Friday, October 18, 2013

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.



12 comments:

  1. Excellent blog, Diggy, as usual. Thank you for pointing out the absences of some of Sami's key relatives at the engagement party. I'm also still wondering what happened to Caroline and Marlena between one episode and the next. It was like they disappeared.

    Oh, and if the show was trying to drive home the point that Rafe is a whiny, bitter douchebag, who doesn't know how to behave in polite company, then they succeeded. Why would a guy wearing sweats go into a somewhat upscale establishment hosting a private party to have a beer and a burp when the Brady Pub was open (we know this since Jen and Kristen were hanging out there)? I wonder if Kate burped Rafe after they left the party? If her recent behaviour is anything to judge by, she definitely did. Whatever shall Lucas do now that his place at his Mummy's smothering bosom has been taken up by Rafe? Perhaps Rafe can provide Lucas with his very own stuffed penguin as compensation.

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  2. The gun Cameron had was a prop for his stripper cop outfit. It was fake ;p

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  3. Great blog Diggy! I am so with you on so many things. I don't think tptb gave the Ejami fans time to get excited for their engagement party. It wasn't even talked about nor did we see anyone planning it. It came and went leaving Sami second guessing herself which really irked me after all Ej has done to prove his love for her. United Ejami will be more powerful together than a divided one.
    Chad bounced back real fast from actually dying to be wide awake and alert than is believable..i know they have to hurry up the S/L's because of Casey's exit, but I can just imagine what an awful exit he will have.
    I want the Kristen/Brady/Eric S/L just to be OVER along with Dan/Jennifer & JJ.
    dorothyg

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  4. Amazing! Spot on with everything Diggy! You really couldn't have been more right about the writers/tptb giving the EJami fanbase the right to enjoy a "good" engagement party. We got a little bit of the shaft... (Noit that I'm complaining but at least we got something.) I'm not saying it would be all sunshine and roses -- but this was without a doubt a "shoot em' up/body count kind" we could have enjoyed it without one.
    Would have loved to know how someone who gets shot in the "Celiac artery of the heart/digestive system" is suddenly awake and in recovery so quickly also. It was like a Miraculous recovery then again Dr. Dan can perform miracles! (tehe) He removed Jennifer's heart and put it back in. Loved your blog! It was so enjoyable to read!

    nrod @sassysalemdays

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  5. Well i have to disagree with some of the things you said..

    Sami never told Ej to kill/murder Nick, she said she wanted him 'gone'..not the same thing imho..And then just after a few more romps (lol) she actually did specify to Ej she did NOT want a Nick murdered, just some plot to make Nick go away from her son Will and his child...and if they had to find a way to make Nick leave Salem, ok but a murder she was dead against it ! For the Bernardi shooting..she did explain again and again that she did not think through, she did act before she thought..which is in character for Sami. She can be totally and almost 'criminally' impulsive..which has always been a major flaw, always getting her in troubles..always. I would like some maturing in this area..by the way, i would like to see her more calm and cool even if she is a proactive gal, it is time and would make her so much more smart and sharp. Moreover, i have to say the moment she saw Bernardi at Rafe hospital bed he was about to use his razor ! She really did not have lot's of time, far less than a whole minute and a half..maybe one or two seconds and i am not even sure..Of course her shooting instead of calling for help was a contrived plot point in order to make the Sami 'killing a cop' story happens..still who says if she had help he would not have attacked Rafe and/or Rafe's...She could have yelled but he had time to do his dirty work no matter what..
    Sami has a long story of bad deeds..to say the least but murder was NEVER on her list...NEVER..except maybe with Ej three years ago..And still, the show played it, above all,as Sami 'out of her mind'/in a moment of crazy insanity..not as some cold blood murder/attempted murderer..The other times she shot it was always in case of self-defense..like it was again the case with Bernardi..except it was to defend Rafe here and not her !

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  6. My comment is pretty long so i did it in two parts.


    Sami is a very flawed character, who has a very heavy past where she got through some really dark phases..but her motivation was above all, at its root, about desperation for love,approval or revenge at those who hurt her deeply..It was wrong, it could be awful, vile almost, maybe but it was never malicious acts just for the sake of being malicious..It always had a reason, whether other character/viewers agree with these reasons or not..in her mind she somewhat felt justified to do what she did.
    Ej, on the other hand..while his malicious acts came at first from Stefano's orders.. Ej was the soldier who had to obey and make his father proud..Then, like Sami could do he did act motivated by revenge but some other stuff were nasty and malicious just for the sake of it (the lame and sleazy schemes to be a corrupted mayor or the framing of John Black for embezzlement last year..ugh). Moreover Ej bad deeds were done in a very shorter time..making his villainous 'resume' far more brutal..Sami was also just a teen with some awful events did to her for her big party of her most outrageous actions. For Ej, we still don't know about his real backstory..of course being stolen from his mother to be raised by Stefano Dimera and the way he came to birth can explain a lot about the dark side of his personality..add that the too powerful influence, pull and control Stefano always has over him, this totally twisted somewhat abusive relationship with his father mold Ej to be dark.. Ej and Sami have some very similar aspects but there are some major differences (their parents are not the same obviously but there is more)..This last decade Sami has mellowed a lot.. (most of us even did complain about it..she still did do some dirty things, some revenge stuff to Ej mostly by the way but he always got back at her...and in a more dark, strong way)..So to me Sami rap sheet is not much much longer than Ej. They are even, actually Ej wins in this area.. Sami is grey Ej is always between grey and dark..And sometimes Sami can be a total self-righteous/damsell in distress/martyr mode aka white princess (she had been that time to time for the last seven years when they did pair her with Lucas first then Rafe..Ej was her only saving grace at being grey..and when Ej was not with Sami he was dark and even could be evil, nasty and dark..ah and stupid..pillow baby, fake rafe..shudder).
    So no Sami is not THE danger, she can be one obviously but Ej when hurt or behing his Father's thumb can be more dangerous.

