Give me strength!

If Shawn and Belle's storyline hadn't already stretched the limits of belief, this past week saw it firmly step in to La-La-Land.

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Where was I...oh yeah...so the captain of the ship informed Philip that they found the life raft that Belle and Shawn used to escape and that it was torn in half and had blood on it. Here's where the story started to veer in to the twilight zone. How did they find the raft? Did they have someone down at water level looking around or did they spy it from 20 stories up on the deck? The captain exclaimed matter-of-factly that sharks must have attacked the life raft. Would he really know the difference between a raft that had been attacked by a shark, shredded by the propellers or ripped on some rocks? We don't know what actually happened to Shawn and Belle after they jumped off the ship because the next we saw, they had washed up on an island - so there are many questions there as well. Did they bail out of their raft on purpose? Let's say that sharks did attack the raft. Was this while they were in it or after they bailed out? Why would sharks attack a rubber raft anyway? Because of the blood on it? So the sharks smelled blood and attacked the raft but ignored the people swimming in the water? The time span between when Shawn and Belle escaped their room and when their raft was found was about an hour (Phil told the captain that they had only searched for an hour). Keeping in mind that we sawn Shawn and Belle washed up on the island at the time the life raft was found...I have to wonder how the heck they managed to swim to a nearby island, in the open sea, without life jackets and towing a small child, in under an hour without being seen by the various individuals scanning the vicinity with binoculars? I thought it was crazy that the captain told Phil that they were calling off the search for Shawn, Belle and Claire because they found blood on the raft and therefore, there's no way they could have survived. The captain even made a remark about flying the blood sample to Sydney by helicopter for analysis. Uh...riiiight. Anyway, when people jump ship off a cruise ship, in the middle of the ocean - blood or no blood - that's grounds for calling in the coast guard for a MAJOR search and rescue, regardless of the reason why they did it. They probably won't drop anchor and take to the life rafts to mount a search themselves, but they certainly wouldn't just shrug their shoulders and move on. Back to Shawn and Belle who managed to wash up on the shore of one of the islands in the area. They weren't wearing life jackets and yet Belle made it through a riptide (explaining how she lost her grip on Claire) without drowning. From what I understand about riptides, that was a freaking miracle as even the strongest of swimmers have died after being caught in one. Lucky for them, their bag full of supplies - including baby food - also made it to the island. Did Shawn drag that with him while he was swimming or are we meant to believe that a heavy cloth duffel bag floated its way to the island? Scratching head... Well; I could go on and on...but I think I've said enough. I'm sure you think so as well. LOL. Oh Hogan, Hogan, Hogan, Hogan...Head writers are supposed to be the captain of the ship but you seem to be steering this one in to the waters of disregard for plausible storytelling. Come on dude; pull it together and give us something that makes sense! Is that really too much to ask?

Now...I will say - having ranted good and long about their storyline - IF Hogan's sole reason behind their crazily unrealistic storyline was to cement Shawn and Belle as a couple to root for again; then (in my opinion at least) he's done his job. Though Belle is incredibly annoying with all the crying and whining and "we're never going to make it" doomsday stuff; I am enjoying the slow burn that is developing between the two characters. Who knows where they will go from here (I hope the survivor-version storyline isn't going to last too long) but spoilers are saying that Bo will rescue them both. I still don't see how they are going to get out from under Phil's thumb but let's just hope whatever happens; it's plausible. That's all we ask.

Willow is a dumb-ass! Why would she stand with Philip next to the railing again after he had already dangled her over it once in anger?? Okay...I'm just going to come out and say it. I am so sick of Willow - I don't know hardly what else to say. It really bothers me that this 'new' character popped up from nowhere to dominate the show. And now she's grown a brother (Jed - the guy who was drooling all over Abby in Java caf) and acquired a last name: Stark (apparently she's always had one but I've never heard it mentioned before). That usually means that a character will be around for a while. Oh joy. Did I mention that I can't stand her? I can't figure her out either. One minute she's taunting Shawn and Belle and the next she is shouting "gotcha" and lets them go with a 'safe travels' and a wave. The next minute - she's back to vowing to stick it to Shawn because she didn't realize that he planned on jumping ship. Okay psycho. At this point, I am so sick of Willow that I can't stand seeing her character onscreen anymore. Was I the only one hoping that Philip would drop Willow when he dangled her over the railing? I just hope that Days will either ship Willow back to wherever she came from or, if she absolutely must stay, give her a better storyline; preferably one that does not include having Shawn's baby.

