I like that question. It shows the total WTFness of AMC these days. Let's say it was a TK adlib. Well done, sir, well done. Or let's say it was in the script. Yep, I'd rather see Zen discuss the latest in mascara trends and R&D than see Zach avoid or just plain old not want to talk about Annie and how he almost got arrested.

It's funny that Zach doubted whether Kendall fully believed him because all I've heard from Kendall and seen from her (other than a Friday cliffhanger designed to make the audience squirm) is that she does believe him and in him. If AMC felt they needed to deal with this issue for Zen conflict, OK, it's been asked and answered. No more.

I liked that today, Zach was all business with Annie. I'm not optimistic it will continue, but I liked the tone of his telephone call and their initial seconds of their visit together.

I hate all Rendall scenes, but having been beaten down into accepting that Kendall will not be Zach's partner in what he's doing, I can say that I enjoyed Kendall figuring things out with Ryan. Good for her for knowing Ryan so well, and extra good for us for getting an apology from Ryan (B&E?) to us for enduring the stupidity of Ryan's amnesia and how he loved Kendall to the point where he'd fly off to California to be near her.

Alcoholism isn't funny and shouldn't be treated lightly but damn if AMC isn't turning it into a joke by having Colby Chandler, light of her daddy's life, wealthy teen who is set for college, who has friends and a brother who loves her, drink like a fish. This story started at the cabin before they ran over Richie and I didn't understand why Colby was drinking then. She's annoying me now. It's like they don't know what to do with Colby, so why not toss in an alcohol story where there's no backstory for it because it gives Colby something to do?

Someone asked this on another board, but why is it that now that Ryan remembers all, he knows he doesn't love Annie, but when he had no amnesia back in April/May 2007 when Greenlee first showed up again, he didn't love her then? I don't get it. It would have made more sense for him to fall in love with her again, rather than remember he loved her all along.

Today seemed like it would be progress and then it was a leap backwards.

Zach decides when he can trust Kendall's word, but wants his word taken at face value. He decided on his own time table when he would share the whole truth about Richie, even though he's known for a few days now that Kendall is perplexed and worried about the situation. It's just no big deal until he's ready to talk about it.

Finally, they shared and she heard him. One cool point for that.

Zach is telling Kendall to let this go and mind her own business, but he's not letting it go, and didn't heed her advice when she told him to let the Richie matter go from the jump. If anything he's taking her tips and pressing it further.

Add to that he walks away with yet another private secret concerning Annie instead of letting Kendall know that he shares the opinion she does. He could validate Kendall's concerns, but instead he brushes them aside. Is it that much more important to protect Annie than be honest with your wife?

There is way too much do as I say and not as I do, and it's ongoing.

As for Kendall dishing about Rylee, I think she's stuck herself between and rock and a hard place by pestering Ryan for the truth. If she tells she's being a busybody, and if she keeps the secret she would be keeping something from her BFF. The second road is what I'd like to see her do because Ryan is married and Greenlee is "happy" with Aidan. Let grown folks handle their own love affairs.

I want her to come to that realization on her own, and not because someone tells her to MYOB.

Jake/Aidan/Greenlee playing Three's company is funny and idiotic at the same time. Jake and Aidan have more chemistry than he does with Greenlee. Go figure.

Hey, Dink, I owe you an apology. You said that you believed AMC was saying pretty clearly that Zach would kill Richie, and I thought they were being cutesy, leading us to think that way but not really going there, but yes, he was going after him to kill him.

I have to admit, I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's not out of character for him, but on the other, I'm not sure how this jives with "I won't do anything to put my family at risk", and I don't understand Kendall's approving reaction to all this. It's making me dizzy to try to figure it out.

This is a pre-emptive strike, but I want to say a word about Zach protecting Kendall and keeping quiet about Annie. For me, that's not good enough. I've done an inventory in this story alone, and here's what I've got:

1. Zach realizes it was Richie who sealed him in the hole, and he keeps it from Kendall, to spare her the pain of reliving it all. He tells her about Richie after he's been arrested.

