Imagine Eve’s plot to turn Ben back into a killer works the way that so few plots ever do — perfectly. Imagine she then points him in the direction of Ciara in order to exact her ultimate revenge and see him strangle the woman he loves. Imagine that goes flawlessly, too. Except for one little thing: When Ciara drops to the ground, Eve and Ben see that… oops… it wasn’t her that he left, ahem, breathless, it was Gabi (the soon-to-depart Camila Banus). From behind, the brunettes do look a lot alike. D’oh!
Jake
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Were Ben’s boss to attempt to intervene in hopes of keeping his buddy from making a return trip to prison — or worse, Death Row — the reactivated Necktie Killer might respond… let’s say… poorly. So poorly, in fact, that he might eschew neckwear for once and bludgeon Stefan’s twin brother with a handy crowbar. (Shades of All My Children’s Janet From Another Planet!) Were the show to go this route with the plot, it, too, would facilitate Banus’ exit; who would blame Gabi for wanting to get outta town after losing not only her husband but his (literally) equally handsome sibling?
Will
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We’re appalled even as we type this idea, it’s so sick. Yet you can’t say that it wouldn’t be dramatic — and have far-reaching consequences — if Ben killed Will for a second time. After the latter got over the whole trauma of “Wait, you murdered me?!? Dude!” and the guys became prison bunk buddies, Will was a true friend to Ben. So sure, he would be wrecked if he so much as hurt Will. But so would all of Salem; that was never part of Eve’s cockamamie plan.
Marlena
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Remember how freaked out the entire audience of Days of our Lives was in 1982 when the show made it appear that she’d fallen victim to the Salem Strangler? (It was actually twin sister Samantha who’d been offed, you’ll recall.) The soap could make history repeat, in a twisted way, if it had Ben choke the life out of the shrink who’s been among his staunchest supporters — only for his actual victim to turn out to be her lookalike, Hattie.
Eve
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Paige’s grieving mother would be the first to say that she’s dying to see her plan through. So what if Ben took her at her word — the word “dying,” specifically. Pushed off his rocker by his tormentor, the erstwhile Necktie Killer could turn on her, demonstrating the lethal technique that he intended to use on Ciara. Demented, yes. But also oddly fitting. In the end, of course, Ben would have to ensure that the words carved on Eve’s gravestone were “Be careful what you wish for.”
