Abigail read a mysterious letter that Jack wrote Kate, Steve and Kayla were at odds over Tripp, John and Marlena celebrated yet another anniversary, and J.J. and Theo back came home to Salem.
Our T.V. Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Tony from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate what’s in the letter, Abigail’s drinking, Kayla’s perspective, the anniversary flashbacks, and more!
What’s your guess as to the contents of Jack’s letter to Kate?
Jack: Knowing Days of Our Lives, it’s likely that he and Kate were having a one-night stand that he regretted afterward. That’s typical of this show and also gives J.J. the opportunity to think he and Jack are two peas in a pod because of the whole stupid Eve affair.
I don’t like it, though, and hope I’m wrong. I just don’t see Jack having sex with someone else while Jennifer is in a coma. But when has something being out of character ever stopped these writers?
Tony: I’m guessing they had some sort of affair, but I have no idea what Gwen would have to do with it.
Christine: Jack probably had a one-night-stand with Kate. Jennifer was in a coma for a year! Jack was devastated, depressed, and probably darn lonely. I’m not justifying it if that’s what happened, but I can understand it, given the circumstances.
But why Abigail would choose to call out her father publicly and thus hurt her mother as well is a mystery to me. Gwen may have set this up, but she didn’t force Abigail to announce it all to the party.
Abigail was drinking alcohol even though she knew it could interact with her medication. Was that Gwen’s fault for pushing her to drink or Abigail’s fault for not saying no?
Jack: Abigail. It’s the same way that Brady or Lucas was responsible for ordering drinks at the Pub, not Roman, because his Pub offers alcohol. A
bigail knows she is not supposed to drink while on medication. No matter what Gwen said, she should have said no. You don’t make an exception to a possibly fatal interaction because you’re upset.
Pushing someone to do so is a crappy thing to do, but it still is that person’s responsibility not to give in, and Abigail failed majorly.
Tony: They’re both at fault. Gwen shouldn’t have been pushing, but Abby’s “no” was very half-hearted.
Christine: Abby is responsible for her own mental and physical health; she swore to that when she left her treatment center in Florida and returned to Salem.
She chose to drink when she knew it could hurt her. It’s easy to blame Gwen for offering it to her, but this isn’t Gwen’s fault. Gwen didn’t trick her into drinking it, she offered it to her twice, and Abby downed the entire glass and then kept going.
Did you enjoy John and Marlena’s wedding flashbacks? Did you have a favorite, or are you tired of their many, many anniversaries?
Jack: Ordinarily, I would have been annoyed with this because they do it every year, and there’s not that much difference in their memories each time. But this was a welcome distraction from the Gwen nonsense that was consuming Friday’s show.
I didn’t particularly have a favorite because it seems silly that they were redoing their proposals and weddings so often. And I really hate that veil Marlena wore at her first wedding!
Tony: I loved the flashbacks! I wish we could have more of those instead of the flashbacks to things that literally happened two seconds ago.
Christine: I enjoyed it more than I ever expected to. I was watching when John and Marlena first got together, and although I think their constant stream of marriages is ridiculous, I liked the flashbacks.
And although Jack is right that Marlena’s headless during their first wedding was hideous, it was considered fashionable back then.
I also really loved that they replayed their poem, True Season of Love. I remember them saying it the first time, and I’ve never forgotten it.
Do you think Kayla would feel differently about the test results if Joey was accused of Tripp? Would she be looking for alternative theories the way Steve is for Tripp?
Jack: I would hope not! I think Kayla is responding as a fellow survivor.
But the problem is that everyone is conflating believing Allie about having been raped with believing her that she specifically remembers Tripp being the rapist, even though there is ample reason to be doubtful about that.
Less so with the DNA test, but when has a Salem DNA test ever been right the first time?
Tony: It’s hard to say. On the one hand, I think she probably would, but I’m not sure.
Christine: When Kayla said something about test results don’t lie, I wanted to laugh. This is Salem! These results almost always lie.
If it were Joey instead of Tripp, I believe that Kayla would be looking at alternative explanations just the way Steve is now. I don’t blame her for believing Allie, but I do wish someone in Salem would have spent a little more time talking to Allie about those memories.
Allie spent almost a year remembering nothing and then suddenly recalled being raped and that it was Tripp. It could be the truth, but I’d feel better if a therapist who specialized in repressed memories helped her work through it all first.
Do you sympathize with Ben as he threatens to kill Vincent to get more information about Ciara’s “death”?
Jack: No. I just want this stupid story over with. I don’t enjoy all this mindless violence, and this cycle of revenge killings needs to stop.
Tony: I’m sorry that he’s going through so much pain, but threatening Vincent isn’t the right way to go about things, especially since Ciara likely isn’t really dead.
Christine: Ugh. Ben killed Wendy, so Vincent killed Ciara, so Ben is going to kill Vincent. Make it stop! Seeing Ben realistically mourning for Ciara would be better than this.
What annoyed you the most this week on Days of Our Lives?
Jack: The Gwen story continues to be aggravating. Gwen is uninteresting, and Abigail is so naive that it’s ridiculous that the writers promote her as a super-talented investigative reporter while she is unable to see through the world’s most obvious manipulation.
Tony: Brady’s continued insistence that Kristen doesn’t deserve to be in prison for what she did. Also, Lani and Eli, in general, annoy me.
Christine: Why is it that everyone seems agreed that it should be up to Allie to tell Sami she was raped, but they were willing to tell anyone else who would listen that news?
And why would Gwen and Abigail assume Abby wore the same shoe size. I’m also guessing Kate’s shoes are pretty darn expensive, and she might not like someone borrowing them without asking.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week in Salem?
Jack: I am thrilled that J.J. is back!!!! I just wish he had a better story than being interested in loser Gwen.
Runner up: I’m glad Theo is back too, and I love some of his autism-related comments, like saying that Jake looks just like “the other one.”
Tony: The returns of J.J. and Theo! It’s great to see J.J. again, and I like the new actor playing Theo so far.
Christine: It’s unanimous! J.J. and Theo’s returns were the highlight of the week, but this Days of Our LIves quote from Chad to Kate made me laugh…
I’m not asking you to dance with them. I’m just asking for you to sit in the corner drinking martinis and making some snide remarks.
Chad [to Kate]
Want to chat more about the happenings in Salem? Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at T.V. Fanatic.
And don’t forget to hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below to tell us your answers to our round table.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.