RoJohn History - 1988 to 1990
Written by: Ms. Goldie
1988
The beginning of 1988 had RoJohn and Carrie having a conversation about how much they missed Marlena, and I was grateful for the fact that she wasn't completely forgotten. From the beginning of the year through July it was simply Diana doing one ridiculous thing after another, and RoJohn getting her out of scraps. It was written to be endearing and angsty, but it lacked the same chemistry that Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn had.
July 1988 started the storyline I refer to as The Pawn Revisited. It involved a pagoda trigger, a boy named Benjy, and his grandfather Orion. We learned that Orion trained RoJohn in martial arts during his time with Stefano. We also learned that Benjy was Stefano's son.
RoJohn started having flashbacks of Roman's death, and the moment he unwrapped the bandages that covered his face. As the memories became more and more troubling, RoJohn asked his sister Kim to put him under hypnosis hoping that he might be able to retrieve more memories and get clarity on the ones he was having. It didn't work. He reverted to a mercenary, and became disoriented. Grabbing Diana by her neck he told Kim to back away, or "I'll kill the blonde!" He ended up fleeing the house, and ran into Carrie on the pier. He became angry when Carrie called him dad, and claimed he had no idea who she was. She got upset, and RoJohn believed that she was a trap. Eventually he shoved her down, and ran away again. With Shane's help, Kim and Diana track RoJohn down, and Kim's able to pull him out of the hypnotic state he was in.
Carrie's kidnapping by Stefano occurred during a Halloween part. RoJohn and Diana, as well as the ISA went after her. Diana had already been receiving clues about Marlena's existence since October, but, as per her usual, she never told him.
The way they teased Marlena's return during this storyline was almost painful. RoJohn was reunited with Carrie just as Diana found a house identical to Roman's in large crevice in some boulders. Inside she encountered a woman she fully believed was Marlena, going so far as to say, "Marlena! You are alive."
On Stefano's island he played elaborate games with RoJohn's mind, at one point having him in full mercenary mode in a room full of mirrors while instructing him to kill Diana. He didn't. Ultimately, RoJohn was able to rescue Carrie, but Stefano took Diana. Roman later received a photograph in the mail of Diana with Marlena. Stefano offered RoJohn a choice - Diana or Marlena. RoJohn wasn't certain that Marlena was alive, and when he caught the decoy, he realized it had all been a farce. However, knowing Stefano the way we do, I still find myself wondering... was it really though? Ultimately it was an epic storyline that ended with a fizzle.
1989
In January 1989, RoJohn went to Florida to obtain a death certificate for Marlena since her body was never found (only debris from the crash). Because the file on her demise was incomplete, he was unable to get the death certificate, meaning his scheduled wedding to Diana wasn't going to happen right away.
Cal Winters arrived in Salem in March 1989. Initially Diana kept him a secret from RoJohn, but it was concerning because Cal was insisting that Diana was his wife. RoJohn found out a month later. Cal continued to be a problem until he arrived at RoJohn's house in the middle of May. That interaction lead to RoJohn being shot. We later found out in June 1989, that Diana was the one who shot RoJohn accidentally, but she blocked it out. Honestly, I was glad she crawled away in the middle of the night in July 1989.
Immediately on her heels, Yvette Du'Pre arrived in Salem. She'd been brought there by Justin Kiriakis. He was well aware that she was a high paid prostitute, and intentionally pushed her involvement with Victor. Victor had no idea he was being duped by his nephew.
Yvette met Carrie just as she was struggling with losing Diana. Carrie started having behavior problems because her father was so caught up in his search for his missing fiance. Because of this, Carrie and Julio Ramirez ran away together, and RoJohn had to shift his focus to finding his daughter. He was only able to locate her with help from Yvette, who realized she was increasingly intrigued by one Roman Brady.
In September 1989, Marina Toscano arrived in town. She was an old love interest of Steve Johnson there to cause trouble. This is significant to Isabella's arrival.
As the year progressed, Yvette and Carrie grew closer, and Yvette found herself becoming more enmeshed in RoJohn's family, all the while maintaining a relationship with Victor. Victor started to notice, and was less than happy about her friendship with his nemesis.
