I think that Tika is a great actress, but I don't think that the show utilizes her talents because she is barely on. I like the character Layla in the few stories that I have seen her in but I would like it if the show divulged more about her past.

TS is a good actress, but the Layla character has always been paper thin, and was weakly conceived. I get the feeling that she was originally envisioned to be like a Black version of Natalie: troublesome, loud, pesky and a contrast/nuisance to her more upstanding sister...but for whatever that train never took off. As a result of being uninspired at what to do with (or how to use) her, she become this trite "best friend," who is annoyingly "reasonable," with an overall persona akin to a Bratz doll. She's never had much of an established purpose and should have been chucked around 2007. I think that the only reason she's managed to survive as long as she has is based on incidental fluke. The show was probably afraid of pissing off Evangeline fans even more by writing Layla off too. That, coupled with her being the only black character on the show for a while, for a second seemed to give the character a little bit of 'power' and quasi-potential to finally command the stage. But that's since dwindled and nothing came of it; Layla's being completely useless and totally expendable is now as evident as it was in 2006.

The only thing Layla has over someone like Rachel, for example, is that -- from a writers perspective -- she's more convenient for appearance sake. She can be more easily interwoven and squared away in generic C-stories with other C-characters like Cristian, Kyle and Fish. And in the meantime, the show can still claim a Black character. Since Rachel is from a more important pedigree, there's this expectation that she'd interact with more seminal/important characters and be involved in more commanding/important storylines...but the writers either aren't motivated, or have no idea of how to pursue that. So by default, Layla is the lazy writers better alternative.

Likable, but a classic example of a token. A younger, hipper Sadie Gray. She is basically a go between and/or prop for "ensemble" storylines, starring intermediate cast.

Guess you can only ride in the back of the bus for so long before you realize it's better to walk.

Beautiful girl.I wish her all the best.

I wish her the best of luck. She'll have a lot more freedom now and she'll hopefully find a place that will appreciate her.

I am sure she has other irons in the fire and I a sure she will do well in her career. I am excited for her. Good Luck to her.

best of luck tika i see bigger and better things for you!

aublack40 wrote:

best of luck tika i see bigger and better things for you!

I will miss her she was the only thing worth watching today for example.

(for thread merger)