Ciara and Ben connected via a dream, Xander walked out on Titan, Gwen “accidentally” killed Laura, and Lani and Eli brought home their twins!
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Tony from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Xander’s resignation, Ciara’s fantasy, Laura’s untimely death, Abigail’s decision, and more!
Was Xander right to quit Titan after Victor allowed Philip to stay on as CEO?
Tony: After the clear favoritism Victor showed in spite of everything Philip’s done, yes.
Jack: Yes and no. He was in the sense that Victor’s decision made no business sense and made it clear that Victor’s loyalty is to Philip and not to any sense of morality or even what is best for his business.
But now Xander has no job. He should have stayed on until he secured a position elsewhere (not that people in Salem ever worry about such things.) And quitting out of anger is rarely a good idea.
Christine: I don’t blame Xander for quitting. Victor made it clear that no matter what Xander did for him or the company, Philip would always come first.
I understand Victor not wanting to toss his son out; Victor realizes he may only have so much time left with Philip, and he’s finally putting his relationship with his son first, but it is at Xander’s expense.
I’m guessing that Xander may team up with Gabi to relaunch Gabi Chic or a new business, making for a fun and interesting storyline.
Rate Ciara and Ben’s Romeo and Juliet fantasy from 1 (unwatchable), 5 (cheesy), to 10 (epic romance), or anything in between.
Tony: 5. It was okay. I’m usually a fan of fantasies like this, particularly ones based on classic literature, but this didn’t do much for me.
Jack: How about -1000? If I wanted to watch Romeo and Juliet, I would have looked it up on Netflix. We didn’t need a rendition of all of the most important scenes from it.
The acting was not on point for a Shakespearean play, either. And worst of all, these scenes did nothing to advance any story whatsoever. We all know the play and how it ends.
This time could have been used to move forward on one of a number of other stories. The only reason I didn’t fast forward these awful scenes was because I need to watch everything to review the show. But in retrospect, I wouldn’t have missed anything if I had skipped them and my mind wandered during them anyway.
Christine: I’m not a fan of fantasy sequences as a whole because I find them a waste of time. Overall, I found this a bit cheesy, so I’ll go with a 5, but it did have a couple of upsides.
First, it pushed Ben to search for Ciara instead of just talk about searching for Ciara; even if that search leads to Susan Banks, it’s better than having him sit around his room and pine.
Second, my daughter had many questions about Romeo and Juliet, which turned into a fun conversation. I wonder if she’ll be thinking of Ben and Ciara when she has to read the play in the next few years in school.
Do you believe that Laura’s death was an accident, and did Jack help Gwen as he said he would when he turned her over to Rafe?
Tony: The jury’s still out for me on whether it was an accident or not. I think Jack, in the long run, has helped Gwen.
Jack: I believe it was an accident, but I also believe that it was unnecessary. Boo to the writers for killing off yet another legacy character for no good reason.
I think Jack did help Gwen by using a cop he trusted instead of a random cop. There’s really no getting out of this, and Gwen’s idea of covering it up was ridiculous.
As it is, Jennifer and Abby will probably have a problem with Jack doing as much as he did and not telling them right away that Gwen killed Laura.
Christine: I hope it was an accident, but I am upset the show killed Laura off. I don’t actually like Laura, but she is a legacy character, and she could have easily been put in a coma for a few weeks for the same effect.
I really thought Jack would lie and say he was there and could verify it was an accident, but that never happened.
I don’t know that Jack really helped Gwen. Salem only has four cops, so Rafe would have been called in no matter what. Jack didn’t go to the station with her, he didn’t get her an attorney, he did next to nothing!
I know Jack needed to be there for Jennifer, but he really hung Gwen out to dry on this one.
Were the London Police right or wrong in deciding not to press charges against Charlie for raping Allie?
Tony: In my opinion, wrong. While I understand that it’s very hard to prove it so long after the fact, it still should have been looked into.
Jack: I’m disturbed that Ava’s testimony about Charlie confessing it to her doesn’t mean anything to them. It’s more than a he said/she said. It’s a he said and two shes said, one of which hates the other one and has no reason to lie.
