GOOL Theater: Will’s Journey Begins on Days Of Our Lives

Welcome to this week’s edition of Gays Of Our Lives Theater. This week, we’ve got a couple of breakups, a gay taking a dangerous fall and a most shocking proposition. Plus, spoilers on all your favorite soaps including Hollyoaks, Coronation Street and EastEnders. Let’s get started…

Forbidden Love

Christian and Olli have been at odds ever since Olli found out that Christian had a drunken sex romp with trampy Jessica. Will Olli ever get over the infidelity and save their marriage?

Okay, I admit it. I have never been the biggest of fan of Olli. To me, the character has always been melodramatic and childish, and I’ve often wondered why Christian puts up with him. And again I ask myself that after watching these clips.

The fact that Olli is so hung up on the fact that Christian cheated with a woman, rather than he cheated with anyone really makes the character seem short-sighted and foolish. It really shouldn’t matter who Christian slept with or their gender. The fact that he did and the reasons behind that should be enough to make him have doubts about their relationship. But to hang so much of his issues on the gender of the person is really wrong-headed.

Can Christian and Olli save their marriage?

But then, part of that is in the show’s writing. Apparently, none of these people have ever heard of the concept of bisexuality. You’re either straight or gay, and there’s no in between. It’s the attitude of all the characters and the point the writers keep making.

For a soap that’s been quite progressive in terms of gay storytelling, Forbidden Love really seems rather backwards when dealing with other various aspects of sexuality. The show and its characters need to simply embrace that some people might be attracted to both sexes and concentrate on the infidelity in and of itself. That’s where the real story is and should be.

That said, it’s nice to see Christian and Olli in an ongoing and involving storyline after sitting on the shelf for far too long. The actors continue to have terrific and combustible chemistry, and there are some really good performances here. But they’re getting lost in the show’s unfortunate views on sexual dynamics. And that is a shame.

BTW, could the show please stop having Rebecca hanging around pretending to be Christian and Olli’s friend when she clearly still as a thing for Christian? This is a storyline and a character that needed to be kicked to the curb long ago.

*THANKS TO MERCURY MAY01 FOR THE CLIPS!

Emmerdale

Aaron has been determined to make a suicidal Jackson find reason to live, but with a seaside holiday be the answer?

Even though this show has done an absolutely horrendous job with this storyline, I still somehow continue to care about these characters, so I really did enjoy this past week’s shows. Emmerdale has been so busy miring Aaron and Jackson in endless misery and sadness, so seeing them happy, even if it was only for a little while, is an all too welcome respite.

This soap has always excelled at humor, so the location scenes were a lot of fun. It was nice to see them laughing and joking, which recalled the very early days of their relationship before the non-stop fighting and a certain meeting with a train derailed everything.

And yet there were still lots of things that bothered me....

It’s too bad that this wasn’t treated as more of a romantic holiday. If Aaron wants to show Jackson that he can still have a life worth living maybe he should make him realize they can also maintain a relationship, which would be part of day-to-day living. You don’t go on seaside vacations and skydiving on a regular basis, so I would think working on making their relationship healthy and happy would have more of an impact on Jackson.

But, it doesn’t help that Hazel is a constant presence, spending every waking moment with them. I realize that Jackson needs ongoing care, but he has spent time an evening or two alone with Aaron, so why not now? Even Aaron seemed exasperated and annoyed by his mother's intrusiveness.

Jackson’s joy was infectious…

It also made the trip seem like a mother along with her two sons, rather than a gay couple on vacation, which definitely took the shine off of things. Part of that is the show’s fault, as the writers have worked extra hard to remove any trace of romance and affection in Jackson and Aaron’s relationship. For as much as he claims to love him and for all the things Aaron does for Jackson, he still never touches him, much less kisses him. I was stunned that the show actually showed them in bed together. But since they weren’t touching or even facing each other perhaps I shouldn’t be shocked.

Still, I absolutely loved the skydiving sequence, which was wonderfully shot and let the viewer experience the ride along with Jackson. And Jackson’s reaction afterwards was a great bit of acting by Marc Silcock. You felt Jackson’s pure exhilaration and joy and excitement and seeing him have a moment of utter happiness after so much tragedy brought a tear to my eye. And yet, it was tempered with the reality that nothing has really changed for Jackson and he still is determined to take his own life, perhaps more than ever. I suspect this trip will be a turning point in the story.