John rescued Marlena once again, the baby switch came to light, and Justin worried over Steve’s return to Salem.
Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Kathy and Soaps4ever from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate who’s annoying us, the couple in Salem who has lost their chemistry, if Justin should fight for Kayla, the most anticipated baby switch reaction, and more!
John rescued Marlena…again! Do you enjoy the damsel in distress storyline or has it become a tired, overused trope for this duo?
Kathy: The damsel in distress storyline reached its sell-by date over 30 years ago. Time to move on with more mature stories, especially for a mature couple.
Jack: This is my pet peeve with this couple. Sometimes I enjoy John and Marlena, but it’s the same thing over and over. Marlena is always in danger and John is always coming to the rescue.
I think this was the second time Stevano attempted to kidnap Marlena in as many months, which made this one extra redundant.
Soaps4ever: I didn’t like John rescuing Marlena yet again. I wish the writers could be more creative with stories for this couple. It gets quite repetitive when they repeat the same type of scenario with them over and over.
Christine: There has to be something more interesting for this couple to be doing other than constantly having to have John save Marlena from the villain of the month and then having them get remarried.
I used to really enjoy these characters but now I’m bored to tears and it’s entirely due to the writing of this lame trope over and over again.
With the truth about the baby switch coming to light, which character’s reaction are you most anxious to see?
Kathy: There are so many characters involved in the baby switch. I am most interested in seeing Sarah, Kristen and Maggie’s reactions.
Jack: I’m curious about how Justin will react since he’s officiating and noticed the birthmark. He’s not really relevant to the story, but there has to be a reason he was the one who walked in on Xander confessing to the baby.
I also want to see Kristen’s reaction. She’s already gone nuts and won’t give that other baby back when she’s supposed to — how will she deal or not deal with learning her baby is still alive?
Soaps4ever: I think Kristen’s reaction will be the most interesting. She could react in many different ways since she is often so unpredictable. She could be furious or even revengeful that her daughter was kept away from her for almost a year.
But I tend to think she will be so happy her baby is alive that it would erase any anger that she would have.
Christine: Brady. Not only was his daughter stolen from him but his grandfather was the mastermind behind the scheme. Victor let Brady believe his child was dead in order to protect Maggie, whom Brady also loves. I can’t even imagine how hurt Brady will be by that.
So far, what has annoyed you the most about the baby switch storyline?
Kathy: I am annoyed at how long it has taken for the secret to come out. I feel bad for little Mickey being handed over to Kristen, an unstable woman.
Jack: That after Nicole uncovered the truth, we had at least three days worth of her telling Eric to keep his mouth shut. It was redundant and annoying, not to mention selfish.
I think Nicole should be more empathetic no matter how much she hates Kristen because she lost two babies and believe me, if either of them was really still alive she would raise hell if someone kept that to themselves.
Soaps4ever: Since I am a Xarah fan, I hate that they have taken one of the best couples on the show and thrown them into a storyline that will wreck their relationship.
Also, I hate that Eric told Sarah about the baby switch on her wedding day, which made it all that much worse.
Christine: That everyone is blaming Xander instead of Victor. Not that Xander doesn’t deserve his share of the blame, but Victor was the mastermind behind it all.
Then there’s Dr. Raynor seems to have gotten a pass and gets to play the victim. She took cash to switch those babies and Victor and Xander couldn’t have done it without her.
Also, Nicole pushing for Eric to simply keep the baby and lie to Brady and Kristen because she considers Kristen a bad mother and Eric a good person. Most of Salem considers Nicole an awful person but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have the right to her child.
Is there a couple in Salem who once had chemistry but seems to have lost it, in your opinion?
Kathy: Chad and Abby seem to have lost their chemistry. They were never my favorite couple but they recently have lost their spark.
Jack: I don’t know if it’s lost chemistry or just bad writing, but Ben and Ciara’s endless sexathon is boring me to tears. They really need something else to do and a life outside of one another, especially Ciara.
Ciara seems to have nothing going for her other than sex with Ben. For example, why did she accompany him to the police station, other than not being able to be apart from him for a second of the day?
This extreme dependence is a poor message to send young women viewers as well as being boring.
