Well, hey there! What have you been up to? Me? Why, I've just been kicking back watching the EMMY-WINNING BEST DRAMA, DAYS OF OUR LIVES!!!! Can you believe it? It's like our crew of forgotten misfits finally got to wear the crown. I'd like to send huge congratulations to everyone over at DAYS for their hard work and dedication to one of my favorite hours of TV.
Also, you know, I might suggest that the DAYS leaders take another look at the episodes that won the award and see what lessons one could learn. DAYS was up against some tough competition from the other soaps, so this win should not be put in the rearview mirror anytime soon. We have a blueprint now. Use it. If you want to read that as "keep Ejami together, let Kristen play more mind games, let Nicole carry a storyline or two, and feature your vets doing their jobs," well, I wouldn't argue with you one bit.
Speaking of vets, can we keep the party going for the show that aired this week? I'm talking about the fabulous Judi Evans getting a gloriously complicated storyline! This was good stuff. On one hand, Adrienne had a huge point. Will and Sonny are very young. And while their relationship is strong, the fact remains that "strong" and "baby with an ex strong" are two different things. Adrienne's worried about her kid, and I have no problem with that.
But on the other hand, she stepped way over the Kate Roberts Meddling Mothers Line when she threw mud at Will and Sami for reasons that were not at all their faults. I mean, hello Adrienne, that guy you just called selfish is recovering from a gunshot wound he suffered while jumping in front of a bullet to save the man who was blackmailing him. You should have known this by the fact that he was wearing a hospital gown while you chastised him.
Additionally, it has to be said that Sonny doesn't exactly have pure blood running through his veins either. And, for the record, the reason that Sonny was in danger was because of Nick Fallon. You know, the guy who lives just a few doors down from Adrienne in the Kiriakis family home.
But above all else, this is Sonny's life, and Adrienne has no business telling her grown son how to run it. Everyone -- including Justin and Sonny -- told Adrienne as much. But the lady's on a mission now (technically, she has been on it for a while) and will no doubt find the video of Sami that Sonny put on her phone and turn it in to the police and/or blackmail Will with it. But, like I said at the beginning, I was just thrilled that Adrienne got some meaty scenes.
She was a new woman. And she wasn't alone.
I loved seeing Marlena support Sami and take on Adrienne. Sure, it was a little weird of Marlena to jump all over Adrienne for holding Will responsible for Sami's mistakes but then turn and deem E.J. bad because of his family's evils. But at least Marlena is at the Sami party now. And my mother's argument that John has been holding Marlena back all these years certainly seems to be gaining support. It's amazing what picking the right mate will do for a character.
Case in point: last week, Sami and E.J. proved that they are at their individual best when they're together. E.J. kept approximately 675 plates spinning at one time to protect Sami. I think I burned at least 450 calories just watching him run around Salem! The best part was that he managed to do it all without ever making Sami feel like she's a nuisance to him. It's ironic that E.J. is undoubtedly the shadiest man she's ever been with, yet he handles her with more care than the others.
As for her, it would certainly be easy for Sami to throw the DiMera family under the bus, since that seems to be all the Salem Police Department wants. Yet she stood by her man -- oftentimes in his arms -- as determined and confident as ever.
They even stood strong when talking to Will and Sonny about the video. I'm so glad that the show didn't drag out the video news with Sonny and E.J. keeping the secret from their respective Bradys. I'm growing very fond of scenes with the four of them. I applauded that Will was determined not to let Sami go to prison for him. But if Will does tell Abe everything, Sami will have an absolute motive for murder. We all know that Sami didn't see Bernardi's face before shooting him. But Justin is going to have to do some major tap dancing to convince a jury of that.
So, clearly, Sami should tell Justin about the video. Sami's under no obligation to volunteer evidence against her to the police at all. But her lawyer is a different story. One, because more Justin all the time is one of my standard rules of life. Two, because Justin needs to be prepared to counter it once it appears. And thanks to Adrienne, it's totally coming.
