I loved it for what it was, a long dream sequence that shows the potential for drama when the secret finally comes out...a taste of EJ/Sami's destruction. I hated the simplification of their story into a "love story", the rewriting and ignoring of far worse things than cheating. Yes, we can say that this was all EJ's dream sequence, so the things said were in his mind and perhaps not true to Sami's character. I think she would have made a lot more screeching about about herself than she did.
I loved Alison Sweeney's take on the emotional aspects of Sami finding out the truth. I loved the laughing it off at first, then slow realization, the mumbling to herself as she's going through the questions of "where, when" and how she mumbled about "how, not that one...what's the other one? WHY!" And I loved how EJ of course bumbled and stumbled through the explanations, hitting the two worst things he could say to Sami....the "this is me protecting you" as he's pointing to the photo (dumb move, EJ) and the "you're not being rational" comment. I loved the lashing out Sami did. If it was anyone other than EJ/Sami, I would have also loved the part where they were struggling then she collapsed crying about how he broke her. That part was heartbreaking....or would have been if it weren't for the true history of Sami/EJ instead of the whitewashed "love story" Days is trying to sell. I
Honestly, I thought EJ was too jittery throughout the whole thing. When he first saw the picture, he freaked out and I was yelling at the TV telling him to put it back in the envelope and put it in his briefcase or something instead of just letting sit there! It's not like EJ doesn't know what a blackmail photo looks like or needed so much time to figure out what to do with the picture to keep Sami from seeing it.