    What did bother me in Roman and Sami's interaction was Roman total hypocrisy. The guy never bother with Sami..he is never there for her..and finally,the rare times he bother to show up it's for his predictable lectures.. When the guy dated for while and was about to wed, is now still pals with the woman who was a REAL danger to Sami..Kate, the woman who put Sami in death row and tried to murder her/make her crazy, destroy her several times ! After that i can't take any Roman so called 'lectures' seriously. Moreover this sudden interest and worry about a wedding with Ej and even living at the DiMansion seems stupid..since Marge (the danger) did attack at Sonny and Chad's restaurant not the Dimera Mansion..and Ej had NOTHING to do with all this mess. Stefano put everything in motion and Sami made it worse !

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  7. First of all - thanks so much, everyone, for the comments. I always appreciate them.

    We're going to have to agree to disagree on who has the longer rap sheet. I still think it's Sami, but, of course, we're entitled to our opinions, and I can totally see what you're saying. You make many good points.

    As for whether or not Sami wanted Nick dead, she makes it very clear that she wants him dead when EJ comes right out and asks her to elaborate while they're in bed. "To be clear, when you say you want him gone, you mean dead." Eventually, she changes her mind, but she did initially want EJ to have Nick killed.

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    1. Yes, we can agree to disagree on this 'issue'.
      I maintain Ej has the longer (and above all stronger, harder) rap sheet however, Sami is not far behind..just a little.
      As for the Nick's aspect..i saw the scene numerous times (yep..looooooooved it..lol) and she never did express clearly that she wanted Nick dead..never..First she did not say clearly. She said it would be great (as it would the 'dream' solution, conditional tone) and in the same sentence she said 'no, no, no' they had to find another way to make him go away..Ej, on the other hand did not mind 'eliminate' Nick like he said to Kristen first then did imply it in his scenes with Sami. Although i am pretty sure Ej would not did it, either, anyway..he is not ruthless like that by himself, even less when he is with Sami (something i love about Ej and Sami's relationship, they are grey together not cartoonish villains plotting to kill everybody). He can be devilish but damn straight cruel like he can be as Stefano 'papa's boy' or soldier : NO.

      Anyway, we are entitled to our opinions..it is fun to share our pov even if we don't always agree..difference of opinion can make the discussion more interesting actually.

      Love your blog, i hope your will post more often.

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    2. Ok, i was not clear in my post about the Sami/Nick point..Ej asked Sami if she wanted Nick dead and she did respond first like she was thinking out loud hence my explanation about a 'dream' thinking aspect and some conditional tone..and then she said no, no, no like she did realize what she thought and immediately wanted to reject Ej's allusion or even their thinking of it, of a murder act. Very subtle actually and pretty well played by AS actually, imo.

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    3. Thanks so much! I'll try my best! :)

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  8. Glad to see you blogging again, and I really enjoyed this entry. I'm right there with you concerning EJ, Rafe, and Sami. And I agree that Sami *is* the danger, lol.

    I'm wondering, though--am I the only one who loves Brady and Kristen together? I know the writers will never let them be together because Kristen's a big bad DiMera, blah, blah, blah. But honestly, I am not a fan of John and Marlena and I just could not give a shit less about that whole history. I know the writers can't very well ignore that history, but I do wish they'd mix it up a little going forward and let Kristen and Brady be together. It's not like she couldn't still cause plenty of trouble!
    (And I'm not talking about the whole hideous rape of Eric--speaking of which, THUMBS DOWN from me. I didn't believe it. Just didn't make sense even from a melodramatic perspective.)

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    1. Actually to me Eric and Kristen in their interaction have more chemistry than Brady and Kristen (Bristen sometimes have it, other times not so much..their endless bedroom scenes can be pretty boring for example) but of course Eric/Kristen is even less possible than Brady and Kristen. All in all i don't care who Kristen is with..i just love her character, the way ED plays her and will miss her a lot..She is just interesting and entertaining, a great soap character who is needed on the Dool canvas.

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