State of Salem 9/23-9/27/13

My first weekly analysis! Yay!

Main Events

-Daniel goes on a trip to Chicago so Chloe can spend time with Parker.
-J.J. along with Rory and Bev stay at Daniel's apartment for the night and are almost caught twice.
-Daniel figures out J.J. was there and promises not to support it if he lets her talk. This talk only upsets J.J. further and ends up failing.
-Jennifer is livid for Daniel for talking to J.J. and wants nothing to do with him.
-Theresa attempts to save her job by making a deal with Jennifer..and fails!
-Anne Milbauer continued to hate Jennifer and saw through Theresa's plan to get her to give her her job.
-Though it failed Milbauer was impressed and might actually give her a job.
-Kristen almost catches Victor and Nicole scheming but nothing comes of it.
-Brady fears that Nicole has fallen off the wagon. He also questions her about her feelings for Eric for the 50 billionith time.
-Nicole gets offered a job on a TV show.
-Brady and Kristen have their pre-Cana appointment.
-Nicole has an erotic (mostly PGish) dream/fantasy about Eric.
-Eric gets hypnotized by his mother and another psychiatrist but isn't able to find out the identity of the woman. He seems to remember something in the last image of the week.
-Stefano let E.J. know that every member of his family should be living in the mansion including Chad.
-E.J. found out that Chad is faking a brain tumor so that Cameron will bow out of the love triangle.
-E.J. then uses this to blackmail Chad into living at the mansion even though he doesn't want to.
-Rafe continued to get Jordan to show some type of emotion while Kate continued to dislike her.
-Gabby and Sonny's frosty relationship continued for her blackmailing him into keeping her relationship with Nick a secret.
-Sonny brings up what she did to Melanie but Gabi explains that he legally can't say anything.
-All hell breaks lose when Will finds Gabi and Nick at the apartment.
-Will finds out that they have been sleeping together and that Sonny knew. He later confronts Sonny about it.
-Gabby realizes that it's over between herself and Nick and decides to go out with Cameron.
-Nick has the opposite feeling and seems to want to take Gabi away from Salem!

Daniel/Jennifer/J.J.

I continue to not care about this. It's gotten to the point where it's gone on for so long that I honestly have lost interest. The reason for J.J. being so pissed does make sense. He feels that his mother and sister have forgotten about Jack who he hero worships. He knows that Daniel was a romantic rival back when Jack returned in the fall of 2011. He seems that Daniel won by default. Of course that's funny being that something of the sort is happening in another storyline. More on that later.

Nothing is ever my fault.

J.J. seems to blame everything he does on Daniel. Apparently Daniel was dealing drugs with him in Salem. He feels justified in committing crimes because he hates Daniel Jonas so much. The problem that I have with J.J. is that he isn't willing to take responsibility for his actions. Not only that but his mother enables him very badly. She seems to care more about being his friend than his mother. She blames Daniel for things that are out of his control. 

You know about that whole global warming thing huh Dan? Yeah you know what I'm going to say next.

She finally womaned up last week but took a step back this week for blaming Daniel for talking to the kid. It was one conversation! It's not going to change things. If she thinks that J.J. is suddenly going to change after one day then she has officially lost her mind! The problem is that J.J. needs to understand the consequences for his actions. This means scared straight. He needs to see what it's like to be in a real prison even if it's for one or two days. There are people that do this professionally. There are reality shows about it! I am glad that she kicked him out as I feel that this is a first step not the only one. She needs to stop with this emotionally abusive crap with Daniel. It's not awesome at all. I have officially lost all respect for Jennifer because of this.

J.J. acts more like a jealous lover than a son!

Jealous much?

Theresa

This character is truly a worse version of J.J. For all of J.J.'s faults I will say that Casey Moss has made me pity him at times. I feel that there is a good reason for him to act out. The problem is is that particular storyline has been in one mode for far too long. 

As for Theresa? The opposite can be said. I have never had an issue with Jen Lilly. In fact I felt bad for her back when she was on GH playing Maxi. Fans were acting like a bunch of sociopaths in regards to her. She got a lot of abuse for something that wasn't her fault. Really it was no ones fault. Kristen Storms got sick and the Maxi character was involved in storylines that were front and center. Storylines that had been planned for months. Jen Lilly came in and played Maxi to the best of her ability. In fact I thought she played her well. The character is not a saint. In fact I haven't been a fan of the character since the drug crap in 2006. For people to go after her? Not cool at all. 