Plus, even though the DNA evidence only proves there was sex, saying it’s not evidence does suggest that Allie is lying about it being rape.
On the other hand, Allie having accused another man for months, attacking him physically, and not come forward for nearly a year makes this case harder to prosecute, especially given that the DNA matches two different people.
If this were Law & Order: SVU, I have no doubt the prosecutor would be telling the detectives to get him something he can use if they want to move forward.
Christine: Ugh. I hate it, but I understand why the London Police aren’t pursuing the case.
Allie didn’t come forward for almost a year, and then she accused the wrong man. Both parties are currently in another country.
Even Ava’s testimony can be seen as hearsay. Ava could testify, and a jury could decide if she’s telling the truth, but there’s so much stacked against Allie in this case that London choosing not to press charges doesn’t surprise me at all.
Sarah’s hair has gone from long, curly locks, to a short bob cut, to a super short pixie cut. Have you loved or hated the changes, and which was your favorite.
Tony: Honestly, I never really focused on her hair that much, either way. It’s fine. I’ve just never really had much of an opinion on it. If I had to pick a favorite, I guess I’d pick the longer, curly hair.
Jack: I wasn’t really paying attention to Sarah’s hair over the months. I was paying attention to how annoying the character was.
But for the record, I think she looked best with the bob cut.
Christine: As someone with long curly hair, I can say that Sarah’s long hair was getting out of control.
I really liked that shorter bob cut she had, it framed her face, and I thought it was very pretty on her.
But this super short pixie cut seems just too short, so I’m really hoping she grows it out a bit.
Did Abigail make the right decision by moving back into the Dimera mansion with the kids? Why or why not?
Tony: For the sake of the kids, sure. I still think she’s letting Chad off too lightly, though.
Jack: This is another thing that I have mixed feelings about. I’m glad for the kids’ sake and our sake as viewers — all those conversations going around in circles about it was tedious, to say the least. But I feel it was too quick and easy.
It’s great that Chad is willing to try counseling, but I think that Abby coming back should have happened AFTER they were in counseling, and she saw actual changes, not before.
Christine: I think she made the right decision. If she and Chad are willing to go to counseling and really work on their issues, then I agree with moving back.
There’s plenty of room at the mansion for separate bedrooms, and Abigail has made no promises. Plus, it gives the kids a stable home with both of their parents, which will be better for them.
What was your favorite and least favorite scene or storyline from Days of Our Lives this week?
Tony: Any scenes with Vivian and Ivan! I’m so glad they’re back! And I’m enjoying Linda Dano’s take on this character!
Jack: My favorite was Steve and Kayla’s wedding. Yes, the idea of a surprise wedding is silly, and these two have been down the aisle too many times to count. But it was a nice romantic break from all the craziness going on elsewhere.
And I laughed when Kayla said this was the last time she was doing this. I only wish that budget and COVID restrictions didn’t preclude more family being there.
As for my least favorite, does that Romeo and Juliet stupidity even count as a story? It was also ridiculous that Ben, who supposedly has never been exposed to a single line of Romeo and Juliet, was able to quote the lines he “dreamed” about perfectly.
(And the point of the play is not that Romeo wouldn’t have committed suicide if Juliet had woken up earlier…)
Runner up is killing off Laura. I am so angry about that! They hyped up her “short visit” only to have it end with her death, and now yet another legacy character has bit the dust for no reason. The disrespect the writers show to legacy characters is disgusting.
Christine: There was actually a lot to like this week. I love that Lani and Eli finally got to bring their twins home, as well as Lani feeling a little overwhelmed. Newborns, especially twins, can be overwhelming!
I hope they keep showing us these challenges because they can be very sweet and entertaining.
Ben saying that if Romeo had only held on for 10 more minutes, everything would have been fine made me laugh.
I also had to laugh when Ava said to Charlie, “You know how hard it is to be an embarrassment to my family?” Lol! And I thought Kate getting Vivian to break by outing her relationship with break was funny.
My least favorite was that they killed off Laura because it was simply unnecessary.
Tell us, TV Fanatics, what did we get right and what did we get wrong?
Hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below and let us know.
Want to chat more about the happenings in Salem? Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.