Current Plots Discussion: Actually Today's Episode

[Silver Raven]

Rolf really is a mad scientist.  They love to go into great detail about their evil plans.

"I thought he was gay." "Not sure how that's relevant."

 

[DaphneCat]

OK this is making me (more) crazy.  Wasn't there a plot line a few years back where Chad was hypnotized/brainwashed (or something) and his trigger phrase was "La Familia"?  This just seems like the EXACT SAME PLOT from a few years back.  Robo-Chad wasn't really supposed to be making me LOL was he?  At least Marlena was using the Salem brain today when she pointed out to Stevano that he wasn't acting at all like Stefano.  Stefano would have never wanted her if he had to force it.

John can lose me with his "I must be the one to save Marlena single handedly."  His refusal to use back-up is why she's in the situation she's in.  He still thinks he's 30 something and capable of heroic deeds.  He isn't.

Actually liked Rafe with Gabi today.  He  said that she did bad things but he wasn't treating her like she was the worst person to ever live.  He even acknowledged that she had been treated like shit and he could understand why she would want revenge - even though he did NOT think it was a great idea.  Maybe having to apologize to a serial killer (and acknowledge that HE royally screwed up when he didn't vet David's nanny) knocked him off his high horse a bit.

[CanaryFan98]

3 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

OK this is making me (more) crazy.  Wasn't there a plot line a few years back where Chad was hypnotized/brainwashed (or something) and his trigger phrase was "La Familia"?  This just seems like the EXACT SAME PLOT from a few years back.  Robo-Chad wasn't really supposed to be making me LOL was he?  At least Marlena was using the Salem brain today when she pointed out to Stevano that he wasn't acting at all like Stefano.  Stefano would have never wanted her if he had to force it.

 

Yes there was but Chad managed to break through when he held Thomas in his arms. Prior to that he was pursuing Belle and they almost had sex.

Edited March 10, 2020 by CanaryFan98

[DaphneCat]

20 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Yes there was but Chad managed to break through when he held Thomas in his arms. Prior to that he was pursuing Belle and they almost had sex.

BELLE???!!!  Why Belle?  I have no memory of that - was it so awful I blocked it from my mind?  

[Frozendiva]

Only the first 19 minutes recorded.

[BuckeyeLou]

Agreeing with DaphneCat: I really enjoyed the Sibling scenes between Rafe & Gabi(Galen & Camilla always work well together).  Rafe called Gabi out on her "s***", and yet reassured her that he loved her. Gabi was truly concerned about David & the 2 of them made peace...loved the kiss on the forehead.  The rest of the scenes had me rolling my eyes. 

[JBC344]

On 3/4/2020 at 7:06 PM, Barton88 said:

I know that was all supposed to be high drama and edge of your seat suspenseful, but those prison scenes today were absolutely hysterical. boes, your summary is also hilarious.

I guess anyone can just walk into that execution chamber, even someone carrying a gun, without being stopped or challenged. And that creepy looking doctor.... I had to laugh when Evan tried to sneak out the door once Ciara was distracted, only to be confronted by Rafe. Is this going to be yet another example of the guilty party getting charges dropped if he reveals where David is? The Salem police force can’t seem to make anything stick. Hard to do I guess when the entire force consists of one man.

Still pondering how it could be Gabi who is the only bone marrow match. Are we going to find out that she and Kristen are somehow related?  I don’t recall over the years if the identity of Kristen’s biological parents has been revealed or hinted at. 

Kristen and Peter's biological parents were revealed back in the 90's during the Maison Blanche/ Aremid storyline. 

Rachel Blake and her husband (no name) were best friends with Stefano and Celeste in Aremid. This is after Celeste had Lexie and arranged for her sister and brother in law to adopt her behind Stefano's back. 

Anyway Stefano and Celeste had ceased being a couple but she still worked as his assistant. The Blake's were their good friends. Stefano became obsessed with Rachel and wanted her to leave her husband. Rachel refused. Stefano set their house on fire. I don't remember if it was 100% clear if he tried to kill both of them or just the husband thereby coming in as Rachel's savior. Anyway both of them "died". Hence Stefano adopting Peter and Kristen and them going to live with he and Celeste. 

In the Aremid storyline Rachel was revealed to be alive and was the "woman in white". She had PTSD and would roam the old Blake house as a shut in. The town folklore was that she was a ghost. 

Anyway Celeste recognizes her she is forced out of hiding and reunites with Kristen and Peter. She also develops a friendship with Marlena. This is the point where Kristen starts to have her mental breakdown and Rachel sort of becomes the Angel on her shoulder versus Stefano as the devil, each of them trying to influence her. 

When accompanying Rachel out of town to get reconstructive surgery to fix her scars from the fire Marlena was kidnapped by Stefano their plane went down and Rachel was killed. Thus entered the middle phase of Kristen losing her mind.

Fun fact: When John was a young priest he was planted in Aremid at the same time by Stefano of course and became friends with Rachel. 

Damn I miss the storytelling of the 90's. 

[boes]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Agreeing with DaphneCat: I really enjoyed the Sibling scenes between Rafe & Gabi(Galen & Camilla always work well together).  Rafe called Gabi out on her "s***", and yet reassured her that he loved her. Gabi was truly concerned about David & the 2 of them made peace...loved the kiss on the forehead.  The rest of the scenes had me rolling my eyes. 

Yep, count me in on the Rafe/Gabi scenes being the best part of today.  And I'm pretty sure I've never used "best" and "Rafe" in the same sentence before.  I loved that Gabi, even as she tried to be repentent, also told Rafe that sometimes, sometimes, revenge DOES work and then it feels so good.  So at least I have hope that she's not going to do the Salem "I'm Soooooooooo Sorry" Walk of Shame.

