It’s safe to say that the Western genre would not have developed into one of the most popular categories of film if it weren’t for the extraordinary career of John Wayne. While it was not the first Western ever made, the 1939 classic Stagecoach fulfilled everything cinephiles could want from the genre, and kicked off a notoriously illustrious partnership between Wayne and director John Ford. Although Wayne’s work with Ford was arguably the highlight of both of their filmographies, Wayne worked with many great filmmakers, and began to make darker and more reflective films in the last decade of his career. In addition to finally earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor that he had long been denied, Wayne’s performance in True Grit contains what he believes is the best acting of his career.

‘True Grit’ Has One of John Wayne’s Greatest Performances

True Grit is based on the novel of the same name by Charles Portis, which also inspired a 2010 remake by Joel and Ethan Coen that starred Jeff Bridges. Wayne stars as the aging U.S. Major Marshall Rooster Cogburn, whose cantankerous behavior and constant drinking have caused many of his peers to think that he is past his prime. However, a violent insurrection forces Cogburn to jump back into the line of fire. In Yell County, Arkansas, the farmer Frank Ross (John Pickard) is murdered by the outlaw Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), whom he had once employed as a hired hand. Although the Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell) is determined to hunt Chaney down and bring him to justice under the law, Ross’ young daughter Mattie (Kim Darby) decides to hire Cogburn to help track down her father’s killer.

While he had starred in countless Westerns by the time of the film’s release, Wayne was uniquely cast in True Grit as an aging protagonist who was past his prime. Cogburn did not have the excitable energy of Sheriff John T. Chance in Rio Bravo, nor did he have the incisive rage of Major Ethan Edwards in The Searchers. Rather, Cogburn is a character who is no longer respected and uses his new mission to help Mattie as a means of solidifying his reputation. In many ways, this felt like a self-reflective performance on Wayne’s part. While the 1960s saw the emergence of new Western stars like Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, Wayne proved in True Grit that he hadn’t lost a step with the genre that had paved the way for his career.

Related

Collider Acrostic — The Collider Movie Quiz!

Can you answer these movie questions, wherein each correct response begins with a successive letter of the word “Collider”?

Advertisement

Although the film strays radically from the original source material, True Grit’s depiction of Cogburn made use of Wayne’s inherent strengths as an actor. It’s often unspoken how comedically adept Wayne was, as he starred in many romantic comedies throughout his career. While True Grit is first and foremost a drama, Wayne was able to add a touch of humor to the adventure throughout the film, specifically in his interaction with La Boeuf. Cogburn’s cantankerous, somewhat nontraditional approach to following the law ends up rubbing the stuffy and proper Texas ranger the wrong way. It was also a great depiction of Wayne as a reluctant hero. Although he initially views his mission to avenge Mattie’s parents as merely one that is financially beneficial, Cogburn begins to believe in the merits of his assignment, and forms an attachment with his young employer.

John Wayne Showed His Range in This ‘True Grit’ Scene

Although the film certainly allowed him to chew the scenery, Wayne showed his range as a dramatic actor during a moving monologue in True Grit. When Cogburn and Mattie are waiting for the film’s villains to discover them, the aging U.S. Marshall reveals that he had once been married, and that his wife had left him at an unaccepted moment. Although he reflects on the sadness of not being able to have a family, Cogburn insists that he’d rather lose his wife than sacrifice his independence. It’s a rare moment of intimacy from a character who is uneasy about expressing his emotions. While director Henry Hathaway deserves credit for setting up the scene, it’s Wayne’s subtle performance that makes True Grit one of his greatest films ever.

While he had appeared in no shortage of memorable Western shootouts, Wayne cited the True Grit monologue scene as the greatest moment of acting in his entire career. He called the part of Cogburn his “first decent part in twenty years,” as it gave him his “first chance to play a character role instead of John Wayne.” By leaning away from his inherent idiosyncrasies and investing in the character’s backstory, Wayne felt that Hathaway had made True Grit into “a fantasy, and yet he kept it an honest Western.” Wayne revealed that Cogburn was “not like what I’ve done before,” and that the opportunity to show his range excited him.

‘True Grit’ Shows a Softer Side to John Wayne

Image via Paramount Pictures

Wayne’s True Grit monologue showed us a softer side of the actor we so rarely got to see during his legendary career. You get the sense as Cogburn opens up about his ex-wife that there is a heartbreaking wistfulness for the past, even if it’s a life that no longer suits him. This is particularly poignant when Mattie asks about his son. After telling her that his wife took him with her after the divorce, Cogburn looks down with a pause, shaking his head for a few seconds before stating matter-of-factly, “He never liked me anyway.” Wayne relies on a quiet understatedness here, a stark contrast to the swaggering, assertive cowboy persona that made him a Western icon.

