Jax and Chloe (cont.):

Chloe: "One step forward, three steps back."
Jax: "Hey, we've made progress. I mean, we got dressed."

Chloe: "The places you took me to today I'll see forever, even if--even if I lose my sight, I--I will never lose the summer palace, the bronze horsemen, Rastrelli's stairs. This trip will be with me forever. You have given me something for life."
Jax: "And I'm only just starting."

Jax: "No. A Romanov princess gave this to me."
Chloe: "Ah. Oh. Oh, my. This is exquisite. Is this for the nurses' ball?"
Jax: "Well, I had a different occasion in mind."
Chloe: "Something soon?"
Jax: "Is tonight too soon?"

Jax: "You're far too lovely for the firing squad."
Chloe: "Oh, I bet you say that to all the czarinas."

I missed this in the transcript, but was it just me, or did Chloe actually say, "Impale me" as she and Jax raced for the bed?

Judy: "There have been a lot of speculations about Chloe's possible Cassadine connections floating around online, and I wanted to put some of my thoughts out there, just for fun."

"Some think that Chloe will end up being related to the Cassadines, others that she'll be Stefan's new love interest. I prefer the former, because we don't need any more clingy, needy blondes where the Cassadines are concerned (and that's hard for me to say, being blonde and all *g*). But the idea of Stefan and Chloe as lovers is just too dull to even contemplate (unless there's a parapet involved). Of course, I've always thought that Andreas would've made a great 'lost prince,' were it not for the ewwww factor of his relationship with 'Grandma' *g*."

"As an aside on that point, I've always thought Anna Devane make a great partner for Stefan. You've got that 'previously held hostage at Wyndemere by Faison' factor, making her pairing with its current resident more interesting. Anna's portrait used to hang over that mantle long before Laura's did, and I think it'd be a nice parallel to have it hanging there once again. Only this time, of course, it'd be Anna's choice to have it there. Perhaps she could commission the painting and have it hung there intentionally, as a sign of her living in Wyndemere of her own free will, and as a sign of victory over that dark past."

Terry: "As an aside to your aside, I will say that I LOATHE the specs that Rachel might come over from PC to be Stefan's new love interest. PUKE. Besides, in my mind, Stefan and Laura are back where they were in 96, and that's a good place to build from."

Amy: "Although we have some of the 1996 dynamic around, we may not go back to building on Stefan and Laura. Personally, the spoiler 'Mac and Laura grow closer' intrigues me, and I'd also like to see her and Tony, as you know. Either of those could be a short detour, and she could go back to either Stefan or Luke on the way to the other, or whatever. But I think we're in for a slow build of L&L--though it may take years (and it should). I don't know what we'll see from Stefan and Laura. Probably something along the lines of making the peace for Nik and for the past's sake. But in the meantime, I don't mind at all that he's back to being a little more interesting."

Judy: "I think their story is done. I'd be amazed if Guza ever went there again."

Amy: "That said, I hate Rachel Locke. She's been boring for too long, and I don't like the actress so far, at least in this role."

[Ed note: I should point out that Rachel has become much more interesting since I wrote this back in April, primarily due to the direction the new writers have taken her.]

"But all of this reminds me of the rumor that we'll get Missy Reeves as a love interest for AJ (from Jennifer and Frankie days on DAYS)--something the magazines deny. I don't know if I want a new interest for Stefan--at least not this minute. There is still stuff with Laura to work out, whether they get back together or not, and if they move too quick it will be Katherine all over again--something I will never buy because it's clear it's kick-back from Laura."

Judy: "But I do notice that Chloe's been bringing up her 'distant' father again. Perhaps he was cold and distant to her because he knew she wasn't really his child."

"Also, they're connecting Chloe to things that are Romanov, with this trip to Russia--getting back to the Cassadine roots, and maybe hers too. There've always been little hints scattered here and there that the Cassadines were somehow related to the Romanovs (the dreaded Faberge egg from Tsar Nicholas II, Stefan's set of 'Romanov china,' and the fact that Nik's named after Nicholas II). St. Petersburg had served as the Romanovs' home base up until the time of the Russian Revolution. Guza planted those hints prior to his departure (pre-Culliton), so perhaps he's picking up those dropped threads (since Stefan'n'Laura are essentially dead-sorry Terry!--he's got to do something to revitalize the Cassadine storyline again). Of course, the writers could've just gone with St Petersburg because it's far more romantic and more of a tourist destination than Moscow *g*."

"I think the Cassadines are supposed to be both Greek and Russian. The Russian part was brought forth during Stefan's introduction. Apparently, they are Russian royalty, of a sort, who escaped to Greece during the Russian Revolution. I remember a scene where Stefan recounted an ancestor's journey over the mountains to escape being executed by the new Socialist regime. In real life, a fair number of Romanov relatives escaped into Europe and settled there (to the USA, as well...including a former mayor of Palm Springs, FL)."

