[dmc]

Originally Posted by pandiexjeyton (View Post) I'm tired of deacon/rayna.

me too

[Static Waves]

I'm probably a lot more easily convinced on the DR front because overall I'm tired of Connie having to support other characters/actors that aren't worth her time lol. Chip and Connie have too good of chemistry to waste. I just wish they would have Rayna offer more culpability other than ONE LINE, or more introspection as a character. Rayna is a lead! We should be able to understand why she's doing or saying the things she is. At this point, I can't see it. I think how they write them going further is going to be really important.

[Cristofle]

Oh, it was "Gunnar thinks he can get custody of his notkid" levels ridiculous that Rayna said "it wasn't either/or" when the entire promotion of the S2 finale and S3 premiere was that it was exactly that, lol.

I'd be more sympathetic to Rayna's wariness of Deacon, since it seems he DID horribly mistreat her for a good long while there, if she hadn't:

-used him as her crutch for well over a decade, keeping him in her band so she could get what she needed from him while maintaining for herself that it was "too dangerous" for him to be anywhere near Maddie (but not so much that he couldn't be Uncle Deacon while she spent a huge chunk of her marriage being emotionally unfaithful, apparently)
-gotten back together with him with that secret in between them, seemingly content to let it stay there forever until Maddie figured it out for herself
-been openly dismissive to the point of cruel where Deacon is concerned for the entire first half of this season, while he continues to pant after every last crumb.

She might love him, but she hasn't acted like she likes or respects him in I don't know how long, and he utterly refuses to call her on it for the most part.

[Heart of Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Cristofle (View Post) what I do think is that she is horrible for Deacon.

I think this is where we fundamentally disagree.

Originally Posted by Static Waves (View Post) I just wish they would have Rayna offer more culpability other than ONE LINE, or more introspection as a character. Rayna is a lead! We should be able to understand why she's doing or saying the things she is. At this point, I can't see it. I think how they write them going further is going to be really important.

It was ONE episode. It was the beginning. I expect them to have a lot more conversations in the next episodes and this is what I'm looking forward to. I just want to forget that first half of season and be excited about the show again! (Which I am!)

[Cristofle]

Well, Rayna and Deacon have a track record of having about two actually meaningful conversations per season, and I've been increasingly less impressed by them because Deacon's POV of being harmed by Rayna is all but nonexistent in them, so I don't really expect them to be better, actually. The show has never given me any reason to expect that.

[Static Waves]

Originally Posted by Heart of Rhythm (View Post) It was ONE episode. It was the beginning. I expect them to have a lot more conversations in the next episodes and this is what I'm looking forward to. I just want to forget that first half of season and be excited about the show again! (Which I am!)

I expect that this second half is gonna be a "rehab-Rayna" second half. Which irritates me on the fundamental level that Rayna is a lead... why did we have to sacrifice her POV for Luke Wheeler for the entire first half? Why did the love for a random secondary character supress characterization FOR THE LEAD CHARACTER/TOP BILLED ACTRESS GRRRR.

Deacon on the other hand was pretty consistent in his POV even throughout sleeping with Pam, etc. But he carries so much guilt about everything (and as far as I can recall, I believe he has been the only one to "forgive" her of her wrong-doings. I don't remember her ever asking for his forgiveness, but if he has correct me if I'm wrong? I just can't remember.)

[Cristofle]

No, he literally absolved her of all prior wrongdoing in late S2, in a scene that made me want to throw my tablet out the window. And I think the notion that Rayna will be rehabbed where her treatment of Deacon is concerned is wildly optimistic at best- this show has never indicated an awareness that they write her as seriously mistreating him, and that they write HIM as embarrassing in how he just swallows it and asks for more.

[Static Waves]

eh idk. I think they are gonna make actual efforts to rehab her character by having her be around him a lot, which will coincide with the cancer reveal. whether or not she will actually apologize verbally is TBD... but a lot of the issue comes from the fact that in the past she has ignored him for stretches of episodes. and that's such a writer problem. If they are forced to be in the same episodes for repeated amounts of time, I think I can be optimistic that they are moving towards a rehab for her.

