‘Days Of Our Lives’ Week In Review: The Fun Continues

Days of Our Lives please keep it up! Even if there are still a handful of storylines involving couples that should have been decimated by the creative turnover, there is still some really interesting material being played out. The siege of Salem should have been a bigger event in my opinion, but the simple fact that it has lasted more than a week and has given us interactions with every character across the canvas? I’ll take it as is! It’s very clear that the storyline is heading for its climax as everyone involved has reached new levels of desperation. But where will this latest reboot take viewers after the big umbrella story closes? There are lots of returns of past characters lined up so your guess is as good as mine! But let’s get into this last week’s highlights from Salem, USA!

Week in Review for Days of Our Lives episodes airing October 3rd – 7th.

Diving Deep

I’m wondering what those same fans who panned the prison break storyline for its plot driven elements have to say about the character developments in those prisoners. This last week in Salem, viewers got to know a bit more about Orpheus’, Xander Cook and Clyde Weston’s motives for doing what they do. And no matter how many dirty deeds they may have pulled in the past (both far off and recent), the acting prowess of James Reed, Paul Telfer, George Del Hoyo made you feel something. No matter how conflicting that something could be.

Photo Credit: © XJ Johnson/JPI Studios

We first saw Orpheus this week tending to his captive Joey Johnson. Even with a decades long vendetta against the teen’s parents, Steve Johnson and Kayla Brady, he still loaned the boy his jacket after being sick of seeing him shiver. The moment was surprisingly warm even though Joey understandably turned the offer down. Orpheus is a man who like many of our Salemites, cared strongly about family and would do anything to protect them. His feud with Roman Brady / John Black from the 80s sparked because of the accidental death of his wife so when he began to recount stories of his family, it all made sense. We learned that after years of criminal activity, Orpheus’ kids no longer want anything to do with him. Though he still kept photos of them in his wallet which Joey spotted when they fell. The young man attempted to reason with his captor, assuring him that one day his kids would forgive him, reaching out to that part of Orpheus that was maybe uncorrupted but it just further angered him instead. Though no matter how tough he plays, there is that soft part of Orpheus that we can all see coming out bit by bit. Just the fact that he’s reiterated his vendetta is against Joey’s parents, not him and has kept him alive this entire time proves it. Many theorized that Orpheus’ connections to Salem run deeper than just his thirst for vengeance – but also familial ties or else why give him that moment to reflect? There’s some importance there.

Meanwhile the host of the prisoner’s enemies have assembled, still trying to figure out a way to stop the warehouse hopping trio from destroying Salem. John figured they’re reaching their endgame and wanted to confront them, but everyone else is afraid of what the outcome of that reckless time may be. Everyone might go down in a desperate shoot out, not just the criminals. Regardless, John wanted to meet with Orpheus to coordinate the drop of the ransom he requested. Armed with a tip of Xander Cook and Clyde’s whereabouts after a robbery attempt at a convenience store, the heroes set off to meet them.

All while Clyde drank away his sorrows, opening up much like Orpheus did about his past. He too had been a victim of abuse, perpetuating he cycle by abusing his own children and in his own twisted head, figured that stealing the child that was mistakenly thought to be his grandson would atone for it all. Flawed logic, yes but damn sad logic too. Ultimately I don’t feel very much sympathy for Clyde and all of the evil he’s done, but knowing that there was a reason behind it all (when before he was just plain awful) added some weight to the story. He even felt bad for shooting Abe Carver because he too was a father! How odd is it that our Salemites are so afraid of these twisted family men after they’ve done much of the same for their family members? Ironic.

As expected, the ransom drop went horribly wrong. Xander foreshadowed this bust up when he complained of their team work falling apart, and as they do approach their endgame, it’s more dangerous than ever. Even then he’s disregarded and we see him flashing back to all the times his Uncle Victor Kiriakis did the same, shooting his every idea down. Yet another dangerous cycle perpetuated there. When it was all said and done, the blame somehow fell back on Xander’s head who I can only imagine is a ticking time bomb, sick and tired of constantly being devalued by everyone in his life. Each of these three men have been pushed to their limits when it was supposed to be smooth sailing for them by now. The desperation is running high and I cannot imagine what might come next for our favorite and not so favorite people in Salem, especially when Orpheus vowed to burn them all to the ground.

Did you enjoy getting to know more about the affectionately named Three Stooges of Salem? DAYS hasn’t delved into the minds of its villains in the longest time. Many of them had thin motives copy & pasted from one another only to be deleted from the canvas a month or two later. But will this trio suffer the same fate or live on to terrorize Salem another day? I’m hoping for the latter.