"Personally, I like the addition of the Russians to the Cassadine history (no surprise there!). I suspect that it had something to do with the sudden resurgence of the Romanovs in the news (Stefan was introduced round about the time the DNA test results of the remains of the last tsar and his family were being released to the public). At any rate, being somewhat of a Russophile (ever since seeing the movie Nicholas and Alexandra in junior high), I love that they might be bringing all this stuff up again...even if it means that Chloe must be involved *g*."

"Somebody online noted that Jax could not have met a Romanov princess; actually, there's quite a lot of Romanov royalty around. None, of course, that are descendants of the last tsar (and most of whom would be 'disqualified' from being tsar...not that that matters anymore *g*); but there are offshoots of Nicholas II's grandfather (also a tsar, of course) all over the world, who are technically still princes, princesses, dukes or duchesses. But I thought, as that poster did, that Jax was actually kidding Chloe about the dress."

Amy: " I can't believe these people actually believed that Jax got that dress from a princess. After all those jokes about the dead guy coming to the door? But Judy yet again proves that she's my phone-a-friend for Millionaire!"

Judy: "As for Alexis's earlier mention of the ballet, a young Romanov prince Nicholas (who later became the last Tsar) had an affair with a ballerina in St. Petersburg prior to his marriage to Alexandra. This little tidbit of real life history could lead to two branches of story: 1) that the Cassadines are an off-shoot of that affair (though in real life, the couple produced no known children); or 2) that Stefan had an affair with a ballerina and produced Chloe, paralleling young Nicholas II's history to a certain degree. (Has Chloe ever mentioned her mother's history at all? If she ever mentions the fact that she was a dancer--aha!)"

Amy: "And, of course, this would be an echo of Mikkos's affair with an opera singer, producing Alexis. If we were going to have a story that explored Stefan being pulled between becoming a 'true' Cassadine and remaining 'different,' despite Laura's latest betrayal, that might be a nice parallel. Though I dread Chloe in the Cassadine storyline. Yuck."

Judy: "At any rate, the 'real' GH rarely turns out to be as complicated as the GH in my head *G*, so I rather doubt that we'll go there, but I think it'd be kinda fun if we did. I might actually develop some interest in Chloe! Imagine that!"

On the next day:

Chloe: "When I first saw this dress and your tux, I have to admit, I had no idea where you could possibly take me. But this--oh, Jax. I swear, it's like you said, 'Take my hand,' and we walked through a magical mirror into my childhood dreams."

Jax: "Welcome to the land where your dreams come true."

Jax: "So when your mother told you these fairy tales, she left out the bad parts?"
Chloe: "Mm-hmm. Explains a lot about me, doesn't it?"

Jax: "What about your father? Did your mother see his flaws or did she only see what she wanted? You don't have to answer that."
Chloe: "It's all right. Um--she saw his flaws. She just romanticized them. I remember hearing them fight one night, and she said to him, 'Who are you?' and he said, 'I'm who I've always been.' She just thought he would change because he loved her."

Chloe: "Yes. And you know what? I did not have a sad childhood. I know that sounds like Pollyanna, but hey, I liked that movie."
Jax: "I never saw it."

Chloe: "That melody, Jax. That is the music that I've been hearing in my dreams from the music box."

Jax: "The 'Sleeping Beauty' waltz. Are you sure that's the melody in your dreams?"

Chloe: "Ok, this is going to sound really crazy, but it's almost like I knew this was going to happen, like there was a reason for me to be here, like some sort of creepy deja vu."
Jax: "The mind is an amazing thing, Chloe. You know, perhaps it's telling you something in your dreams and that's what brought you here."

Jax: "May I have the honor of another dance?"
Chloe: "We're lacking musicians."
Jax: "Oh, since when did we ever need musicians?"
Chloe: "Well, generally when we don't have music, we at least have the rain."
Jax: "Well, you have a vivid imagination. Use it."

While Chloe has to imagine the music, we hear the sound of the music box over their dancing.

VI. A Visit to the Museum (4/28)

Chloe: "Most men would be clamoring for the exit."
Jax: "Why would I do that?"
Chloe: "To get away from the nutty lady with her crazy dreams."
Jax: "Hey, the entire Russian army couldn't drag me away."

Man: "They're one of a kind, specially created for Russian nobility."
Chloe: "How old are they?"
Man: "Centuries old, some of them. From a different time."
Chloe: "Jax. That's the one. That's the one from my dreams."

Jax: "Are you sure?"
Chloe: "Yeah. You know, the one in my dreams didn't have all the gold beads. I just realized."
Jax: "Oh. We'll find the right one."
Chloe: "Thank you."

Jax: "Come here. Come here. You know, even if your dreams are scary, they're telling us what you're really thinking."
Chloe: "Possibly."
Jax: "Perhaps you're dreaming of something you forgot."
Chloe: "Like the music?"
Jax: "Yeah. The music could only be the first step."
Chloe: "I don't know how far I want to take it."
Jax: "If your dreams are trying to tell you something, let them."

Chloe dreams that she drops the box in the river, but this one can't be from Helena's point of view. Though Chloe will start seeing things before they happen, this one doesn't match the rest.

