Pac Heights: Season Finale, #67, "Breathless"

I am pleased to announce that the highly anticipated season finale has finally been posted!



In this brand-new episode:

• Ashley goes into labor, but complications soon arise.
• Will Jason have the courage to finally tell his family the truth?
• Valerie makes an important decision about her future.
• Emily has one stop to make before she departs Pac Heights.
• Kimberly decides to end it all...

This episode was an absolute pleasure to write and I truly hope you all enjoy it. Clocking in at over 5,000 words, it's the largest episode this season and is full of the drama and action you've come to love. We also will be dealing with some very important issues when the next season premieres- but you'll have to read the intense cliffhanger(s) to find out what those will be!;)

Expect the *final* entry to Jason's Journey to be posted in the next few weeks. This will be one of only a few updates while Pac Heights is on hiatus. Look for a News entry and a season wrap-up thread to be posted sometime in November.

Pac Heights will officially return with a brand-new season on December 24th.

Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear any of your thoughts in the Pac Heights forum!

-J.

Jay -- I have yet to read the episode,but I must say I love your episode graphics. Very nicely done.

I will probably read the episode on Monday on my lunch break, FYI.

Thanks, Dallas! The episode graphics are always fun to make!:)

I look forward to hearing your comments on the episode *whenever* you get a chance!

J.

Since I never seem to find the right time to log in to the Eppy, and I must comment on the end of Season 3, I'm leaving my comments here:

Emily/Felecia/Kayla Mystery
I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with the brewing Kayla' mystery next season. It's interesting to think that there might be more than meets the eye to her leaving baby Hallie and Rick (like we saw on screen). I know there were rumblings regarding the Hal McCollough murder mystery being revisited, so I'm wondering if it may be connected to that. As for Emily's send off, I agree with what others said on the PH Board about some matters being left unresolved, but then again, given the woman's thought process, I'm willing to reason that all of it has become somewhat insignificant. She's been like a surrogate mother to Kayla, so for Kayla to cut and run in an "unfathomable" amount of pain without seeking her aun't refuge is enough for concern. It does trouble me that we won't get to see her search for answers on-screen, but I guess MP didn't want to take the pay cut since we all know what "storyline dictated" really means in this realm. And wait for this, I actually felt a little sorry for Emily when she was telling Felecia how Steve has essentially ignored her and she wasted so much time. If she were to re-appear on canvas in the future, it will be interesting to see if she gives up this 20+ year chase of Steve Summers. Then again, considering the situation that mounts for Steve toward the episode's end, maybe the choice will be made for her.


Joe/Ashley/Jason
Wow, I never entertained the possibility that Ashley's baby would be stillborn. This poor woman can never catch a break for too long. It's really going to be interesting to see where this leaves her and Joe, which I imagine is apart, at least for a while with her upcoming SB debut. I think it's clear that she's not sure if she and Joe have had the opportunity to really see if they love one another for each other, or out of the situation they got caught in because of nature's little surprise. Now that Joe is being featured in the new season 3 "PH" banner (which is hot, btw), I'm hopeful we'll see more focus on his character and Ashley. It seemed like they were a little shortchanged this season.

Terrence/Valerie
I'm not really sure about these two as a couple. They have situational conflict with Valerie's involvement with one of Felecia's previous husbands (maybe Terrence's father??), but other than that, the character of Valerie has done much for me so far. Terrence, on the other hand, could probably use more of an edge himself. Or at least someone who will give him that edge. Right now, he's the quintessential mama's boy, the kind of gent you want to take home to meet the family, but could become boring if paired with the wrong leading lady. Still, it's only been one season with Valerie as a main character, so I'm willing to hold any concrete judgments. Just thought I let you know where I stand as of now.

Kimberly's Breakdown
I was expecting something more along the lines of Claudia's end on Dynasty, but leaving her father in state of unexpected peril works. I can't imagine Steve being killed off, but it seems like there would have to be some sort of repercussion from Kimberly's rash actions. Kimberly has been the biggest disappointment for me this season. I think things really took a turn when the personality splits, and then it was revealed she was Kimberly pretending to be Claudia. I don't know, it was confusing to me and what I thought was a woman with dissociate identity disorder. OF course, I could be misguided about what D.I.D. is. So desptie the rather sad ending it leaves for the character - no worse fate than feeling alone and abandonned by everyone, including your own family - I'm sort of glad she's gone.

