To the rescue

Is it time to redefine the parameters of romance? Is there ever a reason to cheat? And just what's going to happen now to Ben and Ciara? Let's discuss it all in this week's Two Scoops.

The moment we'd been waiting a year for finally arrived -- Ciara got her memory back. It was lovely, full of romantic flashbacks, and delivered a sense of relief. Yet I almost felt like I was watching footage of a grand rescue where someone had been trapped in a cave for weeks. I'm so glad they're back! Huzzah! Now, get them some medical attention immediately.

Look, I give Robert Scott Wilson so much credit in this storyline. He forced every ounce of humanity into this storyline, trying against all of Ben's actual actions to infuse a level of decency. Ben was doing this because he wanted to show up for Ciara -- match the level of devotion she showed him in the past. I get it, I really do.

The problem is that Ben did this by committing crime after crime. Sure, he gets some points for bringing along snacks and sweatpants for Ciara. And I know they were trying to draw comparisons to Bo kidnapping Hope on her wedding day and Shawn driving his motorcycle through the church window on Belle's. But maybe, just as society has taught us with so many things, things that guys got away with decades ago don't and shouldn't fly now.

All this is to say that as I saw Ciara come out of the cave...err...get her memory back, I thought about how she really needs to get herself some therapy. I'm also excited to see what Ben is going to do next. Ciara's been his sole focus since her return to the show.

But this storyline had some truly entertaining stuff, as well!

This week definitely confirmed Salem is in the Midwest. I don't know if families elsewhere do this, but in the Midwest, you announce you're leaving a family gathering about 45 minutes before you actually exit. This declaration is followed by multiple goodbyes and multiple attempts to actually make it to the door. You have at least two relatives to hear the words "Well, I better head out" as their cue to start a completely new conversation with you. This was Ciara "leaving" the cabin.

Speaking of the cabin, why did it take a large cash award for someone to remember that thing? That's pretty much the first place anyone should look! Also, Ben rehabbed that thing from literal ashes! Do you know how many people would hire him right now?! Home renovation experts during the pandemic can pretty much name their price.

Back at the church, I kind of loved Allie and Claire sticking together. Yes, they were part of the crimes that I just got done saying I wish didn't happen. And, yeah, Allie shouldn't be willingly getting herself arrested, at least not before setting up adequate childcare. But it's nice to see women who backed each other up. I've been missing that Hope/Jennifer energy, and Allie and Claire were delivering that all week.

Lani lecturing Allie and Claire about aiding and abetting a criminal made me nervous for the lightning strike that was sure to be headed her way. If that thing had hurt Abe, so help me, Lani...

The ultimate "ask mom when dad says no" was Claire turning to Belle and asking her to represent them just after Shawn said they'd get arrested. And points to Belle for reminding the audience that Allie and Claire are Eli's family, too.

Finally, Theo admitted that if Claire remembers Ben, he'll lose her. That's exactly right. Their relationship exists in a broken fraction of Ciara's brain. He knows that. I always knew he knew that. It always bummed me out to watch Theo pretend he didn't know it. Here's hoping Theo is ready to move on to better things.

E.J. wasted no time (thank goodness!) in confronting Sami with everything. Of course, Sami couldn't come all the way clean because she's Sami and genetically prone to denial. But, eventually, she did and then lashed into her own painful explanation about how utterly alone and depleted she felt being his caretaker for so long. E.J., who also carries the same genomic malformation for accountability, was having none of it. You guys, he said he was sorry!

I must pause here and give major kudos to Dan Feuerriegel and Alison Sweeney for bringing some intensity to that scene. Listen, this was not an easy task. Two actors, who've worked together for all of five minutes, had to deliver a payoff scene for an entire plot that happened offscreen, but we could all deeply feel Sami's pain. We watched Sami nurse him back from the dead. We saw him as a marshmallow head and knew what she was in for. We saw her daughter return to town with tales of how all of Sami's attention was on E.J. -- even to the detriment of her own kids. There's nothing to suggest Sami's care for E.J. was shallow or flippant. And anyone who's been or seen someone be a sole caretaker knows that comes with an exceptional amount of emotional stress.

Now, none of that is to say Sami was right. She wasn't. She was impulsive and ultimately reckless -- with both E.J. and Lucas' hearts. What I am saying is E.J. needs to tone down his righteous indignation. And, ultimately, I think he will. I'm not faulting him too much in the immediate aftermath. But once he has time, I wonder if his stance will change. Both he and Samantha burn hot and then cool off. It's their thing.

Steve told Jack that Gwen was definitely involved in Dr. Snyder's death. Normally I'd be irritated that they're dragging this storyline out so long, but I'm fine with waiting for Marci Miller to return from maternity leave so she can play out Abigail realizing Gwen let everyone believe the fall caused Gwen's miscarriage. If Abigail isn't part of that reveal, it won't be complete.

Chanel pinky swore that she's not going after Allie. She didn't say she wouldn't go after Tripp...

So, Jake used to work for the Vitali family! Interesting! I enjoyed his conversation with Ava. These characters were fun together. They've both experienced rags and riches. Now, they find themselves in the middle class. I like the development they could bring out of each other as friends -- or otherwise.

Are we just going to forget that Nicole admitted to having feelings for Rafe? (Answer: No, Ava is not!) But really, we're spending a lot of time on her physically cheating with Xander, but the Rafe of it all is more detrimental to her relationship with Eric.

HOT

The fact that Lucas was the one begging Sami for a chance can't go unnoticed. That rarely happens. Sami's spent most of her life attempting to prove herself good enough for (insert man's name here). Lucas is a good, decent guy who really does love Sami. I don't know if they'll end up together or even if they should. But it made me realize how rare it is -- both the moment and the caliber of devotion from a guy like Lucas.

NOT Gabi's plan for Titan bums me out a bit. First, I don't like her being cruel to Philip. That guy's been decent to her. Second, she's neither a male nor a Kiriakis. I would be shocked to see Victor put her atop his company.

LINE OF THE WEEK:

Abe: "Theo and Shawn are on their way to the cabin." Lani: "How'd they figure that out?" Me: "Um, they watched the show?"

RANDOM THOUGHTS

How good do you think Harold is at packing people's things? He's kicked people out of the mansion, what, 187 times?? This could rival Ben's home rehab skills.

I missed a lot of things over the Olympic break. The curtains in Kayla's place weren't one of them.

I can never pronounce General "Tso" when ordering that dish. I mumble right through it, point to it on the menu, or just say the number.

Nice hat tip having someone with black gloves knock Sami out after E.J. declared his revenge quest.

In related news, has anyone checked on Marlena's whereabouts?

When are people going to learn that bad things are in store when a bride appears in a completely face-covering veil?

That's it, DAYS friends! I'll be back next week to see if we find out who the mystery woman was who called in that tip and what Gwen (it has to be Gwen, right?) is going to do with that money.

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.