To see Wayne portray a man in a state of vulnerability towards the end of his career only adds to the scene’s power. Cogburn is opening up, showing a side to Mattie she doesn’t normally get to see from the U.S. Marshall. It feels like a triumphant victory lap for Wayne, who is giving us one of the most intimate performances of his entire career, something that was often sorely lacking from his more traditional films.

‘True Grit’ Was the Summation of Wayne’s Career

Although it ended up inspiring the sequel Rooster Cogburn, True Grit was one of the last films of Wayne’s career. In that sense, it’s hard to not see Cogburn’s touching speech as a moment of reflection on Wayne’s part. Cogburn is reminiscing about what he missed out on as the result of his career, and Wayne was once again playing a Western gunslinger who is forced to show his heroism. This connection between the two makes the film even more powerful. Just as Cogburn decides to aid Mattie and prove himself worthy of wearing a badge, Wayne reaches unexpected emotional depths and delivers one of the most stirring performances of his career.

Although the Academy Awards frequently disregard great Westerns, Wayne’s performance in True Grit earned him his first and only Best Actor Oscar. Some actors earn major awards towards the end of their careers as “career prizes” for their entire body of work, but in the case of True Grit, Wayne won his award on merit alone.

Wayne Had a Shaky History at the Oscars

Related

As a Western Fan, These Are the 10 Movies in the Genre I Rewatch the Most

Yee-haw!

One of the reasons that the acclaim for True Grit was so satisfying was that Wayne’s work had consistently been overlooked by the Academy Award before he finally earned the Best Actor trophy. The Oscars have not historically been kind to “genre” movies, as the only western that had won Best Picture prior to the release of True Grit was Cimarron, which was released way back in 1931; the Oscars would show more willingness to accept the genre in subsequent years, as Unforgiven, Dances With Wolves, and No Country For Old Men also earned the Best Picture award. Nonetheless, True Grit wasn’t nominated in any other major categories, signifying once again that awards voters were rather close-minded. Wayne’s victory may have been the exception to the rule, rather than the initiation of a new trend.

Even though True Grit is a film that is cited as a western classic, many of Wayne’s best performances were overlooked by the Oscars. Wayne is best known for his collaborations with John Ford, who is the most decorated filmmaker in history thanks to his four victories in the Best Director category. Wayne appeared in Best Picture nominees directed by Ford, such as The Long Voyage Home, The Quiet Man, and Stagecoach, but did not get recognized for any of his performances. Prior to True Grit, he had been nominated for Best Actor in the war drama The Sands of Iowa Jima and received a Best Picture nomination for the historical epic The Alamo, which he both directed and produced. However, it is unfortunate to see that Wayne did not get any recognition for The Searchers, a classic cited by critics’ groups like the AFI and Sight & Sound as being one of the greatest films ever made. Wayne’s performance as a ruthless Marshall with a serious sense of bloodlust predated many iconic anti-hero characters, such as Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in Taxi Driver, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt and Edward Norton) in Fight Club, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in American Psycho, and Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) in Joker.

Ironically, the remake of True Grit fared much better at the Academy Awards, as it earned ten nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for the Coen Brothers (both of which it ended up losing to The King’s Speech). Among the nominees for the film was Jeff Bridges, who took on the role of Rooster Cogburn that Wayne had crafted in such a delicate way. Bridges did not win the award, but this is not entirely surprising, as he had won the previous year for his performance as an alcoholic country singer in the acclaimed music drama Crazy Heart. That being said, there is a legitimate argument to be made that Bridges should have earned the prize two years in a row; he managed to bring a lot of depth to his portrayal, as it did not feel like he was simply trying to do an impression of what Wayne had already done before.

Advertisement

True Grit

Advertisement

Release Date

June 11, 1969

Runtime

Advertisement

128 minutes

Director

Henry Hathaway

Advertisement

Writers

Charles Portis, Marguerite Roberts

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Carole Radziwill Says Bravo Fans Manifested Her ‘RHONY’ Return

Bravo Also Announced The Rest Of The Season 16 Cast

Fans Are Mixed About Radziwill’s Return

The Former ‘RHONY’ Star Previously Discussed Her Connection To Maxwell

What The Royal Siblings Said About Meghan Markle

Experts React To The Royal Siblings’ Comments About The Duchess Of Sussex

Meghan Markle Could Possibly Return To The U.K. For The Invictus Games

The Duke And Duchess’s ‘Credibility Has Been Bruised’

When you think of Little House on the Prairie, your mind probably goes to the opening sequence where the Ingalls girls run down the grassy hill chasing their dog, Jack. It’s the kind of cozy, all-American nostalgia Netflix is betting on, too, since its upcoming adaptation has already been renewed for Season 2 ahead of its Season 1 premiere on July 9. But well before that new version arrives, it’s worth remembering that not every episode of Little House on the Prairie is particularly uplifting.

Some feature harsh and unthinkable moments that can make the blood boil and the heart sink. One such episode comes from the series’ sixth season, a two-parter titled “May We Make Them Proud.” Longtime fans might recognize this one immediately, but for the uninitiated, prepare for the show’s most horrific deaths — and it’s not even close.

