DAYS: Monday, May 14th

[Ryan]

HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Beat you to it Ponz!!!

Though I didn't create it on Saturday like I said, I still got it done. I'm looking forward to reading you all's recaps since I'm stuck at work and can't watch the show until I get home.

[Ponz]

[!@#$%^&*] typical.

*Shakes fist*

[Antoyne]

Why is it that everyone knows that E.J. is a DiMera and yet he still lives in that shitty apartment instead of DiMansion..

[Ryan]

So he can harass Sami on a daily basis, lol.

[DrewH]

What Ryan said, and because he can't live in the DiMera mansion, or else he'd be living at Chez Rouge.

[Jinxed Soul]

I was here about 3 hours ago and I was gonna create one, but I thought I'd give someone else the chance! You'll never be the creator of a Days thread again

Onto the actual episode:

Why doesn't Lucas just beat the crap out of EJ? After finding out he raped Sami, Lucas should've given him a fist in his face . I didn't imagine Lucas would find out so soon about Sami drugging him. I am really astonished by his reaction! He has been very understanding about everything with Sami, but I imagined he would be more upset after discovering this news since Sami told him there were no more secrets being withheld.

Kayla has a powerful relationship with Bo, but to think she would kill her own husband for the sake of her brother, that's huge! That puts Kayla in an entirely different light. It's different to see her worry a little less about the mad man.

Where was Bo when Shawn was getting the crap beaten out of him by Phillip? It was a very smart move for Belle to go along with Phillip regardless of Shawn's anxieties. The whole "God Punishes Sinners" thing was really unrealistic IMO. I know it was meant to be a clue to represent the "GPS", but that was a very unclear clue. I'm very anxious to figure out Gabby's true intentions... she seems very nice and helpful now.

[Keith]

Imagine if they revealed that Mickey bought Chez Rouge, it being the Mansion, and the DiMeras go after her to get it back, now that they're on their way back. That would be so cool. Not that they'd give Maggie a story.

Some good stuff. I was surprised they even cared about the drugging/burnign alive stuff, as I'd forgotten about it until someone mentioned it. Glad Lucas didn't completely blow up- I mean, hell, he already knows how desperate and tortured she felt.

And damn if I didn't feel sorry for EJ. I guess it's the romantic in me. James Scott successfully makes me forget everything that EJ's ever done when he gets all sensitive and droopy and sad as EJ. It's like: aww, he is human. And haha to Kate. Especially the final scenes with her kick to the door and her 'bloody hell'

The island was fairly boring aside from figuring out GPS and Steve arriving. Mostly filler.

Enjoyed Adrienne/Kayla. I'm so glad to see Kayla realizing she has to stand up to Steve. She's getting desperate. But, if Stephanie is so important (gag me), I hope she gets a scene with Kayla before she leaves. That could provide some real good emotional stuff.

More vets, please!

[Ponz]

Solid show.

Today was the first time this year that I didn't FF-wd through any of the Island scenes. It's uncanny how the presence of just one established, mature character can make a story watchable. It was great to see Bo take charge like the leading man he's supposed to be.

I'd like to see Shawn, Belle & Philip have just ONE rational conversation about Claire's best interests. I guess we're supposed to see Phil as the ruthless antagonist in Shelle's story but all 3 of them are behaving like immature brats. Do Shelle seriously believe that Phil poses more of a threat to Claire than she faces hopping from island to island, jumping off boats, having no access to proper medical care etc? Phil deserves no sympathy, either. I do believe he loves Claire but this custody battle is clearly also a major ego trip for him. Though I must admit, I got a guilty pleasure watching him kick Shawn while he was down.

Gabby is still an annoying little twit. And that "GPS" clue was so lame.

The Lucas/Elvis face-off was a bit of a let-down, IMO. The guy raped his wife and yet that subject was glossed over in the space of 2 minutes before they moved onto the paternity issue. At the very least, Elvis should have been punched again . I did like how Lucas positioned himself in front of Sami throughout the scene. That was good direction.

