My journalism professors always taught us not to bury the holy cow, Kristen's video played as soon as she arrived at the altar!!!!!!
Sorry. For something this big and well done, we need to just let the fireworks go off and then to work backwards and unpack it. When Brady looked at Eric before the wedding and said, "I guess we should give the people what they want," he wasn't kidding. The show was on fiyah this week. So, get your snacks ready! We're going in.
It. Was. Amazing. Through a calamity of errors involving some pretty entertaining physical comedy from Deidre Hall, Marlena played Kristin's sex tape to a church of stunned people just as Kristen got to the altar. I was honestly a little shocked that they had this reveal happen the first week of Sweeps month, but I soon realized that it was because this is a new DAYS, and they've got more tricks up their storytelling sleeves.
For starters, who saw that punch coming? My sister and I both let out a "Whoa!" when Brady decked Eric. I think I'm one of the last remaining people who feels bad for Brady. Yes, I wish he had found someone a little less used-to-sleep-with-my-dad-and-tried-to-kill-my-stepmom-y. But I can't say that there's any shame in his romance game. If anything, he's over-devoted to his ladies, and I can't really be mad at that.
Next, there's Victor. I get why Victor didn't want Marlena to see the video first. Marlena would actually have to think about whether or not to humiliate Eric to save Brady. Victor doesn't. He sees Marlena and her feelings as unfortunate collateral damage in his fight for the greater good. However, Maggie warned him not to hurt anyone that she loves. And Maggie loves Brady, Eric, and Marlena. I hate to say it, but Magic is the first couple in danger.
Ejami is the second. And they are in some serious trouble. Kristen confessed to E.J. that she raped Sami's twin brother, who is a priest, and E.J. lied to Sami about it. This one is a big deal. Eric is a 100-percent innocent victim here. Sami literally asked E.J., "Tell me every word she said." And E.J., while shocked, still had enough of his wits about him to come up with a believable lie about running the company with Kristen leaving. Then when the tape played, he actively tried to stand in Eric's way of remembering. Finally, he told Sami that the tape looked consensual. There's no gray area here. E.J. picked his sister over Sami and made the wrong decision.
Can Ejami bounce back from this? For the good of the show, I hope the writers find a way. With some careful writing, the show could point out that Sami knows why a woman could get so desperate that she could drug and rape a man. But E.J. dug himself a huge hole in the few hours that he knew the secret.
Maybe he'll testify against Kristen at trial, since he's the only one outside of Stefano who knows the truth. E.J. was in no way involved in her plan. And he genuinely does believe that Kristen loves Brady. But, if he doesn't do everything he can to hand over Kristen's head on a silver platter, he better start getting used to sleeping alone. Or with the fishes.
All the while, Nicole was hiding out at Daniel's place. I like that these two are still friends, with her even asking him about his own problems and empathizing with his situation with J.J. And I really appreciated that they kept bringing up Nicole's past as an abuse victim to remind us all why Nicole wasn't blowing up Salem, trying to clear her name. Also tucked away in the Daniel/Nicole discussion was mention that Daniel never got any hard evidence of the poison. So technically, all that's out right now is a video of what appears to be consensual sex.
Finally, there's Eric and Nicole. Prior to the movie hour, they shared another amazing scene. They screamed and cried, and Nicole threw a glass of water at the well. (It's not a soap story until someone throws a vessel of liquid!) This may have seemed like an odd way to play it, but I really appreciated it. There were clearly so many feelings between the two of them, and all of that energy has to go somewhere. It doesn't just disappear.
We've known for months that Kristen would get caught and exit Salem. So, the fallout from this whole storyline will be how Eric and Nicole rebuild -- individually and together. With more than one person questioning Eric's vocation, I'm taking that as wishful thinking foreshadowing that there might be a career change in his future. Either way, as long Eric gets a chance to really deal with the rape, I'll be happy to watch Greg Vaughn and Arianne Zucker take this storyline from here.
LOOSE ENDS
J.J. finally realized that Daniel isn't the devil. Of course, this wasn't ever really about Daniel. J.J. would have lashed out at whoever "not-Jack" was because he was a kid going through terrible pain. So I'm glad to see the two mend fences, and I actually like Daniel and J.J.'s uneasy alliance.
