To Speculate or not to Speculate
Oh, being a spoiler whore can wear a person out. For me, when I receive spoilers, spoilers that are juicy and full of all kinds of potential angsty, my brain goes to work. I begin to spec, or speculate, about what it could mean. It's a guilty pleasure, though that's probably a incorrect description. It's a bittersweet pleasure. It's so so sweet when I'm right (which is rare), it's even sweeter when it works out better than I speced (which can happen) and it's incrediably bitter when I'm wrong. (Which has happened far more often than I think I deserve).
That doesn't stop me from doing it. And when I'm extremely wrong, it's what fanfiction is for.
Case in point, back during my Days of Our Lives time, one way we received spoilers was by casting calls. The show was using parts of the real script to cast extras and occasionally someone important. Those would get leaked and we would have an interesting scene here and there. What was especially important was these scripts were usually set far into the future so it gave us a good idea of where the storyline was going.
I've mentioned one failed and bitter couple I shipped as Nick/Chelsea on Days. I won't get into their history, indeed my Downton Abbey fans will believe I'm much younger than I am if they saw pictures of this couple, but let me just say, it had been a long time since the show had a really good couple with lots of chemistry and great potential. Their story went all kinds of wrong, but the actors were doing such a good job I was still sticking with it.
However, the show introduced a horrible character (who is still on the show) by the name of Daniel. He was a doctor and played by a man who was in his 40s (and while he was handsome he LOOKED like he was in his 40s). Chelsea was played by a young woman who was 22 as was the character. The trouble was, on some days she could look like a teenager. Not a big deal with Nick who was just as young and looked it. But when they decided to pair her up with Daniel, in the most awkward, uncomfortable relationship ever, they thought the best thing to do is try to make Daniel younger. How does a show written by a bunch of fifty year olds tap into their young side? By making him a surfer dude! Daniel had all the lingo down! He talked about "bouncing" out places, he would ride "the pipeline", and he liked to sit in a chair with it turned backwards. What this did was make Daniel seem immature instead of twentysomething and the relationship failed.
But in the beginning when Nick/Chelsea were still supposed to be together, it wasn't clear that Daniel liked Chelsea back. So I was holding out this hope that they were using him to have Chelsea make a huge mistake and lose Nick whom she would have to work to get back. I become convinced that was it, because a script had been released that had Nick and Chelsea along with their contemporary counterparts Max and Stephanie being held captive together. The script was leaked to cast a fifth person for a short scene.
Oh, talk about speculation! I was so excited about this! I just knew then, if Nick and Chelsea were to be kept together in a dangerous situation, they would be the OTP. For weeks I held out as I watched Chelsea and Daniel grow closer, and Nick sort of just disappear from the show as far as the writers were concerned. I kept my hope up, oh yes I did. I had to. I had this script you see.
Until the day the script was shown on TV. It took me until the end of the scene to realize what happened. The show had wised up, and knowing the script would be leaked, changed the names of the characters. Instead of it being Nick, Chelsea, Max, Stephanie, it was Bo, Hope, Steve and Kayla. Of course, that made much more sense. The veterans got all the good storylines and action filled stuff (most of the time). I usually was fine with this, I love most of the veterans. But I had been speculating wildly based on a fraudalent script. THE HORROR.
So I bring all this up to keep myself in check. I love to speculate. It's fun. And while I do have certain ideas of what holds for Downton Abbey, especially my dear Matthew and his TRUE love, Mary, I need to keep it reined in. I am vowing to do so...
...of course, so I'm not speculating on my blog. Doesn't stop me from speculating on any of yours! (Oh, I will never learn).