Téa Delgado

] Todd had been romantically involved with Blair Cramer for some time already, and his divorce from her and custody pursuit of his daughter, Starr, soon positioned Lozano's character as a new love interest for Todd.

The pace of the soap opera was at times overwhelming for Lozano, and she looked for a way to manage it all. "I try to keep feeding the fire, feeding some of the emotional stuff that Téa had to go through," she stated. "It's tiring because, on some level, I have to go there. I have to feel sad. I don't know any other way to do it." When detailing her experience concerning what she thinks about in order to produce onscreen tears, a query she receives often, Lozano simply stated, "Well...things that would make me cry. It's hard sometimes, but also it feels good when I feel like I portrayed something honestly." Having a good grasp on who Téa is provided Lozano with enough room to "make things up" even while keeping her character true to form. In addition, she looked to make each scene unique. "That's the thing about acting," she cited. "When you're rehearsing over and over, how do you make it new every time? Well, it is new every time because it's the first time you've done it that time."cite news |title=REPEAT Performance|publisher="Soaps In Depth"|date=1998-11-03|accessdate=2008-07-20
url=http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x24/TorturedLove_album/FlorenciatalkstoSoapsInDepthDTD-Nov.jpg] Lozano saw each take as an opportunity to improve, rather than as something to be annoyed by, stating, "I love it when we screw up, because we get another chance to do it, and every time it's a different scene." Lozano added, however, that she does enjoy perfecting her scenes. "It makes me really happy when I feel like I kicked ass in a scene," she stated.

Not every character action was originally in the script. "A lot of the times," Lozano noted, "someone [would] make me laugh, and then my next line [would] be about responding to that. Any number of things [could] happen, which are usually the best moments. I [wanted] to be open to that. But it's hard, too, because I [didn't] want to screw up my lines." She further relayed, "There are many times when I think I didn't get a scene. When you don't feel anything, it's frustrating. I'm less hard on myself because I realize how difficult what we do is. But, as an actor, you hope that you go in there and get caught up in the moment. I think, self-indulgently, that's why we become actors in the first place — to feel things."

Todd and Téa

"One Life to Live" viewers resisted Todd being paired with anyone but Blair. Téa Delgado not only did not have any history with Todd, "she was breaking up "One Life to Live's" most popular (if unorthodox) duo". It was Lozano's "consistently strong and convincing portrayal" of Téa as the tough but soft attorney that won viewers over. Viewers saw immediate chemistry between Howarth and Lozano.cite news|title=THE YEAR IN SOAPS! THE BEST OF '98 PLUS PREVIEW '99|publisher="Soap Opera Update"|date=1998|accessdate=2008-07-20] Todd and Téa's marriage was at first nothing more than a business deal; Todd offered Téa to be his wife and lawyer for $5 million dollars to ensure custody of his daughter (Starr). He was out for revenge against ex-wife Blair for having "turned his life upside down" when he "came back from the dead" and discovered her having sex with Patrick Thornhart (Thorsten Kaye) on the floor of the penthouse he once shared with her. It was after this that Todd shut down emotionally, almost completely,cite news|title=Todd Finds True Love - With His Wife! |publisher="Daytime Digest "|date=October 1998|accessdate=2008-07-23] only showing kindness to his daughter and his sister, Victoria Lord (commonly called Viki), and occasionally to children. "Téa being Todd's wife often put her in conflict with wife No. 1 and No. 2 — Blair."cite news|title=Editor's Choice: After the Fall |publisher="Soap Opera Digest"|date=1997-11-18|accessdate=2008-08-20] During one particularly heated confrontation, the women "traded blows as well as barbs". Lozano stated, "I'll never forget the time I crashed out the window. Kassie DePaiva (Blair) had to push me, and she was so nervous about really hurting me that I actually had to calm her down."

With Téa in his life, the writers had the emotional walls Todd had built around himself slowly collapse. Téa was said to be the one who made Todd's heart grow at least two sizes bigger. While the tough bravado and insensitivity were lessened in Téa's presence, Todd's reluctance to be sexually intimate became a prominent obstacle for the couple. After having felt betrayed by Blair with Patrick, Todd not only had trouble letting another woman into his psyche but also into his bed. This factor often led to Téa being sexually frustrated while near Todd. Though their relationship was to remain platonic, she found him sexually attractive and started to desire him romantically. The writers often emphasized this, at one point having Téa strip down naked in front of Todd and plead for him to make love to her, to which Todd painfully and angrily threw her out of their penthouse into the cold, rejecting the fact of not being ready more than actually rejecting Téa. [Todd and Téa: Todd kicks Téa out into the cold, "One Life to Live" (1998-02-04). Retrieved on 2008-07-24.]