[Cristofle]

I think you're more open to enjoying Rayna at this point than I am, lol. I NEED Deacon to stand up for himself. I needed him to call her on how rank the "Uncle Deacon" stuff was for over a decade, for getting back together with him while never intending to tell him about Maddie, and now for acting like he's dirt under her shoe for all of this season, and I seriously doubt any of that is ever going to happen. And as such, the pairing is too lopsided for me to enjoy, and I have to accept for myself that Connie can't save Rayna for me at this point, definitely not in the D/R context (I would still be willing to accept her hating Jeff- who is tragically stuck in Layla Land- and supporting Juliette). I felt nothing but frustration in that scene, which is a sign to me that I've crossed the point of no return where D/R are concerned, lol. I'm sure they'll end the show together and yadda yadda yadda- I just won't care.

[Heart of Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Static Waves (View Post) eh idk. I think they are gonna make actual efforts to rehab her character by having her be around him a lot, which will coincide with the cancer reveal. whether or not she will actually apologize verbally is TBD... but a lot of the issue comes from the fact that in the past she has ignored him for stretches of episodes. and that's such a writer problem. If they are forced to be in the same episodes for repeated amounts of time, I think I can be optimistic that they are moving towards a rehab for her.

This is what I think too.

Spoiler:

Judging by the spoilers, I think it'll start in 315. Not sure about episodes 312 to 314. (Though I was pleasantly surprised by next week's promo.)

[Static Waves]

Oh I'm superrrr biased when it comes to my hopes for Rayna. Rayna was supposed to be my favorite character by all accounts. I worship the ground Connie walks on lol.

needless to say, I am for sure the most bitter about Rayna's shoddy characterization, and yet it doesn't take much for me to jump on the Rayna bandwagon. I was literally almost beaming in joy at her 3.04 monologue. For the writers to give me 3.06 which is downright atrocious for Rayna... I'm bitter. and distrustful. but I'm still hoping for the rehab because I want to like Rayna so badly.

[Cristofle]

I've experienced this before in soapdom, unfortunately. Loved Sarah Brown's Carly, hated her ATWT character with every fiber of my being, lol. I just need to go back to FNL for Connie fixes, because Rayna is simply not working for me.

[soapbubbles511]

Deacon's problem is he's still carrying around a hell of a lot of guilt for all the years of drinking he did. He told Scarlett that he doesn't want Rayna taking care of him, all she's ever done is take care of him. He's holding onto the past crap probably more than she is. He still feels like he needs to make it up to her for all the years she took care of him and didn't leave him and put him in rehab and made sure he didn't wind up dead. And he feels like the only way he can do that is if they're together and he's better to her than he was before. And she gets a lot of free passes with him because he feels like she's already given him more passes than he deserved.

[Static Waves]

Originally Posted by Cristofle (View Post) I've experienced this before in soapdom, unfortunately. Loved Sarah Brown's Carly, hated her ATWT character with every fiber of my being, lol. I just need to go back to FNL for Connie fixes, because Rayna is simply not working for me.

I have the opposite problem lol. I love SB's Carly, and constantly looked for moments of loving her as Claudia LOL. Once I love an actress it sort of sticks for the most part.

Originally Posted by soapbubbles511 (View Post) Deacon's problem is he's still carrying around a hell of a lot of guilt for all the years of drinking he did. He told Scarlett that he doesn't want Rayna taking care of him, all she's ever done is take care of him. He's holding onto the past crap probably more than she is. He still feels like he needs to make it up to her for all the years she took care of him and didn't leave him and put him in rehab and made sure he didn't wind up dead. And he feels like the only way he can do that is if they're together and he's better to her than he was before. And she gets a lot of free passes with him because he feels like she's already given him more passes than he deserved.

I think he's holding on to his guilt the most, because in a sort of metaphysical way he's waiting for a forgiveness that he hasn't gotten from her yet. and I think that's an important part of moving forward.

[Heart of Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Static Waves (View Post) For the writers to give me 3.06 which is downright atrocious for Rayna...

I think we should all pretend 306 never happened. I remember hating Rayna after that episode. But it was really the (first time) writer that screwed it up. I really hope this writer never writes for the show again!