
Days of our Lives Weekly Blog

Have you seen this child? No? (Soaps.com)
These are the “Days” of my week for January 11-15:
This week had its ups and downs. I’ve seen better. The dialogue writing was nothing new, but the acting was well done. The focus was on death, the end of a marriage, and revenge. If you were looking for romance, you were watching the wrong show this week. Let’s break it down.
Monday, Mickey Horton died in an extremely Twilight Zone-esque episode. I felt as though I was watching another show altogether, Monday, and it was a little unnerving. Monday’s episode showed photos of John Clarke, who hasn’t even played the part of Mickey since 2004, yet we were to immediately forget that Kevin Dobson’s and John Ingle’s portrayal (which is the one I was used to) ever existed. It wasn’t easy for me to suspend disbelief, so learning Mickey died didn’t move me until Wednesday when the family grieved together. The surprise that the funeral was offscreen didn’t bother me much, knowing they couldn’t have a funeral and the scene at Maggie’s place, which, in my opinion, is much more uplifting. The actors moved me, not the storyline so much. It’s not as though they got rid of a vet, because the part wasn’t used for ages. The story seemed to be told in order for the show to pass the matriarch title over to Maggie Horton, now that Alice Horton isn’t seen onscreen anymore.
Melissa’s return meant very little to me. This was the first time I have been introduced to her and I wasn’t impressed with the little attention paid to her hair, makeup and clothing. It might sound frivolous but those things make the character. She was a frump. She was very motherly toward Nathan and learned her good little boy was arrested twice and that the arrests had something to do with Melanie Layton. She expressed disapproval of Mel, which doesn’t really matter, because as Nathan pointed out, Melanie’s marrying Philly. Or is she? Was the dialogue meant to give us a hint that there may be no Phelanie wedding?
Whenever a character is delegated to being the supporting actor, we become a little worried or ponderous that they’re on their way out. Fans are still wondering why Stephanie Johnson is around, considering her character has been on the back burner for so long. She’s what Lucas became to Sami and Rafe, which is a supporting character. Considering Lucas’ portrayer, Bryan Dattilo was fired, does this mean they’ll let Shelly Hennig go after they’ve furthered Nathan, Philly and Melanie’s love triangle?
Bope vs Barly:
The Horton family’s grief was put on hold when Hope aired her dirty laundry for the family when Carly showed up at Maggie’s place to give her condolences. Carly didn’t realize Hope would be there and did have a right to give sympathy, though perhaps she could have made a call, first. It was a case of bad timing. I’m not wild about Carly, and though I’ve liked Bope as the last successful supercouple, I can see where this is headed. It doesn’t look good for Bope. Here’s the way I saw things go down that led to Bo’s ‘indiscretion’: Carly and Bo were once in love. Carly opened up to Bo when she admitted she’s falling in love with him. Again. Bo, who hasn’t had sex in a few months, bedded the doctor, who tried to put a stop to things when she started to feel guilty over having sex with another woman’s husband. Let’s back up. While Bo and Hope are still married, Hope has made it clear several times that she didn’t want him and refused to move back into their home, until Carly showed up, and then, it was only to deter him from falling for Carly again. Hope’s focus on Carly’s secret pushed him into Carly’s arms, not to mention her choice to harp on the ancient history that we all thought they got over long ago with the Patrick Lockhart ‘thing’ and with Zach’s death. Bo wanted his wife back but apparently not enough to set Carly up in a safe house – something Salemites are accustomed to- and instead moved her in. Both Bo and Hope have put up shields in their marriage instead of working on them, and when Bo came face to face with a past love who offered herself to him, what was he to do? He fell into her bed. In fact, he seduced her. Carly was the only one who felt guilty about it. Bo seemed gung ho. His testosterone overtook him and he had sex with Carly. It’s not really cheating is it? It doesn’t make it hurt any less for Hope, but what did she expect? Doesn’t she know that if a man doesn’t have sex he can die? This storyline screams of the past ones we’ve seen with Bo and Billie.
I wasn’t aware Carly knew Hope that well until she called her out on playing the victim and acting very sanctimonious. Basically, Hope is spoiled. She’s aware of this at least and took half the blame for Bo’s ‘thing’ with Carly, but it’s a case of too little, too late, and she feels as though it’s over. One could argue that it was a wakeup call, but it seems to me their marriage is over. We’re not privy to what Bo feels because his friend Steve is no longer in Salem, and he has nobody else to talk to. I can only make assumptions. Since he hasn’t spouted words of love to Carly, perhaps he simply needed sex. After all, it’s been months and can’t be easy on him, but then if it’s just sex, why is he still hanging around Carly? Are we about to see a Barly reunion? I’ll place bets on Bo’s feelings returning for Carly. Sorry Hope.