I'm glad the fire secret is out and LUMI can start their marriage with a clean slate. HS has given Lucas more characterisation in the past 5 eps than we've got during the entire year. Once again, his reaction was spot on. He was ticked off about the drugging but there was no suggestion of walking out. It's important that the writers strike a balance between Lucas being loyal & non-judgemental but not being Sami's doormat. Loved his reaction to her not killing Elvis: "that's just too bad" . At some point, JER forgot how similar Lucas is to Sami and tried to turn him into a mini-Austin. It's great seeing him written with some edge. Cute scene when Sami tried to "make up" for the poison lip-stick. I hope Hogan keeps this up and delivers the "Nick & Nora" he originally promised for LUMI.

It's pathetic that Kate hasn't expressed even a shred of gratitude towards Sami for saving Lucas's life or anger at Elvis for putting her in the position. The character is so one-note right now: completely defined by her hatred of Sami.

The Kayla/Adrienne scenes bored me, though Judi & MBE were excellent again.

[DrewH]

Philip, do you realize that you are beating up the child's father right in front of her?! God punishes sinners? Okay... I get where they're going with it, but that's lame.

[DrewH]

I think they're finally starting to darken Alison Sweeney's hair a little bit. It doesn't look as platinum blonde as it usually does.

[GBB]

Loving this episode but I just had to come scream about this:

Bo can't get a phone call out on his cell phone or the landline on Tinda Lao but they have a strong enough wireless signal that he can track Belle on her laptop online??

[Jinxed Soul]

Didn't he saw his cell phone battery was dead?

[DrewH]

Judi Evans must also have a contract, rather than recurring which is what many believed. I remember watching last week's show, and I thought I saw Judi Evans above Tanya Boyd, but I wasn't sure. Then, today, I paid close attention to the ending credits. YES! The credits go:

SHELLEY HENNING

Stephanie Johnson

JUDI EVANS

Adrienne Kiriakis

TANYA BOYD

Celeste Perrault

If Evans was on recurring, she would appear after Boyd because DAYS recurring list goes in alphebetical order rather than seniority like the contract cast list. That's a good thing to hear.

[Days4Life]

As much as I love Lauren Koslow, I think it may be time for the character of Kate to go. Although I expected it, it was disappointing to hear her talking to EJ today, covering the same ground concerning Sami, no mention at all of the fact that Sami saved Lucas's life or that EJ risked Lucas's life. She should be hating EJ now, not Sami, but she continues to be so blinded by her hatred that she's oblivious to anything else. I watched the Mother's Day marathon on Soapnet this weekend, and I believe Kate is reciting the exact same dialogue that she did years ago at the Las Vegas wedding. The writers need to take her in a new direction or write her out, as this is beyond dull at this point. And where else can they go with it? By now Kate has to have exhausted every possible scheme to break up Lucas and Sami. Move on or move her out!

EJ looked so beaten down and destroyed today that I once again found myself forgetting about his evilness and feeling sorry for him. JS really is an amazing actor. Lucas reminded me today of his glory days when he used to partner up with Sami to cause so much trouble. After Sami confessed to drugging him and attempting murder, his biggest gripe was that Sami didn't actually kill EJ! That's the old Lucas back again! But, please, no more kissing scenes for awhile. I get tired of having to mute the TV.

Poor Kayla. She's really in an impossible situation with Steve right now. She loves him more than her own life but is starting to believe she's lost him to the Dimeras forever. She can't let him kill her brother and nephew, but could she really kill Steve to save them? I actually find myself looking forward to how this plays out.

I hate Philip. I really do. I want him and Stephanie to run away together and never be seen again, thereby killing two of my least favorite characters with one stone. Poor Shawn is just not very smart so that explains his stupid decisions, but Philip is smart and a trained soldier so what's his excuse for his ridiculous actions? I do not believe it's pure love for Claire driving him now; it's mostly his rivalry with Shawn and his hurt pride. And I'm also tired of him whining about Belle and Shawn trying to keep him away from Claire. He chose to leave town, he chose to secretly come back to Salem and visit with Claire behind Belle's back, he chose to file papers for sole custody and then buy off the judge and Willow, he chose to make plans to kidnap Claire and take her permanently from Shawn and Belle. I know Victor was in on this, too, but Philip could have been a man and stood up to him for once.

Tomorrow's previews looked great. I'm thinking this may be another very good week!

[Ridge]

Kate and EJ's scenes were very good. So far this May has been all about Sami once again, with Alison carrying the show on her shoulders!! She's been doing an awesome job IMO.