looking forward to next week!!
Thanks for the hilarious
Thanks for the hilarious recap!
After Friday's show, I literally could not wipe this silly grin off my face. It was so nice to see Olivia finally smiling again! Especially the one after saying good night to Natalia - she is sooooooo in love! I know there will be more angst to come, but now that they are finally a couple, it's going to only serve to ramp up the sexual tension!
BRING. IT. ON.
!! Spoiler Alert !! This week's storyline...
According to the Guiding Light spoiler site, Natalia agrees to spend a weekend with Olivia on Thursday's episode. That's the only mention of them for this week's spoilers. Hopefully that doesn't mean we won't be seeing much of them this week.
http://www.soaps.com/guidinglight/spoilers/
Also... (Spoiler!)
We get the Doris drops a bombshell on Frank this week.
Superhero Doris stirring the pot! WOOOOHOOOO!
Can't wait for the re-cap on that moment
Olivia Smiles Again
Thanks so much for yet another recap of Otalia!
After all the angst from the past week, we finally are at a place where we can breathe ... at least for a little while.
The best moments for me was to see Olivia smile! Chrystal Chappell is the eighth wonder of the world! Thank you Natalia for making that happen! Yay!
Cuteness overload. Thanks
more!!
augh, i cant wait for more!
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http://rightmindleftcoast.wordpress.com
Drooling at Crystal Chappell
Thanks for the recaps!
Ha ha the Nat Tracker.
Hilarious recap
M.Dawson - your aptitude at snark continues to amaze me - especially when you use it on a storyline as heart-wrenchingly beautiful as Otalia has been. Thank you for making me laugh through it all. I only wish we could have your recaps done every day Otalia is on...
Looking forward to your friday update....
Rumor is they are on tomorrow
AWEsome recap
catching up on your re-caps...
oh, my... 'the Nat signal' 'Coming Out for Dummies' 'tote bag of love' Classic!
I loved this couple's progress this week. to see them both so giddily in love is such a treat after all the almost-wedding-of-doom angst :)