It tickles my funny bone that Jack, the man who was introduced as the uncomplicated nice guy foil for Steve, now has a uncomplicated nice guy foil of his own. It’s also amusing that that uncomplicated nice guy is a former gang member. I love soaps.
The nice guy foil usually ends up being either a doormat, or an oblivious prig constantly saying “I know what’s best for you.” (Usually a little bit of both.) But initially, when it’s done right, the nice guy foil is genuinely nice: straightforward where our bad boy is secretive, considerate where our bad boy is moody. He might think the girl should forget about the bad boy, but because he sees how much he hurts her, not because he has a superiority complex.
Jen sees Jack at the hospital visiting Isabella (who is in a coma). From the way Jack is acting, she thinks he has feelings for Isabella. Still upset, she runs into Emilio:
Poor Emilio! I can’t help feeling sorry for him. But there’s a really good dynamic here, that perfectly sets up Emilio as a foil, not a rival. When Jen asks him out, we can see her heart isn’t fully in it. When Emilio agrees, he’s not quite sure what he’s getting into. It’s obvious for these two, even when they’re not talking about him, that Jack is the elephant in the room.
Then on their date, they do talk about Jack. Jen is evasive on her feelings for him, and Emilio’s jealousy comes through, but somehow it doesn’t feel as though Jen is being unfair. She’s been hurt by Jack again and again, and she doesn’t know what else to do but try to move on. She clearly wishes she cared about Emilio, and even hopes that someday she will again. I like the way Melissa Reeves plays the lines about Emilio being her “best friend” (Billy Hufsey does a great reaction shot to that line, showing his disappointment) and how he makes her happy. She sounds like she’s trying to convince herself too. But, it’s also clear that Jen isn’t wholly pretending: she does like being with Emilio, she is happy.
And of course, in perfect soapy timing, Jack comes in just in time to witness this heartwarming exchange. Jack’s decision to suddenly show up with flowers isn’t really explained, but his feelings for her are well enough established that I think it still works. And the “you make me happy” line is perfectly pitched to discourage Jack, because that’s what he wants for her. Jen has tried to tell him that she wants him, not Emilio—but he’s hearing right from her own lips that she could be happy with Emilio.
I love the end-of-the-episode suspense Kayla appearing at the end of the aisle, with Abe hovering in the background, as the wedding begins. Just a good old-fashioned soapy cliffhanger.
After the wedding has fallen apart and the truth comes out about the “new evidence” linking Kayla to Marina’s death, I love the way Steve stares at Kayla will so much meaning as he says “you have nothing to be sorry for.” Stephen gives that line an extra intensity, meaning, “I don’t care if you killed her.”
Mary Beth Evans breaks my heart with her reading of the line “there isn’t going to be a wedding today.”
Steve and Kayla’s heart to heart upstairs is wonderful, and the closest we’ve gotten so far to an actual hash-it-out scene regarding Marina. (It deserves more analysis than I have time for right now.) Mary Beth has shown in her performance (even though the dialogue didn’t really convey it) that Kayla was afraid of Steve’s reaction to learning she might have killed Marina. That’s wonderful because it helps explain why Kayla was keeping the tape a secret. Also, it connects to a tiny element of doubt for Kayla with how this whole triangle turned out. Did she “win” over Marina just because Marina died? Steve’s reaction here lays it to rest, when his primary concern is helping Kayla, not figuring out what happened to Marina. He reassures Kayla that she wouldn’t leave someone to die, but there’s also the strong implication that he doesn’t really care either way. It ties up that loose end very nicely.
The second, aborted wedding isn’t a favorite among S&K fans, and I can understand why. It is thrown together hastily, Mary Beth Evans is eleventy months pregnant, Kayla is keeping a secret from Steve (that tape of her and Marina fighting), and the ceremony is interrupted when Kayla gets arrested. It is a far cry from the Big Payoff Supercouple Event that their first wedding was.
