DAYS: Lucas & Sami have received the official "Kiss of Death!"

[Gray Bunny]

Chemistry or no chemistry, one major problem with the EJ character is that viewers have already O.D.'ed on him. He has been featured WAY TOO MUCH this past winter; being involved in nearly every storyline; pulling off many schemes and ALWAYS getting away with them.... It doesn't matter if James Scott is a decent actor or looks good with his shirt off, we were given WAY too much of him too soon. Can you believe it's only been one year since he first arrived on Sami's doorstep?

With Anna DiMera coming back, I would've rather "EJ" been a secret love child of Anna & Tony or some random never-before-mentioned child like that (much like Nick Fallon was created). Because the whole rapidly SORASed predicament of EJ is another jarring factor. Sami was 20 years old and suffering from partial amnesia while Susan was giving birth to Elvis Jr.

In the end, it doesn't matter... Lucas & Sami are the money couple. EJ is a bump along the road, just as Billie was a bump for Bo & Hope, Phillip is a bump for Belle & Shawn (though I don't care much about them), Frankie was a bump for Jack & Jennifer. LUMI is the money couple. EJ is just another Brandon Walker.

[KLN]

Again, good points on paper, but still... none of that eliminates the chemistry between Sweeney and Scott. JMO.

Also, I know we've seen alot of James Scott on the show, but it's gotten to the point now where I feel like something is missing (in a bad way) whenever he's not on. He has a presence that's very enticing and interesting, and it's very noticeable when he's gone. I also love watching him perform... the way he moves, guessing how he'll play a particular scene. He's a mesmerizing actor!

[KLN]

EW!! He and Liver Lips have nothing in common, LoL. How dare you make such a statement!

[Gray Bunny]

The DAYS casting producers also noticed chemistry between Christie Clarke (Carrie) and Jensen Ackles (Eric), but thank God they didn't pursue *that*!

P.S. This is the internet, not paper

[KLN]

LoL, I knew you were going to throw something like that out there.

[KLN]

*clicks print*

Now it is, damn it! LoL

[Kylie]

Soap rape, unless it's violent and the characters react to it the way that AMC's Bianca did, is very subjective. People still argue about whether or not Luke raped Laura, despite the fact that BOTH characters called it rape, and dealt with it as rape. There was a lot of similar things like this on AMC with the LDZ drug, etc. Some people see it as rape, others don't, and I think it comes down to, for me anyway, how the characters handle it. If the characters believe it, call it, and deal with it as a rape, then it was a rape, plan and simple. If the characters don't, see it, handle it, believe it to be rape, then I often can follow their logic.

Based on what I saw, EJ raped Sami. And I think a woman falling for her rapist is sick, and sends a message that is completley unacceptable, chemistry be danmed.

[xDaysAddict]

I do agree that James and Alison have a great chemistry,far better then the Lucas/Sami chemistry(some couples can maintain their chemistry during the course of character being ruined and stuck in bad storylines.Matt Ashford and Missy Reeves are a great example.sadly,I havent felt Lucas/Sami for a long time and do agree there is nothing special in the scenes they share).HOWEVER..

EJ RAPED Sami.we can all claim sami is also a rapist so that it's a great match,but I disagree.when they had EJ raping sami,they ruined what could have been a potential powerfull couple in salem.

I do think that Lumi can be saved..they only need to find some personalities and be given something new to do. if Sami crying every episode or laughing TOO HARD at lucas's "Hilarious" Jokes is Hogan's Idea of a funny couple,he should think again.

Soap marrige doesnt mean couples HAVE to be boring.the problem is with stupid writers who cant think of any story once the 'quest' to the alter is over.god,just steal some stuff from online fan-fics!

[IMissAremid]

I agree with you that if the victimized character in question says it's rape, it's going to be rape even in cases like this where there's coersion involved rather than physical force. And in almost every instance I would agree with you that a rape victim falling in love with her rapist is unacceptable to me as a viewer, but this is the case where I make the exception.

For me, it's not just that I think E.J. Wells deserves a real romantic storyline again, or that Sami with Lucas bores me to tears, or even the mad chemistry I see between Ali and James onscreen whether they are fighting or flirting, whether trying to kiss or kill each other.

It's not just how much I still long for the Romeo and Juliet type storylines that I started dreaming of last fall when it seemed possible a Brady and Dimera could fall in love with each other or the Rhett-Scarlett dynamic I see between the two of them. It's the fact that the rape victim in question is Sami Brady that makes me think EJ and Sami are possible.

As Kenny mentioned, there's the fact Sami herself is a rapist, one who tried to use a pregnancy to get the rape victim to be with her, so she is one of the few people in Salem who could actually understand EJ's motivations and think about how she was forgiven and decide to forgive him if she wants.

But more than that for me is Sami's capacity for forgiveness when it comes to who she loves and the thin line between love and hate that exists for her as demonstrated through her relationship with Lucas.

If Sami Brady can not only forgive, but also fall in love with Lucas even after he allowed her to be condemned to die for a murder he committed and they hated each other for YEARS after starting out as friends then why am I supposed to automatically assume as a viewer that there is no way that Sami could ever forgive and fall in love with EJ after he raped her and she has hated him for MONTHS after they started out as friends?

[petunia]

I'm trying to understand this thread. For months and months all I've read is put LUMI back together or I can't wait for the LUMI wedding. Now that they are finally together all I'm reading is split them up. Wouldn't it be just as exciting if the baby turned out to be EJ's and having him try and get the baby from LUMI and their battle to keep him/her from the dimeras? I've been waiting patiently for LUMI reunion. Yes it's a little dull after a couple get's married but lets just stick it out awhile and see what happens before we all cry "split them up"!

