Friday, February 22, 2013

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Well, I thought today's episode of Days was pretty dang great.  Kristen and Brady's mini-drama aside, of course.  These two really have nothing to talk about when it's just the two of them.  Kristen is starting to have feelings for Brady, but I only know this because she keeps muttering it to herself when she's alone.  I'm not feeling anything between them.  Don't misunderstand me - If I never see another segway race through Horton Town Square, it'll still be too soon.  But these two need to give me something soon, otherwise I'm just not going to give a shit when it all goes to hell.


KATE


As predicted, Kate is showing early symptoms of Safephilis. This is a woman who arranged for Chloe to be blackmailed into prostitution so she could be declared an unfit mother, giving Philip full custody of Parker.  This is a woman who schemed to keep Sami as far away from Austin, Lucas, and Will for eons.  This is a woman who teamed up with Sami only a few months ago to confront Adrienne for talking smack about Will. Suddenly I'm supposed to believe that Kate doesn't understand the importance of a paternity test from a legal standpoint, and that she's willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Will and his daughter?  Right.


This sort of ruins Kate and Rafe's sexcapades for me.  Before it was Rafe, the "good guy", being drawn to Kate's bad girl.  That's what was going to make this fun to watch.  If Kate is no longer Kate, but Rafe is still obnoxious, judgmental Rafe, what the hell is the point?

LUCAS


I was pleasantly surprised by Lucas today.  I thought for sure he'd swoop in, chew Sami's head off, high-five Kate, tell EJ his relationship with Sami will blow up in his face, and be on his merry way.  Instead, he showed a great deal of maturity.  No snarky comments about EJ.  A little understanding for Sami.  Some love and support for his son.  It was a nice, welcome change.  High-five!

MAXINE


Maxine played as big a part in this episode as just about everyone else did, and she was fabulous.  Aloma Wright is a terrific actress, and it's a shame she hasn't been given a bigger role to play at the hospital than she has been before today.  When she snapped at Gabi's gaggle of men in the lobby trying to bust into her room, my heart skipped an extra beat. And, yes, I felt the heat.

RAFE


I could understand Nick freaking out because he's a psychopath.  I could understand Will freaking out because he's the baby's father, he's still young, and  his mother frustrates the hell out of him.  Rafe is the one I don't understand here.  He's supposed to be a grownup.  Yes, Sami was yelling at Gabi, but he was yelling right back.  I'm pretty sure that yelling is yelling, and that ain't good for anyone.  Rafe freaking the fuck out and telling EJ to yank at the choke chain Rafe used to have around Sami's neck was absolutely uncalled for.  He's supposed to a cop, fer chrissakes.  Fine - he's protective of his sister. But come on - there were better ways for "the good guy" to handle all this.  

This guy has been in Sami's orbit for years now, and he still has no fucking clue who she is, and that continues to boggle my mind.

SONNY


Sweet, supportive Sonny was a breath of fresh air today.  In many ways, he was on the outside looking in, but when he looked in, all he was seeing was Will, and, for just a moment, all Will was seeing was Sonny.  Very West Side Story.  I so wish I could see what Will sees when he looks at the guy.  Sonny has been on the show for a long while now, and all I really know about him after all this time is that he's a nice guy who has questionable taste in music, gets along famously with his parents, and brews a "strong, bold" decaf coffee.  Oh, wait - he's also a good kisser and digs Will's nipples.

KRISTEN


Kristen's plan continues to confuse the hell out of me.  When Brady shows her a couple of apartments he's interested in taking a look at with her, she tells him she wants him to move into the DiMansion with her.  Why?  How are we supposed to go from Kristen convincing Brady to move into Stefano's home to Kristen leaving Brady broken-hearted on their wedding day?  I know part of her plan is to keep pissing off Marlena and continuing to alienate Brady from the rest of his family, but this would all end the same way, wouldn't it?  With Marlena and John relieved that Brady is out from under Kristen's thumb?  This plan is hardly diabolical.  Frankly, Kristen, I'm very disappointed in you.  I know you can do better.

I guess this is what happens when all your apartment sets are currently occupied.

THE PRAYER CIRCLE


I hated the prayer circle.  I really, really hated it.  It was weird and uncomfortable, and seemed to come out of nowhere.  Was it Days pandering to bigoted, bible-thumpers still griping about the gay storyline?  On an episode in which Will was wondering aloud if God was punishing him, we have a prayer circle where Maxine is telling God the baby needs to survive because so many people love her.  I found it...icky.  I know - I'm a horrible writer.  The only thing I can come up with is "icky".  How did you feel about the prayer circle?

Moving on...

EJ


EJ and Sami are wonderful and I would gladly let them fuck on my kitchen counter.  EJ knows Sami, so he was able to predict what happened and what part Sami may or may not have played in it, even before she'd completely brought him up to speed.  He was able to talk her down without talking down to her.  He kissed her forehead, held her hand and didn't overstep his boundaries.  He was perfect.

Now I just need him to pick Nick up, pin him to the ceiling, and threaten to rip his spine out through his throat if he even thinks about threatening Samantha again.

IN CONCLUSION


I have to wait until Monday to watch EJ teasing Rafe about Kate?  Damn, damn, damn!  Is Lucas still at the hospital?  He'd best be there to overhear the conversation, or I may cry.



7 comments:

  1. Wouldn't that be all sorts of delish if Lucas overheard EJ teasing Rafe about Kate? I'm all in.

    I hated the prayer circle too. It was out of place and out of character. And, yes, I think it was done to pander to Bible thumpers who can't accept that gay is not a choice. I'd find new doctors stat btw.