Otherwise.......John, quit being a prick to Hattie and Roman.  You're pushing 100, you can barely walk, your brain's not in tip top working order and you need some help.  Maybe see if you can find somebody under the age of 70 to give you a hand.

Meanwhile, over at the Shady Rest, Uncle Joe was restraining Kate while Mr. Haney tried to give her a cortisone shot but she broke away and was stopped by Arnold Ziffel.

Oh, Arnold, let her go!

Sorry, I just got Show mixed up with Green Acres and Petticoat Junction.  

[Frozendiva]

8 minutes ago, boes said:

Yep, count me in on the Rafe/Gabi scenes being the best part of today.  And I'm pretty sure I've never used "best" and "Rafe" in the same sentence before.  I loved that Gabi, even as she tried to be repentent, also told Rafe that sometimes, sometimes, revenge DOES work and then it feels so good.  So at least I have hope that she's not going to do the Salem "I'm Soooooooooo Sorry" Walk of Shame.

Otherwise.......John, quit being a prick to Hattie and Roman.  You're pushing 100, you can barely walk, your brain's not in tip top working order and you need some help.  Maybe see if you can find somebody under the age of 70 to give you a hand.

Meanwhile, over at the Shady Rest, Uncle Joe was restraining Kate while Mr. Haney tried to give her a cortisone shot but she broke away and was stopped by Arnold Ziffel.

Oh, Arnold, let her go!

Sorry, I just got Show mixed up with Green Acres and Petticoat Junction.  

It's almost there. Instead of the Gabor sisters, we get Kristen, Susan, Mary Moira, et al.

[CanaryFan98]

3 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

BELLE???!!!  Why Belle?  I have no memory of that - was it so awful I blocked it from my mind?  

Stefano/Andre brainwashed him into going after Belle because when Sami stole money from Stefano she gave a lot of it to Belle. 

I thought Chad/Belle had more chemistry than MM's Belle and Shawn but that's about it. However beyond that it was WTF especially when Abby walked in and told her she was married(because Shawn is her cousin so her acting like he was a stranger seemed odd)

Edited March 10, 2020 by CanaryFan98

[bannana]

3 hours ago, boes said:

Yep, count me in on the Rafe/Gabi scenes being the best part of today.  And I'm pretty sure I've never used "best" and "Rafe" in the same sentence before.  I loved that Gabi, even as she tried to be repentent, also told Rafe that sometimes, sometimes, revenge DOES work and then it feels so good.  So at least I have hope that she's not going to do the Salem "I'm Soooooooooo Sorry" Walk of Shame.

Oh yes, I so agree @boes.  Thank you, writers, for this perfect scene between Rafe and Gabi, where he told her she was screwed up, and she was happy that that was better than him calling her a bitch.  He did reprimand her, and she accepted that, mostly.  But the big thing was that she wanted to ensure they were okay with each other and that she vowed to help him find David.  

[bannana]

10 hours ago, hypnotoad said:

On that level sure, they have a history. My issue is the show has seemingly forgotten recent history in which Stefano was no longer obsessed with Marlena.

Yup.

[DisneyBoy]

8 hours ago, JBC344 said:

When accompanying Rachel out of town to get reconstructive surgery to fix her scars from the fire Marlena was kidnapped by Stefano their plane went down and Rachel was killed.

You were doing so well...but nope, that's not quite how it played out. Rachel was never on the plane because Stefano had disguised himself as Rachel. Or was it as Laura? Anyway, Stefano had a veil on.

Rachel tried to help John figure out where Marlena has been taken, and there was a large puzzle that acted as some kind of a map to their destinations in Paris. When Kristen and John went there, Rachel was in tow. After Stefano tried to behead John, and he and Marlena escaped into the sewer tunnels/catacombs, and it was Rachel who intervened, pulled a gun on Stefano and finally revealed to him her face, which had been badly scarred by the fire. She was determined to get rid of him once and for all, and pulled the trigger. The ensuing explosion was so strong walls started to give out and Kristen was injured, which led to her being rushed to the hospital and getting the devastating news that she had lost her baby. Additionally, Rachel died in the explosion as well, so it was a pretty freaking awful day for Kristen. I don't know when it was that Kristen found out that Stefano had survived, because for quite a while after that everyone thought he was dead. Of course he wasn't, and ended up bringing Susan Banks to Salem just when Marlena was starting to figure out that it was nothing more than a pillow underneath Kristen's dress and not an actual baby.

(I love that whole storyline).

[Lastwaltz]

Wow, excellent story-telling there, @JBC344 and @DisneyBoy -- this was during my hiatus from the show, so I appreciate the details! What a wacky bunch of adventures, lol. 

Missed yesterday's -- if Gabi was talking with Rafe, I assume Chad failed in his attempt to smother her, lol. Good enough - on to today. 

[Sandman]

3 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Anyway, Stefano had a veil on.

… Maybe the storytelling from the 80s and 90s wasn't as fantastic as I remember, either?

