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[Dion]

Yes, I think RoJohn and Marlena's marriage would be considered putative up until the time the real Roman returned as both parties really did believe John was Roman. So if they had had a child born to them before Roman returned that child would be legitimate. After Roman returned however, it automatically made their marriage null so John and Marlena didn't have to pursue an annulment.

[carolineg]

So how would John being a priest the entire time fall into this?  Putative because of good faith?  It's all so silly to even try to reconcile lol.  At some point the Catholic Church should have just been like John/Marlena/Roman just marry whoever you want, but please not at our church

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[Khan]

It only shows to go you how little thought and care DAYS (and soaps in general) put into such matters.  They assume audiences either can't/won't relate or they won't care, never stopping to realize that we will care if the characters care.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Khan

[carolineg]

I am not an overly religious person (although I was baptized as Catholic), but I was more curious as how it would realistically work.  Since JER brought in a lot of religious/Catholic undertones and made things very black/white as far as religion goes, it's weird he didn't explore the good faith of all Marlena's marriage and at least bring up the fact both marriages would be considered valid in different ways and didn't give Marlena the chance to say to Roman.  I loved John.   I did marry him in love and good faith.  But then she wouldn't be the ultimate Hester Prynne and carry her A around for half a decade.

[Khan]

Exactly.

[carolineg]

It's just very interesting in JER's world that Marlena is the ultimate sinner, but John could be a priest committing the same sins but beat the devil because John/Marlena's love was pure.  It makes so little sense when you think about it.   It's almost like JER decided to change the narrative for them midway through the Possession and Idk if that was fan response or him just changing his mind.

[Khan]

See, that's why I objected to the storyline in the first place.  Not only was I personally skittish about the subject matter, but I also thought its' whole message, for lack of a better word, was confusing. 

The devil has taken possession of Marlena's soul, because she cheated on her husband, but the man she cheated with is gonna be the one who saves her in the end?  Wha??

Not that I'm saying I agree(d) with JER's black-and-white view of morality and such, but...sigh...*throws up hands*.

Like I said, it's confusing; and one thing I know about God is that He is NOT a God of confusion.

If anything, saving Marlena's soul should have been Roman's fight, not John's.  As someone who'd committed adultery himself, John was in no position to take on the devil, priest collar or no.  He'd proven he, too, could be easily tempted.  The devil could exploit that weakness in so many ways to prevent "Father John" from succeeding.  Plus...did we really NEED THIS STORY to prove what everyone already knew - namely, that John loved Marlena to the depths of Hell and back?  Like, who still needed convincing at that point?

But Roman...?  Roman would have been the more interesting choice, because, for him, the fight would have been more about getting past the feelings of anger and betrayal and rediscovering the love for Doc that was still there, if buried deep within, to take on evil itself and bring her back.

IOW, Possession 1.0 needed to be Roman's story.  Not John's, or even Marlena's.  (And yes, I think if JER were going to tell this tale, he should have done so while Wayne was still on the show).

Of course, the problem THERE is that John/Marlena were endgame no matter what, so unless DAYS was willing to reunite Roman and Marlena - which they weren't - what was the damn POINT of it all?  If Roman was going to rescue Marlena from the devil just to have Marlena go back to John, then Roman was gonna end up looking like the biggest chump of all.

Sigh.

I [!@#$%^&*] hated that story in '95, and I still [!@#$%^&*] hate it today.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Khan

[Dion]

I assume so. I forgot to factor in John's preisthood so that does make me wonder about Brady though as IIRC he was actually born during the ceremony and thus was technically illegitimate at birth. Brady would be made legitimate by his parent's marriage provided and there was no diriment impediment that prevented John and Isabella from being married at Brady's conception or birth or at some immediate time afterward. But of course there was an unknown diriment impediment since John was a priest and Isabella was long dead when that impediment was removed. However, since the church appears to favour legitimation then I guess any reasonable ruling would be that John and Isabella's marriage after Brady's birth would have still made Brady legitimate as the diriment impediment was unknown.

[carolineg]

Roman involved in the Possession would have been interesting, but impossible as you said because Marlena was always going to end up with John.  Roman would end up looking like a fool again.  Although I believe Roman would have saved her from the Devil.

