I'll start by saying that I recognize that I'm a newer viewer (since about 2006), and I totally respect that people who have been watching this show for longer are attached to their faves just like I am! I completely respect the legacy and history of characters from the 70s and 80s! I love a lot of them too!!
But. There are only so many times I can watch John and Marlena face off with the same villains they've beaten again and again since the 80's. I've already seen Justin/Adrienne, Steve/Kayla, and Jack/Jen forced apart and reunited too many times, and I haven't been watching half as long as others. I can't really invest in a story that expects me to care deeply about things that happened in the 80's, that I didn't see and only hear a quick summary of from awkward info-dump dialogue. I feel like every time John and Marlena have a romantic moment, it's a specific callback to something epic that happened 30 years ago. Nostalgia won't work forever, and it doesn't draw in new viewers at all.
At some point, the soap needs to move forward. I love having legacy characters and actors on the show, but why can't they be what they are - grandparents and great-grandparents - instead of being forced into storylines that awkwardly pretend they're still burly action heroes. It just doesn't work. If the soap doesn't invest in new supercouples, new iconic villains and heroes, it'll eventually just burn itself out. We can't rely on history forever.
But. There are only so many times I can watch John and Marlena face off with the same villains they've beaten again and again since the 80's. I've already seen Justin/Adrienne, Steve/Kayla, and Jack/Jen forced apart and reunited too many times, and I haven't been watching half as long as others. I can't really invest in a story that expects me to care deeply about things that happened in the 80's, that I didn't see and only hear a quick summary of from awkward info-dump dialogue. I feel like every time John and Marlena have a romantic moment, it's a specific callback to something epic that happened 30 years ago. Nostalgia won't work forever, and it doesn't draw in new viewers at all.
At some point, the soap needs to move forward. I love having legacy characters and actors on the show, but why can't they be what they are - grandparents and great-grandparents - instead of being forced into storylines that awkwardly pretend they're still burly action heroes. It just doesn't work. If the soap doesn't invest in new supercouples, new iconic villains and heroes, it'll eventually just burn itself out. We can't rely on history forever.
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