It’s one thing to get a bad review … it’s another to be cast in the same light as Kanye West and Donald Trump, but that’s exactly what one reviewer did.
Politico writer Joanna Weissposted a story called, “2022 Is the Year We All Finally Got Tired of the Narcissists,” and she had plenty of fodder to build out her story … in addition to the above names, she noted Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes.
As for Meghan Markle, she says the Netflix doc “Harry & Meghan” backfired in a big way. It’s one of the most watched docs in a long time, but that doesn’t mean it was received the way it was meant.
Weiss writes, “My natural sympathy for the couple started turning to irritation, and it occurred to me that ego has its limits. And it struck me that the overreach that led to the Sussexes’ critically panned mega-series is the same impulse that turned Elon Musk into a terror on Twitter, that prompted Ye to up the ante of outrageous behavior until he crossed the line into blatant antisemitism, that sent Bankman-Fried from the top of the world to a Bahamian jail.”
She concedes Harry and Meghan’s conduct is more benign than the others, but says it’s still problematic.
Netflix
The documentary is filled with grievances against the Royal Family, including Harry saying it was “terrifying” when his brother Prince William screamed at him after Harry dropped the bombshell that he and Meghan were leaving.
H&M’s $100-million Netflix deal will now pivot to other subjects, including a doc on former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
When we first see Andrea Bautista on screen in The Mosquito Coast, it’s at a sophisticated soiree where deadly henchman William Lee (Ian Hart) warns the show’s protagonist Allie Fox (Justin Thoreaux) that the Bautista family is going to be a problem if they’re seen.
The enigma of Andrea Bautista grows as we don’t see or hear from her except a single long shot, but she’s definitely someone to be reckoned with.
“That’s definitely one of the goals of this character,” said Andrea’s actor, Cosima Cabrera. “She’s super confident; she’s super badass; she’s super in control.”
TV Fanatic had a chance to do a Zoom interview with Cabrera ahead of her midseason debut in the Mosquito Coast. She made her first appearance on December 2.
Her character is a Harvard-educated member of a family dynasty who tries to steer them in a legitimate direction while retaining their power.
The LA-raised Latino actress of Mexican graduated from Yale and was primarily drawn to the part because a Latino Ivy League grad had never been portrayed on TV before.
“The reason I was so excited for this role [is that] it was the first time I could audition for a Latino character who went to an Ivy League School. I had never seen myself represented,” she said
Cabrera’s character, Andrea Bautista, is the figurehead of the family.
She’s trying to direct them toward a legitimate trade, but her brother Guillermo (Daniel Raymont) has a few wrenches to throw into the works.
The show is adapted from Paul Thoreaux’s 1981 novel about an American inventor who eschews American consumerism and establishes his pocket of society in Central America with unforeseen consequences.
Coincidentally, star Justin Thoreaux is Paul’s nephew.
While star Justin Thoreaux has an intimate family connection to the source material (the protagonist of Allie Fox is based on his grandfather), Bautista was freer to draw her inspirations. Her character isn’t in the source novel.
Tragically, Cabrera never shot scenes with the actors that play the Foxes. This was intentional to help bond different certain actors and separate ties between certain actors who weren’t meant to have on-screen chemistry.
Consequently, Cabrera stayed in a separate hotel with all the secondary actors.
But did we mention that this hotel was on the Mexican Riviera in Tulum? As you can imagine, Cabrera and her costars had a lot of fun planning excursions.
One of the reasons Cabrera feels that the show is unique is its authenticity to Mexico and the fact that it’s shot there. As such, it was fitting for the cast to immerse themselves in Mexican culture and visit the Mayan ruins.
Through their stay, Cabrera formed a lot of the necessary chemistry that added to the effectiveness of her character. When asked how she appeared so menacing on screen, Cabrera said, “I think that comes from life experience. Confidence is a skill that needs practice.”
At the same time, Cabrera also credits actor Reed Diamond for acting correctly in awe of her gravity as a powerful businessman.
Behind the scenes, Cabrera describes veteran character actor Reed Diamond as a significant presence who was willing to share stories and give advice.
On the other hand, veteran actor Ian Hart was a different story.
Hart is best known as Professor Quirrell from the inaugural Harry Potter film but has a vast filmography that dates to the 1980s.
The actor hails from Northwest England but plays a headhunter from the American South and, according to Cabrera, stayed in character throughout the entire shoot.