I find this shot to be very ironic.

Unfortunately Theresa Donovan is not a likable character. There is nothing redeemable to her. Unlike J.J. who has a reason for being pissed at the worse, she doesn't. At least it hasn't specifically been mentioned on screen. From what I know her father wasn't around as a kid. So that would make sense. Nothing is being explained. It seems to be set as her being more of a sociopath with Kayla's comments this week. Apparently she has always been a manipulator. So why should we care? There is no vulnerability. The closest is her feeling her family is against her. She takes no responsibility for her actions. 

I think that the writers are going with a this was a J.J. in his late 20s mentality. It's also a way to prop up J.J. He's not as bad as her after all. I wished that she felt some accountability. She knew this was her last chance. She knew that if she screwed up she was going back to LA and to prison. Yet she didn't care or think that it would happen. I think that she has been enabled for so long that she thinks she can manipulate anyone. She's obviously a spoiled brat with her comment about poor people and buses. As if the character was already despicable, they decide to give another reason for her to be hated. 

She tends to think that she's really really smart. A genus in fact. Did she not think that there would be a way to track down that check? She even put it in her own name. She didn't even hide it well! Then there is that fake robbery thing with the biker and Anne Milbauer. I loved that Anne saw through it. I am not happy that this means we are forced to sit through more of Theresa. I think that if it was with a more capable actress that Theresa might work. I don't think that Jen Lilly has the ability to play such a character. 

I actually named this picture "Worst Robber Ever"

I'm going to include the Anne Milbauer stuff her because I find that she was connected with Theresa's storyline this week. I have always like her. I know that I'm supposed to hate her but I don't. Unlike Theresa she does have a reason for being pissed. After all Jennifer got the job through nepotism. Much like characters with connections to the core families they don't actually work for it. It's given to them. As Anne doesn't have those connections she's left with crappy jobs that the elite characters do not want. It's obvious that she's ambitious and wants the PR job and might even have the ability to do it. Instead she's at human resources and she hates it. I feel for her and feel that her portrayer is doing as good of a job as she can with what she's given. I love that she saw through Theresa's scam this week. She's not dumb! I would love to see her find something else to do though. She should have a love interest! I would love it if she was a lesbian and this was all sexual frustration and unrequited feelings. Of course there is that homophobic rule in U.S. soaps that there can only be one gay couple on a show at a time. So this is probably not going to happen. 

Kristen/Brady/Nicole/Eric

This storyline is another that has been dragged on for way too long. The only thing that makes this tolerable is Eileen Davidson's epically awesome portrayal as Kristen Dimera. She's just too awesome! I think that epically is not a word but Eileen Davidson is so awesome that words are created for her! She makes Kristen tolerable even though I'm supposed to hate her. I hope Jen Lilly is watching her because that's how villains are done! 

You know I'm awesome.

Also we got a brief view of that awesomeness that is Victor Kiriakis. I think he got about 5 minutes of screentime this week which is what Theresa should have got. No Maggie unfortunately. Then again she is just a prop for Daniel and Jennifer these days so maybe that was for the best. Still John Aniston rocked in his scenes. The Obama birther comment was probably the best line of the whole week.

Maybe I'll get 6 minutes next week?

The problem is that they have kept this storyline at the same place for a while. The whole Kristen drugging and having sex with Eric thing is getting ridiculous. It did let Susan Banks come out which is obviously awesome. We generally see the same scenes of Eric having sex with some blonde but he never sees her face. It's getting frustrating and annoying. Maybe with what happened in Eric's last scene during the pre-Cana meeting, we will finally see him remembering what happened. 

I had sex with who?

As for Nicole? Talk about wasting her talent! Arianne Zucker is one of the best actors on this show if not on daytime. Her comedic timing is a thing of beauty. She can do drama brilliantly. That's what makes this storyline sad to me. I feel as if she is being wasted on this. She needs to be given something that is deserving for someone as talented as her. Instead it's her swooning over a priest. I will admit that the fantasy that she had was a breath of fresh air on this storyline. 

That's one hell of a kiss!

