Deconstructing DOOL Weekly Blog

Yesteryear. (NBC Universal Inc.)

Salem Shenanigans from January 26 – 30:

We’re closer to Sweeps than ever but so far, many are complaining things aren’t that exciting in Salem. Let’s hope for a better week to come and discuss this past one.

Instablizzard.
This week Salem went from a green winter to “instablizzard” and back in a nanosecond. Was it just enough time to make a Clydesicle as Victor suspected or was it cold enough to stop the blood flow from the bullet wounds? Or if Clyde, the hillbilly version of Curtis, was wearing a vest has he already gotten up and started planning Victor’s demise? Last week I didn’t like that there was no mystery in his shooter but now I think it’s more fun this way to imagine what happened when we’ve no clues! Did anyone else notice Clyde had the privilege of having Eve’s moaning music playing during his “demise?”

Rafe kissed me.
He may have his reasons for not telling everyone what Chad said about Jordan and Abigail. Maybe he’s just being a gentleman, but by not saying anything, Ben’s making himself look like more of a big meat head. If he told them it could do more good protecting them than not. Shame he didn’t record it! Speaking of Chad… he’s been in Salem since September 2014 and we’re still not privy to what he’s up to with regards to Jordan. Is she just a diversion from the real task of getting back at Abigail for having sex with his brother EJ? Is this the story? Because if it is, it’s not very captivating. It does, however, appear as though Chad actually cares for Jordan and really was jealous of her kissing Rafe. It’s just like a DiMera to show their love for someone by doing something completely disgusting and stupid the way he intentionally got Ben arrested. Not that Ben’s innocent in this. And Jordan’s a pushover. It’s difficult to believe a woman so intent on protecting her little brother would just let Chad off the hook after learning he intentionally taunted Ben to get him thrown in jail. Jail! It makes Jordan look weak and Chad that much more of an ass. And let’s set the record straight, shall we? Jordan kissed Rafe back for at least six seconds before pushing him away. It spoke volumes. In last week’s Deconstructing DOOL I ranted a bit about the lack of mystery – how we already know who Clint is and what his MO is with Theresa but now that Melanie of all people has become suspicious, it could make for some interesting scenes with Melanie piecing things together. Just knowing Mandrake’s name is enough. She should enlist Nicole’s help in this mystery.

Jeve.
I’m more convinced that JJ and Eve are into each other. They do have chemistry. Not that it’s exactly um appropriate but nevertheless it’s there. It’s become interesting to see them together but Eve really needs her own life aside from destroying her kid’s. How many times have we all said that?

Computer genius?
Many are wondering how Serena knew so quickly that Nicole had copied files on to her thumb drive. It’s a soapy world. Was it weird that Nicole wanted to expose the truth about Serena when she didn’t really get what the truth exactly was? Just looking at a document with one byline wouldn’t have exposed much. It’d still be a case of Ted said, Serena said. Serena had a very good point. It was surprising that Nicole didn’t check Ted out. If she had would she have found that he’s really not mentally ill? Is Ted really mentally ill or are he, Myra, and Serena in cahoots? And did Serena really need to hold her cell in her hand with the picture of the elephant while she searched for it in Eric’s apartment? It’s an elephant. How many could there possibly be in Eric’s place? There was a 99% chance that if she found a freaking elephant statue in his apartment that it’d be the elephant she was looking for? That scene made my head hurt.

The big date.
Brady and Melanie barely got out the door for their first date. They fell outside on ice and in a puddle and were quick to remove their clothes and spend time under a ratty old blanket on the Kiriakis sofa. If we didn’t know better we might think Brady planned it, but obviously Victor was going to bust them. They had to have seen it coming unless they’re that dumb. And then again we had to sit through a lot of the usual juvenile babbling from Melanie... Maybe next week their second date will turn out better.

Condescending.
What a turn off when Daniel told Nicole that she was “a good girl” after she let him know she tried to play civil with Serena. It’s been easy to root for these two but it’s dialogue like this that turns off viewers. Nobody wants to see Nicole bashed. Nobody wants to see her change so drastically that she’s a clone of the other women on the show either but enough is enough. She needs to be with someone who trusts her and understands who she is and isn’t afraid or thinks they’re better than her. It would be nice to see her in a relationship similar to how EJ and Sami dealt with each other near the end. They recognized each other’s flaws and dealt with them. Frankly, I’m not convinced that Nicole does still love Eric. It’s difficult to say because she appears to be completely besotted with Daniel. Thoughts? Vote! Days Poll: Is Nic still in love with Eric?

Don’t ruin Sonny’s life.
It was a nice change of pace when Will went to Kate for discussions about cheating and not Marlena. Maybe he thought it’d be nice to have somebody listen and not psychoanalyze him. Marlena usually gives the ole ‘honesty is the best policy’ song and dance while Kate was compassionate but adamant he keep his mistake to himself. She tried taking part of the blame but Will did the right thing and took responsibility for his own actions. He deserves a pat on the back for that one but why did he turn down the offer for money when he was angry that Sonny turned down Vic’s offer of the club? It’s essentially the same thing. Oy.

Strangest line of the year: Will to Kate: “You think I’m shallow enough to fall in love with Paul?” What does that even mean? Falling in love is never shallow. How can one possibly be offended that someone pointed out he may be in love? If anything, he might be accused of being ‘shallow enough’ to have sex with Paul. Speaking of which... Paul shared a short yet very interesting scene with John at the square, when he apologized for being rude when they first ran into each other. Nothing in Salem happens for no good reason so what’s the story? There are so many rumours about who Paul’s father such as Lucas and John’s included in that list. There has to be some reason why Mrs. Narita won’t visit her son in Salem. Speaking of rumours... Hope mentioned Shawn Douglas. Watch the rumours explode with talk of his return, when it was likely just idle chatter.

I’d love to know – do you think Will should come clean with Sonny? Do you think he’s doing the right thing by keeping it to himself? Leave a message in the comments.

Most bizarre scene this week:
Stefano called Marlena, nervous that John Black is on the Salem PD. Seriously? After all these years of outsmarting his ‘pawn’ is there finally something to be worried about? Then Marlena flashed back to being with John when he was dying and how determined she was to save him. Er. What was the significance of this?

That’s all I’ve got – take it with a grain of salt and please, feel free as always to leave a comment or two of your own about this week’s Salem happenings! Don’t be shy!

Best lines of the week:

Mel to Theresa: "Tobacco head is your new guy?"

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- Christine Fix