“It wasn’t until the day my character and Reed’s character, we all wrapped, [that] he finally whipped his Liverpool accent at dinner. Then he went back to standard American English,” Cabrera said.
Although Cosima Cabrera hails from Los Angeles, she doesn’t come from the movie industry.
When she was growing up, her parents were attorneys working in the public interest: Her father in immigration and her mother in age discrimination.
As such, Cabrera pursued a more well-rounded track than the typical Los Angeles prodigy. She starred in a national commercial for Honda and did professional plays in the Los Angeles area.
While going on casting calls and landing bit parts, however, she pursued academics at a high level and graduated with a theater and literature double major.
Currently, she is working on a master’s degree in psychology at Antioch University and is often attracted to scripts with deep psychological underpinnings.
Mosquito Coast deserves credit for realistically exploring the traumatic effects of the many fight-or-flight situations that befall the Fox family.
“I really like the way the show approaches psychology realistically. I’m working on a master’s in psychology, so I loved reading the script and seeing ‘coercive control,’ and it’s something I haven’t seen before,” said Cabrera.
In addition to her recurring role on Mosquito Coast, Cabrera has recently enjoyed guest roles on The Neighborhood, Westworld, and The Cleaning Lady.
Cosima Cabrera and her co-stars eagerly await the possibility of a third season.
In the interim, Cabrera’s big ambition is to sell a semi-autobiographical pilot she has been working on.
Mosquito Coast can be found on Apple TV, with new episodes airing on Friday mornings.
Orrin Konheim was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and his personal blog at Sophomore Critic.
It’s no mystery what audiences were watching on Netflix over the holiday weekend.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mysterymade its way to the top of Netflix’s English-language film chart for the week of December 19 to December 25, after debuting on the streamer two days before Christmas. Rian Johnson‘s comedy sequel notched 82.1M hours viewed in those two days, which Netflix says equates to about 35M households.
As for the TV side of things, Emily in ParisSeason 3 debuted on December 21 and has collected 117.6M hours viewed, making it No. 2 on the U.S. English-language chart. The third installment landed in the Top 10 in 93 countries. Season 1 also made its way back into the Top 10 last week. Unsurprisingly, Wednesday remains at No. 1 with another 118.5M hours viewed.
Despite some bumps in the road, Netflix has still had a record-breaking year in terms of content. Five of the streamer’s most popular English-language series debuted this year: Stranger Things 4, Wednesday Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Bridgerton S2 and Inventing Anna. The first three have all now crossed 1B hours viewed.
The year’s Top 10 English-language series list is rounded out with Ozark: Season 4, The Watcher: Season 1, The Sandman: Season 1, The Umbrella Academy: Season 3, and Virgin River: Season 4.
The Gray Man claimed the No. 1 spot on the English-language film list for 2022, followed by The Adam Project at No. 2 and Purple Hearts in third place. Those are also three of the streamer’s most popular English-language films of all time.
Hustle, The Tinder Swindler, The Sea Beast, Enola Holmes 2, Senior Year, The Man from Toronto, and Day Shift also made the list.
Netflix’s 2022 Top 10 lists are determined based on data from January 1 to December 18.
Nev Schulman grew up Jewish, but his wife has him all-in on Christmas … but Hanukkah also has a special place in his heart.
We got the “Catfish” host at LAX and he told our photog he celebrates both December holidays with his wife and kids … the Schulman household seems pretty fun.
Nev says he loves Christmas morning and all the stories and songs surrounding the holiday … not to mention the presents.
Hanukkah’s a little bit different … Nev explains why folks would be wise not to assume the Jewish holiday is just their version of Xmas.
For Nev, he says he likes the historical and religious significance of Hanukkah … it’s clear it means a lot to him.
It’s a fun conversation, and his super cute kid speaks up and tells the world her favorite holiday, which falls a little earlier on the calendar.
This finale was an epic of war and love that gave us much-needed, satisfying closure.
Asriel finally admitted he was wrong and realized he would not live to see his glory but had to do it for Lyra.
Mrs. Coulter also knew she would never see her daughter again but understood the part she had to play in the endgame.
The juxtaposition of Mrs. Coulter and Asriel in their meetings with Metatron was so telling of both their characters.
I have devoted my entire life to science and the pursuit of truth. I swore blind that prophecies are merely stories concocted to control the credulous, and yet, here I stand, unable to avoid the prophetic truth in front of me.
