You know it's going to be a good week when it starts with a Stefano scene, peaks with the announcement of 17 Daytime Emmy nominations for DAYS, and ends with an Ejami love scene. Throw in a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of merlot, and you pretty much have my dream week. Let's discuss!
LUCAS, SAMI, WILL, SONNY, ADRIENNE, and E.J.
The best thing about everyone teaming up for Will is that he got his family back. Sami, E.J., Sonny, Lucas, Adrienne, and possibly even Allie (hey there!) all came together to help Will. And that's what families do. Will's never been short on people who love him. But it's hard to remember a time when all of those people worked together for him.
The scene pairings were an exceptional treat. Lumi scenes never disappoint. Lucas patching things up with Sonny was fabulous. Will genuinely thanking E.J. and Sami was both long overdue and heartwarming. And if there's ever a series that features Sami and Sonny as a crime-fighting duo, I'd watch that show every day and twice on Sundays.
I'll even rest easier at night knowing that when this whole Stefano angle blows up -- and there's a very good chance it will -- at least we won't have to play another round of the Blame Sami Gene Game. They all agreed that this was their only option, and all participated in it. Everyone's hands are dirty. And I couldn't love any of them more!
E.J. and STEFANO
At first, I was a little irritated that E.J. took a backseat and let Sami ask Stefano for the favor. After all, E.J. is the one who has the most pull with the big fella. But then I realized that I spent the better part of the last four years wishing that Sami would be with a man that lets her in on the scheme, so I quickly changed my mind.
And if I'd known that E.J. was actually plotting to take Stefano down, I would have jumped up and cheered. I can't wait to see how this plays out. Let's count the positives.
First, James Scott and Joseph Mascolo are such fantastic acting partners that I'm already looking forward to the E.J./Stefano confrontation scene.
Second, E.J. isn't doing this to win points with Sami or her family. But, I do hope that he tells her eventually, especially since she's technically a big wig at one of those DiMera subsidiaries and will probably be irritated if her paycheck bounces.
Third, join me in a slow clap for E.J.'s choice of lawyer -- the one and only dashingly dimpled Justin Kiriakis! If Justin's reaction to E.J.'s legal documents is any indication of what's ahead, it's going to be good. It has to be phenomenal to impress a Kiriakis lawyer who used to work in Dubai with some of the most accomplished business people in the world.
Finally, since Sami told E.J. about Stefano's little plan to keep the evidence against Will, could it be that E.J. actually has the upper hand here? That all depends on Kristen. (Oh lookie there, another reason to love the potential of this storyline!) Will she side with Eej or father? Will she pick freedom or power? Both are pretty important to Kristen.
NICK
Much like Cameron's real reason for stripping, I'm still a little foggy on what happened between Vargas and Nick in prison. Originally, I suspected that Vargas attacked Nick. But based on their conversation last week, Vargas saved Nick's life. And if it turns out that Vargas actually protected Nick then Nick will manage to be even worse than I already know he is. That makes what I'm about to say confusing, but hear me out.
Nick is so out-of-control wrong that it won't be enough to just see his crimes exposed. I want to see him redeemed. Specifically, I want him to go through the process of regretting every day he spent as this horrible, hateful waste of a human and spend the rest of his life conscious of the fact that he can't let himself ever become this person again.
Plus, Blake Berris' performances are so raw and beautiful that I desperately want to care about what happiness Nick may or may not lose. And right now I just care about how much it would hurt if I actually punched my television set when Nick is on.
GABI
I chuckled, "Yeah, right," when Gabi threatened to walk out on Nick. Yes, we know that he's dirtier than their messy room. But poor, innocent Gabi knows nothing about his shady shenanigans, remember? So there's no reason for her to threaten such drastic measures.
Truth is, she's had too many chances to catch on -- as far back as Nick telling her his position on gay people and as recent as Rafe trying to warn Gabi minutes before she went upstairs. Her constant behavior does not warrant an "Oh my gosh, I am totally blindsided by this" reaction to Nick, last week or ever.
