July 15-19, 1996 Updates
Monday 15July96
On Monday, John has those goggles and he watches Marlena again. Although he's not sure, John guesses that Marlena is trying to get Stefano to lower his defenses. [He can't figure out why else she would willingly allow him so near to her. When she pulls back from him, John realizes he's right. He tries to "contact" her and tell her he's alive.] John continues to watch, waiting for Marlena to make her move, when something happens that surprises him. Stefano has decided to take Marlena from captivity to the open streets of the city. John can't understand why Stefano would do such a thing, knowing how easy it would be for someone to recognize her. Meanwhile, Rachel corners Kristen again, and tries to get her to tell John the name of the city where Stefano is holding Marlena. [Kristen finds John in the basement with the goggles. He asks her to try to remember the game she played with Stefano and the city where he might be holding Marlena. Kristen lies and says she doesn't know. John suggests that Kristen work with Laura to try to remember. Kristen becomes appalled that John would want her to take psychotropic drugs and put her baby at risk. Stefano, meanwhile, has figured out that the goggles were not destroyed in the explosion. When his servant questions what he will do about keeping their location a secret, Stefano mysteriously says he has taken care of it. I'm not sure how; it's pretty darn obvious where they are once Marlena gets outside.] Vivian sees a signet ring on a hand looking just like Stefano's. Frightened, Vivian tries to convince herself that it's not Stefano [and Ivan tries to get her to call John Black and tell him what she saw. She refuses.], but when she sees a masked man walking the streets with a blonde, Vivian wonders if it's really Stefano and Marlena. [Once Marlena lowers her mask, Vivian sees that it is indeed them.] In Salem, Bo talks to Jill, the girl who was attacked by a man handsome enough to be a model. [He asks her if she would recognize the guy if she saw him again. She says she would. When Bo turns his back, Jill disappears. He heads to the Cheatin' Heart to investigate, but no one is helpful. He then runs into Jill, who tells Bo that she just over-reacted to a miscommunication, and she wants to drop it.] Bo later tells Franco and Hope what happened, and both are sympathetic. [Bo puts all his facts together: the guy was good- looking; while he was attacking the woman, he suddenly stopped and left; Franco was uncharacteristically late for the photo shoot. Hmmmm....]
Tuesday 16 July 1996
On Tuesday, Stefano walks alongside Marlena, who is enjoying the freedom of her first trip outside the lair. A few yards away, Vivian and Ivan face the fact that they've found Stefano and Marlena. Ivan begs Madame to call John to let him know that Marlena is in Paris. [Stefano spots them and quickly takes Marlena back to her cage. She's disappointed, and Stefano marvels at the transformation that occurred when she was let outside. He gloats that it was because they were together, but Marlena insists that it was the atmosphere of people and music that cheered her. Vivian is frightened that officials will assume that she has been helping Stefano, since she is coincidentally in the same city as him. Finally she decides to call John. When he answers, she stammers and says nothing. When she gathers her courage, it's too late. Stefano grabs the phone from her and hangs up. Ivan then returns from getting their airline tickets out of Paris. Stefano allows Vivian and Ivan to live, on the condition that they never breathe a word of his whereabouts to anyone, and they cannot leave Paris.] Rachel is still trying to persuade Kristen that it's time to let John know the secrets of the game. But Kristen is determined to keep John in the dark about Marlena's location. However, Kristen is feeling guilty about this -- very guilty [she has nightmares of going to Paris with John, and seeing Marlena in shackles. Marlena swears to Kristen that she will lose *everything*.] John, meanwhile, has been working around the clock trying to figure out where Stefano has taken Marlena. [He recalls the gown Marlena put on and finds it strangely familiar.] John studies Paris and is drawn to the city. In fact, John finds the city so fascinating that he decides it would be the perfect location for their honeymoon. [Kristen panics, and John gushes how wonderful and supportive she's been, so it's the least he can do for her.] Does that mean that a full-fledged showdown between John and Stefano is nearing? [Celeste is still fearful that Stefano will come back for Lexie. Lexie's fears are renewed when she receives flowers and a note from her father.]
