Match point

James E. Reilly must be smiling down on the current writers over Kate's poison apple scheme. Evil Kate is usually enjoyable, but last week's scenes between her and Chloe were just awkward.

DAYS may have been preempted by Wimbledon last Thursday and Friday, but the beginning of the week served up some pretty interesting matches in Salem. Ironically, hardly any of the bouts seemed to end in love. But don't worry -- if Melanie has her way she'll change that...at least for Brady and Arianna. Let's discuss!

KATE, DR. DAN, CHLOE & LUCAS

Somewhere in Soap Heaven, James E. Reilly is smiling down on the current writers over this poison apple scheme. What's next -- a spaceship crash lands and two scantily clad teenagers emerge? Oh...wait...never mind...that's already happened. Moving on ...

Chloe took a bite out of the Granny Smith thanks to Granny Kate and eventually passed out in Dr. Dan's arms. How convenient. Well, technically it was because Kate's plan seems to involve framing Dr. Dan for Chloe's potential demise. My biggest concern over this storyline is what will happen to Kate -- will she be able to be redeemed somehow or be sent away to prison to play poker with Patrick Lockhart and Nick never to be heard from again? Oh, right, and I'm worried that Chloe might die. Um, ya, that too.

Now, whereas I enjoy evil Kate for the most part, last week's scenes between her and Chloe were all shades of awkward. Actually, they were simply painful to watch because they were so lame. Kate's crazed outbursts to coax Chloe to eat the apple were laughable, as were Chloe's reasons for delaying her snack. I can handle off-the-wall storylines if they're delivered in a way that makes sense, but all of the characters involved seem a bit dumbed-down these days.

Speaking of dumb, earlier in the week, Dr. Dan told Maggie that he'll never, ever stop loving Chloe. Ms. Horny Lane-Horton said a similar thing to Big Red moments before. Right. I should feel bad that she's conflicted, but I just don't. And Dr. Dan's "heartfelt" statement basically had the same effect on me as a teenager promising his parents that he'll never forgive them for not letting him go to a co-ed sleepover on a school night.

STEPHANIE & PHILIP

In other relationship news, Stephanie and Phil have called it quits. I'm just going to say it -- I don't think we've seen the last of Stephanie and Philip, the Couple. As Dimples mentioned, they've broken up before. Therefore, I'm hoping these two will eventually work things out.

Conversely, I think Stephanie brought up some valid concerns about dating Victor's Mini-Me. I was also glad she took the time to speak with Father Matt. And unlike when Chloe talks to him, I didn't cringe. Perhaps that was mostly because Steph didn't have porn-like fantasies while in church. Anyway...it was a nice nod to the past that Father Matt and Steph both paralleled Kayla and Steve's relationship with her and Philip's. And whereas I think it's a fair comparison to some degree, I also think Steph needs to remember she's not Kayla and Philip's not Steve, and that's the one of the things that bothered me...

Stephanie pretty much threw her hands in the air and assumed that Phil won't change. Sure, he has his faults. And, sure, some of those faults verge on illegal and probably should be toned down a bit. But I think it's expecting a lot for Philip to change just because Steph doesn't like certain things about him. Significant others aren't like pizza toppings -- you can't pick and choose what you want.

STEFANO, E.J. & NICOLE

Any sympathy I had for E.J. is over after last week. Done. Kaput! As Paula Abdul once sang, "He's a coldhearted snake." It's one thing that he strong-armed Judge Fitzpatrick to do his bidding. Well, technically, every time the woman's on, it's the same ol' song and dance. She has a moment of faux inner conflict, pouts and then begrudgingly promises to do exactly what the DiMeras want her to do. Nothing new there, it seems.

However, E.J. sank a new low when talking to Nicole about Johnny. He basically said he doesn't care that Johnny will be crushed that he can't see Sami. "Difficulty in life breeds character," he coldly remarked. What a stand-up guy -- he doesn't care that his child is suffering as long as Sami suffers too. Call me crazy, but I think a parent should, I don't know, put their children's needs before their own. And let's face it, when Nicole of all people thinks a scheme is going too far, you know it's bad!

Yet Nicole had her own tracks to cover as she worried that Rafe is onto her scheme. She tried to convince Sami that Rafe's snooping will only anger E.J. and Stefano. That's true, but then again, nearly everything ticks of E.J. these days. I heard rumors Mary the Maid is still recovering from a black eye after E.J. punched her for folding his socks the wrong way. Back on track...

I think Lucky-Break Nicole is safe for now as I don't think Rafe's connected the dots just yet. But I do think he's on his way to doing so. Or was on the way to doing so -- Stefano promised to dig up the dirt on Rafe to stop him. And something tells me the dirt Stefano will dig up is on top of Emily Harper's grave. Hmm...

SAMI & RAFE

Speaking of Emily, Rafe once again visited her grave, but this time Sami showed up! Now, before we get into that aspect of things, let's take a look at what we know about Emily. We know that Emily was a grown woman...we know she's dead...ok, that's all. Ironically, that's about as much as we know about Rafe...he's a grown man who seems a little brain dead at times...and he carries around a prayer card from Emily's service in his wallet.

My hunch is that we might be seeing a repeat of the whole Dr. Dan/Rebecca scenario. However, things with Dr. Dan seemed pretty straight forward while things with Rafe are all sorts of shady. Unless Higs and the gang are planning to make Rafe a full blown, obsessed psychopath, they're already striking out for a second time in the "guy with a dead wife" department as I don't have any sympathy for Rafe. They ruined Dr. Dan's sad story and, unless they give us reason to care about Rafe, I probably won't care about his shady past. In fact, it's especially hard to care for Rafe since he told Sami to mind her own business in regards to Emily...and his past in general. Excuse me? He said that? Pretty much...

