Days has carefully established a fragile bond between Kayla and Jack. They’ve used it to create some jealousy and angst for Steve when his relationship with Kayla was at its worst, but what’s going to happen now that things are a little better?
This is a fun denouement to the plot where Jack tries to break Isabella out of Bayview. He succeeds, but in the process ends up getting himself and Kayla captured. (In desperation, he called Steve for help, but Kayla came instead.) Steve finds out where Kayla is and springs into action:
Steve pretending to be a cop is always fun. I love how Jack adds “bribery” to the charges that Steve is listing—since Jack was the one doing the bribing when he was sneaking in to see Isabella. He reminds me of snotty little brother in this scene, big brother is here to rescue him now and he can hang back and shoot off smartmouth remarks. It’s very cute. And I love the very last look between Jack and Kayla as Steve is leading her away. They seem to have a shared understanding of, “Yes, Steve is shouting and ordering us around, but it’s best to just humor him, really.” It’s a perfect way to show that the bond between them is still there, and this little adventure has reinforced it.
Back at the Brady house, Steve keeps trying to blame Jack and Kayla keeps defending him. Mary Beth plays this very calmly, though, and not with the passion Kayla usually has when she’s defending someone. She can step back enough to see he has changed and, in typical Kayla fashion, doesn’t let her own issues stop her from speaking up for Jack when the situation seems to warrant it. But, she is still not totally comfortable in that role, and I like that tension. It would have been very easy for the show to make everything hunky-dory between Jack and Kayla after this storyline, but that doesn’t happen—though admittedly this is partly due to Mary Beth and Matt Ashford and the way they play it, never letting Jack and Kayla get too comfortable with each other.
But, at the moment, she is certainly more inclined to trust him than Steve is. When Jack arrives, Steve is still unconvinced. But, he lets him in calmly (no lapels grabbing).
When Jack asks for Steve’s help, I can really feel what a brave thing this is for him to do, to let down his walls enough to reach out like this. Plus, I love the way he prefaces it by saying Steve has every right to turn him down. It shows he’s not going to play the martyr if Steve turns him down. He used to use Steve’s suspicions about him as an excuse to lash out and act even worse than he would have otherwise. Now he seems to sense that he has to accept those suspicions, and work through them, in order to have any hope of being in a position of trust again.
Steve agrees to look for Isabella with Jack (but makes it clear that it’s only because he wants to find her too). As Jack turns to leave and says “Thank you, both of you”, Kayla gives one look at Steve but leaves him alone, not pushing it. And then there’s the ending shot on Steve’s face, contemplating that Jack might have good motives, with a vulnerable look that shows he hopes it’s true. We haven’t seen his buried feelings for Jack in a long time. It’s irony is perfect. Steve was the last to give up on Jack (not counting Jo), and he will also be the last to start acknowledging any change in him. It shows how much damage Jack had to do to get Steve to let go. That means he will have to work that much harder to get Steve to accept him again.
After Jack leaves, we get a very nice, tender scene of Steve and Kayla together. Kayla still keeps a little distance when she expresses skepticism that he can really take care of her, listing all the things that could still go wrong. But when Steve ushers her over to the couch and says they shouldn’t think about it, she relents and lets him fuss over her. That’s a step forward in itself. Of course it’s very soapy that when he makes his heartfelt declaration of his love and faith in them, he turns around and finds she’s asleep. But then we get a sighworthy moment as he gently takes her cup from her hands and covers her up, and says, “I really love you,” in that husky voice. Perfect.
May 29, 2009 at 10:25 am
I really love the ending and how Steve is staying strong in the belief that it will all work out and they will be a family. He needed to do that and take that role that usually Kayla would do. She is the one that isn’t so sure and he needs to be sure for both of them.
This may sound weird but I think sometimes the best things Steve has said is when she is asleep or can’t hear it lol but we can.
As for Jack, it was nice to see how hard his redemption was. He started doing good things and people could see that but it wouldn’t be right to be all great with each other. Not like today where people are redeemed so fast it feels not earned. I always felt that Steve was protecting himself when it came to Jack. He wanted his brother but after everything Jack did I think he resigned himself to the fact it was too late or something.
I really wish writers today would take the care they did back then.
