The truth is revealed?

The writers came up with an interesting way to reveal Claire's paternity. Who could have guessed that everyone's first reaction would be skepticism? It seems almost...normal.

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Break out my Happy Dance! The truth about Claire's paternity has finally been revealed! YAY, Woo-Hoo, Yippee, Right-on...FINALLY! Wait a second...errrrrr...Happy Dance paused mid-stride... what's this? No one believes it? [Can a secret be considered "revealed" if nobody believes it to be true?] You gotta hand it to Days though; at least they came up with an interesting, if somewhat anti-climactic, way to reveal this long-kept secret. Who could have guessed that everyone's first reaction would be skepticism? It seems almost...normal. And by normal I mean something akin to a "real life" reaction. I think that any of us would be pretty darn skeptical if we'd found a folder sitting in our hospital room that declared us to be the father of a friends' child. LOL. Belle wants to believe that it could be true though, but since she can't remember ever sleeping with Shawn (other than a half remembered dream) she thinks that it's impossible. Ditto for Shawn. Phil has flatly refused a DNA test and has furiously declared that he will find out who is messing with their lives! He's convinced that whoever deliberately mixed up the in vitro process must have also had something to do with Claire's file. Wow! How refreshing to see Philip jump to the correct conclusions for once!

And Mimi? Well...Mimi's not exactly skeptical. In fact, she believes what's in that file. She knows that Shawn and Belle most likely had sex in the burning barn and she also knows that Shawn is most likely Claire's father. And she's been living with that guilt for months now. Mimi had better be careful though, or she will end up giving herself away. She's been acting fairly strange. I mean, upon finding out that your husband may have fathered another of your best friend's children; would you say "oh really? That's funny. Do you think it's true?"?? Hell no!!! I'd be like freaking out and demanding a DNA test to disprove the ridiculous notion on the spot. But, we know why Mimi isn't reacting like that, don't we? And it's spelled: G-U-I-L-T-Y C-O-N-S-C-I-E-N-C-E. She managed to pull it back together though after Belle called her on her odd behavior but it's not going to take much to push her over the edge. Mimi will probably blurt out something that gets her caught at some point. Unfortunately; I don't think I care much anymore. I feel like TPTB have dragged the story out for so long and have messed with the character of Mimi so much that I am just eager to see the story get to the point - so to speak. If the ultimate plan is to have Shawn and Belle back together, then let's just get to it. Anyway, there should be lots of interesting story to tell about how they deal with the sudden shift to an insta-two-children-family as they try to rebuild their teenage romance. The pressures of marriage and supporting a family are bound to interfere with their visions of a perfect life.

Sami and her mess of a wedding day...fun stuff. Yeah it was fluffy and silly; car breakdowns, getting rained on, being arrested, etc. But wasn't it better than seeing her stalked by some stupid secret? Oh what am I saying? She has that problem too! I really don't have much to say about the storyline. Nobody wants to see Sami and Austin get married. Even if they do get married (please, no) it can't last long. To me, watching this story is like killing time until Sami is reunited with Lucas. And from the looks of Lucas's behavior - he still has some mighty strong feelings for Samantha Brady. I just hope that our new head writer comes up with a way to redeem her to Lucas when (if) the truth comes out about her scheme to make sure that Carrie didn't choose Austin. I've heard rumors that Hogan Sheffer will finally allow Sami the opportunity to grow up and stop playing her silly games. I've been hoping for this for so long now, that it's hard to believe that it could actually happen. See...this is probably why I don't mind having the demon seed [Chelsea] around as much as other viewers do (other than when she's messing with Bo and Hope). I want Chelsea to take Sami's place as the town bad girl so that she can move past all that immature crap and get on with her life with Lucas and Will. One can only hope...

Go Bo! Go Bo! Go Go Go! Wow...he finally found his missing brains (right where he left them; in his rear end) and has returned with a vengeance! He finally managed to put two-and-two together (the proverbial light bulb moment) and realized Chelsea's involvement in his break-up with Hope. Time to break out the Happy Dance again! Yessirree folks! I danced all around my living room while Bo blasted Chelsea, and then later Billie. Oh how I laughed and sang and danced! I only wished that I had had a drink in my hand to toast his rant! My favorite moment was when he was at the hospital with Hope - comforting her over Shawn's latest hospital stay - and he caught sight of Chelsea. I loved seeing the look of surprise on Hope's face as Bo blasted Chelsea once more and told her to get away from him and Hope. For me, I felt this sense of finally being able to exhale after months of holding my breath! Bo said everything that I had wanted him to say and do for a long time. There was Anger! Frustration! Pain! He exhibited it all! The only part that bothered me was when the hypocrite-Billie stood there and tried to justify her demon-seed's actions. "Oh she's just a scared little girl" - MY LEFT EYE. I guess Billie would have to defend her though...she's done just as many awful, manipulative things. I can't wait until her part in keeping Bo and Hope apart is brought to light. Surely Hope will mention seeing Bo and Billie (not) in bed together at the No-Tell Motel at some point? Some point soon? Please?

