AMC: Laura

Do you think this character was ruined upon her return, or when Lauren Roman
was still playing the role? 

I must confess that I hated Laura long before she left town in 1998. I hated
her quite forced entry into Brooke's family. I am not a BABE, but even though
Brooke knew Laura before Janet knew her, the bond between Laura and Janet was
so strong, so natural that Brooke's underwritten maternal instincts and Laura's
bizarre latching onto Brooke came across as Brooke negotiating a package deal
in order to get Pierce. 

The worst for me was when Laura lost all her spunk and became a sour, miserable
blob. She was angry at Scott's preppy friends. She was angry at Santa Claus.
She was angry at the costume designers who put her in overalls the hideous
likes of which had not been seen since Uncle Joe was moving kind of slow. She
was never the same after they recast adorable TeenScott into neanderthal
HimboScott. 

I was very happy to see her go. Not as happy, not happy at all, when she came
back, particularly since she went to high school in spite of graduating
oncamera! I never understood why she was brought back, and apparently the
writers didn't either, since she is now long gone.