The one thing that irritated me was Carly’s move from Bo’s place to Salem Inn. If she had done this to begin with... Wait. Maybe it’s best not to go there.
Sydnapping:
This Sydnapping is confusing for the fans who want to believe EJ loves Sami and Sami loves him in return. Sami and Rafe are in love. That’s how the storyline goes, no matter what anyone wants to believe. We see that for a fact now. That doesn’t mean it’s going to last. In fact, I don’t see it lasting, but that doesn’t mean Ejami will be a couple, finally, either. Especially now that we know EJ has orchestrated this kidnapping in order to seek revenge on Samanther. Those in love don’t do that. I see him as being hurt by Sami, Nicole and his father, one too many times and he’s finally taking control of his life – to the extreme. He enjoyed torturing Sami. He really is Stefano’s son. In fact, Stefano learned that EJ’s been selling off stock. Likely to pay the ransom money, but he likes to tell a tall tale about being a better person without the DiMera name behind him. He can run but he can’t hide. His actions speak for him, showing who he really is.
Anna confuses me. Before Christmas, she told Sydney that nobody would ever separate them. It seemed as though she wanted the child for herself, but her tune changed once we learned EJ was the mastermind. So are we to now believe Anna doesn’t want Syd for herself? Which is it?
EJ threw us off his scent when he accused Arianna of all people, of Sydnapping. At the time, we didn’t know he was the mastermind, but we knew she didn’t do it. Just like his chat at the pier with her, we can see EJ’s trying to get under Arianna’s skin. I’m not sure if he wants her for himself but can tell he wants revenge against Brady, considering he blames him for helping Nicole to keep her secrets from him.
There has also been a consistent theme for the past few weeks that I’ve been trying hard to ignore. Characters are always ‘there for you’. Sometimes they’re even ‘here for you’. Rafe, especially likes repeating this one. More about Rafe soon, but I need to touch on Sami, first. Sami waffled all week. That’s not unlike her. She yelled, screamed, screeched, bellowed, shrieked and had numerous hissy fits because that’s how Sami rolls. It’s not enough that Sydney’s missing, but she adds to the anxiety that everyone’s already feeling, with her bawling and bellyaching. I don’t know how Rafe handles it. The man’s a saint. While I understand she’s extremely sick with worry over Sydney, and she certainly isn’t one to bottle things up, I’d be able to stomach the character if she were a little more reasonable.
The last thing I need to mention about the Sydnapping is how hysterical the sketch was of Syd that Rafe handed to EJ and Stefano! Did EJ draw it himself, to throw everyone off his trail? Looks nothing like Sydney.
Bradianna:
Daniel and Chloe have been hanging out with Ari and Brady, which is unusual, but not completely unheard of. Instead of asking Brady how he feels about Nicole or herself, Arianna asked his ex-wife, who didn’t have much to offer to Ari’s face, instead preferring to tell her current fiance that Brady has some sort of Superman complex and Ari had better play the damsel in distress or Brady might dump her. Of course, in true soap opera style, Ari overheard. Lucky for Ari, Troy’s lackey, Al came along and tried to kill her. That’s when Brady stepped in and saved the day. I guess this means Bradianna are good – for now.
Younger Love Triangle:
Sweet, naïve little boring Gabi is getting caught up with the likes of Will, Mia, and Chad. It’s probably a shame, because so far, it seems Gabi’s a good girl. Mia, on the other hand, much like Melanie, is into more than one guy. Love triangles are so overused that it’s hard to care who winds up with whom on this show. Mia wants Will, but she also wants Chad, or at least doesn’t want Chad to want anybody but her. Least of all the likes of Gabi. Will is happy to go back and forth with Mia. Neither has had good parents, and their ‘relationship’ reflects that, so it’s no surprise they waffle over their own feelings. I get that, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch!
Victor and Vivi:
Victor’s bitter dialogue pretty much mirrored what he has been saying for months. A little profanity here, a few spiteful words there. No surprises there. Vivian suspected Mia could be Carly’s daughter but Carly let the cat out of the bag – finally - that Melanie’s her kid. It’ll be interesting to see how Vivian and Victor take it when they learn this, considering Melanie’s engaged to Philly, Victor’s son. While we don’t know who Melanie’s father is, I’ve suspected Daniel Jonas to be the daddy. He and Carly are old friends, Chloe can’t have kids, they’re super happy together, which usually means it’s time to shake things up. It all fits together.
It’s time for me to shake things up a little as I wander off into the weekend. What are your thoughts on the show this week? I’d love to hear your favourite moments and those that irked you! What are you up to this weekend? I’m open for a little shopping in Yorkville, a glass of wine with friends, time well wasted in the hot tub…
- Christine Fix