Is Marlena gone for good? Should Brady have done more to stop Kristen? Is Stephanie more fixated on telling people how horrible Alex is over grieving her mother?
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by LumiForeverAndAlways from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate Marlena’s last days, if Rachel is destined to be Kristen’s mini-me, if Leo’s gotten his last chance, and more!
If that was really Marlena dying in John’s arms, how do you rate their final scenes together?
LumiForeverAndAlways: I would rate the scenes a 5-star rating because of the incredible acting from Deirdre and Drake.
Jack: It’s hard for me to take these scenes seriously when I’m 99% sure Marlena will be back. I give them a 7, though. I loved the montage, and when Marlena wondered how the years had gone so fast, it really got me. I’m nowhere near Marlena’s age, and I sometimes feel that way.
Christine: I’ll give it a 4 out of 5 stars. I was surprised how much they made me care, considering I don’t expect Marlena to be “dead” long.
I felt for John when Marlena begged him to let her go home. He was in a no-win situation and made the best of it with Johnny and Chanel’s help. And yes, that line about life going by too fast rang true.
My one disappointment was that I would have liked to have seen some flashbacks instead of just pictures, but I understand that would have taken up far more airtime, so perhaps the photos made the most sense.
Should Brady have done more to stop Kristen? Did John let him off the hook too easily?
LumiForeverAndAlways: He could have but wouldn’t have succeeded. Come on! It’s Kristen DiMera, for god sake.
No, I don’t think John let Brady off the hook too easily because he knows firsthand what Kristen’s capable off.
Jack: Brady absolutely should have told someone a long time ago. Like, immediately after the first dose.
I understand that there’s no going back and no point in Brady beating himself up now, but John being *proud* that Brady sacrificed his happiness and gave in to Kristen’s blackmail was a couple of bridges too far for me.
I’d much rather John had gone the route of saying that what’s done is done, and now we have to focus on trying to help Marlena.
Christine: Yes, Brady should have told John immediately. John knows Kristen’s tactics and could have helped take her down or at least ensured a team was still working on a cure.
But it doesn’t surprise me that John told Brady there was nothing to forgive. For one, he knows how manipulative Kristen can be, and secondly, John is one of the most loving, forgiving characters in Salem. I can’t imagine him saying something to make Brady feel any worse than he already does.
In the Kristen/Brady/Chloe/Stefan/Gabi/Li mess, who do you hope ends up together?
LumiForeverAndAlways: I would like to see Brady and Chloe together and Gabi and Stefan together. They are each other’s one true love, after all.
Jack: Nobody, really. I don’t like Gabi at all, especially after her selfish insistence on bothering a dying Marlena, and I’m not interested in her and Stefan anymore. Nor do I want her with slimy Li, who needs to go to jail.
Kristen also needs to be in jail and not with anyone, and Chloe needs to have the self-respect to stay away from both Brady and Stefan.
I don’t like that Chloe’s reason for staying away from Brady is “Rachel doesn’t like it.” Brady is right that his young child should not get to call the shots here.
But these two should not pick up where they left off. Brady betrayed Chloe. Not sexually, but his decision to keep her in the dark caused needless suffering.
And Chloe should not be with Stefan when she knows his feelings for her are not real and that he will end up remembering his “great love” for Gabi someday.
Christine: Ugh. None of the above. Brady and Chloe have always bored me. Kristen is so far off the rails that she’s practically irredeemable.
I sort of like Stefan and Chloe, but since his feelings for her have been manufactured, none of that is real.
Gabi gets more insufferable as time goes on. Li is scary. He has no moral compass and has proven he’ll do absolutely anything to get what he wants. He and Kristen wreck life in the name of love and feel like they are victims when made to pay for their actions. Maybe they deserve one another.
Can Brady undo the damage Kristen has done to Rachel? Do you think Rachel will turn out to be her mother’s daughter?
LumiForeverAndAlways: I really hope that he can and that she doesn’t turn into a mini Kristen.
Jack: Rachel needs three things. 1) Consistent discipline when she acts inappropriately. 2) A full understanding of why her mother is problematic and not welcome and 3) Counseling/therapy.
I doubt she will get any of that except for a half-hearted effort at one by Brady, which virtually guarantees she grows up to be a worse problem.
Christine: From an entertainment point of view, I’d love her to turn out to be Kristen’s mini-me.
But Rachel needs Brady to be consistent. He needs to make it clear what behavior is acceptable, let her know there will be consequences if she crosses the line, then follow through. Brady is a loving father, but he’s doing Rachel no favors by letting her get away with so much.
And he needs to be compassionate but honest with Rachel about Kristen. Not having Kristen in her life for so long allowed Rachel to idealize her mom. Rachel is going to need counseling to be able to accept that her mother lied to her, used her, and did horrible things to people she loves.
Would Johnny dump Wendy if he could get back together with Chanel? Which couple would you prefer to see moving forward?
LumiForeverAndAlways: I honestly reckon he would, and I would love to see it. I’ve always been a Johnny and Chanel shipper, and I also shipped Tripp and Allie.
