Here Comes the Snide: An Ejami Engagement

I know I haven't updated in some time, so, first off, I'm going to apologize for that.  I can't really blame the show.  There's been plenty to write about, both positive and negative.  Lately I've been feeling like everything I write these days is crap, so I wasn't blogging.  But then I thought about how I watched Days at its near-worst and figured if they could frequently put out crap and still maintain an audience, maybe there's a slim chance I can, too (even if this entry is a lot shorter than I wanted it to be).

Is that an intro, or is that an intro?

THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY

I had mixed feelings about the engagement party.  The timing of it didn't work for me.  I know that the writers have to accommodate the exits of Chad, Cameron, Gabi, and (temporarily) Will, so maybe the engagement party was pushed back.  I have no idea, to be quite honest.  I just know that having it happen while Eric is caught up in his drama and Kristen and Brady are caught up in theirs, which also includes a wedding, prevented them from being fully immersed in the engagement party.  I'm not saying that when something Ejami-related happens, everyone should drop what they're doing to play a part in it, but I felt like Sami's beloved twin brother could have contributed to it in a very real way, and not just because it would have meant more Kristen/Eric interactions before the big kerblooey.

I think it's important for Eric to see that the DiMeras can do horrible things to each other, to their enemies, but that they also have a great capacity to love and aren't actually all that different from any other family on the show (until the real perpetrator in the rape comes to light).  Chad leaping in front of EJ to shield him from the bullets, EJ fighting to get Sami behind him, and even Stefano threatening Marge show us that they're as much about family as any other family on this show.  Can anyone really judge Stefano for threatening revenge when a crazy woman who is out for revenge herself tries to shoot and kill one of his children and shoots and almost kills another one in the process?  The DiMeras will sometimes do and say the things we're wishing we could do or say in a given situation.  They don't close their eyes and count to ten before acting.  They don't talk themselves down.  That's on my top ten list of reasons why the DiMera family is awesome sauce.  

DiMeras on the DiFensive

Someone needs to remind Hope and Roman that the DiMeras, like any family, share a surname, some physical traits, and sometimes very little more than that.  No one judges the Brady Bunch based solely on Sami's past actions, and I'm willing to bet that no one will judge the entire Brady clan based on Theresa's actions either.

I missed Eric, but I also missed Hope, Theresa, Kayla, and Abe.  Fine - you don't want cops and a doctor getting in the way of all the action, but did anyone else think it was possible to work them in there if the writers really wanted to?  Hope would have been in evening wear, and Abe would have been off-duty as well, and it's not like Kayla would have been carrying a bunch of paramedics in her purse.  I could see Theresa going simply because the booze and bad boys were flowing like milk and honey, and possibly flirting a little with Chad just to get on Abigail's nerves. Maybe she could even high-five Sami for landing the handsomest, richest, and baddest bad boy in Salem.  Or just making snarky comments about how many engagements and weddings Cousin Sami has had.

Kate, in the meantime, rolls Rafe into a room filled with exes and enemies simply because Rafe wants to prove a point no one is interested in.  She's clearly uncomfortable, but the holier-than-thou roller wants what the holier-than-thou roller wants, so she rolls him up to a table, sticks a beer-flavoured soother into the kid's mouth, then sits down and shuts up until he starts to fuss.  Did Rafe need to be in those scenes?  In my opinion, no.  Like I said - I would have much rather seen Theresa, Kayla, Hope or Abe in his place.  

Okay, I wasn't going to mention it, but why the hell was Harold left in charge of the cake?  Why not Sonny or Chad - the owners of the venue?  Why not Kristen or Marlena, the supposed party-planners?  Why not EJ, Sami, Will, or any number of other people who would have made more sense?  Lame, Days.  Mighty lame.

THE AFTERMATH

Two bullets, one nurse, one doctor who just happened
to be wandering by, and a very bouncy bed.

Days, I'm begging you to never do a "meanwhile, in the emergency room" scene ever again.  Just let that all happen off-screen.  You're terrible at it.  I'm not even going to give you a list of things that made it awful, because I think that would just encourage you to try to make improvements when all I want you to do is stop.  Just stop.

SAMI and ROMAN

Roman, isn't there a crime you should be arresting the
wrong person for right now?

I know why the writers believe this is a beat that needs to be played, given that Sami has always been after her parents' approval, but at this stage in Sami and EJ's relationship, and in the storyline itself, it's showing up very late to the party.  Sami has already said about a hundred times that she wants to marry EJ and that no one and nothing is going to stop her.  If Sami wasn't worried about marrying EJ after EJ stole everything from his father, then I have no idea why she's worrying now. 

And, Roman, might I direct your attention to this:

That's right, Mushmouth. That's your daughter letting a DiMera fuck her brains out while she tells him she wants him to orchestrate a man's murder.  Your little girl had no problem asking EJ to kill the husband of her former sister-in-law, something that could upset said sister-in-law enough that it could endanger the baby. Much like how she had no problem shooting Bernardi in the back instead of stopping him from circumcising Rafe in the whole minute and a half she had to tell him to freeze or she'll shoot.  Let's not forget that what almost sank Sami's battleship in court was the long list the prosecutor managed to put together of shitty things Sami has done over the years.  Sami's rap sheet is actually much longer than EJ's.  Much, much longer.

In short, like Walter White, Sami isn't in danger, Roman.  Sami IS the danger.  Sami is the one who knocks.

CAMERON, ABIGAIL and CHAD

Creepster.

Like ninety-nine percent of the general viewing population, I'm not rooting for Cameron in the disastrous Cameron/Abby/Chad triangle.  Actually, I'm not sure I'm even rooting for Chad, only because I think he can do better.  I've mentioned this on Twitter, but is Cameron's obsession with Chad and Abigail that much different from Nick's obsession with Gabi?  Because the only difference I'm seeing is that Nick is wearing EJ's old bad guy hat while Cameron is carrying a stuffed toy penguin under his arm.  Or his Speedo.

Right?

By the way -- Did we ever find out why Cameron had that gun under his bed?  What did the gun have to do with the stripping?  (Edit: Apparently the gun was a prop for his cop costume. Thanks, Liz!  I have so many additional questions now, though.  Like, doesn't he have a locker at work?  Wouldn't he need to leave the prop gun at work for the other strippers to make use of?)  Also, did Abigail actually tell Jennifer that she especially didn't want Chad to die because she lost her virginity to him?  No, really - did I imagine that?

IN CONCLUSION

In conclusion, here's a screencap from the Swedish film I Am Curious (Yellow) with absolutely no context.