Current Plots Discussion II: Discussing Today's Episode and Current Storylines

[DaphneCat]

3 hours ago, brisbydog said:

Way too much Rafe. Why can't Xander have a doppelganger?

It occurred to me today - Why doesn't EJ have henchmen?  I'm not talking about getting Xander to do the random crime but real actual henchmen.  Stefano presumably had a wide network of people who could kidnap Marlena various times and somehow keep it a secret from John, he also had people who could infiltrate prison so he could fake "Fake Rafe's" death or pretty much commit any crime he wanted.  Did all of them die off, retire, quit?  EJ, is presumably rich enough he could hire some very good criminal assistants.  He really dropped the ball on that one.  

Are we REALLY going to be subjected to all the angst of a Sophia pregnancy with a "conflicted" Tate and a bitchy Holly?  Spare me, please.

[brisbydog]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

No.  I've had enough of Xander being thrust into stories (and the excessive slobbering over him).

Maybe you'd like his good twin? 

[Rodney]

21 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

Maybe you'd like his good twin? 

Oh?  But I thought that he was supposed to be "good" now.  (Never mind the several things that he still does to the contrary.)

[brisbydog]

4 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Oh?  But I thought that he was supposed to be "good" now.  (Never mind the several things that he still does to the contrary.)

Definitely not. He is still pretty dark. 

[Rodney]

So Tripp and Wendy are now engaged, and we got to see none of that.

Well, they weren't the most interesting of couples, so probably for the best.

Still, hopefully, it ends better than it ended with Allie.

[brisbydog]

5 minutes ago, Rodney said:

So Tripp and Wendy are now engaged, and we got to see none of that.

Well, they weren't the most interesting of couples, so probably for the best.

Still, hopefully, it ends better than it ended with Allie.

They are safer off screen. And we already saw them do vows in the beer vat, and thrilling it was not

[DisneyBoy]

OMG I forgot about the beer vat vows! Yeesh!

Honestly I liked Tripp. They just never used him well.

Wendy is a mismatch for him though.

9 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

Are we REALLY going to be subjected to all the angst of a Sophia pregnancy with a "conflicted" Tate and a bitchy Holly?  Spare me, please.

For real, I will lose any interest in them if this is the longterm plot.

[methodwriter85]

14 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Wendy is a mismatch for him though.

I think they broke up Wendy/Johnny and  threw Wendy to Tripp to give him a happily ever after because they decided to revive Chanel/Johnny when they realized that Johnny didn't really have any purpose on canvas. Raven has been, for the most part, really good at selling her pairings and they're invested with her as a leading lady on the show. They didn't have that same investment in Wendy hence her being written off with Tripp. 

Edited December 28, 2024 by methodwriter85

[Rodney]

56 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

I think they broke up Wendy/Johnny and threw Wendy to Tripp to give him a happily ever after because they decided to revive Chanel/Johnny when they realized that Johnny didn't really have any purpose on canvas. Raven has been, for the most part, really good at selling her pairings and they're invested with her as a leading lady on the show. They didn't have that same investment in Wendy hence her being written off with Tripp. 

I agree that that's why they tossed Tripp a bone and gave him Wendy.  Clearly, TPTB wanted to return to Johnny and Chanel (it helps that fans thought that they got unfairly split up for Chanel and Allie over the possession storyline).

With the show hopefully set to go on for years, it's good that they have a younger black leading lady for the potential future to anchor some black storylines.  But you'd think that they'd have tried for an Asian one, too.  Victoria Grace is a very good, capable actress who could've handled the task.  There are plenty of young men on the canvas with whom she could've been paired who weren't Tripp.  (No offense to Lucas Adams, who's a strong actor in his own right.  But depending on his pairings, he's a chemistry black hole most of the time.  It takes the right love interest for Tripp to really shine in romance storylines.)

[SouthernChick]

Wendy and Tripp are both boring, individually and as a couple. 

[methodwriter85]

10 hours ago, Rodney said:

No offense to Lucas Adams, who's a strong actor in his own right.  But depending on his pairings, he's a chemistry black hole most of the time.  It takes the right love interest for Tripp to really shine in romance storylines.

