Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Lulu/Maxie Factor....just a redux?

I've been doing some thinking lately about the Spinelli/Maxie friendship and storyline. This subject has been addressed on the message boards, but I'd like to bring it here to a predominately Spinelli fanbase.

Is Spinelli's friendship with Maxie the same as his with Lulu's?

My response (feel free to comment with your own!):
The way I see it, the summary of Spinelli and Lulu's story is that they bonded over solving a mystery, he developed a crush on her, she remained mostly oblivious/did not reciprocate but valued his friendship very much. Basically, this is exactly the same as what is happening with Maxie. You could probably make a 5 minute video with clips of both Lulu and Maxie hugging Spinelli out of friendship, complete with the now signature Spinelli eye roll/pained grimace at the lack of romance in the hug. I'm serious.

I feel it cheapens Spinelli as a character as well as both friendships because it's basically the same story being told all over again. Maxie certainly hasn't wronged and shunned Spinelli as much as Lulu has, but let's face it: it's still early. With Dr. Matt Hunter on the scene, I fear that the Spixie friendship is ripe for the same demise as the SpinLu friendship. If there's one thing that TPTB can be counted upon for, it's killing friendships and going with the "flavor of the week" which typically ends up being the "hot guy." Given TPTB's track record, can we really think that anything BUT a Maxie/Matt pairing is on the horizon? Call it pessimism, but with the way things have gone for Spinelli, I honestly don't see him winning this one.

Don't get me wrong, I don't accept this, but I'm trying to prepare myself for an ending that feels inevitable. Spinelli has NEVER been seriously considered for a romance, and I don't think his relationship with Maxie will be any different. In fact, I fear it's just another notch on Spinelli's "Comic Relief" belt.

What can we do to get TPTB to take Spinelli/Bradford seriously and see his romantic potential??

8 comments:

Penny said...

While I agree .. I also disagree.. Lulu has never really ever done anything for Spinelli while Maxie a few times already. I have even questions now if Lulu even liked Spinelli. I find the Spinelli & Maxie friendship much more balanced.

Rene' said...

I'm with Penny - I agree and disagree. While I do think many of the scenes are basically same krap, different day (insert different name "here"), I do believe Maxie has been a much truer friend to Spin than Lulu ever was. You rarely if ever saw Lulu jump to Spinelli's defense the way Maxie does (i.e. Maxie confronting Kate about banning Spin from the office - even at the risk of losing the job of her life.)

I also harken back to my post earlier in the week where I think there is a shot that Spin may be a contender for Maxie's affections IF Guza allows a storyline that negates some of Spinelli's nerdiness. I don't think a natural or gradual toning down of Spinelli's spastic attitude will do it for Guza, nor, perhaps, for the fans. Something drastic will have to take place before they'll let him be anything but comic relief.

However, if they DON'T let that occur, you're right - we're going to get more of that God-awful pained expression that Bradford is becoming all-too good at.

Anonymous said...

Rene, ITA that Spinelli will have to lose some of the over the top qualities that prevent him from being considered a viable romantic interest. Sometimes it's just too much even for this dedicated Spin fan. I'm not saying change Spinelli because he's eccentric, but let's be honest...Spin really does need to come down to earth a bit in the romance department.

Re: Maxie vs. Lulu as Spin's friends: IMO, Maxie has definitely been a much better friend to Spinelli and I think Kirsten Storms just brings much more to the table in terms of letting us believe in Maxie's tragic background than we could ever do with Lulu. Lulu just comes off as a rebellious obnoxious brat, while Maxie comes off as heartbreakingly defensive and when she's self-destructive (a.k.a. mean to others) we can make ourselves believe it's because she's gone a bit haywire from all the tragedy.

Granted there is a huge parallel in the speeches given to Spin by both Lulu last summer ("the feeling is most mutual") when Lulu revealed Laura's rape and this year when Maxie visited Spin last week, but I do feel there's more promise to Spixie b/c in the end, Maxie has a generous heart with those she loves. Lulu's character took a nosedive not long after she proclaimed last summer how much she cared for Spin, and she has yet to recover in the viewers' eyes, it seems. Maybe she never will. Frankly I'd rather see Spin with Maxie and have lost all interest in Spinlu, I think for good.

Anonymous said...

I disagree. Lulu and Spinelli didn't ever get to the level that Maxie and he are at right now...where he actually has a chance...the writing was on the wall for Spinelli and Lulu early on. They didn't get promos, interviews, and photoshoots.

New Spixie promo out soon BTW..."Nice guys finish first and friendship turns to love" is the tagline. Look for it on SoapNet

Anonymous said...

Also, I think this whole "inevitable" thing is simply not the case. Everything in me tells me that Spinelli and Maxie fans have gone about thingst he right way, and in doing so, Spinelli is just as likely to be with Maxie if not more so. If you read spoilers or spumors, it just seems unnecessary to completely act as though Matt and Maxie are a done deal. I mean, Guza seems to have a lot of investment in Spinelli, therefore he can't throw him under a bus in order for Matt to get the girl. The fans are loud, they are clever, and they aren't letting up.

Inevitable? Hardly. Everytime I hear that word I cringe because this is a soap opera. Things change in the blink of an eye and storylines are constantly in limbo.

Can't know what TPTB will do even if we THINK we know. Spixie works, they know this, they are promoting them as a couple, and Matt isn't causing a sensation on the web.

The glass isn't half full or half empty. The glass just has some orange soda in it.

spikey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
spikey said...

Spinlu never got this kind of promotion, and I could be wrong, but I think the spoilers indicate this is going to go a bit different than Spinlu.

First of all, they brought up the Asperger's thing, and although hit on earlier last year after the MC hostage crisis (The Jackal Struggles) nobody has ever put a name as to why Spin has a hard time socially as he does.

The promos tells the fans to "believe it will happen". We are getting interviews from various sources calling them "supercouple". Also, Kirsten plays the part as more than what is on paper, which always helps.

Of course, Kirsten's old DAYS pairing looms on the horizon, or else nobody would even be worried about bait and switch.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the thoughts, everyone! I don't read spoilers or rumors and I don't watch promos, so I'm just going off what has happened so far ;)