Oh Sami...Sami, Sami, Sami, Sami...she just can't seem to help herself from making the same old mistakes over and over again. It drives me nuts that Sami doesn't trust Lucas enough to just tell him the truth already! I want Sami to be the one to tell Lucas first. Hearing it from someone else will definitely make having her side of the story heard, and more importantly believed, much more difficult. Though she has plenty of reasons why she did the things she did; it's really her word against EJ's. It would come down to Lucas having to trust that Sami was telling the truth about what transpired that night. But if she were caught lying, wouldn't that make it more difficult for Lucas to trust her? It's a catch-22. I'm worried that Sami will lose both Lucas and Will yet again because she can't learn to trust in Luca's love. Wow, talk about ironic. Sami doesn't trust in Lucas's love enough to tell him the truth - but, if the truth were to come out in the worst-case scenario - she would ask Lucas to trust in her love enough to believe her. Hmmmm. I just hope that he remembers the conversation he had with Kate where he told her that it didn't matter to him if Sami had help; he loved her anyway. Not only that, he said that if Sami is keeping a secret; there's probably a good reason. It's wonderful that Lucas believes in Sami that much, now if only she would repay his blind trust; I'd be a happy camper. All this just makes it that much more difficult to watch the happy family scenes with them and Will - all the while knowing that it could be blown apart as soon as EJ decides to open his mouth or...god forbid, god forbid...Kate somehow finds out. That would really be the worst thing ever.
That reminds me: I hate Kate. I really do. I love the fact that it rhymes mind you - but I hate Kate. She is twisted, she is controlling and she is malicious. I don't love to hate her; I just hate her. I do love to see her humiliated however, especially when she's revealed to be the mean, manipulative b-i-t-c-h that she is. Having said that...it really irks me that Sami reverted back to typical-Sami-behavior by setting Kate up with that footage of her and EJ rolling around together. That was beneath the person she's trying to become. She had already told Lucas that his mother set her up with the phony tv show producers; there was no reason for her to sink down to Kate's level and exact retribution. Besides...EJ managed to come up with a clever explanation about computer graphics technology and TA-DA! Embarrassing debacle over. No damage done. All Sami's really accomplished is give to Kate more ammunition in her vendetta against her. I wonder what would have happened if she'd simply confronted Kate with the truth? Maybe it wouldn't have changed Kate's opinion of her - but at least she wouldn't have had to steal that disc from her father's office. There's no doubt that Roman will find out what Sami did - I'm sure that Kate is headed down to his office next to give him the news - and he ain't gonna be happy.
Speaking of which, Sami capped off her week of repeating old patterns when Roman called her down to the station to discuss the night she rescued Lucas yet again. Instead of taking the opportunity to unburden herself and tell him the truth, she dug herself deeper in to her lie by continuing to deny that she had help. She should know by now that she can tell her father the truth. Plus, when the truth does come out, he'll only end up throwing these repeated inquiries back in her face anyway. I suppose if you want to be realistic about the situation...Sami does have some real grounds to continue to hide the truth from Roman at least. If she does tell him everything, he would naturally be forced to arrest EJ - after all, he held a gun to Sami's head to force her to aid him in his escape and he raped her. As Sami was the only witness to EJ's crimes, (didn't he also confess to her that he shot John?), she is also the only proof of his guilt. She'd have to go to court and relive the events of that night again and again. She believes that EJ killed Lexie, his own sister, and Tek because they witnessed him shooting John. I suppose it's not unrealistic to think that she'd also believe that EJ would harm her, Lucas or Will to prevent himself from going to jail. But...I don't wanna be realistic about it! I just want Sami to tell somebody the truth already and get it over with. It's like a Band-Aid; just rip it off and get busy with the healing!
As spoilers predicted; Billie and EJ met this week and set off fireworks. They definitely have chemistry to spare, although I'm pretty sure that EJ would have chemistry with a box. Regardless of their evident mutual attraction, I can't see any chance of a real relationship developing between the two. For one: he slept with her mother, and she got a birds eye view of it - ewww! And though she doesn't know it yet; he raped Sami. The latter fact doesn't exactly spell out "permanent relationship". Not to mention that he's a big bad DiMera villain and probably only cozying up to Billie in an effort to get closer to Lucas and Sami anyway. And Billie for her part is making the same old mistakes herself by going after the wrong guy yet again. Though she keeps insisting that it's only business, she is flirting with him at every opportunity. Which means that it can't be long before she screws up and winds up in bed with him. Yo Billie - do you ever stop and think that if your brother, mother and friends (i.e. Sami) are warning you so stridently against EJ, that maybe...just maybe...there's a darn good reason? I laughed so hard that I choked when she said that she could take care of herself! Yeah right...since when? I'm not sure of the purpose of this storyline...other than maybe to get more people personally involved when the truth of what EJ did to Samantha comes out?
