I wish I hadn't fallen behind and had been writing about the incredible Kish episodes as they aired. This is the best LGBT storyline daytime has ever seen and having marathoned over thirty episodes of the show in a week's time, there's no chance of me writing up each Kish episode individually, as I would have liked.
So, I'll provide an overview of what's happened since I last wrote about Fish & Kyle and then hopefully stay current enough from this point on to once again write about each of their episodes as they air.
When I'd last left the guys, Oliver had just come out to his far from approving parents and Kyle was dating Nick, the cute teacher he'd met at the gym.
The show dealt with the aftermath of Fish coming out to his homophobic parents in a very realistic way, I thought. Instead of having Papa Fish go psycho and invite Kyle on a killer camping trip, or rushing to some sort of heartfelt happily ever after resolution, the show had Fish's parents leave town, with the lines of communication between them and their son strained but still open.
At first, Oliver's dad was already telling people that he no longer had a son, but Mrs. Fish went back to visit Oliver the morning after and made it clear that while she didn't understand or approve of his 'lifestyle', she still loved him. Before they left town, she even got her husband to stop in to say goodbye, thereby acknowledging that he did indeed still have a son.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the future between Oliver and his parents, but I was impressed by the fact that they opted for such a realistic turn of events as the aftermath of Fish coming out to George & Barbara.
Having told his parents, Fish also came out to his mentor at work, Detective John McBain (who actually already knew, having run into Oliver's Dad while he was still in his 'I no longer acknowledge my homosexual son is alive' phase), and also let Kyle know about what he'd done.
Kyle was proud of Fish, but still focused on his relationship with Nick. Even when Oliver, with Cristian's encouragement, told his ex how he still felt about him, Kyle shot Fish down, explaining that they were in different places. Fish was newly out and still not comfortable being completely open, and after years of waiting around for Fish, Kyle had finally moved on and needed someone out and proud like Nick.
Around that time, things took an interesting turn thanks to city politics, with longtime rivals Dorian Lord and Victoria Banks running against each other in the Mayoral race. After Vicki made it clear to Nick (who, in addition to being a teacher, also turned out to be a key player in the city's LGBT organization) that she fully supported marriage equality and had LGBT staff members working in key positions on her campaign, Dorian decided to take things a step further to win the LGBT vote.
First, Dorian hired an out lesbian (Nick's friend Amelia Bennett) as her campaign manager, and then, when her pledges of support for marriage equality were greeted with skepticism, Dorian announced that she had fallen in love with Amelia and would be marrying her in a symbolic ceremony just before the election to highlight the lack of marriage equality in Pennsylvania.
Dorian, of course, is not really a lesbian, but I was still pleased with how this whole story worked out. They could have played it for laughs, but they didn't, and Dorian, in spite of mainly wanting to win the election, did also care about equality.
The very fact that a daytime soap would even make the issue of marriage equality a front and center storyline is impressive. Soaps, including One Life to Live, used to tackle relevant social issues as they were happening, but those days have seemed long gone in recent years. This story, though, proves that this doesn't have to be the case.
Amelia was more than willing to go along with the sham marriage, as long as it served the fight for equality. She and Nick arranged for the ceremony to be about more than just Dorian when they convinced her to make it a mass ceremony for all the LGBT citizens of Llanview who were being denied their right to marry the person they loved.
That was when Nick proposed to Kyle (just in time, of course, for Fish to walk in and see). Kyle was wary of making such a decision so early in their relationship, but Nick reminded him that it was a symbolic gesture since they couldn't legally marry in their state and that it was part of the fight to ensure that they could marry legally one day, if they wanted.
Just before the ceremony, Amelia convinced Dorian to take things a step further and announce that if she was elected Mayor, her first act would be to issue actual marriage licenses to everyone who'd participated in the group wedding.
At the ceremony, Fish was assigned to help keep the assembled protesters under control, which of course put him on the scene to watch the love of his life marry another man, symbolically or not.
For his part, Kyle clearly had reservations about marrying Nick after just a few months of dating, especially when he heard the part about getting an actual marriage licence if Dorian won the election.
When some of the protesters assumed that Oliver would much rather be on their side of the line, rather than with the 'pervs', and when he overheard a fellow cop expressing just that opinion, Fish had finally had enough. Oliver came out loudly and proudly, not only to the assembled protesters and participants, but to all of the television cameras:
Fish: What is wrong with you? What are you so afraid of? Are you afraid of me? Because guess what? I'm one of those 'pervs'! That's right everybody, I'm one of those queers. I'm gay! And I'd rather be over here with people who love each other than standing over here with all of you people who thrive on hate! I'm gay! The same guy who you just thanked for protecting you. Do you hate me now? Do you?
Protester: We don't hate you, we pity you.
Fish: Don't, don't! Do not, God, do not pity me! Pity yourselves! I used to be just like you, I used to be afraid. But you know what? I'm not afraid any more. I'm proud. And I'm proud of all of these people who love each other so much that they're willing to stand up and fight for their right to marry. And you know what? I'm proud to be one of them. And I don't really care what you think is wrong. You know what, I don't really care much about what you think of anything. Because some day, I want to marry the person I love. And I hope, no, God, I pray that I'll be able to do that.
Protester: We don't hate you, we pity you.
Fish: Don't, don't! Do not, God, do not pity me! Pity yourselves! I used to be just like you, I used to be afraid. But you know what? I'm not afraid any more. I'm proud. And I'm proud of all of these people who love each other so much that they're willing to stand up and fight for their right to marry. And you know what? I'm proud to be one of them. And I don't really care what you think is wrong. You know what, I don't really care much about what you think of anything. Because some day, I want to marry the person I love. And I hope, no, God, I pray that I'll be able to do that.