There are, however, some consolations, like Steve’s morning-of-the-wedding outfit:
Rewinding a bit, I also really like this scene from the day before the wedding. Given that the real wedding isn’t going to come off, I’m glad the show gives us this moment. It’s especially nice, after Marina, to hear Steve say that he learned more about love from being married to Kayla for one day than he ever knew before. It shows, not that Steve never loved Marina (or Britta) but that the love he has with Kayla is so much deeper and more meaningful:
And putting couple expectations aside, I do think this wedding is pretty damn good soapy drama. It may not be a Supercouple Event but it is an Event nonetheless. I love the way the show ties together the threads of everyone else’s plots. In addition to the yummy scene above, we get this moment for Jack and Jen:
When she says that she’s trying to picture him as Steve’s best man, I get the feeling she’s trying to recapture the moment they had a few days ago, when he confided in her. And I really like how it works, but only to a point. He acknowledges that it’s pretty unbelievable and lets her see how much it means to him again. But when she pushes further by hinting she’d like to see him in his tux, he pulls back. That makes her mad and she starts throwing shoes.
Then of course the classic soap wedding fantasy sequence, and poor Jen trying to follow the “script” from the fantasy afterwards and having it all blow up in her face (again).
There’s another great Jack and Steve scene when the best man arrives:
All the wonderful nervousness and awkwardness is still there in full force. They both have their defenses up, afraid to show what it means to both of them. (Stephen and Matt really do play the “best man” thing so well! It makes me feel churlish to say it’s a step too far.) Then when Victor arrives, suddenly the Johnson boys are on the same side. I especially love the visual of the two of them blocking the door together, presenting a united front. And then Jack gets to play the big brother role for once when he holds Steve back from attacking Victor. I love his explanatory aside just before he closes the door: “Nervous groom.” Hee!
And, in addition to these scenes I’ve posted, the show uses the wedding to draw Justin closer to Adrienne and Shane closer to Kim (both couples are currently estranged), by having the men accompany the women to the wedding. And for soapy suspense, intercut with all of the above we get Roman listening to the tape of Kayla and Marina, which Victor has sent to him anonymously. First Roman, and then Abe, have to decide if they are going to rush right over to question Kayla, or wait until after the wedding. Victor too seems to have something up his sleeve, smiling with satisfaction and saying he’s going to a wedding today. We also see Kayla eying her reflection nervously as she waits to walk down the aisle. Will Abe or Roman arrest Kayla? What is Victor’s dastardly scheme? Will Kayla get cold feet and call the whole thing off?
Next time: more soapy drama with the wedding itself!
You may have noticed that I have a real fetish for watching stuff in order. It can make what seems to be an ordinary scene exceptional: for instance, a light, humorous scene can seems incandescent in a period of heavy angst. Payoff scenes are better if I’ve suffered through the worry and stress preceding it, and breakthrough scenes are more exciting if I’ve seen the baby steps and the false starts leading up to it. I’ve found that seeing scenes in context almost always makes them better.
This scene is an exception to that rule. A few years back, I violated my going-in-order rule and watched this scene by itself, and I absolutely loved it. It’s the scene where Steve asks Jack to be his best man at his second wedding to Kayla:
As a stand-alone, this scene really is fantastic. But in context, though I still love it (and I say this with regret), it hasn’t really been earned. Steve has just barely begun to thaw towards his brother. I believe that Steve would relent to the point of inviting Jack to the wedding, and I think they could have done a great scene just with that. (In fact, could have hit a lot of the same notes as this scene does.) But Steve asking Jack to be his best man just seems a step too far, beyond what Steve would be prepared to do at this time. There’s also the issue of Kayla, and whether she should have to stand up next to Jack (her ex-husband, her rapist) on her wedding day. It doesn’t help that the show doesn’t give us a setup scene where Steve clears this with Kayla (though Steve does have a line to that effect, and that helps).
But, Stephen and Matt are wonderful playing all the awkwardness, and also the underlying hope and tentative connection that this move represents. The way they play it sells it to me … ninety percent, at least. They don’t make any of it seem too easy, or wrap all their problems up in a bow. I love how Steve arrives looking a bit grim, like he can’t believe what he’s about to do, and how Jack’s attempts at banter—which stem from Jack’s own nervousness—almost chase him away again. It’s too much like Jack’s mockery from his evil days.
