enchantingmonkey

One could also argue that Jan is holding a gun in Chloe's face, and because Chloe is a mother she doesn't want to risk her own life by bringing a knife to a gun fight. The gun is probably going to win. There was the potential for an interesting thought experiment into whether Chloe could actually kill Claire in the way she killed the drug lord when her life was on the line, but Those! Writers didn't go anywhere with it. Was Paulina's reveal that she was lying to Marlena about her plans for The Square some hint at Paulina being the next Mustache-Twirling Villain? That was weird. I don't even mind Belle going to jail for Charlie's murder if we get to see Linda Dano's Vivian dishing up some snark at her. Pleasantly surprised that Jan reneged on her word to set Claire free if Belle confessed to Charlie's murder. She totally scored some points with me on that one! Ben showing up to save Claire from the Fire Cabin made me chuckle. Even a serial killer can find love in all the wrong places.

Yes, she did! And it's driving me crazy because not one of Those Writers can remember their own Plot Points! And, at the time I was relieved we'd never have to see those stupid teeth again. Dr Snyder revealing to Kate that he knew she was faking her blindness was hilarious. The best laugh I've had all week. I like that Dr Snyder is both smart and despicable. If Kate is faking her blindness just to mess with Jake and Gabi, I love it. But sorry, I don't buy Kate being so desperate for a man that she can't stand the thought of losing Jake to Gabi. Ava lying to Rafe about being a changed person and having no contact with Kristin? Yes, please. But didn't they catch Lani helping Kristin to escape because there was camera footage of them leaving that room together? And the cameras weren't working when Ava went in before KruSan came out? Loved Sami and Nicole snarking at each other. Fun to have Xander and Gwen cross paths. I hate that we got a couple of scenes of Gwen and Charlie, and then they killed him off with that pointless WhoDunIt. At least Gwen and Xander may have a chance to get further entangled in each other's lives.

Kate's blind! The Plot Point Dart just landed on Ciara having amnesia, so I was puzzled as to what Kate's malfunction would be when she woke up. For as much as Jake disappoints me as a DiMera, I kinda liked him being there for Kate when she woke up, and how Brandon Barash conveyed a genuine concern for Kate's well being. Probably both. If it's not at least one of them, I may have to throw out my Plot Point Dart Theory and start over again. Those Writers! *shakes fists at the sky* Seriously, though, as bad as Kate faking blindness could be, I have some faith that Lauren Koslow could do something fun with it. Of course, there's no way in Hell (Salem, USA) that the police department would have Kristin in handcuffs while she sits in that room. I had a feeling she wasn't going back to Statesville. How will we get to see Vivian make snarky comments now??? Relieved that this Nicey-Nice version of Ava, that I kinda hate, has been compromised by seeing Kristin and not doing anything to prevent her escape. At least now her budding romance with Rafe will have a deception at the foundation.

Stacy Haiduk is a good actress. I like her. But she didn't make those scenes, with all of the hysterical crying, work for me at all. It was like a bunch of fake crying was the only way Kristin felt like she could save her relationship, and maybe that was the point? Eric Martsorf was the only reason some of those scenes were interesting. It's refreshing that Nicole and Xander's affair can have ramifications that don't involve Nicole becoming pregnant with his baby. Even if Rafe was being a good detective in asking Sami and Lucas questions, there was no legal reason for them to answer, and they should have just asked him to leave.

Lucas verbally assaulting Brady was awesome. After being subjected to this ridiculous KruSan storyline for what seems like an eternity, Lucas could have gone on for the entire episode and I would have watched every second of it. If my guilty conscience is my dead sister who looks like she's been hanging out in Botox and Fillers Heaven, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be too bothered by that. Please let it be EJ at the door so we can get on with this!

Yep, and I loved her decision to call Ben rather than her parents. Of course, I wanted it to be ORK, because her Claire was far more self-serving, but whatever. I'll take it. Did Chrishell Stause look like that the last time she was on? I did not know who Ben was talking to at first. All that I kept thinking during Jan's Plot Moving Exposition Dump was that she saw Dr Rolf out in the parking lot with a syringe full of something. She didn't say anything we didn't already know, and what a pathetic villain revealing every step of her diabolical plan to someone who never needed to know. I'm ready for a round of Kayla vs. Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Dr Snyder. Many thanks to Gwen and Chad for giving me some scenes I actually cared about. Kate Mansi was a one-trick pony. She was really good at hissing and clawing at the scenery. Good riddance to bad actors.

