Rafe - Rafe/Hope

Poirot

Poirot

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Of late, I am seeing a lot of anti-Rafe..........anti Rafe/Hope comments. Am wondering what happened?

When Rafe first appeared, mostly everyone liked the FBI agent, assigned to keep Sami in line during her witness protection story. Eventually they came to Salem, were married, had a really nice married life.......until EJ got in the way.

Now since then, Rafe was put into a coma for several months, then had a short fling with Jordan, and sort of floundered around afterwards, as a series of headwriters came and went. Yep, he seemed to have fallen for an uninterested Hope, but kept it all to himself.

Rafe is good looking, a good man who has made mistakes in his job, because he cared, and tried to help/protect those he cared about. Cannot fault him for that. Hey, ever get stopped by a cop for something you did wrong, and got a warning instead of the ticket you deserved? Ever done something stupid, ...like not stopping at a stop sign, turning right or left when the sign plainly says not to without a signal? Parked where you should not have done so..........and expected a cop to appear, ticket you, etc. Hey, the list goes on, driving after having a few drinks......fortunately getting home safely.

The thing is we all make mistakes, small ones, big ones at times. O.k. Rafe fell for Hope, kept his feelings to himself, until she was free to accept them.

Do I think this couple is "made for each other"? No, I don't. But I feel the same about Theresa & Brady, Joey & Jade, Deimos & Nicole, Kate & her parade of bed partners. And yes, we have had so many changeovers in writing it is impossible to keep track. I understand and see how our characters' change with each writing regime.

So why so much hatred/distaste for Rafe? Why so much stone throwing at Hope & Rafe?
 
I can only speak for myself, but I don't like how they were confessing love for each other out of nowhere, and that is truly how it felt to me. I didn't like that Aiden was sacrificed after months of getting me to like him and Hope together, to push Rafe forward. Even though I liked the characters separately, a lot.

And I really didn't like Rafe getting Handsy with Hope the other day. That was TOO MUCH. No means no. I also don't like how he's always jumping to Hope's aid. She can stand on her own.

And I really really didn't like how they brought Aiden back as grist for them. He had no chance. Why bother? Ditto Mami coming to town, and then disapproving of Hope. Waste of a talented actress and obviously wasted energy. (Bad Soap 101 - Introduce Third Character who Hates Love Couple to Make Fans Love Love Couple.)

Let them be partners and friends, and have it grow from there. Give them cases to solve. Family members to deal with, etc. But Bo giving Rafe his blessing before dying, despite Hope marrying someone less than 2 Salem days before? Give me a break.

That said, I hope that we're out of the woods with the interlopers. Days uses them far, far, far too much, and not well at all. If Rafe and Hope are the new 'it' couple, so be it. But let's not throw other characters/romances under their bus, please.
 
It has nothing to do with the age difference in my perspective, I never been anyone to judge based on that. I prefer older men myself so I'd be a hypocrite to judge Hope and Rafe's relationship based on age.

However, it is just the chemistry, bottom line. Which is absolutely non-existent in my eyes. Even in today's episode, they still come off as just really good friends, I don't see such a strong couple in love. Today should have been the day Aiden resigning, nope didn't sell it to me.

I wish they would just place Rafe with Blanca, protecting her from like her ex boyfriend and the drug cartel. That would be great but wouldn't happen.
 
I still like Rafe and Hope individually. I enjoyed them a lot as buddies and partners. I can't stand them as a couple, because their personalities have been changed just to fit into the role/storyline the writers want to force them into. That, to me, is a sign of bad writing. I know many folks have wanted them together for years, but to me it doesn't seem that the majority of Days fans like them together, or at least they feel neutral about it.

This pairing has no chemistry, and seems to be consuming just as much airtime as Jennifer/Daniel & EJ/Sami collectively did a few years ago. As far as the age gap, I realize with some couples that works and is normal. What I do think is unrealistic is that lately, since Brady & Kristen it seems, there have been SO many couples with a significant age gap. Nicole/Deimos, Rafe/Kate, Rafe/Hope, Jennifer/Eric, Brady/Theresa, JJ/Eve, it's just a bit much, and seems more common on the soap than it does in real life.