I deleted yesterday's episode mostly unwatched. I'm sorry I missed the scene for Rafe and Gabi -- scenes with Camila Banus usually invoke less of a "Shut up, Rafe!" response from me.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Sandman

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Rachel tried to help John figure out where Marlena has been taken, and there was a large puzzle that acted as some kind of a map to their destinations in Paris. When Kristen and John went there, Rachel was in tow. After Stefano tried to behead John, and he and Marlena escaped into the sewer tunnels/catacombs, and it was Rachel who intervened, pulled a gun on Stefano and finally revealed to him her face, which had been badly scarred by the fire. She was determined to get rid of him once and for all, and pulled the trigger. The ensuing explosion was so strong walls started to give out and Kristen was injured, which led to her being rushed to the hospital and getting the devastating news that she had lost her baby. Additionally, Rachel died in the explosion as well, so it was a pretty freaking awful day for Kristen. I don't know when it was that Kristen found out that Stefano had survived, because for quite a while after that everyone thought he was dead. Of course he wasn't, and ended up bringing Susan Banks to Salem just when Marlena was starting to figure out that it was nothing more than a pillow underneath Kristen's dress and not an actual baby.

(I love that whole storyline).

You know what bugged me about that story (assuming that I am remembering correctly which is a big and probably incorrect assumption).  Marlena tried to send John a note when he was on death row.  Kristen intercepted it because she didn't want John's last thoughts to be getting back together with Marlena when he was supposed to be with her, or whatever.  I can actually understand that.  Maybe not right, but not the worst thing in the world as far as I'm concerned.  Anyway, as far as I can tell, that's all that Marlena knew that Kristen had done at that point.  Yeah, we the audience, knew what she was up to, but Marlena didn't.  And this is what had Marlena calling her evil for months and threatening to expose her as soon as her baby was born and out of danger?  

[peachmangosteen]

16 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

"I thought he was gay." "Not sure how that's relevant."

I loled at that. I echo the sentiments that the Rafe/Gabi scenes were great. The best scenes the show has had in a long while tbh. 

[JBC344]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

You know what bugged me about that story (assuming that I am remembering correctly which is a big and probably incorrect assumption).  Marlena tried to send John a note when he was on death row.  Kristen intercepted it because she didn't want John's last thoughts to be getting back together with Marlena when he was supposed to be with her, or whatever.  I can actually understand that.  Maybe not right, but not the worst thing in the world as far as I'm concerned.  Anyway, as far as I can tell, that's all that Marlena knew that Kristen had done at that point.  Yeah, we the audience, knew what she was up to, but Marlena didn't.  And this is what had Marlena calling her evil for months and threatening to expose her as soon as her baby was born and out of danger?  

You are 100% correct. This is why a lot of us fans were on Kristen's side back then at least initially. The way John and Marlena were carrying on with each other was totally disrespectful to Kristen. Especially when you consider the fallout of their previous affair. 

3 hours ago, Lastwaltz said:

Wow, excellent story-telling there, @JBC344 and @DisneyBoy -- this was during my hiatus from the show, so I appreciate the details! What a wacky bunch of adventures, lol. 

Missed yesterday's -- if Gabi was talking with Rafe, I assume Chad failed in his attempt to smother her, lol. Good enough - on to today. 

My pleasure!!! I'm glad DisneyBoy was able to fill in my gaps. I loved the character of Rachel and thought it was incredibly misguided to kill her off.

The push and pull she had with Kristen, her budding sweet friendship with Marlena, and her rich history she had with John, Stefano, and Celeste was far too interesting to kill her off. 

[DisneyBoy]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

You know what bugged me about that story (assuming that I am remembering correctly which is a big and probably incorrect assumption).  Marlena tried to send John a note when he was on death row.  Kristen intercepted it because she didn't want John's last thoughts to be getting back together with Marlena when he was supposed to be with her, or whatever.  I can actually understand that.  Maybe not right, but not the worst thing in the world as far as I'm concerned.  Anyway, as far as I can tell, that's all that Marlena knew that Kristen had done at that point.  Yeah, we the audience, knew what she was up to, but Marlena didn't.  And this is what had Marlena calling her evil for months and threatening to expose her as soon as her baby was born and out of danger?  

I think it was about the letter initially but then Marlena became a Lady In A Cage and knew Kristen had aided Stefano in coordinating her abduction to Paris. That was waaaay worse than concealing a note.

After she survived the explosion, Marlena was ready to tell John except for the fact that Kristen was in the hospital and her baby was at risk. Then, once back in Salem, Marlena was determined to prove Kristen wasn't pregnant and started following her to doctor's appointments.

The videos I've watched on this are somewhat edited so I'm not sure when this storyline happened but it was somewhere in the midst of all this. Laura, Marlena's good friend, saw Kristen, Stefano and Peter after attending Peter's funeral...even though two of them were supposed to be dead! Laura also saw that Kristen was adjusting a pregnancy pillow, and therefore wasn't pregnant. They kidnapped her, and laser surgery was performed on her brain to erase her memories, leaving her very hazy and unwell. Kristen was pretty quick to say that no one should push Laura to recover her memories, which only made Marlena all the more determined to help Laura get them back. Laura ended up being committed sometime afterwards. Marlena knew something was up there.

When Susan started impersonating Kristen, it didn't do too much to assuage Marlena suspicions, even though it was clear "Kristen" was pregnant, Marlena's radar was beeping louder than ever. I think it was during this time that Marlena and Kristen started openly bickering with each other the minute John would leave the room. John was really written as oblivious during all of this.

And then, of course, Kristen locked her up in the Secret Room, you know, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back for good and forever.

By the time Marlena, and Kristen, were rescued from the Secret Room (Susan locked them both up so she could have her Elvis wedding with John), Marlena had tons of ammunition to use against her. The concealed note, arranging her kidnapping at Stefano's hands, lying about losing her baby, lying about trading places with Susan Banks and passing Elvis Junior off as John Junior, locking her up in the Secret Room so Stefano could kidnap her again...PLUS everything Laura had to say after escaping the sanatorium and recovering her memories.