When Steve stops by the door, and mutters that maybe Jack could be the best man, along with all the strangeness and discomfort we see how much Steve is afraid of being rejected. That’s a really nice touch. And Jack’s utter shock and disbelief and pleasure are pretty wonderful too. Steve’s guarded, almost sour look turns into a slight smile as he sees Jack’s reaction.
That thaws them out for the next part of the conversation, but even then the awkwardness remains, especially in the handshake at the end. Steve hold out his hand and Jack slaps it. He’s still trying to put on a jokey manner to cover up how much it means to him. But Steve picks up his hand to shake it for real (with a big brother “quit clowning around” vibe), but then pulls away. It means so much to both of them, but they are both still uneasy about it too.
This is a good way to show how truly happy Jack is about this, and to give him a moment of connection with Jennifer about it. I love that he actually tells her about it (after some hemming and hawing): it’s a mark of how happy he is that he actually manages to open up about something. Then Jen takes the opportunity to throw out that hint that every relationship has to take a first step, but then she just leaves it at that. She really is happy for him, and she isn’t going to ruin this moment by pushing too hard.
Steve is still trying to play it cool as he tells her about it, but Kayla can see how much this means to him. When he tries to scoff and say “Do I look happy?” I love the way Kayla walks away and says, “You can’t fool me.” Seeing Steve’s happiness about Jack touches a sore spot. The way Mary Beth plays this reminds me of Kayla’s nightmare during the rape storyline, when Jack and Steve were laughing together at her expense. But then Steve asks her if she’s happy, and he does it with such concern and sincerity, it shows that Steve understands that this is difficult for her. This scene helps address the “rapist as the best man” issue, because we see how Kayla feels about it: accepting, happy for Steve, but not necessarily thrilled.
All right, this isn’t too bad. But it marks the beginning of the next angstful story, because we see Kayla obviously feeling guilty and hiding something. (Kayla thinks she might have killed Marina, because Marina collapsed and hit her head when Kayla was struggling with her that night. Marina got up again, but Kayla is worried she might have collapsed again after she left. This is all a bit strange because Marina died months ago and we’re only just starting to see Kayla worry about this.)
But that’s not what makes this scene worthy of a blog post. It is, of course, Jack and Kayla. I say it every time I talk about the two of them, but I really love the physical and verbal awkwardness Mary Beth and Matt always play when they share a scene. The history of these two characters is always there between them, preventing them from ever feeling at ease with each other. Nevertheless, it doesn’t feel strange that Kayla chooses to confide in Jack here, regarding her doubts about remarrying Steve. He was her only confidant during the worst of the Marina mess, and is the best position to know how hard it was for her.
Matt brings an interesting vibe to Jack this scene. I really love the line about Steve being a knight of the round table in a past life. I think Jack is not only comparing himself to his hero brother, but remembering all the times that Steve rode to his rescue—and those are painful memories for many reasons. He also sounds a little wistful, maybe for what he wanted to be for Kayla but wasn’t, maybe because he’s written off ever getting a happy ending for himself.
I also like the way Jack is a little put out that Kayla is hesitating to marry Steve. He’s been working for their reunion for months, so he’s earned this reaction. Matt does a great reading when Jack says, “I thought you loved the guy.” It’s a little fillip of irony, like Jack is thinking that if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that she loves Steve. He banged his head against it all through their marriage, he got his heart stomped on because of it, he changed into a horrible person because of it. If he doesn’t know that she loves Steve, then he knows nothing. It’s a great layer.
Mary Beth’s best moment is at the very end, after Jack says he wants her to be happy and he was just trying to help it along. Kayla really knows that’s true, and I love the way Mary Beth says “I know,” so softly. Her manner totally changes for that final line. This is where the constant awkwardness and instinctive defensiveness pays off, when we see it drop away, just a moment, before she leaves.
I could go through this line by line, I think, elaborating on every nuance and undertone, but I’ll try to restrain myself. First there’s the scene-setting conversation between Jo and Jack, where she praises him for his actions helping Kayla. But Jo’s approbation is not what Jack is looking for (it’s almost too easy for him to get it). It’s when Steve comes in and says that he believes it too, that we see Jack’s shock—and hope.