“May We Make Them Proud” Offers the Most Horrific Deaths in the Series

Image via NBC

What starts as a heartwarming episode about raising money for the local blind school — run by Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) and her husband Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer, yes, the guy who made Malcolm in the Middle) — complete with some fun and lighthearted character moments, quickly turns into the evening from hell. After a full day of raising money and enjoying the company of those around Walnut Grove, Mary, Adam, Hester-Sue (Ketty Lester), and Alice Garvey (Hersha Parady) spend some time relaxing at the dinner table. But unbeknownst to them, earlier that day, Matthew Labyorteaux‘s Albert Ingalls and another local boy had been sneakily smoking a pipe in the basement, and it soon caught fire. It wasn’t long before the blind school began to burn down, and while that’s a tragedy on its own, it’s much worse when Mary realizes she left her baby.

Hoping to save Mary and the baby, Alice Garvey sends Mary outside and heads back in for the child, only to get distracted by saving another. As heroic as her actions were, this resulted in Alice being trapped in an upper room with no escape, as she and the baby were burned alive. Mary, Adam, Hester-Sue, and the children can do nothing but hear her scream. This is one moment where Mary and Adam are likely thankful to be unable to see, though we, the audience, are exposed to some of Alice’s final moments as she tries helplessly to break through the window. The whole thing is incredibly hard to watch and is arguably one of the more gruesome deaths on the show, leaving the outcome up to the imagination. You wouldn’t find this in the real Ingalls story.

Related

This 1 Hour of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Is the Perfect, Cozy Winter Watch

It doesn’t get more cozy than this Midwestern holiday hour.

Advertisement

Because of the tragedy, Mary is left grief-stricken and for weeks says nothing but sits quietly humming a lullaby to herself. This hits especially hard when we recall that this is now the second baby boy that Mary and Adam have lost. The first was lost via miscarriage in the Season 5 episode, “The Sound of Children,” so this baby’s death is a particular blow to the Kendall family. Though Mary Ingalls didn’t get married or have children in real life, Little House aimed to give her a happier ending, though “May We Make Them Proud, Part 1” rips much of that away from her. For quite some time, Mary can’t even acknowledge that she lost a child, that is, until Albert gifts her a music box that plays the same lullaby, snapping her out of it and revealing that Albert believes himself responsible for the fire.

Despite the Tragedy, This ‘Little House’ Episode Ends With Hope

The first hour of “May We Make Them Proud” is depressing. Aside from Mary’s resulting condition, Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) takes his grief out on his son, Andy (Patrick Labyorteaux), and actively blames God for the disaster. It seems as if this horror will forever mark the lives of the Kendall and Garvey families. But, thankfully, the two-parter doesn’t end on such a sour note. Thanks to the efforts of Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), Jonathan and Albert can come to terms with what happened. In fact, the former even exclaims to the latter that the fire was nobody’s fault. Having been forgiven, Albert returns home to his father, just like the prodigal son.

This two-parter touches on the hardships of frontier living and thrives when waxing philosophical about the nature of why bad things happen. Jonathan’s struggle with his faith and ultimately finding it again (which feels akin to episodes like “The Lord Is My Shepherd”) is a powerful motivator for the man in his final batch of episodes. It wouldn’t be long before Jonathan and Andy were written out of the show completely, moving to Sleepy Eye to find new work and start over. Merlin Olsen would go on to lead his own series, Father Murphy, with the help of Michael Landon, though it would only last two seasons. In any case, “May We Make Them Proud” remains a powerful two hours of Little House on the Prairie, forcing our characters to reconcile such tragedy with the true adage that life does indeed go on, even when it’s hard.

General Hospital could see Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) doing double daddy duty soon. There’s a chance Jordan Ashford (Tanisha Harper) may find out she is pregnant soon. If so, there might be a huge paternity twist coming for Curtis that could change everything forever.

General Hospital: Curtis Ashford Faces Double Daddy Drama

If Jordan Ashford pulls a wicked DNA stunt, that’s something you would usually suspect from Portia Robinson (Brook Kerr).

Curtis Ashford is expecting a baby with Portia Robinson even though they’re getting a divorce. She confirmed it with the DNA test. There’s no reason for her to have lied.

Curtis Ashford is moving on with Jordan Ashford, and Portia Robinson has moved on with Isaiah Gannon. But things may get a whole lot more complicated for Curtis very soon.

Jordan Ashford’s Possible Pregnancy Shakes Up Port Charles

It looks like Jordan Ashford takes a pregnancy test this week. That means there’s clearly a chance she’s pregnant. That would be really interesting because Jordan is worried about the threat of Portia’s pregnancy.

Despite Curtis hoping that Portia’s baby was his, Jordan Ashford hoped it was Isaiah’s kid. Jordan was worried she would lose Curtis to Portia. She thought they would bond over having another baby together.

