Question: Why do we all like Vargas? He's not a nice guy...he's not a veteran character...he's not related to anyone we love....he's not a positive asset to Salem...WHY then?
Answer: Because he's against Nick. And we like characters who are enemies of characters we hate! Simple as that.
But that seems kind of odd, doesn't it? Do we really hate Nick that much that we'll like anybody who opposes him? ...Yup.
How did we come to dislike Nick so much? When he first was up for parole, many people wanted to give him a second chance. That's one of Days' big themes. SECOND CHANCES. We remembered the Nick Fallon pre-prison.
The sweet guy who Chelsea dumped for Daniel. The guy who was buds with Max. The guy who took in foster children he didn't know and helped support their mom. The genius who created an alternative fuels project. The guy who tugged on all his relative's heartstrings when he took responsibility for his actions and went to prison.
This Nick Fallon is who we felt for when he came back. Unfortunately, we were in for a classic Days twist: turning a good guy into a bad guy...or vice versa.
Even the most conservative, anti-homosexual person would agree that Nick's behavior is unjust, uncalled for, and cruel. The fact is, our perspective of Nick changed the second he started in on Will.
It's safe to say that WilSon is one of the most popular couples on the show right now. So, any threat to a fan fav, especially a threat based on social bigotry, is a catalyst for character hatred.
The young, skinny, super-genius, underdog is gone. And the writers have re-worked his character so that we all turn against him, and root for his demise.
The same phenomenon happened recently when Salem's opera-singer came back. Chloe Lane is a complex character whose "good guy" and "bad guy" status changes constantly. (Read full bio in "Trip Down Memory LANE")
When Chloe first came to Salem in 1999, she was the unpopular, independent, different, taciturn, shy, and dark new girl. Not fitting in, being bullied, and yet having an amazing talent made "Ghoul Girl" a powerful character that you rooted for and tried to relate to.
However, her following storylines shook up that image. Her seductive, cheating, lying, and sneaky ways soon stole any sympathy we previously had for her. Occasionally we'd switch back over to her side when Kate tried to kill her, or when Vivian was manipulating her, or when she had post-partdom depression.
But upon her return, which was soley for the purpose of destroying Daniel's relationship with Jennifer and getting back with him, she crossed the line to "HATE" again.
This is where I realized the power of this trick--of liking one character JUST because one hates another.
Admittedly, at first, I was not in favor of the Dannifer ship. I was far too devastated over the Jack&Jennifer break up and later widow issue. I LOVED watching Jack&Jennifer scenes. They are adorable and had that quality that always brought them back together, even through years of tumultuous relationship problems.
Therefore, I was absolutely against Daniel nudging himself in and ruining a long-time-running super couple.
However, Days was clever and got me to sing a different tune by using this trick. They brought back Chloe so that I had to chose a side: Dannifer...or Danloe.
By making me hate Chloe, I was forced to root for Dannifer.
My perspectives completely shifted because of this. If I don't want Chloe to be happy, then I want Jennifer to be happy.
Curse you, Days writers for forcing me to change my attitude!
Days has been exploring the different sides of "villains" to make them into people you empathize with. Notable ones include: Anna DiMera, Kate Roberts, Kristen DiMera, Nicole Walker, Mimi Lockhart, and...Sami Brady!
Yes. Samantha Gene Brady. The role won a special fan award for "America's Favorite Villain" at the 2002 Daytime Emmy Awards.
Sami was quite the villainess back on 1995 when she was conspiring against Austin and Carrie, drugging people, lying, scheming, seducing and hiding paternity results. The Carrie-Austin shippers really hated Sami and were relieved when she could no longer hold being a father to Will over Austin.
The continuing plays for Austin, Brandon, and Franco, kept Sami on the "Hate" side of the line. Her constant floating from one guy to the next never guaranteed a solid "Team Sami."
However, somewhere along the line, the way we viewed Sami changed. Maybe it was giving birth to twins, maybe it was being committed to Lucas, maybe it was being manipulated by the DiMera's, maybe it was in Witness Protection.
The fans begun to root for Sami. Her support skyrocketed and everyone started saying, "Go Sami!"
Lumi, EJami, Safe. So many people were pulling for these couples to work out. Now, Sami's many men are an ENDEARING part of her character.
Fan's perspective on characters can change on a dime. One minute you love them and want them to have a second chance. The next, you find yourself rooting for whoever can bring about their downfall!
The fabulous writing on Days is what makes these personalities so complex, that we are constantly deciding whether to LOVE them, or HATE them.
