Kristen DiMera, Tony DiMera, Stefano DiMera, Celeste Perrault, Marlena Evans, John Black, Billie Reed,Gina/Hope Brady, Bo Brady, Peter Blake, Jennifer Horton, Roman Brady
The Story
In late February, Tony made Stefano leave Salem, so he traveled to Maison Blanche. From there, he sent John puzzle pieces. There were a total of 3 puzzle pieces, which together formed a picture of a window and a column. John knew that Stefano was taunting him, and tried to find out more about the house in the picture.
Meanwhile, Kristen was
filing Stefano's state for probate when she came upon a
picture of one of his houses, Maison Blanche, located in New
Orleans. She was captured by a drawing of the southern
plantation, and decided she didn't want to give it up. She
was fascinated by it and planned to go there, unaware that
Stefano was alive and hiding there. After more research, she
found that the house held A LOT of history dating back to
the civil war. It was even in a history book. She also
learned that there was a legend that the house had once
existed somewhere else, and it had disappeared. Intrigued,
she decided to go there.
Meanwhile, John asked Marlena to put him under hypnosis, thinking that the house was connected to his past. He only remembered the name Maison Blanche. But Roman then remembered having been kept in a Southern mansion before being taken to San Cristobal. He said that he'd once escaped and seen a sign saying "Tolly Import-Export Industries". John tracked this company to New Orleans, and went to investigate.
When Kristen arrived at Maison Blanche, she was met by Celeste. Celeste was a former lover of Stefano's and still harboured feelings for him. To keep Kristen from finding Stefano, Celeste drugged Kristen's sherry and Kristen passed out.
When John got there, he found Kristen laying on the floor unconscious. He also found a diary, written in code, detailing his own past. He went to seek help from Celeste, but couldn't find her. When he came back to the room Kristen was in, he found Stefano standing above her. At that moment, Celeste came and hit him over the head with a blunt object. When John woke up, he was in the basement dungeon. His cell had a television monitor, and Stefano was there laughing, telling him that he was going to brainwash him once again.
Kristen woke up the next day, and while she was suspicious, Celeste convinced her that it was the jet lag. She then met with a charity association and decided to donate the house to a New Orleans Historical Society, and planned to organize a cotillion celebrating this. While investigating his cell, John found an old inscription on a wooden post. It read "Johnny Black -- 1985" John realised that Maison Blanche was where Stefano had originally brainwashed him many years earlier. He then discovered a window in the cell.
Stefano had Tony come to Maison Blanche to take Kristen back to Salem. When Tony arrived, Stefano tortured John by making him watch Tony and Kristen make love. John saw Kristen & Tony walking in the garden and called out to them, but they couldn't hear. He managed to escape from his cell, but by the time he got to the garden, Kristen and Tony had driven off. Then a pack of fierce dogs chased him. John got away from the dogs by going back into the house. In there, he was lucky to find a gun just lying around, and then succeeded in capturing Stefano.
John didn't know that Stefano lured Marlena to Maison Blanche by playing a tape of John's voice asking for help. So she packed her bags, told Carrie where she was going, and went to New Orleans. Marlena arrived in New Orleans as Tony and Kristen left, narrowly missing each other at the airport. Tony and Kristen returned to Salem both unaware that John was a prisoner there.
Stefano told him that he'd best let him go because Marlena was in his possession. John didn't believe him, so Stefano turned on a television monitor. On it, John was horrified to see Marlena unconscious, tied to a chair in the living room. So John gave up the gun and was sent back to the dungeon.
Upon arriving at her hotel, Marlena met Celeste. Celeste pretended that she had befriended John and told Marlena that he'd been in a car accident. Upset, Marlena rushed to the phone to tell her family. Before she could make that call, Celeste chloroformed her.
Stefano then took Marlena as his prisoner also. Stefano asked Marlena to help him by encouraging John not to fight the brainwashing. Naturally Marlena refused which angered Stefano. When Stefano allowed John and Marlena to see each other, John told Marlena to save herself and not try to help him. Marlena refused and tried to stop Stefano drugging John.
Meanwhile, Roman asked Carrie where Marlena was because he wanted to talk to her (he'd been thinking about a reconciliation). Carrie told him that she'd gone to New Orleans to see John, and Roman wrongly assumed that the two of them had planned a sexual tryst. This ruined ANY chances of reconciliation for the two. Roman soon buried himself in work, and became dedicated to busting Peter for dealing drugs at his nightclub.
