The Touching Days of Our Lives Story We Almost Got — Plus, the Real Mystery Behind the Show’s Newest Villain

Friday, April 28th, 2023

Days mashup, Bo and Hope kissing, Colin looking at Sloan and Kate in her fisherman outfit looking off into space

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI (4)

This week was full of revelations from what happened to Kate to why Talia poisoned the biscuits and who she’s working with. We even got the reveal that Shawn might not be as bright as we thought! For better or worse, though, it looks like he’s the one who’s putting the big reunion to bed. If only we’d gotten the story as it was originally intended…

A Light In the Dark?

Talk about a mixed bag with “Bope.” The only reunions we got were in Hope’s mind (Did we really need a dream sequence and a hospital wake up fake out? No, we did not.) but once the family all got together on Friday, we got a lot of touching, emotional beats. Everything from seeing Stephanie and Ciara meet up to Hope and Bo in the hospital with (most of) their kids was a nice grounding in family after the insanity of the past month or so.

Days' Ciara and Shawn teary-eyed around an unconscious Bo in the hospital

But as for Shawn shooting his dad, they’re all being way too forgiving. That was just trigger-happy stupidity. Are we supposed to believe that Shawn didn’t even think to try reaching his dad? He just rushed up and shot him — after Bo pulled his gun back from pointing at Hope.

Maybe Shawn got wind of how much his parents hate him. The exciting news is we learned Chelsea’s pregnant, so Bo gets more grandkids after Ciara gave him his first! Ever. Screw Claire. And now that we’re on the topic, that’s how I knew this story had gone off the rails. More folks were complaining about Hope talking to Bo as if baby Bo was his first grandchild than about him getting shot.

I am wondering, though, just how much changing the end changed the whole story’s trajectory. (Since we now have confirmation that this was supposed to get a happy ending.) Megan was caught some time ago and it sounds like in the pitch that got vetoed, she was supposed to escape. And it took a lot of maneuvering to get Bo to the point of the coma, instead of the altar. Maybe in the original take, we would have gotten a much shorter Bo Kiriakis arc — if we got any. Still, it’s all just conjecture about the Days of Our Lives we could have gotten.

Sigh.

In other news, Kate’s alive! But we already knew that. As for who’s holding her, I’ve got some theories.

The Perfect Pairing?

I love Chloe and Xander together. This is seriously, I think, my new favorite pairing. I’ve already forgotten about Sarah, Gwen, Stefan and Brady. They can stay in the past. These two are fun, easy and more interesting with each other. But I don’t quite buy them moving in together, especially with Chloe knowing she’d be living with a slob. Living with someone is not as blasé a decision as Days of Our Lives makes it seem. But maybe we’ll get a new set out of this!

Chloe holds a Sweet Bits pastry while sitting on the bench outside the Pub. She peers up at Xander with an animated expression.

“Oh my God, Xander, you really do just dump your trash wherever you feel like!”

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

I completely forgot, though, that Alex and Gwen were hooking up until he mentioned there was someone to Chanel. It’s been so long since they played that story beat, it went right out of my head. At least Alex is finally getting professional help. I’ll be able to buy the triangle that’s coming with Stephanie and Chad more now.

Speaking of terrible men, Brady and Eric talking about how horrible they are in relationships was welcome! That doesn’t mean I want them back with Chloe or Nicole, respectively, but hey, at least Brady is self-aware enough to realize that he might be the problem here. I mean, yeah, Rachel’s been a nightmare to Chloe, but Brady isn’t going to win an award for parent of the year with his half-hearted “Oh no, Rachel, you’re naughty” scoldings.

And now we know Nicole’s going to be pregnant! Miracle baby aside, is it Eric’s or EJ’s? Whoever’s the father, until that’s resolved, I have a feeling EJ will be distracted enough for Stefan and his “consultant” Gabi to pry DiMera out from under him — especially if Vivian’s going to be returning. She’d be the perfect person to help her son take control.

Bad Vibes

So far, Colin’s not impressing me. For one thing, Talia’s doing all his dirty work for him. For another, he’s kind of an idiot. From this horrible plan (“Yeah, I know Sloan’s going to get in trouble for all this, but she’ll be fine”) to his “Babe, we’re so in sync” as Talia told the world’s worst lies. No wonder his sister’s the lawyer and he’s the… I don’t know. Bad con-artist? Plus, his “Sorry, I was triggered” excuse after yelling at Talia for demonstrating critical thinking and empathy towards Paulina and Chanel, made me outright hate him.

In the motel, Talia gazes into the bearded Colin's eyes. His left hand rests on the side of her neck, while his right hand brushes her chin.

Is it just me or does this gesture scream manipulative creep?

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

Sloan was pretty abrasive when she first showed up, but then she won me over. I’m not as hopeful that Colin can have staying power. The one thing I really like about this Colin/Talia thing is it’s making Sloan look better by comparison. She’s cutthroat, vicious and tough, but she still has her own moral compass and she’s not a villain who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Then again, almost as soon as I thought that, she went and gave Leo the dirt on Rafe and Jada…

I know the big thing folks are wondering about Colin is… his accent. Why does he have one and Sloan doesn’t? Eh, that doesn’t bother me. Accents are funny things, depending on your age and where you grew up. If Sloan already had her American accent when her family moved to London, she’d probably keep it. If Colin was younger, he could have picked up an English accent. I’m wondering more why he’s doing this. I could’ve sworn Sloan indicated he handled everything better than her. Was he faking it for her sake or did something set him off? (Or am I just misremembering her mention of him?)

Stray Thoughts…

• How does Andrew, an ISA agent whose aunt and uncle were both chipped by Stefano, not know anything about Princess Gina or Stevano?

In the hospital waiting room in Greece, Andrew looks at a laptop. Kayla, Steve and Roman look over his shoulder.

“Oh wow, I found a ton of missing emails from the last 20 years telling me what’s going on with the family! Boy I’ve got some catching up to do.”

Credit: Peacock screenshot

• That is one magical chip. Rolf really outdid himself with a non-video chip recording video through Bo’s eye while controlling him. Amazing insane stuff, truly.

• OK, great, a Bo/Hope flashback sequence. Touching, beautiful, wonderful — But did we need the full thing two days in a row? We get it, things used to be so much better before.

• Abe’s anger over Rafe and Jada not arresting Sloan yet felt very unAbe-like.

• Drugged or not, should the DA really be going around telling people she assaulted Stefan? It seemed especially dumb for Trask to tell Sloan, someone with a law degree of her own who’s proven very capable of wielding it.

• “As a doctor, she would have access to the drugs they put in that dough.” Um, what, Jada? Talia is a doctor who doesn’t have a job or a connection to any medical facility… and that means she’d have access to a hallucinogen? How does that work?

Think Talia and Colin’s relationship is unhealthy? Take a look at our photo gallery of daytime’s most toxic couples of all time.