EJ's tentacles are far-reaching. He's certainly living up to his DiMera name now isn't he? It was revealed during one of Steve's flashbacks that EJ was involved in his brainwashing. I don't get it though. Steve was missing for 16 year and we've been led to believe that he lived as Nick Stockton for the last few years of that 16. If EJ is only in his late twenties or so now; wouldn't he have been a teenager or younger when Steve was being brainwashed? Oh silly me...trying to make sense of soap opera timelines! Anyway...EJ managed to throw Steve in to another manic episode that landed him first in jail and then, thanks to Kayla's insistence, in a psychiatric ward. Using hypnosis of sorts, the doctor managed to unlock some memories in Steve and he recalled being electrocuted and taunted by EJ. Friday's show ended with Steve using something to undo the screws of the bars on his window (some security!) to escape from the hospital (hope he's on the first floor!) Why would he pretend to the doctor and Kayla that he didn't recall the memories? Is he going to confront EJ or is he in killer-mode? Is he going after John and Marlena as John tried to warn her about in her dreams? Or somebody else?
I have to hand it to the writers for trying to take John and Marlena's storyline in a new direction by having John be the one who is injured for once. It's usually always Marlena who occupies that position. But on the other hand...all this business with Marlena having visions of sorts and the two of them meeting in their dreams is just a bit...oh, I don't know...weird. Don't you think? Maybe it's just me but I find their story to be a bit boring. I guess it makes sense to keep John in a coma while Belle and Shawn are on the run - no doubt he'd be all over Philip for driving his Tinker-Belle out of the country in an attempt to keep her child.
Belle for her part has made it out of Canada and is now on a cruise ship with Shawn and Claire in the middle of the ocean. Bad luck follows this little family at every turn as Claire is now sick and the ship's doctor has discovered that her (fake) passport doesn't have an immunization stamp. Um. Do passports have immunization stamps? I just checked mine (I'm Canadian)...nope; no immunization stamp. And anyway, what's the ship's doctor going to do about it? The ship is cruising across the ocean - does he propose to toss them overboard for lack of the right shots? "Red-Alert; call the Coast Guard for an emergency pick-up - we have a child without the proper immunization". Yeah right. Does Belle and Shawn's passports have the stamp or is it only required for children?... Ahhhh...whatever; it's probably just a red-herring ending for Friday. Monday's show will probably see the doctor saying, "No problem, just get that taken care of as soon as possible".
Ugh...can't stand Will-Ho. [Thanks for the nickname Melissa!] Blech. And now she's pregnant with Shaw's child? I don't believe it. Not for a second. Although...she did agree to a pregnancy test and an amnio to prove that it is Shawn's child. Would she do all that if she was faking the pregnancy and/or who the father really was? Oh lordy...I've never said this before but - I hope Willow loses this baby if it is indeed Shawn's. I could not imagine the scene if Willow carried to term and Philip claimed some kind of rights over the child. I'm not even sure if that would work legally but let's just hope that it doesn't come to that. There is really nothing redeeming about this character, she adds nothing to the storylines or the show. Let's see the back end of her already!
I'm back on the Chelsea bandwagon though. She's been fantastic! I've loved her scenes of late. She came up with the plan to get Claire out of the safe house right under Phil's nose. That was really great. I love when the show throws something unexpected at us. That scene, along with many previous ones, did a lot to help redeem her character. I like this version of a softer, kinder, gentler Chelsea. I'm glad that she patched things up with Shawn, he more than anyone expressed his hate to her as often as he could. Not that she didn't deserve every moment - she did - but she now also deserves his thanks and praise. I am also totally in love with the Nick/Chelsea coupling. It was such a great moment when Chelsea realized that Nick sold the expensive watch his parents gave him for graduating in order to help Shawn, Belle and Claire get on that ship. They are just soooo cute together! And that's what makes it so unfortunate that Nick's little sojourn with Billie is going to nip their little romance in the bud. I wonder how long it will be before that little nugget is dropped in everyone's laps? Oh and of course there's the whole lonely splicer thing...I'm sure that those 2 things together will not equal happily ever after.