Lord Asriel
Asriel kept calling for a fight with so much impotent male rage when Metatron was far more interested in the mystery of the woman he couldn’t read.
Ruth Wilson’s Mrs. Coulter had a magnificent final episode. Once again, she harnessed her power over the specters and used it for good this time. Marisa then used her amazing abilities of suppression to deceive Metatron.
This led them all to their end, as she helped Asriel follow through with his plan to throw Metatron into the abyss while the golden monkey set off the detonators.
Mrs. Coulter knew he wouldn’t be able to do it on his own, though Asriel initially thought he could. Throughout that final exchange with Metatron, Mrs. Coulter played her emotions so close to her chest that it was hard to know, even as a viewer, what she was up to!
She even fooled “God” himself! No wonder he offered to make her an angel.
You wish to serve no one but yourself. You are a cesspit of moral filth.
Metatron
The sacrifice of Lyra’s two parents was heartbreaking, but it felt right. Both have been so horrible to her — it was their only way to redemption.
For Asriel, it was a way to prove that he meant what he said and was willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, with no chance at glory.
For Mrs. Coulter, it was one last opportunity to do one act of motherly kindness and prove that she loved her daughter more than life or the possibility of immortality. The Mrs. Coulter of Season 1 might have made a different choice.
The plunge into the abyss was perfect, vicious, and moving, one last act of teamwork from Asriel and Marisa, with Stelmaria delivering the final push that sent them over the edge. As the beautiful snow leopard dissolved, Asriel passed on.
On the surface, Mrs. Coulter’s daemon reached out to Lyra but disintegrated before they could touch.
It was tragic but fitting. Some deeds are unforgivable, and the monkey was part of Mrs. Coulter and everything terrible she ever did, despite her last act of heroism.
Your love for Lyra is your salvation, and your downfall.
Xaphania
This was the closest thing Lyra got to a reunion with her parents (not that she wanted one). Though, through Ogunwe, she learned that Asriel was proud of her, which was more confusing to her than anything.
That Lyra turned into such a moral young woman despite her parentage speaks to her strength of character, and Asriel should have seen that sooner.
Though Ogunwe’s role was never more than supporting, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was impeccable casting and delivered solid and honest moments at every turn. His reunion with his daughters was a nice button for the character.
All the battle sequences were well done, exciting, and action-packed, with an appropriately monumental scope for some scenes and the more human side of the soldiers on the ground being haunted and possessed.
Alex Hassell has an otherworldliness that suited the small but significant role of Metatron well.
The reveal of the Authority in his crystal cell was an anticlimax that was over too quickly, but it played that way in the book as well.
You have to laugh at how flippant Lyra was about watching the senile, decrepit, irrelevant God disintegrate in front of her. “Can we go now?” The girl was just so done.
One of the great themes of the whole series rang loud and clear here, with Asriel’s impassioned speech — do not let the promise of Heaven prevent you from living your fullest life on Earth. Submission to religion will only lead to suffering, and there is no Heavenly reward.
Death is not something to fear if you have lived well, for our atoms will return to the world when we die to exist in new life.
Today is our chance. It is our chance to tell him that our lives are beautiful and precious, and that we should be allowed to experience all they have to offer without the fear of retribution.
Lord Asriel
This idea also played a crucial part on His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode 8. There was much-needed joy, brightness, and divine feminine energy — perfect for the awakening of Eve.
Episode 8 was a fitting denouement. The grand fantasy epic fell away, leaving us with an intimate portrayal of two trauma-bonded teens who finally had the space and freedom to be themselves together and realize that they were deeply in love.
Love is never small to those who discover it for the first time.
Xaphania
Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson finally got to play and have fun together. It was the most real thing in this magical world and the chemistry between them was so perfectly awkward and sweet.
Keen got the big emotional moments and playing “Eve,” was the one who made the moves. Wilson exuded a gentle warmth throughout the whole thing. His was a more stoic love.
These two have grown so wondrously alongside each other within these roles. In his love for Lyra, Will was free and open to the goodness of the world — the way he said “Hello” when first meeting Atal was proof of that.
It can be easy to dismiss teenagers in love, as they all believe theirs is the greatest love of all in the history of the universe.
Lyra and Will are not two ordinary teenagers. They have literally been to Hell and back together. They lost their souls but still had each other. No one could ever touch the bond they have.