Todd and Téa's romance was written as tempestuous, star-crossed, loving and abusive.cite news|title=Star of the Week|publisher=") years earlier; Téa later knocked Todd out with a shovel to escape. Yet during these scenes, deep love continued to display between the two; Todd released an almost monsterous scream after knocking Téa unconscious and relaxed her body on a chair in front of him, and Téa was seen to seemingly sexually desire Todd even while having tied him up after her attack on him. A disappointed Téa calling Todd a rapist after his kidnapping of her and his broken promises was a breaking point for Todd. She was the one woman, besides Viki, and one of the few people in a long time, to believe in him. Her giving indication that she now saw him as his enemies did was as much a slight to his well-being as anything physical. "Téa called Todd a rapist," Lozano explained. "By saying out loud that he's a rapist, it was the only way she could push him away. She needed those weapons, both verbal and emotional, to cut the tie because it had been so strong."

When working alongside Howarth, Lozano never felt as though she was just reciting lines. She stated, "I feel like we're just talking, listening and responding to each other. And that makes it relatively easy to concentrate. I feel like we're connecting." She called on her imagination, adding, "I do a lot of substituting. I think, 'What if Todd were a real person in my life?' The situations are so dramatic that in some ways it's easy to feel worked up."cite news|first=Andrea|last=L. Sarney|title=The Calm Before The Storm - contined, next page|publisher="Soaps In Depth"|date=1998|accessdate=2008-07-20
url=http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x24/TorturedLove_album/?action=view&current=CalmBeforetheStormPage80.jpg]

Further differentiating Todd and Téa from other couples on the series and most fictional couples in general was the application of theme music. Dark, sad but romantic theme music was applied to the pairing. Composer David Nichtern explained the emotion he wanted to convey. "This was kind of as close as we get to Todd 'romantic' music," he relayed. "It's still dark and mysterious, but has the possibility of a little sensuality and romance. I worked on these cues with my pal Kevin Bents (who does a lot of the keyboard work on the show) but when it came time for the demented variations, I just had to be alone (just kidding)."In 1998, David Nichtern gave an exclusive interview via e-mail regarding his music compositions for "One Life to Live." cite web | first=Marg | last= Harris | title= Making Music: Interview With OLTL Composer David Nichtern (Part I)|date=November 1998 | accessdate=2007-08-26 | url=http://www.geocities.com/~onelifer/nichtern1.html]

Though Todd never expected to fall in love with Téa, he did. The marriage of convenience took the characters on unexpected turns, both with intense feelings for each other. However, Todd struggled with his feelings for her based on his own troubled past and childhood. His obsession with destroying the Buchanan family (his sworn enemies, with the exception of a few) became too much for Téa to take. With Téa ready to divorce him, Todd soon "developed" split personalities in order to keep Téa in his life and get out of going to prison for holding 14 people hostage (the day he also kidnapped her). Téa began to fall in love with Todd's "good alters". The writers had the couple divorce as part of Todd's defense strategy, but remarry after he was cleared of kidnapping charges. More heartbreak followed once Téa discovered he was faking his split personality disorder. Though the couple again reunited in 2000 and in 2002, they never managed to stay together for long. While characters on the series struggled to understand Téa's love for Todd, the writers made the pairing's love story detailed enough in its complexity for viewers to comprehend.

toryline

When legal eagle Téa Delgado (Lozano) first sets foot in Llanview as one of its fiestiest lawyers, it is due to a woman named Carlotta Vega (Patricia Mauceri) having asked her to come help defend Antonio Vega (Kamar de los Reyes). Antonio — Carlotta's son — has been charged with the murder of Carlo Hesser (Thom Christopher), and Carlotta is naturally set on doing anything and everything to save her son from prison. Téa helps clear Antonio of charges, meanwhile engaging in an intimate relationship with Kevin Buchanan (then portrayed by Timothy Gibbs). She soon sets out to gain a job alongside Nora Buchanan (Hillary B. Smith). Nora declines to hire Téa. Téa, however, is determined to show Nora her law skills, even going so far as to seek Antonio's previous murder conviction be overturned. Téa succeeds in her goal of overturning Antonio's murder convinction, and it is not long before Todd Manning (Howarth) notices her, seeing the asset in having her work for him. He hires Téa to defend Alex Olanov (Tonja Walker), and Téa is able to get Alex off without any prison time. Todd is further intrigued by Téa, just as Téa's romantic relationship with Kevin is about to end. Subsequently, she moves into an apartment with Rachel Gannon.