I sincerely hope that Will gets custody of the baby and Gabi is the one who gets to be "part of the baby's life."
RAFE
Props to Rafe for not giving up on the stench of wrong that follows Nick around. Bonus points for even going to Will and figuring out that this isn't about Sami! Sure, I'd like Rafe to have been a little quicker on the uptake, but I get that he was trying to give his sister the benefit of the doubt. And if he keeps digging into that document Will signed, I'll be a happy scooper! Yup, I'm cheering Rafe on!
DANIEL and JENNIFER
For those of you who would still rather drink nails than watch Danifer, rest assured that happy times for soap couples are always short-lived.
But for the rest of us who enjoy watching something light-hearted once in a while, there's something to be said for Danifer. They're happy. Abigail was happy for them. It was good stuff. I loved that Jennifer immediately asks if Daniel's surprise is food-related. (A woman after my own heart!)
Yes, there are an awful lot of mentions of how perfect and wonderful Daniel is. I haven't always agreed with that. But his actions have been pretty clean in the last few months, especially towards Jennifer and Abigail, so I have no problem with it for the time being.
ABIGAIL and CAMERON
I soooo want to go to one of those pop-up restaurants! They sound like so much fun. Even if the ones that I've seen in the paper look absolutely nothing like the one that Cameron and Abigail went to. Oh, and if I do get to go, I'm borrowing Abigail's gorgeous dress and hope I look half as good as she did in it!
And then there's Cameron. Bless his charming smile; he's circling the drain at this point. We're way past the point of him being embarrassed that his credit card got declined. In case he missed it, we crossed that line when Abigail organized a Magic Mike parade in front of her mother, friends, and hospital administrator to save his job. Seriously, I'm really beginning to wonder when Abigail is going to wake up and realize that the guy who was resourceful enough to fake out-drink Anne on the spot is more fun to be with than this Cameron drip. Perhaps I'll tell her that when she drops her dress by my house.
ERIC, NICOLE, and VARGAS
Am I the only one who thinks that Vargas has no idea who he's going up against? Should we ask Colin Murphy, Dr. Baker, or Trent Robbins what happens to fellas who threaten Nicole? I'm not saying that she's particularly dangerous. But Nicole has a good track record of being the last one standing when she's backed into a corner.
But I'll totally forgive Vargas for overplaying his hand if he makes good on his threat. Yup, I want him to tell Father Eric that Nicole called out his name and get this Nicole/Eric show on the road. Don't worry; my mom and I worked this out months ago. Working theory: Eric is not actually a priest, but in the witness protection program, à la Sister Act. Roman pulled strings to get him in Salem so that Roman could be in charge of protecting his only* son.
*Hey, as many times as the writers forget about Rex, it's about time that they do it for a good reason.
KATE
Kate stopped by Sami's office to present Sami with a gun that will be used later on in another storyline that has little (if anything) to do with Kate, since she doesn't care about Sami at all, much less enough to give her a gun. But, at least Sami's gun is an upgrade (?) from Carrie's dagger. Finally, Sami comes out on top!
On a serious note, I absolutely cannot stand how the writers are having Kate suddenly back-pedal about her life with Stefano. Their unlikely love story was beautiful. Stop tarnishing it. If not for me, dear writers, you must do it for the fidelity of your own story. The only way that Stefano would care who Kate is with is if Stefano had genuine feelings for Kate before! If it was such a sham of a relationship, there'd be no fallout from it.
KRISTEN and BRADY
So, Kristen and John are both planning to end up in bed together. It's just a matter of who will chicken out first. And for some reason, I think it's going to be Kristen. Okay, make that three reasons.
One, she admitted that Brady is a total catch. Two, she has to see that the wedge between John and Brady seems a lot more permanent if she does marry Brady and become his legal next-of-kin. Three, Stefano has his doubts about Kristen going through with the whole thing. Don't nobody know crazy like Stefano knows crazy. And if he doesn't think she has the guts to go through with it, I believe him.
