Rodney

You know, it's a pity that Arianne was fired, because were she still here, I'd have paid money to see Nicole spend at least five minutes with Arnold. I'm shocked that no one's mentioned this, but you see, in addition to being a total scuzzball with women, Arnold also has innocent blood on his hands. Back in 2011, he murdered Nicole's mother (and Holly's grandmother), Fay Walker, after he wrongly suspected that she'd overheard him and E.J. discussing some of their illegal business. He started off by throwing her down the stairs of the DiMera mansion, and then, after she wound up in the hospital, he coldly, brutally smothered her to death with a pillow. I'd been getting a kick out of Arnold in his original story . . . until he did that. So yeah. I wish that Nicole were here to finally get the chance to confront him over Fay's murder. She never got the chance the first time around, either. And Holly will never get to meet her maternal grandmother thanks to him. In fairness to Johnny, in thie heat of the moment, hearing the name of a guy who raped your mother years ago can dredge up old feelings in ways that you can't control. Yeah, Johnny should've stayed quiet about that, but . . . I can kind of understand why he didn't.

Huh. La Shell must've been playing a very good under-the-radar game, because apparently, nobody here has even said a word of her departure. Did anybody even know that she was the one booted? I liked her. She was one of the few pleasant people this season. Just sucks that the rules of the challenge ended up taking her from under the radar to in danger.

Ha! After E.J. started out so smugly satisfied about possibly getting away with everything, I'm glad that this episode ended with him feeling some actual pressure.

Looks like it wasn't a dream at all. Dani really did come packing with a gun. At least she let the innocents go. But all she wanted was Bill and Hayley's apologies, it seems. But then, she got nothing at all, as they got married, anyway. But no arrest for her troubles? Seriously? Not liking that Martin cared more about bad press than his aunt possibly harming or killing somebody. Even Smitty looked exasperated by that. Oh, shit! Chelsea livestreamed Dani's breakdown. At least Dani didn't blame her for it. So Naomi supported Dani's actions. Interesting. At least Dani felt shame for what she did. Good for her for acknowledging that she did the wrong thing. And I liked the moment between Dani and Nicole. I believe them as sisters. I'm getting the feeling that Ted didn't know about Eva. But Leslie is making it sound to Eva like he did. So Dana was Leslie's first name, while Leslie is her middle name. Oh, shit! And Eva doesn't know that Leslie purposely caused Laura's accident. I wonder what she'll do when she finds out that the "accident" was on purpose? I do like Ashley, but they're pushing very hard at the idea of how good of a nurse that she is. Granted, she did well with Alix, the pregnant woman, but no need to keep beating the drum. On other fronts, Derek seems to be noticing the connection between Ashley and Andre. I didn't recognize Cady McClain as Pamela! Her dyed hair threw me off! With just one scene together, I could buy her and Dani as friends. They had good high-society girlfriends vibe between them. But how are she and Vanessa connected? Good episode.

The closest thing they've had to an interaction was at the end of the premiere, when the family took turns glaring Hayley on their way out of the country club. Naomi was the last one to glare at her, and she gave her the longest one before ultimately leaving herself. Since then, though . . . no. No more interactions between them just yet.

A frantic idol hunt could save or ruin one castaway’s game. A castaway’s quick decision-making must outlast the test of time when three castaways are sent on a journey. Then, castaways take a leap of faith in their second Immunity Challenge, where they must trust their tribemates to beat out their competition. This is the episode's discussion thread for after the episode airs.

A frantic idol hunt could save or ruin one castaway’s game. A castaway’s quick decision-making must outlast the test of time when three castaways are sent on a journey. Then, castaways take a leap of faith in their second Immunity Challenge, where they must trust their tribemates to beat out their competition. This is the episode's live chat thread.

Then why doesn't Taylor act the same way, I wonder?

Her name is Caroline, actually.

I cringed when Zuri's father revealed that Riley had antisocial personality disorder. I myself have that in addition to Asperger's Syndrome, and those types of people are not safe to have around. Granted, I have never kidnapped or killed anyone, or even attempted to, but I have had to fight back the urge several times to do both. I'm thinking more and more that Jamie is the real deal. But why he still doesn't want to see his dad or sisters yet mystifies me.

Then I feel fortunate that he has none.

What?! I have more respect for Ron than most, but if he was really going to go through with that, then he needed to be tossed. I'd thought that he'd learned his lesson, but . . . apparently not.

Wait a second here. Tom and Alice were Steven's grandparents, too? I know that they were Julie's, but Steven's, as well?

So Dani wants to forget that her fling with Andre happened? Huh. Hayley's father ran out on her mom after she got pregnant with her? No wonder she has sort of a daddy complex with Bill. Does Dani really want Bill back? Or is she playing at something? Jacob! Naomi's husband's name is Jacob! It sounded like Ted was okay with Andre possibly pursuing Ashley, even though she's with Derek. Is he okay with that? So a bit of backstory of how Bill and Dani met. Nice story. But it didn't do much to move the needle for Dani. I like the family vibe with Ted, Nicole, and Kat. I'd like to see Martin thrown in them, though, to complete the family unit. I like the "funeral" comparison that Vernon made to Bill. Hayley made Caroline her maid of honor? Does she even know her? I'm still confused as to why Anita and Vernon didn't just tell Dani why they were asked to the wedding? Whoa. Vanessa is married to a black man? He sure looks gorgeous! Who's this white best friend of Dani's? So are we meeting Kat's love interest now? Hunky-looking Latino guy, this Tomas Navarro is. So Martin came and brought Smitty with him. But not their kids? Well, I'd been waiting to see Chelsea interact with Bill, and even their brief moment didn't disappoint. She doesn't hate her father, but she doesn't like him very much. What was with Bill's veiled threat to Martin? All of them men standing for Hayley, and then sitting with Anita glared at them, made me titter. Holy fuck! Props to whomever guessed that Eva was Ted's daughter! So that's what her and Dana/Leslie's plan is! Oh, shit! Dani's packing a gun for the wedding! Great Friday cliffhanger! But we'll see on Monday whether it was real or a daydream. Great way to wrap up the first week!

Disappointed that Anita and Vernon weren't on today. No Martin or Smitty, either. So Laura's okay. Thank God. But she's out of commission for six to eight weeks, so no Maui for her. But how is she "extended family" to the Duprees? Chelsea's actress really does look stunning enough to be a model. That shoot was pretty good. And shooting for Ebony is quite an honor. So we get to see how Naomi really feels about Bill. She clearly does hate him for what he did to her mother. I'm just wondering how Chelsea interacts with him? The on-show time went from day to night very quickly, and in just one episode! Andre coming on to Dani is just . . . no. Please no. So Naomi's father-in-law is the police chief? Interesting. Has Chelsea met her love interest? Wonder when Kat will meet hers? I thought that someone had taken a shot at either Bill or Hayley during their engagement party! Was relieved that it was just a cork being popped. Whoa. Dana/Leslie wanted Laura out of the way not for anything malicious against her, but because she wanted to install Eva in her place. Wonder what kind of trouble she's going to stir for Nicole and her husband? Decent episode. But I'm ready for some shit to start getting real.