If not Adrienne, Abigail may blow the whistle, since she suddenly had a problem with Sami last week. I cheered when Chad shut that noise down with the brilliant point that everyone thought that Jennifer had hurt Nicole because of their fights. And no, Abigail, Bernardi's family doesn't deserve to know the truth because he is a day player, and Sami is a legacy character. Do you even watch soaps?
Abigail is way too smart to play the goody-goody one. She needs to pull a page out of her parents' playbook and figure out why Sami and Bernardi were fighting. Let's see her uncover Will's crime, Nick's blackmail, Bernardi's association with Stefano, and then decide whether Sami was out of control or not. I'll pass on watching Abigail wring her hands and get all indignant about someone being dishonest.
Besides, we all know that Sami was completely justified in her shooting because she wasn't wearing a wig. It's standard operating soap procedure that if you're going to go off the deep end, you do it in a wig.
Oh, deliciously twisted Kristen! You, your Kris Jenner wig, and your whack accent made my year. I've been wrestling with how the show is going to get Eric out of the priesthood, and you managed to do it with one shot of forget-who-you-are serum.
Granted, I was not expecting Kristen to try to rape Eric. Even if Nicole's knock on the door stops Eric and Kristen from going all the way, that move was pretty sick, even for Kristen. Brady may have forgiven her for everything up to this point, but once he finds out that she drugged and raped his priest brother, I don't know that she'll have a chance.
That is, if he finds out. Right now he's totally preoccupied with the friends-with-benefits thing that he and Nicole decided would be perfectly healthy to engage in at this exact point in their respective lives.
Oh boy.
The thing is, Bricole fans are almost as long-suffering as Ejami fans, so I feel a sort of solidarity with them. Also, Arianne Zucker and Eric Martsolf are no slouches in the chemistry department. They can banter back and forth between friends and the benefits better than any couple on the show, possibly ever.
However, when Brady and Nicole talked about how lucky they both were to have each other, well, I started looking for my B.S. card. I don't know who's more emotionally unavailable between the two of them. They've each saved each other before, but neither of them is in any condition to be doing any saving right now. Nope! They'll be far too busy with all of the storyline potential that's coming around for this quad!
Could it be dueling miracle pregnancies with Brady/Nicole and Eric/Kristen? Kristen with her own "who's the daddy" storyline? Brady realizing that he digs Nicole just as RoboEric falls for her too? It's so rare that a soap can pull off a successful love quad, but this one has amazing promise. I'm in. I've got my popcorn. Let's do this.
LOOSE ENDS
I liked Nick's scenes with Vargas because this put Nick back in the right age group. He's a 30 year-old man and never should have been in the Gabi/Will bracket. Now, the Chelsea/Max/Philip/Chloe bracket is another story...
Kate fired Nick for losing the product formula. The whole thing made me realize that Kate still doesn't know the whole story. Nick's little blackmail involved Lucas and Roman too. I highly doubt that Kate would simply fire Nick for doing three men she cares about wrong.
They're not waking Rafe up from the coma because he would be too agitated with the news going on right now. It is a classic soap medical diagnosis, you know. Stress will cause every medical condition to worsen to the point of almost certain death. But, if they are waiting until there's a time when Rafe won't be agitated...well...I hope that Rafe is comfy in that bed!
Abigail had her turn lashing out at Daniel, so it's only fair that J.J. has his shot too. But the problem is that J.J. isn't just lashing out at Daniel. He's quickly becoming the town's most predominant drug dealer. (The Rory creature is totally holding back the business, too, if you ask me!) The kid needs some serious time with Marlena. Putting Jennifer in a seat next to him wouldn't be the worst idea ever. I'm actually surprised that Jennifer can walk upright with all that sand in her hair.
SUMMER OF SINNERS BLOG-STRAVAGANZA!