    My Rate membership card hit the trash today after seeing that Kate is being reduced to the latest cast member pimping Rafe. Why should Kate lose all her wonderfulness just for a roll in the hay with a loser?

    But EJ and Sami were divine, as was Sonny for coming when Will needed him.

    Loved your column!
    Patty

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  2. I thought it was done to let everyone know that Gabi's baby has been blessed on high so of course she'll live.

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  3. I'm hoping this Kate nonsense stance about the paternity test is only plot point stupidity so that when the custody fight intensifies & Gabi's deeds are exposed, she'll turn on Team!Gabi with a vengeance. Otherwise, yes, I'm revoking my Rate membership card too if it means it'll turn Kate into this.

    Sonny being there for Will was sweet. As were his quips about Will being terrible at ice skating. If the writers continue to show us his personality brick by brick like this, I may be start to have a real vested interest for WilSon.

    I felt that the prayer circle was too in my face too. That said, if they keep it to reasonable levels & that's all it takes for TPTB to continue not caving to the homophobic Bible thumpers, it's a pill I can swallow.

    I'm waiting for Kristen's full plan to come to pass before I can judge the final result. There's got to be a reason she wants Brady at the DiMera mansion, other than the shenanigans we can anticipate when Bristen, EJami & Stefano will all live under the same roof.

    I'm now fully convinced that Gary Tomlin is not in charge of this show anymore, just by the way the writing for Lucas has improved by leaps & bounds in the last few months. Lucas gets to be involved in Will's storyline & now he gets to deal with a twist of his own with Nick knowing that Lucas took the fall for Will shooting EJ. He also gets to voice the audience's disdain for Daniel & Dannifer. He gets to be a co-parent with Sami while not going overboard with the scolding. Hell, maybe he'll even get a love interest with the casting calls that have gone out lately.

    EJ being there for Sami & talking to her like the adult she actually is was total love. The writing is so good for them as a couple that it makes me giddy tuning in to a soap like I haven't been in a long long time.

    And the best part? It seems like critics who say EJ had become too soft in the last few months are now eating crow. Because so far, EJ has been little bit of a smug ass to everyone in town who provokes him (namely, Marlena, Nicole, Rafe, etc.) except his immediate family. I'm gonna enjoy him laying the snark on Rafe next week for bedding 'step mommy'. And I hope to God Lucas gets to overhear because just this once, I'd die laughing to see EJ & Lucas gang up on Rafe. It has to happen at least once. I'm also anticipating seeing EJ going DiMera on Nick after he provokes Sami with threats. Another one of my big dreams is to see EJ & Sami lay the smackdown on someone as a scheming couple. I got a taste of what that could actually be like during summer 2010 when EJ threatened Dr.Baker & Sami watched him do his thing from the sidelines with the coldness of a badass. I want to see something like this again.

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  4. What is it with Kate and Sami's sloppy seconds? Only Lucas and Austen are safe and that's by maternal ties alone. I like it when Rafe rubs one out on Kate. It's only bound to end in tears and Rafe gonna look even stupider. Why don't men ever get that when they stick their weiners inside a woman that no matter how much she thinks she can be a "guy" about it... SHE CAN'T. Not even in the soap world. It's too intimate.
    Doesn't Nick see the dark Sami emerging in her eyes as he shuts the door? Run Nick run. EJAMI will crush you like a grape. I for one can't wait for the juice to run. I'm really, really thirsty.
    Love you! Love your blog.

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  5. Wonderful column, as always, Diggy!

    EJ was just divine with Sami - supportive and comforting, but never controlling like the other two.

    I too am a little disturbed by the changes I'm already noticing in Kate. It seems that any female who gets into bed, or into Rafe's orbit for that matter, is almost immediately watered down to become a Rafe-cheerleader. I thought that was Lucas's job.

    I too found the prayer circle awkward. It seemed to come out of nowhere and no one seemed comfortable with it.

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  6. I thought the prayer circle was fine. In fact, I liked it. Gabi is catholic and I would have been surprised if she didn't ask to pray, ESPECIALLY in a situation like this. It also made it feel more realistic to me, along with the pacing and familial arguments at the hospital.

    I LURVED the way EJ was there for Sami. Nice phrasing, calming her down without putting her down. It became apparent comapred to the way Lucas and Rafe treated her in the episode. He also tried to make her smile in the midst of a crazy situation. He was perfect.

    I'm hoping and praying Kate doesn't end up the way Carrie and Sami did in my eyes. They became more intolerable while Rafe stayed a douche. If anyone can whip Rafe into shape, it's Kate.

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  7. Diggy, I look forward to your posts on Days all the time, you write what's on everyone's mind. I haven't been watching Days for a minute but I am still up to date on what's going on.

    You're right, the prayer circle seemed offensive and irrelevant. There was just no logical reason to it.

    Since I heard about Kate/Rafe, I had been in shock, really. It made no sense whatsoever that they can remotely have a romantic anything. It goes against who Kate is and Rafe, well, can I say, he is becoming a slutty man..first Sami, then her sister and now her former mother in law? Gross. I also don't like the person Kate is becoming. As you mentioned, we know Kate as being the one with the balls and now she just some woman who is under the spell of Rafe of all people.

    Kristen and Brady have an unusual relationship that doesn't have passion..maybe they need to be a little more exciting in the bedroom and that might bring some spice to their lives. But like you, I don't get her plan, I can't see it working the way she envisioned.

    I love ejami and I know I always will except when I am having a fit and things aren't going my way...I am so glad they are still together, surprised they writers haven't broken their bond and I love the new improved mature Ej.

    On a side note, you will make my year if you drop a blog or two on Scandal... :)

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