Eric generally bores me. I read a comment about how Greg Vaughn doesn't know how to play a subdued character like Father Eric. He has played characters that are more emotional such as Lucky Spencer on General Hospital. I actually understand what they are saying. A character like Father Eric is hard to have on a soap opera. The character is just not interesting enough to be front and center. Especially when they have to be celibate. Soap operas are traditionally romances so having a Catholic Priest means writing him in a different way. It's not as much about romance has having a shoulder to lean on for other characters and getting involved in some mystery. 

As for Brady? I'm not feeling him right now. They don't have him doing anything of interest. Even his scenes of consoling Nicole about her "alcoholic problem" have caused me to yawn a couple of times. I enjoy him in his more dramatic stuff as I feel Eric Martsolf shines then. I also love him in conflicting scenes with Victor. When he took the company from him in 2011 I loved it. This turning your back on your family for a woman thing is rather dumb. 

Boring Brady.

Stefano/E.J./Chad/Abby/Cameron

There was no Sami this week which has its positives. Since she's been on our screens ad nauseum for about three months I had no issue with this. I am glad that that joke of a trial is over. I seriously was a joke. We all know that soaps take a lot of liberties with realism. Generally the medical and law professions hate soaps and laugh at them for what goes down. That trial was ridiculous. It doesn't take an expert in the law to know that you can't redirect after the other side has cross examined them. It was quite biased and unfair. If that were to happen then Justin should have been able to do the same thing.

I also find it funny that no one knew that this cop had a lover until afterwards. I am quite confused as to how no one that worked there knew that this nurse was having an affair. They are always talking about the gossip and how people have loose lips about the assorted affairs. It was a plot point in the Jennifer/Daniel/Chloe stuff earlier in the year. I still don't believe that crap that there was so many people in the room and it was chaos. All they have to do is look at who was working that night and interview them. Yes it would be some work but come on that's what cops are supposed to do!

Lastly I hope that we get at least one scene with Marge Bernardi to clean things up. I know that might sound cruel but I think that after the joke of this murder trial I would like to see her reaction. It's a soap after all and it's about emotions. The show made this trial partly about his reputation. After all of the hell and abuse and death threats it would be good to see all of the members of his fan club shown the danger of hero worshipping people.

This week we got to see Stefano acting like a boss as usual. He knew that he had won but it was obvious that will all of his faults that he does love his son. He could have sent him to jail or killed him. Most would for what EJ did though I do understand why he did what he did. For me I like this punishment as it seemed quite organic and less on sensationalism. I like that for this week EJ had the impossible task of getting every Dimera under the same roof. This means that EJ had to convince Chad to move back into the Dimera mansion. That was easier said than done. Chad hates Stefano and refused to do so. That was until EJ blackmailed Chad.

Like a boss!

Chad has gone to his Dimera roots recently with an underhanded, cruel and quite brilliant plan to win in the love triangle between him and Cameron. It's quite messed up for him to even think this was an available option. Instead of having Abby choose on the merits, Chad "won" by default. It started out innocently enough, Chad was passing out and got hit on the head during the Fourth of July. Cameron actually wanted him to go to the doctors for a while. He finally did it and it looked to be a brain tumor. This was sad of course because his own sister died of this. When he went to the expert he found out it was a shadow/artifact and Chad was fine. Instead of revealing this he let the anger get the best of him upon seeing Cameron with Abby making out. So he decided to fake it so that Cameron would bow out and he would get the girl.

There's nothing like faking a brain tumor to get the girl!

I find it sad that he had to do that and that everything is going to come crashing down eventually. It's already been stated that his portrayer Casey Jon Diedrick has already left. It's obvious that his days are numbered. The truth is going to come out and it's going to end badly for him. I don't think that he's going to die but leave town in disgrace. Cameron luckily will not have any dark marks again him because he couldn't tell Abby because of doctor/patient confidentiality. I don't want him to get with Abby.

I have never been a fan of two people fighting over the same person. I feel that Abby led on both guys. Then again something similar happened with her mother back in 2011-2012. I feel that this is just a carbon copy of that. I do not feel sorry for her for what is going to be coming up for her. I also don't get how she's so sexually active since losing her virginity. I find it laughable that she's abstaining from sex and then suddenly she's having sexy with Chad three times a day. Is it all pent up from not having sex for so long? I liked the virgin storyline. Characters are so willing to screw anything that moves these days. Now all Abby wants to do is have sex? Maybe I'm being unfair. I just never got the Abby character. I don't relate to her and never felt a connection with her character. She has just been there and so I generally don't care what she does.