In the middle of October 1989, RoJohn walked in on Carrie and Julio making out on the couch. The look on his face was everything.
RoJohn was angry because he couldn't seem to keep Cal Winters away from his sister Kimberly, because while Diana skipped town that jerk was still there. At that juncture, Kim believed Shane was dead (but he was actually an amnesiac going by the name of Sam who was hanging out in the woods with a woman named Rebecca).
Isabella Toscano arrived onscreen in November, 1989. She was being held prisoner by her sister, Marina. When Marina was murdered, an investigation began, led by our favorite Salem hero. He had to question Yvette. He learned from Abe around that time that Yvette Du'Pre was a prostitute, and he cut contact with her, breaking her heart. She actually called him a bastard, which admittedly, he was being kind of a d*ck.
Yvette told Victor the truth, and he still wanted to marry her. She told RoJohn she was honest with Victor, and planned to go through with the wedding. RoJohn kissed Yvette because the thought of her with Victor drove him crazy. Yvette was the second woman he tried to save from Victor.
1990
January 1990 began with RoJohn trying to keep Yvette away from Victor, and seducing her with kisses. RoJohn and Yvette never made love. He was still investigating the murder of Marina Toscano at this time. Eventually Yvette left town. It was all very anti-climatic.
The set up for The Cruise of Deception started at the end of January. RoJohn had Isabella transferred to Salem from Florida. Victor requested to see Isabella, but RoJohn denied the request.
Kayla was implicated in Marina's murder, and arrested by Abe. Later, Isabella found RoJohn on the pier, and told him she could get close to Victor, and get information that might help Kayla.
Guess who RoJohn was trying to keep away from Victor? Isabella. Woman number three. The viewers learned that Isabella killed Marina, and Victor knew. RoJohn and Isabella got her mothers diary, but they noticed it was missing pages. Jack and Jennifer had those pages.
Abe warned RoJohn about becoming emotionally involved with Isabella, who was still a suspect in her sister's murder. He worried that it would jeopardize the case. RoJohn and Isabella almost kissed the first week of April, but she ended up sleeping in his guest bedroom instead of his. When they finally kissed, Isabella initiated it. He knew it was wrong because of the case, and so he walked away.
After breaking into Victor's home, RoJohn overheard the recording of Isabella killing Marina. He pushed Isabella away. She was arrested, and her bail was set at $2 million. Later, RoJohn had a change of heart, but Isabella wanted nothing to do with him. Kayla's conviction was overturned, and eventually Isabella agreed to help RoJohn investigate Victor Kiriakis. Of course they grow closer as the investigation continues, and things get angsty.
By early summer RoJohn is spending more time with Isabella and his children. The Cruise of Deception storyline was warming up, and Bo and Hope are back in Salem. The summer of 1990 saw the death of Hope, the realization that Isabella was Victor's daughter, and Ernesto Toscano trying to slowly poison Isabella (the woman who'd believed he was her father).
This storyline ends with Ernesto Toscano presumed dead (along with Hope Brady), and Isabella learning that Victor is her father.
This was followed by a really weird storyline where Carrie was hired to work on a teen horror flick with Sarah. Isabella and RoJohn seemed to be there a lot, but the whole thing was actually a ruse for a drug ring, and intended to distract RoJohn. August 1990 came in with a roar when a fire happened at the house where they were filming, and Carrie lied to protect the boy that started it (because he was doing drugs). She received five years probation. The ridiculous haunted house movie plot was still going in October.
RoJohn had to investigate Steve's murder, because just when Steve came out of his coma and was recovering - he suddenly died. As RoJohn investigated, he realized that his brother Bo was the Riverfront Raider that had been targeting JENCON. As the investigation continued, in November 1990, during an argument with RoJohn, Victor had a stroke. Isabella blamed RoJohn for causing it. She moved into Victor's home to help with his recovery. He was awake and lucid, but unable to communicate. 1990 ended with RoJohn and Isabella still estranged.
