I have a mixture of comments about the Johnny scene. I agree that there was no reason to tell the little kids about the engagement to Rafe the day after Sami had planned to marry EJ – that could have easily waited a month to give them all time to adjust to the other changes first. On one hand, I hated the way Sami made that announcement to Johnny because it reminded me of the way she has sprung such news on Will in the past couple of years, expecting him to immediately share her enthusiasm over something monumentally stupid/dangerous like letting EJ live with them, moving into the mansion, getting engaged to EJ, etc. On the other hand, Johnny isn’t Will. He is a preschooler who is going to view any news/changes in his life in large part based on how his mother views them. The more enthusiasm and happiness that Sami demonstrated about the news, the more likely that Johnny would also view it as positive and the easier time he would have adapting to it. The other difference is that marrying Rafe is not a stupid or dangerous decision (personally, I don’t think it is a good decision and certainly not at this time but it isn’t blatantly harmful to Sami or her children). Johnny and the other children know and like Rafe and didn’t mind him being a part of Sami’s life before, so even though the timing has got to feel like a shock, I think the news overall was good from Johnny's perspective.
What struck me most about about that scene was Johnny's reaction. The day before, his parents were getting married, first thing the next morning his mother announces that she will be marrying Rafe, and Johnny's immediate response is “my daddy won’t like it.” Not, “I don’t like it” or “I thought you married daddy” or even “do you still love me”. He’s four; any reaction Johnny had to something this huge should have been all about him and his feelings, but instead Johnny's first thought was how “daddy” would react. Johnny's response is an indication that he has already internalized that EJ’s feelings are the only ones that matter and EJ’s reactions are to be anticipated and feared. It is the response of a kid who lives in an abusive home where one parent dominates the mood of the entire household, where everyone anticipates the abuser’s moods and is constantly focused on placating them. To me, Sami’s response wasn’t a flippant disregard for Johnny’s feelings at all, it was a response meant to alleviate Johnny’s concern about his father’s reaction to the news. As soon as that concern was put to rest, Johnny seemed perfectly happy about the announcement. So whether Sami handled it exactly like I think she should have or not, it seems to have been the right way for Johnny and that is what mattered most.
Two favorite things about this episode: 1) Nicole’s reaction to the news that EJ had been shot, “Santa must have got my letter”, and 2) Kate!!! That woman has always been an exceptionally skilled liar but finally she is using her powers for good rather than evil. When Bo asked for help limiting the number of people who wanted EJ dead to just those who would have access to the mansion, Kate immediately thought of Sami, but covered for her …. And not only covered for Sami but did it in the most perfectly believable way possible, she shifted suspicion to Victor. Kate’s lie was so convincing that I had to rewind and make sure that I hadn’t imagined Kate’s flashback to the conversation with Sami, because at first, I almost believed that she sincerely suspected Victor. Go Kate! Go Nicole! Go Sami! --- It makes me very happy to have reason to cheer for all 3 in the very same episode.