 

BUT yes....the way Marlena basically was sniffing around John for well over a year and glaring at Kristen got really annoying. Even before everyone knew that Kristen was doing evil things, people like Laura and Kimberly were rallying around Marlena and telling her to get back together with John, even though he had been in a long-term relationship with Kristen by that point. It really was a huge shift in how that relationship was depicted on the series, once everybody behind the scenes decided John and Marlena were the end game. Suddenly Kristen and John, a popular couple up until that point, were no longer good enough.

Kristen had my sympathies, especially after turning herself inside out and destroying her reputation for a man who immediately ditched her and then got engaged to another woman on her birthday at the restaurant he had promised to take Kristen to. No wonder she tried to throw herself from the building!

I'm not saying John had to stay with Kristen after hearing all the horrible things she had done in one fell swoop, but there was no mourning period for their huge relationship, which he'd believed to be rock solid right up until the moment Marlena and Laura started spilling all the beans. Seriously - they wrote it like John had no clue about anything. No suspicions that the baby and pregnancy was faked. No suspicions that Kristen had arranged for Marlena's kidnapping to Paris. Nothing. So he went from completely loving Kristen to completely hating her in the span of one day? I would think he would spend at least six months to a year soul searching and trying to stop loving Kristen and then move on. But nope! Off he goes to Marlena!

It's a little bit like Lani and Eli now, except Lani and Eli were boring as shit and he clearly had more fun being with Gabi. And Lani had a million options when it came to exposing Gabi. Running off to another country to pretend to be a nun was just bizarre and pointless.

[DisneyBoy]

24 minutes ago, JBC344 said:

My pleasure!!! I'm glad DisneyBoy was able to fill in my gaps. I loved the character of Rachel and thought it was incredibly misguided to kill her off.

Likewise! Glad I can bring people up to speed, after so many of you helping to explain things to me. It's really the only patch of DAYS history that I have ingrained in my mind, other than the events of the last 7 years or so which I haven't enjoyed nearly as much and purposefully try to forget sometimes, LOL.

Even though I liked what they came up with, it always bothered me that Kristen didn't blame Stefano more for Rachel's death once Rachel re-entered her life and she actually got to know her mother better. Rachel had clearly been through the wringer, and sacrificed her life in Paris to try to free everybody from Stefano's influence. But then once Kristen became desperate to hold onto John and Stefano showed up with an impersonator who happened to be pregnant, I don't remember there ever being much tension between them on the subject of Rachel. In my mind, Kristen would have been livid with Stefano for years about it. I think the only time she brought up her mother after she died was during her epic "You OWE ME!!!" exchange with Stefano, following John and Marlena's engagement at the Penthouse Grill. Kristen was extremely mentally distressed that day, what with all of her secrets having come out, being arrested and John having run off into the arms of her enemy. After threatening to jump off the building if she couldn't have John's forgiveness and love again, she found Stefano, who was still in hiding because he wasn't supposed to be alive anymore even though everybody knew he still was, and read him the riot act about encouraging her to do awful things, and then also about how he tortured Rachel and led to the death of both of her parents just so that he could claim her and Peter as "trophies in lieu of the bigger prize he would never possess, their mother!" Eileen Davidson delivered her lines so well I actually have some of them committed to memory LOL.

But I don't think from that point onwards that Kristen ever expressed much hatred towards Stefano specifically because of what happened with her mother, which struck me as really odd. But then again, Kristen was pretty much around the bend by that point, and her every waking moment was focused on scheming to keep John and Marlena apart, and to get EJ back as her child and away from Susan, and also somehow reignite John's repressed passions for her. Yeah, Kristen was a little too busy fighting with Susan for legal custody of the baby, and then trying to get Susan sold off to a harem to really process the fact that her mother had been taken from her by Stefano once again.

At least Ron and the writers remembered her enough to have Kristen name her daughter after her mother. That's fitting, even though I think Kristen having a baby is insane and stupid at this point.

Edited March 10, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[JBC344]

I also really love their daughter being named Rachel. Not only on Kristen's side, but a nice nod to the Black family as well. 

Not that Brady would remember much of Rachel, but she was special to both John and Marlena. A nice nod to a simpler time in John's life, even if he doesn't remember all of it. John was a great comfort to Rachel when he was a young priest. 

[Katy M]

37 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

I think it was about the letter initially but then Marlena became a Lady In A Cage and knew Kristen had aided Stefano in coordinating her abduction to Paris. That was waaaay worse than concealing a note.

After she survived the explosion, Marlena was ready to tell John except for the fact that Kristen was in the hospital and her baby was at risk. Then, once back in Salem, Marlena was determined to prove Kristen wasn't pregnant and started following her to doctor's appointments.

That makes more sense then.  I'm not sure how much I was able to watch when this was originally happening, but I do remember thinking that the only thing Marlena knew about was Kristen not passing on a note.   But, if I had missed a few days for whatever reason, I might have been out of the loop.

[msrachelj]

17 hours ago, Frozendiva said:

Only the first 19 minutes recorded.

Every. Single. Day. this show is interrupted for "breaking" bull shit news on the Corona Virus. Why do we have actual news hours and channels. This was nothing that could wait. NBC does this constantly. Pisses me off.

17 hours ago, JBC344 said:

Kristen and Peter's biological parents were revealed back in the 90's during the Maison Blanche/ Aremid storyline. 

Rachel Blake and her husband (no name) were best friends with Stefano and Celeste in Aremid. This is after Celeste had Lexie and arranged for her sister and brother in law to adopt her behind Stefano's back. 