I also am frustrated because Galen Gering (Rafe) is a great actor and has a lot of potential that I don't think is being tapped into. I loved his relationship with Sami, and even the thing he had with Carrie a few years ago. I think it would've been great if they had Rafe and Nicole genuinely develop a love relationship gradually from their friendship (much like Dan & Blair did, for those of you who have seen Gossip Girl), and maybe even get married and start a family. Instead, he's had a ridiculous affair with Kate and two bland relationships with Jordan and Hope.
 
I did like Rafe in the beginning when he and Sami met and they slowly fell for one another. I thought he was really good for Sami. She matured and I liked their relationship. After they separated, Rafe became a bland character to me. I don't know if it has been the writing or the actor just seems to be boring. He is definitely attractive. But his personality has been about as interesting as paint drying on the wall. The writers have tried putting him with Kate, then Jordan, and now Hope. It's like the actor/character is a cardboard box.

Nothing interesting about him and definitely no chemistry with Hope that I have ever seen. I saw a glimmer of chemistry and spark one time between Rafe and Blanca that night they were sitting outside his house and she tried to get him to dance. He had been sulking about Hope. But Blanca got him to smile and enjoy himself for a little while. Those scenes (to me) were genuine and looked like the actors and characters were having a good time.

But for some reason, the writers are trying to convince the audience that Rafe loves Hope. And maybe he does. But I'm not convinced Hope loves Rafe. Not the way that woman treats Rafe. She uses him. She doesn't care about him. I agree that today they looked like good friends and work partners. Their hugs and kiss at the end of the show looked insincere and awkward.

I would like Rafe to spend more time with Blanca.

I would like Hope to be single. I don't think she should be in a relationship after everything with Bo and Aiden, and her killing Stefano. She can take time to be with her family and grieve her losses and get psychological help for all that she has been through.
 
I like Rafe. I like Hope. It's hard lately to like them after what happened to Stefano
last year. Rafe was the only Salem cop who tried to do things right. The thing with
Stefano was very wrong.
 
I like Rafe and always have HOWEVER........I feel the writers have really dumbed him down over the years. When he first came on he saw through most everyone's lies and manipulations and in particular, Sami. He was always on the ball and was able to connect things, read people, and we've seen shades of this but nothing like when he first came on the show. I hope he is written back to his former self and given material where he can really portray his character's smarts.

Hope, I like and of course there's that legacy character thing, HOWEVER.........there have been way too many instances where Hope has not been written in character and which have been discussed numerous times with many examples. I am kinda of the "MEH" side of things when it comes to these two. I think both could find someone more suited to each other but I'm not bothered by them together.
 
I also like Hope & Rafe but not together. It feels so forced and there is zero chemistry. I really dislike how Rafe, and also Roman, got to play He-man and that poor Hope needs someone to rescue her. Rafe also seems to forget he has a family in town. I never see him with Gabi anymore or even Dario, who had gotten hurt during the bombs. He also forgets he has friends. He and Nicole were good friends, but I guess that is down the tubes too.

Rafe should be paired with Nicole as they had chemistry. Instead, they pair her with Deimos, another guy that treats her like dirt.
 
You all have made valid points, and I do agree. I have said, I am not in favor of the pairing of Hope & Rafe at all.

And yep, the writers have done it to Rafe, just as they threw other characters under the bus as well. It is just I get surprised when folks actually want him dropped off a cliff, ridden out of town on a rail, etc.

Daniel arrived with flaws, was a great doctor, but personally, not someone I cared about. Aiden arrived with his agenda, to kill Hope, take her money. So although he hid that for a while it became apparent. So wanting either of those characters gone did not come out of the blue. But with Rafe, who was really a very good guy for some time...it just seemed weird to me the hatred expressed for the character.

I guess Rafe was perhaps thrown under the bus in favor of EJ some time ago. Once his wife (Sami) cheated on him, made a fool of him, leaving him in the end...the character of Rafe was just never the same.

And again, the parade of headwriting changes did him no favors. Nor others in Salem, as well.
 
I've always liked Rafe and Rafe/Sami was one of my favorite pairs on this show. As already stated, Sami matured but didn't change (big difference) while they were together. She was still Sami and up to her shenanigans. What I liked about Rafe then was he was a strong independent character with a career and his own interests. We saw him with his sisters, the Salem PD, etc.