Terry: "Chloe and Jax may be the most vacuous couple I've seen in years (I mean, really, do I care about their 'problems'? Nope. Brain tumor--yawn. Corporate raider vs. loyal boyfriend--yawn twice), but they sure are beautiful. These folks were born to wear formal wear from a bygone era. Jax even wore the white gloves--nice touch, even if I did keep finding myself distracted by the gloves. Tava Smiley looked ethereal, and I especially loved the hair. With all that wonderful fabric, I forgot to notice her bad posture."

"Any chance this odd Chloe-Cassadine story is a revival and reshaping of whatever the old Miranda-Cassadine connection was going to be? Except that Miranda was conscious of a connection and Chloe, so far, is not. Okay, never mind. Oh, and I love your thoughts on the whole Russian/Cassadine business, Judy. It's wonderful to imagine they'll be smart enough to fashion a really intriguing story with some connection to history. And I'm still waiting for the Russian Orthodox priest cousin of my imagination to step forward."

Judy: "Me too! But somehow, I get the idea that the powers that be don't think their audience is smart enough to handle the history lesson--too bad! I must admit, I am somewhat interested in this story, despite the fact that the characters in it bore me to tears *G*. Any hint of a mystery usually pulls me in, mystery buff that I am. (In the same way, I was very interested in General Homicide, over on Port Charles, despite the fact that Julie annoyed me to no end, at the time.) If the story turns out to be a dud, however, I'm back to just being bored."

"A small thing: I'm not sure exactly when Sleeping Beauty was composed, but I'm guessing sometime between 1875 and 1890 (Tchiakovsky died in 1893). The Russian Revolution occurred in 1915; Nicholas II and his family were killed in 1918. The statements about the music box's age still confuse me, unless the fellow was referring to the music works inside being made shortly before the revolution, while the box itself was 'centuries old.' Frankly, I think the contradictory statements were a writer's goof."

Joan: "RussoChloe: I admit that, like Judy, any injection of Russia into a storyline, not to mention a mystery, intrigues me, but oh, Geez Louise! On behalf of my dead Russian ancestors, all I can say is...Puhleeeese! I found the dress-up ridiculous and offensive. I know it's a soap, I know Communism is dead, but give me a freaking break. Just how much money did Jax recoup from his original stash? I hated it. And as for the music box bribery caper, of you mean to tell me that all 100 rubles or whatever bought Jax was the information that it's old? The Communists may have though the ancient regime decadent, but they documented all of the artifacts the seized thoroughly. That Central Casting museum director should have been able to cite chapter and verse n that box, including the previous owner's name, rank and serial number. Feh."

Amy: "Well, I squealed with peals of laughter as the museum guy talked about the one-of-a-kind music boxes and the one right next to 'Chloe's' looked just like the Timoria egg! I assume that was an inside joke for viewers, but I'm sure people will claim that it was a screw up and/or spend hours analyzing how the Timoria egg could have come to be there...."

And, finally, Terry's report on this day's scenes:

"Jax and Chloe are in a St. Petersburg museum, in a room with a vast collection of music boxes. Chloe rambles on and on about the 'Sleeping Beauty Waltz'."

"The curator of the museum, with hilarious accent, joins Jax and Chloe to answer questions about the music boxes. He tells them the boxes are 'very old' and 'mostly made for Russian nobility.' Well, duh. Chloe spots one like the one in her dreams in a display case."

"Jax bribes the curator to let Chloe take the box out of the display and hold it. She identifies it as 'the one with the ballerina on it' and the curator hands it to her. On closer inspection, she realizes it isn't precisely like the one in her dreams, as it has golden beading on it. [Her dreams are that detailed? Well, gee, since she's always sketching designs, surely she could whip out a detailed picture of the thing.] I kept waiting for her to open it and see if it played the waltz, but she lost interest after deciding it wasn't the music box and handed it back."

"Jax tells her not to be discouraged, since they have learned some valuable information--her music box is Russian and made shortly before the Revolution. (How did he get that out of 'very old' I want to know?) I'm getting into this mystery, I admit, but I have to wonder why they have become convinced the music box actually exists. Sure, we the audience know it does, because we've seen it, but why does Chloe think this?"

"Jax and Chloe are back in their Russian bedroom. He wants her to rest, and she wants to sightsee. It's disconcerting to see him spend so much time in a room with a bed, given his predilection for fornicating anywhere but on a mattress. Chloe tells Jax that her dreams are growing darker, as if they are going to show her something she doesn't want to see. Jax urges her to let her subconscious speak to her, and to trust him to catch her if she 'falls.' Maybe you're dreaming of something you forgot, he suggests. Is that a hint? I hope so."

"Chloe is asleep on Jax's shoulder. She dreams of walking on the docks of Port Charles as the waltz plays. Even in black and white, you can see she's wearing that funky fur-trimmed coat. She spots the music box in the water, but when she reaches down to try to retrieve it, it floats away."

Continue to Next Page of Review

Back to Front Page of Issue

Back to Top