You know, in baseball, an off-speed pitch is meaningless unless there’s a pitch of a different speed to compare it to. On daytime, angst is meaningless unless there’s been some happiness beforehand.

So the last shot we saw of John and Evangeline this week was of him with his arm around her shoulders and them on the way to get “dessert” after he ruined their dinner plans by having a “burger in the park with Natalie”. He knew that he’d disappointed Evangeline yet again and looked appropriately sheepish when he walked back into the squad room and saw her there. She wasn’t as strong as I, personally, would have liked when she saw him at that moment. What I would have wanted to see from Evangeline after John's "I didn't have dessert" would have been "Then call Natalie." I mean, I get it that she’s in love and she’s vulnerable and really, really, really loves being with John but she’s got to stand firm next time. Then again, I have to admit that there are a few of us out here who wouldn’t have been able to carry that off, either. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

But I’m really not liking this writing. As far as I’m concerned, this past week was a lost week for most One Life to Live fans. We John and Evangeline fans had to put up with having this “connection” between John and Natalie shoved down our throats at the expense of the woman we all feel that John really needs to be with. Off-topic but where exactly has Cristian’s mother been since he came back from the dead? I know that she’s off helping a sick somebody in Puerto Rico. But what mother do we know who wouldn’t drop EVERYTHING to get back to the son she thought was dead as soon as she found out about it? If she couldn’t actually get there physically, what about the telephone? Telegram? Carrier-pigeon? See? Writing.

I know what the “connection” between John and Natalie is. Every thinking adult out here does. But we have to wait until the writers pen the script where John finally gets it. Until then, we’re going to have to grin and bear what we see on our television screens.

One positive, though, was that these writers have also let us know that John is in love with Evangeline – even though the poor guy hasn’t quite figured that out, either. We know it. Nora knows it. Michael knows it. On some level, Evangeline may even know it. But, as usual, poor John is still in the dark. He does know enough that whenever he’s on the verge of losing Evangeline, he steps up to the plate and delivers – at least enough to get him out of that particular bit of hot water.

Triangles are the easy way out. A and B are together, C interrupts, B and C are together, A catches them, A and C argue over B, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I could write that in my sleep. I want my committed relationship! I want to watch as Evangeline tells John in no uncertain terms, "I'm ready to commit to you - really commit. That means that you and our relationship are my priorities and nothing and no one else comes before you and it. Are you ready to say and do the same? If not, then it's over." That's how Van should approach John. That's the no-nonsense Evangeline that I want to see right now.

And clueless as he may be these days, we all know that John will once again step up to the plate and deliver, pleasantly surprising both Evangeline and himself and maybe even a few of us in the process.

John and Evangeline in a committed relationship. John and Evangeline happily in love out in the open where everybody can see them. Take advantage of the dynamic pairing that they are and put that dynamism to full use. That’s what we all want to see. Take a moment to imagine the types of experiences and obstacles an adult couple in a relationship would face and write scripts about those experiences and obstacles, giving both characters a chance to grow right before our eyes - giving the relationship the room it needs to grow - for the pairing to become that much more solid. Natalie can come back to haunt them again later, if necessary. Give the angst a rest for a while as the commitment builds momentum.

That’s the recipe for good soap opera - John and Evangeline style.

Now if only John and Evangeline were on TOGETHER more often…