Nicole slept with Xander, Jake hopped into bed with Gabi, Kristen added to her collection of kidnappings, and Allie and Tripp kissed this week in Salem.
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Stephanie and Andy from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Nicole and Eric’s future, if EJ will forgive Sami, Kristen’s plan, Ava and Rafe’s first date, and more!
Are Nicole and Eric over? Who was more in the wrong? Eric for not coming home for months, or Nicole for getting drunk and sleeping with Xander?
Stephanie: I think Nicole and Eric might be over. Nicole is fed up with the fact that Eric keeps extending his stay in Africa, and Eric is going to be furious when he learns that she slept with Xander. He might forgive her eventually, but I don’t think it will happen quickly.
I think Nicole was more in the wrong. Even though he keeps breaking his promise to come home, Eric is doing good things for the people of Africa. Meanwhile, Nicole actually cheated on him with someone he hates.
Jack: I certainly hope Nicole and Eric are over. I think Xander and Lucas both have a point that Eric made a vow to Nicole, then disappeared to Africa never to return.
I’m disappointed that Nicole handled it by getting drunk and sleeping with Xander, but Eric is more in the wrong here. He abandoned their marriage and expected Nicole to wait indefinitely for him.
Andy: I still don’t understand why the writers married Nicole and Eric just to immediately write him off without a recast. The marriage felt doomed from the start, and now here we are.
Listen…two wrongs don’t make a right. Eric has definitely been neglecting their marriage for a long time, but Nicole should have confronted him or ended things rather than sleeping with someone else, especially Xander, of all people. She will be painted as the bad guy by the good people of Salem.
Christine: I hate this because Eric abandoned his marriage, yet he’s put Nicole in an unwinnable position. If she breaks up with him she’s the bad guy. If she stays with him, she’s the long-suffering martyr. It’s not fair.
Yes, cheating is always wrong, but Eric has extended his stay in Africa numerous times without even discussing it with Nicole. That’s not a marriage. And he doesn’t seem to think of Holly at all.
I’m with Xander on this one. I’d like to tell Eric exactly where he can shove his halo.
So far, Kristen has convinced Susan to take her place in prison, secretly shipped Sarah off to an island, impersonated and kidnapped Kate, abducted Sami and Lucas, and now she has Chloe in the trunk of her car. What do you think her overall plan or end game is, or does she even have one at this point?
Stephanie: While she might have had a plan, in the beginning, I don’t think Kristen really has one anymore. She is scared because there are now too many people out there who know about her and who can get her thrown back in jail for an even longer time if they just make one phone call.
Kristen is not thinking rationally and keeps getting herself deeper and deeper into the mess she created by trying to “disappear” anyone who threatens to expose her.
Jack: She has no plan. It’s all impulse at this point. These people got in her way so she’ll get rid of them.
She’s gone very far afield from her original plot to excise Chloe from Brady’s life (which she could have easily done by pushing Chloe and Philip together instead of all this nonsense) and now she’s just doing whatever occurs to her to do.
Andy: Whatever shortsighted plan Kristen had, it is completely off the rails at this point. She’s just reacting and unraveling as more and more people learn the truth. She’s running out of rope now, especially with Brady awake and knowing she’s out of prison.
I don’t see how he could possibly forgive her once all of her crimes are exposed. She needs to go back to prison and give the viewers a break from the character for a while.
Christine: This storyline has been both ridiculous and frustrating. They put so much time into “redeeming” Kristen just to throw it all away because she’s jealous of Chloe. Ugh.
We’ve had Susan agreeing to stay in prison, multiple masks, people getting drugged, knocked out, and shipped off in trunks and duffle bags.
I guess the outlandishness is supposed to be entertaining but his story went off the rails long ago and there seems to no longer be any plan involved. I can only hope it ends soon.
Jake and Gabi declared their love for one another? React!
Stephanie: I think this happened too fast for Jake. There should have been more time between his “breakup” with Kate and him declaring his undying love for Gabi.
Having him jump into bed with Gabi just hours after Kate supposedly broke up with him makes it seem like he never really cared about Kate at all and was just looking for the perfect excuse to stop seeing her.