Anyway Stefano and Celeste had ceased being a couple but she still worked as his assistant. The Blake's were their good friends. Stefano became obsessed with Rachel and wanted her to leave her husband. Rachel refused. Stefano set their house on fire. I don't remember if it was 100% clear if he tried to kill both of them or just the husband thereby coming in as Rachel's savior. Anyway both of them "died". Hence Stefano adopting Peter and Kristen and them going to live with he and Celeste. 

In the Aremid storyline Rachel was revealed to be alive and was the "woman in white". She had PTSD and would roam the old Blake house as a shut in. The town folklore was that she was a ghost. 

Anyway Celeste recognizes her she is forced out of hiding and reunites with Kristen and Peter. She also develops a friendship with Marlena. This is the point where Kristen starts to have her mental breakdown and Rachel sort of becomes the Angel on her shoulder versus Stefano as the devil, each of them trying to influence her. 

When accompanying Rachel out of town to get reconstructive surgery to fix her scars from the fire Marlena was kidnapped by Stefano their plane went down and Rachel was killed. Thus entered the middle phase of Kristen losing her mind.

Fun fact: When John was a young priest he was planted in Aremid at the same time by Stefano of course and became friends with Rachel. 

Damn I miss the storytelling of the 90's. 

I was going to say the same thing. I miss the old "Days". 

[Silver Raven]

In what universe would any hospital perform surgery on a woman who doesn't want it?  In what universe would a surgeon be sharing medical information with a person who is not the patient's next of kin?

 

 

[Pearson80]

5 hours ago, JBC344 said:

You are 100% correct. This is why a lot of us fans were on Kristen's side back then at least initially. The way John and Marlena were carrying on with each other was totally disrespectful to Kristen. Especially when you consider the fallout of their previous affair. 

 

So John and Marlena disrespected Kristen for loving each other. For being kind and supportive to one another because they shared a daughter Belle who was a baby at the time and they were also raising Brady with Belle. You conveniently forget that John and Marlena's history predates Kristen and that they lived and loved each other as husband and wife raising three children together. They had a strong bond that goes back to when he was the pawn before he was revealed to be Roman.  I did not always agree with Marlena but I had no problem with her being nasty to Kristen who was trying to destroy her. She continues to do so till this day but Marlena is the evil one and Kristen is her innocent victim. 

 Kristen disrespected and debased herself by chasing a man who loved another woman more than her.  That letter she found and hid was proof that. Since she was pathetic, she opted to lie, cheat and scheme to get a man who did not love her the same way she loved him.  Marlena was not responsible for John's feelings for her.  

The only person who had every right to forever hate John and Marlena is Roman, who lost everything because of them, not Kristen.  When Roman found that videotape of Marlena willing to sleep with Stefano their mortal enemy, in exchange for John's life that was his cue to walk away from Marlena. He had self-respect because he realized that Marlena loved John more than him, despite her denials..

John and Marlena were always endgame, the majority of the fans wanted them to get back together even when he was with Rebecca, Diana, Isabella and Kristen.  

Edited March 10, 2020 by Pearson80

[DisneyBoy]

55 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

You conveniently forget that John and Marlena's history predates Kristen and that they lived and loved each other as husband and wife

No, we get that. Well I do anyway. They definitely had a strong history and they make sense as a couple, no argument there.

55 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

I did not always agree with Marlena but I had no problem with her being nasty to Kristen who was trying to destroy her.

In fairness, Kristen was never really out to destroy Marlena. They had even been friends. Kristen was genuinely concerned for Marlena when she was possessed by the devil, not laughing behind her back that she can go straight to hell. It was only when Marlena was actively pursuing getting back together with John while John was with Kristen that Kristen started to defend her turf so to speak. And Marlena's attitude was based off the idea that Kristen didn't have enough faith in John to believe he would not have killed Tony. Kristen was swayed by the situation and had doubts, which hurt John's feelings and gave Marlena the opening she needed to claim *she* was better for John because she would never, ever doubt him. I think that's what pissed me off. No matter how well you know someone, you never really know. Nobody hung John out to dry for never seeing any of the huge ginormous red flags and weirdness surrounding Kristen during the whole Susan Banks storyline. Everyone said it wasn't his fault for seeing the best in Kristen because he was the victim. But Kristen was also the victim of Tony's scheme to frame John for murder. Did she get any empathy from anybody for falling for Tony's frame-up?

55 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

Kristen disrespected and debased herself by chasing a man who loved another woman more than her. 

...except that's not at all how their relationship began. John took an interest in Kristen and pursued her, not the other way around. Kristen was too busy secretly nursing Stefano back to health and working at the community centre and had just had a disastrous semi-wedding to Tony before arriving in Salem. He was single and ready to mingle and very passionately into Kristen...even after finding out she was Stefano's adopted daughter. As Kristen later said to Marlena about their chemistry, "when John and I are in the same room sparks fly and it terrifies you because you know it's never going to die." She's right. That statement pretty much describes their entire relationship, both the good and the bad.

55 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

That letter she found and hid was proof that. Since she was pathetic, she opted to lie, cheat and scheme to get a man who did not love her the same way she loved him.  Marlena was not responsible for John's feelings for her.  

Obviously these are fictional characters, so I can't exactly measure the amount of love one character feels for the other by any objective standard...but John and Kristen had been in a committed relationship for years at that point...well there was the whole business of him becoming a priest in the middle so I don't know exactly how many years (before my time) but they were definitely heavily involved, and John never once said to Kristen that he wasn't sure who he had stronger feelings for. Just because someone writes a note when they're being executed doesn't mean that they feel the same way later on. John reaching out to the woman he was raising a family with and had lost is really not that surprising under those circumstances.

