July 8-12, 1996 Updates
Monday 8July96
On Monday, John is desperate to try to read the letter Marlena wrote when he realizes this is another one of Stefano's traps. [It's rather obvious when Stefano keeps checking his watch.] Turning to Kristen, John shouts "Get out of here now!" Kristen is about to run when she notices John fiddling with that visor [he's trying to unplug it and take it with him, unaware that only seconds are left until the explosives detonate.] When she asks why, John cries "It's the only hope I have of finding Marlena." Then the bomb blows. After the smoke clears, John digs himself out from under the debris and rushes to Kristen's side [actually, he's not far from her, so he kind of crawls over to her to make sure she's OK.] She's telling John that she's all right when she gets a terrible pain in her stomach. Kristen is rushed to the hospital. She's fine, but it doesn't look good for the baby at all. Any little upset, and it could be all over. [When John goes in to see her, she tells him to get rid of the goggles. She's hurt that he put her baby in jeopardy to look for Marlena (hello, no one put a gun to her head to be there). She makes him promise never to use them again. He promises never to do anything to put her and the baby in danger. She's too looped to notice that he made no promise about the goggles. Later, John debates the importance of saving Marlena versus his unborn child (hmmm, no mention of Kristen, just the baby.)] Sami has been awarded custody of Will. Austin, Carrie, and the others are reeling. [When Austin questions the judge's decision, he tells him that he didn't expect him to like the ruling, but he has a lot of experience in child custody cases, and considers himself a "good judge of character". In his opinion, Will is better off with Sami.] The only thing that keeps Austin going is the fact that Sami and the baby will be living with Shawn and Caroline at the pub. At that very moment, Sami tells Lucas that she's moving out of the pub effective immediately. [Actually, after the custody hearing, Sami thanked Lucas for his guidance and wondered how she could repay him. He comes up with a plan (for him to get Carrie, and her to get Austin). This includes her moving out, and Austin in not happy to hear the news. Elsewhere, Hope has her first photo shoot as a Bella model with the omnipresent Franco. Hope is clearly nervous working with him, and then Bo is called away on police business. The photographer wants sexy shots of Hope and Franco, and he helps to loosen her up. She starts to get into it, and hesitates momentarily when they are told to kiss. Of course Bo returns at this point. After the bomb goes off in the warehouse, Stefano informs Marlena that John is dead. She is devastated. Then Stefano is informed that John survived, but he doesn't let Marlena know.]
Tue Jul 9
On Tuesday, Bo walks into the photo shoot just in time to see Franco kissing Hope. Bo can't help but feel a little perturbed, even though Hope assures him that Franco is a perfect gentleman. To make matters worse, the client insists on having dinner with the models. [Bo tries to convince her to stay home with him, but then realizes that for the sake of her job, she should go. The dinner includes Carrie and Austin, so Hope's plan is to put in an appearance and "get a headache" so she can get home to Bo. This plan is foiled when Carrie and Austin cancel, and Hope doesn't want to leave Franco alone. Bo arranges to join them, but before he arrives, Franco pays the maitre'd to play the country song from the Cheatin' Heart, where Hope taught him the two-step. He invites Hope to dance, and admits that he requested the song. When the next song is the sultry one from the photo shoot, he swears he had nothing to do with it. Hope apologizes for being suspicious, and then Bo cuts in.] Later, Bo tells Hope that there's something about Franco that arouses his cop's instinct. Hope teases Bo, thinking that he's just jealous. [Bo's right to be concerned. After Hope leaves, Franco orders some *very* expensive whiskey and seems very pleased with himself.] Sami stuns Austin with her announcement that she is moving out on her own. Austin's first reaction is to stop Sami, but he soon learns that as long as Sami keeps her nose clean, she can live wherever she wants. After a heart- tugging good-bye between Austin and Will, Sami goes. She later meets with Lucas. [He has found her an apartment which is safe but rather sad-looking. He figures it's just the right look to keep Austin checking on Sami and Will. When Sami sees it, she's disgusted, but then realizes Lucas' plan is great.] He is so angry about having lost Carrie, that although he wants her back, Lucas will settle for getting his revenge by helping Sami. Just as Sami gets home, Austin shows up to say good-night to Will. [He wanted to make sure they were OK, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise. He sticks around to fix a leaky faucet, and Sami says she'll be in contact about visiting arrangements.] Sami smiles, confident that her latest plot [Lucas' plot, that is] to break up Austin and Carrie has definite possibilities.