Dr. Mary Malone has always been my favorite character (not just because we share a name) but because of how she approaches life and her time with the mulefa.
Simone Kirby is such a subtle, natural actor. Her portrayal of Dr. Mary Malone was everything it needed to be, the honest serpent telling the children the truth about the beauty of love.
I just couldn’t bear the idea of living without feeling that alive. And I thought, “Will anyone be better off if I just go back to the hotel and say my prayers and promise never to fall into temptation again?” And the answer came back — No. No one will. And I realized there was no one there to reward me for being a good girl and no one there to punish me for being wicked. There was no one. And it was liberating.
Dr. Mary Malone
Her goodbye with Atal was perfect (the seeds!), and her joy at seeing her daemon, the Alpine chough, was transcendent.
Mary being a lesbian was another change from the book I didn’t know I needed, but it brought her impact to another level.
It tied in with the gay angels Baruch and Balthamos — and how lovely to have Kobna Holdbrook-Smith back in this episode, but we’ll get to him in a moment.
The church shuns so many LGBTQ+ folks, so to have this message stated plainly, by an angel no less, that desire is human, and love is the closest we get to divinity.
Desire is not sin. Love takes a million forms, each of them beautiful. Each of them worthy. You who judge — just afraid.
Balthamos
There was such relief and validation for Mary to meet Xaphania then, an angel, who didn’t care whether Mary believed in God or not, only that she had done well in being honest about love with Will and Lyra.
Clearly, Father Gomez didn’t get the memo that his superior was dead. His quest added some tension to the proceedings, injecting danger into this perfect Eden.
His confrontation with Balthamos was a bittersweet ending for them both. Father Gomez finally heard — from the source — that he was wrong, that he had devoted his life to a lie.
Balthamos, at last, had a chance to fulfill his promise to his beloved Baruch by saving Lyra’s life.
Chipo Chung as Xaphania and Ruta Gedmintas as Serafina Pekkala also provided grounding energy and support to Mary, the daemons, and eventually Will and Lyra.
They all know this is a terrible sacrifice that Will, Lyra, Pan, and Kirjava must experience for the sake of the multiverse (Xaphania even got in a sneaky COVID allusion).
The love of Eve shall heal the earth, and all the worlds shall feel it. Nature will be restored. Hope will spark in darkness, as innocence turns to experience. All will be in harmony once more.
Serafina Pekkala
Just like Adam and Eve, they are cast out of Eden, but they will carry their love with them forever.
At least Lyra will always have Serafina, and Will will always have Mary as a friend — and finally, after so long, Will is reunited with his mother.
Kirjava was a little off-looking but cute enough. It took so long for the daemons to return to Will and Lyra, but how beautiful was their reunion?
Remember when Father Gomez mentioned it’s forbidden to touch another’s daemon? And then these two, so in love, just pet each other’s daemons. That’s how intimate their bond is, and what a lovely way to portray this.
It’s in the books, but seeing it on screen was magical. And Pan finally settled as a pine marten, the shape he was Lyra left him on the jetty in His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode 4.
The ending was beautiful and heartbreaking — the choice for Lyra and Will to return to the botanic garden annually, on Midsummer’s Day, to sit “together.” I don’t know about any of you other book readers out there, but it was exactly as I had pictured it in my head.
What is there even left to say? This was a sublime ending. In terms of adaptations of source material, maintaining the same kind of feel and magic of the original, His Dark Materials has succeeded on just about every front.
Not everything from the books made it in, of course — it’s a different medium, and even eight hours per book isn’t really enough for these dense and rich stories.
Above all, though, Pullman’s world translated so well, with much of his evocative prose making it into the dialogue.
When we do find each other again, no one will be able to tear us apart. We’ll be joined so tightly, every atom of me and every atom of you. When they use our atoms to make new lives, they’ll have to take two — one for you, and one for me. We’ll be in the flowers and in the sunbeams. We’ll be joined so tight.
Lyra
Is it perfect? No. But it’s damned close. Nearly all the choices of alterations from the book improved and enhanced the storytelling here. As far as fantasy series go, few can compare.
I look forward to re-watching this series with my child when he is old enough, and again and again over the years, as I will re-read Pullman’s gorgeous books. What a gift this story is to the world.
How did you feel about the ending? Did you sob through the final hour as I did? Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments.
Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
James Gunn is clearing things up about the fate of HBO Max’s Green Lantern series which has been in development for years now.