Is it mentally healthy to chase after a man you suspect is losing interest in you? Will no, not really, but if you took that element out of soap operas I don't know that there would be any storylines at all LOL.

Kristen and John were pretty much on the verge of getting married when that whole mess happened with Tony / Andre (who knows who it really was at this point) faking his death to have John arrested for murder. It wasn't like a Kristen and John had only been dating a few months and then she realized he secretly had strong feelings for his ex-wife. Kristen was on the verge of becoming his current wife and having his baby and it makes complete sense to me that she would fight to keep him. She had no reason to believe his feelings for her were any less strong than his feelings for Marlena, and a little bit of fear that that might be the case probably pushed Kristen into targeting Marlena as being the one luring him away from her. It was easier, and Doc made it easy, to call her an interloper in their happiness. So Kristen, egged on by Stefano, did whatever necessary to get Marlena out of the picture.

At the end of the day the character of Kristen was royally thrown under the bus by turning into her father's cohort and then a villainess in her own right, but it happened to be the most entertainingly written and performed downfall in daytime. Are we saying that John and Marlena weren't worthy of a happy ending as a couple, definitely no. I can fully understand why people root for them. But I also think that John and Kristen were a very interesting and valid couple and could have just as easily stood the test of time.

Producers decided to lean into the Marlena and John angle and had in Eileen an actress capable of pulling off the descent into madness brilliantly. It all worked out in the end.

55 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

When Roman found that videotape of Marlena willing to sleep with Stefano in exchange for John's life that was his cue to walk away from Marlena. He had self-respect because he realized that Marlena loved John more than him, despite her denials..

Woah...when was that? Pre-Kristen I assume.

Ewwww....so EJ blackmailing Sami into car sex in order to save Lucas' life was like...a family tradition?

Edited March 10, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[nilyank]

Roman was royally screwed because Stefano stole his life and replaced him with John. For years and when he finally comes back all his loved ones felt badly for the man that replaced him.

I wasn't really John's fault because he was as much as Stefano's victim, however for I was never a fan of John and Marlena.. Adored him with Izzy and then Kristen. Thought WN's Roman and Marlena just sparkled together however once he left the show, it was as only a matter of time before John and Marlena get back together. No one way we're they going to leave their main female lead by on the outside looking in.

I do blame John more than Marlena with what initially happened with Kristen.He chase her hard and then they were finally in a committed relationship expecting a baby, but he would have dumped her in a heartbeat if the truth about that letter came out and Krisfen didn't intercept it.

[hypnotoad]

Quote

John and Marlena were always endgame, the majority of the fans wanted them to get back together even when he was with Rebecca, Diana, Isabella and Kristen.  

I guess. Personally I preferred John with Isabella the most and then Diana and Kristen. I've never really understood the John/Marlena thing. But then again I much preferred Bo with Carly!

I really liked the Rafe/Gabi scene. It was a nice scene where he got to tell her she messed up but that he still loved her.

Quote

It's a little bit like Lani and Eli now, except Lani and Eli were boring as shit and he clearly had more fun being with Gabi.

Of course he had more fun with Gabi, I mean come on. Lani is dull dull dull and the 'actress' who plays her is terrible.

[Katy M]

29 minutes ago, hypnotoad said:

Personally I preferred John with Isabella the most and then Diana and Kristen.

I liked John and Izzy B.  I also really enjoyed the foursome of John/Rom and Diana and Justin and Adrienne.  They had such fun adventures.

[boes]

Sooo.....today's show......You think Marlena was at all surprised to wake up fully dressed, gold button blue blazer and all?  Or does she think this is hospital wear in Stevano World?

If I was sick in bed and some clown dressed like Stevano tried to read me Keats "Ode on a Grecian Urn" I'd poke him in the nose.

Chad is walking around like an extra from "I Married a Zombie" and nobody notices?

ETA - Kate is noticing, but not enough for someone usually as clear-eyed as she is.  And considering who she's been paling around with lately, I'd think she'd be suspecting microchip in the noggin with anyone she knew who was acting suspiciously these days.

Table for one here, but perversely, I do enjoy Hope more as Princess Gina than I have as Hope in quite some time.  She's so nuts and KA seems to be enjoying it too.

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by boes

[WendyCR72]

21 minutes ago, boes said:

Table for one here, but perversely, I do enjoy Hope more as Princess Gina than I have as Hope in quite some time.  She's so nuts and KA seems to be enjoying it too.

While I get where you are coming from, @boes, I think this is the same issue I had with Adrienne/Bonnie (UGH!). Seems writers only like to really write for the psychos/annoying characters and the "good" characters suffer for it.

I think - if daytime had any decent writers left (and I doubt it!) - if writers put half the effort into longtime characters they do for the cartoons, they could still be interesting/worth watching.

But they don't want to.

For me, Gina is creepy as the REAL Gina is worm food. And she's a fucking circus clown, not a real human being. And it just makes this show look even more ridiculous. No wonder the numbers continue to tank. Ron should get a job with Disney or Looney Tunes, not write for soap operas.

[SueB]

4 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

In what universe would any hospital perform surgery on a woman who doesn't want it?  In what universe would a surgeon be sharing medical information with a person who is not the patient's next of kin?

 

 

Well, 'possession is 9/10th of the law...'

I couldn't resist.  But yes, HIPAA is a name of a cat in Salem because they don't recognize it otherwise.  And no court orders that medical intervention.

On the other hand... let's get Theo back and upload some new software.....IT COULDN'T HURT.  Maybe make Hope actually eat food.  And Steve could stop chasing every ISA dream.

