As Days of Our Lives Put Abigail to Rest In the Most Heart-Wrenching Way Possible, the Unlikeliest of Heroes Are About to Save Orpheus’ Victims!

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI (3)

The show this week seemed determined to break our hearts and make us cry our eyes out, and boy did it deliver. Things may have slowed down a bit towards the end of the week, but the ripple effect of Abigail’s murder touched nearly everyone.

I need to start by saying bravo to Chad’s gut-wrenching scenes all week. From forcing Clyde to tell him exactly how he killed Abigail, to that farewell to Abby’s ghost that couldn’t have left a dry eye anywhere in the house.

And now I’m crying again.

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

There was even that one line in the police station, “If EJ hadn’t shown up, I’d be with Abby right now,” that was heartbreaking in its delivery. It was as if there was a part of Chad that almost wished he had died so he could be with her again.

And while I don’t doubt plenty of fans were cheering on Clyde being taken out, the end scene in the cemetery made my blood run cold. Seeing the DiMera brothers calmly, joyfully watching a man die, even a child abusing murderer like Clyde was downright chilling. They crouched there telling him he was going to hell, that he was dying alone with people who hated him as Chad relished how slowly and painfully the life was fading from him. That was dark.

And yet I almost wish they’d taken it further and let Clyde die. Not because I crave vengeance for Abigail, but so we could really bond EJ and Chad together in a new, darkly DiMera way as they try covering up what happened. Getting off for not calling for help is one thing when Clyde’s fine, but even self-defense could have landed them in trouble if he’d died.

So Much Pain

Nancy’s relationship woes, round two was also excellently done. I covered it a bit earlier in the week, but everything from watching how much Craig hurt for her, to seeing Nancy slowly accept the truth about Clyde and crumble in the face of it was heartbreaking.

I’ve got mixed feelings about her final confrontation with Clyde, though. I feel like him telling her he was just using her may have been kinder, so she could get out of it hating him and moving on. Still, she does seem set to come out of this with a newfound strength, even offering to pray for him.

Huh. What do you know. I just discovered you can run out of tears.

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

And then there’s Jennifer. Her Abigail encounter was completely different from Chad’s, but it still tugged at the heart strings — hard. Even if she did end it by mowing Gwen down. Her anguish as she’s turned back to the pills has, again, been amazing, and I’m kind of sorry it’s zipping by so fast. She’s already been found out and Gwen seems to have gotten off with just a few scratches. I’m hoping things continue to ripple from this, especially with Mike coming back to town next week.

More Fizzle Than Sizzle

Things stumbled a bit more later in the week once we started moving away from the Clyde part of the DiMera tale and into the Stefan part. As much as I was enjoying the buildup to Stefan’s return, the actual scenes have been falling a bit flat for me. I’m having trouble putting my finger on it, but it just seems to be fizzling.

For one, Ava’s just now finding out about Stefan? It seems like that kind of news should have travelled faster, but maybe it just seems slowed down because the first three days of the week were utterly wrapped up in the Clyde fallout. On top of that, I was starting to feel like Ava was a human being… and now it looks like she’s just going to use Johnny’s affection for her and Gabi’s benefit. If that’s the way this is going, put her with EJ. Those two would deserve each other then.

“Happy Birthday! This year I thought my gift would be a game of peek-a-boo!”

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

On top of that, I’m just not buying the whole obsession with Chloe thing. It feels far too forced, even understanding that that’s exactly what it is — conditioning from Rolf. But I don’t buy that he’s even remotely a threat to Chloe’s relationship, so Brady walking in on their birthday celebration didn’t have much tension for me. That’s not saying the show won’t force Stefan into being a threat, but even if Chloe starts in on feelings again, it’s going to be about as believable to me as Kristen’s legal maneuvering.

And my favorite Chloe scene in a long time wasn’t her in that custody hearing, with Brady or even Stefan. It was her with Li. I loved the way she had his number from the start with his clear fishing to see if she would keep Stefan away from Gabi. Chloe plastered on that fake smile, played her game of cat and mouse and got back in touch with her condescending Ghoul Girl roots.

Hopefully she doesn’t get her — what’s the technical term — “brain fried” by Dr. Rolf. Kristen spiraling out with Rolf is always amusing. Absurd, but amusing. And her going from wanting Chloe brainwashed to pushing the doc to save the day with Orpheus’ victims was a nice switch. Are Kristen and Rolf about to be heroes? That kind of goodwill could be a huge boon, especially if Kristen keeps pushing for Rachel.

Law of Diminished Returns?

But rehashing the story where Dr. Rolf was first introduced is something of a double-edged sword. It’s a fun enough throwback to Roman’s poisoning, but the doctor walking out with the rare orchid at the end of Friday’s episode just calls attention to how much grander of a scale Days of Our Lives, and, indeed, all soaps used to have.

“Thanks for coming back, but I say we just sit back and let the heroic Dr. Rolf handle this one, son.”

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

The last time this poison was used, it took a jungle adventure to save the day. Now, we just need Rolf to whip out a flower in his depressing lab. And Orpheus was always more of a B-list villain, especially compared to Stefano. With Rex and Stephanie entering the fray on Friday, it almost feels like a passing the torch story, but mostly the whole episode just seems like an echo of more exciting times.

Stray Thoughts

• Seeing Gwen, Sarah and Xander all play nice was kind of interesting. I’m wondering if this is going somewhere or was just a brief respite in the Xander tug-o’-war.

“Oh my God, Sarah. Does this mean we’re besties now or do I just have a concussion?”

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

• “I represented myself at the custody hearing, and I was fantastic, Rolf.” Um, what universe were you in, Kristen?

• Johnny is many things, but subtle is not one of them with his, as Allie so amusingly put it, laying around for Chanel “in his teeny, tiny little baby underwear.”

• If that was really Abigail’s ghost, why couldn’t she have just appeared and told Chad who killed her from the start?

See if you agree with our favorite (and least favorite) Salem moments in our photo gallery covering daytime’s best and worst of 2022 so far.