I'd like to cover everything that happened on DAYS last week, but my time is pretty limited. I'm packing to move into the Kiriakis mansion. It's okay. Deimos invited me, too. I think I'll be staying somewhere in the southeast wing between Brady's fourth grade teacher and the guy that sold Deimos a soft pretzel outside the prison when he visited Xander. So, let's begin with a moment that should have inspired Eduardo to channel his inner Urkel and ask, "Did I do that?"
I mean, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie...Eddie. He had a plan to make the man threatening his family pay by killing him in the van during a prison transfer. You'd think a guy who went to Assassins Academy in his youth and spent his life taking people out would have come up with a better plan, but not so much, as it turns out. Like, Eddie could have actually waited until the door opened and taken a sniper shot. Or, since he proved he can gain access anywhere, he could've borrowed Kate's brownie recipe and force-fed his foe. Again, not so much. So, Eddie's big plan caused an accident and the escape of three vicious villains. Nailed it, Easy E. Nailed. It. But that's actually all okay in my book. Eddie's, um, "whoopsie" was kind of good for DAYS....
This prison break is exactly the dose of adrenaline the show needed. Last week was a superb mix of action, suspense, romance, tenderness, humor, and, most awesomely, character interactions. Just the drama from the breakout spawned amazing scenes between...
...Victor and Philip -- they finally made up! It was touching. Maggie misted up. Then again, I'm not sure if she was so happy over the fact they reconciled or that Phil got his hair cut. Some things are just meant to be enigmatic.
...Nicole and Eve -- who, one, yes, should totally be besties, and, two, bonded over grief and moving on. Loved them! And I'm just putting this out there, if Laurisa and I get an invite to that sure-to-be fun weekend in New York, neither of us will complain.
...Sonny and Philip -- they actually had a scene together! It was brief but nice. They worried about their loved ones. And, of course, Phil asked Sonny about Paul. I guess it was Phil's turn to make the weekly obligatory "What's up with you and Paul? *nudge nudge, wink wink*" comment anytime someone talks to Sonny.
...Chad and Kate -- love. Them. True, in the Jennifer school of thought, Chad abandoned Thomas by going to save Kate's life, but that's just because he's a selfish damn dirty DiMera, right, J.J.? Ugh. Anyway, Chad do what Chad do, and he saved Kate from Clyde. I'm a fan of it all.
...Abe and Nicole -- had a brief phone chat when she called him about the hostage situation at the Kiriakis mansion. It was small, but I love that Nicole reached out to him. In a way, they're sort of family, and I admire that Abe has always looked after her for Fay and Brandon's sake.
That's not even counting all the other great character interactions like Theresa and Eve, Marlena and John, Steve and Kayla, John and Steve, Marlena and Kayla, Paul and John, etc. If the characters mingling and remembering connections is a sign of the reboot, I'm in.
Plus, it's kind of nice to have bad guys back that are actually bad guys. I'm all for gray characters, but the destruction of staples such as "Drunk Eric Killing Dr. Dan," "Junkie Jen," and "Abandoner Steve" was abysmal. DAYS is generally at its best when Salemites are forced to struggle against adversaries. That's kind of why Stefano, Andre, Kristen, and Vivian (to name a few) were great for the show. It's the age-old tale of good versus evil. And Orpheus, Clyde, and Xander brought that back in spades with a series of creeptastic performances from George DelHoyo, James Read, and Paul Telfer. Major kudos to those three talented actors!
Ultimately, I'm just thrilled that DAYS is bringing back a better balance of drama, romance, comedy, and adventure. You know, instead of doom and gloom 24/7. Oh, and the week ended in a spiffy music montage. Yes, please! Will this all last? Maybe. Maybe not. But after the past two weeks, I'm actually eager to watch DAYS again instead of feeling obligated to. I say more of the good stuff, please!
LOOSE ENDS:
Wow. Kate admitted that Lucas (and, well, by default, all of Salem warned her about Clyde) was right! And another "Wow!" Kate brought up Curtis. Lauren Koslow and James Read were on fire during their scenes, for sure. It's just sad it took this long for Kate to get the memo. Alas, another wrong was righted, and I'm glad she's not sipping the Clyde Kool-Aid any longer. There's that.
I caught a rerun of Modern Family the other day in which Mitchell and Cameron were discussing Claire's annoying habit of telling the same stale tale about her son, Luke, over and over again. Cameron joked, "Claire's like a ranch home because she only has one story." Yeah, J.J. might want to look into that. His beef with Chad is a bit tired. I totally give him credit for defending his sister's honor, especially after that time E.J. tracked her down to the shower and invited himself in, but, oh, wait. Dial it down, J.J., even Abigail admitted her faults in that affair, and everyone (but J.J.) seems to have moved on.
When Brady said, "In a few hours I'm going to marry the love of my life," did anyone else think, "Wait! Which one?" While Brady is one of the biggest offenders of using that line, he's not the only culprit. In general, soap writers need to nix using that in every other sentence to express the grandeur of a character's current lover. It loses its luster when characters use it to describe everyone they've ever dated.