On 3/8/2020 at 10:22 PM, lb60 said:

The whole submit/submission thing with Steveano and Marlena is gross. And offensive. And disgusting. And revolting.

You get the point.

Too bad Ron doesn't.

Can't wait to see what lows he takes us to this week. <eye roll>

 

YES. 

And to add a side of 'ewww':
- 'Marlena' is 72, 'Stevano' is 69, and the essence of Stefano is 91.  Rolf must seriously be adding both a cup of delusion and a bucket of viagra along with some heart meds to his IV cocktail these days.

Elsewhere:
- This Chad thing must stop.  Billy is not pulling it off so we have to stop. Now.  
- I too liked Rafe/Gabi.  Gabi was weirdly (but effectively) asking a serious question regarding revenge.  Was she RAISED BY WOLVES?  Revenge is BAD.  Short term satisfaction never lasts. Unless she's enroute to full-blown psychopath, she really needs to pull-up.  And Wilson need to keep her away from Ari if she doesn't.
- MY HEART BLEEDS FOR JUSTIN.  I used to really really dislike him when he was an arrogant SOB who cheated on Adrienne.  Now he's turned into a truly good person.  Go figure.
- And Kayla is not competent for neurosurgery.  Nor could Rolfe have performed that on a bed in the cottage on Marlena.  *Shakes head*   

Edited March 11, 2020 by SueB

[boes]

14 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

While I get where you are coming from, @boes, I think this is the same issue I had with Adrienne/Bonnie (UGH!). Seems writers only like to really write for the psychos/annoying characters and the "good" characters suffer for it.

I think - if daytime had any decent writers left (and I doubt it!) - if writers put half the effort into longtime characters they do for the cartoons, they could still be interesting/worth watching.

But they don't want to.

For me, Gina is creepy as the REAL Gina is worm food. And she's a fucking circus clown, not a real human being. And it just makes this show look even more ridiculous. No wonder the numbers continue to tank. Ron should get a job with Disney or Looney Tunes, not write for soap operas.

I do think you're right.  The whole micro-chip thing with Steve and Hope is pretty bad storytelling.  It's telling, though, that KA seems to have more life in her performances doing this silly character than I think she's shown in years.  All that says to me is that the writing for Hope has been so bad, so boring, so lifeless for so long that even a break like this seems more enjoyable than what the writers have done to Hope ever since Bo left.  I liked her with Aiden but that didn't last.  There's something really wrong behind the scenes when the writing staff can't find something good to do with an actor like KA, one who plays a character of such longevity in the show's history.

I hope that when this Gina nonsense ends, the show can actually write KA something worthwhile to play.  It's got to be disheartening for her to have to play Hope that way she's been written for such a long time now.

[WendyCR72]

3 minutes ago, boes said:

I hope that when this Gina nonsense ends, the show can actually write KA something worthwhile to play.  It's got to be disheartening for her to have to play Hope that way she's been written for such a long time now.

I do agree here. With Bo gone, the show needs to find an age-appropriate actor, test him with KA, and commit to that, maybe. Bo had romances post Hope. (Even if, again, soaps and the writing were so much better.)

But at least TRY and do SOMETHING of value with Hope. This? Ain't it.

[hypnotoad]

Quote

I do agree here. With Bo gone, the show needs to find an age-appropriate actor, test him with KA, and commit to that

I don't think KA can act at all - not as Hope but most certainly not as Gina. I don't care much about either character she plays. But I will agree it's way past time for the writers to give her a viable romance and something to do. I actually liked Aiden and really hated that they chose to toss him under a bus for the 1 month return of Bo - esp since most of Bo's return was spent tied up (and not in a good way).

I wanted to like Rafe and Hope but i find both actors so flat, they just generated nothing interesting together.

Quote

MY HEART BLEEDS FOR JUSTIN

Me too! I rather like Justin and Kayla together. I mean of course Kayla and Steve are the happily ever after blah blah but still.

[WendyCR72]

I am always for Steve/Kayla. Sorry, Justin. Makes me wonder what - or who - is next for him.

[boes]

25 minutes ago, hypnotoad said:

Me too! I rather like Justin and Kayla together. I mean of course Kayla and Steve are the happily ever after blah blah but still.

I do too.  I think Wally Kurth is a good actor, the kind that makes it look easy.  He's got this natural warmth, especially as he's gotten older.  If things with Kayla end - and as you say, they surely will when Steve gets that bug out of his head - Show better be able to find something good to do with Justin.  Wally Kurth is just too good to waste.

[Frozendiva]

I liked the talk that Jack and Justin had. Two grown mature men talking over a cup of coffee. Being honest. Nice to see.

There aren't any doctors in the Salem area beside Kayla who can take the chip out of Hope's neck? No one from Chicago or anywhere in the town's environs? Maybe Kayla can work on a Stevenstein/Patchistein.

Chad is walking around like he hasn't slept in days? Or has overdosed on allergy pills?

Kate, you should clue in quickly that people in the mansion aren't their usual selves. Stevano's influence is around them. Chad is malleable and susceptible to manipulation and wanting to please his father.

I wouldn't want to wake up and find Stevano reading Ode to a Grecian Urn to me.

 

[hypnotoad]

Quote

I think Wally Kurth is a good actor, the kind that makes it look easy.  He's got this natural warmth, especially as he's gotten older.  If things with Kayla end - and as you say, they surely will when Steve gets that bug out of his head - Show better be able to find something good to do with Justin.  Wally Kurth is just too good to waste.

