Episode 497

New poll for DS forums.

I think they way she was acting wasn't really herself, so to say. She was bewitched by the earrings, quite literally. There wasn't a spell on them, but the earrings reminded her of her personality rape and the time she spent fighting off the persona of Josette. So in that sense, I think she acted immaturely, but not really, as she wasn't herself. (Does that make sense to anyone else?)

I think they way she was acting wasn't really herself, so to say. She was bewitched by the earrings, quite literally. There wasn't a spell on them, but the earrings reminded her of her personality rape and the time she spent fighting off the persona of Josette. So in that sense, I think she acted immaturely, but not really, as she wasn't herself. (Does that make sense to anyone else?)

Yep, and I agree 100%! 

The other aspect of this is how one would view Joe's behavior in this whole thing (sneaking the earrings out of her purse on his way to work to get them appraised, etc.).

Joe's behavior wouldn't have been thought of as unusual on a soap pre- women's liberation.  The "take-charge guy" thing wasn't politically incorrect quite yet.  Actually, you can still see versions of it on soaps today.  People go bonkers over Sonny Corinthos on GH, yet he, like Tony Soprano, is a totally reprehensible fellow in many ways, beyond his profession.  I'd certainly give Maggie a pass on her behavior because she was "bewitched," but I wouldn't blame Joe for his actions just because he wasn't.  He, in typical DS fashion, didn't know what was going on except that Maggie was acting totally out of character, as far as he was concerned.  This, in much the same way as Maggie wasn't aware of Angelique's power over Joe later on, or why his behavior was so out of character.