Wednesday 10July96
On Wednesday, to keep Kristen stress-free, John promises to stay away from the visor [actually he only promised not to do anything to put her in danger]; but that's going to be tough since the visor is the only source that could lead John to Marlena. [Rachel suggests that John put the goggles in a safe place and tell no one, not even Kristen. Once alone, Kristen yells at her mother for suggesting such a thing. Rachel says she will not tell John about her involvement, but she will do anything she can to help find Marlena. When confronted about her moral character, Kristen flat-out admits that she has no shame, and will do whatever she must to hold on to John.] John is longing to have another look at Marlena just to see if she's OK. Kristen knows if John uses the visor, reads the letter [Marlena's journal], or should get lucky enough to rescue Marlena, Kristen's involvement in Marlena's abduction will be revealed. John would turn to Marlena, and Kristen would lose him forever. [Abe stops by to look through the stuff removed from Stefano's warehouse with John. They find some intriguing objects, including a book referring to the "Queen of the Night" and a strange board-type sculpture. John wonders if it's a game. Regardless, it must be important if Stefano kept it.] Since Bo still thinks Franco is a bad guy, Hope agrees to end her involvement with Franco as soon as this campaign wraps up. [Peter spends a nice day with Jennifer and Abby. He's trying to impress upon Laura that he can make Jenn happy, and assures her that he has broken all ties to any dirty dealings (conveniently ignoring his involvement with Daniel Scott). Laura later misinterprets a phone call Peter makes and thinks he is doing things behind her back again. It turns out he's just arranging a surprise for her. Jack surprises all by announcing that he has a date with a good-looking woman from the TV station. Laura asks Jenn if a small part of her still wants to get back together with Jack, and she says No.] Meanwhile, Franco ingratiates himself with the rest of the Brady family by tagging along with Shawn and Shawn-Douglas on a fishing trip. Shawn falls into the water, and it is Franco who saves him from drowning. When Bo hears, he admits that he was wrong and welcomes Franco into their home. Franco is pleased that everything is going according to plan.
Thursday 11July96
On Thursday, Stefano wants to purge John from Marlena's heart, so he shows her a newspaper article [allegedly Salem's newspaper] detailing the explosion that he claims killed John. But Marlena is not coming around, and it doesn't look as if she will anytime soon. In fact, it looks as if Marlena is slipping away from the land of the living. [The doctor is concerned because she is despondent and unresponsive.] Stefano offers Marlena a deal: if she promises not to run away, he'll take her into the real world. "If you don't," whispers Stefano, "it will be your children who suffer the consequences. Permanently." [He cannot make threats on Marlena's life, since she has little will to live anyway.] John is working on stuff to figure out the game, but Stefano wins again. Kristen is the only one besides Stefano who knows that game. But if she tells John that it takes place in Paris, John would go there, find Marlena, and then Kristen would be left out. So Kristen tells John that she doesn't remember anything. [Vivian is appalled to see the newest cover of Bella magazine -- her face is on it, and there is a story of her alleged ties to Stefano. This episode is the final straw; Vivian tells Ivan she needs to get away for awhile. She gets permission from Abe to leave town, and decides to head to Europe. Maybe she can convince a renowned doctor in Switzerland to come to the U.S. to work with Victor, who isn't improving. She'd also love to stop in Paris.] Sami tries to use baby Will to lure Austin in [she causes a power outage by pulling a fuse, but stupidly does so with wet hands and shocks herself unconscious. Lucky for her, an eccentric neighbor stops by and helps her out. She's very handy, and will take care of any of Sami's needs. Mary (the neighbor) is curious why Sami is not married to the father of her baby. Sami says they had some problems, but she's sure they'll be together again. Later, Sami calls Austin and tells him she's taking Will to the park if he would like to see him.] Unfortunately for Sami, that doesn't stop Austin from proposing to Carrie. [Austin brings Carrie with him to the park, and the two have a picnic lunch. Sami witnesses Austin's proposal and Carrie's acceptance, and Lucas (who was also lurking) says it's all over now. But Sami says she'll think of something to get Austin back.]
Friday 12July96
On Friday, Rachel knows that Kristen knows where Stefano is holding Marlena [why does Kristen enjoy tormenting her mother so much? Despite how upset Rachel is that Kristen is keeping all this info from John, Kristen keeps almost 'gloating' about it.] She tries to get Kristen to tell John, but it's no use [real shocker there, huh?] Torn [and remembering how horrible it was when *she* was Stefano's prisoner], Rachel convinces John that it would be in Kristen's best interest if he broke his promise and used the visor. [John doesn't want to go against Kristen's wishes or keep secrets from her, but] John agrees. Meanwhile, Stefano's servant convinces Marlena to go along with Stefano for her own sanity and for the future safety of her children. Marlena agrees, and tells Stefano that she wants to go out. [Stefano is pleased, and arranges for a costume to be brought to her dwelling. There is a street fair tonight, and they can be among the other people. Stefano still won't tell Marlena where they are -- he wants to surprise her. John uses the goggles and sees Marlena sadly reading a Salem newspaper proclaiming John's death. He hears that Marlena is going along with Stefano's wishes for the sake of her children's safety, and he is appalled.] Just then, Vivian and Ivan begin their vacation in Paris. [Vivian is having a wonderful time until she spots Bella magazine with her face on the cover. She orders Ivan to go out and buy up all the copies he can find. While people-watching,] they see Stefano's ring, and Vivian is suddenly very fearful. Bo can't believe he was so wrong about Franco. Hope is pleased by Bo's turnaround. After dinner with the Brady's [which Franco insisted on cooking], Franco leaves, promising to see Hope for their late-night photo shoot later. Franco shows up to the shoot, but he's very late and flustered. Bo is heading home when he finds a woman who was attacked by a man she met at the Cheatin' Heart. When Bo asks about him, [she's traumatized and] all she can say is that he was good-looking enough to be a model. [So, Franco is a nymphomaniac who likes to beat up women?]