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Also in Salem, Kristen invites her best friends Billie and Jennifer, and Bo, Peter, and Tony to come a charity cotillion at Maison Blanche. She said that it would be fun because they'd all dress up in authentic period clothes she'd found in the house. She also told Billie that it would be a very romantic place to have Bo propose to her (Billie had already known that Bo was going to propose.) And, Kristen told Bo the same thing: New Orleans was a romantic place to propose. She invited Peter and Jen because she'd been trying to build a relationship between the two and was convinced that Maison Blanche would do it. And of course, she had to invite her new husband Tony. When Peter and Tony found out where the cotillion was, it was too late to warn Stefano, and the whole group arrived at Maison Blanche. |
Stefano invited John and Marlena to have dinner with him one night. John was convinced that the soup was drugged and refused to eat. However, Marlena urged him to eat because he looked malnutritioned. Meanwhile, strange noises came from upstairs. They got so loud that Stefano had to excuse himself and take care of it. While he was gone, Marlena told John to go ahead and eat the soup because she planned on drugging Stefano and stealing his keys (Stefano had given Marlena a sedative to take after dinner.) John thought it was too dangerous a plan, but relented. Marlena put the sedative in Stefano's drink and the plan was set.
Upstairs, a mystery woman (her face had not been revealed yet) was in Marlena's bedroom and was going through her purse. In her wallet, she found a picture of Bo Brady, and took it. Then Stefano came in and led her back upstairs to the attic. In the attic, the woman continued to stare at Bo's face. She also had flashbacks of being in a hospital room, covered with bandages.
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When Stefano came back down, John was already passed out so Stefano put him back in his cell. When he came back, Marlena set her plan into action, drugging his wine. Everything went well except for one thing: Stefano wouldn't drink the wine. After playing chess with Stefano, Marlena noticed that he was mildly attracted to her. She pretended to seduce him and performed a striptease before he finally passed out. Marlena quickly got dressed, took the keys to the cell, and freed John. But just as they were leaving, they were met by Stefano. It had all been a trick--Stefano had only pretended to pass out. Stefano then decided to begin the brainwashing process by giving John injections. Marlena begged him to stop, and he agreed on one condition: that she call Roman and tell him that she was in New Orleans on a romantic rendezvous with John. With a gun pointed to her, Marlena painfully agreed and made the call. This call destroyed their relationship once and for all. |
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Meanwhile, Celeste noticed Stefano's growing attraction to Marlena and began to hate her. She had a small talk with Stefano, in which she recalled, "all the times [he] came to [her] room at night years ago." Later, Celeste brought John his dinner and he asked her about his past. She said, hesitantly, that he'd been a very important man, and that he'd been married. (we would find out 3 months later that she meant married to the Church.) He implored her to tell him about the last time he was imprisoned in Maison Blanche. He then realized that Celeste had helped him escape back then, and asked for her help again. Celeste gave him 3 items that she'd given to him 9 years ago to escape: a tool to pick the lock with, a St. Christopher medal, and a Bible passage written in parchment that basically said that good would always triumph over evil. However, John didn't know what to do with any of these Holy items. As for the tool, it did not work. In 1985, the cell's lock was a simple padlock, whereas now it consisted of an electronic locking mechanism. This is all she agreed to do for John, and left.
In Salem, Bo and Billie's romance blossomed. But shades of Hope had been haunting the relationship for some time. When they all arrived at Maison Blanche, the mystery woman ventured out of the attic and her face was revealed to the audience as Hope's. While wandering around the plantation, "Hope" was seen by Billie several times, but she always ran away. Billie had never seen a picture of Hope, so she didn't recognize her. However, she finally did see a picture, and became fearful. She told Jen and Kristen who convinced her not to tell Bo. Celeste told them that Hope was a local girl who lived at a neighbouring house.
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With all these people in his house, Stefano decided to put Marlena in the dungeon with John. During an argument with John, Stefano showed him a diary that contained all of John's past...and proceeded to burn it right in front of him. John was distraught at seeing this. Some time later, Celeste came to give the couple their dinner. John remembered that Celeste had helped him years earlier when he was Stefano's prisoner. Marlena tried to bribe Celeste into letting them go. Celeste asked for Marlena's ring, and Marlena regretfully gave Celeste her wedding band. After that, Celeste said she'd think about it and left. |
In Salem, Roman arrested Leo, one of Peter's dealers, and made him confess. Armed with a warrant, Roman caught a flight to New Orleans to arrest Peter.
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At the house, the cotillion is on. It's a grand outdoor party, and everyone is dressed in Old South period costumes. A storm is brewing and the party isn't going to last long. "Hope" sees the party and wishes to join it. She pulls an old Southern dress out of a trunk and attends the party. At the party, Billie sees her again, but Hope runs away before Bo could see her. As the night goes on, the storm turned into a hurricane. The party goers took refuge in a lodge on the grounds and Stefano plans to take his prisoners away by boat and leave Celeste behind. At the lodge, Billie saw a figure in the woods and went out in the storm to find out who it was. She came face to face with Hope but was knocked unconscious by a tree branch. Stefano found Hope and took her back to Maison Blanche. Bo and the others were worried about Billie and went out to find her. When Bo found her and she regained consciousness, she told him about the woman who looked like Hope. Bo refused to believe it could be Hope. |
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Celeste was jealous of Stefano's growing feelings toward Marlena and planned to kill her. She turned on the gas in the chamber. Marlena and John, thinking they were going to die, embrace each other.
