I have to be honest that when Johnny Zaccarah first arrived on my screen, I rolled my eyes. The “greatest mafia son” ever wind up they saddled him with felt uncomfortably familiar with the build up of St. Jaysus Our Deadly Savior. And the love story they shoved him in with Lulu was maddening in it’s anti-chemistry. All the constant anvils that Johnny was just like Luke. Johnny was respected by Jason. It was like the show was telling me that I had to live Johnny because of course I totally love the two characters they constantly compared him to.
Except I didn’t like Luke or Jason. (I know…you are all shocked by that admission) And to be 100% honest with you, every time I saw Brandon Barrash I would flash back to his time on Gilmore Girls and doubt the judgement of someone who willingly dated Paris Gellar. (What do you mean that actors aren’t the same as their characters???)
But then they finally broke up him up with Lulu and hooked him up with Olivia. On paper and in spoilers it seemed random as all hell but it’s surprisingly super hot. (the fact it requires frequent shirtlessness is a plus!) And quite frankly given the number of blatant times Sonny was sent sniffing in Olivia’s neighborhood….his relationship with her lasted a heck of a lot longer than I thought it would. But I didn’t fully embrace Johnny until he became a one man truth teller about Sonny Corrinthos.
It started with Michael getting shot in the head and Johnny correctly observed that it was the fault of every person who took up a gun and told themselves the lie they were doing this to protect women and children and not illegal business practices. And then in the wake of his sister’s murder, he has become a one man band of Sonny hate. Which is always the way to my heart.
But then this week….of all the people in the town…after I had gotten to the point I was begging the soap gods for even a random day player….Johnny finally said what quite frankly this show has been avoiding since they started the Kristina abuse storyline.
Johnny: I never had any proof that your father ever actually hit my sister. I never saw it happen. Claudia never told me about it. However, there were many times I was over there and I saw Sonny manhandle Claudia. Sometimes there would be even bruises up and down her arms from where he grabbed her. And his words…Claudia would flinch from Sonny’s words, as if they were fists. You know, sometimes it’s not the actual physical abuse that inflicts the most damage. Sometimes it’s the words. And Sonny called Claudia a whore all the time; told her every day that she was nothing. It’s abuse to promise love, win someone’s trust, and then turn around and to use that vulnerability as, I don’t know, a weapon against them.
After months of walking around telling us all that Sonny is not abusive because he has never hit a woman….Johnny finally spoke the words that needed to be said. Abuse is not only physical. It is sometimes words. And Johnny is totally correct that verbal abuse and emotional abuse is often the most damaging. Bruises fade. You can move away and separate yourself from a physical abuser. You can’t always predict what words stick in a person’s psyche. Or when those words will replay themselves.
Kristina: I know she was your sister, but she did get Michael shot. She wasn’t a nice person.
Johnny: Okay, but that does not make it okay, the way Sonny treated her. I mean, that right there is abuse, to make the victim and everybody else feel like it’s their fault. You said that I hate your father, and there’s really no denying that. But what I really cannot stand about Sonny is the way that he plays himself off like some… nice guy, when he’s caused a lot of damage to a lot of lives. And I don’t just mean my sister. Look what you’re going through right now. Look at Michael.
Yes Claudia was a nutcase whack job of the highest order. I hated her on sight. But it doesn’t excuse how Sonny treated her. Plotting to get pregnant, plotting to keep him from finding out she ordered the hit that accidentally caused Michael’s coma, having an affair with Ric…..nothing there was abusive either physically or verbally. And if Sonny had an issue with any of these, you know the other option? Divorce. Setting her up to be murdered in front of half the town? Not so much.
Johnny: No. I couldn’t. You don’t hit somebody you love. And you don’t hit somebody that loves you. It was sad and delusional, but Claudia did love Sonny in her own little screwed up way. That’s why the way he treated her hurt her so bad.
See how much better this message comes across from someone who realizes there is more than one form of abuse and acknowledges that his sister was a whack job? No justifications of how it was alright what Sonny did to Claudia. No excuse throwing that it’s the job. Just the simple truth…you don’t hit someone you love or someone who loves you. It’s a message Kristina needed to hear the first night she confessed that Keifer beat her up and instead she heard about how Sonny would kill him if Alexis hadn’t done it first.
Alexis: I certainly respect your right to grieve for your sister. And I certainly know how you feel about Sonny. Do you think it was a good idea to have a conversation with his daughter? It could be misleading.
Johnny: I didn’t mislead Kristina.
Alexis: Did you just tell her that Sonny abused Claudia?
Johnny: He did. That’s his thing. He degrades and bullies women. And he’s gonna keep on doing it until you people stop making excuses for him
Alexis, you are a smart woman. You know this is how Sonny is with women. This is how he was with you. And Sonny will continue so long as everyone pats his head and reaffirms his deluded notion that he is a good father. Alexis, you kept your daughter out of his life for years for good solid reasons. You would constantly point out the destructive nature of Carly and Jason’s relationship. What did he do to you in order to attempt to get custody of Kristina? He bullied you. He degraded you. He enlisted other people to do the same thing. Alexis come on now….remember how he actually is and not how you want him to be for Kristina’s sake. Remember you had to tell him to stuff the constant self pity about Deke and threatening to kill people in front of her while she was recovering!
And God…was it glorious to hear Kristina level the truth at her father in her session. It would have been even more glorious if her doctor told Sonny to shut it with the excuses and actually look up the word abuse. I mean really Sonny? The doctor is brainwashing Kristina? Kristina got it confused? Johnny manipulated the situation? You don’t have an entire organization of people that swing into action to save your idiotic behind? And him asking Carly if he ever abused her while they were married…correct me if I’m wrong folks but didn’t he SHOOT HER IN THE HEAD? And isn’t he still blaming everyone else for his shooting Dante in the chest? It’s almost like TIIC heard all the criticism of this story that didn’t acknowledge the fact that Sonny was completely abusive as well as Keifer. But I have to admit that there is a part of me that fears that even though right now…it looks like there is a very real chance we will have someone acknowledge that Sonny is in fact an abusive asshat…..there is that part of me that watches this show that feels it’s a all a set up….that it will come out in later events that Johnny was attempting to manipulate Kristina with distorted facts just to get back at Sonny. After all I have watched this show before and seen such things happen. Everyone vowing to change their ways when Michael was shot and the promptly changing…absolutely nothing for example. So while I am cautiously optimistic about said truth telling I will cover my bases and say this as well.
Farewell Johnny….you were great while you lasted!
Sarcastic Clapping 