While he might have had feelings for Gabi that whole time, I still don’t believe that he didn’t care about Kate too.
Jack: Sorry, but I don’t buy it. Not one bit. If I were a Jake/Gabi fan I would feel so cheated right now. This is not a love story. Jake chose Gabi by default because Kate is no longer interested.
For months he had no interest in her and was so in love with Kate he was going to go away with her for the weekend just to show her she was the only one for him, then all of a sudden he was thinking of Gabi every time he was with Kate?
I call bull. This is a rebound relationship, nothing more.
Andy: I’m conflicted on this one because I do enjoy Gabi and Jake together, but his jumping from Kate to Gabi so quickly and suddenly declaring his love for Gabi felt unearned. I made him look like a jerk.
Kate stumbling in on them was entertaining, but the fact that they didn’t try to get her help immediately was unrealistic. She could barely walk! Overall, an overdue but disappointing reunion.
Christine: I like Jake and Gabi’s chemistry but Jake does look like a jerk here. He spent months telling Kate he really cared about her and was done with Gabi, only declare his undying love for Gabi the very day Kate left him. Wow.
I wish Gabi had called him out on it but Gabi’s never been one to take things slowly, so I guess the two of them immediately jumping into bed is true to character if nothing else.
If EJ finds out that Sami slept with Lucas, do you think there’s any chance he’ll forgive her?
Stephanie: I honestly don’t care if EJ forgives Sami or not. I am enjoying her scenes with Lucas and hope that they will eventually officially get back together. EJ can stay in Italy.
Jack: Forgiveness is not in EJ’s vocabulary. Most likely he’ll team up with Kristen to cause trouble and/or do another rape-y thing where he’ll make sure Lucas dies if Sami doesn’t choose EJ over him.
Andy: Given all of EJ and Sami’s history, there’s really no reason he shouldn’t forgive her. They’ve both cheated, they’ve both been abusive or tried to kill each other. They can surely overcome this.
It’s kind of hard to care too much with EJ being off-screen during all of this and not having even seen him for years.
Christine: Well, EJ’s no saint. He cheated on Sami with Abigail (and how I wish someone would remind Abigail of that!) Also, EJ and Sami have each forgiven one another before, so it’s possible.
But if EJ returns, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be in a forgiving mood. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed Sami with Lucas and with EJ, so I’m good with whomever she ends up with.
What did you think about Ava and Rafe’s first date? Do they have potential as a couple?
Stephanie: I think Ava and Rafe’s first date was sweet until Steve showed up. It was actually good that he did though because his presence forced Ava to address her past crimes and mistakes and also showed her growth as a character.
She was able to admit that what she felt for Steve wasn’t love but obsession because she never really understood what love was. That’s a huge step for her! I think she and Rafe do have potential as a couple just as long as she doesn’t go back to her life as a mob princess.
Jack: It was sweet. We desperately need more romance on this show (minus Steve butting in and Ava’s reaction to it being to decide he’s right and end the date early.)
I ship Rafe/Nicole but Rafe/Ava isn’t a bad alternative either. It’s so refreshing to have a love triangle where one person isn’t relentlessly evil (so far).
Andy: I think Rafe and Ava have good chemistry with each other and their first date went well, even with Steve’s interruption.
I don’t love either character, so it’s not the most exciting pairing for me. And it feels like it may end up a temporary obstacle for Nicole and Rafe to eventually get together now that she’s messed up her marriage.
Christine: I’m enjoying Rafe and Ava far more than I ever thought I would. Rafe is a little more fun with Ava, and he brings out her softer side.
I loved that Ava slowed things down and they didn’t immediately end up in bed together. I’m actually looking forward to seeing where these two are headed.
We didn’t see Gwen, Abigail, or Chad this week. Did you miss them?
Stephanie: I missed them a little bit but not that much. Abigail has been very hard to take lately because she is constantly ranting and screaming about how horrible Gwen is.
I was also disappointed to see Gwen use her fall down the stairs as an opportunity to blame Abigail for her miscarriage when she knows full well that it happened before that.