After a publication said that the show had been scrapped and would no longer move forward, the new DC Studios co-head debunked the rumor and called it “fake.”
The Green Lantern series has been in development since 2019 with Arrow producer Greg Berlanti behind the project. In October of this year, it was reported that the focus of the show had shifted. Originally, the series would center on Guy Gardner and Alan Scott, with Finn Wittrock and Jeremy Irvine in the roles, respectively. However, the refocus would be on John Stewart, one of DC’s first Black superheroes and one of the longest-serving Green Lanterns.
Green Lantern was confirmed to be in development back in 2019 along with Strange Adventures. Berlanti touted the DC properties would be creations for the streaming platform “unlike anything seen on television.”
“An anthology series of cautionary tales set in a world where superpowers exist, and, in what promises to be our biggest DC show ever made, we will be going to space with a Green Lantern television series, but I can’t reveal any more about that just yet,” Berlanti said at the time.
In August, it was revealed that Stranger Adventures would not be moving forward at the streamer. Throughout 2022, HBO Max and DC have seen many changes as the Warner Bros. Discovery merger continues and new co-heads of DC Studios Gunn and Peter Safran plan out a new era for the DC Universe.
Teresa Giudicedidn’t open presents and won’t be watching the ball drop with her brother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law, Melissa… because the famous family members are still beefing.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Joe and Melissa did NOT spend Christmas and won’t do New Year’s with Teresa and her brood … because she and the Gorgas haven’t spoken since this past summer’s blowout fight.
As fans of the show remember … the bad blood started flowing on the ‘RHONJ’ reunion show, and then there was more drama ahead of Teresa’s August wedding to Luis Ruelas.
The simmering beef made things super awkward as recently as October, when Teresa and Melissa kept their distance at BravoCon … refusing to interact with one another despite being in the same room.
Instead of thawing the ice in honor of the holidays, we’re told the Gorgas are going on a vacation with friends and relatives, while Teresa and Luis will be spending time with her four daughters.
Our sources also say Teresa’s children will NOT be visiting their father Joe Giudiceover in Italy.
We reached out to Teresa’s rep, who had no comment.
It’s never easy to say goodbye to people you love, even fictional characters.
Fans and stars alike were heartbroken when the legendary John Aniston passed away on November 11, 2022. He had graced our screens for so many years that it felt like losing a beloved grandparent.
Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 12-26-22 promise a tribute to Aniston and his last on-screen appearance.
In the last few years, Victor appeared only sporadically. His final appearance happens to be part of the Christmas celebration, extending through the week.
On Monday, Victor will deliver his final snarky remarks to Leo, unhappy that the man who caused Sonny so much trouble is back in Sonny’s life.
Days of Our Lives will offer a special tribute to Victor and the actor who played him after those scenes air.
Instead of a traditional spoiler video, this week’s promo features Wally Kurth (Justin Kiriakis) saying a few words about Aniston’s legacy and encouraging viewers to tune in for the tribute.
Victor’s final scenes are sure to be bittersweet. No one could deliver a scathingly sarcastic barb like Aniston, and his last lines are sure to be memorable — and hilarious.
That’s probably the way Victor Kiriakis would want to be remembered if he were a real person, but that doesn’t mean we won’t need tissues nearby as the reality of Aniston’s death sinks in.
Although this circumstance will dampen the Christmas spirit, the week will be far from depressing.
Days of Our Lives promises its traditional Christmas Day reading of the Gospel of Luke, a dramatic celebration at the Kiriakis mansion, and the unraveling of a few people’s plans.
Specifically, Bonnie will accidentally raise Sarah’s suspicions about Xander, while Gabi and Li’s wedding is the latest to end in disaster.
Please scroll down to check out all the spoilers for the week of 12-26-22.
Victor and Sonny clash over Leo during John Aniston’s final appearance.
Leo causes drama at the Kiriakis mansion. Gwen wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t know how he scored an invite!
Victor, protective of his family til the end, doesn’t want Leo involved with his favorite nephew, while Sonny seems to have jumped aboard the Leo Forgiveness train.
Sonny’s attitude toward Leo doesn’t make much sense, but will Victor’s words give him food for thought or push him and his ex closer together?
Bonnie inadvertently raises Sarah’s suspicions about Xander.
Bonnie realized that Xander was the creepy clown who kidnapped her but gave up on the idea after Xander’s fakeout.