Lucas Adams was good with family storylines. I thought his best work was when he attempted to killed Kayla and then when he was squared off against Charlie.

Anyway, damn Peyton Meyer really does have a stunning smile. Those dimples!

 

Edited December 29, 2024 by methodwriter85

[BuckeyeLou]

After spending holidays out of town, I am finally catching up on episodes.  The Horton family hanging the ornaments is always special & Julie's emotion at hanging Doug's ornament made me teary-eyed.  Always interesting seeing the names, even of characters who are long gone.  I am getting a kick out of the return of FakeRafe...he & EJ going at it was making me laugh.  Galen obviously is having fun portraying this character and Dan F.  is so good as EJ...I am interested in where this goes.  Doug 3 is cute but I think he is going to be trouble.  Wishing everyone a Happy & Healthy New Year.

[DanaMB]

On 12/27/2024 at 3:53 AM, JBC344 said:

Although hearing Noah "play with his toy" made him sound like a toddler.  Noah's a teen at this point. 

I thought so, too.  

[methodwriter85]

5 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Doug 3 is cute but I think he is going to be trouble. 

I would seriously have a hard time saying no to that smile. My god. Seeing Doug III put on the full flirty smile with Holly was too cute. 

[DaphneCat]

Wow Holly, what a way to make Sophia's problem ALL about you.  I get that this is a soap and they were never going to allow them to actually leave town but Sophia getting busted because Holly needed attention really sucked.

Finally EJ did what I have been WAITING for someone to do on this show.  Whenever someone asks someone a question that is NONE of their business people always feel compelled to answer (such as "Who were you talking to?")  EJ pretty much told Rafe it was none of his business what was happening in the other room.  Of course, Rafe used that as an excuse to break in but he was going to do that anyway, no matter what EJ said.  Speaking of breaking in, are we supposed to be rooting for Rafe as some sort of hero who "doesn't play by the rules"?  If we are, I'm not. 

[Rodney]

1 hour ago, DaphneCat said:

Wow Holly, what a way to make Sophia's problem ALL about you.

Uh . . . in what way did she do that?  She was very much sympathetic to Sophia's situation, as well.  Yes, she was disappointed with what this meant for her and Tate, but she was genuinely concerned for Sophia, as well.  Didn't once hear her only care about herself in those scenes.

Belle as the D.A.?  I'm here for it.  About time we got a D.A. on the side of justice.  And hearing the research that Jada had done on E.J.'s turned-down cases fully convinced me that he's not it.

I was actually impressed that Ron remembered nearly every detail of the Rafe 2 storyline.  The only thing that he missed was that Sami wasn't E.J.'s wife at the time.  Nicole was.  Sami was married to Rafe.  And he actually remembered the rape angle in that Sami couldn't have consented to sleeping Rafe 2 had she known the truth.  Rafe 2 even mentioned his offer to Bo and Hope to testify against E.J. and Stefano.  Nice attention to detail.

Rafe saw Rafe 2/Arnold Feniger.  Oh, he's totally going to end up switched again, isn't he?

[DaphneCat]

41 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Uh . . . in what way did she do that?

Her first reaction was to get mad at Tate because he didn't tell HER about Sophia (asking how long he had known, etc).  It wasn't Tate's story to tell and frankly she didn't deserve to know at all, much less make him comfort her because he didn't immediately run to her and tell her.

[Rodney]

9 minutes ago, DaphneCat said:

Her first reaction was to get mad at Tate because he didn't tell HER about Sophia (asking how long he had known, etc).  It wasn't Tate's story to tell and frankly she didn't deserve to know at all, much less make him comfort her because he didn't immediately run to her and tell her.

That was something that could impact their relationship, though, so . . . yeah, I'd say that she did deserve to know.

[DaphneCat]

13 minutes ago, Rodney said:

That was something that could impact their relationship, though, so . . . yeah, I'd say that she did deserve to know.

Nope, it would only impact their relationship if TATE allowed it to.  And it was 100% Sophia's body, Sophia's choice and Sophia's right to ONLY tell those she chose to.  Theoretically, if he had told her the minute he found out Sophia was pregnant, she could have pulled a Nicole and tried to influence Sophia's decision.  Completely NOT her business.

