Articles and Interviews: 2000-2003

Todd to Blair: Marry Me! (Soap Opera Digest 1/9/01)

by Randee Dawn

"Marrying Todd is Blair's deepest, darkest fantasy," teases One Life to Live Head Writer Megan McTavish. "The question is, do you want your deepest, darkest fantasy to come true?"

This week, for the third time, that question is raised -- but don't expect a fat diamond ring and Mr. Manning down on bended knee. It all comes about very suddenly. Furious after he catches Blair making out with Cristian (which she's only doing becuase she's mad that Todd accused her of kidnapping Starr), Todd sets fire to the storage room where the two have gone for a private moment. Then, in typical Todd fashion, he comes to the rescue of the trapped would-be lovers, and seems to be a true hero.

Only for about three seconds, however. Blair sees right through Todd's machinations, as she always does. After an argument, Blair wonders how Todd plans on topping himself after this little stunt. Todd replies that he's going to marry her. Stunned, Blair is left wondering: Does she even have the choice to say no?

"It's a journey for her," explains McTavish. "It could go either way. She's very torn. Part of her wants to, part of her is afraid of it. And she's still tied to Max!"

Hubby Max? The man who thinks she shot him? (She did.) A minor detail, to be sure. Still, one thing that must be going through her mind is whether or not she can make it work with Todd a third time around. The couple originally married in 1995, when Blair learned (before Todd did) that he was Victor Lord's heir; the two remarried later that year after Todd learned of her scheme and Blair became pregnant with Starr. It all fell to pieces after he returned from the dead and caught her rolling around on the penthouse floor with Patrick.

Then there were the Blair-less years, in which Todd tangled with Tea...and here they are again, full circle, with Todd proposing (in his own way) to Blair. "Blair's decision to marry Todd is a very complext, emotional decision," previews McTavish. "This is the woman who went crazy and shot her husband. Todd continues to get her out of that, but does that mean she wants to tie her fate again to Todd? If anyone knows how deadly Todd can be if you don't do things his way, she does."

In the end, the truth is that Todd and Blair see eye-to-eye about many things in life: When Todd tells her that love is a lie, Blair can hardly disagree. But is that enough to make a marriage between a fortune-hunter and a former rapist? By the end of the week, it seems that Todd may just get the answer he wants.

For McTavish, it's not about a simple yes or no from La Cramer. It's about Blair getting her groove back. "The true dilemma she faces is this: What is her life going to be...and who is it going to be with?"