Now all we get is Rafe and Hope. And when they aren't in scenes together, all he does is pine for Hope or talk about Hope. This is not unlike Daniel and how the show has treated him over the years. While I don't equate Rafe to Daniel, I do think the show is trying to make Rafe/Hope as a pairing into the new Daniel. While the scenes with Rafe and Ed were great last week, again they centered around Hope. Why not just visit Dario or even Gabi and Ari. No mention whatsoever about protecting them during the siege.

And as Jason said, Rafe manhandling Hope a couple weeks ago is a no go. Unacceptable. Trying to justify that is like trying to justify why Sami should be married to her rapist. Rafe has become way too possessive of Hope and that needs to stop. He was never like this with Sami or Jordan.

I like Rafe and Hope individually but I do not like them as a romantic couple. Police partners maybe but I need better writing. No more isolated scenes where they suddenly take over a case that we've seen other cops working on beforehand. Rafe/Sami and Bo/Hope are very hard pairings to top. I still hope that Peter Reckell (Bo) will reconsider and return to the show but if we can't have him, then I want Hope to be single for a while and focus on being a mother and a grandmother, roles she has been neglecting for the past year. I think that's warranted.

I could go for Rafe/Blanca or Rafe/Nicole or bring back Stephanie, Sarah (in the form of Melissa Archer) or even Chelsea. That could be interesting. One of the things I liked about Rafe and Sami was that their marriage connected him to the Brady family. With Nicole, you would have 2 characters who are not part of core families getting together. I think that screams back burner and I don't want that for either of them.

Muzzaman said:
I feel the writers have really dumbed him down over the years.
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Agreed but it's no different than Brady or even John in certain situations (i.e. Kristen's first return)

Poirot said:
I guess Rafe was perhaps thrown under the bus in favor of EJ some time ago. Once his wife (Sami) cheated on him, made a fool of him, leaving him in the end...the character of Rafe was just never the same.
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Sadly the same thing has happened to Lucas over the years. We should be thankful Galen Gering (Rafe) is still on contract at this point. Though the same thing did happen to Aiden over the last year.
 
I do like them individually but not as a couple. Rafe's a great guy but Hope didn't choose him first or second. She married another man, then slept with her ex proclaiming her love and when they were gone she took the third in line. It made her look like she couldn't live without a man in her life, any man would do. It made him look like the little puppy that got kicked away and instead of having some self pride he stood there waiting. Oh and there's a severe lack of chemistry.
 
They've wasted Rafe, in my opinion. For months, he just kind of wandered around. I wondered if he even had a house or if he just lived at the station. He deserves a woman who will just choose him. Period. I get tired of having him be the second choice all the time. And I agree, they've dumbed him down over the years. It wouldn't take much to sharpen him up and give him a love of his own. The last time I liked him was when he was with Kate. Now they're putting Kate with his dad. Ewww.
 
I have nothing against Rafe just Rafe and Hope as a couple. I do not see them being just madly in love now. I thought they were going to have a real conversation today about him wanting kids. 55 year old Hope probably not going to give him any. I think they need to bring someone new for Hope.
 
I adore Rafe, and the only time I could tolerate Sami was when she was with Rafe. I'm fine with the Rafe/Hope pairing. I would not expect this to be the passionate kind of relationship we saw with the teenaged Hope and Bo. They are now older and more mature. I could, however, also get behind a Rafe/Nicole pairing. Rafe and Nicole are two of my very favorite characters. I would just hope that if they do pair them that it be a lasting and very loving relationship. I'm so tired of them getting hurt.
 
As I said on a different post, if Hope cared about Rafe's feelings at all she would have asked him if he was OK, and was sure he wanted a woman who wouldn't be able to have his child. Or at the least said they needed to talk about it sometime. But no, she only mentions how great he is with her daughter.

To me, they are ruining Hope just as they did Sami, by making it the "Hope show" and her being so self involved.
 
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Poirot said:
Aiden arrived with his agenda, to kill Hope, take her money. So although he hid that for a while it became apparent.
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OK, now, this is not true. The new writers said this but this was not why Aiden was brought to town. To wit, let's say the next head writer decides that all this time Rafe has been on Ernesto Tuscano Jr's payroll and was brought to town to kill Sami, Hope, and all the Bradys. That does not mean it was true when Rafe first came to town. Just like EJ was not 'always' the love of Sami's life because the last writers said that, and on and on.
 
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