I've received a lot of email from people complaining about Hope's attitude lately and I can sympathize to some degree. I know that I was really frustrated when Bo told Hope about Chelsea's manipulation of his email but she didn't care. Hope told Bo that she loves him but...she said that it's not enough to hear that he didn't send those awful emails to her. That was an exceptionally strange comment considering that those emails were THE ONLY reason that Hope decided to go through with a divorce. There was no mention of the word until those fateful emails. I know the things that Bo has done (and not done for that matter) to cause problems in his marriage but Hope seemed a tad bit harsh in her treatment of Bo. Anyway...their scenes in the hospital atoned for the previous week somewhat. Though it wasn't under the best circumstances; it was nice to see Bo and Hope come together like old times again. All we can hope is that Bo will continue to maintain a firm hold on his gray matter and that being at a family wedding together will help thaw some of Hope's icy resolve toward Bo. Although...this is Sami's wedding we're talking about so really; I guess anything could happen.

You can tell by the dialogue that things are really starting to shift around in the writing team. More and more each day; Hogan Sheffer and his new team's influences are being felt in the show. Billie's conversation with Chelsea last week was a great example. She actually asked Chelsea why she needed to have her parents together in order to feel loved. That's the same question that everyone has been asking themselves. Her quest to reunite Billie and Bo never did make much sense. The next thing Billie said to her daughter was that they both need a self-confidence boost. Jeez! I almost fell of my chair. Yes you do Billie!!! You and Chelsea most definitely need that. Billie counseled Chelsea to do something nice for someone and Chelsea interpreted that as 'do a good deed'. And what was her good deed? Oh yes...that's right - she told Shawn the truth about Claire's paternity. I know that a lot of people are questioning her motives in this situation but I'm content to sit back and see what happens next. I enjoyed that twist and I'm looking forward to seeing the fall-out of her actions.

Following is taken from a recent TV Guide interview with DAYS' new head writer, Hogan Sheffer: Get ready for the new, or, rather, old DOOL. Sheffer plans to "bring back the heart and soul of 'Days' and return it to a show about families and high romantic stakes. He's moving away from the absurd and into something deeper and real." All this will happen by early October. Due to budget cuts and "an overabundance of Bradys," several stars have been axed---Billy Warlock, Christie Clark, Austin Peck, Matt Ashford and Brody Hutzler. In addition, the four quitting are: Melissa Reeves, Jason Cook, Kyle Brandt and Farah Fath. What's in store for the rest?

Bonnie will have an unparalleled position of power when she ends up "owning Victor's grandchild."
Bo and Hope will reunite, though Hope will nearly meet her demise thanks to Bo's wicked kid Chelsea.
Patch, Kayla, John and Marlena will be featured in a huge group story, with Marlena moving from perpetual victim to an intelligent heroine.
Sami "really needs to grow up," says Sheffer, so she will switch into heroine mode where she makes the ultimate sacrifice for love. He wants Lucas and Sami as a comedic team. His instruction is: Make them Nick and Nora Charles.
Expect the biggest changes in the male characters. "They have become incredibly weak and stupid," Sheffer states. "I want them to get back their penises!"

I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I can smell a change in the air. Not just because of the above paragraph, but also because of how the show has looked recently. I've found the dialogue to be SO much better lately. Not only are people starting to act like they have half a brain, they are starting to talk like it too. Conversations seem more real and people are using their common sense to puzzle out the obvious. The upshot of this is that the characters are starting to regain some of the well-loved traits that have been missing for such a long time. Most importantly, all the stories are picking up steam and seem to be going somewhere; whether you like the direction or not. Ahhh...it's been a good week for Days fans and I can't wait to see what next week will bring us.

Reader Feedback:

From Elizabeth King:"Why is Belle beyond redemption, but not Mimi? People trash Belle up and down because all she cares about is getting back Shawn. On the other hand, all Mimi cares about is keeping Shawn, the babies and Claire don't matter! Mimi knows good and well her husband would want to know if he had a child, but all she cares about is keeping Shawn. What about what is best for Claire? These things have a way of coming out, better it come out NOW rather than for Claire to be 9 or 10, and not only face the anguish herself, but also have to witness the tension between all of the adults involved. Claire would blame herself for it all. Now Mimi is going to deny there's even a possibility that Claire is Shawn's. She's a selfish, horrible person, and I don't see what makes her so much better than Belle as a person. It's Mimi who is really beyond redemption here."

READ MORE OF THIS WEEK'S TWO SCOOPS The Bold and the Beautiful | General Hospital | The Young and the Restless

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