Performer of the Week - Jesse

It's difficult to chose between the amazing Debbi Morgan and the fabulous Darnell Williams for such honors as Performer of the Week, but this week was all about Jesse.  Having whisked his beloved wife Angie away to the Justice of the Peace where they were married so many years ago, their walk down memory lane was interrupted when Angie started to feel contractions and more.  It was much more.  It was all out pain.  

So in labor with an apparent complication and no time to get to the hospital, Jesse had to step up and deliver his baby girl Ellie, named after his mother.  Just as he was started to see the baby's head, in sheer exhaustion and overwhelming pain, Angie passed out.  Jesse was able to deliver the baby but it was soon apparent that the news was not good.  The baby did not survive the delivery.  Jesse's anguish as he desperately tried to get baby Ellie to breathe was more than I could stand.  My own tears flowed as I watched Jesse's rolling down his face.  He tried so hard to revive her and then Brot arrived, having someone to share his pain with, with Angie still unconscious, was even worse.  

Holding his baby in his arms he told her tried and tried and when he cried, "where did you go?  where did you go?" well kids, I'm done for.  Tears turned to sobs and the pain Jesse felt seemed so very real.   I don't like what transpired next.  Brot had an abandoned baby with him, conveniently an African American newborn girl.  Without missing a beat and absolutely zero thought to what he was doing, Jesse placed her in Angie's arms after Angie woke to the sounds of that baby crying and thinking she was hers.  All he knew as that his wife sacrificed so much, her own sight even, for this child and he could not break her heart.  This is not a path I would want Jesse to go, but since he's gone full steam ahead, I will take great pleasure in watching Debbi and Darnell shine.

 

Performer of the Week - Colby

This week was Colby's week to shine!  She started out strong, standing up to big brother JR for his lack of family leadership.  She told him off but good and personally I think he needed to hear it.  Colby was kidnapped and held hostage by JR's maniacal girlfriend that he thought he could talk down from her mania.  Colby called him out on his ego, his belief that he could get Annie under control, how the family business is going down the tubes under his leadership and the how the family is falling apart.  She said it best when she said, "You are in so far over your head, it's actually pathetic, because you think that you can be Dad, but you will never ever be Dad."  Go Colby!  It's about time someone put JR in his place.

But that was just the beginning for Colby this week.  After receiving a call from Damon, Colby went to talk to her mother only to be discouraged from the possible reconciliation that Damon was proposing.   Liza brought up her own volatile relationship with her mother, Marian, saying that there are some things that can never be forgiven.  Confused, Colby wanted to know what her relationship with Marian had to do with what was going on with Colby and Damon.  Liza backpedaled but Colby kept pushing and eventually Liza mentioned Tad and their past, confusing Colby even more.  

Determined to find out what Liza was comparing her and Damon to, she went to seek out some answers and luckily she ran into loose lips Opal.  With only a few pointed questions, Opal revealed to Colby that Marian had slept with Tad while Liza was dating him.  Did history repeat itself?  It couldn't be.  Colby didn't want to believe it.  But she had to know so she went to confront her mother.

It was the confrontation that many have been waiting for, myself included.  How would Liza explain herself?  She can't, there is no justification.  There is no excuse good enough to explain how a mother slept with her daughters boyfriend.  The performances of both Natalie Hall and Jamie Lunar were stellar.   From Colby's disbelief that her own mother could hurt and betray her so completely and profoundly, to Liza's horror all over again at what she had done.  I felt for Colby, who was so hurt she wants Liza out of her life, declaring, "You're not my mom anymore."  And then I even felt for Liza who, with nowhere to turn, turned to Tad for comfort and understanding.  He tried to assure Liza that Colby would forgive her just as she had forgiven Marian, but Liza didn't think it would ever happen.  

Colby's devastation is extensive.   Will she ever be able to look at her mother as a mother again?  Will Liza be able to make this up to her daughter?  It will take a lot of work on Liza's part. With Natalie and Jamie portraying this duo, I can only imagine how great it will be to watch it unfold.

Performer of the Week

I know I don't do this as often I used to anymore but it can't be denied that Rebecca Budig (Greenlee) is this weeks PERFORMER OF THE WEEK.  From the shock of David's death, to her incredibly moving talk to him while he lay dead at the Yacht Club, to her attempts to protect Ryan, to her talking to David in the morgue, to the flashbacks of her relationship with him, to his haunting her mind.  Through it all, Rebecca's been heartbreaking as she revealed Greenlee heartbreak to us.  Bravo!

Marian Colby - Performer of the Week!

I'm sure I'm not the first one to say it this time (AMC totally copied my "Annie Nicole Smith" line this week! LOL), but it certainly bears repeating... Jennifer Bassey aka Marian Colby defined Performer of the Week this week. Her anger at losing the love of her life is understandable. Her grief, palpable. Her need for revenge, dangerous. Her utter sense of loss, heartbreaking. And her deep regret, unmistakable. Marian went through every emotion and Jennifer played them all with grace and total abandon. It was the performance of a lifetime in a lifetime full of amazing performances. If this was indeed Jennifer (and Marian's) swansong on AMC, what a way to go!