Soaps4ever: Ben and Ciara are a couple that I am not as interested in as I used to be. But it’s not for lack of chemistry as much as they have become boring as a couple.
Ciara has no ambition and threw away a perfectly good job and Ben has no job either. And they just lay around in the bed and act like life will just magically hand them what they need as long as they have each other.
It’s not good the way Ciara has become stuck to Ben’s side, isn’t she interested in anything besides him?
Christine: Chad and Abigail. They used to have some great chemistry but since their return I’ve been bored to tears by these two. I’m not sure it’s their lame storyline or the thrill is just gone but their scenes together put me to sleep.
Was Jack right? Should Justin fight for Kayla even if Steve does get his memories back?
Kathy: I think that Justin should state his case to Kayla but abide by her decision. I feel bad for all involved but they are adults and should be able to handle whatever happens.
Jack: It’s odd for Jack to say it. Steve is his brother and Adrienne was his sister. I’m torn on whether the advice is good or not. On the one hand, there’s something to be said for doing the honorable thing and stepping aside.
But if Justin really loves Kayla and wants to be with her, he won’t get that by being too quick to let her go.
However, remember that stupid triangle where Justin and Lucas both begged Adrienne to pick him? Or the one where Jen couldn’t decide between Jack and Daniel and tried to date them both on alternate days? I don’t want a repeat of that.
Soaps4ever: I know Jack meant well but I don’t think there is any point in Justin fighting for Kayla. As long as Steve is around Kayla will want to be with him.
Steve and Kayla have always been one of the best couples on this show. They are very rootable and have a lot of history together.
Christine: I’m shocked by how much I enjoy Justin and Kayla together. This storyline has brought out a whole other side to Justin that I feel we’ve never seen.
But even Justin realizes that Steve is Kayla’s love of a lifetime and if Steve is alive and well, I don’t think Justin has a real chance. He should be clear about how he feels for Kayla, but then the decision is up to her.
Should Ben have forgiven Evan for killing Jordan considering Ben’s history?
Kathy: No, I don’t think Ben needs to forgive Evan at this early stage of learning how his sister died.
Ben is very lucky he has been given a second chance by so many but he is responsible for many deaths. His murders were, for the most part, thought out. Evan’s crime seems like a spur of the moment action.
Jack: If Ben wants to let go of his resentment toward Evan and move on with his life, that’s probably healthy.
But just because people have forgiven Ben for his crimes doesn’t make him obligated to forgive Evan for killing Jordan, especially since Evan didn’t seem particularly sincere.
Soaps4ever: I think Ben should have forgiven Evan for killing Jordan because with Ben’s history he doesn’t have room to judge.
Yes Ben did spend some time in prison because of Evan but Ben didn’t get as much punishment as he should have for his killings so he can look at it as karma.
I think Evan is a scared damaged person who acted out of impulse and fear. That, of course, doesn’t justify what he did but surely Ben can relate somewhat to his mindset.
Christine: Ben had the right to be angry over his sister’s death, even if his outrage did seem a bit hypocritical given his own history of murder.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week’s Days of Our Lives?
Kathy: My favorites scenes were Sarah and Victor visiting Maggie. It was nice to see Sarah sharing her day with her mother. I also liked Victor admitting that Xander is a valuable member of the Kiriakis family.
Jack: Steve waking up and having amnesia. Even though we’ve been down this road before and we just went down it with Jack/Jennifer, it was well done as Steve/Kayla scenes almost always are. I just wish we’d gotten some flashbacks out of this!
Soaps4ever: I liked the nice scene between Victor and Xander. I have never seen Victor being so kind to him and it was refreshing.
I also liked the scene where Sarah visited Maggie in prison. It was touching how Sarah wanted Maggie to see her wedding dress and how happy she was for Sarah.
Of course, these scenes were kind of sad too because we knew what would happen soon.
Christine: Justin and Jack had some great scenes this week. This was some of the best acting Wally Kurth has ever gotten to do on this show.
I could feel how torn he was over not wanting to lose Kayla but wanting what was best for her and for Steve. Even if he loses Kayla, I hope we get to see more of this side of Justin.
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.