Roman arrived at Maison Blanche on the trail of Peter who he suspected was drug trafficking. Upstairs, he found a room full of TV monitors. He turned one on, and saw John and Marlena lying unconscious on the ground. He then confronted Celeste and demanded to know where they were. However, Celeste still denied knowing anything about John and Marlena. Roman then saw that she was wearing Marlena's wedding ring and became enraged. While yelling at Celeste, he threw a chair at a mirror on the wall. He was astonished to see Stefano behind the wall. Roman tried to chase Stefano but he stabbed his arm on a shard of glass while trying to go into the secret passageway behind the wall. Roman then ordered Celeste to take him to John and Marlena. He freed them just as their oxygen was running out and brought them outside of the cell. The injured Roman stays with Marlena as John goes to look for Stefano. Roman, too weak to carry Marlena leaves her at MB and goes to the lodge to get help.
Somewhere else in the house, "Hope" encounters Stefano and he tells her that he's going away and she's coming with him. When Celeste asks Stefano if she can come, he tells her that she must stay at Maison Blanche. Furious, Celeste goes to the basement and lights a fire around an unconscious Marlena, then escapes herself. Luckily, John found Marlena and rescued her. As he carried Marlena out of the house, he was confronted by Kristen and Tony. John briefly explained what Stefano had been doing for the past 2 months, but they insisted that their father is dead. Kristen did not believe this until a shutter flew open and she saw Stefano.
Kristen, realizing that everything John had ever said about Stefano had been true, got the urgent need to go into the burning house and search for some clue to his past. However, Tony stopped her and went himself. While he was in the house, an explosion occurred. When he came out, he was carrying a laptop computer. Unfortunately, he couldn't see. In a separate house on the estate, Peter and Jennifer were oblivious to all of this, as they were making love for the first time.
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By this time, the cotillion had been called off because of the hurricane. Despite the bad weather, Stefano and "Hope" climbed aboard a rowboat and attempted to escape. On the way to the rowboat, Billie saw "Hope" and tried to chase after her, but she slipped and hit her head on a rock. Stefano and "Hope" battle the angry seas. Right behind them is John, who went swimming after Stefano. When John gets to the boat, he is shocked to see Hope is alive and is furious that Stefano kidnapped her and brainwashed her too. After a brief battle, John gets Stefano by the throat. Unfortunately, "Hope" falls overboard, and John goes to rescue her, leaving Stefano to escape. While almost everyone at the party was in huddled in the lodge on the estate surviving the hurricane, Bo and Billie somehow made it to an inn so she could recover. He told Billie that he loved her and asked her to marry him. She happily accepted. They were both shocked moments later when John arrived with the unconscious Hope. Naturally, this put a crimp on Bo and Billie's romance. |
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Celeste set fire to Maison Blanche hoping that Marlena would be killed. Stefano returned and gave Celeste a computer that held the secret to John's past, telling her to hide it. Roman, Tony & Kristen arrived at Maison Blanche just as the fire was starting to get out of control. Tony and Roman saved Marlena while Kristen searched through Stefano's papers. She found the computer. Tony convinced her to abandon the search and leave the house. Once outside Kristen became determined that the computer be saved and Tony went in moments before an explosion. He came out bleeding and without his sight. |
At the inn, Bo was convinced that the woman was not Hope but Billie was not so sure. Jennifer, Marlena & Roman were all equally shocked to see the woman who looked so much like Hope. Everyone ended up at a New Orleans hospital where Tony was operated on. Hope stayed unconscious but Bo accepted responsibility for her. Billie told Bo she could not marry him until it was determined whether the girl was Hope or not. "Hope" woke up and didn't know who she was. Bo didn't think she was Hope, but postponed the engagement to Billie anyways. Jennifer convinced Bo & Billie to return to Salem with Hope.
Roman told Marlena that he saw that she and John would always have an unbreakable bond that would always stand in the way. Tony was examined and told that his sight was gone permanently. Roman did arrest Peter, but he weaseled out of the charges against him.
Celeste was later apprehended and equally weaseled out of the charges of arson & attempted murder thanks to Stefano. In the meatime, Stefano's rowboat was found torn up in a deserted beach. Everyone assumed that he'd died during the hurricane.
The others returned to Salem a few days later when they heard of Tom Horton's death.
Maison Blanche began the entire Hope/Bo/Billie triangle, ended the Roman/Marlena/John triangle, and restarted the Tony/Kristen/John triangle. It also introduced Stefano's "love" for Marlena, and began Tony's decent into evil. Finally, it pushed Peter and Jennifer together (before MB, Jen hadn't really wanted to pursue a relationship with Peter).
Thanks to Clint Wilson and Ken for this summary. Additional thanks to Ken for providing numerous pics for this page and to Stacy Krugman for the dungeon pic.
The Maison Blanche picture is actually a plantation in Natchez, Mississippi called Stanton Hall. It is the house that was used to create the sketches seen on Days and the one seen in photgraphs on the show.