Todd is anxious to make sure that his ex-wife, Blair Cramer (DePaiva), will not win custody of his daughter Starr (Kristen Alderson). Thus, he offers Téa five million dollars to marry him and to be his lawyer in the custody battle. Téa is flabbergasted; she never had much money. She agrees to the deal. Not long afterward, Blair is physically injured and falls prey to a coma. While Blair is comatose, Téa gets full custody of Starr for Todd. Months of emotional closeness follow for Todd and Téa, and Téa realizes that she has developed romantic feelings for Todd. Todd, however, keeps Téa emotionally at a distance after realizing he, too, is harboring romantic feelings for her. Téa turns to Andrew Carpenter (Wortham Krimmer) for comfort and for the type of intimacy that Todd will not give her; she had tried to seduce Todd into having sex with her, but he violently threw her out. Téa, though, quickly reasons that she cannot have sex with Andrew because she is in love with Todd. Despite Téa's feelings for Todd, she asks Todd for a divorce. Todd refuses the divorce and is able to get Téa to agree to a four week-trial reconciliation.

Todd finally proposes to Téa, and she happily accepts. But their happiness is brief; Todd soon becomes a suspect in the murder of a woman named Georgie Phillips. He panicks, and holds everyone suspected of killing Georgie (even ones not so suspected, such as his own sister, Viki) hostage at the Buchanan Lodge to get the murderer to confess. Rachel finally confesses to Georgie's murder, and Todd runs off, trying to elude the police looking to arrest him. Téa follows Todd, hoping that she can reason with him, but he grabs her, forcing her against her will, and takes her to the garden shed at Llanfair. When Téa verbally lashes out at Todd and mentions his rape of Marty Saybrooke (Haskell), Todd temporarily loses control of his temper and hits Téa. He then ties her up. The two continue to banter when she awakens, even sharing a brief kiss. Téa uses Todd's desire and love for her to trick him into untying her of the ropes binding her arms and legs. She knocks Todd out with a shovel, and later has him arrested, to which a betrayed Todd painfully utters, "Oh, Téa."

Todd escapes soon after being locked in a jail cell. He seeks out his daughter to say goodbye to her, and corners Téa in a cabana. There, the two discuss Todd's inability to make love to her. But when Todd tries to do just that, Téa rejects him, saying that it is too late and that he should have trusted her more with his heart and his body. Todd becomes loud, and the cops overhear, immediately encircling the building. Sam Rappaport (Kale Browne), Todd's former mentor and longtime father-figure, goes in to talk to Todd. He, along with Téa, learn that Todd was sexually abused as a child. When Sam tries to introduce that fact in court, Todd collapses and goes into a catatonic state. When he awakens, he appears to have DID (split personalities), like his sister Viki Lord (Erika Slezak). The personality called Tom, a more childlike and gentle personality, is in control and is determined to have Téa give him a second chance. She eventually admits that she is still in love with Todd. More personalities show themselves later, and a split personality named Pete is seen as being responsible for all of Todd's cruelest misdeeds. After an apparent "integration" of Todd's newfound "alters", Todd and Téa soon marry again, but at the reception, Starr unknowingly has a taped played over the country club's loud speakers where Todd is heard confessing that he has been faking the DID to avoid criminal prosecution. Téa is naturally furious with Todd and screams to the top of her lungs that he was supposed to truly love her. She tells him to "get the hell" out of her life. Todd leaves. The room is set on fire, however, when Téa throws an object at one of the lit candles in the room. She tries to escape, but the door is jammed. Téa almost dies; Todd, with Sam at his side, is able to save her. Todd prepares to leave town, but not before trying to convince Téa to come with him by leaving a letter for her in which somewhat expresses his feelings. Téa tears up the letter, refusing to return to Todd. Once back at Todd's empty penthouse on a mission to rid it of all of her belongings, her emotions get the best of her and she breaks down in memory of her past with Todd. Before Todd leaves, Sam asks Todd if he was truly sexually abused as a child. Todd's answer is ambiguous and the two share an emotional goodbye. Later in 1999, Téa files for divorce.