Will she tells Sarah how wrong she was about her earlier suspicions, making Sarah wonder if Bonnie could be right?
Sarah’s already aware that Xander’s been acting strangely and that he and Gwen have a secret, so it seems this marriage is on the fast track to implosion.
Paulina gets a visit from Eli and the twins.
Yay! I hoped Eli would stick around long enough to visit Lani’s family.
Hopefully, Abe will be there too.
Abe and Eli’s friendship has survived the end of Abe and Valerie’s relationship and is often a show highlight.
Will demands answers from Sonny about Leo.
Victor’s not the only one who will have a problem with Leo’s presence at Christmas.
Will doesn’t have much to say. He pulled an Eric and told Sonny he was staying in Los Angeles to work and hasn’t communicated much with him.
That doesn’t mean Sonny should cheat on him, but considering that Will did a disappearing act (and was the one to cheat on Sonny the last time this happened!), it’s understandable if Sonny looks elsewhere.
Nancy pressures Chloe about her love life.
Getting together with Mike hasn’t changed Nancy’s tendency to put her nose in Chloe’s business.
Her comments will probably push Chloe and Stefan closer together, just in time for Stefan to regain his memories and leave Chloe for Gabi.
But since we get to join Chloe on her visit to New York, can we have a glimpse of Parker and Joy? Please?
Rafe and Jada have a tense encounter with Nicole.
This will be yet another round of everyone using Nicole as their punching bag.
Rafe, along with all of Salem, insisted that Nicole had feelings for Eric and is now acting hurt that his gaslighting led to her believing she had those feelings. In addition, Nicole did not force Jada to have an abortion, nor is she having sex with EJ. (Not yet, anyway.)
Plus, it’s not Rafe or Jada’s business now. Nicole seems to have moved on, so how about they keep the jerky comments to themselves?
Wendy reaches her breaking point about this secret.
Wendy reached her breaking point a while ago. Every time she sees Johnny, they have the same conversation about how guilty she feels and how unwilling Johnny is to blow up EJ’s life.
But now that the wedding is here, maybe Wendy will find her voice and tell the secret instead of continually venting to Johnny and finding no satisfaction.
Secrets always come out at Salem weddings, so why should this one be any different?
Li and Gabi’s wedding doesn’t go as planned.
Li is excited for his big day, but he’s new to Salem and doesn’t know how these things go.
Gabi looks horrified, so she must find out somehow that Li brainwashed Stefan into hating her.
Will Wendy tell? Or will the memory-altering drug Rolf gave Gabi wear off somehow?
Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics. Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button, and let us know what you’re looking forward to and what you think will happen!
So long to the beloved and very unpredictable Victor Kiriakis: John Aniston’s final episode of Days of Our Lives dropped today on Peacock.
DOOL announced before Christmas that it would pay tribute on December 26 to Aniston, the veteran soap actor best known for his 30-plus-year run as the soap’s crime boss and in his personal life as the father of Jennifer Aniston.
As was typically the case for his character, Aniston’s final scenes as Victor were filled with both anger and comic relief. While stewing over the notion that his nephew Sonny (Zach Tinker) invited his ex-hubby Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) into the Kiriakis household for the holidays, Victor threatened to throw the cute cad out “on your sugar plum ass.” He then chastised Leo for “wearing baby jam jams” around the house. (They were actually holiday PJs but don’t try telling that to Victor).
Ultimately, Victor forgives Sonny for inviting in the “man who blackmailed you into your marriage,” not to mention having drugged Sonny and sold compromising pictures of him to the tabloids. Believing Sonny when he said he and Leo were now friends, Victor allowed the baby jam-jam-wearing Leo to stay. Even old mobsters can forgive and forget!
At the end of the episode, DOOL featured a montage of past Aniston clips, including scenes from his marriages (boy, were there a lot), some of his funnier moments that included a spit take, and a minute when his character reflects on a life well led. “Old age has a way of softening you,” his characters says. “At the end of the day it’s family that counts.”
The final image of the episode features Victor motoring away on his yacht named (what else?) Victor.
Aniston joined Days of our Lives in 1985. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Daytime Emmys. He is survived by daughter Jennifer Aniston, son Alexander, and his wife Sherry Rooney.
