
These Were the DAYS of Last Week!
These Were the “DAYS” of Last Week!
Thanks for the new title – I forget who suggested it! Another week has passed and we’re back, dishing about what happened on DAYS for this past week. This week I noticed a lot of recycling going on. I know all soaps do this and I don’t profess to be so egotistical that I think I could possibly write the storyline as good as or better than the head writer and her staff, but no matter how cool things were the first time around, I still want to see as much originality as I can.
Hope and Bo:
Bo’s new look will take some getting used to, but he looks good with or without facial hair. This week, we were treated to a renewal of vows and flashbacks to Bope’s first wedding in New Orleans. It was very sweet, though didn’t seem to fit into the storyline for me. I believe this storyline was created because the Olympics are upon us and TBTB don’t want to further the current storylines until after the Olympics, for fear several fans will miss out. I didn’t expect the horrid reporter, Brad Baker showing up with the anonymous letter and tip that Bo was hiding key evidence as to Paul Hollingsworth’s “murder” (we know he’s alive and well). I didn’t expect all of this to come out so quickly! I was a little astounded when Bo told Hope, at the church, before the ceremony, that he knew they’d be together forever, when she first became his in New Orleans. Became his?! Me Tarzan.
Stefano’s return:
I love the DiMera family and though I’m still shaking my head over the firing and re-hiring of Joe Mascolo, I am trying to let it go and simply enjoy the storyline. It seems Stefano has had a long time to think about things, while he was imprisoned in his own mind. He’s getting angrier by the minute. Though he’s spouting those revenge-filled lines we’ve heard only too often, I believe we may see an even more evil Stefano than in the past! Next week, we’ll see the all mighty Stefano, shed real tears as he recounts his months of “captivity” to Tony. Compelling.
Marlena?:
Though he didn’t lock Marlena up in the secret room again, Stefano’s henchman (Evil-Bart?) seems to have gotten a hold of the same drug Marlena injected him with and has turned the tables on her. This is original stuff. Stefano has always maintained Marlena was his Queen. She has finally fallen from her throne, and Stefano says he has more in store for his enemies. Just after, we’ll see gas being pumped into the hospital vents. Wait. It was not long ago that EJ pumped poisonous gas into the hospital, almost killing Steve and Kayla. Recycled. Though, the results are very different and interesting! Maybe this is where our new Mayor of Salem comes in! I’m glad Salem’s finally getting a Mayor!
John/Ava:
Ava left Salem this week. I liked her presence, liked the craziness of her and enjoyed her connections to the mob. She turned into a tough broad and a good friend to Nicole, and that’s what I’ll miss the most. Actually, that’s all I will miss. I didn’t want to see her with John, but I do like to see friendships being built on the show. Just as she started to grow on the fans, the show let Ava go. Shame, but there is room for her to return. She professed her love for John in a letter that both John and Marlena read. This means she could potentially return at some date, and cause trouble for Jarlena, if they get back together. (When they get back together?) John has threatened Stefano’s life a few times this week. Is there something to this? Will he have to leave the manse, when Stefano returns? Will Rolf turn in his iron and go back to the lab? Just where is Rolf?
Recycling romance?:
Nick is off to France to meet his future girlfriend, Chelsea. I mean, Melanie. I heard they were casting for a Nick gal-pal, but she looks too much like Chelsea to me and she has that same nasty attitude that Chelsea had, previously. She also does video blogs. It's just too recycled for me, but it's nice to see Nick getting some on-screen time. The actor is leaving for a while to do a movie, he tells me. Nobody is saying he's not returning, so don't listen to those pesky rumours that he's not returning. Nobody has said that. Though I couldn't stand her when she first came on screen, I warmed to her during the scenes in the cell this week, with Max. Especially when she quoted this line from Wizard of Oz. "But I'm going to miss you, most of all, Scarecrow." She's got a sense of humour!
