It’s been a while since I wrote a commentary about this show, but there are several Brady factors which have been on my mind and the minds of others, including the "Stax" factor. We all know that Max is technically a Brady since he was adopted many years ago by Shawn and Caroline. Thus, he’s not a Brady by blood so that means it’s okay to date his “niece” Stephanie. However, many of us see this as a definite “ick” factor. Yes, we know they have great chemistry together, but I’m having a hard time getting warm and fuzzy feelings for “Stax”, mainly because of the lack of acknowledgment that they are indeed related, even though it’s been stressed numerous times that it’s NOT by blood. I'm really trying to be open-minded here and warm up to these two, but it's not working.
When Grandpa Shawn died, Max came over to the Theta house looking for comfort. Steph was there and said, “I'm sorry about your dad.” I understand that perhaps she and Grandpa Shawn weren’t as close as some of the other grandchildren were to him since she didn’t spend her childhood in Salem, but I found it a peculiar and even disrespectful that she didn’t even acknowledge that it was also her grandpa that passed away. It’s as though these two are afraid to acknowledge that they are in the same family. Heaven forbid they face that fact and commit incest! What’s it going to be like when and if they get married? Will Caroline officially welcome Stephanie into the family? “Oh, that’s right! You’re already in the family!” Will Kayla be Steph’s mother and sister-in-law? I think so since Max calls Kayla his sister. What if they have a child together? Will the child call Max “Daddy” or “Great-Uncle Max?” Caroline will be both a grandma and a great-grandma to this child. How weird is that? These are issues which the characters need to eventually address if they plan on having a long-term relationship.
At the church on the day of the funeral, I noticed that even Nick was tiptoeing around the fact that Max and Steph are related. He did offer his condolences to Max and said he was sorry about his dad, but Steph was standing right there. Why didn’t he say, “I’m sorry about your grandpa” to Steph? I found that rude and disrespectful on Nick's part to not even acknowledge the fact that Steph had lost her grandpa. As brainy as Nick is, surely he didn't conveniently forget that Max and Steph are in the same family! Even the other Salemites refuse to acknowledge the fact that Max and Steph are related. When Morgan first asked Chelsea if she knew Max, Chelsea responded, "We have a family connection," instead of revealing that Max was indeed her uncle. If the writers want us to accept Max and Stephanie as a couple, then “Stax” needs to at least acknowledge it. “You’re my uncle.” “You’re my niece.” “Can we still have a relationship even though we’re technically related?” Bring these issues out in the open if the writers want us to accept these two as the next Salem supercouple. Enough already with the “Half of my family’s on that plane,” or “My family never gets a break.”
I admire the fact that the absent Brady children were at least mentioned at the funeral. Kudos to the writers for remembering Andrew and Jeannie, Shane and Kimberly’s children. It was nice to hear Max mention how badly Frankie felt for not being able to attend the funeral, but he promised to come home soon. I’ll be disappointed if this is just a teaser regarding Billy Warlock ever reprising his role as Frankie Brady. They made a huge mistake by letting Julie Pinson go, as Frankie and Billie could definitely be the next DAYS supercouple. It doesn’t make sense for Billie not to return home, just when her daughter Chelsea needs her the most during the life or death crisis with Bo. Surely the almighty Victor can arrange some time off for Billie, since she now works for his company.
I know that I’m not the only one who noticed that the writers totally forgot about Rex and Cassie. As far as I know, they didn’t hop on a spaceship and drop off the face of the earth. I know they weren’t as close to the family as the other members, but they were able to form a relationship with their biological parents Roman and Kate before they left Salem for good. Many of us took notice when Kate didn't even mention them in the church when she was with Victor. Rex and Cassie changed their last names to Brady, and Cassie even called Roman “Daddy” when they were locked in the DiMera castle together. It makes no sense whatsoever to not even mention their names. In the March 11 issue of Soap Opera Digest, Rex and Cassie are listed on the Brady Family Tree. They haven’t fallen off the branches, unless Stefano has somehow managed to extract Rex and Cassie from everyone’s memories?
Overall, the funeral was beautifully done with all the Irish toasts and poems. It was great to see Kimberly, but I sure wish it was for more than two episodes and the show could convince Charles Shaughnessy and Patsy Pease to come back for at least a limited run and reunite their characters. As many of you may recall, Shane and Kimberly had one of the greatest love stories of the 80s. I do wish that sisters Kim and Kayla would’ve had more screen time during the two day stint, as they do have at least one issue to address between them. Remember when Steve regained his lost memories in December of 2006 and he and Kayla reunited. Kayla did mention that she got involved with someone after he “died,” but she never revealed who it was. It would make some good storytelling drama if the sisters sat down and rehashed how Kayla got involved with Kim’s ex, Shane, all those years ago after Steve “died.” As many of us recall, Kimberly made it known that she wasn’t thrilled to know that Kayla slept with her ex all those years ago.
We never know, Steve and Kayla were brought back after sixteen years, so it’s not farfetched to believe that Shane and Kim could one day return, or that Frankie and Billie could possibly have a romance. As it’s been proven time and time again on this show, no plot is too farfetched or nothing is impossible.
