"Backlight" - The Final Year, Part 2
This season jumps between two different timelines: the present day and the early 2000s, when Paul and Kyle were in high school. I wish I had the magic casting powers that This Is Us had to find the Pearsons at various ages, but limited in both my skills and my budget, I settled for finding a decent wig and time-traveling back to high school myself. I figured if I could play a high schooler on One Life to Live when I clearly wasn’t in high school, this could work the same way. It was fun and a little bit trippy to show up on set and see everyone in my high school’s uniform. My friends Kat and Kim joined the scenes for the day, and my fellow Theater 68 friend Aris Alvarado stepped in as the teacher. It felt nice to continue having someone from my Theater 68 days in the cast. Back in Season 1, it was Katy (Gracie) and Ivet (Breeze) who continued until her character met her untimely demise in Episode 16. Aris is also of Gilmore Girls fame, so I was able to throw in a little Easter egg joke at the end of that first scene when he announces the day’s topic is “Stability in Bonding” and then calls on Luke… knowing full well that our good friend Luke is not known for his own stability in bonding. …but I digress…
Having this high school timeline gives a chance to lay the foundation, give a backstory to Paul (and Kyle), and set the scene for how he became who he is today. Like most of Misguided, it’s loosely based in reality. Sure, I went to a private Catholic high school in Vermont, yes, I was Senior Class President, and of course, I was obsessed with soaps and Guiding Light and would try to find ways to talk about soaps any chance I could. What was missing, though, was a Kyle. I never had that kind of relationship in high school, and this was a sweet way to go back in time and give younger Paul something that maybe was missing in his life…
This episode also introduces a new location: “Jackie’s,” the cafe Paul and Bennett are at. When on tour performing Mortified, near the hotel I was staying at was this restaurant called “Jackie’s.” And just like the exterior of The Lighthouse Restaurant, I took out my phone and just took some exterior shots, knowing without a doubt I would find a way to make “Jackie’s” work within this new season. I have done my best to include Jackie Zeman in this season, and finding this restaurant by chance is just one of the ways. Also, if you notice in the classroom scenes, there is a poster behind the teacher’s desk. It says, “Happiness is a choice. Choose Happy.” Well, when I did the Misguided Salon Series, Jackie had brought up this poster she had for her kids. I loved the sentiment and the story she shared, and thought it made for a great motivational poster a teacher would have in their classroom. Recently, Jackie’s daughter joined Substack and in her first essay talked about the poster she had growing up as well. When Jackie told me about the poster, she may have remembered a word wrong (instead of Choose Happy, it’s Choose Wisely) but I like to think it still works and gives an updated version with Jackie’s POV.
There are so many things I love about this episode and the relationships that get established throughout. Paul and Bennett: are they going to become something more? Josephine and Kyle clearly have secrets that need exposing; Kyle and Paul’s budding high school romance and shared interest in soap operas make my heart go all a-flutter.
One of the highlights of the episode, though, is the showdown between Paul and Tamara. What a sneaky plan to get Tamara’s confession while wearing a wire! I have adored working with Jean Carol. I grew up watching her on Guiding Light, and she was a part of one of my favorite storylines. Her character Nadine was on a gameshow, Soul Mates, with her ex-husband at the time, Buzz. I forget all the details, but there was a lot of humor in it, which caught my attention at such a young age. And now, I get to have a showdown with Jean in my series. It’s wild. This also felt like the right time to include one of the many “soap moments” that had been missing from Misguided. I had yet to have a drink thrown in my face, as often happens in daytime. I love that Jean was game and gave it her best for our one-take splash. This is one of those things they didn’t teach us at the acting conservatory, not even in the Acting for Daytime Drama class. Go figure.
As the weeks go on, the story will continue and secrets will come to light, so stay tuned because things are starting to heat up.
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