In February 2000, Todd reappears in Llanview intent on taking Téa away with him. He visits with his daughter, and gives her a note for Téa. Téa is reluctant to meet with Todd, but she does, at the Buchanan Lodge. When he informs her that he caused a gas leak, played mind games on the people of Llanview and that he was the one who had recently shot a gun at R.J. Gannon (Timothy D. Stickney), Téa's new boyfriend, due to his jealousy, all while having secretly watched her for months, Tea is beyond appalled. It is not until Todd tells her that he had "been all over the world" trying to erase her and that he could not, that she begins to understand his train of thought; it was his way of showing how deep his love runs for her. "You did all of this to prove your love to me," she states. Todd brushes off the notion of typical love, but had made his devotion known earlier, stating, "For you...I'd make the world end." He begs Téa to leave town with him, and although frustrated that Todd refuses to take this time to make love to her, Téa finally takes Todd's hand and leaves with him to start a new life.

In June 2000, Todd returns to Llanview, stating that Téa left him. He soon seeks to once again start a romantic life with Blair. After much manipulation, he does. The two continue to have their ups and downs, though, and Téa returns to town in 2002 for a brief visit. When she visits Todd, it is evident that he is still hurt by her having left him. But Todd has bigger problems — Blair is furious with him for his latest misdeeds, and has hired bodyguards to keep him away from their children. She and Sam secretly take the family away to Hawaii to get away from Todd. But the bodyguards are working for Todd and he follows them to Hawaii and plans to kidnap the kids. However, he runs into Téa there. Téa warns Blair about Todd's plans, and Blair is able to bring Starr and Jack safely back to Llanview. Todd and Téa, meanwhile, are shipwrecked on a deserted island due to Todd's plan to kidnap his children having gone awry. They are not alone; Ross, a man Todd had hired to help him with the kidnapping, is also stuck on the island with them, resulting in a love triangle as he and Todd vy for Téa's affections., and from there makes his way back to Llanview. Téa and Ross are later rescued.

Impact

Téa Delgado became one of the most popular characters in soap opera history. Her romantic pairing with Todd was described as "one of the hottest stories to hit daytime television". Fans fell in love with the union, dubbing them "TnT" (for Todd and Téa), and the pairing's popularity matched that of rival couple Todd and Blair. This created an intense rivalry between the two fanbases,cite news |title=Why Did Todd Choose Blair?|publisher="Soaps In Depth"|date=2002-11-12|accessdate=2008-07-20] which became known as the "T&B vs. TnT" wars. The "T&B vs. TnT" wars were some of the genre's most notorious Internet battles, and left writers and producers with the difficult task of deciding which couple would be the "true love" couple. In addition, viewers enjoyed the battles between Blair and Téa, which became one of soap opera's most entertaining rivalries.

As one of the show's most dysfunctional but beloved couples, Todd and Téa were prominently featured in commercials advertising their love story, ["Todd Needs a Wife...", "One Life to Live", Week of 07.07.97] ["She Knows What She Wants...", "One Life to Live", Week of 12.15.97] ["Dial 'D' for Danger", "One Life to Live", Week of 03.28.98] [Featured Couple of the Week: Todd and Téa, "One Life to Live", Week of 11.16.98] voted "Best Couple" and "Best Romance" in soap opera magazines,cite news|title=Hit: Todd and Téa's Tantalizing Two Step|publisher="Soap Opera Weekly"|date=1998-01-20|accessdate=2008-08-20] cite news |title="DAYTIME'S ALL-TIME MOST ROMANTIC COUPLES — Whether they employed hearts and flowers or schemes and deception, these duos still discovered true love|publisher="Soaps In Depth"|date=2002-01-08|accessdate=2008-07-20] and cited as "television at its best".

Howarth left the role of Todd in 1998, but when he later returned as the character in 2000 for a one-week stint to persuade Téa to leave with him, it was one of the show's most anticipated events. Todd, however, returned again later that year, but without Téa. As soon as news of Todd's return to daytime became known to fans of the series, the first question most queried was "Is Téa returning with Todd?" An emphatic "No!" was issued by Lozano's agent in what was deemed "an angry statement" to magazine "Soaps in Depth". The agent added, "Give it up, guys! Stop calling!" Viewers wondered how the show was going to explain Téa no longer being with Todd, and heavily campaigned for the series to reunite the pairing.cite news |title=Why They Came Back|publisher="Soap Opera Update"|date=2002-11-12|accessdate=2008-07-20] The writers had Todd give the simple explanation that Téa had left him in the middle of the night, with a letter saying that she could no longer be with him, and Todd was soon seen going after Blair, trying to fill the empty void in his life by having the family he once had with her. This did not deter fans of the Todd and Téa romance from campaigning for the couple. In 2002, their campaigning paid off when Lozano agreed to return to the series for a brief stint. The opportunity to work with Howarth again was one of the reasons Lozano decided to return. "It's a lot of fun to work opposite Roger," she stated. "There is so much going on beneath the surface."