It's like you're reading my mind. There was no way she could tell Jack the whole truth and nothing but the truth, because I don't think she's ever had the experience of being accepted flaws-and-all, and loved what Emily O'Brien did with that. But I think, as least with Gwen, Those Writers have done a good job of demonstrating that Gwen is such a broken human being that it would be more unlikely for her to start being absolutely truthful at this point. That's not to say that the plot isn't also an influential factor. And honestly, I'm ready for Dr Snyder to start rolling around in the mud with the rest of Salem, USA. I want Jan to be smart enough to have given Belle and Shawn some side-eye but with the way they've had her running around town blabbing her big mouth, I'm not sure she can outsmart anyone at this point. Heather Lindell is fun to watch, and I hate that they're writing her character as such a sloppy villain. Claire and Ben sound good on paper but that was painful to watch.

Me, too. I'm not a big fan of this kinder, gentler version of Ava but I really appreciated the friend she was being to Nicole today. Why is that Ron's fault? There are at least 13 other writers on The Writing team. I like Allie in her scenes with her parents and Kate. I like Tripp in his scenes with Dr Snyder being an ass to him, and with Steve and Kayla. Allie and Tripp have already become FF material for me, though. I'm crossing all of my fingers and toes that Sami and Lucas will conspire with Xander to trick Kristen into thinking they're dead, so he'll get her money. Or, Sami will just offer him more money but that's not as fun as forking with Kristen. Really curious where they'll go with Lani and Kristen confrontation. Those could be some interesting scenes if Lani has to deal with the fact that her friend has the capacity to be a truly awful (Mustache-Twirling) human being. If Kristen had a little dog she carried around in her bag named Mutley, all the better. Gawd, that gave me a flashback to when Ron brought Andrea Evan's Tina back to OLTL as some twit who carried a little dog around with her.

I'm pleasantly surprised that they've allowed Kate escape Kristen's Mustache-Twirling antics, because I hated the idea of Kristen being able to triumph over Kate. Why wouldn't he? The breakup was fake. And even if Kate had really broken up with him, emotions don't just die off in a day or two for most people. I'm not sure Lauren Koslow is actually trying to be Kristin in a Kate mask but I love watching her and pretending that's what's happening. The Writers haven't done much of anything to establish that Xander is so desperate for cash that he'd help Kristen by murdering three people but I could see him faking it, like he did with someone in the past, and attempting to get some money out of her. Who was that that Xander was supposed to have killed and didn't really do it?

It seemed so stupid to me. I liked that Kate got to reveal to Chloe that Kristen had been plotting against her for months but it seemed so stupid that she never once called out for Jake or Gabi, or told Chloe to scream for them. I loved that Kate was able to claw her way back to the DiMera Mansion, especially after she made her way to the hospital after Vivian buried her alive awhile back. Sami and Lucas were fun. I don't buy that Sami is so irresistibly, sexually attracted to Lucas but they banter so well together. Enjoyed Nicole telling Rafe about half of the truth. Mostly don't care about Gabi and Jake but I'm somewhat intrigued by Jake having feelings for Gabi and still having feelings for Kate. I love it when a character is saddled with a real inner conflict. Maybe they'll finally give Brandon Barash something with substance to work with.

It's funny that you say that, because during today's episode I was trying to imagine a way Those Writers could hand wave all of this away by saying someone has been wearing an Eric Mask in Africa, and he hasn't made any of those calls. I'm not sure it's a good thing that I've turned to masks to explain away storyline issues. I had the same feeling. Mostly during the Jake/Gabi scenes, and I don't even like them that much. Whoever wrote today's script had some sense of the "good old days". Yes, my main problem with Xander/Sarah was that she basically emotionally blackmailed him into being the man she wanted, and he was so in lurve with her that he just went with it. And rather than explore that, Show just played them as some kooky-cutesy couple. There's definitely a comedic element to it. I hate that Kristen is able to claim victim-after-victim but it also makes me laugh that every time she thinks she has things under control, she has to drag someone else into the wine cellar. It was so disappointing that the Plot Points had to make John and Marlena stupid enough to not realize that Susan isn't Susan, especially after Chloe told them Kristen isn't Kristen. I still haven't worked out in my mind why Nicole would ever bother sleeping with Xander but I did love their dialogue today. I would love for Chloe to beat the shirt out of KruSan tomorrow with that fire poker but I have a feeling she'll end up in Melaswen/The Wine Cellar.