I love Jack’s studiedly casual manner as he says, “You actually believe me, huh?” And when Steve falters halfway through his speech, Jack prods him to continue. He wants to hear the words so badly. (There also might be a hint of brotherly rubbing-his-nose-in-it, forcing Steve to say the words even when he doesn’t want to). When Steve continues, saying it’s not going to kill him to admit Jack did a good thing, both his tone and the line reveal that, while it might not kill him, it certainly isn’t easy. I really love the awkwardness here. They each don’t know quite how to reach across the divide, but the attempt is being made.
If the scene had ended there, it would be great enough. But then the show complicates this lovely step forward and shows how tentative it really is. Jack asks about Kayla, and Steve doesn’t like that. All his prickly defenses come back, and that leads nicely into Steve’s suspicious reaction when Jack won’t repeated his muttered statement (about Isabella’s mother’s diary, but that doesn’t really matter). Steve says Jack is the “same old Jack” and Jack just looks resigned and says he guesses he is.
I think that resignation gets to Steve, perhaps because it’s so reminiscent of Steve’s own sense of hopelessness and futility during his bad-guy days. Perhaps he senses he’s being unfair. Or perhaps not, but he doesn’t want to leave this conversation on a note of suspicion and blame. Not when he started out trying to thank Jack.
I love the way Stephen Nichols says, “Jack …” and then, rather helplessly, tells him stay out of trouble. Whether Steve likes it or not, Jack has engaged him again and he cares what he does. Not that he ever stopped caring, of course, but he’s been pulled closer to Jack and his actions again. Whether Jack is up to no good or not, Steve can’t pretend indifference as easily. Then Steve makes an even greater effort and says that Jack really helped him get Kayla back, he appreciates it and he won’t forget it. I love the awkwardness again here, it shows again how hard this is for Steve to say, and that makes it even more meaningful.
Jack doesn’t say anything, but we can see he is moved. I like how Matt plays Jack as very guarded through all this. He doesn’t throw himself sobbing on Steve’s neck. He’s been working to help Steve for months without any encouragement or thanks, and now that it’s finally coming he doesn’t quite know how to respond. But mainly, I think, he’s afraid. He’s afraid to trust this step forward precisely because of how much it means to him. If he were to lose it again now, it would be devastating.
Since the world-rocking events of the key kiss, I’ve been dying to see Jack and Jen interact again. Is Jack’s rejection going to make Jen give up on him, or is his kiss going to inspire her to keep pushing? How much did she believe him when he said he didn’t want her? If she does keep pushing, is Jack going to be able to keep holding back?
Enquiring minds want to know!
So, of course, the show makes us wait. Jack is off in Miami … then Italy. Jen is missing from my DVDs, which is frustrating because it’s mostly Jen I want to know about.
The show takes a sideways approach to this by making Isabella the topic of conversation. No one has thought to tell Jack where Isabella has been hospitalized, and Jen is helping him out trying to locate her. Jen starts pressing him about how he feels about Isabella—in a series of long run-on sentences, very cute—asking if it’s just gratitude or if there’s something more. Jack finally says that there’s a lot more, but he looks uncomfortable. Since we know how Jack feels, we can see he’s having trouble lying. But, to Jen it isn’t so clear. Jack never talks about his emotions, so his discomfort could also be read the other way, as a mark of how much he cares about Isabella. Is he awkward because he’s lying or awkward because he’s telling the truth? We see Jen’s hurt as she tries to process that.
Then Jack decides to go a little further, and Matt Ashford does a good job introducing an artificial note to Jack’s tone, when he moves away and says Isabella is “quite a girl.” That note of artificiality leads nicely into Jen rallying and deciding to push a little more. She points out what we know is true, that Jack is hiding behind his feelings for Isabella, and insists he say straight out that he cares about her. Jack continues to look uncomfortable and shifty-eyed. He finally shouts, “I care about her!” Jen backs off.