There were some great scenes this week and Celeste and Sami's scenes were some of the best. It's great to see Celeste again. Tanya Boyd is fabulous and always so engaging to watch. Though I wish that Lucas or even Marlena had been the first ones to hear the story...I am glad that somebody knows the truth about what happened between Sami and EJ the night that Lucas was rescued. I was relieved that Celeste immediately changed her tune when she found out that EJ raped Sami because - let's face it, given Sami's track record, it wouldn't have been surprising if Celeste had accused her of lying. I think she recognized the evilness behind Sami's statement that EJ wanted to plant the DiMera seed in a Brady woman. I can't really understand why Celeste would keep Sami's secret though, especially since the truth could shed some light on what happened to Lexie. Does she feel that sympathetic toward Sami's paternity issues that she'd keep this secret for her? It doesn't really make much sense unless she's trying to protect Sami from EJ I guess. She has to know that EJ will know before long however. Sami said so herself. Then what will she do? Regardless of how or when it comes out, Lucas is going to end up accusing Sami of not trusting in him or their love; and he'd be right. If I were Sami - the fact that there's a picture of her and EJ in Lexie's car and that Celeste now knows, compounded with Kate sniffing around and guessing the 'real' story - it would light a freaking white-hot fire under my butt to tell Lucas the truth before he found out from someone else. Hello Sami! What does this tell you? LEARN YOUR LESSON GIRL! It's so frustrating! Time is definitely running short now that EJ has stolen Sami's garbage and dug around in it for proof of her pregnancy (ewww) - which he got thanks to some card from her doctor's office (since when do doctors send you an announcement in the mail like that?). I'm sure it won't be long before EJ is crowing to the world that he may be the father of her baby and everything will come crashing down on Sami once again.

Lucas - once again - asked Sami to trust in their love and to have faith in him. But as usual...she did not have the courage to tell him the truth. She just kept compounding the lie every time she opened her mouth. Maybe I'm just cranky this week (ya think?) but I am getting SO SICK of watching Sami repeat this pattern. It's old freakin' news. I'm dying to see Sami do something different for once! Now that Lucas has proposed again and they are planning yet another wedding, it's the perfect opportunity for her to come clean. Is she really so selfish that she'd put her own happiness before Lucas's or the baby's? Lucas deserves to know the truth! The worst part is that he FINALLY stood up to his evil, scheming mother - called her a liar and told her she was no longer welcome in their lives. And he will be forced to eat his words when the truth comes out because Kate was right all along. SHEESH. Someone out there looooves Kate because no matter how awful, mean, manipulative and evil she is - she always comes out of each situation smelling like roses. Part of me wonders if Kate will actually feel bad when the truth finally does come out because though Kate is 'right' in terms of EJ lifting the beam off Lucas; she is wrong in terms of why she thinks Sami helped EJ in the first place and what she had to endure to get his help in return. But then I shake my head and laugh and laugh. Kate doesn't know the meaning of the word 'feel bad'.

I wish that I could say that I'm really interested in Steve and Kayla's storyline. I am and I'm not. That's about the size of it. I am because Mary-Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols are fabulous. But I'm also not because their story is dragging. It's kind of boring and can basically be summarized as: Steve had a dream about being brainwashed/tortured by EJ and tried to strangle Kayla. He freaked out and decided to leave her for her own safety. Kayla protested, he left anyway and went to confront EJ, who flashed a Tarot card at him - effectively bringing him under control. EJ then ordered Steve to bring John to him. Steve dressed up as a doctor and kidnapped John from the hospital. What took me 3 or 4 lines to describe, took a whole week to unfold. Was that really necessary? What's missing in my dry synopsis is the amazing acting that Mary-Beth and Stephen are putting out there on the screen. They really are mesmerizing and keep me hooked, even if my mind wanders now and then. So, apparently Stefano needs a kidney. And EJ plans on removing one of John's for him. Stefano is worth millions, is connected, powerful and has hundreds of minions to do his bidding but yet EJ has resorted to kidnapping John to get a kidney? That can only mean one thing right? That John is also Stefano's son? It would be too much of a coincidence that John just happened to have the right blood type etc to be a transplant match. What do you guys think?