Tony and I have had so much fun with our "Top 10" lists this year that we decided to do something fun for the summer. From June 21 - September 21, we'll be posting a series of blogs that celebrate the villains of Salem. Our first one, Hunky Henchmen, is up now! So stay tuned for more mentions of bad girls, problem children, and major villains!
HOT
As great as the show was last week, the best part was the commercial saying, "Congratulations to Days of Our Lives -- this year's Emmy winner for outstanding drama series." I'd also add a huge bear hug congrats to the spectacular Chandler Massey for his well-deserved win. The consistently great, layered performances day after day out of him have been a joy to watch!
Also, I do have to concede that the production of the Emmys was kind of a hot mess. But as someone who enjoyed every single one of Mary Richards' dinner parties, I have a soft spot for good-intentioned people who try desperately to throw a good party for the sake of the event. So, I enjoyed it. And it wasn't all bad. Nancy Lee Grahn's comedy spots were great!
NOT
Will, Sonny, Gabi, and Arianna Grace living together is a terrible idea. Sure, Sonny's heart was in the right place. But that extra room should have been for Arianna Grace, not for Gabi. She could have gone to Rafe's loft and lived in one of the 47 bedrooms there. Maybe Dario could have returned to town to help her care for the baby and Rafe. But this compound living situation still puts off the inevitable -- Will and Gabi still need a formal custody arrangement!
LINE OF THE WEEK
Jennifer: "I had a big dose of the 'rush to judgment' myself this year, and I am not a fan. Let's just hope this gets settled quickly." My mother called me minutes after the show aired to point out the absurdity of having these two sentences back-to-back. She and I would both like Jennifer to smarten up right away, if not sooner.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Since she threatens to leave Salem every other day, I absolutely do not believe that Nicole doesn't own a suitcase.
Wasn't it great that Jennifer had time to curl her hair after meeting with the reporters and before running into Marlena in the hall?
Maybe it's just me, but if someone changed their story from a knife to a razor, I wouldn't exactly be yelling "Gottcha!" Also, if Bernardi and Rafe were such good friends that Bernardi went to visit Rafe in the hospital, wouldn't their wives at least recognize each other?
Kate may have achieved the reverse mullet. Her style was business in the back and party in the front.
I guess Adrienne forgot that Brady is part of Sonny's family. I bet drug-dealing J.J. is totally just "Will's cousin" too.
Really? Chad was making a highlight reel for Sami's birthday?
I'm a little shocked that there wasn't even a mention of Nick attending some therapy sessions. Blake Berris would kill these scenes, no doubt. But I'd even take a passing comment to show that Nick is a work-in-progress.
You know how the airlines have those perks for frequent flyers? I think the Salem PD has the same thing where you don't have to wear a jumpsuit if you're been arrested more than ten times. Sami's cami/cardigan combo was quite fetching!
It was a major, colossal, epic fail for Kristen to use the fake name "Faye Taylor." Yes, I got the Walker reference, but "Penelope Kent" was right there for the taking. Boo.
Sonny has a bit of double standard for what Will should and shouldn't know.
I feel like we've been watching Maggie tell Daniel and/or Jennifer to call the other for months now. #FreeMaggie
It didn't help lessen the ridiculousness level when Kristen's incognito scene backed up to the Activia commercial where Jamie Lee Curtis dons glasses and sneaks through the supermarket.
Not that I would ever want to change it, but if Justin weren't available, it would have been nice to see Carrie return as Sami's lawyer. She and Sami haven't always gotten along (understatement!), but Carrie would be down with Sami doing something to protect Rafe.
Sitting on the patio, drinking wine, and listing good things about Kristen is what @Tony_S_Days refers to as "Thursdays."
And there you have it for another great week in Salem! The show has not lost a step after May Sweeps, and we're almost done with June! Well, that is unless you count this bummer casting news from Chandler Massey and Casey Deidrick last week. But look at the bright side! You're losing two great actors, but at least you've still got two mediocre Scoopers! And we talked about it on last week's Soap Central Live!
What are your thoughts on Days of our Lives? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