Still, that doesn't mean that Daniel should just take Jennifer back when the truth comes out. I know, I know. I realize how ridiculous that sentence is. Jennifer is Salem's veteran girl-next-door. Rooting against her is like actively hoping Meg Ryan doesn't end up with the guy at the end of the movie. But she acted like such a spectacular bonehead that I have a hard time wishing her on Daniel (or J.J., for that matter!) again.
I'm almost convinced that if Theresa isn't lying about it now, she'll pull a Sami Brady and fake her amnesia after she remembers the truth until she can figure out how to use this lie to her advantage. Something like Daniel scoring prescription drugs for Theresa.
Jen was totally wrong to lecture Daniel about his personal life after she dumped him. But I get it. Nothing is more frustrating than having your ex rubbed in your face, especially by someone who got as much pleasure out of it as Theresa did.
Jordan and Rafe are growing on me! I like that the show established her as a superior expert to him on all things, including football. Rafe hasn't had a gal like that. As long as they don't turn her into yet another damsel who needs protecting, this could be interesting.
A lot of people -- Rafe included - seem to be rewriting history just a bit. Sure, Kate told Rafe that they should break things off. But not only did Rafe have a pattern of not listening to Kate when she said that before, but it seems like kind of a weak technicality to fall back on considering that Kate has spent the last three months sitting vigil at Rafe's bedside where everyone, including Rafe's sister, treated Kate like she was Rafe's girlfriend.
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Nick's storyline isn't crazy enough for him. Trying to land a girlfriend by getting her a dream job isn't exactly dangling someone from a balcony. Step up the crazy, Nicky.
Update! Chad's surgery was a success. Wahoo!
Cameron is going to Africa to be part of Doctors Without Borders. Maybe he'll say hi to Laura and finally find out what happened to Alice's money while he's there!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Join @Tony_S_Days and me for a celebration of DAYS! To commemorate its 48th anniversary, we teamed up to produce a list of 48 Reasons to Watch DAYS and even got a chance to chat about it on Soapcentral Live. Read and listen to us! It's a Two Scoops sensory overload!! (Note: we apologize in advance.)
HOT
I cannot get enough of Brady, Eric, and Sami together. I loved Eric and Brady giving Sami a hard time about loosing the ring. I love that she didn't bring a ring, but she did remember champagne. I love that Brady mentioned Eric's love for the Bulls. I love that Eric had glasses ready for an impromptu toast and picture. More of the Black/Brady kids, forever!
NOT
I've never wanted Anne to go away more than when she got all nasty in front of Parker. And that's saying something. I've wanted Anne to go away since the second I saw her.
LINE OF THE WEEK
Victor (to Brady): "Maybe you'll give out false teeth as wedding souvenirs!" Don't tease me, Victor. I so want a set of Susan teeth.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Sparkle Modeling Agency sounds like a place where Jerrica Benton would work.
Two new facts that I've never heard verbalized before: Juan Ortiz is Kate's personal P.I., and Lucas' title is creative director.
Jennifer's brain might not have been working, but her hair was on point last week.
Seeing E.J. in jeans and a pullover sweater really threw me for a loop.
Excellent use of history, having Lucas speak up for people changing their name to get a fresh start!
Sonny and Gabi weren't the only ones talking about Will's exit this week.
Just wait until Anne hears that Brady is going to take three months off to go on vacation. Jennifer will look like Bob Cratchit.
I'm always amazed how many people show up for weddings of people who everyone claims have no friends.
I'm assuming that Anne came to the hospital on her day off to help Theresa home.
This just in -- Gabi had a job that was not mentally challenging. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Oh, Kristen. Don't sell yourself short, lady! You're way worse than E.J. He's never drugged and raped a priest, videotaped the whole thing, and planned to give it to one of the church elders on one of the church's biggest days just to punish the priest's mother for exposing a crime that he actually committed.
I love that Sami wore a black leather dress, red heels, and a ponytail to Brady's wedding. Mainly, I just love that Alison Sweeney can pull off a black leather dress, red heels, and a ponytail.
And with that, I'll turn it over to Tony. He'll be back with continuing coverage of Hurricane Kristen. I'm off to see if I can snag that DVD Brady made for Kristen away from Victor. It just happens to be the perfect Christmas present for a certain Two Scoops partner of mine.
Need more Two Scoops? Head over to read blogs by Laurisa or Tony for more ranting, raving, and all-out randomness
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