Agreed. And I don't believe that Eric would ever abandon Nicole and her daughter, so this phone call nonsense just doesn't work for me. Many thanks to whoever wrote today's script. I laughed so much. I loved Nicole having a self-aware conversation about how she knew she had no right to be jealous about Rafe and Ava but it was happening to her, regardless. Not a big fan of her having sexy-times with Xander, because it was so evident that she hated him previously, but I'm fine with her ruining her marriage to Eric. Alison Sweeney is a Miracle Worker for making me want to actually watch scenes of this ridiculous Kristin storyline, and laughing at them. Sami's reactions to Kristin were so funny! Awhile back, Sami explained that EJ was in a bad place mentally and that their marriage had fallen on rocky times. I think she might have even said that she wasn't eager to get back to him. So Kristin's threat of calling him works for me, because in Sami's mind she isn't sure how EJ might react to the news of her having sex with Lucas. It's not about believing in her ability to convince EJ that Kristin might be lying but that there's an element of uncertainty with how EJ will respond, and that Sami sees her marriage as being in a fragile state. For as sloppy as These Writers can be, I think they did lay a little groundwork for why Kristin's threats might be plausible.

It seemed like Kristen had a plan that involved her taking off the Kate mask and putting the doctor/nurse's mask on but whether that will actually make sense in the next episode is another story. At least Sami got to be smart enough to figure out Kristen's mask shenanigans in the storyline that seems like it will never end. I was really hoping that Nicole would show up and ruin Rafe and Ava's boring date but, OK, she's getting into trouble with Xander. Anything to make these silly phone calls from Eric go away would be nice. Whatever Happened to A Plane Crash???

It seems like the "New Head Writer" thing will probably go on until the show is cancelled. Who is going to be the New Head Writer that is going to make the show great again? They had Sheri Anderson in their midst years ago, and Ken Corday seemed fine with her departure. There are a handful of Writers on the writing team who've written soaps for decades, and it seems unlikely any of them are getting promoted to HW. It appears to me that Corday likes Carlivati's style of writing. The funny thing about that is that it sounds like NBC doesn't even care how much the fans like the storylines when the show is filmed so far in advance that nothing can be altered. It's almost like they're saying, "As long as we have something affordable we can put on the air..."

Not at thing. I feel like you're reading my mind. What is happening to me? I was totally #TeamChloe during all of those scenes with Sami and Lucas. I really wanted to smack Sami, and I usually root for her and her schemes. I don't know how the hell Kate jumped out of that car but at least she did, and hopefully someone will find her soon enough to put an end to this disaster of a storyline. Poor Chloe. Freaking KrAte lurking in the background. I hate, hate, hate what those Writers have done to Claire. She's become such a whiny, pathetic character.

I'm not a big Chloe fan but I hate that Lucas is lying to his friend about having a brain tumor. That said, I agree that everyone involved did a good job of turning it into a twisted kind of comedy relief. I'm crossing all of my fingers and toes for this...and then @norcalgal mentioned Brady being in a coma and I feel like this storyline could go on for an eternity. There are people who don't sympathize with Gwen, though, so I see her as more of a grey character. Gwen's villainy was based on a flawed assumption that her father rejected her, and now she's trying to navigate between realizing he didn't reject her and still feeling like a hateful human being. I still see plenty of potential for drama with Gwen. The Writers are another story. Jan seems to be driven more by mental illness. I can see her as a viable character for longer than a Pop Up but the Show has a penchant for Mustache-Twirling nonsense. My problem with Kristin is that Stacy Haiduk doesn't play her with a convincing sense of vulnerability, so all of her recent storylines feel ridiculous. The girl's kiss may have been interesting to me 20 years ago but same-sex kissing as a provocative scene seems so silly at this point and time. I'm glad others enjoyed, though. Didn't Susan go to get her teeth fixed right before she did the switch with Kristin? Am I totally imagining a scene where she had to hurry off for that, and then the relief that I thought I felt at never having to watch Susan pull her stupid teeth out of her mouth?

