It takes two

Justin told Chloe that the next step in her custody process would be to get a real job and a real home. Harsh! It's a good thing that Sami never hired Justin as her lawyer.

You've all heard me talk about my best friend, Jamie. She's the one who got me hooked on DAYS. I'll never forget the Thursday one summer when a group of us planned to go out and do something. I don't remember what we were planning. But, we insisted that Jamie go with us. In doing so, Jamie missed the episode with John and Kristin's wedding -- complete with flying teeth and baby bump exposure. To this day, she still carries a grudge about missing the episode where the truth finally came out. Just ask her. So, I hope that she got to see Friday's show because it was one where the tale of two Rafes finally came into the open. RAFE, SAMI, BO, and HOPE I wasn't crazy about what Bo, Hope, Rafe, or Sami did for most of the week. Hope Tasered people as she pleased. Bo strangled people. Rafe wore unflattering patterned shirts. And Sami reached an all new high (low?) of selfishness. (As his mother, I assumed that she had the final say in whether or not to make Johnny an active participant in their scheme.) But, none of that seemed to matter when it finally came to the confrontation.

It was pure soap magic. Rafe came in the front door. Fafe came in the side door. Taylor saw them both. E.J. and Stefano had no explanation prepared, so they went with complete denial. Bo brushed up on his legal terms. Hope and her eyebrow were there too. And Sami punched E.J. in the face. Twice.

So, what will happen next? E.J. mentioned that he still has proof that Sami shot him in the head. I'm glad because the irony of Sami, Rafe, Bo, and Hope throwing monkey pooh at E.J and Stefano because they (gasp!) committed a crime when those three were all instrumental in helping Sami get away with her crime was not lost on me.

But the other shoe will drop soon. I'm not talking about the huge hit upside her head that Taylor "I don't see any proof" Walker has coming. And yes, I'm starting a sign-up sheet for those who want to come on the bus with me to Salem to throw a glass of water on Taylor in hopes that she'll finally wake up.

I'm talking about Brady. E.J. started to remember things from the night of the beating. My guess is that he'll remember everything right before Sami succeeds in taking the children away permanently. Remember, it's not just that Brady assaulted E.J. It's that Melanie, Dario, Jennifer, Daniel, Carly, Bo, Hope, Nicole, Victor, and Maggie helped cover it up. That's a lot of punishment for poor Abe and Roman to sort out! As noble as that list of people is (hello, Maggie is on it for goodness sake!), I honestly don't know if Sami and Rafe would abandon their plot for revenge for anyone. And, I'm not sure if I want them to or not.

CHLOE Justin told Chloe that the next step in her custody process would be to get a real job and a real home. Tough! Good thing Sami never hired Justin as her lawyer. Anyway, Chloe dusts herself off. Refuses to accept help from anyone and is determined to do this on her own! Good for you, Chloe!

Well, sorta. The problem with Chloe is, and always has been, that she does not think of other options before jumping headfirst into the wrong decision. Of course making Brady think she was dead was the only way to deal with her "ugly" new face! Of course having an affair with Daniel was the only way to have a relationship with him! Of course working as a prostitute is the only way to secure enough money to provide a home for her son! In every case, Chloe had no other choice! That pattern makes it hard to feel sorry for Chloe, even though she's clearly the victim of slimy Quinn's scheme.

Side note: Chloe's john was named Randy. He walked up to her and said, "I'm Randy." Austin Powers would be proud.

QUINN and VIVIAN There's got to be more behind why Quinn wants to help Vivian take down Carly. I don't buy his "love for revenge" shtick. Vivian doesn't seem to believe it either. Could it be that this is just another step in Quinn's quest to take down Vivian? Maybe all that talk of finding someone's weakness was really his way of uncovering Vivian's rawest nerve -- her Carly hate.

We'll probably find out soon, as Quinn's buddy (whose name sounds like "Phelps" but I'm pretty sure I heard wrong) is trying to sell drugs to Carly. Once Quinn has the goods on Carly, he can dangle them in front of Vivian and make her do whatever he wants. We know that Vivian's stay in Salem is coming to an end, and I can only hope that Vivian doesn't leave beaten and defeated. That's not how I want to remember Aunt Viv.

CARLY, JENNIFER, and DANIEL I was so glad to see Jennifer (not Bo, Daniel, or any other man) reach out to save Carly. And Jennifer completely broke my heart doing so. When she exclaimed, "I want my daughter to be like you!", I put my hand over my heart and let out an audible "Ohh!" Without a doubt, this gal has a fierce love for her friends. Maybe a little too fierce...

Jennifer started pushing Daniel away because she realized that Carly had the hots for Dr. Dan, and for some reason, Jennifer thinks that will keep Carly off drugs. As noble as it is, that's not going to solve Carly's problems. And, I don't want Jennifer's devotion is taking a right turn into Chumpsville if she actually believes that Carly can be a fair assessor of her own condition.

As for Daniel, I thought he was absolutely right. Jack is a moron and a tool for walking out on Jennifer and Abigail. His choice of words could have been less harsh, but at least Daniel is sticking up for Jennifer. I like the effect that she seems to be having on Daniel. NICOLE Nicole was all up in the storyline this week, and I loved every second of it. It's a lot easier to deal with Bo and Hope breaking the law when at least there's one character calling them out on it. Enter: Nicole. She even got Abe on her side, reluctant as he was to admit it. So, what's the only girl who knows the Salem PD's dirty little secret to do? Why, get blind drunk of course!

