Sami and Jey on Smackdown details
after the admittedly delicious crumbs we've been getting, sami and jey's segment on smackdown is a veritable feast of both bold declarations and subtle character choices. after rewatching several times, here are some things in particular i noticed about sami and jey's reactions to each other (and cody) starting when jey's music hits.
in contrast to cody taking his time with his entrance earlier (1 minute 30 seconds to enter the ring, 35 more seconds for him to continue to appeal to the crowd when in the ring), jey's entrance takes barely any time at all (30 seconds!), and we know he can take his sweet time with an entrance - we even literally see him do it in his main event match later that night. jey, notorious for playing with the crowd at the expense of other people in the ring with him, practically ignores the crowd in his focus to get inside the ring with sami and cody. later, jey refuses to run it back despite the crowd asking him to, insisting the focus stay on sami's win.
meanwhile, sami's reaction to jey coming in is an almost blank, purposefully neutral expression that doesn't quite hide the vulnerability and hint of fear in his eyes because he knows jey's here for the same reason that cody's here. sami's so used to being disrespected recently, by peers and friends, that he watches cody's entrance with a grimace then a begrudging smile; he knows exactly what he's about to get with cody. but with jey, he's uncertain and unwilling to get his hopes up upon jey's arrival that jey won't do the same as the rest.
so the very first thing jey does when he enters the ring is grab a microphone and then hug sami, not leaving sami in suspense. no bravado, no dramatic pause. sami freezes in naked surprise at the hug, then hugs him back with obvious relief.
jey barely acknowledges cody even, just a cursory "what up" before going right back to sami. when sami hesitates to immediately high five him back, jey leans back so he can look up at sami through his lashes, nearly pouting, showing sami enough vulnerability so sami can feel safe to high five him back. they both properly grin when they do their handshake.
when jey says he's proud of sami, sami ducks his head down. when he says, "you earned that," jey glances at cody very briefly, almost in reproach.
and then jey comes out and says that he's there because he needs a shot at the title, in contrast to cody who sami was just complaining about beating around the bush before jey came out. he says "you know why i'm here, uce" refusing to insult sami's intelligence by pretending sami doesn't know why he would possibly crash the segment.
jey's posture when telling sami he's there because he wants the belt is bent over rather than puffed out aggression. it's worth noting this is literally the softest and least aggressive we have ever seen jey deliver the 'warning shot'. he doesn't even 'shoot', there's no 'bow!', and he's practically apologetic when saying it.
jey only looks away from sami when cody interrupts and starts talking. he also straightens up when he's facing cody, showing his deferent posture to sami was a deliberate choice, and he chooses differently versus cody. he also starts getting fidgety, annoyed, agitated when cody approaches him.
sami interrupts cody berating jey, striding forward with a hand out, "hey-" after cody belittles jey by calling him an errand boy for the tribal chief. sami's instinct here is to defend jey, positioning himself next to jey facing cody together.
faced with two people at the same time wanting to face him immediately for the belt puts sami on the defensive, but it's crucial to note that sami seems angry at cody but hurt at jey. when sami shouts "it is my time!" he shouts at cody, not jey. pretty much all of sami's aggression is aimed at cody.
for his part, jey looks genuinely chastised after sami's outburst. when sami says "as far as i'm concerned, it's still in the family," jey gives two little nods and doesn't dispute it.
finally, right before sami says "stay away from me," jey takes two small steps back, as if intuitively understanding what sami needs and complying in advance. in contrast, cody takes two steps towards sami in response. interestingly, this repositioning leaves jey and cody the same distance away from sami.
all in all, a very useful segment for re-establishing the dynamic between these three characters and their alignments going forward. cody's presence allows us to compare the nuances of sami and jey's interactions with their established dynamics with cody, ultimately revealing more about their relationship than might have been revealed were it just the two of them, and setting the stage for the feud to come.
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