“Blue’s Clues” star Steve Burns unlocked a memory buried deep inside when a cancer survivor visited him at a convention — turns out they’d met 2 decades earlier thanks to the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Brandon Ragland tells TMZ … he’s been in remission for more than 23 years and recently reconnected with Steve at Steel City Con in Pennsylvania, some 22 years after their first face-to-face under much different circumstances.
It’s pretty cool … Brandon says he walked up to Steve’s booth, shook the actor’s hand and pulled out a picture of the 2 of them from 2000 — back when Steve was a Make-A-Wish kid — and it all clicked for Steve, whose eyes lit up and said, “I remember this and you!”
Brandon says Steve told him a story about their first encounter at Serendipity 3 in NYC. Brandon was a 4-year-old meeting his fave TV star, and Steve recalls him being a wild child running around the restaurant.
During their reunion, Steve asked Brandon for a new pic together, and then they both started crying. You can understand why all the water works — Brandon had stage 4 cancer in his kidneys and lungs when they first met, and now he’s 25 with a family of his own.
Brandon says Steve then pulled him in for a hug and said, “This made my entire year and I’m so glad you’re here.”
Since then, they’ve stayed in touch on social media … and Steve’s made it clear how proud he is that Brandon’s now a healthy father and husband.
BTW, their OG Make-A-Wish experience back in the day included dinner with Steve, a Toys “R” Us shopping spree … and tickets to “Blue’s Clues Live” in NYC.
Camille conveniently (too conveniently?) found a secret passageway leading to a staircase, which led to a tunnel, which led to a secret room, where Jean left “Ariadnes” for the Duke.
Victoire was set to be the next one, but Camille found her. When Jean tried to stop her, they did the only logical thing and killed him — luckily, Majordome also showed up.
Camille and Jean have been married for, what, a day? And now he’s dead. No matter how you look at it, that will be suspicious.
Luckily, Majordome — Étienne, rather — quickly became Camille’s most faithful ally, which was unexpected but welcome. She needs him in her corner. We know he never liked Jean anyway — he was only ever loyal to Genevieve, but now we know why.
Victoire: Find peace, Camille. Please, for me. Camille: After tonight. Victoire: Then let me help you dress for your battle.
Finally, Camille apologized to Victoire for her behavior. About time!
We can’t blame Victoire for wanting to get as far away from this madness as possible. The new world seems like a good goal. She was all too gracious with Camille — but better to be on her good side.
Victoire’s goodbye to Étienne was touching, too. Their dynamic has always been interesting to watch, and what it evolved into was something quite special.
Étienne: I hope to see who you become in the future. Victoire: I’m Victoire. Étienne: You’re victorious.
At the opera, we got one more little taste of Paloma Faith’s Florence de Reignier. We will miss her catty quips!
Oh, look! The most meteoric rise since Christ on the third day.
Florence de Reignier
I mentioned this in my review of Dangerous Liaisons Season 1 Episode 7, but it pushes the bounds of belief that an opera like this in a day. It was gorgeous, and the music was wonderful, but it just felt implausible.
It’s clear from this episode that Jacqueline de Montrachet is not too bright, or at least extremly gullible.
Pascal’s Lucien was certainly believable, but she was sp easily convinced to write a letter confessing her feelings and Henri’s misdeed, which Lucien would then read in public. How in any way did she feel comfortable agreeing to that?
God will always save us.
Valmont
Pascal’s really got a way with the ladies — it’s almost like a gift from God.
It also took Jacqueline a little too long to figure out that the opera was about her.
Her confrontation with Camille was lovely up until Camille broke her brain with the revelation about Lucien. You could tell Jacqueline meant it when she said she had loved Camille.
Their reunion had less vitriol than expected — oh, there was plenty by the end, but the tender stuff was a great way to start it off.
Unfortunately, Henri is using his power as a doctor to ship Jacqueline off to an asylum. It’s hard to imagine why he thinks this would be less of a scandal than her running off with another man, but that’s probably just his excuse.
Henri gets off on power over women, including his wife, and does what he wants. As of now, he’s seen no repercussions.
When he yelled at Jacqueline about “his” child, my heart broke for her, even if only for a moment. Her choices have never been great — what she did to Camille was unforgivable — but he’s an emotionally abusive tyrant, and Jacqueline was a victim of that.
Tell your husband — the higher he rises, the higher I will climb until I bring him down.
Camille
Once again, the divide between the rich and the poor was brought to light — like the man who yelled at Chevalier for daring to put a peasant’s plight at the center of a narrative.
