Days: Lucas/Sami/EJ

[SteveFrame]

Okay I have rooted for Sami and Lucas to get together for years. But now that they are together I am not enjoying it like I always felt I should and I can't figure out why. It's not that their backburnered now because they aren't. It's not because they happy and it's boring. So what is wrong, I keep asking myself.

Even last year under JER it wasn't Carrie & Austin that I waited to see together it was Sami & Lucas. I was so excited that they would be together in the end.

I thought at first my problem was because of I wanted her with EJ. In June enter EJ. I fell in love with him from the start. And I loved the chemistry of the bad boy with Sami. I started liking them and they became a very promising young couple for me.

So when she first got back with Lucas I was actually disappointed because now I was torn. Who did I really want Sami with and actually in many ways I was excited about that.

I was excited because all of this reminded me of Hogan's take on the Craig/Carly/Jack scenario when he first came to ATWT. I was absolutely in love with them. And although I didn't like some things that Hogan was doing at Days I was excited that he was going to do a set up like that with EJ/Sami/Lucas.

I mean he set it up perfectly.

With Craig on ATWT he juxtaposed him perfectly between Carly and her rival Barbara. He romanced Barbara while at the same time wanting Carly. Okay on Days Hogan had EJ to romance and sex it up with Kate who was Sami's chief rival. He didn't copy it word for word because he had Craig marry Barbara and on Days EJ hasn't married Kate.

ON ATWT he set up the Carly/Jack pairing and they had great chemistry and Craig/Carly had great chemistry. He had Carly who was the bad girl turned good but not quite there yet.

Same on Days he had EJ/Sami who have great chemistry, and he has Lucas/Sami who have great chemistry. And Sami is perfect as the bad girl going good who is not quite there yet.

He is keeping the rivalry going between Kate & Sami just like he did with Barbara & Carly. Here he has an equal plus because Kate is the mother of one of the parties and that adds another dimension to it.

With all that I should be absolutely loving this story. But for some reason I am not. I lvoe seeing my favorites. Allison Sweeney can make the worst stuff good and she has good dialogue to work with. Dattilo is always good. Scott is perfect as the bad boy. Koslow is always good.

But here I am just not liking it.

I know that one thing is missing is that Carly/Craig were always forbidden and kept the friendly atmosphere going. He was bad but Carly never could quite hate him in the beginning and that kept him more attractive to her.

With that Craig did bad stuff, but he wasn't the evil one (he became evil toward the end of Sheffers run) but in the beginning he was the bad boy. The evil stuff was left to others.

Sheffer here has made EJ not just bad but he is evil. Also now Sami hates EJ since the rape. And that attraction she had for him is not there. So that leaves Sami & Lucas who to me as a couple just have lost some of their spark.

And then so far the rivalry between Sami & Kate is just not as good as what he did with Barbara & Carly. He set that in the business world and the fights were so effective. I don't know who thought up this beam thing for Kate & Sami to fight over but it seems like something a "new" writer would come up with and not a 4 time Emmy winner.

I am just hoping that things get better with this in the future. I am glad that Hogan is only copying the basics of the story. I hate for writers to copy stories, but I swear there are some days I pray for EJ to set up Sami in her own business competing against Basic Black and Kate, for Kate to be burned in a warehouse and everyone think that EJ or Sami did it. Then Kate to come out of it and vow revenge on everyone by getting Stefano to kidnap all her enemies and send them off to a spa in Switzerland. Hey a boy can dream.

As I said I can't complain about the acting, because it is great.

I love the performers - not a sour apple in any of the 4.

I love the dialogue and the basic writing (excluding the beam stuff).

But just something is missing. Anyone else have any thoughts on it??????

[Q Steph]

I like Lumi but I don't always like Lucas. He is far too judgemental of Sami. He's always so quick to point a finger and lecture her as if she were Will's age.

I could've gotten behind EJ/Sami. They both have a scheming spirit, but he raped her. I can't throw my support in that direction. So, Lucas needs to remember he's not a saint and accept Sami as is.

[Ponz]

The story is quite repetitive and boring at the moment but I can see Hogan's "master plan" behind all this. Alot of people have bashed Lucas for being too judgemental and always deserting Sami when the going gets tough. Well, Hogan has given him the perfect opportunity to prove his loyalty and devotion. I know he's going to be hurt that she didn't confide in him about the rape but I don't see this story going the 'typical' Sami route (with her dumped at the alter). I don't say that based on any spoilers I've read but just on my general perception of Hogan's writing so far. He has written Lucas as far more respectful and understanding towards Sami than JER ever did (at least post 2004).