Jack: Not a bit. I was able to watch at normal volume without feeling like my eardrums were being shattered with unnecessary screaming and tantrums.
Andy: It wasn’t until Friday that I thought about not having seen them this week, so I guess I didn’t miss them too much. It was nice to have a little break from their drama.
Christine: I think I realized they hadn’t been on around Thursday and was relieved they weren’t on-screen on Friday. So that says a lot about their storyline right there.
What frustrated or disappointed you this week on Days?
Stephanie: I am frustrated with the whole Kristen storyline. It seems like every day, she is knocking out someone new and locking them up somewhere. It is beyond ridiculous at this point!
Jack: Where were Belle and Shawn? They figured out that Jan was the one who killed Charlie and framed Belle, then disappeared into thin air. And how come no one bothered to tell Belle that Brady is in the hospital?
I want this Kristen story to be over already. Now that John, Marlena, and Brady are aware that Kristen and Susan traded places it should end, and instead, it’s being extended by random acts of violence.
At this rate, by the end of this, the only ones left in Salem will be Kristen and Brady as she will have shipped everyone else to an island or locked them in the secret room.
Don’t get me started on how pathetic Xander has been since Sarah “left.” He just gets drunk and sleeps with random people. He has much more potential than this! Either do a real alcoholism story with him or find something better for him to do than this.
Andy: Nicole and Xander’s hookup was really disappointing to me, I wish they hadn’t gone there with them. Everything they’ve done with Xander since Sarah disappeared has been frustrating to watch.
And Kristen’s schemes, while entertaining to a point, are becoming quite ridiculous at this point. It’s all dragging on too long.
Christine: I was frustrated that Sami kept referring to Nicole as a slut. I wish Days would stop calling women sluts. It’s offensive, and there isn’t a male equivalent, even though the men on this show sleep around as much as the women, yet no one belittles or degrades them.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week in Salem?
Stephanie: Even though I don’t like what they did, I enjoyed the banter between Nicole and Xander. There were some great lines in there such as when Xander said that Nicole hates him more now than when he had her locked up in a cage.
I also enjoyed the scene involving Chloe, Kristen, and Kate in the DiMera living room. It was funny when Kate said that she was going to go check the secret basement room for prisoners and when she complained about all the cell phones that kept ringing and was wondering just how many people Kristen had kidnapped at that point.
Jack: I loved, loved, loved that Lucas and Sami finally ended up kissing again. This Lumi fan is very happy. All of their exchanges were great, but it was an extra bonus that Lucas pointed out the rape-y way that EJ/Sami began.
And this one was awesome too:
Lucas: As much as I hate the idea of being stuck here with you for eternity, getting out of here isn’t gonna be a picnic for me either. I have to face the music about what I did to Chloe. This is your fault.
Sami: I didn’t tell you to tell her you were dying of a brain tumor!
Lucas: Why did I listen to you? Who cares whether EJ knows or not?
Sami: I care! My life will be ruined.
Lucas: Now my life is ruined. Chloe hates my guts!
Sami: Who cares what Chloe thinks? You could do so much better than her.
Lucas: Like who? You? Isn’t that how we got into this mess in the first place?
And as much as I hate the Kristen story, this line of Kristen’s made me laugh because I’ve been saying for months that this story only works due to everyone being incredibly stupid:
You have picked the wrong time to develop a few brain cells, honey. You know what, I broke out of prison because of you. Lucky, lucky you.
Kristen
Andy: My favorite scene was probably Allie and Trip’s kiss, I like them together as a couple quite a bit.
And even though I hated the Nicole/Xander hookup, I did laugh out loud when he said they should “flock”.
I liked that Sami finally stood up to Kristen and said enough is enough, even though it didn’t turn out very well for her!
Christine: Tripp and Allie were very sweet together and this show doesn’t have nearly enough of that.
On the flip side, Xander’s conversation with Nicole pointing out how badly saint Eric has treated her was both spot-on and very funny.
Hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below to give us your answers to our round table questions or tell us where we got it wrong.
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.