This is time number 2 out of 4 today!

Will/Sonny/Gabi/Nick

The last thing I will talk about this week is that of the major blowup between these four. It was mostly Will, Gabi and Nick but Sonny has been involved too. I was glad to see Will finally find out what is going on and blow up at Gabi and Nick. Gabi has been unlikable recently. I have had no issues with her until the Melanie situation and then her getting with the homophobic Nick. Even though she was very supportive of Will even giving that horrible T a talking too a year ago she suddenly isn't going to give Nick the boot over his comments? She pretty much just went with the first available guy that she saw. Though all of the hell that happened I thought that she got it when Will was shot. Nick pretty much used her to deal with being raped in prison and punished Will for doing nothing but being himself.

You tell 'em Will!

After 3 or so months she gets back with him because she's lonely. Are you telling me that there are no available guys in Salem that would like to get with her? She's gorgeous! Instead she is back with the sociopath. I think that this is loneliness mixed with pity for Nick's plight. Her anger towards Sonny who has a problem with this "relationship" is unwarranted. People don't change overnight. They don't change in 3-4 months afterwards. Nick hasn't been seeing a therapist which doesn't bode well for a changed Nick. He might be remorseful. That's only one aspect. It's obvious that he cannot move on unless he deals with that trauma. Until then he hasn't "changed". Being that the last thing Nick did this week was obsess over Gabi and seem to hint at kidnapping her it's obvious that he is still up to his old tricks. Didn't he already try this with Melanie and it failed?

Way too creepy.

I used to be until the anti-hero characters like Nick but I've gotten annoyed with them. I had a huge crush on Kevin Fisher from Y&R about 6-7 years ago. Now it seems lazy to add on some trauma after they have done horrible things in order to "redeem" them. It's happens a lot. The writers will bring on the sensationalist story to get people watching with little to no payout. They know that properly these "people" should spend a lifetime in jail or get a lethal injection. Instead some ridiculous pardon occurs or they get off on a technicality. Their "payment" is social ostracizing. This usually wears off as characters mysteriously forget what the anti hero did. They seem to be sorry but it doesn't seem enough. Very few can pull this off and make us like them. The only one that has done this with any success is Michael Muhney's Adam Newman. 

I was glad to see Will give Nick hell and put his foot down for this. I was glad to see that this made Gabi realize that she needed to put Nick in her past. When she was going to go to that Octoberfest or is it Oktoberfest thingy with Cameron I was happy. I have not been happy with the abuse she gave Sonny. She seemed to take pleasure in emotionally blackmailed Sonny into not revealing that she was banging Nick. I also have not gotten her general lack of remorse over what she did to Melanie. It always seems as if she never understood what she did. Now Sonny's in trouble with Will which is not awesome at all!

I'd rather cap his face that her blackmailing one.

Jordan/Rafe/Kate

Lastly we get more of a minor story that involved a few scenes to show that these characters are still around. That's the stuff with Rafe. I do like that it's a slow progression. How many people are annoyed with a character is in love with someone after a couple of weeks? It's obvious that there is more to Jordan than meets the eye. I like how we get a little of an emotional response from her. It's funny to see how jealous Kate is. I have heard rumors about Jordan being her daughter. It would make sense since we know that Kate was forced to leave both Austin and Billie when they were kids after her affair with Bill Horton. It could be possible that she got pregnant with Lucas was off at military school and gave up the child. I think that there are some good stuff coming for these characters. I'm honestly looking forward to it. 

Mother and daughter?

Coming Up

Next week looks to be more interesting. In the promo we see that J.J. is going to find out about a more darker side to his father that he hero worships. That's that he raped Kayla. I don't know when this went down but I'm assuming in the late 80s as Kayla was his first relationship upon coming to town. From what I've been able to ascertain he raped her because she was cheating on him with Steve. There was a whole trial and everything. It's good that this is being brought up because it doesn't matter how many years have passed, rape is rape. There is never an excuse for it. It will also be great to see Mary Beth Evans have some great scenes that are not just about being annoyed at Theresa. 

J.J. breaks down.