Jack says after she leaves, looking rueful, that it’s the only answer he could give. So we see clearly Jack’s state of mind. In the past, he’s allowed Jen to believe that there is something going on with him and Isabella, but this is the first time he’s outright lied about it. By taking this extra step, we see that Jack feels the need to keep throwing up walls and smokescreens in order to keep his distance—showing indirectly that it isn’t easy for him to keep that distance.
But what about Jen? I think Melissa Reeves most clearly conveys Jen’s state of mind with her look by the door: uncertainty. But it’s an uncertainty with multiple layers. What does Jack feel? Jack does care about Isabella and he is legitimately worried about her, that lends credence to his words. And we see Jen hurt by that. But there are enough false notes too to give Jen reason to keep pushing, if that’s what she wants. But does she? That is the real question. Even if Jack does care about her, as she suspects, what is she going to do about it?
Unlike Jack with Steve or Steve with Adrienne, there is no consistent through line that develops the relationship for the other Johnson sibling pair—at least not one that I can trace. Anyone else find this to be a pity?
Adrienne first found out that Jack was Billy at around the same time he did, and her reaction was to eagerly embrace the relationship. You would think that Adrienne the rape victim would feel some qualms about welcoming a rapist into the family, but she does not. I can (just) understand Jo overlooking Jack’s past misdeeds. But Adrienne?
After that, the show seemed to use the relationship in whatever way was convenient for what they were trying to do at the time. And because Jack and Adrienne’s scenes together are so infrequent, there isn’t much consistency. I don’t want to exaggerate: other than Adrienne’s initial reaction, their scenes don’t come off as inappropriate or wrong, but I think an opportunity was missed. The show already has Jo as Jack’s cheerleader, they don’t need Adrienne for that. And Steve, of course, has his own thicket of dysfunction regarding his little baby brother Billy and the grown-up Jack. Adrienne could have been more neutral, more objective, a middle ground between the other two. She could have tried to temper Jo’s headlong rush to forgive Jack anything when he was still at his worst, and also encourage Steve to give Jack a chance when he starts to change for the better. Also, I can imagine Adrienne representing for Jack, in a concrete, inescapable way, everything that Duke was and that Jack fears he could be.
But, for all that, they have some good individual scene together. This first scene takes place back in 1989, when Jack was still a pretty bad guy. It is part of a mini-arc involving Alexander’s birth (Anjelica’s son), and the reveal that Justin is his father. This is a lovely example of using the same incident in different ways, affecting multiple characters and storylines. Jack has been determinedly avoiding all things Johnson, and with his father in prison, that means Anjelica is the only family he has left. Jack is excited, almost too much so, about his new stepbrother—which reveals to the audience Jack’s essential loneliness. Jo and Steve both register this excitement, at different times, and are hurt by it. I just love the irony of Jack hurting his family, because of his longing for a family.
Adrienne, however, is more upset by Jack’s relationship with Anjelica, when it comes out that Justin is the father of the baby:
(I included, as a bonus, Jack’s scene with Jo beforehand—one of the only times she is less than effusively supportive with him. The best moment here is Jo’s obvious surprise when Jack asks her if Dr. Curtis is okay. “Are you okay?” she replies. She thinks he must not be feeling well, to actually ask her about something in her life!)
When Adrienne says that she’d like to believe Jack has a heart, for her mother’s sake (but from her tone, clearly not believing it), it is the kind of skepticism I’d have liked Adrienne to feel all along. I also love the moment when she mutters to herself that the fact that Anjelica raised Jack should be enough of a lesson for Justin regarding her parenting skills. Jack’s “ouch” shows Adrienne hit a nerve—which might surprise Jack as much as anyone, that he cares what she thinks of him. Maybe the Johnsons matter to him more than he thought.
And now fast-forwarding back to where I am in 1990, here’s another good Jack/Adrienne scene:
Adrienne’s passionate defense of Jack comes a little bit out of the blue, but it’s still pretty great. It fits with Adrienne’s character in general, and it’s nice to see after all the skepticism Jack is getting from Steve. Plus, having Roman there as the voice of doubt and skepticism helps to balance things out, to keep this from feeling like character propping. My favorite part of the scene is Jack’s expression in the background, as Adrienne calls him “my brother” and says she believes him and argues that Roman should give him a chance. It is clearly a novelty for him to have anyone spring to his defense, and he is very surprised, even thrilled. I also love his look as he’s hugging Adrienne afterward, like he can’t believe this is happening. Adrienne and Jack’s relationship may not be consistent, but Jack’s redemption is—and a year later, this whole family thing is still new to him.