Jack: I thought we had finally escaped this awful Johnny/Chanel/Allie triangle, and here we are again. Ugh. Let Johnny be with Wendy. They have chemistry, and she’s not also into his sister.
Christine: As much as I love that Salem finally has a lesbian couple, I must admit that Johnny and Chanel have the better chemistry.
Johnny likes Wendy, and they are cute together, but he loves Chanel, and I think she still has strong feelings for him. Their marriage was never given a chance, and I’d love to see them get back together.
Is Leo and Sonny’s friendship over? Do you hope it is, or would you like to see Leo work to earn Sonny’s trust?
LumiForeverAndAlways: This might be an unexpected answer from me, but when the show did this, I was like, I don’t know. I started to enjoy their dynamic. So yeah, I would like to see it again when Leo can regain Sonny’s trust.
Jack: I think it is, at least for now. This felt like a rerun of when Craig and Leo broke up. I’d like for Leo to learn his lesson for real and not get sucked back into shady behavior that ruins his relationships.
Christine: I felt for Leo. He truly wants to be a better person, but that’s not easy when all you and your friends know is to lie and scheme. Just ask Xander how difficult it is to change, even for someone you love.
I hope that Leo can work on himself and he and Sonny can rebuild their friendship, but I suspect that won’t be fast or easy.
Is Stephanie more fixated on Alex shutting off her phone than grieving her mother? Do you find either Alex or Stephanie likable?
LumiForeverAndAlways: At times, I thought she was more fixated on this.
I don’t find either her or Alex likable, which is sad because years ago, I didn’t mind Stephanie as a character and was excited for her to return, but now I don’t like her.
Jack: Stephanie is grieving her mother. Part of her grief involves the fact that she did not say goodbye when she was five minutes away, and that was due to Alex’s inappropriate behavior.
I see no reason why she shouldn’t be upset about it. She is entitled to her feelings and to express her grief in a way that works for her.
Stephanie is one of my favorite characters currently. Yes, she is very likable. Alex is not. He has never respected women, and his “love affair” with Stephanie, which was never anything more than obsession because he took Sonny’s comment that a woman will knock him off his feet literally, has not changed that.
Christine: I want to like Stephanie, but she grates on my last nerve. I find her self-centered and whiny.
She has every reason to be angry with Alex. What he did was wrong, although it wouldn’t surprise me if most guys would do the same thing under the same circumstance.
But it feels like Stephanie is more focused on complaining about what Alex did to her than actually grieving her mother or being there for her father. As for Alex, I like him. Yes, he’s flawed, and he was over-the-top when he first came to Salem, but I think he’s got a good heart, and I find him fun.
What surprised or disappointed you the most this week in Salem?
LumiForeverAndAlways: What disappointed me the most this week was that neither Allie nor Will had gone to see their Dad after Kate died and that Sami wasn’t in town. I know Ali was filming for Hallmark, but…
What surprised me this week was that the show actually gave Allie and Brady a scene together.
Jack: Ugh, I hope Rafe is bluffing with his promise to give Kristen immunity. She needs to do time and get off our screens for a while.
This isn’t a big thing, but it irks me that Chanel, who has major trauma stemming from an incident on a rooftop, had no flashbacks or other reactions from being on one with Johnny, especially after almost falling.
Christine: No one even mentioned Sami, as her mother was dying, and her ex-mother-in-law and aunt had died. Belle flew in from South Africa, but somehow, Sami couldn’t make it to her mother’s bedside or be there to comfort her father. Was there an explanation for this that I missed?
And Gabi is usually self-centered, but her insistence on asking for Marlena’s help as she was dying was going way too far. When Stefan called her “an entitled, petulant child,” he was spot on.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline on this week’s Days of Our Lives?
LumiForeverAndAlways: I have two favorite scenes this week. The first was Allie and Johnny talking about their Grandmas Marlena and Kate. How Allie was able to get past Kate keeping quiet about Lucas kidnapping Sami, which I will never forgive the writers.
The other scene, or scenes, I enjoyed were the ones of Allie and Brady at the Hospital Chapel. Particularly the one talking about Caroline. I enjoyed this because we don’t get many scenes with them together, and their dynamic is very underrated.
It was nice to see Allie and Johnny finally have scenes without Chanel. It’s always nice to see Allie in scenes with anyone without Chanel.
Jack: There were a lot of great quotes this week. I loved, loved, loved EJ’s calling Kristen’s bluff and telling Stefan the truth himself. I also liked Brady finally making an effort to discipline his bratty daughter in this Days of Our Lives quote…
www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/rachel-thats-it-you-need-a-timeout/
Christine: I loved EJ turning the tables on Kristen and telling Stefan the truth, even if it has led to Stefan plotting his revenge against EJ. I’m hoping these two can call a truce at some point.
Now it’s your turn, Days fans. Hit the SHOW COMMENTS button to share if you think our round table team got it right or wrong. 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.