May 29, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I flove the Great Bayview Escape. I love how Jack gets to play hero (albeit a slightly bumbling one). I love that Kayla throws herself in the midst of the adventure. And I love Jack’s reaction when he realizes Kayla came to rescue him just because she knew he was in trouble and needed help. He can’t hardly believe it and, in a way, neither can Kayla.
Steve coming to the rescue is wonderful (as are Jack’s snarky remarks to the orderly). And the little rueful look that Kayla gives Jack as Steve ushers her away is fun too.
But the real heart is the aftermath as Kayla calmly defends Jack much to Steve’s chagrin. And, the wonderful moment when Jack asks for Steve’s help without any defensiveness. I really love that Steve is hte last person to accept any change for the better in Jack. The irony is wonderful given how long it took Steve to say goodbye to Billy and accept that Jack was a bad guy. And it makes Jack’s redemption so much more earned than it would be otherwise.
And the last little moment with Steve taking care of Kayla and telling her that they will make it and how much he loves her is just wonderful.
May 31, 2009 at 6:09 am
I love how Jack is so surprised and touched that Kayla came to his rescue, too, esp. I agree that Kayla surprises herself too!
Ha, Mary, good point that Steve’s most touching declarations are often when Kayla is asleep or unconscious.
I think these scenes are an example of how Days used to use these little moments to slowly build toward the big ones. The immediate plot is fun and interesting, but what we’re really interested in is the overarching theme of Jack’s redemption and Steve and Kayla’s reconciliation. I think the show neatly connects the two together in a seamless way.
May 31, 2009 at 9:20 am
Jack spent a long time trying to break up or ruin Steve and Kayla but this time he really wanted them to work things out and get back together.
I think he did help them. When Kayla saw Steve and Marina in Italy he told her to talk to Steve and it may not be what she thinks. He wanted to help Steve deal with Marina. He knew they probably wouldn’t want his help but he did it anyway. Maybe he had hoped they would forgive him for things but he wanted to help them no matter what.
May 31, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I love Steve’s authority in the cop scene, and it’s a very sweet moment at the end. I’m shaky on the timeline here — is this after Marina’s death?
This is going to sound silly, but I love the almost mystical sense of place in this clip, and much of the 80’s stuff. It’s the sense of boundary between Salem and the rest of the world. It’s there in the scene around the “Salem – 5 miles” sign, and Jack’s comment that Isabella needs their help because she’s not from around here. One more element of the show that hasn’t quite survived to the present day.
June 1, 2009 at 5:45 am
Yes, this is after Marina’s death. The basic overarching plot is Marina dies, and then Jack has to break Isabella out of Bayview because when Marina committed her she expressly said that only she could get her out (or something). Then everyone starts looking for the key—Victor (who is threatening Kayla but doesn’t kidnap her for awhile), Jack and Isabella, and Steve.
That “Salem 5 miles” sign is great, lska. I agree that the show used to try harder for verisimilitude regarding where Salem is located.
June 2, 2009 at 11:09 am
When does Faux Kayla show up?
June 2, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Does Faux Kayla come back?
I know she is around right before the big trip to Italy. She is playing Kayla when Kayla finds out she’s pregnant—something I admit I feel cheated by. If she comes back for awhile later, I must have missed it the first time around, so I don’t know. Can anyone else chime in?
June 2, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Oh. I’m way out of sync with you on DVD watching. I’m way back when Marina first moved in with them. I knew faux Kayla came in at some time, I just didn’t know when. Apparently, she’s been and gone by this time. I’ve been waiting for my daughter to have some time so we can catch up on the DVDs and, frankly, I’m getting tired of waiting. It’s fun to watch with her but there are limits to my devotion. That was one reason I decided to go back and catch up on pre-Kayla Steve.
June 2, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Whoops, now I understand, Flaco. I was confused because last I knew you were following along.
Anyway, Faux Kayla appears after Kayla finds out who Marina is and confronts Steve about it. She moves out of their house, and then she moves back in. That all doesn’t take too long to unfold. Then I think Faux Kayla is only around for maybe 5 episodes, and real Kayla is back right before Steve leaves for Italy.
June 2, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Well, I have been following along, but only through your blog and my memory, which obviously fails me at times.