Wednesday 17 July 1996
On Wednesday, after spending the day [evening is more accurate] outside the lair and not being discovered, Marlena is beginning to give up hope. Meanwhile, Stefano has caught up to Vivian and Ivan and warns them to not even think about calling John. Vivian decides to put an end to her involvement with Stefano, and in exchange for that freedom, Vivian will say nothing to anyone about where Stefano is staying. Ivan fears his Madame is heading for trouble, but there's nothing he can do to stop Vivian. [Vivian plans to have Stefano sign an affidavit clearing her of assisting in his escape in return for her silence. She heads to the Paris cafe where she saw Stefano earlier, confident that he will resurface. Marlena begins questioning Stefano about why he did not come to see her last night, and why they had to leave the celebration so abruptly. She guesses that someone saw them, though Stefano tries to deny it. When he tells her that they have been 'silenced', she assumes that he had them killed. He is angry and claims to be a changed man -- not a murderer. Marlena is still quietly hopeful that she can be saved since someone knows where she is. She also very much wants to go outside again, but Stefano refuses to allow that until she "gives in" to him.] In Salem, Peter has just surprised Jennifer with land to build their dream house. [Peter overheard Jack talking with Laura about Jennifer's happiness. Jack is concerned that Jennifer is afraid to admit that she made a mistake with Peter and isn't truly happy. Peter realizes he must do something, and makes the owner of the best land in Salem an offer he can't refuse.] When Jack sees how thrilled Jennifer is, he faces the fact that he can't make Jennifer as happy as Peter can. Jack realizes that it's time for him to move on. He gets started by taking a date to the movies. By sheer coincidence [yeah right - Peter eavesdropped], Peter decides to take Jennifer to that very same flick. [Jenn feels awkward seeing Jack with his date. Tough cookies, honey. Rachel encourages John to use the goggles again -- she'll keep Kristen busy. John appreciates it, but he already checked and the goggles aren't recharged yet. Besides, he thinks the key to finding Marlena is this game of Stefano's. He studies it intensely, and comes up with the idea of playing the game with Kristen to help jog her memory. She lies and says she still can't remember what the city was; maybe Stefano never told her? Suddenly John gets a 'feeling' from Marlena, who is in her cage crying for help. When the feeling passes, Kristen nervously tells John that she doesn't want to play the game anymore. Her cell phone rings -- it's Stefano, calling to make sure she doesn't tell anyone where she suspects he is. Kristen says "Stefano..." Did John hear it?]
Thursday 18 July 1996
On Thursday, afraid that she will never see her children again, Marlena tries to escape. [She takes a hat pin from her costume and bends it to pick the lock. She recalls when she and John were married and he taught her how to do it. She succeeds, and then tries to figure out what to do next.] Unfortunately, her plan is foiled by Stefano. [He tells her that he knows her every move, and he opened the lock via remote control to make her think she opened it.] Once he's sure Marlena is safe and sound, Stefano remembers that John is watching their every move through those goggles. [He now has a device that gives him several seconds delay time in what John sees and hears, so if Marlena mentions Paris, he can censor it. When his servant asks why he does not destroy the device, Stefano says it's too much fun to toy with John's mind.] He decides to taunt John just a bit. [Back at the DiMera mansion, John thinks Kristen has Stefano on the phone and is about to call the authorities, but Kristen lies and says it's Peter asking how he can help in the search for Marlena. Naturally, Stefano's name came up. Kristen takes the call in private, and Rachel overhears some of the conversation. She knows it's Stefano, and she grabs the phone and screams at him to stay away from her daughter. Disgusted, Rachel tells Kristen that it's over -- she's going to tell John that Kristen knows where Marlena is. John, meanwhile, has gone to check if the goggles are re-charged yet. They are, and he looks at Marlena again. When Stefano sees that the goggles are in use, he enters Marlena's cage and makes a proposition. He asks her what she would do for her freedom. "Anything," she replies. With that, he says she can have her