Friday, August 8th, 2008

Seriously, characters on soaps should just make the local jail the first stop once they are admitted to a foreign country.



“I'm not sure who I can trust. Both of my...sons...have betrayed me.”
“You made us pay handsomely for that.” Literally!



“Elvis, please, get me some water. My throat is very, very dry. Thank you. I was parched.” Hardly. Innocent request on the surface, absolute brainwashing agenda beneath. Stefano is taking EJ’s mind out for a test drive and checking to see if Sami spilled anything on the interior.



“I want to make sure I wait for just the right moment before I make my grand...re-entry.” I loved how Stefano rolled his eyes here. Flair for the dramatic, indeed.
“I was unable to, uh, react, but, uh, I was aware of everything that went on around me. I heard every word that he said.” And now we also get to also hear everything John said which is so Days padding this storyline with stupid flashbacks.



“John Black was my pawn before and he will be again very soon.” Good! He annoys me.
“Poor Marlena. What she must be going through.” My heart is truly breaking. Can we keep her this way?



“You comfortable? Can we get you anything?” EJ’s been designed to be a very attentive son.
“Another pillow, perhaps?” Hey, Tony, EJ wasn’t being sarcastic like you are.
“My sons bending over backwards to help me. Well, that certainly is an interesting turn of events, yes.” Aren’t direction changes fun, Stefano?
“Contrary to what you might think, we both care about you very much.” Especially EJ.



“Mm. And I suppose that's the reason why you sold me out to Marlena and the rest of Salem, hmm?” Hey, he was being redeemed then! He had to do it!
“I hoped that if I told her where John was it would win some favor with her daughter.” Yup. Sami over Stefano.
“And that turned out so well for you.” Precisely. So it’s back to the dark side.
“Can we just cut to the chase here, please? I mean, you're obviously very upset with both of us.” EJ wants to get the pain over with now, and I can’t blame him. He doesn’t want to have to wait.
“Oh, I am. But right now my priorities lie elsewhere.” But he’ll have to as Stefano will get around to punishing him later.



“If you let us know, we could help you retaliate.” Oh, I like the sound of that.
“It won't be necessary. She's already taken care of.” But EJ can help you do other evil stuff, right? Please?
“Marlena Evans did this to me, and now I'm going to make sure that she pays.” In spades.
“If you don't want to believe me, that's your prerogative. Marlena set out to destroy my life...and now I have the pleasure of returning the favor.” Seriously, this is her own fault. Marlena should have genuinely killed Stefano. Anything less is just making him mad.

Grade: A. What’s not to like about EJ, Stefano, and Tony? My only regret here is that it was much too short. And thank you, TPTB for showing Stefano condition EJ onscreen. It’s more than I could have ever expected from you. Continual reinforcement of EJ’s subservient place in Stefano’s world is exactly how he’s kept his son in line all this time.