LOOSE ENDS:
I don't think even Sami realized how genius it was to steal Nick's money. Her instinct was right. No one has a manila envelope full of money for legit reasons. But as Nick looked as Sami and said, "I'm begging you," I realized that Sami now finally has leverage over the evil scientist. A basic exchange -- money for Will's paternal rights -- should not be ruled out as a possibility.
Rafe and Kate called off their booty calls again. As much as I'm glad to see this pairing end (if it really has), I wish there was a little more of a point to them being together in the first place. Right now, the whole point seemed to be to keep Kate from being in the room with everyone else important in Will's life when Nick blackmailed Will. Boo.
Brady met with some "mysterious" woman in black. I have a feeling that this is a red herring, and she's probably in charge of picking out a really nice painting for Kristen as a wedding gift.
I love that E.J. stole the Mad World Fall Line folder for the sheer fact that it makes Nick look bad! I doubt that even Super Nick's iron-clad contract can make Kate keep him on the payroll for losing confidential company information. Also, of course Nick is a cosmetics genius. You know, because he's so in tune to what women want.
In Sami's defense, Roman hasn't exactly been easy to find these days. No wonder she had trouble telling him about her engagement.
HOT
Looks like Ciara may have a little bit of big sis Chelsea and Grandpa Victor in her!
First, she got in trouble at school for having that picture. (Am I the only one who wanted Ciara to bust out with some language about needing a warrant to search through her private folders?) So, she did what anyone would do and saddled up to Kristen for some gal talk on what it feels like to be held down by the man. Their conversation ended up in a surprisingly tender discussion about how all little girls need their daddies.
Second, Hope had a talk with Ciara about being a brat, but I was with Ciara. The longer Bo stays away, the more I just want to draw and play with Lisa Frank stickers too.
Finally, and best of all, I adored that Ciara saw right through to Marlena's real feelings for Kristen. Marlena's fake emotions wear me thin, and Ciara's "not having it" attitude was on point.
NOT
If there ever was a time for one of Roman's patented "what da hell" scoldings, it was last week. John the Grumpy Gargoyle was the worst. I buy this hatred from Kristen. But I don't buy it from John. He's supposed to love Marlena more than he loves revenge. That's what makes him one of the good guys. He most absolutely hasn't almost lost Marlena, and he knows it. He was giving himself an out for reasons that are delusional at best, but more likely just plain selfish. John really needs to have a talk with Will about the benefits of letting those who love you actually help you.
LINE OF THE WEEK
Victor (to John about Kristen): "Couldn't you do something less drastic than sleeping with her? Couldn't you just kill her?" It's even funnier because Victor's totally not kidding.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
I strongly suggest that Mrs. Hogate never teach middle or high school.
I find it hard to believe that Nick doesn't use a lock on his computer or his briefcase.
Wait, can you ask for ingredients at a restaurant to build your own dessert?
New goal = reach the point in my career to sit in a leather, wingback swivel chair.
Rafe saying things like, "The whole thing was a real ego boost for me," is like Nick joking, "Gosh, it's a relief to finally get my way!"
I like The Voice, too, Adrienne! Though I am more of an Adam Levine gal, myself.
I loved that Nicole was genuinely happy for Brady's engagement.
How utterly adorably is it that Sonny knows Will's different laughs?
I'm sure Belle and the therapist will have a great time with the revelation that John has a rule against hitting on another man's wife.
I'm not surprised at all that E.J. can ballpark exactly how much is in a stack of money.
I may be in the minority, but I loved Abigail and Jennifer as girlfriends, getting ready for their dates.
Adrienne, sweetie, last time I checked, you're also a lovely blonde bombshell mom who married into sketchy families three times. So stop judging Sami. May I suggest martinis instead?
That's it for now, scoopers. Tony_S_Days will be back next week to get us into our first full Sweeps week. But in case you miss hearing from us before then, don't worry! To celebrate Nurse Appreciation Week, we'll be posting our blog of Salem's Top 10 Docs and Nurses on May 6th! Check it out. Doctor's orders!
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