But if Jordan Ashford is also pregnant, that’s her big chance to have the same thing going with Curtis. It might convince Jordan that she can compete with Portia and keep Curtis to herself permanently.

At this point, let’s be real, Portia doesn’t even want Curtis. But Jordan Ashford is being paranoid. Portia is all about Isaiah. Still, Jordan wants a guarantee that a reunion between Curtis and Portia won’t happen.

GH Twist: Is Curtis Really Jordan’s Baby Daddy?

Jordan Ashford may think having a baby with Curtis Ashford would be her ticket to their happily ever after. But that’s only if it is Curtis’s baby. If Jordan is pregnant, there is a chance Curtis is not the father.

It was New Year’s Eve when Jordan Ashford and Curtis Ashford finally made love. If Jordan is two months pregnant or less—like eight weeks, give or take—then dollars to donuts, it is her baby with Curtis.

However, if Jordan Ashford is more than two months pregnant, then that is not Curtis’s baby. That would be one heck of a twist. Imagine Jordan turning up pregnant and then lying that it was Curtis’s baby just to hold onto him.

Is Brick the Secret Father? GH Paternity Speculation

As far as Curtis Ashford knows, Jordan Ashford wasn’t seeing anybody before they got together. However, she did date Isaiah before he started getting with Portia. Jordan and Isaiah’s relationship ended in late April of 2025.

There’s no way Jordan Ashford got pregnant by Isaiah Gannon. I don’t think he would have turned around and dipped in that pond again. He didn’t like her much after they split.

But if you remember, there has been another man in Jordan Ashford’s life. Someone we’ve seen pretty recently. That’s Brick (Stephen A. Smith).

We never saw Jordan getting sexy time with Brick, but we have seen him trying to get some sexy time with her.

I would be super surprised if they did flashback sex scenes with Stephen A. Smith and Tanisha Harper. Maybe we get Brick buttoning up his pants while she’s laying in bed. I don’t see the ESPN commentator doing a full-on soap sex scene.

General Hospital Flashbacks: Jordan Ashford’s Past Affairs

But maybe he’s a huge fan of General Hospital. S*x scenes are a soap staple. So, never say never.

We might find out after the fact that Jordan Ashford and Brick did do the deed. If Jordan turns up with a positive pregnancy test, we have to ask whether the baby is Curtis’s or not.

The thing is, Curtis Ashford has no reason to think about asking for a DNA test. Jordan Ashford won’t know from a positive little pee-on-it pregnancy test how far along she is. You have to get an ultrasound to find that out.

GH History: Jordan and TJ Ashford’s Paternity Scandal

Do you remember Jordan’s last pregnancy? It was way back in the day when she was pregnant carrying TJ Ashford (Tajh Bellow).

She was married to Curtis’s brother Tommy Ashford. Tommy hasn’t been seen on General Hospital before; he’s just an off-screen character. Then, Jordan Ashford had an affair with her husband’s best friend, Shawn Butler.

Instead of telling the truth, Jordan lied to everybody. TJ grew up thinking he was Tommy Ashford’s child, even though Shawn had been a presence in his life the whole time.

Tommy had been dead for years. Jordan Ashford never came clean. Curtis Ashford found out and then promised Jordan he would keep it a secret. But TJ overheard and learned the truth, and it blew up her life.

Portia Robinson & Jordan: GH’s Queens of Hidden Truths

What’s ironic is Jordan Ashford berated Portia Robinson over and over for lying and letting Taggert think that Trina was his daughter when she was Curtis Ashford’s daughter—also from an affair, by the way.

Jordan and Portia have basically identical lies in common. Except, I actually think Jordan’s lie is worse because Tommy was dead. It wasn’t like both dad candidates were around. Despite that, Jordan Ashford thinks she has the moral high ground over Portia.

Honestly, I think it’d be wild if Brick is the dad. However, I think Jordan Ashford would pull the exact same stunt. I think she would lie and let Curtis Ashford believe he is the father of her baby because Jordan doesn’t want to lose him again at all costs.

Curtis Ashford’s Trust Issues: More Drama Ahead on GH

Jordan didn’t think she’d ever get another chance with Curtis after their 2021 divorce. But now, Portia Robinson and Curtis Ashford are done. Jordan is getting her second chance with Curtis.

What’s ironic is Jordan has lied just as much as Portia. But Curtis seems to have forgotten that Jordan did all the same stuff Portia did and is just as big a liar as his other ex-wife. This week, we hopefully will find out the result of Jordan’s pregnancy test.

Paternity Bombshells Loom: Will Jordan Tell the Truth?

It definitely looks like she was the one with the test in her hand. I’m assuming she’s pregnant. Otherwise, why would GH have her even take a pregnancy test?

If that test is positive, then I wonder if Jordan Ashford is going to run right over to General Hospital to get an ultrasound to see how far along she is.