freedom if she will give him a chance to prove that he is a man she could love. He wants her to be with him for one night. If she then decides she does not want to be with him, she can go.] In Salem, Bo's uneasiness increases when he finds out that Franco is growing closer to Hope and the Brady family. He does a background check on Franco. [He goes to visit Carrie at Titan and asks some innocent questions about Franco. His resume looks OK.] The man comes up squeaky clean, but Bo still can't seem to shake that anxious feeling he has about him. [Franco opens up to Hope and admits that he had a girlfriend to whom he was engaged, and a daughter. Hope sympathizes with him on his loss, and encourages him to talk to her whenever he needs to. The Brady's give him lots of home-cooked food, and he comments on the poor quality of room service at the hotels he stays at.] While Bo's trying to figure out why he's so nervous, Franco moves in with Shawn and Caroline. Sami and Lucas try to break up Carrie and Austin's plans for a romantic picnic by pretending that little Will is not well. [Lucas messes with Sami's air conditioning, and Sami calls Austin, concerned about Will in the growing heat.] But this time it looks as if Austin will think it's just another one of Sami's sick little schemes. [Austin comes over, but soon sees through Sami's plan. He emphasizes that he loves Carrie, and will *always* love Carrie. Lucas figures the game is now over, but Sami is still determined to come up with something to get Austin back.]
Friday 19 July 1996
On Friday, knowing that John is watching through those goggles, Stefano propositions Marlena. He tells her that for one night of love, she can have her freedom. "So what is it going to be?" taunts Stefano. "You come across and go free, or do you stay put?" [My brother called it "Put out = get out." When Marlena says she doesn't know what to do, Stefano places an hourglass in her cage. When it runs out, he'll return for her answer.] Marlena realizes that she must decide whether or not she should give herself to Stefano for the sake of her family. John is distraught about this [he can't believe that she would even consider it], and he searches the game for answers to Marlena's location. Kristen sees how tortured John is, and her guilt really overwhelms her. [Rachel again tries to get Kristen to tell John what she knows, but she refuses to sacrifice the father of her baby for Marlena. Marlena, meanwhile, weighs the pros and cons of Stefano's proposal. If she says no, Stefano will get very angry and she may never get out. If she says yes, perhaps she'll be able to see her family again. She doesn't seem to have thought of the possibility that Stefano wouldn't let her go even if she *did* sleep with him. But, she's emotionally drained and desperate. The hourglass runs out, and Stefano enters her cage. When he asks if she has made her decision, she says that she has. Rachel frantically tries to figure out a way to help find Marlena, and eavesdrops on Kristen (who talks to herself like so many others on the show). She's reading a magazine with a spread on Paris, and Kristen decides to rip that section out lest it inspire any ideas. She buries it in her trash, and Rachel knows she must find out what the article says.] Bo is still uneasy about Franco, until he sees Hope becoming good friends with him. Bo trusts Hope's judgement, and if she thinks Franco is on the up and up, then Bo should too. [Still, he asks his parents if Franco will be staying with them for the long-term. They're happy to have him, and give him a key to the pub so he can come and go. Carrie has had a special key chain made for Franco, and a pin for Hope, with the logo of the new perfume they are promoting. Franco is thrilled with his special key chain, and Gosh, now he has a key to put on it. Franco talks more with Hope about the girl he broke up with, and it brings back painful memories for Hope. She admits to Franco that she feels comfortable talking to him, and later at the photo shoot, the photographers continue to comment on their "chemistry".] Bo returns to the station [where Abe encourages him to follow his gut instinct, but Bo thinks he's probably overreacting] and forgets all about Franco when he finds out that Jill has been attacked again [by the same guy]. Bo investigates this latest incident, and this time he comes up with some evidence that could lead him to the attacker - a key chain. [Hmmm, the very same key chain that was given to Franco, who was again late for the photo shoot.]