After months and months of a baby step after baby step, Days’ team of writers takes the plunge on Jack and Jennifer—with a vengeance. I get the sense that the new headwriter, having finally made the decision about which direction to go, was impatient to get going already. Personally, I would have liked to have seen this absolutely crucial event in the Jack and Jen relationship get a bit more buildup, and maybe take a week or two to play out. Not from an emotional or a believability perspective, but just from a soapy storytelling perspective.
But, what does happen is pretty darn wonderful. Isabella decides she’s going to do Jack a favor, and goes to Jen to tell her that Jack loves her. (Which I admit jarred me a little—the L word, already? What happened to that soap classic, “he has feelings for you”?) This sends Jen rushing over the Steve’s house, where Jack is looking for the key:
Emboldened by Isabella, Jen is pressing Jack further than she ever has before. When she asks him if he really wants her out of his life, Matt Ashford does a nice hesitation where we can see Jack actually contemplating not having Jen in his life at all, and how little he likes the idea. But he just says, “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” (I really, really love how Jack is constantly using these evasions—”we already talked about this,” “that’s what I said,”—instead of repeating that he doesn’t want her or care about her. It nicely shows his reluctance to lie to Jen, his dislike of hurting her, and his distrust of his ability to be convincing.)
Her determination to break through, and his increasingly desperate attempts to fend her off, heightens both of their emotions nicely—just before they have to hide together in the secret tunnel at Steve’s house, leading to the oh-so-soapy situation of being forced to stand up close to each other in an enclosed space.
Unresolved sexual tension ensues … and then the kiss …
… and then the Timely Interruption.
Jen’s determination and forthrightness—”I think we should”—is delightful. So is the way the six foot plus Matt slowly slides down the wall in order to be on mouth level with Missy. Hee! My favorite part of these scenes, though, is in the conversation afterwards. Missy Reeves is absolutely wonderful at showing Jen’s escalating hurt and devastation at every word Jack says. Matt’s best moment is when Jack argues passionately that he is not the type of guy for her to take to a sorority dance or to her grandparents’ house. Unlike his frantic dissembling in the rest of the scene, right there Jack is being absolutely honest. The protectiveness that motivates him to keep her away from the key adventure, makes him want to save her from what he perceives as an even greater danger — himself.
Matt Ashford also does a wonderful longing look at Jen, after Jack has told her calmly, “I don’t want you,” and walked away. But I think Jack’s regret at what he’s doing comes out most clearly in the final scene, after they’ve found the key:
Jen presses one more time to let her go with him to return the key, and Jack refuses. The way he breaks off as he starts to say that he and Isabella will handle it, shows he is losing his stomach for hurting her over and over. Poor Jen, facing this additional rejection, asks if he can’t even stand to be around her now. Jack repeats that they already talked about this (using that trick again), he’s the employer and she’s the employee, and—searching for something to soften the blow—someday she’s going to make a great journalist. I love Jen’s quiet bitterness as she says, “That’s great, that makes my day.” The final reaction shot shows Jen’s complete devastation at how things have turned out, and Jack’s longing and regret.
Poor Jack. He’s been trying to help Steve for months and months, and all he gets in return is grief and suspicion:
This scene catches us up on all the reasons Steve has to be suspicious of Jack: that he thought Jack and Marina were working together, that he asked Jack to help him look for Isabella and then never heard from him about it again. He suspects that Jack is hiding her (which, in fact, he is, but it’s because he’s trying to protect her). Since Steve has never met Isabella, it makes sense that he assumes she is a lot like Marina. (I love when Jack says, in her defense, that “you of all people should know how different two siblings can be.”) All this very nicely sets up our sympathy for Jack, since he’s being wrongfully accused, without making us feel that Steve is being unfair.
