Days:Monday

[IMissAremid]

I hope you are right, Jean. Because right now they are rewriting that night to be WORSE than it actually was to suit their storyline purposes. Yet at the same time in today's episode we have psychiatrist Marlena pointing out to her daughter that EJ loves her yet calling him a rapist. I just don't know what the hell they are doing. And I wonder if they know either.

[ArizonaDaze]

For once we agree on something Aremid, I don't know what they are doing either. The question of rape or not at this point in time seems moot to me. We will all agree to disagree on that, but the show direction seems different now. You never know what TPTB listen to and what they don't. I am still enjoying most of the show however so will try to roll with the punches.

[Keith]

Agreed about how they're now presenting the rape. I've always argued that the poresence of a weapon had an affect on Sami's mental state at the time, but I never said she had the gun to her head and that's NOT what we saw. He emotional stripped her of any real choice, yes, absolutely. And he physically took advantage of that for his own means (and apparently, for Stefano's). But the dialogue and today has been a bit of a slap, despite my appreciation their beign some attention FINALLY devoted to it.

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

How exactly do you do that to someone? Much less Sami Brady? Granted she was angry and scared but NOT because of the gun and NOT because of EJ. Her fear came because of LUCAS. When it came to him she was in total control of her emotions. She knew she didn't love him and she knew that she needed him to get Lucas back. She knew what she had to do that night and she made a CHOICE. She knew the benefits. She knew the risks. And she definitely knew the disadvantages that sleeping with EJ would bring (Lucas leaving her, etc).

The gun was NOT about Sami. It was NOT about forcing her to sleep with him. The gun was for protection from the cops. The gun was for getting across the border. And he didn't physically take advantage of anyone. He didn't grope Sami. He didn't grab her by the arm and force her again the back of the seat while he went to work. And I apology for the graphic words but EJ didn't take Sami by force and make her "spread em" against her will. Sami did that on her own.

And she did it for Lucas.

[Keith]

No one can get inside Sami's head. I don't care how you feel about the character. Before she did anything to anyone, she was raped. If a man is menacing enough, she will be scared of him, thanks to Alan Harris. She got in EJ's car. He had a gun. He locked the doors. She knew what she had to fear from him, because she had lead him on. Yet, people refuse to see the parallel. It's not simply that he agreed to help her in exchange for saving Lucas' life. She put her own pride and virtue on the line to save the man she's loved for years - the father of her child. It's not black and white and the more people make it out to be, the for frustrating I find it.

[Days4Life]

He emotionally stripped her of a choice because she loves Lucas and would do anything to save his life. She was scared out of her mind, thinking Lucas was going to die and here was her only chance to save him. She couldn't think clearly because she was terrified for the man she loves. Maybe she had other choices, but she wasn't thinking calmly enough to reason it out. I 100% believe that, the way it was presented Dec. 29, she was raped because she wouldn't have had sex with EJ at that moment in time, except to get EJ's help to save Lucas. Despite what Kate is always saying, Sami is not/never has been a cheater. She would never have had sex with EJ when she was with Lucas. However, it appears that they are now changing the circumstances of that rape (Lucas's comment about EJ holding the gun to Sami's head) and that infuriates me. They are adding a violent aspect to it that wasn't there at the time, just to vilify EJ and set him up for some terrible event (heavy foreshadowing in Sami's statement to Marlena). Sami has gone from sneaking away from her husband to scheme with EJ, alone with him on numerous occasions, to being bitter and hateful and wishing horrible things on him. If she had been like this months ago, it would have been understandable but now it is totally plot driven and makes no sense in context of recent story.

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

I disagree. I think its crystal clear that EJ did not rape Sami.

It was a business arrangement. You help me. I help you. So they helped each other. End of story. The execution was horrible on the shows part because of all this debate and discussion surrounding something that to me seems to be pretty obvious. And for the car I would have locked it too so no can just run up and open it to arrest me. I'm not saying EJ was the good guy. But he definitely didn't force Sami into anything.

[Days4Life]

I think this is something that will never be settled, and that's okay because a big part of the problem is that the rape was so horribly written. We all come from our own experiences and that influences how we look at the storyline. But the characters that actually experienced this event should not be waffling back and forth, and IMHO that is what is happening.

[IMissAremid]

EXACTLY! That's what's so galling. Especially them having Sami villify EJ this much NOW when he has been doing the most to prove over and over and over how she has his loyalty and how he cares about her. Unless this is supposed to be Sami trying to convince herself he is a bad guy so she doesn't develop feelings for him, I don't get where Sami is supposed to be coming from here. Maybe if they had written Sami having a greater reaction to the fact that Colleen was killed by a DiMera and somehow tied that revelation from Grandpa Shawn into this change in her feelings toward EJ I would understand. But I think this is just Hogan being a hack to fit the characters to his plot.

ICAM. This show has no convictions about who the characters are or what the storylines are so you have to wonder if it is worth it to get emotionally invested when you can't ever count on a payoff or things to make sense when all is said and done.

[Keith]

I agree, Aremid, believe it or not.

Ther past few days, this seeming additional violence is completely unwarranted. I think it could be an example of any of things you've described, but the lack of seeing this portrayed either through Sweeney's on-screen reactions or in dialogue, it comes across as inconsistent and plot driven. This disappoints me, since there's been a lot of goodness for the show. Lately, the plots seem lazy even if the action itself is exciting.

[PhoenixRising05]

Just to add to this never-ending debate...

One key factor here is that EJ never showed remorse for his actions until after Lucas and Sami's wedding. For 5 months, EJ walked around and showed no emotion or regret over what he did to the women he claims to love. Whether you believe it to be rape or not, he still held her hostage that night and took advantage of the situation. Just look at EJ's lines for that episode. He was disgusting. He enjoyed doing what he did. It was appalling. Let's also remember EJ tortured Sami psychologically for months on top of all this. It was Sami's secret but still.

Contrast that with Lucas, who showed much remorse and guilt over his past actions. I hate that Days never had Lucas and Sami ever talk about Franco and alot of what happened with them. However, after Franco's murder, Lucas's guilt ate at him for months. Kate kept stopping him from coming forward and even kept the execution from him so he couldn't stop it. Once he learned about he, he raced to stop it. The whole gaslighting thing is another issue Lucas showed much remorse over. Victor and Kate never told him how far they were going until it was too late and, at that point, he voiced his displeasure but Victor and Kate didn't care. It's also important to note all that Sami had done to Lucas. They are sort of even in that regard.

That is the key here. Lucas showed remorse and guilt. EJ showed none whatsoever until recently. That is the big factor for me and is the reason why there needs to be a whole lot more redemption for EJ before I can accept EJ/Sami.

[Keith]

Bravo, Tim! Able to say in more intelligent words than I could whip together as I reacted instantly to other posters, often on the defense. I really have to learn not to do that so much.

The above and his treatment of her before their reunion this time (though arguably deserved) are internal issues I wish they would have this couple really deal with. In fact, you could even use those internal issues to have Sami push Lucas away and be drawn into old habits that would make a marriage and life in the DiMera Mansion attractive. It would be such a dynamic story that way, than what we've been seeing, IMO.