Days of Our Lives Put the Devil Saga to Bed and Got Back to Basics With Secrets Exposed, Forbidden Love and Corporate Power Struggles
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI (3)
The devil saga is finally over, but it’s still not clear what the point was, even with Bo’s brief return. Regardless, it’s been nice to watch the show coming back down to earth to deal with secrets, love and loss. But they’ll have kick up the DiMera corporate power struggle a bit to make it worth our while!
Devil, Begone!
Well, that big Satanic showdown was… a lot. Evil forcefields, glowing hands, divine intervention and possession number five. It all culminated with a scene straight out of The Exorcist as Tripp threw himself out of the window of St. Luke’s to put an end to Satan for good. But let me get this straight… After being thwarted in his attempts to take over a permanent host, the devil’s Plan B was just to burn a church down? I mean, that’s not nice, but it’s not exactly ultimate evil type stuff.
Everyone was shocked when, instead of being upset by their rendition of “Kumbaya,” Satan joined in.
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI
At least the whole thing is over now. Plus, it was a nice way to bring Bo back for a bit as his spirit helped Ciara triumph over evil and brought Tripp back from the dead. But if the whole point of the last eight months was just to get a ghostly visit, I might have to take a pass.
As Richard tweeted, at least if someone had died (or rather, stayed dead), there would have been some stakes to the long saga. But ending as it did, it’s like Satan never even stopped by. I know folks are waiting for things to just go back to normal (myself included), but if the place we end up in is no different than the one we started in, why bother?
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Johnny, Chanel, Allie and Tripp played relationship Merry-Go-Round a bit, but that could’ve happened without Satan, seeing as how there were all those roiling feelings just under the surface to begin with. It looks like we’re heading back to the four of them trying to figure things out and reconnect. Paulina and Abe hit a few bumps, but that was from Paulina’s own secrets, which would have come out eventually anyway. This is a soap. (See below, for instance.)
I don’t know, I’m struggling to figure out the point of it all. Maybe Belle and Shawn’s drama? He definitely wouldn’t have slept with Jan without her Satanic transformation. But if that’s it, it’s underwhelming — no matter how much Jan promises Belle that she’s not going anywhere, even after the baby’s born.
The Truth Will Set Them Free
It’s a relief that two secrets that would have been utterly ridiculous to keep were already spilled this week. (Well, one was partially revealed and the other may have been.) Paulina’s story about shooting TR was just so full of holes, there’s no way it wouldn’t have been detected. Abe and Eli figuring it just makes sense, and Lani coming clean to her husband highlighted how strong their bond is, cops or not.
Paulina was torn between using her one free hand to comfort her daughter or get her caffeine fix.
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI
Lani, though, is in serious trouble. Shooting an unarmed man may have cost her her badge, but she could’ve moved on. But covering up what happened could send her to jail in place of her mom. Or with her.
Then there’s Sarah’s baby. What was Xander expecting to do? Grab a fake baby and pass it off to her until he decided Sarah was emotionally fit enough? Keep coming up with excuses as to why baby Mickey was getting passed around to everyone but Sarah?
But what exactly did Eric tell Sarah? Her running off ticked at Xander could mean any number of things. Eric could have just told her that Mickey died and Xander was avoiding telling her, not that he had anything to do with a baby swap.
As much as I was thinking I’d be blasting Xander for trying to keep the truth from Sarah, actually seeing it happen made me a bit more sympathetic. Granted, Eric did have a point that Xander wasn’t just thinking about what was best for Sarah, but it still wasn’t a clear-cut minefield to navigate. That was obvious by how much Nicole hesitated in breaking the news to Sarah that her baby was dead and the fact that Maggie (reluctantly) went along with Xander’s scheme.
Back to Basics
All that exorcism stuff finally brought Eric back to our screens, but more importantly, once it was over, we got to see him and Nicole bonding a bit more. And hugging. That could have gone horribly when Rafe walked in, but he’s always been a fairly level-headed guy and Nicole’s certainly done a lot of growing over the years. It was refreshing to see them talking openly and honestly about jealousy. But if they’re battling that emotion this early, it’s not boding well for their relationship — no matter how fast Rafe tries to rush along marriage! I’m looking forward to seeing how long this maturity actually lasts.
Everyone’s eyes were glazed over by this point.
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI
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Then there’s the DiMera power struggle. That could (and should) be fun, if for no other reason than the outsized personalities duking it out, but so far, I’m not riveted. I know this isn’t exactly Succession, but maybe they could have taken a page or two from that show because that board meeting was underwhelming. It was just a few people sitting around in chairs in an office. Why couldn’t it have at least been in the conference room to make it feel more impactful? Why wasn’t Kate there?
The show went to the trouble to say Peter was on a video call, rather than voting by proxy, but we didn’t see or even hear a peep out of him. They were certainly talking to him like he actually said something, though! At least hire someone to voice him. Plus, there was no reason provided as to why he changed sides from EJ to Gabi. Not even Kristen’s surprise drop-in could do much to liven it up. Maybe she’ll have some explanation for why her brother switched allegiance. I’m not overly hopeful, though.
Stray Thoughts
• Shawn is still driving me crazy with how he caves to Jan. All she has to do is claim he hurt her feelings and he gives in. And it’s so clear that it’s all just an act! Shawn, pull your head out of your you-know-what!
“Of course I have feelings! Right now, I’m feeling hungry for a sub about this big.”
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI
• Does anyone else enjoy seeing Gabi and Jake make each other jealous? Not in a sadistic way, but they’re just such a fun, scrappy pair, their reactions are always entertaining.
• I really love Paulina and Chanel’s relationship. Paulina promising a terrified Chanel that she wasn’t going anywhere and she’d always be there tugged at a heartstring or two.
• Sami hurt herself skiing. Are we buying that, or has Lucas just lost all credibility at this point? It’s hard not to be creeped out by him now, which is kind of a shame.
• Since when is Chad EJ’s “legitimate” brother? Pretty sure he’s about as illegitimate as it gets. He and Stefano didn’t even realize they were related until after he’d been raised by DA Woods.
Keep an eye out for familiar Days of Our Lives faces as you check out our gallery of the top 25 Young & Restless couples of all time!
