Sami and Kate...what makes them tick?

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susala

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I'm hearing a lot of opinions that resemble the basic "she made her bed and now she must lie in it" attitude re: Sami.

While I agree that both women have been horrible (Sami: The Stan fiasco, accusing Lucas of abusing Will, and too much to recall at the moment; Kate: poisoning Chloe, burning down Victor's home with Lucas inside, corporate espionage, etc.) I also understand them to both have been victims of assault and domestic violence.

Sami was raped at a young age, reacting in dramatic violence against the perpetrator. She was raped again more than once. Kate suffered through beatings, the loss of her children, living as a high end prostitute. How they both responded to these experiences had a good deal to do with shaping the kind of person they later became. Sami never really got help, and is constantly ready to fight. Kate, too, doesn't want to let anyone get the best of her (even though she did have some therapy with Marlena for a while.)

I don't excuse either of them...they are grown-ups and responsible for their choices and behaviors. However they have suffered through the cycles of violence and I don't find their general attitudes that surprising. They both need some serious interventions.

Nobody deserves the treatment they experienced, just as nobody deserves the hatred they can spew on others.
 
They have been horrible, suffered through bad things and they have responded exactly the way various writers and storylines have defined. Nothing they have done or will do is anything other than a "fairy tale". I am really liking the current storyline for both of them.
 
While I would tend to agree about Kate....it does seem she rose above it, climbed up a success ladder all by herself (meaning without a husband) though I do understand she got some financial help from Stefano, along with some corporate influences. But Kate made her own way. And Kate suffered a lot more abuse & violence in her life than Sami. I detest her tendency to interfere in the lives of her children/friends so that all will go according to whatever is her plan. But I credit her with making do on her own.
I cannot say the same for Sami. Yes, she was raped by Alan, and he got his payback, and good for Sami. She had the love and support of her family and friends. I honestly do not equate Kate's cycle of violence with Sami at all. I honestly doubt that Kate has ever had the love and support of family and friends that Sami has had and still does.

This is a soap, and characters are supposed to go thru trauma time and time again. I guess many of us have experienced trauma of different kinds in our lives, but I very much doubt that we react with the same kind of single minded "revenge" that both women do. Then again, we all don't have different "writers" changing our personalities, our situations, nor do we have money trees anywhere around us.

And while Sami was raped a second time...she ended up claiming she loved this man so much, she willingly had sex with him, moved in with him, had another child with him, and refused to listen to anyone, no matter who.
She tells Eric she did not want to hear 16 "I told you so" from her family. He said they would not do that, and they all wouldn't, probably. But Sami, as always, thinks only of herself, just as Kate does. She wants what she wants, and is always right. Both have different things driving them. But both are self absorbed, to the exclusion of anyone else. Just my opinion
 
Good points about Kate's struggles being far different from Sami's. I would also agree that they are self absorbed. Maybe it's just the way they are or maybe they developed their personalities as a long term result of the traumas they experienced. I am certain plenty of others who have been abused may not take the revenge route, especially like Sami, but we all have probably fantasized about it!! Plenty of people who have been abused become abusers; we see some of these characteristics with Sami and Kate, as they often psychologically, and sometimes physically, abuse plenty of people around them.

Everyone on the show needs to learn to stop the degrading name calling, too. And swinging pokers at people's heads. Oy.
 
I think Kate learned self-preservation the hard way - no one to depend upon but herself for the most part. Sami is a self-entitled, selfish, immature, egoist who ticks (or perhaps is a blood-sucking tick) only to get what she wants at the expense of anyone and everyone who might disagree with or disapprove of her. I have a little respect for Kate and nothing but loathing for Sami.
 
Kate and Sami are both very different people. Kate suffered much more than Sami, and while she has done loathsome things, she dug her way out of those hard times. So, like Nicole, I have some respect for Kate, even if she continues to involve herself in dumb schemes. Sami, on the other hand, I cannot stand, never have liked her character. She is whiny, selfish, childish, inconsiderate, judgmental, hypocritical...honestly do not understand why all these men want to be with her, because she has no redeemable qualities and certainlyis not a good mother. Yes I feel sorry for some certain things she has been through...but then she just continues to put herself in bad situations (being with EJ) because of her stubbornness and she doesn't want to be wrong. So I do not feel sorry for her that EJ cheated on her with Abby, because she knew exactly who EJ was and decided to stay with him anyways, despite everything he did to her family and herself.
 
Hmmm...the site won't let me appreciate the above post, which I do. Yes, Sami has always been a problem child even before the first rape and the conference table "trauma" (as Sami sees it.) Kate has displayed some actual integrity on rare occasions, and has worked hard, whether at a diner or on a fishing boat, to overcome either hardships or the poor results of her own schemes. I agree with your assessment of Sami.
 
Sher pretty much said what I was going to say. There is a self-centered aspect to Sami that is very grating. She makes every single situation about her. Look at EJ knowing about Kristen drugging Eric. It wasn't outrage at EJ for knowing and/or being involved in hurting her brother; it was outrage at EJ being more loyal to Kristen than to her and not sharing the information with her immediately.

Kate acts self-centeredly and looks for angles to benefit for situations, but it doesn't come across in the same narcissistic way that Sami's actions do. It comes more from a self-preservation aspect, so there is more respect or acceptance of why she acts the way she does.
 
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