Kayla’s Defining Moments
1. Being the “dependable”/quiet one among the Brady children. It was almost like the title was handed to her…possibly just due to birth order. Roman (the first born) was fiery and stubborn, Kim was a character–charming, and the one who Shawn called his “best and brightest”, while the youngest, Bo…was always getting into mischief. The Bradys “depended” on Kayla to be the even-tempered child…the one who stayed out of trouble, the one who didn’t expect much attention. All the Bradys spoke of her as the one who would rescue stray kittens. Kayla felt like those stray kittens in a way…because she didn’t feel particularly “special”. She didn’t get or expect much attention. At the same time, Kayla was a sensitive, compassionate soul, always looking out for people in need and feeling most joy in the role of caretaker. (It’s no wonder she pursued a career in Nursing, and later became a doctor).
From an early age, she stayed out of everyone’s way and was always the shoulder to cry on. The impact on Kayla wasn’t addressed much until her relationship with Shane (after Steve passed away)…she did feel overlooked, and not as loved as the other siblings. Kayla wasn’t bitter or angry with anyone (until some writers in the 90s came in and changed that for a little while)….But this did explain why she was attracted to the underdogs, and why she always wanted to help people who were on “the outs” in life. She understood (even in a small way) what that must feel like.
She had prior relationships (before Steve) where she came in “second”; David Banning chose another woman over her. This also “confirmed’ to Kayla, in some ways, those feelings of not being “special enough”.
2. Meeting Steve and falling in love with him.
For reasons mentioned above, it makes sense that Kayla was willing to be persistent in breaking through to Steve. In some small way she understood and empathized with his feelings of never feeling good enough. She was not going to let him get away with pretending he was something he wasn’t. Steve challenged her to see a different side of life …to take off the rose colored glasses. He also allowed her to see the pain and rage he felt…and the reasons why. Her perspective opened up….she didn’t see life as “black and white” and simple right and wrong anymore. Steve was someone who lived on the edge and Kayla soon found that she had to keep up with that, as she got to know him. She had to learn to take more chances ,and the more she fought with Steve, and the more she fought for Steve (and their relationship), the more she learned about herself and what she wanted…She learned her own strength.
Also, (once she broke through to him) her relationship with Steve gave her something she had never had: he put her at the center of his world. She was everything to him…she was his joy. She felt completely loved and completely understood.
3. The Rape
Kayla had always tried to do the right thing. Always. That was what being the “dependable” Brady was all about. As soon as she found out why Steve had pushed her away…as soon as she and Steve reunited…she wanted to end her marriage to Jack….immediately. She allowed Steve to convince her that it was for the best to wait and tell Jack later. He was facing an election and any scandal would hurt his chances. Well, Kayla didn’t want to do that.
She put Jack first. She knew it was a lie, but she told it with the kindest of intentions. It was just lying for a few weeks…until the elections were over. But Jack found out about her reunion with Steve, and raped her in a fit of rage.
This shook Kayla to her core. She tried to do the right thing, and it completely blew up in her face. And in the aftermath, she had to ask herself…what was the right thing to do *now*? Should she press charges and send Jack to prison? She wanted to think of Steve, and Jo, and do what was right for them…and she felt selfish needing to see Jack pay for his crime. So she didn’t press charges for a while. But she did finally find the courage to stand up for herself againt her rapist…just as she faced her fears of hurting Steve or seeing Steve feel “sympathy” for her rapist. Once again, she learned her own strength (as a result of being able to stand up to Jack in a court of law).
At the end of this, Kayla decided to become a rape counselor…once again reaching out to help others. She wasn’t one to sit around and feel sorry for herself or dwell on the bad things that happened. Kayla always saw her purpose in life as someone who could give back, and help other people.
4. Becoming deaf
Steve and Kayla found their “roles” reversed here. She was used to being the caretaker, the one others turned to in their time of need. Now she had to allow Steve to take care of her, to help her get through something when she felt totally overwhelmed. Now Kayla was the one who felt totally scared, isolated and alone as she came to terms with a disability. Steve had to be the one to step in and show her the total love and support she had shown him (even when she pushed him away). Kayla’s entire life changed, and she had to question what was important. This shook her to her core again, and made her rethink who she was and wonder how other people saw her (something she never really had to do before). At first, she felt totally helpless…but she learned to accept what happened, and to make the most of it. She learned (in her words) that there are “ways to communicate, more deeply than words”. In the end, she came out stronger….and she saw the depth of Steve’s love for her (and hers for him).
5. Losing Steve
Steve’s death shook Kayla completely. She turned to her friend (and brother in law) in a time of need…not even stopping to realize she was having “feelings” for him (probably born of need more than anything). “Dependable” Kayla would never have allowed that to happen…and it put her in a terrible conflict with her father (who always thought of Shane as Kimmy’s…property of his best and brightest). Kayla found herself at odds with her family…a position she had never been in and would never have chosen. It was almost like she had self destructed, and she had to find herself again. And she did find her own strength, her own identity again…She persevered.
Most of this story was offscreen: but we know that she made a life for herself outside of Salem (avoiding memories of Steve in Salem). She was a *great* mom, who worked hard and put herself through medical school as she raised her daughter. She picked herself back up and made the best of her life.
no comments