I'm hoping the Writers will allow him to be just a jerk and not turn him into some silly Dick Dastardly villain because they have a quota of Spoiler-i-fic Plot Points to fulfill. I actually like the idea of Rafe and Nicole acting out some kind of subconscious-like parental fantasy that the characters can't consciously engage in but I may be imagining things that aren't there. Poor delusional Jan. Her plan to set up Belle for Charlie's murder was pretty good before she "woke up" from her coma, and has done nothing but brag unnecessarily and basically shoot-herself-in-the-foot every step of the way. Oh, Ava. I loved her reaction to Dr Snyder and that quick, little dance she did in her mind with how she used to handle situations like this. Can she really reform from her old ways, and does she even want to? You think? Jan's grasp on reality is flimsy at best. Gwen doesn't have any illusions about who she is and how others see her. And if Gwen really did kill Laura, she's playing it off well, while Jan is practically self-sabotaging all over the place. Almost everything she said to Bonnie was sloppy and unnecessary. Honestly, though, it's a little disappointing because I think Heather Lindell can play Jan as cunning villain but it seems like they're just trying to wrap up the storyline with her being so reckless now.

If the show were written more intelligently, Jack's instinct for other's criminal behavior contrasted with his blind spot for Gwen would be one of the many layers of this storyline. My feelings exactly. I don't know if the writers are consciously constructing the story in this manner but this is the kind of subtext that I've been viewing the Jack and Abigail scenes. Jack is counting on his bond with Abigail to be strong enough to withstand this storm, all the while missing how it's emotionally wounding Abigail in the process. I find it to be quite tragic, and love how Marci Miller handling the material. Couldn't resist throwing in a little praise for MM. *giggle* Gawd, I'd love to see what Cady McClain would do with this material. It sucks that she's been relegated to playing opposite a cell phone and a sofa in the background. There are times when he pisses me off with his antics but I thought his scenes with Emily O'Brien were pretty good today. I've been watching almost everything, lately, so it was nice to feel like I could safely FF through their kissy face nonsense, lol.

My understanding is that these six episodes are only the first half of the first season, therefore I'm not anticipating that much of anything will be wrapped up. Lucy got to do some cool things during her fight with Amalia, so I don't see her Turn as being a total crappy deal. Unfortunately, her Turn started off with a tragic event that she's still trying to cope with. I'm on the same page. The only reason I can come up with that Penance isn't reacting to Amalia's Other-Worldly comments is that they've had these conversations many times in the past, and Penance no longer thinks much of them. It would make sense if they've been friends for three-ish years, and it's an interesting way to keep the audience in the dark about Amalia's true nature.

Oh, me too. I mean, she's tinkering with the timeline to fork with Abigail but I love how her pain over losing the child is real, and Abigail did actually say some awful things to her. It's all so wonderfully messy. There was definitely some chemistry between them in their scenes today. I think part of my problem with them is that the script continues to tell us how awesome they were together but that wasn't actually how the story played out. She left town shortly after Jake came to Salem, USA. I see Jack as a father who's trying to make up for lost time with his daughter, Gwen. I think he sees how her upbringing has wounded her, and he's trying his best to be supportive of her. That's an empathetic human being, in my eyes, so I don't see how any of this makes him stupid, a disappointment, or a moron. Aren't we all supposed to be flawed? And all that I've seen in the writing and the actor's portrayal is a man who's trying to make the best out of a difficult situation. Of course, he's going to make mistakes along the way. And this is coming from a person who absolutely loves Marci Miller's Abigail, as I've said a thousand times before. I don't see Chad as stupid, either, because I believe that his paternal instinct is so strong that he, too, is trying to make the best of a difficult situation. This show offers up plenty of shitty writing but I think this one of the better storylines that's currently airing. Obviously, we all see things differently. Kayla mentioned them the other day when Abigail was asking her about Gwen's pregnancy.