Pretty powerful stuff, if you ask me!
Kyle seemed decidedly impressed by this, and right after the commitment ceremony started, he brought things to a halt, apologizing to Nick and telling him that he couldn't go through with it. In an incredibly romantic moment, Kyle turned to Oliver in front of the entire crowd:
Kyle: I know I said that it's over between us. But here I am at a wedding, in a tux, surrounded by all these people who are just proudly sharing their love with one another. And I just keep thinking that I'm standing with the wrong man because all I want to do is share my love with you. So what do you think? Do you want to give it another shot?
Fish: I do.
Kyle: I love you, Oliver. I always have.
Fish: I do.
Kyle: I love you, Oliver. I always have.
They sealed it, of course, with a kiss. I was moved to tears (though, I think I did have a fever at the time!) as their own voices broke with emotion. Both Scott Evans and Brett Claywell were fantastic in these scenes.
I was cheering for them, but also feeling really sad for Nick, who ran out looking like his heart had just been cut out. Poor Nick! He was a sweet, sexy, romantic guy who not only got his heart broken, but had it happen on his wedding day, in front of television cameras that were apparently broadcasting it globally. I hope they keep the character around and give him a love interest of his own.
Roxy, Kyle's BFF, tried to get the guys to join in the commitment ceremony, but they agreed that they weren't ready for that yet and should probably go on a date first!
Overall, even though Dorian was only pretending to be a lesbian, I thought this story was incredibly well done, especially for a daytime soap, where having marriage equality and gay rights as a focus of a major storyline like this is definitely a first.
After the ceremony, the guys spent the entire night up on the roof of Kyle's motel, talking about their past, present and future, and decided to take things slowly, starting out with a real date since Oliver hadn't ever actually been on one with a guy before.
As it turned out, their first date didn't quite go as planned. Right after Kyle arrived to pick Fish up, the station called and Oliver had to go investigate a little grave robbing incident. Kyle waited for him, though, and after Fish came back and took a quick shower, the sight of him in his towel had Kyle suggesting that they could just stay in instead.
These scenes, by the way, were smoking hot! Both of these men are incredibly sexy all on their own (and it only gets hotter whenever Scott is shirtless, revealing that trademark Evans hairy chest!), but their chemistry together is off the charts!
The guys were well on their way to making up for lost time when Layla and Cristian returned home early. After the interruption, Kyle and Oliver talked and decided to take things a bit more slowly to start with, and they ended the evening on a double date of sorts with Cris and Layla, the four of them watching a movie together in their living room.
Seeing Kish go from scalding hot to incredibly sweet in just a few scenes convinces me beyond a doubt that this is a classic soap couple in the making.
Word is that the guys will be making love before the New Year, so there's no worry that we're going to veer off into Nuke territory, with the show finding a million ways to keep them chaste. The only real question is how much of their love scenes will end up onscreen.
I knew that when OLTL, as written by Ron Carlivati, did a gay story, it would be the best daytime had ever seen, but this is proving to be beyond what I'd hoped for. Fish & Kyle have the most amazing chemistry together and their story has been so incredibly well told so far! I can't wait to see what happens next and I'm so glad I can finally watch in real time again!
I was cheering for them, but also feeling really sad for Nick, who ran out looking like his heart had just been cut out. Poor Nick! He was a sweet, sexy, romantic guy who not only got his heart broken, but had it happen on his wedding day, in front of television cameras that were apparently broadcasting it globally. I hope they keep the character around and give him a love interest of his own.
Roxy, Kyle's BFF, tried to get the guys to join in the commitment ceremony, but they agreed that they weren't ready for that yet and should probably go on a date first!
Overall, even though Dorian was only pretending to be a lesbian, I thought this story was incredibly well done, especially for a daytime soap, where having marriage equality and gay rights as a focus of a major storyline like this is definitely a first.
After the ceremony, the guys spent the entire night up on the roof of Kyle's motel, talking about their past, present and future, and decided to take things slowly, starting out with a real date since Oliver hadn't ever actually been on one with a guy before.
As it turned out, their first date didn't quite go as planned. Right after Kyle arrived to pick Fish up, the station called and Oliver had to go investigate a little grave robbing incident. Kyle waited for him, though, and after Fish came back and took a quick shower, the sight of him in his towel had Kyle suggesting that they could just stay in instead.
These scenes, by the way, were smoking hot! Both of these men are incredibly sexy all on their own (and it only gets hotter whenever Scott is shirtless, revealing that trademark Evans hairy chest!), but their chemistry together is off the charts!
The guys were well on their way to making up for lost time when Layla and Cristian returned home early. After the interruption, Kyle and Oliver talked and decided to take things a bit more slowly to start with, and they ended the evening on a double date of sorts with Cris and Layla, the four of them watching a movie together in their living room.
Seeing Kish go from scalding hot to incredibly sweet in just a few scenes convinces me beyond a doubt that this is a classic soap couple in the making.
Word is that the guys will be making love before the New Year, so there's no worry that we're going to veer off into Nuke territory, with the show finding a million ways to keep them chaste. The only real question is how much of their love scenes will end up onscreen.
I knew that when OLTL, as written by Ron Carlivati, did a gay story, it would be the best daytime had ever seen, but this is proving to be beyond what I'd hoped for. Fish & Kyle have the most amazing chemistry together and their story has been so incredibly well told so far! I can't wait to see what happens next and I'm so glad I can finally watch in real time again!
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