Did Days of Our Lives Just Lay the Groundwork For Their Next Great Duos, Leading Lady and Villain?
April 3 - 7
Credit: Peacock screenshot
Soap operas have a habit of telegraphing storyline beats days, weeks, and months out. So, it’s nice when viewers are treated to a surprise pairing or twist of character. Days did its fair share of that this week, which kept things entertaining, but it wasn’t all great. Find out what we’re yaying, naying, and questioning below!
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Yay
As out of the blue as it feels, Melinda Trask helping Stefan pull one over on EJ and Nicole has been a highlight for me. It’s so nice to see her do more than threaten and scowl at the citizens of Salem. I’m not feeling major chemistry between her and Stefan, but I’m all in on Trask getting to cut loose, which will hopefully lead to a front-burner romance I can get behind.
Xander and Chloe aren’t exactly sizzling in the chemistry department either, but there is potential for something to develop. Or to just become unlikely friends. Either way, I’m into it because it’s a completely different dynamic for both of them. Xander’s not trying to be better for Sarah or reassure an insecure Gwen, and Chloe’s not inexplicably falling for an old flame, or crying over Brady. Well, she is doing that last bit, but at least she’s crying to Xander about him.
Despite Li trying to kill Johnny’s uncle, I fully support a friendship between these two. It was nice to watch them casually hang out at The Bistro. But also, neither of them has anyone else. Just because Wendy said Johnny was meeting friends in the Square doesn’t make it true.
Speaking of easy rapports, I’d love to see Tripp and Paulina develop a bond, much like Ben and Marlena, and Nicole and Abe before them.
Nay
Another week, another opportunity to call Leo out for his constant leering and general disgusting behavior. Leo taking photos of a half-naked, protesting Alex is sexual harassment, not sexy entertainment.
Yes, Stefan and Gabi picked the second busiest room in the mansion for their secret rendezvous, but that doesn’t mean EJ gets to take a page from Leo’s pervy book and photograph them having sex — and then send it to Li! It may be a common TV trope, but some things must evolve. It feels ickier than usual with so many real-world stories about violations such as these. Especially when Days doesn’t give these stories the proper respect they deserve. Just ask Shawn Brady.
They treat sexual assault like they do returns from the dead — like it never happened. Everyone’s calling Marlena’s return a miracle, but they’re going about their business like nothing’s changed. Just like they did when she actually “died.” Like so many other stories, it’s hard to feel genuine emotion when they’re told sporadically or with no real stakes.
This one is more of a pet peeve, but I need Roman, Eric, and the owners of Small Bar to go over the fine art of pre-bussing with their employees. As someone who worked in the service industry for most of their adult life, it drives me nuts to see empty glasses collecting on a bar or table — even if it’s done to hammer home the fact that characters are, in fact, hammered.
Somewhere in Between
I don’t have kids, so maybe I should stay out of this, but Brady really needs to work on his parenting skills. That said, I do get a kick out of adults having children for nemeses — on TV only, of course. Chloe shouting that she hates Rachel was overdue and unexpectedly funny, especially since Rachel’s smirk conveyed it was what she was after all along. Kristen might want to watch her back. Her daughter just might usurp her as the reigning villainess of Salem.
As Curtis said in last week’s Soapbox, Bo embracing his Kiriakis-ness has the potential to be a great story, but we know he and Hope are only sticking around for the short term. So for those who are enjoying it, we need to embrace this change in Bo while we can before he presumably blinks and remembers he loves his Fancy Face, and they sail off into the sunset together.
I cheered when Nicole told EJ being his co-conspirator wasn’t enough for her anymore. She has very little stake in what happens with DiMera Enterprises, so watching her be EJ’s sidekick is losing its luster. She needs to drive her own story. And no, occasionally catfighting with Sloan doesn’t count.
Watching Shawn go up against Megan was fantastic, but it only served as a reminder that as Bo and Hope’s son, he should be doing so much more on the canvas.
Huh?
What happened to Maggie’s offer for Xander to work at Titan? Wasn’t he leaving the paper because of Gwen? Side note, I’m unexpectedly enjoying Maggie as the boss, especially when she knocks Alex down several pegs.
Did Paulina trash her own office and send herself that threatening letter? A popular theory is that Sloan’s off-screen brother is the culprit, but I haven’t ruled out that Paulina’s panic attacks are causing her to blackout, during which she’s trying to set up Sloan.
Why is Andrew, and Hope for that matter, so eager for her to be with Harris? Also, will we get more Paul, Ben, and Ciara? Or was that it?
Why was Xander the only one to apologize? Wasn’t Chanel the one who got him black-out drunk so she could marry him for his money, which led him to suggest they extort her mother? That aside, I enjoy their few-and-far-between scenes and wish their platonic relationship had been explored more.
That’s all I got this time around! What are your yays, nays, and everything in between for the week in Salem? Tell us below!