Even though the logic is very iffy, I do think it was JER's way of proving Jarlena's love was righteous and pure.  He still wanted Marlena to keep the guilt of the affair in the forefront of her mind because it's a sin, but wanted the audience to know we should be rooting for them.  Because their love was approved by God lol.  I do think the audience may have needed that reminder though because the show had been pushing Kristen/John for quite a bit of time at that point.  To me in Maison Blanche it seemed clear Jarlena were getting back together and then the show went really hard for Kristen/John and dropped the Marlena angle for awhile.  Until the Possession switched to Marlena tempting Father John I honestly wasn't sure John/Marlena were endgame.  And John didn't even verbalize he loved Marlena until a year later in Aremid.

Of course, outside the Devil aspect, the story made no sense with John being a priest who doesn't even remember being a priest, someone who was clearly still tempted by women/sex, didn't previously have strong religious beliefs as in he was fine with pre-marital sex, living together before marriage, children out of wedlock etc, etc.  He wouldn't be the guy to take on the Prince of Darkness or anything lol.  That being said, if JER had to tell this story I can't think of a couple on the show besides them to do it with.  Maybe Bo/Hope, but Hope was still Gina at the time and Bo/Billie was in full force.

Again, it's easy to pick apart the Possession 1.0 if you didn't like it like us, but there truly was an intent, story, and arc there unlike whatever is happening on today's show.

 

I believe (and I could be wrong) they got married before Brady was actually born because I remember Isabella refusing to leave for the hospital like an idiot because she wanted to be married before Brady appeared.   Which I always thought was weird because she was already 9 months pregnant-the cat's out of the bag on that lol and neither she nor John seemed overly religious previously in that regard.  I think John ended up being married to Gina/Hope sometime in 2012 and they had to go to Alamania to resolve it, so I think John ends up being in a similar situation as Marlena with Alex as well.  Because John really wasn't ever a priest for real, right?  Once we get into the 2000's my grasp on John's past isn't great due to constant rewrites and the fact I wasn't watching regularly.

[Khan]

But why would I, as a viewer, be rooting for John and Marlena when it's clear that their affair is the reason why the devil has taken possession of Marlena?  (Again, I'm not saying I believe that every person who commits adultery belongs to the devil, but the impression I'm getting is that JER does and did.)

If anything, the fact that Marlena is in the devil's clutches tells me that she and John SHOULDN'T be together!  Ever!  But, like you said, @carolineg, the logic is screwy.

That's when Ken Corday should have put his foot down and said, "No, we're not telling that story.  You want to rip off 'The Exorcist'?  Go do it on your own show.  We're not the show for that kind of crap."

Alas, lol.

[carolineg]

I think the affair left her vulnerable to the Devil, but it wasn't so much the act but the guilt and loneliness she felt?  Plus, Stefano's nightly visits had something to do with as well I think?  They left her physically weak and opened her mind to darkness or some nonsense.  I think Stefano had a big part in it too-I just can't remember the exact "explanation"

I suppose you can look at it from both sides.  John was the only one that could save her despite their sins, so God is on their side and has forgiven them and it re-ignited the John/Marlena soulmate narrative that had been pushed aside for a while.  But I totally understand what you are saying, especially since the devil got in again while John/marlena were legally, happily married recently.

Listen, I don't know why I am even defending this stupid story.   I do think JER wanted to make it clear that adultery was a sin, but at the same time Roman was given such a rough edit during and after the affair I still think we were supposed to sympathize with Marlena if not actually root for Marlena/John.  Once the show dumped Wayne the writing was on the wall, but I think the show pushed John/Kristen and gave them more than a fair shot. I honestly always did root for Jarlena even though I did like Roman and thought everyone in town took the whole affair WAY too seriously for WAY too long.  I often wonder what would have happened to Marlena if John/Kristen became super popular.  I wonder if they would have brought Wayne back even though it was clear JER loved his John/Marlena.

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[Khan]

Chances are, if John/Kristen had become more popular, they probably would have done away with Marlena together.  Or set her up with Stefano.

[carolineg]

JER loved Marlena so much I doubt he would get rid of her even if the Network wanted her out.   I can't imagine her with Stefano, but maybe if stayed amnesiac for a long while a brief flirtation could have happened.  But he kidnapped her, her husband, and did whatever he did to John.  I just can't see her with Stefano for any length of time or anything serious.  But, honestly, there was really no one else on the canvas to pair her with.   Maybe Abe?  If Lexie ended up with Jonah or something.

They probably would have brought Wayne back or recast Roman if John/Kristen really took off.  Something tells me even if they did, JER would have stayed true to his Jarlena vision and made Kristen evil regardless.  There was no reason to dump WN/Roman if JER wasn't sure you know?

[Franko]

In all honesty, Marlena & Stefano as a couple would make about as much sense as a pairing that did happen, Rachel & Carl on AW.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Franko