The Age Factor
Let's take for example, The Young and the Restless' Colleen and JT. I'll admit they've never thrilled me. They don't upset me that much, but I have no interest in them. What did bug me was how little opposition was given to a college age man who at one point was a known ladies man, being with a fifteen year old girl. Colleen had a crush on JT, she fantasized about being with him, and low and behold, eventually, she gets him. Then a few years later the same soap has Kevin woo Lily, but because he had nefarious purposes and gave her a STD, he's a statutory rapist and scum. What would a soap be without mixed and hypocritical messages, huh? Which lesson are young girls supposed to latch on to? Fixate on this guy who is kind to you despite his age and maybe you'll get him, but cross your fingers he isn't a predator?? Colleen isn't a very immature girl, I wasn't really that worried about her, but JT was not a mature guy, and one who upon his initial introduction to the show was nothing more than a sleazy one. I was always baffled that this story developed so quickly into a sweet love story. Colleen's family was wary yes, but not the way I would have been were it my teenage daughter. And the quick acceptance of the romance, the lack of lingering resentments, resistance, and fear is something I could never swallow. Despite all of that, their romance is, without a doubt, one of the better written ones we've had in years, so really, criticizing this pair is no good. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The fact that it doesn't set my world on fire is neither here nor there.
Plus, one thing Colleen and JT really have going for them is that they've stopped focusing on the age difference. Yes, it happened way too quickly for my taste, but it happened. Every star-crossed couple should eventually move on, become an established couple, find a rhythm and evolve from rehashing what made other characters bristle at their initial pairing. In fact, one of the reasons I think supercouples for the most part got so tired was because they went round and round, creating one more contrived situation after another to re-ignite that tension and inability to be together. But supercouples, ones that we've seen through
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