2. Zach beats up Richie in the jail, and he keeps it from Kendall until today.

3. Zach plans to have Richie disappear (die?) and he reluctantly includes Ryan in his plan. He tells Kendall about it after Richie has kidnapped Babe, and after Kendall has called home and wondered where Zach is.

4. Zach decides to go after Richie after he escapes from the cabin, and he tells Kendall after he gets home that he didn't kill Richie.

5. Zach is taken away in handcuffs from Fusion and tells Kendall when he sees her at the police station that Jesse wanted to run some ideas past him. No explanation given as to why Kendall can't reach him on his cell phone.

6. Kendall repeats her "missing ring" theory to Zach today, and after she leaves, he contacts Annie and orders her to show up at Cambias. Kendall doesn't know about this.

7. Out of order, but Kendall tells Zach initially about the ring, and Zach tells her to mind her own business, and then doesn't tell her that he's been asked to go to the police station. He has to "run an errand". We don't know when, but it appears Kendall knows that Jesse already questioned Zach about Richie's death.

When the Madden story was going on, I hated Zach lying to Kendall, but I defended him because I was sure that this story was going somewhere deep, involving Spike's paternity or Kendall's wellbeing. Nope, I was wrong. But at least it was one event where Zach kept things from Kendall, though we saw Zen have the same conversation over and over again. We saw Zach keep Hannah's baby demand from Kendall to protect her. Ok, I kinda understood that, too. I was happy he shared with her that Hannah almost killed ACS and was the one who shot him. I wish he'd share a little with Kendall because she is the one who works with Annie and who puts her son Spike in Annie's orbit. The only difference here is, at least the only one I can find is, the Hannah story was an interim HW's story and this story is B&E's with Pratt's influence, but inconsistency is inconsistency, and Zach repeatedly treating Kendall like glass is not a compliment to Kendall or to Zach's regard for her.

What's worse is, I believe this laundry list will grow.

I'm a romantic. I don't have a problem with Zach being Kendall's knight in shining armor. But after awhile, I can tell the difference between being heroic and being patronizing, and IMO, Zach's crossed the line to the latter. If AMC hadn't set up a laundry list this long, I'd have an easier time buying Zach as Kendall's protector. But this list is embarassing.

Kendall keeps secrets from Zach, Zach keeps secrets from Kendall, Kendall keeps secrets from Zach, Zach keeps secrets from Kendall and on and on and on.

I liked the interaction between the two today but I'm getting a little tired of this same ole crap. I'm hoping this is one of the things Pratt deals with in this marriage.

Under no circumstances do I want Kendall getting involved in the whole R/A/G/A mess. How can she possibly believe Ryan is seriously in love with anyone when he changes his mind every five seconds.

As for Annie, I think Zach is putting the pieces together since he and Ryan found her in Ritchie's room and yes I wish he would share this with Kendall but in a way I understand him not if he's worried about Annie's state of mind, however, it didn't seem to bother him confiding in Kendall during the SS story so why should it now. Doesn't make sense but, of course, since B&E nothing has.

Colby and teens - who cares

J/G/A who cares.

Jules I didn't like Zach keeping his mouth shut during the MMM fiasco and I said so (I was totally pissed at Zach). I felt his wife had a right to know then and I think she has a right to know now. I thought this whole problem was dealt with after Madden and during the SS story Zach seemed to confide in Kendall. Since the bears took over it's like the SS story never happened. The inconsistency in the writing is horrible and insulting and if Pratt is involved then I don't hold out much hope for a better show. I will accept all this, however, if it means that part of their upcoming story is dealing with all these secrets in their marriage by both of them.