[DisneyBoy]

31 minutes ago, DaphneCat said:

It wasn't Tate's story to tell and frankly she didn't deserve to know at all, much less make him comfort her because he didn't immediately run to her and tell her.

Yeah I was surprised when he asked her, "are YOU okay?"

Tate...this has nothing to do with her, and do her feelings even change anything? No. Why ask? To be polite?

The actress playing the mother was stuck with a crappy first day of work. I didn't enjoy her.

Sophia has suddenly been lightswitched into having come from a religious household when nothing previously suggested it. Next week, we find out her father builds nuclear weapons, so Orpheus can have a plotline! And then, maybe she can also be on BS, because it'll help that plotline too! Just write whatever!

🙄

I missed the last scenes today. How did it end - did she tell Mom about the planned abortion?

Hearing Jada list the reasons why EJ should never have been DA just underscored that EJ should never have been DA. Conflict of interest much?

[Rodney]

12 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

I missed the last scenes today. How did it end - did she tell Mom about the planned abortion?

She told her mother offscreen, and they both returned to the townhouse to let Tate know that the abortion plan was off.  Mostly driven by her mother, of course.

[boes]

5 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

Wow Holly, what a way to make Sophia's problem ALL about you.  I get that this is a soap and they were never going to allow them to actually leave town but Sophia getting busted because Holly needed attention really sucked.

That was really handled badly.  Eventually, Old Man Tate should tell Holly what happened.  This is something she'd deserve to know if they really get serious about each other.  IMO, they're nowhere near that point yet, so far it's just teenage fantasy on her part and some sort of increasingly hard to believe infatuation on his.  But right now, this is Sophia's story to tell and it's HER feelings that should come first, not Holly's.  Holly's not a sympathetic character for me, her selfishness and poor choices don't make her an attractive choice for Tate or anyone else.  By now I'd think Tate would be begging his dad to send him back to Soccer camp for good.

Holly slipped down another few points for me today.

Sophia's mom is doing her best as a walk on issue, let's see if she can make her into an actual character.  Right now she seems to be there mainly to be a counterpoint to Ava, who's going to be all earth mother for Sophia, I expect.

I'm already over Rafe's doppelganger.  It's hard enough to take one Rafe, let alone two.

Paulina is such a fluglehorn of a character, all noise and no sense.  She described herself as a "tough" boss to Jada when truth be told, she's just a bad boss with a shitty attitude to people she perceives to work under her.  I'm glad Belle is going to be DA but save me from anymore onscreen Paulina worship, please. 

So what's EJ going to get up to next?

Edited December 31, 2024 by boes

[nilyank]

1 hour ago, boes said:

So what's EJ going to get up to next?

Back to Dimera Enterprises I imagine. It is silly that Kristen is currently in charge when she has barely cared in the past.

[DisneyBoy]

1 hour ago, boes said:

so far it's just teenage fantasy on her part and some sort of increasingly hard to believe infatuation on his.

No kidding. What healthy teenage male gives up his entire summer to stay locked up in a cabin for a girl who occasionally visits...without receiving any sexual favors at all?

Nope. Sorry. Even WITH sexual favors, no guy would do that.

If they're trying to get us invested in this coupling, they're writing it very badly.

1 hour ago, boes said:

I'm already over Rafe's doppelganger.  It's hard enough to take one Rafe, let alone two.

YUP! 😄😄😄 What fresh hell is this?

[Rodney]

On 12/30/2024 at 11:18 PM, DisneyBoy said:

If they're trying to get us invested in this coupling, they're writing it very badly.

Noooooooot to me.  I like this couple and will continue getting invested in Tate and Holly.  No matter how much anybody tries to force me not to.

Edited Thursday at 09:18 PM by Rodney

[DisneyBoy]

Why does everyone on this show announce to a criminal that they're going to call 911 and then immediately turn their back? Everyone - even cops! - does this and it makes no sense.

And sorry Arnold, but there is no "Best Rafe" LOL. Maybe Coma Rafe.

Funny how the first time he seems to enjoy acting is when he's doing it opposite himself.