Matt Ashford does something subtle in Jack’s scenes with Steve, that I really love. He plays Jack as always tense and defensive in the face of Steve’s hostility, which makes him talk faster and stumble over his words. He gives the impression that faced with Steve’s skepticism, he can’t quite believe he’s changed, either. This all adds up to making Jack sound shifty and insincere, which in turn makes it less likely that Steve will change his mind about him.
Here, Jack’s word-stumbling ends up making him say something really unfortunate, when Steve says emotionally that he can’t understand how Jack can let Kayla suffer for Isabella’s sake. Jack responds to that emotion by immediately protesting that he’d “never make Kayla suffer.” Whoops. That, of course, goes over like a lead balloon. Stephen Nichols’s reaction shot is perfect, as is Jack’s line, “It’s always going to be there, isn’t it?” Then Matt says the next line, “I’m trying to change,” so faintly, and it carries no conviction. This all conveys Jack’s near-hopelessness about ever changing Steve’s mind or being able to make up for what he’s done. (And, it makes it all the more impressive that he does indeed, keep trying.)
Steve does leave the door open a crack, when he says that if Jack wants to help, he knows what to do. This just twists the knife, though, making Jack’s situation all the more poignant. We’d love to see Jack able to take advantage of this opening, but he can’t because of his loyalty to Isabella.
But, a few episodes later, things take a turn. Roman shows Steve a picture of the Toscano family, including Isabella, hanging out with Victor. This seems to confirm Steve’s suspicions that Isabella is in cahoots with Victor, and that maybe Jack is too since he’s protecting her. Determined to get the full story, he calls Jack on the phone and tells him to come over.
I love the moment when Steve asks Jack why he would want to tell him the truth, and Jack blurts out that he’s family and he cares about him. I love Stephen’s look at that, the narrowed eyes and the twisting smile, like, “What’s your game?”
Then Isabella decides to make her appearance, because she wants to defend Jack from Steve’s conviction of his guilt. And it works, but not in the way she expects. The revelation that she has some kind of relationship with Victor (she won’t elaborate on exactly what it is) serves to increase Jack’s suspicions of her, which ironically puts him on the same position as Steve. This is beautifully shown when Jack asks Isabella why Victor would tell her where Kayla is—what is her relationship with him? She responds, “Does it matter?” Then Jack says he thinks it does, and Steve pipes in, “I think it does too.” Steve and Jack look at each other, each registering somewhere deep down the strangeness of being on the same side. It’s a wonderful moment.
There are a lot of great subtleties in these scenes, but nothing compares to the wonderful moment at the end. Isabella comes back with her clue that Kayla might be on a yacht disguised as a freighter. Steve gets ready to follow up, telling Jack to call Roman and get him over to serve as backup. But Roman isn’t home, and Jack sees his opportunity and says to let him help. As Jack is making his case, he asks Steve, “Why do you call me little brother?” I love this line, it’s a way for Jack to get at the underlying bond that he knows, or at least suspects, that Steve still feels. And Stephen does a great vulnerable look before Steve says “to get your goat” (showing that’s not the only reason). Jack doesn’t question that, but keeps pressing, pointing out that Roman isn’t available.
Steve gets a sour, skeptical look on his face as he thinks about all this. Then he grabs Jack by the tie with a semi-threatening look—like, I can’t believe I’m doing this and you better not screw it up—then slaps him on the chest, saying, “Let’s rock and roll, Billy Jack.” Wow! Jack scurries out after him, knowing he’s being given a priceless opportunity.
This is a fragile truce, born out of necessity, with no guarantees that it will last beyond the present crisis. But it’s a step.
I’ve said before that one of my favorite things about soaps is when they take a fantastical situation and follow through on it with dead-serious emotional realism. This is an example of an adjunct to that, when the crackpot soap plot itself creates emotional situations that otherwise would not happen. Steve’s trust in Jack, and Jack and Steve’s relationship, have been so damaged, that it’s only in the crucible of an elaborate crisis—involving kidnapping, keys to missing fortunes, mental institution escapees, and mysterious women from the past—that they could ever get the opportunity to reconnect. Extraordinary situations create extraordinary reactions. Hurray for crackpot plots.