If we see any urgency or panic about it, or if she doesn’t tell Curtis Ashford right away, I think that’s a red flag that Jordan may be worried about who the daddy of her kid is. Jordan’s going to want it to be Curtis’s baby.

But Jordan did have some dates with Brick. He was totally smitten, being a smooth operator like he was. General Hospital has some wiggle room where they could make Jordan Ashford pregnant with another man’s child.

They could always fabricate a flashback of her getting drunk one night and having a one-night stand with some other guy. Kind of like how Michael Corinthos had that one night with Sasha and she got pregnant with Daisy.

Portia Robinson Could Expose Jordan’s Latest General Hospital Secret

I personally think it would be awesome if Brick was Jordan’s baby daddy. If so, I feel 100% like she’d lie and try to pass the kid off as Curtis Ashford’s child. That is a dangerous game since Portia Robinson works at the hospital, where Jordan Ashford would be getting all her prenatal care.

Portia Robinson would be poised to find out the secret. That way, Portia could be positioned to knock Jordan off her high horse. Also, in case you weren’t listening closely, Portia recently told Isaiah Gannon that Jordan Ashford and Curtis Ashford won’t last.

Portia said it will be impossible for Jordan to live up to Curtis’s high standards when it comes to honesty. That could have been a little nugget of foreshadowing.

So, wait to see if Jordan Ashford is pregnant, how far along she is, and if she’s going to pull another big paternity switcheroo just like she did with TJ.

Bold and the Beautiful pairings are shifting and we’re about to get three hot new couples but that doesn’t mean they’ll last. In fact, I suspect as Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) makes a big move and a young couple fractures, the new couples are absolutely doomed from the start.

Bold and the Beautiful Romance Update: Will Spencer, Electra Forrester & Ivy Forrester Drama

Right now, we’ve got a lot of changes happening in the romance department at B&B. Will Spencer (Crew Morrow) and Electra Forrester (Laneya Grace) just split thanks to Ivy Forrester‘s (Ashleigh Brewer) awfulness.

Miss Dylan (Sydney Bullock) and RJ Forrester (Brayan Nicoletti) were already waiting in the wings, ready to pounce. We’re going to get some action on both those fronts this week.

Deacon Sharpe is already mentally checked out of his marriage to Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown). He is fully in love with Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig). The only reason Deacon hasn’t bailed on Sheila is because she’s a murderous psychopath. He fears for Taylor’s safety.

Stephanie Forrester Threats & Spoilers for Taylor and Deacon on B&B

There’s also that pesky little matter of Steffy Forrester threatening to exile Taylor from the whole family. So, lots and lots of changes are coming this week. Recent official Bold and the Beautiful spoilers promise really big changes for many of these couples. And a huge change for one couple.

First, let’s talk about Will Spencer and Dylan. Official spoilers for the next few weeks tell us that Ivy  keeps playing puppet master. She is pulling the strings to make sure Will and Electra won’t ever get back together.

Ivy’s trying her level best to keep them broken up. This is going to set it up so Dylan can make her move on Will now that he is totally single. This week, Dylan tells Will  she knows how to distract him and then she kisses him.

That lines up with one of the big Bold and the Beautiful spoilers about one of these three new couples. It says that one pair shares their first kiss.

RJ Forrester, Electra Forbes, and Sizzling Bold and Beautiful Spoilers

This aligns with Will and Dylan because the other two couples are already kissing. RJ kissed Electra. It was just once, but that counts. Taylor and Deacon have kissed several times. So, we know it’s not them.

There’s nobody else coupled up that’s new and not already smooching. Other official spoilers say that Dylan opens up to Deke about Will. So, Dylan may tell her new friend Deke that  she’s crushing on Will and kissed him. She may also mention that Will and Electra broke up.

Electra, Will and Ivy Forrester’s Manipulations on B&B

If Deke happens to mention what Dylan said about Will to Electra, that could push Electra right into RJ’s waiting arms. Even though Will and Dylan are starting something soon, I suspect they are doomed before they get off the ground as a couple.

Will and Electra are about to find out what Ivy did. I think that’s going to happen pretty soon, thanks to Daphne. She’s not going to listen to the threat that Ivy made.

Let’s just hope Electra and Will sort it out before either of them is in bed with somebody new. That would make everything harder. If either gets intimate with somebody new, then Will and Electra might not find their way back to each other.

B&B Couple Predictions: Will Electra and Will Reunite?

I do expect Will and Electra will reunite because they love each other. That means Dylan and Will are likely doomed before it goes anywhere. On the other side, RJ and Electra do get closer this week as well.

Official B&B spoilers confirm RJ cannot get Electra off his mind or that kiss he gave her. Of course, Ivy Forrester is going to continue encouraging RJ, just like she has been.

Ivy told RJ to hang in there and not give up. We know that’s because Ivy is scheming to ensure Electra and Will stay ripped apart.