Zen - Okay, I loved it that they finally talked and all . . . but there were several giant WTFs there. Sigh. I think it's ridiculous for the writers to have Zach act as if he didn't believe that Kendall believed him when she's not only been saying that for weeks now, but proving it in her actions and reactions toward others; to have Kendall act as if she didn't know that Zach beat Richie up when she obviously figured that one out at the courthouse; and to have a "let's forget about Annie" convo and then proceed to have a Zach/Annie showdown. Anyway . . . on the up side, there were some great lines today--I too loved the "dude, it's over," and the "dude, it's so not over," as well as the "she's [Annie's] been acting possessed," and the "this is me letting it go . . . okay, this is me trying to let it go." Plus, there was some honest communication going on (not quite enough, but a good start, so I'll take it). Oh, and I was afraid we wouldn't be getting any Zen convos during this storyline without others butting in, but we did get one (even though it was too short for me).

Ryan/Annie - Can you feel the awkward? Sheesh. Boy, it's been so long since Emma's been gone that she's grown about a foot. It was weird seeing psychoAnnie being all normal with Emma, trying to connect with Ryan, and then lying and acting all crazy again after Zach's call. Weird.

Ryan/Kendall - Kendall sure figured him out quick! Guess it's not that hard, but Annie's too busy being a nutbar to notice. I really don't want Kendall to get sucked into the middle of this mess. I didn't like that she was so enthused about Ryan proclaiming his love to Greenlee and I really hope she doesn't spill it herself. Fingers crossed that she just tells Greenlee that Ryan got him memory back, and not the rest.

Zach/Annie - Okay, who else loved it that when Zach called and said they needed to talk, Annie asked "About?" and he said "Twenty minutes at Cambias. Don't be late." That was freakin' hilarious. Annie's attitude needs to go, and he is exactly the person to shut her BS down! I love it when Zach's all in control, quiet and perceptive.

Teens - Blah. Colby's gonna become a drunk? Whatever. Cass is getting super whiny and it's not endearing (a little too much like Angie's hysterics). And Dre trying to be romantic is not working either.

Greenlee/Aidan/Jake - I was watching live today (since I cut outta work early--to grade papers for the class I'm TAing . . . though I haven't quite gotten to them yet . . . ) and well, not having the ability to FF really sucked. Jake was great though, and part of that, I think, is because he expresses a wish not to be there or witness that--I can relate. I hope Greenlee and Aidan get their house and leave Jake alone!

Erica/Sam - Hallelujah! Erica's out! Well, she will be soon anyway. And Jackass didn't have anything to do with it. Ha! I hope she doesn't get beat up by that very mannish woman before her release though. Don't want her to have a black eye for Ian's first birthday party! (We'd better get a birthday party for him!!!)

GO TEAM SLATER!!!

Aidan wants to buy a house because he thinks if he copies Zach and Kendall, they will share the same kind of love. Simply wishful thinking.
Never happen.

Ya know, I'm not anti-secrets. It's a soap. There are going to be secrets. And I do believe that some things are better left unsaid. Zen will never have total honesty between them, and if they do, it won't last for long. But the number of Zach's secrets alone in this story are unreal to me. Watching today, I had the feeling that Zach felt like 'fessing up out loud to the prison beating would buy him a free pass to conceal something else.

I like that Zach is smart. I like that Kendall is tenacious and won't let him "let it go". But I still feel like Kate Hall was told to write some short Zen scenes, have them reconfirm their love for each other, have Zach share a little, and then have her leave and resume this story as it's been every day since it started. Someone on another board said it best--it started out a little rough, then Zen talked and it got better, and then it ended with Zach concealing things again and very little progress was ultimately made.

ITA Jules. We've been getting these short little Zen scenes since the ONS reveal (which was the last time they actually were on for more than five seconds) and I for one am sick of it. When do we get a full conversation between these two that matters.

Now you know we're going to have Kendall involved in the Rylee garbage. GMAFB. Will our girl ever get a story that doesn't include these two?

I'm also not seeing any Ian birthday spoilers. Guess GB's not part of that so why bother.