Bite my tongue for saying it but...I felt bad for Chelsea, she's had a tough week. She found out that Nick was really Dr. Shane Patton and then her Dad disowned her. Chelsea is kinda being a hypocrite where Nick is concerned though. Other than not owning up to being Lonely Splicer - was what he did really so bad? I don't think so. He actually helped her to be a better person. Compared to the hundreds of evil things that Chelsea has said and done; Nick is a freaking saint. Rachel Melvin rocks though and I think she's great. Though Chelsea was a hateful, spiteful little demon seed, Rachel has managed to keep the character interesting and fun to watch. I used to hate the sight of Chelsea but now I can't get enough of her. Especially now that she's turned over this new leaf and acts in a way that allows us to sympathize with her. Although the writers really haven't given us much choice but to sympathize with her. First Bo chewed her out pretty good and then she got mixed up with the slimy, icky, repulsive Dr. Rebert. He truly makes my skin crawl. "No one has ever brought me up on charges. No woman has and no woman ever will"? What the heck was that all about? Nick called it when he described Rebert as a pig to Maggie. That's putting it mildly to say the least. Anyway, it looks like Nick will ride in on his white horse to save Chelsea since last we saw - Dr. Rebert was trying to take Chelsea back to his place and Maggie was urging Nick to "fight" for her.

Max and Abby...Max and Abby...hmmm...well...Max sure does get around. I can't believe that yet again; he's quickly tired of yet another girl's drama (although to be fair, he definitely picks the ones with the most drama) and has set his sights on Abby. Nice, normal, sweet, innocent Abby. Or at least, that's how he described her. Personally, I don't see any chemistry between the two. It could be a moot point anyhow since Abby's upcoming romance with Jed (Willow's brother) is going to be front-burner. I will have to swallow my disbelief if this turns out to be a love triangle between Max/Abby/Jed but let's see what happens. At least Jed is not as abrasive as Willow so there's hope that he might actually be a positive addition; unlike his sister. Back to Max for a minute - why is he playing Mimi like that? Just a short while ago, he was telling Mimi how much he liked her and he was telling Abby that she was like a little sister to him. Now he's all hung up on Abby and trying to hold Mimi away at arms length? No sooner did Mimi tell him that she would go back to his place to wait for him that he was on the phone calling Abby and asking her to come by the garage. He is not exactly the kind of guy Abby deserves. I wonder if their romance will be the thing that brings Jack back to town? In case you haven't heard...Matt Ashford is due back in Salem soon - and this particular fan couldn't be happier.

So Bonnie confessed to killing her husband in self-defense? Hmmm...I think it's fairly obvious that there's more to the story than what Bonnie told the cops. Max is determined to help prove that Bonnie acted in self-defense by asking Nick to run some DNA tests on the ring that was found on the skeleton that was Mimi's father. I highly doubt that there would be any recoverable DNA after all this time. Oh and in case you blinked and missed it; Connor (Mimi's brother) has left town and returned to the ranch. That was fast huh? I wonder what happened there? Did the TPTB decide that he wasn't working out or decide to fast-track the Lockharts out of town? Whatever - they're going, going, gone soon anyway so it doesn't really matter. Now; if only they'd take Willow with them!

SPOILERS/

Belle and Shawn grow closer while trapped on a deserted island;
Bo and his team search John's hospital room for clues to his disappearance.
Kayla learns she must remove John's kidney;
Bo finds a message from Shawn encoded on the raft
E.J. cons Sami into helping him again.
Dr. Rebert makes an aggressive pass at Chelsea.
Kayla is horrified by Steve's request.
Shawn tries to kiss Belle.

Reader Feedback: Thanks to everyone who wrote in! I love reading your comments and feedback about the show and this column - so keep them coming!

From Angie: "I never thought I would say this, but my favorite scenes this week all revolved around Chelsea. I always knew I could like this character if they gave her a better storyline than, "I'm a spoiled brat who has to break up my Dad's marriage." Her scenes with Nick and Hope were emotionally sincere and heart-breaking. I'm impressed at the way the character didn't run to her usual backup (the bar) after suffering three setbacks in one night. After thinking she lost the lab assistant job, finding out Nick was lying to her, and having her Dad throw her out of his life, she ran to Abby and not to alcohol. What's with Bo kicking her out because of Patrick's confession? Didn't he already know that Chelsea had helped Patrick. Oh, and gotta love E.J. crack to Sami, calling Austin Dallas".

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

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