Me, too. Someone here said that Cady had taped a bunch of scenes before she was done, and that's what we're seeing. But it's strange that we're still seeing her in that set with the couch when Jennifer could just be in Salem, USA interacting with her family. I think she's only selling one piece at a time. One appointment per day. And I'm here for it! Kayla needs a foil. Even better if he starts causing trouble for Kayla. I love it when those Writers give MBE something fun to work with. I love how she vacillates between Abigail wanting to be a better person and says horrible things to Gwen, portraying both variations completely convincing. Gwen falling down the stairs kinda/sorta reminded me of GL's Annie making it look like Reva caused her miscarriage but I think Annie orchestrated her fall. I remember when Nicole did something like this to Jennifer. We got our weekly dose of "Charlie's dead and can't hurt us anymore". If that's not intended to be foreshadowing, then I hate those Writers more than I thought. *giggle*

It seems like Stefan ousted Chad as CEO and he figured out how to steal the Mansion from him. I don't think Stefan got the Mansion because he was CEO. Then, Gabi got it because she was married to Stefan when he died. Me, too. Matthew Ashford and Emily O'Brien have great father/daughter chemistry. I'm totally convinced that Jack would be making choices about Gwen that will piss the hell out of Abigail. If Gwen is going to lose that baby, I'm crossing my fingers and toes that she'll continue to pretend she's pregnant. How many people is Kristin going to take to that Island? Melaswen 2.0? She seems to be adept at making those masks. Is Tripp a doctor now, or are they waiting for May Sweeps when he has to save someone's life to make it official?

Nope. It's Gabi's house. She could have anyone she wants thrown out for trespassing on her property. EJ could try to steal it from her but it's still Gabi's house. That doesn't mean the show won't write someone as living there due to the limited amount of sets. . It wasn't even days, though. Charlie had been dead for weeks before she "woke up" from her coma. It's all so stupid that I almost don't even care if Charlie never comes back from the dead. Today was the Sami that I know and love. Taking down Belle with her hands tied behind her back. Bullying Lucas into keeping up the lie about dying. It's only taken about two months for me to finally enjoy her return. Ava and Nicole could be fun sparring partners, and I even like the idea of them both needing an outlet for the darker aspects of their psyche, but it pains me that this is happening over Rafe. I mean, I don't hate Rafe but he's such a dud as a romantic partner. While I'm still going to lean towards Theo having every right to take Ciara wherever the hell she wants to go, it was fun to read the lively discussion here. It's nice to see you all get fired up about something, regardless if it's over one of my least favorite storylines of the moment.

Almost every show I've watched on HBO has a combination of nudity, gratuitous sex scenes, graphic violence, F-bombs, or all of the above. It's part of their brand, and seems unlikely that the nudity and the violence are going anywhere. Mary questioning Amalia about her motivations was what really made me like her. I liked her singing, too, but I was impressed that she wasn't just sitting in the orphanage and sipping on Amalia's Kool-Aid. Sad to see her go so soon but curious to see if the loss of their Feel-Good melodies will have an impact on the Touched. Also enjoyed the tete-a-tete between Bonfire Annie and Amalia. Again, someone questioning why Amalia is doing whatever it is that she's doing.

Me, too. I was sure there was going to be a plane crash before the episode ended. Agreed. I wasn't a fan of the baby-talking Sarah but being a doctor doesn't preclude a person from having quirky personality traits. I'll vote for this, too. Theo and Ciara have a much longer history than Ciara and Ben, and if I had a friend who had the misfortune of marrying a serial killer, I'd be more than happy to whisk them off to another country while they had amnesia. If RSW was skilled performer, I thought his scenes with Claire could have been interesting as a man who's coming undone by the thought of his wife leaving town while hating him. Marci Miller is killing it as a woman who is struggling with her life seemingly falling apart around her. I loved Jan pointing out Nicole's sordid past, and it only reminded me of how much I dislike this sanctimonious version of "reformed" Nicole. Blech. Belle's horror at her own father no believing that she committed murder was lovely.