DAYS: How do everyone feel about Stefano's return so far?

[daysfan]

Very true. I am just saying with how it is being written, and how it was originally wrote, John didn't have too much to do with the feud.

But of course originally Santo and Colleen originally didn't have anything to do with the feud either LOL.

[Pest Spray]

The Brady/DiMera feud hasen't focused on the Bradys since what, 1986? At least not 1994. Stuffy!Steffy doesn't count, sorry. The Princess Gina Stefano was a complete cartoon.

I miss the Stefano who worshipped three things. Marlena, his children and opera. The one who'd kill you if you laid a hand on Marlena's pretty head or bring you his wrath if you hurt his children while he hummed along to his favourite arias and opera pieces.

[daysfan]

Yes, which is why I think it should go back to the Bradys. I am just a big person about original history.

I like that Stefano too, just not TOO obsessed with Marlena.

[Pest Spray]

That's what he's been from the beginning though. He was trying to get her to marry him as early as 1984. And the original history IS that the feud was about Roman and Marlena, which shifted to Marlena, and Bo and Hope for Megan's murder. But all through the 90s, it was Marlena.

[daysfan]

Excellent point. I do think Marlena needs to be more involved. If anything, she should take more of a role than Bo should.

But my point was even though John does need to be involved more too(especially if Stefano ever decided to go after Marlena again), the feud should be about the Bradys and Marlena. It is just what I think, though I wouldn't be upset if John was a Brady.

[MikeGoldy]

As others have said, they haven't had Stefano interacting with those he should be interacting with, and with a character like Stefano, you don't want to know too much about him. He loses his mystery, and that's what gone on with this story. I want to see Stefano in power again, mixing it it up with Marlena, Kate, and Lexie, not lying in a hospital bed

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

I hate John and Marlena, but that doesn't negate the fact that they SHOULD be more involved in this story. I would rather Josh Taylor back down a little bit and let John and Marlena come in. Yes, Josh Taylor is the characters name. I will give them this, I have thorougly enjoyed the Stefano/EJ scenes, more so than the more recent Stefano/Tony/Andre scenes.

[Pest Spray]

The feud is overrated as it was. It was more about Stefano kidnapping Marlena left and right, doing evil things to her in the name of love and the Bradys saying "When will he leave US alone?" when the guy he did something to was gone by 1994.

I agree. Stefano needs that air of mystery. Why would we want to find out some hidden reason why the feud started? Where's the fun in that? Where do they go from there? They already KNOW how Stefano's hate for Roman started.

See, even people who don't like J&M can see the major flaw in not having them even SLIGHTLY involved.

[aMLCproduction]

I don't know. I was watching the episodes from the week of 8/28( that's how behind I am) and they were awesome. I could really get into the show and for the first time in months, I could not wait for a new show. The Dimera vs Brady feud for me was very interesting,...now. Stefano's performances were great. I mean it is getting better, but still has a long way to go

[daysfan]

Yeah I have always been annoyed with their being a reason behind the feud.

If anything, I think if you are going to go into everything about John, you don't need a Brady/DiMera feud. I feel those are probably totally different things. Reveal why Stefano has such a hate for John!

[IMissAremid]

Hogan Sheffer, if he had any interest in writing for John whatsoever and any interest in giving John a great swan song if Drake really is leaving the show, could have reconciled both the feud and Stefano's hatred for John by making John Black's true parentage that he was the first DiBrady baby as the secret love child of Colleen and Santo.

There is simply so much soapy goodness that could have come from it.

John would be revealed as Stefano's half-brother adding another wrinkle to their fascinating relationship and if his real mother was killed it would explain how John came to be raised away from his real parents, and it would also explain Stefano's fixation on him and why he would want to use this person (who he probably resented and was jealous of for having their father's one true love for his mother while Stefano had a mother who their father didn't love) as a pawn to carry out his schemes. It would also explain why John has always felt so connected to the Bradys even after he found out he wasn't Roman as it would be revealed he does share their blood. It would also add layers to Stefano's jealousy toward Marlena's feelings for John.

EJ would have to deal with the fact that he shot his uncle and the man who was the love child of his and Sami's lookalike ancestors.

Sami would realize that her mother found the love of her life in a man who has DiMera blood.

Roman would have to deal with the fact that the man who replaced him in Marlena's heart is truly a Brady, too.

Marlena would have to deal with the fact that the love of her life is Stefano's brother.

Viewers would finally get the first DiBrady baby and it wouldn't be a product of rape/sextortion.

And even if John becomes a Brady, Shawn and Belle would still not be blood related so that wouldn't be affected.

This is what should have happened IMO and they really wouldn't have had to change all that much of the story other than maybe having John and Marlena or Bo and Hope or Tony and Anna go on some adventure or search the DiMansion to find a diary and some pictures and a birth certificate that explains this all.

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

WOW...Just WOW.

[Khan]

Wait a minute: how far back are Santo and Colleen? Because, I was under the impression they "happened" a really long time ago.

I mean, if John were their long-lost love child, wouldn't that make him...kind of...old?

[IMissAremid]

Well, the timelines are all kinds of screwed up already as the show would have us believe that the Colleen and Santo stuff happened just 50 years ago, yet that would make both OldManBrady and Stefano no older than 60 and we know that doesn't make sense. Originally, I thought the reason they failed to send Colleen and Santo further back in the past was precisely so they could give us John as a DiBrady baby but I've given up hope for that.

Oh something else I forgot to mention the first time...

John being revealed to be Stefano's brother would also explain how John and Andre could be related because I don't know about everyone else but I just hate that they have John and Tony brothers via Daphne now when it was apparently Andre impersonating Tony when those paternity tests were done so either John and Andre had to be related somehow or those tests had to have been faked.

And if John and Andre were related it would add even more complexity to their past too with Kristen Blake and Andre's actions during SSK.

If someone who is not even that much of a fan of John Black (i.e. me) recognizes this stuff, why can't someone on the DOOL writing staff?

[Days4Life]

IMissAremid, I agree with you about the writers missing the boat by not making John the love child of Colleen and Santo. Originally, I was sure that's where this story was going and was looking forward to it because of all the far-reaching effects. It would have impacted almost every character on the show. Since the story is not going this direction, I think that gives credence to all the rumors about Drake.

As for Stefano, I'm enjoying him this time around because he's more human and not so cartoonish. I am anxious for him to recover from whatever is ailing him and return to the master manipulator that we all know he is. While I got tired of his obsession with Marlena and the non-stop kidnapping storylines, it is jarring to have no interaction at all between Stefano and Marlena now. Same with John; we got that one scene where Stefano called him his favorite pawn and then nothing since. It's so obvious that John and Marlena are being left out of this storyline that I have to believe there's some backstage issues contributing to their absence. A year ago I would never have believed that they could do a Dimera/Brady storyline without John and Marlena being somehow involved.

Stefano does have good chemistry with EJ and Tony/Andre so those scenes are always wonderful to watch. I also loved the Stefano/Santo scenes from a week ago. There are a lot of inconsistencies in Stefano's relationships with his children, though--sometimes even in the same episode. I don't know if this is bad writing or just more of Stefano's manipulations...but I have a tendency to believe it's the writing. Hopefully, in this new Ed Scott era, we will see some of these consistency issues fixed.