I got a strange sense of satisfaction watching two women of color in positions of power hand an entitled, corrupt white millionaire with a lengthy criminal history his walking papers. Sigh.

Sophia's Mom is exactly as nuanced a character as I feared she'd be. Ugh. I hope Sophia gets the abortion anyway and then deals with the fallout. It would be a better storyline than...this. Again.

[DaphneCat]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

Why does everyone on this show announce to a criminal that they're going to call 911 and then immediately turn their back? Everyone - even cops! - does this and it makes no sense

Yup, right up there with "I won't let you get away with this."

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

And sorry Arnold, but there is no "Best Rafe" LOL. Maybe Coma Rafe

Well, since we're only rating Rafe, Coma Rafe does rate pretty high.

 

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Sophia's Mom is exactly as nuanced a character as I feared she'd be. Ugh. I hope Sophia gets the abortion anyway and then deals with the fallout. It would be a better storyline than...this. Again.

Now THAT would be an interesting story.

Boy, I KNOW we're supposed to make allowances that Holly is a typical self-centered teen, but HOLY SHIT does she elevate that to new heights!  Clearly, for all her mouthing the words, she has absolutely no compassion or caring for Sophia.  She IMMEDIATELY identifies her to a complete stranger.  But the most egregious example of her self-centeredness is she gives absolutely NO thought whatsoever to Tate, a person she presumably loves.  Does it even occur to her that Tate might not want his private life discussed with someone he hasn't even met?  Of course not.  She has FEELINGS and they MUST be dealt with.  To hell with anyone else.

[brisbydog]

7 hours ago, Rodney said:

Nooooooootto me.  I like this couple and will continue getting invested in Tate and Holly.  No matter how much anybody tries to force me to.

Who is forcing you? I think they are a bore but you are welcome to enjoy them. I've already moved on to Holly/Doug, Sophia/Tate and Aaron/Anybody. Kate?? Ripe one for the picking...!

[DisneyBoy]

It's easy to forget but she's "married" to Roman.

[Artsda]

Can EJ go after Paulina job again. I'm sick of her if anyone needs to be taken down pegs it's her. 

 

 

[SouthernChick]

Amy Choi is a menace. I know of lots of pro-life Christians and none of them would want their underage daughter and her baby daddy to get married in order to raise a baby when they don’t love each other. 

[brisbydog]

40 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

It's easy to forget but she's "married" to Roman.

That's never stopped her before. Kate has worked her way through most of the men of Salem 

37 minutes ago, Artsda said:

Can EJ go after Paulina job again. I'm sick of her if anyone needs to be taken down pegs it's her. 

 

 

EJ FOR MAYOR 2025!

[DisneyBoy]

6 hours ago, SouthernChick said:

Amy Choi is a menace. I know of lots of pro-life Christians and none of them would want their underage daughter and her baby daddy to get married in order to raise a baby when they don’t love each other. 

Yep. That's because this is a hastily-written story that will represent no one, even though there's an opportunity here to explore some timely issues and show why people are on either side of the equation.

6 hours ago, brisbydog said:

That's never stopped her before. Kate has worked her way through most of the men of Salem 

True, but cheating on the geriatric man who married her on her deathbed and who is the only surviving Roman would be a terribly bad look.

I still want more for Kate though.

[HelenCrump]

Amy Choi is scary!  I don't understand how she thinks she can force Tate to marry Sophia.  It is bad enough that she is making Sophia's choices for her.

[Rodney]

4 hours ago, HelenCrump said:

Amy Choi is scary!  I don't understand how she thinks she can force Tate to marry Sophia.  It is bad enough that she is making Sophia's choices for her.

If Victor were still alive, all that Tate would have to do is go to his great-grandfather, and Victor would shut Amy right down.

But who knows?  Maybe Brady can shut her down instead if Tate tells him about her.

[Rodney]

Was there really a reason to drag out E.J. finding out that Belle replaced him as D.A.?  Might as well have gotten it over with.

Uh-oh.  Looks like Chanel's finally on to Johnny and Joy.