He has also written Sami more explicitly as a heroine. In the past, she would be keeping a secret for entirely selfish reasons. In this case, she has done nothing wrong and viewers can see the pain and trauma she is going through. So I genuinely believe this story will have a different outcome and will elevate LUMI to a new level as a couple. It's not perfect and there will be setbacks along the way but both characters are maturing. It's all long overdue, IMO.

The Sami/Lucas/EJ stuff is basically filler material at the moment but I'm expecting it to really heat up within the next month. Not only will there will be the fallout when her secret comes out but we will also see EJ's sinister plan for the baby begin to take shape.

[billyjill]

Ponz, I agree with you on Hogan's general plans, I do wish he'd connect the dots in between a little better but I think milking the Will-he-won't-he-stand-by-Sami tension is actually a great idea. You have to pent up the tension so you can let it out in grand style. I just wish the in-between felt a little bit more spontaneous.

[DrewH]

I was a huge Lucas and Sami fan from 2003-05. They were my couple. Then, once Austin and Carrie were brought into the mix, I lost all interest. Neither was acting the themselves anymore. It was like Sami and Lucas jumped into a time machine and went back to the 90s where they loved two other people. Their chemistry, for me, suffered because of this. I was sick and tired of seeing Sami screw up and Lucas never taking her side. Then, a few days later, Lucas realized his feelings and wanted to be with Sami again. It was so repetitive and got on my nerves a lot.

Once EJ was thrown into the mix, I threw in the towel as a LUMI fan. James Scott and Alison Sweeney's chemistry overpowers Sweeney and Bryan Dattilo, and that's saying a lot.

[Days4Life]

I used to wish for the day Lucas and Sami would be together but now I feel nothing for them as a couple. I love Sami, even when I hate her! But Lucas has been written as weak, judgmental and self righteous for so long that even now, when I really think he's finally growing a real spine, I can't get invested in him. Plus, last summer and fall there was so much chemistry between EJ and Sami, that Sami and Lucas are now feeling very lackluster and "vanilla". EJ and Sami on the other hand are like "rocky road". (Sorry, I'm craving ice cream right now!) If it wasn't for the rape, I would be very supportive of Sami dumping Lucas and hooking up with EJ, despite him being evil, because face it, folks, EJ is DELICIOUSLY evil!

[WTGH]

EJ is no Craig.

My gripe with the story is that it's sooooooooooooo boring. EJ terrorizes Sami... she's scared... she cries. zzzZZZZZZ.

[Im-n-a-whirl]

I stopped rooting for EJ/Sami the day that he raped her.

[PhoenixRising05]

I so agree. The story is there. Hogan is just really building up to some big stuff down the road. He clearly wants fans invested in this and it seems like a story he really wants to follow through on.

I have liked everything about this story except for the beam stuff. The EJ/Kate video stuff was ok but the rest was boring and filler.

[Keith]

What's missing?

Lucas isn't Lucas. He hasn't been for a long time. He has no identity. We've gotten hints of the Lucas that made LUMI work in the past, but not enough.

[SteveFrame]

I agree with you that EJ is no Craig. Craig was a lot better villian, but I see Hogan's plan is to pattern him after Craig in this story without copying it.

I don't know why he felt he had to go the route of having EJ rape Sami and shoot John. I could still be behind a possible EJ/Sami connection but with the rape I never can now.

I know when he did the Craig/Carly/Jack story there were many times I was torn over who I wanted Carly to choose, but I don't really want Sami to choose either Lucas or EJ at this point.

[ArizonaDaze]

Lucas became mini Austin under JER and that is what really hurt the character. I see signs of his getting some of his edge back (back when he and Sami use to scheme together) so I am still rooting for them. I would like to see Lucas developed more in terms of interacting with other characters and not just Sami, EJ & Kate. Stuff with Billie has been good but he could interact with Maggie more too.

[Bree]

Lucas has been ignored and underdeveloped ever since JER left in the late 90s. Despite all his other faults, Lucas was a very decent character in the early years, when he and Sami were nothing more than scheming friends. If the writers would allow Lucas to exist apart from Sami and Kate and have him interact with other people, it would be a big improvement. His small scenes with Belle and Stephanie were refreshing.

[ArizonaDaze]

I agree with you Bree - I always hoped he would interact more with Jennifer and even Hope, but alas, no.

[JackPeyton]

i loved Lumi forever... but now i just want EJ & Sami more than anything else on soaps right now!!