Random...Where are Bo and Hope? They've had very little screen time lately...Can we please have a recast on Mickey? His absence is getting very odd...Speaking of absences; paging Doug and Julie - are you out there? ...Thank you for resting the Lockhart family for a week; they were seriously getting on my nerves. But having said that, did Mimi get the results of her DNA test back yet? Speaking of Mimi, I hear TPTB are thinking of recasting the part when Farah leaves. How odd; I can't imagine anyone else in the part...Where is Brady? Surely he would have high-tailed his but back to his injured father's side? Not even a mention of him? ...
Well...I wanted to ignore the bull that DOOL has put onscreen with regard to Belle and Shawn's Canadian storyline, but just couldn't stand it anymore. The inaccuracies have been so damn glaring that I have no choice but to say a few things. 1) Cruise ships do not come to Toronto. Toronto is accessible from the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Laurence river system but only freighters make the trek to TO - never a cruise ship. 2) A cruise ship headed to Australia via the Atlantic Ocean? Scratching head. I am just floored by the sloppiness...I suppose that one can chalk up the writer's ignorance of Canadian geography as plain apathy - maybe they don't think that anyone cares - but taking a cruise to Australia and not leaving from the Western seaboard is utterly absurd. Would that be a 12-week cruise by any chance? Why couldn't the writers have picked something plausible like, say Mexico for example? Sheesh! 3) Did anyone else catch Shawn telling the ships doctor that they were from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia? Give me a break! New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are both provinces. It would have taken all of 5 minutes to Google the above info. Sloppy, lazy, annoying writers...it's insulting really.
Spoiler Alert...Spoiler Alert...
Next Week on "DAYS OF OUR LIVES":
Reader Feedback: Thanks to everyone who wrote in! I love reading your comments and feedback about the show and this column - so keep them coming!
From Amelia Ferguson:"For anyone of us who remembers the bygone, good ol' DAYS, we must hope for more adventures for Steve & Kayla. To date, they've been under-utilized. When placed in the right situations and written with the write words, they can ignite the screen. Stephen Nichols & Mary Beth Evans have the talent and chemistry to do any worthwhile storyline justice. Their past with the show proves this. Let's remember all the adventures and sparks they made, especially when put together with another dynamic duo...Bo and Hope. The chemistry these four actors have together has been proven over time and likely to catch viewers attention again. SO, let's get the ball rolling. I came back to this show because of the return of Steve & Kayla...let's see them get back to what got us hooked in the first place. AND, with the impending return of Jack, who knows where their story might lead! Message to Hogan Shaffer -- build on the rich history of your show's characters. If you do, everyone will win!".
From Xeresa: "I just have to comment on three things in your fine article.
1. Those mesmerizing scenes you mentioned between Sami and EJ are what have kept us EJammers going since Sami and EJ first met. The complexity of that relationship, with the proper writing and plot, could keep DAYS fans glued to watch for years.
2. At the time of Mr. Lockhart's "demise" or when he supposedly deserted his family, Connor Lockhart was only about ten or eleven years old and I doubt he was precocious enough to help in the "murder" of his father. I personally think it should be Mimi who accidentally killed her father in self-defense and then blocked it out of her memory. Mimi is clearly loved by her mother and siblings and they wouldn't have hesitated to cover up Dad's death to protect her.
3. John and his tough love malarkey towards Sami is responsible for a lot of the problems she has experienced as an adult. If you have noticed down through the years that they only child raised by John and Marlena is THEIR OWN child, Belle, while Brady, Eric, and Sami were shipped off from Salem for long extended stays away from Salem. I still recall when Sami, broke and desperate, begged for a job to support herself and Will, and Marlena forced John into hiring her at Basic Black. John hired her and then put her worst enemy Kate as her supervisor. Kate proceeded to humiliate and belittle Sami at every opportunity and encouraged all the other employees at Basic Black to do the same. Naturally the job blew up in Sami's face. John has never done anything for Sami since her rape that wasn't set up subtly for her to fail.He was kind and loving to her as a child, but then John thought he really was Roman Brady at the time! So that scene made me want to gag! "
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