I very much agree. I think he has a lot of charm and that pops off the screen. I think the end of Kayla and Justin is a foregone conclusion because Steve is back in town. As soon as Stefano is removed, well then the inevitable begins. It is what it is I guess. It's weird but why do the female side of these Days super couples rarely get a romance outside of the pairing but the guys do?

And don't get me wrong I've been a Steve/Kayla fan for a long time. But this is one of the few times she's gotten something going outside of him and I (surprisingly) have enjoyed Justin/Kayla. I suppose it helps that the characters are played by good actors who know how to make the most of their limited screen time.

Quote

There aren't any doctors in the Salem area beside Kayla who can take the chip out of Hope's neck?

Why is it in her neck rather than her head? Doesn't it make more sense to be in the head? So weird. Also, how does Kayla even know how to do this procedure? I mean, does she really have any idea what the effects might be if she doesn't remove it correctly? Pffft. Why do I bother to think of things like this?

[Frozendiva]

Before Hope turned in to Gina, she spent a lot of time rubbing her neck - so I assume it is there or somehow travelled to the head.

[Petunia13]

16 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Before Hope turned in to Gina, she spent a lot of time rubbing her neck - so I assume it is there or somehow travelled to the head.

Rolf said a billion x this surgery only requires a small incision on the back of the neck.

37 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Chad is walking around like he hasn't slept in days? Or has overdosed on allergy pills?

He’s under the control of Stefano’s LSD laced talking ring and it’s pestering him nonstop. Though he’s been pretty dull and sleep walking through life after his latest reconciliation with that wench from Hell he’s been married to. 

[SueB]

8 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

Rolf said a billion x this surgery only requires a small incision on the back of the neck.

He’s under the control of Stefano’s LSD laced talking ring and it’s pestering him nonstop. Though he’s been pretty dull and sleep walking through life after his latest reconciliation with that wench from Hell he’s been married to. 

They must have a helluva nanny at Team DiMera.  Ari (sometimes?), Thomas and Charlotte. 

[boes]

1 hour ago, SueB said:

They must have a helluva nanny at Team DiMera.  Ari (sometimes?), Thomas and Charlotte. 

I bet they only have poor Harold, who is wrassling toddlers when he's not toting luggage.

[hypnotoad]

Quote

Rolf said a billion x this surgery only requires a small incision on the back of the neck.

Well I confirmed this with the Simpsons. There is an episode where Homer goes to work at Sprawl-mart as a greeter and has a compliance chip installed AND it's in the back of his neck! However, Homer didn't have Kayla to remove it ... so he did it himself (go to about :35 seconds in):

Homer no brain damage

The Simpsons always has the answers!

Edited March 11, 2020 by hypnotoad

[Sandman]

13 hours ago, Frozendiva said:

I wouldn't want to wake up and find Stevano reading Ode to a Grecian Urn to me.

Ha! I supposed it's marginally better than "Isabella, or the Pot of Basil."

But "... make her more receptive to me"?

EEeeeyack.

This show is now officially too gross for me.

[kitmerlot1213]

It's always a good episode when Dr. Rolf, that wonderfully crazy mad scientist, makes one of his over-dramatic appearances.  The man always brings the entertainment.

I kind of like Princess Gina when she's in snarky mode--her "I'd forgotten there was a second child" when Ciara walked into the room was golden and then she mentioned Ciara's defending her serial killer boyfriend which was also awesome.  Anytime Ciara has to deal with people talking the truth about Ben makes me smile especially because she looks so offended that people still remember his crime spree.

I'm kind of confused as to why Ben's still in the hospital acting groggy but he sure perked up when Will arrived with a care package--their friendship will never cease to amaze me.  

 

[msrachelj]

16 hours ago, hypnotoad said:

I don't think KA can act at all - not as Hope but most certainly not as Gina. I don't care much about either character she plays. But I will agree it's way past time for the writers to give her a viable romance and something to do. I actually liked Aiden and really hated that they chose to toss him under a bus for the 1 month return of Bo - esp since most of Bo's return was spent tied up (and not in a good way).

I wanted to like Rafe and Hope but i find both actors so flat, they just generated nothing interesting together.

Me too! I rather like Justin and Kayla together. I mean of course Kayla and Steve are the happily ever after blah blah but still.

KA is terrible. I'm surprised she has so much longevity on this show. Maybe a better actress could pull all this off but not her. I really don't see how she has an acting career!

[superdeluxe]

Will being BFFs with the man who killed him is wrong.  Just wrong.  He once again left Sonny to go be with the serial killer.  So, I guess that’s what it’s going to be like now — every time Sonny and Will are alone together, Will is going to leave to go hold the serial killer’s hand for whatever reason.  And Sonny just has to be cool with that.

[Silver Raven]

Princess Gina always brings the entertaining snark.

Rolf: "I always was a slow packer."

Is Chad not wearing The Ring any more?

 

[peachmangosteen]

27 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Is Chad not wearing The Ring any more?

He had it on before he went in to talk to Dr. Rolf. He showed it to Rafe and whoever else was there to be like, "I am my father's son," or some such thing.

I straight-up loved today's episode. Everything with Gina/Shawn/Ciara ("You need a breath mint" lol!)

and everything Rolf said was hilarious. And I'll be honest, I'm obsessed with Evan. The actor is really doing it for me and the character is somehow sympathetic while also being kinda snarky and maybe psycho, which I find a fun combo.

I fast forwarded all the scenes of Will having a grand ol' time with the man who murdered him though. Just, no. Honestly I don't really care in like a moral way or anything it's just that it's so forced and it's just embarrassing to watch.