Finally, it's freshman year for Ciara, Joey, Claire, and Theo. That's special. I merely hope that the writers have more of a storyline planned out for them. Like, an actual storyline. While I continue to enjoy the chemistry between the actors, as they have a natural ease joking with one another, if I wanted to watch a bunch of spoiled brats sit around sipping coffee and complaining about mundane things, I'd watch reruns of Friends.
NOT
Drats! I'm still underwhelmed that Kate was the Tatenapping culprit. It really should have been Kristen or Vivian. That would have made oodles of more sense. Or as far as Kate kidnapping Tate goes, merely "sense."
LINE OF THE WEEK:
Kate: "What can I say? Babies and puppies love me."
EXCHANGE OF THE WEEK:
Clyde: "I mean, you are a psychopathic murderer."
Xander [amused]: "Alleged. [pause] Attempted."
RANDOM THOUGHTS
A "HOT" contender (and there were a lot of them last week) was Roman and Abe's screen time! It's about time these two were front and center-ish. More, please!
Another "HOT" contender was Gabi and Chase dropping truth bombs. Gabi on J.J., and Chase on Aiden. Though something tells me that neither J.J. nor Aiden picked up what their loved ones were putting down.
I'm worried about Claire. She was left alone at the club. If years of watching horror movies has taught me anything, it's don't be alone, don't be a beautiful blonde woman, and don't mock the situation.
Oddly, being held at gunpoint isn't the worst thing to happen to John in the Kiriakis living room.
In related news, John is "getting there" with Theresa. I think that's more than fair.
Oh, boy -- or girl! We might be able to meet Carrie and Austin's child someday soon!
Xander telling Nicole that the fries on Theresa's plate looked good was totally chilling. One, yes. Yes, they did. Two, chilling. Downright chilling.
Christopher Sean's charm is captivating. He makes it easy to see that Paul not only thinks John hung the moon but the stars, too. Their relationship is adorable.
Speaking of Paul's parentage, isn't it time to catch up with Tori? She needs to pay Salem a visit.
I hope that Martha Madison felt like a boss when Belle said, "The jet is fueled and waiting for me."
You know, DAYS actually got one right with the reason Kim, Shane, and Andrew couldn't come to Theresa's wedding. Eve explained it was just too short notice. That's so much better than they all had the stomach flu.
Caroline is probably thrilled with Ciara's hacking skills. Then again, maybe when Caroline would say, "Come in the kitchen for cookies," that was actually code for her teachings in the dark web.
Though it led to great drama with Xander and Brady's dashing hero moment, I still can't believe Theresa would sip dark soda in her wedding gown. The gal's been worried about the wedding ever since Brady proposed. Heck, there was even an episode devoted to her concerns.
Xander called Brady a "poor nice, but dim, sap." Yep. They've met.
Maggie and Paul's heroic actions at the would-be wedding were exactly why I love Maggie and Paul.
Wait! It's been five minutes. Has anyone asked Sonny and/or Paul where they stand?
While I've been enjoying Chad and Gabi's interactions and the remembrance of their longstanding (albeit rocky at times) friendship, Chad is one of the least likely Salemites to need a style makeover. Maybe Gabi should run into Nicole's pink wedding dress.
In their matching prison denim gear, Orpheus, Clyde, and Xander were kind of like a spread for a "Who wore it better?"
John's "Yeah, mannn..." while talking to Steve cracked me up.
I don't know why I found it funny, but the thought of Joey staying at Roman's made me chuckle. Trust me, I love it! It makes sense. I just imagined their conversations being a little, well, Joey-ish, and Roman responding, "Wad' 'da hell?" and, "Son, are you all right?" repeatedly.
I was pretty impressed when I heard the name Jordan! I'm glad Rafe reached out to her. Oh, and I wonder how Arthur is doing!?
Yep, I would have totally guessed Patch is the kinda guy who would say, "jammies."
I guess strangling is Xander's thing. He and Jake Kositchek would have gotten along well.
Hmm, I wonder what John has planned for his and Marlena's wedding? Given Salem ceremonies seldom don't have some sort of shocking twist, he may want to go easy on the surprises.
John, Marlena, and Belle's goodbyes made me want to get in on that group hug. The love was totally felt.
I also loved Claire's story of Shawn and Belle in Munich. That was totally sweet. She really is their biggest cheerleader and not in an annoying cliché "I want my parents back together or else I'm holding my breath" kind of way. Claire actually gets how much they love each other and how stubborn they can be. Sans some questionable selfie poses, she's made of win. #TeamClaireBare
The other teens need to be nice and encourage Joey. If he needs to highlight to remember that Dick and Jane ran, then so be it.
Clyde, Orpheus, and Xander realized that "Together we can make life a living hell for the good people of Salem." I'm pretty sure that's the same thing the last head writers said, too.
Yes! I loved that Kate and Chad brought up Madeline. I always had a soft spot for her.
Speaking of shout-outs, Steve brought up Stephanie. I think it's time for her to pay a visit, too. Unless she's laid up in bed due to a freak sunroof incident and can't travel. Nah. That would never happen.
PARTING THOUGHTS
So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of September 19. I'm off to pack for my move into the Kiriakis mansion, but Laurisa will be back next week to help the Salem P.D. track down Orpheus, Clyde, and Xander! And, "That's a fact!"
As always, thanks for reading!
Tony
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