Lucas/Jason
Almost forgot them amidst Ashley's labor pangs, but they were enjoyable for the two seconds they were on. I'm thinking Jason's going to be caught in a triangle with Lucas and Shane, but not necessarily seeing Lucas as more than a friend until later. I liked that Lucas was trying to speed things ahead with easing Jason into spilling everything to his loved ones, but I have to wonder if he was referring to Jason's HIV status, or how the two really met (ah la Keith's diary). Too bad the anxiety over what Jason was going to say caused poor Ashley's water to break. Now we have to wait until next season to see when this finally hits the fan.

I think that wraps up my comments. Can't wait to see how things kick off in December. I give the season finale an A.

Favorite Scene of the episode:

Horrible, just absolutely shameful. Yet I loved it.

Ty, I really appreciate your thoughtful and insightful feedback. You took a great time in detailing your thoughts on particular storylines and, as always, you've given me a lot to think about.

A lot of interesting things to think about, eh? Steve's fate will certainly play into Emily's eventual return, but I guarantee she won't be returning unless she's found the concrete answers she's looking for. I think it will be good for Emily, considering her present situation with Steve, to leave PH for a particular time and try to find what really makes her happy. Of course her primary agenda is to find Kayla, I think we can all agree that some time away from familiar territory will do her some good. I will also say that Hal's murder mystery will definitely come back to haunt a few select people this season....this is a storyline I'm really looking forward to revisiting and I have some shocking twists that will keep readers on their feet.

HAHA and thanks for your opinion on 'storyline dictated'- and yes, we all know what that means. You know, I try to keep the series as realistic as possible and I think the changes I've made as far as certain storylines and character cuts/additions have gone are true to real life. It is quite conceivable that MP would be making a much higher salary than the rest of the cast, and therefore, if we wanted to integrate new characters into the series, you would cut the highest paid. It's not always a fun process to cut certain characters, but you have to consider many different things when you do.

I hear you, Ty. It seems that trouble is always lurking around the corner for Ashley. The poor woman has been through so much since she first came to PH, although I will say that she will find some happiness and closure in the next season. Of course she will be mourning the death of her baby when the season premieres, but we will see that time heals to a certain degree and Joe will really be there for her this season. You are right- Ashley will definitely be going to SB for a short time and therefore Joe and her will have some time apart, but when she returns we will definitely explore their relationship further and see how the loss has affected things. Trust me, Joe won't be ignored or disappear when Ashley is off the canvas. His sister Stacey will be a regular on the series, and Callie will also return to the canvas to keep Joe company. We will also focus on how Joe deals with the loss- and it will be in a quite different way than Ashley.

I agree, Terrence could certainly use more of an edge- and I plan to really work on that in the next season. I think Val is the right person to give him that certain edge- and just wait until you meet Terrence's sister, Erica. The woman is simply out of control and Terrence will be affected in a very big way by her return. Now that Felicia will also play a bigger role on the series, look for Terrence to also have a larger presence on the series next year. Furthermore, "Val's Diary" will also premiere in January as we will get a closer look at all she has been through and what has prompted her to make some of the decisions she has made.

Interestingly enough, Kimberly was always the character that I identified the most with. Why then, you must ask, did her storyline seem so difficult to grasp? I really feel a tremendous amount of guilt for not exploring this storyline and her character's difficulties better. Perhaps I tried to focus on too much at once- but whatever the reason is, the storyline with her and Braden really fell apart and didn't work for readers. Writing a series like this a learning experience and I have now learned not to rush into things and leave holes in certain storylines. It gets you into a deeper mess- and eventually the only option for you is to write the character out. And, as you pointed out, readers don't even care she's gone by the end of it all...

I'm glad you're anticipating what is coming next season so much! I have some great things planned for the Lucas/Jason/Shane bunch and while I sometimes believe you're in my head, I will say you're dead on with some of your thoughts for the future involving Jason/Lucas- I'm really trying to make this a dynamic bunch- complicated with the fact that Lucas and Shane dated for so long and share quite a bond. I think I've done a decent job on building things up, and I'll have to say I'm more excited than ever to really explore this group and how they interact. I'm bringing Lucas' eccentric mother into the picture as we explore his past as well and Shane will also be upgraded to a starring canvas member next season.

Make sure and check out a very special entry in Jason's Journey- his last for quite some time. The entry will be up quite soon and will reveal a lot of interesting things.

An A?!?! Really?! I'm going to print this out and put it on my mother's fridge. She will be oh so happy! Really though, I definitely appreciate your excitement and it really sparks that passion within to strive to do my best in the upcoming season.

J.