"You will know about my life and my past when I chose to tell you about them," he said to Sami. I thought, more so hoped, that this would be the slap in the face Sami needed to wake up and smell the shadiness. And she did for a millisecond. She reminded him that she's been open and honest with him. She mentioned she hardly knows anything about him. She also proclaimed something to the effect of, "What you see is what you get -- I'm me and I'm not going to change." And, for a second, I was all, "You go girl!" Then they made up in a flash and slept together. Ugh! So close yet so far away.

I think Sami and Rafe need to follow in Stephanie and Philip's footsteps and take a little time out. Actually, they should take a long time out. Whereas E.J. was a complete jerk last week, he has been for a while now. Yet Rafe's "Me man, you woman, you do what I say," side is just revving up, which is making me see red. Note to Sami -- if a guy's pulling that caveman crap this early on, kick him out of the cave!

BRADY, ARIANNA & MEL

Even though Brady and Arianna's constant bumping into each other makes me want to bring my toaster into the shower, I do like the budding romance between them. There's something cool about these two hot Salemites flirting. Yet even cooler? Mel's involved!

Sure, Melanie's trying to play matchmaker for a semi-selfish reason. She hopes karma will throw a certain Horton hottie her way, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do, and if what she does gets Ari and Brady together, it should be done. And, sure, normally matchmaker schemes can get a little corny and clich, but sometimes you need a little extra cheese on the pizza. With all the baby drama and poison plots, Days could use a little levity, and Mel's certainly the one to make that happen.

BO, HOPE & CIARA

In a move that certainly won't traumatize Ciara, Bo and Hope have decided to hide Tommy Bear in order to keep their tiny tot safe. As per Ghost Zack's warning, if they know where the stuffed toy is Ciara will remain out of harm's way, but if they lose it, bad things will happen. Now, sure, because of that reasoning, I get why they want to hide the bear, but I feel bad for Ciara...she's not going to understand why her favorite plush pal is M.I.A. And I'm sure she won't go searching for him. Right. Therefore, I suspect that Laurisa was right in her last column -- when Bo and Hope's children start getting airtime, it spells trouble.

The trouble this time, however, I gather will come from the mystery man (or mystery woman with manly hands) who keeps circling Hope's picture in the Spectator. I have a hunch this enigmatic circler will somehow get his (or her) hands on Ciara and hold her for ransom...or kidnap her and simply draw circles on her with a Sharpie, not sure. I just hope Mrs. Williams-Brady didn't blow all of her Horton money on charities, or else they might have to hit up Grandpa Victor for some green. On second thought, anything to get Victor involved is a good thing in my book!

HOT & NOT

Hot: Surprisingly, Nicole followed through with her promise to reunite Sami and Johnny! And bonus points go to the writers for explaining that now the DiMera/Kiriakis feud is over, Nicole can move more freely. Now, I'm not sure how long this truce will last and I'm almost positive it will end horribly, but I liked seeing Sami and Nicole playing nice. Rightfully, Sami was suspicious and I'm sure most of Nicole's actions were prompted by guilt, but I don't care -- there's something awesome about these two teaming up! More, please!

Not: Forgive me if I repeat myself, but "Difficulty in life breeds character." Really, E.J.!? Really!? You're talking about your toddler son! What a jerk...and please note I used the term "jerk" so as not to offend anyone and/or be censored by the actual words I wanted to call him.

Line of the Week: "Aside from the creepy stalker thing, I think you're a really nice guy." Arianna to Brady.

Randomness ...

Hmm...there wasn't a Brady/Horton 4th of July party last week. Higs and company better have a rip, roaring, star-spangled, vet-filled picnic planned for us next week or else I'm going to be one ticked off Two Scooper!

Mel didn't tell Philip about Steph's pill-popping kick, but he did find her prescription. I'm glad Mel kept her word to Sweetness Jr., but I have a feeling Steph's days of booze and pills aren't over despite her promise to Dimples.

It's interesting that Arianna changed clothes three times in "one day" while Brady was in the same outfit every time they "bumped" into each other.

Nicole asked young Johnny to keep his visits with Sami a secret. Um, I don't think that will have a pretty ending.

Although he wasn't on last week, I couldn't help to wonder who this Chad guy is. I have a hunch -- could he be related to someone already in Salem? Mia did say he had a striking resemblance to E.J. (which he does). Could he be a DiMera offspring? Or, could he be the son of a certain police commissioner and his ex-fling who is returning this fall? Not sure, but stay tuned!

I think perhaps Chloe and Dr. Dan are this year's Santo and Colleen. Just like how the "Santeen" relationship played out in flashbacks to appease "Ejami" fans when Lucas and Sami were together, Chloe and Dr. Dan's fantasies are keeping the "Danloe" crowd semi-happy while the "LuLoe" gang gets to celebrate.

Parting Thoughts ...

So, friends and Days fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of July 6th! Laurisa will be back next week to see if Chloe kicks the bucket and if Mel's matchmaking skills work! But in the meantime, make sure to check out Laurisa's blog as she took several readers' advice and complied a list of "Reasons to Like Rafe." Time will tell if she warms up to Agent Shady Past, but at least it looks like the mystery will soon unravel! I hope it will, at least, and, "that's a fact!"

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