New posts

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jermaine" data-source="post: 443826" data-attributes="member: 58">I’m a little surprised by all the praise season 8 is getting. I just finished rewatching it for the first time in ten years, and boy, was it a struggle to get through. It took me ages. Was it better than season 7? Well, yes, but that’s not saying much considering season 7 was garbage. I agree that season 8 feels a little more relaxed; it has planned-out storylines, a clear vision of what it wants to be, and a more condensed structure. The problem is that none of the storylines were actually any good.Matthew coming back from the dead only to be turned into a psycho who dies again the next day was ridiculous. Then there was that annoying, drug-addicted football player Josh who was stuck in some kind of weird love triangle with Sammy Jo and Steven. This was especially absurd since the former didn’t want anything to do with him, and the latter acted like a jealous spouse despite being GAY! It’s as if the writers were saying, “We know Steven and Sammy Jo are just living together as friends for the benefit of their son, but let’s pretend they’re actually a heterosexual couple and have them react to Josh as if they are.” Why would Steven even care if his former "beard" hooks up with a guy on the football team? And once Sammy Jo finally decided to have a quick roll in the hay with Josh, why did she act as if she had been unfaithful to her gay baby daddy? It was so freaking weird.And that damn gubernatorial race. Ugh! I don’t know why the writers even went there. No actual politics were ever discussed, and there was no joy in watching Blake or Alexis run for office. Was it just a way to have them feud over something new and different? If so, the storyline failed. It didn’t feel like anything of importance was at stake since neither of them had ever been shown to care about politics in the past, and as a viewer, I couldn’t have cared less about who won. As per usual, the writers chickened out anyway and had neither of them win the race in the end.The boring surrogate storyline was so drawn out and unnecessary. Way too much screen time was given to Karen and her deadbeat husband. In the end, it was all for naught, as Dana decided at the eleventh hour that she no longer wanted the baby (as did Karen). I also hate how often this show trivializes rape. Apparently, Adam raped Dana in high school, yet she not only forgave him but chose to pursue and marry him about twenty years later because, “I know you were simply not yourself that terrible night all those years ago Adam.” Why do Dynasty and The Colbys treat rape like it’s some kind of "oopsie"—a minor lapse in judgment by the rapist that is easily forgiven? Leann Hunley is a talented actress, but it’s evident she was being held back by the static acting directive. You can often sense her going against her own instincts as an actress—wanting to move and react more naturally and freely but feeling unable to do so. The results of this struggle were almost unintentionally funny at times.Speaking of the acting, the dude who plays Sean was dreadful. That’s another storyline that just goes on and on with no end in sight. First of all, by the time season 8 aired, I bet no one cared about or barely even remembered the impotent, robotic Joseph or his weird-ass daughter. Sean should have been there to avenge a much more recent victim of Alexis's schemes. But I guess it wouldn’t have mattered either way, since he spends 90% of the season doing absolutely nothing to further his misguided revenge plot. I will say, once it finally took off in the last three episodes, the actor's lack of skills sort of paid off and worked in his favor. He came off as completely unhinged—even more so than what was written on the page. Those are the only episodes where his character and storyline actually work. But it was a case of too little, too late.Poor Steven never gets to have any fun. Give that guy a cute twink to bone! He’s always on the sidelines, mostly reacting to other people's storylines. He never has a love interest of his own, not even an off-screen fling. If I were to give the powers that be the benefit of the doubt, I’d say they were afraid to go there due to the AIDS epidemic at the time. But considering how they toyed around with his sexuality for seasons on end before that, I won’t. He did get a nice enough final scene with Adam and Blake, though. It was also great to see how much Jack Coleman improved as an actor over the years.Krystle, Jeff, and Fallon2 did nothing of note the entire season.You know, now that I think about it, the fact that season 8 had me feeling something—even if it was mostly frustration—proves that it at least had real storylines you can discuss and have opinions on. It even got me to post on here for the first time in ages. I don’t remember a single thing that happened in season 7 except for Sarah Curtis.Sorry y’all for not having more positive things to say and for the very long post. I do think it’s great that other fans find enjoyment in season 8!  It was a minor improvement on season 7, I will gladly admit. However, I’m on season 9 now, and I’m very impressed so far. It’s like the show has finally woken up from several years of slumber. It’s funny, fresh, engaging, clever, well-written, better-acted, and just highly competent. I’m only a few episodes in, but for the first time in ages, I’m actually bingeing multiple episodes at a time and looking forward to my next watch.Stay safe out there, all you lovely Dynasty fans! <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="✌️" title="Victory hand    :v:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/6.5/png/unicode/64/270c.png" data-shortname=":v:" /></blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?