But even in her drunkenness, Nicole is smarter than most people in Salem. She followed Rafe, completely undetected, broke into the warehouse/apartment thingy, and cut Fafe out of the ropes. Sure, she wasn't coherent enough to formulate some probing questions before she untied Fafe. And, her drunken stupor made it impossible for Brady to believe her tale of two Rafes. But, other than that, she was on fire this week.

BRADY, MELANIE, and DARIO This really is the little triangle that can't. Dario and Melanie confessed their feelings to each other. They kissed, and Brady walked in on them. Again. Prior to the smooch, Brady was hoping to get enough club soda in him to convince me that Brady and Melanie would be a good pair. Thankfully that quantity has not been invented yet. There're a million reasons why Brady and Mel shouldn't happen, but let's add one more just for funzies.

Let's assume that Brady was going to tell Melanie that he has feelings for her, feelings unlike those he's had for any other woman in his life and those feelings might be enough to save him from the blackness of his soul. Well, that's special. But, obviously those feelings aren't enough to ignore a call from Nicole, nor stop him from leaving the bar to go find her. Some people might take that as a sign he's not ready to commit to someone else. Just saying.

E.J. and TAYLOR I know their marriage won't last (if it even happen) because Tamara Braun is leaving the show. Ironically, that relief has helped me enjoy the Lady Braun again. She sure can mix it up with the DiMera men. Tell me I'm not alone in smiling when Taylor openly mocked Stefano, "Thank you, from the bottom of my insipid little bookkeeper heart." Sure, she'll play with Johnny's trains and offer to cook dinner. But Taylor slung back some brandy with Stefano this week and doesn't seem scared of him. I loved that. I wish we would have gotten this stealth, sassier Taylor from the beginning.

LOOSE ENDS:

J.J. was posting pictures from Scotland to his Facebook page. That's quite an accomplishment for a six-year-old. I really tried to follow Abigail's logic about wanting to raise boys away from their fathers until those boys are old enough to be dating material. Someone should really remind her that's exactly what happened with Chad so she stops sounding like such a ditz. Part of me really hopes that someone else catches his eye soon because I'm getting bored with her constant gloomy attitude about dating him.

HOT: I reach extreme levels of happiness when one of my coworkers brings in bagels for breakfast. So, I can only imagine how excited the actors and writers were to get the green light to do a Very Special Episode of DAYS for the Fourth of July. On a day when other networks opted to run reruns of old shows, DAYS offered up this fun, Saturday Night Live-ish spoof of some of the Oscar-nominated films from last year.

It was such a cool break, not just for viewers, but for the cast and crew. I could tell that the actors had a great time with it. It did what soaps do best -- provide a total hour of escapism into the world of smart, tongue-in-cheek entertainment. Some of my favorite moments were:

• Kinsey offering up this gem about The Social Network, "I never saw that computer mogul one. Boring!" Ha! Shelby Young actually appeared in the movie!
• A gaggle of Salem's finest ladies (including Maxine!) sporting blonde wigs and Jersey accents to spoof The Fighter.
• Hearing Bo remark, "My BFF used to wear a patch." Yes, our dear Steve "Patch" Johnson sure did!
• Judi Evans and Eric Martsolf got to share lines!

NOT: Thursday's episode was brought to you by our sponsor: sunglasses! My mom sent me a sarcastic text that said, "I enjoyed Sami's wardrobe when she had her secret meeting with Rafe in the woods. I could hear the Inspector Gadget theme song playing as she scurried on and off the set!" For real, Sami and Rafe really need to learn that glasses and hats only work as a disguise if the rest of you isn't totally recognizable! Otherwise, you just look like, well, yourself wearing a hat and glasses.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Bo (as Rooster Cogburn from True Grit while getting hit in the head by hanging chickens): "Just trying to get me an Emmy nomination". I just had to laugh. You certainly can't claim that Peter Reckell didn't commit to the part.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Viv's lavender nail polish was awesome.

I dig that Stefano and E.J. taught Johnny about "stranger danger." What exactly would that entail?

Shouldn't someone take down E.J. and Nicole's wedding picture? Come to think of it, where is Nicole living right now? Technically she should still be at the mansion.

I like that there's a little part of Nicole that was impressed with E.J's scheme.

I like that Melanie and Abigail are friends. Mel has been involved in a string of catfights, and it's nice to see two gals actually be friends.

Hey Daniel, I know two Two Scoopers who will be glad to take those San Francisco tickets off your hands!

And with that, another week in Salem is in the books. But, a few questions remain. Does anyone know where I can get a solid gold personal grooming kit like Nicole had? Could Taylor have picked a worse time to tell Nicole about E.J.'s proposal? Is it ever entertaining to watch a grown child lament that their parents aren't together? Did you see Kate for a quick second, or did you blink and miss her? Are you excited about the newest casting news? And, are you a self-proclaimed move fanatic like me and Molly Burnett? Be sure to click here to let me know your thoughts and to talk about the show!

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.