Ivy’s Exit and Fallout for Forrester Creations

That way Electra is available for RJ, who Ivy thinks is much more appropriate. But she can’t force Electra to start dating RJ just because she’s single.

Again, Ivy’s exposure is likely to happen. Will and Electra are going to realize she has been manipulating everything. But before then, RJ may kiss Electra again.

Ivy Forrester’s exposure is likely to happen just as Ashley Brewer exits for maternity leave soon. That means Ivy is likely going to be sent packing. She will be banished from Forrester Creations and hated by her niece Electra Forbes.

RJ and Dylan: Recoupling on Bold?

At that point, even if RJ and Electra were starting something, they are completely doomed as a couple. They probably won’t have gotten far by then. That should end it. Honestly, I think then we’ll get a recoupling swap.

Electra gets back to Will. RJ swaps over to dating Dylan. They did have that little spark when RJ first met Dylan, and they bumped into each other at Forrester Creations. RJ definitely seemed interested, and Dylan did too. But then Hurricane Ivy hit and blew up Will and Electra. RJ had his eye on Electra instead of Dylan.

Bold and the Beautiful Spoilers: Taylor & Deacon Get Intimate

We could see RJ and Dylan circle back around to that little meet-cute moment and take up with each other when the other romantic prospects are off the table. Now let’s talk about the huge Bold and the Beautiful spoiler about a couple that makes love for the first time.

I’m pretty sure this couple is also doomed. Of the three new couples forming, they stand the best chance of maybe making it. I’m talking about Taylor and Deacon. I’m pretty sure the sexy spoiler is about Taylor finally giving into her passion and sleeping with Deacon.

Deacon, Sheila, and Taylor: Love Triangle Chaos

Although, I have to say, this whole thing kind of gives me the ick. Sheila Carter was just fussing to Taylor about Deacon not giving her any loving, not any bedroom time. She asked Taylor how to entice Deacon into sex.

After that, Taylor was sitting down, flirting with Deacon, looking like they were about to kiss. Then she said it’s over. Taylor basically told Deacon, “Go bed your wife.”

He told Taylor, “Alright, I’ll try. I’ll recommit to my marriage.” He said he’d make love to Sheila, but Deacon admitted he’ll be thinking about Taylor the whole time.

B&B Writers Stir Up More Trouble for Couples

That’s just disturbing. I don’t know what they’re thinking, drinking, or smoking in the writer’s room at Bold, because that gives me all the ick. Even worse, after Deacon gives Sheila what she’s been wanting all night long, over and over, she stops over to tell Taylor about it.

Taylor is going to hear about this from both Deacon and Sheila. I think Sheila is the second person to tell her about it. Deacon will drop the bombshell first. Deacon is going to tell Taylor that he did it. He tried to recommit. He gave it to Sheila good but was thinking of Taylor the whole time.

Somehow, that gets Taylor so turned on she can’t control herself. I think Deacon and Taylor are the couple that gets intimate, and it may be right on her desk this week. So watch as things are shifting on B&B. Three new couples rise from the ashes of two couples.

Who Will Survive? Final Thoughts on the Bold and Beautiful Couples’ Shake-Up

Sheila and Deacon are hitting the skids. Electra and Will are already dead. Ivy is trying to put a nail in the coffin of that dead relationship. We’re going to have Dylan kissing Will. I don’t know if he’ll kiss back. If he does, I don’t think it’ll last long.

I think he may tap the brakes because this is a very fresh wound. He’s a good guy. He’s not a disloyal guy. So we’ll see. RJ may try again, maybe get a kiss from his non-bio cousin, since they made a clear point that they’re not related, even though their last names are Forrester.

Deacon’s going to take Taylor to bed. However, I doubt they make it to an actual mattress. It could be a desk or the sofa in Taylor’s shrink office. In the end, at least two of these couples are doomed. Honestly, maybe all three.

You’ve heard Jim Nantz say “Hello, friends” before the Masters, the Super Bowl, the Final Four — basically every massive sporting event on CBS for more than two decades.

And if you assumed it was just a slick TV catchphrase, get the tissues ready. Because the real story behind those two words is going to hit you right in the feelings.

The legendary play-by-play announcer recently opened up on the “Vanity Index Podcast,” released February 25 and hosted by Chad Mumm, creator of Netflix’s Full Swing, and Wells Adams, former contestant on The Bachelorette.

And what Nantz shared about the origin of his signature greeting is the kind of story that sticks with you long after you hear it.

It Started as a Promise to His Dad

The phrase dates back to 2002, when Nantz was getting ready to broadcast the PGA Championship in Hazeltine, Minnesota. His father — also named Jim Nantz — had been battling Alzheimer’s disease since his diagnosis in 1995.

Seven years into that fight, Nantz made his dad a promise before the golf tournament started.

