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The ultimate #snatching
Spoilers mentioned that Kristen Dimera wouldn’t be leaving Salem without pulling one last big stunt… But did anyone expect this? I don’t think anyone could really expect Brady Black to go back to Kristen after saving his father and revealing the truth about who put his father in a coma, but Marlena and Eric Brady are worried either way. After we see them expressing their concern over Brady’s rebuilt relationship with John Black, we find Brady coming to Kristen’s hotel room. Is this visit for reconciliation or what? He makes her believe just that by leading with telling her that she was right all along and she thinks it’s a new beginning for them – only to have all hope shot to hell when Brady mentions seeing her hooking up with Daniel Jonas. Brady shuts down any and every chance of them getting back together, telling Kristen that the last straw was her sleeping or almost sleeping with his best friend. Later when she’s alone again, Kristen trashes her hotel room after making plans to leave town.
Anne Milbauer and Theresa Donovan are on the run from Eric and Marlena, the two of them have obvious questions about the mess Theresa got everyone into. Theresa says that John could be brain damaged and be making things up, unable to accept responsibility for the crime she’s committed even after it all came out in the open. She claims to think Kristen made it all up just because she was jealous of Theresa’s relationship with Brady. They can’t believe Theresa’s excuses and leave but Theresa isn’t done. She announces to Anne that she has something that will turn the tides in her favor while Kristen secretly listens in. Theresa tells Anne that she’s pregnant with Brady’s baby. Kristen gets so riled up that she nearly bludgeons Theresa with a rock but the sound of her movement scares them off to the Brady Pub. Anne thinks that Theresa might be making it up but Theresa swears it’s true as she’s taken a pregnancy test already. Unbeknownst to poor Theresa, Kristen makes a call to one of her associates to help her with a job.
We learn later that the job deals with kidnapping Theresa. She’s taken by surprise in Salem Park (um, someone shut that park down for crime!) and wakes up in a hospital room. She’s woozy and tied to the bed yet somehow thinks she’s at home… Strange. Kristen is rolled into the room next to complete the procedure to get “what’s rightfully hers”. Sometime after the procedure and after Brady meets with Daniel to berate him, Kristen gives him a call to let him know that she’ll be leaving town carrying a part of him inside of her.
Kristen’s return was a bit more hyped up than necessary this go round. Fans were far too disappointed in her sharing too many scenes with the over the top Dr. Jonas, but boy was her exit a good one! I think my jaw hit the floor when I realized just what Kristen had done! Planting your enemy’s embryo inside of your own womb is just evil, not to mention Theresa still believes she’s pregnant and set for life. I loved the kooky late 90s feeling of the weird Dimera science (a lot like EJ’s mysterious post-mortem injection), something that’s just oh-so Kristen. Who else thinks Grandma Marlena will blow a fuse meeting with Kristen and child a few months down the road?
There’s still more Paige
For some reason, Paige thinks it is a good idea to talk to JJ Devereaux about the fact that his father raped his aunt say… more than 20 years ago? This is an issue that pre-dates them yet it’s somehow affecting their present life in a major way. JJ’s off drinking his problems away at a college kegger when Paige texts him to meet so he leaves, but not before Bev can snap pictures of him mingling with tipsy college co-eds. On the way to cool Uncle Daniel’s place, Paige is stopped by Bev armed with the photos of her boyfriend and this visibly upsets her. Paige arrives at Daniel’s to find JJ drinking a beer and tears into him for lying about missing her. Somewhere in between yelling at him for drinking (for no reason), accusing him of cheating and lying, Paige brings up his father being a rapist. JJ rightfully gets upset and tells her to go which makes Paige break up with him. So keeping a dark family secret from your girlfriend of about six months equals instant break up… Understood…
After the break up, Paige goes running through Salem in tears and bumps into stoner and occasional voice of reason, Rory (someone give him a last name, family, history, etc!). Rory completely devastates Paige’s everything with a simple, but truthful observation: “Being book smart doesn’t mean that you’re not life stupid – and you’re majorly life stupid.” This propels Paige into apologizing to JJ over voicemail then deciding to go home. Little does she know, JJ’s beat her there but he only finds Eve who has just received bad news from her doctor about her throat surgery. Apparently the surgery is too delicate for any doctor to attempt so her singing career is put on hold – indefinitely. Both JJ and Eve find themselves wallowing in their own sorrows and after their respective bouts of drinking, wind up making out which escalates to full on sex in Eve’s bed. They both instantly regret turning to sex just as Paige arrives. With JJ hiding out in the bedroom, Eve attempts to get her daughter out of the way but as always, Paige is stuck in her ways. She notices JJ’s jacket hanging on the kitchen chair but her mother distracts her, asking for aspiring for a headache. When finally Paige gives up and goes, JJ explodes out of the apartment with a hysterical Eve warning him to keep it a secret.
JJ’s shaken when he comes home to find Kayla Brady working from home. Turns out her own laptop crashed so she used Jennifer’s, hopes it’s no bother to JJ who clearly has been through hell. He tells Kayla that Paige knows about her decades old rape and he lashed out at her. His aunt tells him to not give up on his nosy girlfriend who later sends him a text with an apology and chance to meet up the next day. Apparently, it was a little bit worth it! The next day we see Eve having heated flashbacks in bed to her time with JJ. Shaken, she goes to apologize to Paige who is getting ready to meet JJ. In her head, she clearly remembers that jacket belongs to Daniel Jonas and thinks her mother might be using him to get back at Jennifer Horton; she keeps her thoughts to herself and comforts her mother before heading out.
At the Horton house, JJ is on edge, alerting Abigail who leaves just as Paige comes in. They quickly apologize and make up like everything’s okay. At Eve’s house, she’s met with an annoying Abigail wondering why she told Paige about her father’s secret past. Eve says she did no such thing, that Paige must have overheard when Kayla was over their house but Abigail promises to be a tattle tale anyway once her mother is back, and then leaves to continue her next day without a job or hobby. When Paige comes back home, she admits that she overheard the shocking revelation of past rape. Eve’s sorry she had to find that out but feigns happiness that her daughter is starting anew with JJ. The very second Paige leaves the room, Eve gives JJ a call as he returns Daniel’s jacket, telling him they have to speak as soon as possible.
I just… I don’t want to talk about Paige that much again. Just when I have hope that maybe she could work out, I feel like it gets shot down too quickly. The writers need to understand that there is no teenage girl like Paige Larsen out there in the world! Nowhere! We get it, she’s smart, she’s pretty but she’s not perfect whatsoever! Getting accepted into Stanford but choosing not to go is not something to brag about nor does it give you a pass to snoop into business that doesn’t involve you. I honestly don’t really know where the writers wanted this Jack and Kayla rape resurgence to go, I could have understood if it was Eve digging up this information to make JJ seem dangerous like his father. But Paige? None of this makes sense to me… When the events of this week finally come to light (I have a feeling we’ll be in for a long ride), maybe this can help her become a fully formed person with real wants and a personality.
Once again, these recaps are not blow for blow recaps and contain a lot of my own feelings toward the storylines this week! Use my points to kick off a conversation! Comment here or tweet me if you agree or disagree with me, I want to know what the readers have to say! Your input is what makes this all the most fun! See you next week!
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