Todd and Téa's reunion took place following Blair, betrayed by Todd yet again, having left him; it was a live-week for the series, something that had not been done in almost twenty years in the history of soap opera.cite news |title=Live Week Offers Up Several Surprises, Few Flubs!|publisher="Soaps In Depth"|date=2002-06-11|accessdate=2008-07-20] cite news |title=One Life to Live's "Live" Week - Cast Interviews|publisher=About.com|date=2002|accessdate=2008-07-20|url=http://onelifetolive.about.com/library/prm/bloltl_live_interviews.htm] In a shout-out to fans, Téa made her return entrance by stating, "I'm baaack!" with "a gleam in her eye" while interrupting Antonio and Carlotta Vega's bilingual bickering, before visiting Todd. Not long after visiting Todd, the two were shipwrecked with one of Todd's employees after coming face to face for the first time in two years on a boat Todd had planned to use in order to kidnap his children from Blair. Regarding Todd and Téa being stranded together on a deserted island, former head writer Gary Tomlin, who was new to the series at the time, explained, "They both realize the mistakes they've made. Téa starts to see why she fell in love with him. The same thing for him. He's thinking that if they ever get off this island, they can go back and he can share his life with her — a life including his kids."cite news |title=Todd To Téa - Be Mine Forever|publisher="Soap Opera Weekly"|date=2002-08-27|accessdate=2008-07-20] While Todd did not declare his love for Téa, he opened up his heart to Téa in "his own special way". Tomlin elaborated, "He makes the decision not to run away and deal with what he needs to deal with. [Todd and Téa were cast away in the first place because] we wanted to address Todd's relationship with the past." Tomlin further relayed, "It was also a way to finally satisfy Todd and Téa fans, who have been campaigning for a reunion since Florencia Lozano left the show in 2000. I don't know if Todd and Blair could have stayed together. Had he stayed in Llanview, it's possible that Téa would have come back, and we would have dealt with the situation in Llanview, with Blair being part of the dynamic."

Despite Tomlin reuniting Todd and Téa, seemingly having the pair on the path to having their "happy ending" and scripting their first first time having sex together (a long-awaited event by fans of the love story), he chose Todd and Blair as being the actual "true love" couple; this decision angered viewers of the series, who expressed their anger through e-mails to the ABC network over Tomlin describing Todd's love for Blair as "the most genuine thing he has ever felt". Tomlin stated that he had his reasons for telling the summer story the way he did, adding that the Todd and Téa fans have "convenient memories". He clarified, "When I went back to screen the Todd/Téa relationship — which everybody had said was so wonderful, that it was so this and so that, and they were so much in love — the thing that stuck out for me was when Todd punched Téa in the face and knocked her out. As a female viewer, I would have trouble getting past that. When you delve into physical abuse...it's a tough thing."

Todd being recast in 2003 with actor Trevor St. John after Howarth's departure from the series did not stop speculation that "One Life to Live" still planned to continue the Todd and Téa romance. "TV Guide" reported the rumor, stating, "We recently came across an "OLTL" audition script for a scene between Todd and 'Lucia,' a woman who sounds a lot like his long-lost Latina legal eagle. So is a recast in the works? A show rep assures TVGuide.com that 'there are no plans to bring the character of Téa back to "OLTL".'" It was surmised that if true, "Todd and Blair fans everywhere [could] breathe a major sigh of relief".cite news | title= [http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Soaps/News/default.aspx?posting={1CA8E6E1-E516-4A29-B153-441ACBDF13B0} Soaps News] |publisher="TV Guide"|accessdate=2008-07-21]

In September 2008, magazine "Soap Opera Weekly" confirmed Lozano's return to the series, starting December 2008.

ee also

*Supercouple

References

External links

* [http://www.soapcentral.com/oltl/whoswho/tea.php Téa Delgado profile - SoapCentral.com]