Related: SportsCenter’s Jay Harris Announces Cancer Diagnosis, Undergoing Surgery

Advertisement

Longtime SportsCenter anchor Jay Harris announced he has prostate cancer.  “I’m having surgery on Tuesday,” Harris, 60, said during the Thursday, June 5, episode of Good Morning America. “I’ll be away from SportsCenter for about a month to recover. And then I’m coming back better than ever.” Harris, who has worked at ESPN since 2003, […]

“When I come on the air, I’m gonna look into that camera, and I’m gonna say, ‘Hello, friends,’ and that’s for you, Dad, ‘cause you have nothing but friends,” Nantz said on the podcast.

“That’s going to be my little trigger line that lets you know at that very moment I’m thinking of you,” he added.

Let that sink in. One of the most recognizable voices in American sports was using national television to send a private message to one person watching at home — his father, who was battling a devastating illness.

Jim Nantz Only Meant to Say It Once

Here’s the thing: Nantz never planned to keep saying it. He described it as a “one-and-done” opening line, meant only for that single broadcast at Hazeltine. But one of his CBS colleagues encouraged him to use it again.

So he did. The next day, he said it again. And it stuck.

A one-time tribute to his dad turned into the signature opening of one of the biggest careers in sports broadcasting. Nantz knows people have gotten the wrong idea about it over the years, and he addressed that head-on.

“Some people, I think, think it’s some sort of attempt, lame attempt to try to have a signature phrase or line – had nothing to do with that,” Nantz said on the podcast. “It all had to do with trying to communicate with my father.”

No marketing meeting. No producer suggestion. No branding strategy. Just a son trying to reach his dad.

Now, close to 25 years after that first broadcast in Hazeltine, Nantz opens every single broadcast the same way. The meaning has grown over time, but the connection to his father is still at the center.

“I say, ‘Hello, friends,’ and I think of my dad watching down on me, and it relaxes me, and I fall into the flow of the show,” he added. “So that’s the story.”

Nantz Lost His Father in 2008 After a 13-Year Battle

Jim Nantz Jr., sometimes referred to as Jim Nantz II, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1995. He died in 2008 after a 13-year battle with the disease, according to his obituary. He was 79.

Nantz channeled his grief into something tangible. In 2011, he founded the Nantz National Alzheimer Center (NNAC) in partnership with Houston Methodist.

The center was established to honor his father and as a tribute to his mother, Doris, and sister, Nancy, for their tireless dedication to caregiving.

Nantz’s mother, Doris, passed away peacefully in 2022, according to her obituary. She was 91.

High Potential is officially back after a month-long hiatus, and already, the show is jumping back in with some major storylines. Like every episode of High Potential, Season 2, Episode 13, “The Driver’s Seat” sees the Major Crimes team investigating a complicated murder. Meanwhile, Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) struggles with the reminder that her kids are growing up, while Arthur (Mekhi Phifer) gets a major breakthrough in the investigation into Roman’s disappearance.

After High Potential‘s recent run of intense and fast-paced episodes, “The Driver’s Seat” feels like a little bit of a break in the momentum. It makes sense for the show to slow things down at this point, but the pacing is a little too slow, and there’s not much plot development in this episode. That said, “The Driver’s Seat” is still an entertaining entry with a major murder-mystery twist and some great moments between Morgan and her kids.

‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 13 Sees the Major Crimes Team Investigate a Murder That Doesn’t Quite Add Up

The case this week kicks off with an attempted carjacking from a dealership that sells technologically advanced cars. At the scene is the car, which crashed before it could be stolen, as well as the body of a man who was shot and killed. Morgan and Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) speak to Glen Gannick, the owner of the dealership, who shows them the security footage. The footage reveals that the victim was killed somewhere else, and then his body was brought to the dealership before the carjackers got there. Although the thieves aren’t connected to the murder, Morgan and Karadec look into them for clues, and they wind up with a drawing of the victim, whom one of them saw around the neighborhood before he was killed.

Karadec and Oz (Deniz Akdeniz) do some looking around, and they soon find the murder victim: a professor and climate activist named Joaquin Herrero. Sure enough, they discover that Joaquin was killed in his own home before his body was moved. Joaquin’s neighbor, Katie, tells Karadec and Oz that Joaquin had been consistently and loudly protesting against the toxic waste in their neighborhood caused by Gannick’s dealership. Morgan and Karadec determine that Gannick had the biggest motive to kill Joaquin, but they suspect that he’s being framed. For one, the body was left at his own dealership, and for another, Glen had already won Joaquin’s case against him in civil court.

Later, Morgan and Karadec question the judge who ruled over the case, and they suspect that Joaquin was blackmailing the judge about his secret regular meetings with sex workers. Katie is framed next, and she’s arrested after the gun that killed Joaquin is found in her house. Morgan and Karadec soon find a man named Darby Winters who is responsible for breaking into Katie’s house earlier that day and framing her. They don’t learn much from Darby, but Morgan puts everything together. She realizes that Darby and the Judge both drove cars from Glen’s dealership. Glen used this to gather information on them and blackmail them, which is why the Judge ruled in his favor. Joaquin found out and confronted him, so Glen killed him and then framed himself, and later Katie. Glen is caught red-handed, and Morgan and Karadec arrest him.