Then the audience proceeded to shame Chevalier for calling out one of their own. It was definitely not the reaction he was expecting!
I loved Camille giving away her jewels to the sex workers. It shows she will never forget where she came from, how hard she struggled to break free, and how she wants to make sure other women have the means to leave the life she left.
Speaking of the life she left, Gabriel and his powers of deduction come back on the scene and ruin everything. Note to the guys reading this — blackmailing a woman is not the way to win her over.
Is he just going to prevent her from ever loving anyone ever again? My guess would be, if this were to continue, Camille would eventually find a way to dispose of Gabriel once and for all. He’s just the worst.
Though, to be fair, Camille and Étienne were sloppy — surely, they had to anticipate that the body of a Marquis would be examined post-mortem and someone would notice the strangulation marks.
Giving Camille one of Valmont’s classic lines from the original — “It’s beyond my control” — in her final letter was poetic, though.
Sadly, Dangerous Liaisons was initially renewed for a second season, but the renewal was revoked, and the show is now canceled. Another network may pick it up, but with all the cancellations these days, it’s hard to be hopeful.
There are a few dangling threads that will not be resolved — the biggest one being Odette, of course.
Not only did we not get a reunion between Camille and her daughter, but Camille still doesn’t even know her daughter is still alive. It was a constant tease the way Pascal and Jacqueline could have told her on many different instances but never did.
Rose! Oh, Rose. You were going to do so much. All setup, no payoff. Where was she going with Valmont’s letters? It looks like we’ll never know.
There are other characters who show up in the original story, but we don’t know how they’ll get there from where we sit currently — Danceny, Emilie, and Cecile.
What was Ondine and Pascal’s alliance, and how would Prevan have figured in there, especially with his fiancée Cecile?
Who the hell was this Duke, and why was he killing anonymous women Jean procured for him? He will remain a mystery!
Camille met the Queen in Dangerous Liaisons Season 1 Episode 6, which never amounted to anything. There would likely have been more ground to explore there.
This was a dark finale (sometimes so dark, it was hard to know what was going on) and a somewhat uneven conclusion to a very strong series that could have been so much more had it been allowed to continue.
What did you think of the finale? Which characters will you miss most? How do you see the stories playing out? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
Kate Hudson and Jamie Lee Curtis are the latest Hollywood actors to weigh in on the topic of the “nepo baby,” a topic rekindled this month by a New York magazine cover story (and much more devoted to the topic) about the phenomena of the children of famous actors who follow in their parents’ footsteps.
The article featured a cover photo of several actors in onesies including Zoë Kravitz, Lily Rose-Depp, Maude Apatow and Maya Hawke among others.
Curtis, the offspring of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh (making her an “OG Nepo Baby”, she says) said in an Instagram post that the current conversation “is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt.” She added, “For the record I have navigated 44 years with the advantages my associated and reflected fame brought me, I don’t pretend there aren’t any, that try to tell me that I have no value on my own.”
Continued the actress who has been working since age 19: “I have suited up and shown up for all different kinds of work with thousands of thousands of people and every day I’ve tried to bring integrity and professionalism and love and community and art to my work.”
Hudson, the daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson of the Hudson Brothers, also has had practice brushing off the term, telling the UK’s Independenton Saturday that “I don’t really care.”
“I look at my kids and we’re a storytelling family,” she said. “It’s definitely in our blood. People can call it whatever they want, but it’s not going to change it.”
She added: “I see it in business way more than I see it in Hollywood. Sometimes I’ve been in business meetings where I’m like, wait, whose child is this? Like, this person knows nothing!”
Others have also weighed in, maybe most deftly by Eve Hewson, the daughter of U2 frontman Bono whose credits include starring opposite Clive Owen the Steven Soderbergh series The Knick and the current Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters. She complained she wasn’t on the mag’s lists, tweeting that she’s “gonna get Nepo Baby tattooed on my ass” and that her 2023 goals include to “be successful enough to get recognised as a nepo baby.”
On Saturday, she grew a bit more serious.
“For those of you who have just tuned in to my existence, I am asked about my privilege a lot,” she wrote. “And I have always been very keen to state how much my father’s name helped me get a start in acting. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in my life.
“I chose to make a few jokes about it this round. So please don’t take my tweets too seriously. I’m just having the craic. And if I can’t laugh at myself.. well then I really am a privileged c*nt.”