[Ponz]

It's a valid point, though. Using "chemistry" as the sole justification for a pairing is a slippery slope. Tons of people thought Alfonso & Hogestyn were hot together. Does than mean TPTB should split up J&M and Bope to rekindle "Jope"? When Blake Berris first arrived, many thought he had better chemistry with Ashley Benson than with Rachel. Should the writers have gone with "Nabby" instead of Chick? John/Kate developed a sizable fanbase who thought Lauren/Drake sizzled together. Hatrick? Even some Bope fans acknowledged Alfonso/Hutzler's chemistry.

It takes more than chemistry to make a viable, successful pairing. And the fact that Sami raped Austin 12 years ago is hardly a compelling, character-based reason to hook her up with her rapist NOW.

Because there's a difference between mutual conflict and one-sided victimisation. Sami & Lucas both did horrible things during the course of their custody battle. She kept the paternity a secret, lied about Lucas striking Will, taunted him over his alcoholism, repeatedly refused to agree to joint-custody, tried to leave the country with Will etc. Compare that to the situation with Elvis. Sami was a good friend to him when he came to Salem. Without any provocation, Elvis plotted to impregnate her with the Dimera seed, raped her and has terrorised her for several months after the crime. Sami/Lucas made it as a couple because both characters accepted responsibility for their role in the conflict and forgave one another. Having Sami fall for Elvis would just be a means of rewarding him for abusing her. And that is a terrible message for any show to send out.

[PSPCindy]

In your opinion...not everyone shares it.

The EJ character has been featured a lot because he was at the middle of the unbrella story, the revelation of the Brady/DiMera feud. The story bogged down, in my opinion, because of negotiations to bring in the other DiMeras. That resulted in some filler scenes that were repetitious and seemed overkill. Regardless of that, the EJ story has made watching enjoyable. I did not like the Steve aspect and the Island story bored me to tears but overall I did like the show. Now that the pace has picked up, Shelle is home, Victor has appeared again and the DiMeras are showing up the show is cooking.

James Scott has been great on Days and Corday made a wise choice in enticing him to come to the show. He is perfect leading man material for Days going into the future, providing Days has one.

[Ann_SS]

As a casual Days fan, I'm blown away by some of the comments here. Finally, Lucas and Sami have gotten their act together and some fans are ready to move on when I was looking forward to watching Lucas and Sami fighting to protect their baby together. I don't see all this chemistry between EJ and Sami and if that is the direction that show is going, I'm tuning out again. I like James Scott, but there is too much of him on Days.

[IMissAremid]

Obviously the conflict between E.J. and Sami is not exactly the same as the one that happened between Lucas and Sami, but I disagree with you that the EJ-Sami conflict is one-sided. Yeah E.J. started the fighting and has done a lot of bad things on a larger scale than Sami. But it's definitely not one-sided because Sami plotted with Celeste to seduce and then KILL him. Even if in the end she couldn't go through with it, IMO that's pretty bad too. Twice before that Sami attempted to seduce him in order to help John and Kate escape searching his apartment illegally and then to get him to the boathouse all to help the police put him behind bars for crimes that Sami didn't know with any certainty he committed. That doesn't make what followed with the sextortion/rape in the car with the intent to plant the Dimera seed OK, but it does mitigate things for me personally just in that I can understand why E.J. was mad at Sami at the time he picked her up along the highway even if it doesn't make what he did OK.

And I just happen to disagree that putting E.J. with Sami after what happened is rewarding him for abusing her. If he had successfully stopped the Lucas and Sami wedding that would have rewarded him for abusing her. But that failed. Being a jerk to her didn't work. But putting them together sometime down the road after lots of instances of E.J. making things up to Sami and a well-written redemption involving him choosing Sami over his family? IMO that would reward him for changing and being a better man. E.J. being with Sami down the line after overcoming huge obstacles and making things up to her in myriad ways is not any more a reward for him having started out their relationship raping her than Sami is now being rewarded in her relationship with Lucas for originally keeping Will's paternity a secret from him.

I don't begrudge you for not liking "the message" such a storyline this pairing would send out, but I personally don't watch daytime television, especially this soap, to get a sense of what is OK in everyday life. In real life, if Sami was my friend I would tell her to run away screaming from both the man who raped her to please his father as well as the one who framed her for murder to please his mother.

But because this is a fictional soap opera, I just want Sami to have drama and interesting storylines in her romantic pairings regardless of the messages those pairings might send and I see those with her and EJ going forward but not with her and Lucas. Especially after today's show.

[MikeGoldy]

As a soap fan in 2007, I really have no interest in soaps sending out the "right message." That isn't the job of a television show.I want to watch a compelling, exciting soap, and one that creates discussion. And the EJ and Sami pairing creates discussion. there is so much for Sami and EJ to work with; why is EJ the way he is? why is he so obsessed with his father that he would do such awful things? what is it about Sami that draws him to her, when he could have had any woman he wanted? To me, there just isn't anything interesting about Lucas, and other than he is Will's father, what does Sami see in him? I'm guessing she feels that as long as she is part of a happy couple with Lucas, than she is redeemed. All the more reason for Sami to contemplate a relationship with EJ, when as good as she wants to be now, she knows a relationship with him would make her the bad girl of Salem again. Watch the fireworks explode!