Michael

When was EJ last the CEO of DiMera? I can't even begin to keep track at this point.

I doubt it, too. Javi and Gus exist to give Leo story. I don't even know where they would move him. If we had Will, Sonny, or Andrew around, I could be open to that, but this guy reads a lot younger than all of them. And we don't need a separate Javi/Gus storyline -- Gus is, like, four steps removed from the focus of the show. I know people seem very into him (because the actor is attractive, I guess?), but the random boyfriend of a Hernandez cousin who was invented two years ago is not someone we need to be focusing on.

He's definitely cute. But he looks like he should be mixing it up with Ari and Liam, while Leo was old to be mixing it up with Ari's FATHERS...

New Javi looks like he should be Holly and Ari's RA, not a 30-something EMT...

Good grief, there has been some absolute DOG SH*T these last too-many years.

Today's episode was a little slow, but I do like how a bunch of different threads are tying together -- Sarah and Brady's investigation, Titan vs DiMera, Holly's illness, Liam & Ari, etc. This has some potential as an umbrella story to juice things up.

That mid-80s reappearance of Linda has always fascinated me. She was such a character of the more grounded first era of the show, so her existing in that heightened 80s world (along with people like Don, Neil, Marie) intrigues me. Bringing back Linda as a complication in Melissa's life was a great idea. Making her a... madam (?!) was a lot.

For as down as I've been on the show recently, I'll give them this: they did a nice job with Deidre's tribute. I will always wish these things felt a little bigger, as opposed to someone just sitting around sharing memories, but they handled it well. Using Paul as the talk-to was great because he didn't know all this history, so she was actually explaining it, as opposed to people just going, "And then remember when this thing happened? And then this one?" Great to see Don Craig get some screen time, too!

Agree with monthly. Otherwise we lose ongoing conversations at the end of each week/day.

Melissa mention! I appreciate that they explained why Maggie is offscreen. I agree that the whole Destiny mystery has my interest. It's at least an intriguing mental puzzle. And Marlena came off like a professional today, which is always nice, as opposed to when they had her using her job to manipulate Xander.

It's funny -- I feel the opposite. I always thought there was something that sparked between Martha Madison and Billy Flynn, going back to that pseudo-pairing in early 2016. MM and Conner Floyd feel like coworkers or cousins. I don't think the scenes with the kids helped much. The new Thomas is, uh, not Cary Christopher. I mean, he's fine for a kid actor, but it's giving cereal commercial with the way he over-enunciates. It all just felt very TGIF sitcom to me.

The big standout for me was also the explicit tie between Liam and the 80s Selejkos! Until now, it's just kind of been shorthand for "poor family with gang ties." But now we know that he is Ivy's son. I don't get why Xander and Kate can't just... drop the lawsuit. Why do they have to admit they set Johnny up? I know it's part of Xander's therapy or whatever, but it feels silly that they "have to" say they planned this. Just say you don't feel it's worth the fight and don't want to harm Johnny, the end.

Yeah, my immediate assumption about Destiny was that she was trying to score prescription pain meds!

Some of the dialogue and emotion with Chanel/Johnny/Paulina was great. Very raw, and I appreciate that they aren't making Chanel some saint just because she's pregnant and has cancer. That said... These episodes have felt soooooo slow and sluggish. There's just no energy to most of this. I feel like Rafe and Cat have had this same conversation 40 times. EJ and Cat have been in this same dynamic for a good 6+ months. The pacing has been very poor, even when the ideas are okay.

I think Mark and Aaron are used the perfect amount, which is: to fill in gaps where it would be weird NOT to see them, or to give Cat a talk-to when needed. I really don't think "the Greene family" needs to be a thing at all. The show acts like it's a thing on social media, but really, it's one major character and three very supporting recurring individuals tied to her. I don't think this is a story about EJ's drug actually helping their mom, though. That seems to be the "trap" Cat told Rafe that she was setting for EJ. I have no idea what their mission even is anymore, now that EJ's activity in that lab is public knowledge...

I bought all of them a few years back and read through them in order. Actually, I couldn't find #13 for a decent price ANYWHERE, so a friend who had it mailed it to me (and I returned it to her afterward). They were fun to read. They veer off from the actual storylines somewhat, but it's nevertheless an interesting glimpse at that era of the show, most of which I've never been able to see. I did a blog post about my reading experience: https://whathappensinsalem.wordpress.com/2016/01/13/a-novel-idea-the-early-years-of-dool/

This looks so boring. Just more of the same dreck stretching out over several more months. It isn't even that most of it is BAD on its own, but the stories completely lack thrust and definition. It makes me feel like I could tune in in November and not have missed anything of consequence.

This is how I feel. Plenty of the scenes are nice or have good dialogue or touch on interesting ideas. But there's no drive to any of it. The episodes feel VERY LONG to me. That opening shot of Tate got my attention, at least!

Yeah, I was so confused for a minute and had to retrace the steps to make sure I wasn't going nuts. I was like, "Dickie Martin survived and got adopted?!" SSH didn't even play that story, so she wouldn't necessarily know. I appreciate that they tried to use history, though? The Jennifer/Jack, Jennifer/Gwen, and Jennifer/Cat stuff has been nice this week. The stupid hypnosis stuff, however...

Nice Jack and Jennifer scenes today. The JJ stuff was a bit maudlin but sweet. Good grief, Casey Moss is HOT. Can they give him something fun to do?! I appreciated that they acknowledged Memorial Day with Philip, too. His scenes with Brady were nice. They can nail these quieter episodes well. They just can't all be quieter episodes!

I think there's an interesting seed in the idea of Rocco being fascinated by the story of his birth and being drawn in by Britt, but like... in a Philip/Vivian on DAYS way, where Vivian has always clearly been a villain and has preyed upon Philip's darker impulses in times of weakness. But they've gone so far in the other direction.

Totally. Most of the pieces are there. They just don't seem to know how to execute them for maximum impact. The editing at the end of the episode where Lexie emerged (I think it was the Friday before last, May 8) was well done, with those quick cuts and mini-dissolves. It had some sense of drama. But it's like they set up these Big! Shocking! Events! without really thinking through how impactful they really are.

That's definitely a plus. I always thought Xander would work well as a boy toy for Kristen whom she eventually fell for. They've had good chemistry going back to when he was working for her in that Nashville warehouse or whatever was going on with that Warehouse of the Dead. We're far past the point where it's needed or makes any sense, but I was reminded of the potential today.

That definitely was a weird dropped thread. Though I think it might be picking back up with the chess set thing? The whole will-reading was SO much build up for nothing, too. "Stefano's estate will be split amongst his living heirs. Gabi is actually Stefano's widow, so she's entitled to 1/13th of the estate instead of that 1/13th being split among the 8 living parties. Marlena got some crap from TJ Maxx and left. Oh, and a recast Lexie wandered into a room full of people her character has barely met."

I think Conner Floyd is fitting in very well. I was wary of this recast, but they've done something smart by not immediately centering him in story. He's around, he's interacting with the right people, but he's not the focal point right now, so we're able to get used to him. Surprisingly smooth recast. I also have to say that I'm not seeing this "new vision" that Noel Maxam has allegedly brought to the show. At all. It's the same Titanic with the same deck chairs shuffled around a bit. Sometimes some of it works, more on a scene level than an overall story level. They hit some nice character beats (as they have been for the past year), but there's very little juice to any of it.