Related

Collider Acrostic — The Collider TV Quiz!

Can you answer these television questions, wherein each correct response begins with a successive letter of the word “Collider”?

Advertisement

‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 13 Sees Morgan Struggling To Adapt to Change

Image via ABC

Advertisement

The main subplot of this episode focuses on Morgan’s kids. Ava (Amirah J) takes the time to do her homework before Morgan even asks, and she reveals that she signed up for a design class outside of school hours so that she can start pursuing what she wants to do with her future. Later, Ava texts Morgan and tells her to come home early because Elliot (Matthew Lamb) has been invited to attend a boarding school for young geniuses in Connecticut. Morgan later tells Selena (Judy Reyes) about the letter, and she admits that she’s afraid of the idea of Elliot leaving. Selena encourages Morgan to let Elliot make the decision, and she agrees. Morgan later gives Elliot the letter, and Elliot tells her that he already spoke with Ava, who helped him decide not to attend the school. It’s a sweet ending to the storyline, as Elliot chooses to stay home, and Morgan is grateful to Ava for her insight. This storyline is resolved a little too quickly, though, and it could have been interesting to see Elliot struggle with this decision more.

Outside of the two main storylines, this episode, “In the Driver’s Seat” moves two other major storylines forward. It’s revealed that the man (John Pyper-Ferguson) from the photos in Roman’s backpack is still following Morgan. Arthur then catches the man and takes him away to question him. Later, Arthur is arrested for beating the man while interrogating him, but he was able to get one major piece of information before being arrested: that man is the person who abducted Roman all those years ago. It’s not especially surprising, and it still feels like High Potential is dragging the Roman storyline out, but now we know for sure that Roman was abducted (which is a major change from the French version of the show).

This episode also continues with the complex love triangle between Karadec, Morgan, and Lucia (Susan Kelechi Watson). Morgan and Karadec are acting normal with each other this episode, but at the end, High Potential hints at trouble with his relationship with Lucia. Karadec comes home for a nice meal with Lucia, and they are both optimistic about their future together. She tells him that she’s planning to stay in the area and buy a place, and he encourages her to do so. When Lucia asks what changed Karadec so much from when they last dated, he credits Morgan for all of it, saying that Morgan helped him see himself differently and challenged him. The scene ends on a positive note for Karadec and Lucia, but Lucia naturally looks concerned after this, showing that she’s starting to catch onto Karadec’s feelings for Morgan – even if he’s still unaware of them.

New episodes of High Potential air Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M. EST on ABC.

Roomies, Ari Fletcher is turnin’ heads with a risqué new look she donned for a recent shoot.

RELATED: Hol’ Up! Ari Fletcher Appears To Call Moneybagg Yo Her “Husband” In Romantic Clip From Their Valentine’s Day Dinner (WATCH)

Ari Fletcher Dons Risqué, New Look For Recent Shoot

On Monday, March 2, hairstylist Arrogant Tae took to Instagram to share a clip from what appears to be a recent shoot in promotion of his work. Furthermore, the clip showed Fletcher, among other models, donning pink hair with black stripes and a metallic bikini with fishnet tights.

“Back shooting n doing content 💅🏼🔥😍 shout out to my girls and shout out to guttaaaaa @gutttaa for killing these make upppp looks for my vision 🤑🤑 my birthday shoot is complete,” Tae captioned the NSFW clip.

Click here to watch.

Furthermore, during the shoot, Fletcher appeared to take to a livestream, showing off her risqué new look. Swipe below to peep the additional clips of her.

She’s Turnin’ Heads

Ari Fletcher’s risqué look turned heads and sparked reactions in TSR’s comment section.

Before Ari Fletcher Turned Heads With A Risqué New Look For A Recent Shoot, She Spoke About Recent Cosmetic Surgery

Before Ari Fletcher turned heads with her risqué new look for a recent shoot, she opened up to fans about recently undergoing cosmetic surgery. As The Shade Room previously reported, last month, footage was reportedly shared via Fletcher’s Instagram Story showing her in recovery mode after undergoing surgery. Before the surgery, she had opened up online about her plans to fix one of her deepest insecurities: a “dent” in her thigh.

@arithedonfanpage_1

Prayers up for Ari as she goes in for surgery this week for her leg, wishing her a speedy recovery in this video already talks about having surgery on her thigh is something she’s been dealing with for quite some time wishing her the best of luck#therealkylesister #arithedon #ari #arifletcher #surgery

♬ original sound – arithedonfanpage_1

RELATED: Ari Fletcher Addresses Cosmetic Surgery She Had To Fix Her “Dent” (WATCH)