Stephanie and Max:
I have to include Les in this, because as of Thursday August 7 at 3:15 PM EST, he was voted as "The cutest Newbie on DAYS" right now. A day later and he tied with hottie Java Café Manager, Evan. Can they bring Les back and leave Stephanie and Max in France? Again, I have a lack of genuine interest in these two characters. I don’t care if Max has a sister anymore. I don't care about Stephanie. I want someone to wave a magic wand and have them back in the race car circuit with EJ and his black glove!
Trent/Nicole & EJ:
I'm not positive I understand Trent's motivation where Nic's concerned. The threats are for Nicole to be his errand girl. That's puzzling and a little mundane. Why doesn't he threaten her for half her money? He makes a decent amount with his job as professor and from his book, but since Melanie's sucking him dry, he probably could use a few extra million. I thought he was supposed to be scarier… nastier than that.
Morgan and Philip:
Morgan took care of Philip this week, after he was shot. According to Dr. Morgan, the definition of overexertion is "kissing" and "fooling around". Philip's used to aggressive Chloe. He decided to come clean about threatening Morgan's father, Paul. Good for him. Let's hope after Morgan calms down from the shock of it all that she'll forgive him and they can move on. We all know sleazy business decisions aside; he did nothing to harm Paul. Philip's a tough guy. He was in the war twice, and lost a leg. What struck me as funny was most of the board members didn't notice that he had a bandage over the wound! They were too busy ogling his chest! And a nice one it is…
Lexi/Chelsea/Theo:
The show promised that there would be some twists and turns this summer and that they'd have characters interacting with those that normally wouldn't. We saw that this week with Chelsea, Theo and Lexi. Next week Anna interacts with John, Lexi and EJ. I keep forgetting how they know each other - truly. I know it sounds strange, but it's been so long since EJ, Tony and Lexi spoke, I forgot they were family. That's not good for any show, especially not for a soap. Soaps should be about family, drama, intrigue, romance and adventure. Like Y&R. Awe, you know I love DAYS. It's nice to see Chelsea working with Theo. It's nice that Chelsea has a job. I'm always happy to see characters interacting with those they normally wouldn't. This fits, for me. I'm enjoying the little interactions that characters who otherwise wouldn't be together, are chit chatting. We still haven't seen anything resembling a relationship with Daniel and Chelsea because there is so much drama going on. He was with her at the wedding, but I barely noticed him.
Steve and Kayla:
I almost left them out. The show's cast is very large. I don't think a large cast is necessarily needed to spin stories. I forget about some of them, weekly. We saw Steve and Bo interacting before the wedding. Nice male bonding, which is important and they did well with throwing it in, when they didn't have a lot of time to work with. It was good to see Kayla helping Aunt Maggie, Chelsea and Caroline, planning the wedding. We should see this family together more often.
Victor, Kate and Caroline:
No, I don't think anything is going on. It's good to see these two working together. He's home from the hospital now and she's acting as nursemaid, so I might like to see more, but I'm torn between wanting Caroline to have something with Victor and Kate going back to him. We could always pair off Kate with Roman. Then again, it's too soon for Caroline and Victor. She's a woman, she's a widower and she was in love with Shawn. If they're planning on having Victor court her, it should take a whole year to get together. Real time. Even then, she should experience the guilt and feelings of betraying Pop. "Keep it real," is all I ask!
Chloe/Lucas:
I'm seeing in the boards that so many don't care for the character. We did when she was Ghoul Girl, then the show hired her back with an "edge", but it turned out she didn't have an edge at all, just a secret, and now she has nothing. She has Nicole's budding friendship, sort of. She has Lucas, but I'd like to see her get gainful employment. So would the actress. (She told me so on the red carpet in June.)
Feel free to post your own thoughts for this week, below. If you agree or disagree with me, I definitely want to hear about it, but remember, this is all in fun!
Christine Fix
Editor-in-Chief
Soaps.com