THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT

Awhile ago I posted about a controversial One Life To Live storyline that had me simultaneously rooting for the good guy and the bad guy. In this web that's way too tangled to fully explain here and involves, to some degree, practically the entire OLTL cast, there are three key players: Todd Manning, the ringleader of a group of rapists back in college; Marty Saybrooke, his rape victim, now a presumed-dead (by everyone except for Todd) amnesiac; and John McBain, her former lover who is currently, and incidentally, casually sexing Todd's ex-wife Blair. Last week, Todd and Marty celebrated their just-declared love by hitting the sheets--although he hadn't revealed the fact that he was her rapist all those years ago or that she has a son, Cole, who happens to be the father of the baby to whom his daughter, Starr, just gave birth.

This week, after busting a few Rambo moves to get to Marty, whom Todd has been hiding in his bachelor castle, John lets the truth out--about Cole, about the rape, about Todd's mind games--to an initially incredulous Marty, and boy is it a showcase for Daytime Emmy winner Susan Haskell, who plays Marty. Girl! Pay close attention, aspiring thespians (particularly from :45 on). This, my friends, is called acting.