Edited Wednesday at 10:33 PM by Rodney

[ASpring1900]

I could have sworn all the Christmas decorations were down in the DiMera living room the day after Christmas, but then it looks like there is a tree decorated in the same NYE colors in the back left? Gotta say the DiMeras have good connections to get all those balloon pieces in just a of couple hours!

Thought I knew the Amy Choi actress (Shi Ne Nielson) from another soap-- she was a detective on Y&R, but I don't think it was a big role.

[CanaryFan98]

Sophia's mother reminds me of a lot of Asian moms so I honestly found her rather accurate tbh. 

[Artsda]

If Johnny and Chanel want to throw a party they should have asked first especially inviting all those people who can't stand the Dimeras. They're living in his father's house. 

Gabi forgets she's alive because of EJ? Maybe he should not have saved her. 

 

[DaphneCat]

Wait, so first the concert tickets Holly bought Tate were for "Friday" suddenly she and Doug are talking about going to the concert on NYE.  That would mean that Sophia had her appointment on New Year's Day.  Boy, the continuity on this show sucks.

What an awful excuse for a "party."  Everyone (none of whom actually want to be there) was invited at the last minute.  You can't invite people to a party if there aren't actually any other guests.

[SouthernChick]

I’m glad EJ got Fake Rafe out of town so he couldn’t rape Jada. Glad EJ has evolved in that matter. 

[Rodney]

1 hour ago, SouthernChick said:

I’m glad EJ got Fake Rafe out of town so he couldn’t rape Jada. Glad EJ has evolved in that matter. 

He got Arnold out of town already?  As glad as I am to read that, it can't be that easy.

[SouthernChick]

13 minutes ago, Rodney said:

He got Arnold out of town already?  As glad as I am to read that, it can't be that easy.

Yep. He said that “Rafe” had an assignment with Black Patch and will be out of town for awhile. Arnold reluctantly agreed to it. 

[Rodney]

Ah, so they finally showed the actual lead-up to Johnny's cheating today.  And the start of the cheating itself.  How painful for Chanel to hear all of that.

ETA: Oh!  Johnny didn't even finish!  That was unexpected!

Edited Thursday at 09:30 PM by Rodney

[brisbydog]

3 hours ago, Rodney said:

Ah, so they finally showed the actual lead-up to Johnny's cheating today.  And the start of the cheating itself.  How painful for Chanel to hear all of that.

ETA: Oh!  Johnny didn't even finish!  That was unexpected!

What a waste of time. Am I supposed to believe EJ offered Joy a huge pay off over a drunken kiss??

[Rodney]

10 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

What a waste of time. Am I supposed to believe EJ offered Joy a huge pay off over a drunken kiss??

Johnny never specified to E.J. just how far it went, so E.J. probably thinks that it was a full-blown affair.

[brisbydog]

24 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Johnny never specified to E.J. just how far it went, so E.J. probably thinks that it was a full-blown affair.

Johnny is an idiot.

[DisneyBoy]

Yikes, this storyline is bad. Poor us Chajohnny fans. Jonnel?

Well that was a weird NYE. Random characters thrown together at a party that seemed to begin 5 minutes before midnight.

Guys, I know both actors have chemistry with everyone, but I'm really dreading EJ+Belle. Can't EJ's repellent character overpower his looks? Can't Belle's love for Sami keep her from fooling around with her sister's rapist ex-husband?

Edited Friday at 05:46 AM by DisneyBoy

[Rodney]

6 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Guys, I know both actors have chemistry with everyone, but I'm really dreading EJ+Belle. Can't EJ's repellent character overpower his looks? Can't Belle's love for Sami keep her from fooling around with her sister's rapist ex-husband?

Not really.  They've done it before.

[brisbydog]

6 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Yikes, this storyline is bad. Poor us Chajohnny fans. Jonnel?

Well that was a weird NYE. Random characters thrown together at a party that seemed to begin 5 minutes before midnight.

Guys, I know both actors have chemistry with everyone, but I'm really dreading EJ+Belle. Can't EJ's repellent character overpower his looks? Can't Belle's love for Sami keep her from fooling around with her sister's rapist ex-husband?

It's Janel lol

EJ and Belle were the only thing keeping me watching this week. The rest of the characters offered are not exactly my favourites