I’m in tears after Sami’s conversation with Johnny.
Alison Sweeney and Carson Boatman are fantastic actors, and Sami’s explanation for 30+ years of bad behavior was as emotional as logical.
Best of all, Days of Our Lives‘ long-overdue Sami story respected both Sami’s legacy and the complex emotions behind most of her behavior, giving me hope for the soap’s future.
Sami’s Explanation Of Her Traumatic Backstory Was Raw, Painful, and Real
Sami had to explain to Johnny why she had taken EJ back after he had raped her, leading to Johnny’s conception, and it was heartbreaking.
This gorgeous, vibrant woman never told Johnny the truth about how his conception because she was afraid that he and others would see her as weak and pathetic.
I often joke that the Days of Our Lives writers need to visit the Law & Order: SVU set so that that series can educate them about what trauma and sexual violence look like.
However, Sami’s storyline was different.
It was honest and painful, and it also did something that Days of Our Lives has failed to do in too many cases: promoted therapy as the right move after a lifetime of trauma.
Can We Trust This Overdue Storyline to Have The Right Followthrough?
In too many cases, the soap’s attempts at mental health stories do more harm than good; even when they get it right, they’re inconsistent.
The worst example was JJ’s suicide attempt.
Like Sami’s story this past Friday, the series executes JJ’s initial scenes perfectly, combining flashbacks and voiceovers to illustrate the multiple traumas that chipped away at JJ’s self-esteem and made him feel there was no point in continuing his life.
Sadly, the writers ruined that story’s aftermath by having JJ recover quickly and magically. The only “therapy” he ever got in that story was a conversation over breakfast with Eric, which JJ left prematurely because he had something better to do.
There’s no guarantee that Sami’s story will go differently now.
It feels different, but we also know that Sami will kiss Rafe immediately after this conversation.
Still, all is not lost. It’s realistic for a character like Sami to feel exposed after spending an hour telling her son about all the horrible experiences that precipitated her decision to stick with EJ even after the rape.
She wouldn’t be Sami if she weren’t somewhat self-destructive, after all.
And while Days of Our Lives often treats female leads as disposable, Alison Sweeney is such a powerful, popular actress that they won’t want to do so with her too easily.
It may be asking for too much of the writers, but I’d love for Sami’s character growth to include realizing that relapse and backtracking are part of the healing process.
So far, they’ve only shown her kissing Rafe, so maybe she won’t go all the way this time, which would be huge growth for Sami.
It wouldn’t make sense for her to have all these huge revelations and then be exactly the same way she always is, not that I necessarily trust the series in that respect.
How Days Of Our Lives Has Missed Opportunities In The Past To Advocate For Sexual Assault Survivors
One of the reasons I’m so excited about the Sami story is that it wasn’t that long ago the show didn’t do right by her daughter.
Charlie Dale raped Allie, getting her pregnant. Did Sami ever once connect that to her experience? No.
That was only the most obvious problem with that story, too, which quickly devolved into a silly whodunit. Allie tries to imitate her mother by shooting her assailant between the legs (but getting the culprit wrong!), and Sami tries to control what Allie is going to do with her baby.
Allie’s story would have been the perfect time to set up the groundwork for this one, but that never happened.
And to add insult to injury, Allie’s rape was drug-facilitated — she was so drunk she didn’t remember what had happened to her and wasn’t sure if she had been roofied too.
Days of Our Lives threw in the idea that it was rape because Charlie held her down instead of making it clear that it was ALREADY rape because she couldn’t consent.
The soap is really bad in that area. It also labeled Lani sleeping with a too-drunk-to-consent-or-remember JJ as him cheating on Gabi.
Other situations like Sami and EJ’s have also been mislabeled as cheating rather than rape, like when Steve slept with Ava to save Kayla’s life.
For these reasons, Sami’s scenes with Johnny are doubly exciting. There’s a chance that this won’t be a one-off story and will actually be the beginning of a new era of storytelling for the long-running soap.
Could Days Of Our Lives Finally Be Returning To Its Former Strength As A Groundbreaking, Trauma-Informed Storyteller?
Most of the time, viewers dismiss the poor storytelling around rape and sexual assault as “it’s just a soap.”
That’s a cop-out for multiple reasons. Soaps don’t have to be regressive regarding important social issues — in fact, they often drive conversations.
Look at CBS’ Beyond The Gates, which includes a storyline about three women suing their former law firm for sexual harassment, for example.
It’s doubly ridiculous in Days of Our Lives’ case because this show used to be a leader in advocating for sexual assault survivors and other social issues.
In 1987, Days of Our Lives was the first American daytime serial to acknowledge that marital rape is a crime.
Jack’s rape of his then-wife Kayla was a huge story that had repercussions all the way through 2013 when JJ first learned about it and reacted with far more out-of-control rage than Johnny has displayed so far about the EJ revelation.
That was a strong, soapy story — and it was also the first time that daytime had ever suggested that a woman has the right to say no when her husband wants to have sex.
Sami’s original date rape storyline, along with her Bulimia story, were realistic teen stories that treated sexual assault and mental health issues with respect.
Somewhere along the way, though, after multiple writer changes, Days of Our Lives became a show where these issues are not treated seriously, and that’s doubly heartbreaking when you consider how much of a leader this soap used to be.
What do you think, Days of Our Lives Fanatics?
Can Sami still be Sami without all of her baggage? Did you like her scenes with Johnny?
Most importantly, do you think this story demonstrates that the soap is turning a corner on its treatment of trauma survivors now that new writers are again about to take the helm?
Hit the comments with your thoughts.
Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.
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