‘Days of our Lives’ Recap: Daniel and Kristen Hit the Sheets; Sami Departs and Trouble in WilSon Paradise

The end of the line for Theresa

I can understand why some viewers can find Theresa annoying. Unlike our longtime schemers, she’s unpolished, very much wide eyed to the world of trickery but we all have to remember that not even Samantha Gene Brady got away with everything! Especially not in the beginning of her bad girl years! Whenever Theresa Donovan is on screen, I’m enjoying it, I’m having fun. The fact that she’s so unpolished in the way that she tries to manipulate people and situations just feels so fresh because like in real life, schemes don’t always work! On top of that, I just love the sound of Jennifer Lilley’s voice! Theresa learns that the hard way this week when finally everything comes crashing down in front of her – but where will she go from there?

Theresa’s really thinking she has it all when this week begins. Brady is back in her grasp now, letting her know that he wants to take things slow (aka friends with benefits) and she vows to help him finally get over Kristen. This bliss is both ill-fated and fleeting as it takes just hours for all of this to crumble. When Brady announces that he’ll go visit John, Theresa wants to tag along too but Anne holds her up. The two of them argue about Kristen being shady; Anne really believes Kristen wants to set up a scholarship in EJ’s honor with her at the helm while Theresa explains that it makes no sense to do so through the hospital’s HR department. Anne’s having none of it! She wants this recognition for her hard work and shoots Theresa down as a spoiled brat making the two part ways. When Theresa arrives at the hospital, Brady’s on his way out to visit Kristen whom he’d told his father he’d just advised to leave Salem for good. John says he wants to get to know Theresa better so she hangs close when Brady heads out, leaving both victim and attacker in the same space. Immediately, John drills into Theresa about her quick schemes of getting Brady high enough to trick him into a quickie Vegas marriage which throws Theresa for a loop. She’s unsure of how to proceed and flees the hospital when John’s release is set to be processed all while Brady is off with Kristen hearing and disbelieving the truth about the attack.

When Theresa shows back up later in the day, John Black admits that he’s only holding back on the information of his true attacker to keep Kristen from his son. A disbelieving Brady shows up outside John’s hospital door just when his father says he’ll tell him that Theresa hit him with the poker only when the time is right. This leads to an obvious confrontation that has Theresa scrambling for a lie, any lie that might seem plausible to Brady but he falls for none of it. To him, all of the people he cared about plainly lied to him and only used protecting him as an excuse. Brady can’t believe that Kristen Dimera is the only person who was telling him the truth in all of this. He leaves the hospital to see someone he can truly trust but not without tossing a groveling Theresa off of him, desperate to make some kind of reconciliation with any lie she can muster. A crowd gathers around a pitiful Theresa and she soon turns on them, hissing them away until Marlena Evans arrives to get down to the bottom of the situation. Theresa blames John for ruining his son’s life and vows to get back at him for it as well as Kristen. Even when John reminds Theresa that Kristen has evidence on her, she remains steadfast and storms her way out to find Anne. Theresa produces the bug from Anne’s purse while filling her in on her downfall which leaves Anne thoroughly intrigued. One can only guess what these two might get up to now…

Trouble in WilSon paradise?

In the beginning of the week, we see Will Horton in talks for his own Hollywood deal. Though it’s a packaged deal with his mother’s movie, he’s eager for the chance to write his first screenplay for the movie revolving around Sami Brady. Sami wants him to bring both Ari and Sonny Kiriakis along so he rushes home to lay the good news on his husband. When Will arrives at TBD, Sonny has just finished chatting with Chad Dimera about the cover story Will wrote about him. Though it makes him sound unsavory, Chad can’t help but like it and the two toast to Will’s skills. When Will asks Sonny to come along with him to California for six months, there are clear reservations on his part but he holds them back in favor of saying he has to stay in Salem for TBD business but he’ll visit as much as possible. Too excited to see his husband’s worry, Will rushes off and we learn later that he takes Ariana to visit Gabi Hernandez in prison. When Sonny finds this out he’s worried that Will’s already made up his mind after asking for Gabi’s permission but Will shoots that down.

He mentions Zoe will hold his job for him in Salem in case work in LA doesn’t work out then “[he’ll] have a reason to come home.” Sonny is immediately hurt by those words and rightfully so, causing Will to quickly pick up the pieces just before Rafe Hernandez stops by for a visit. Both Sonny and Rafe try to understand Will’s reasoning for going to California with Sami but all he can offer is that he’s doing it for his mother. But we can all see the stars in his eyes. Even Adrienne Johnson, who didn’t really get a chance to see Will before he left, found his sheer excitement peculiar but Sonny shot down any claims against his husband. But how long can he stand by a man whose career is (unbelievably) skyrocketing in a global city while he operates a bar/coffee shop in the sleepy Midwest?

It’s been a gradual change so I’m not sure if anyone’s caught much of it but… is it me or has Sonny Kiriakis become his mother, Adrienne Johnson? The majority of DAYS watchers will pinpoint Will as the main problem whether it is the new actor’s fault or the writers’ new direction with his character but I believe Sonny should take a bit of the fall too. Only a year into their marriage, Sonny and Will’s paths are already deviating a bit – which they really needed, if you think about it – but the characters themselves are also changing. Sonny used to be headstrong, honest and sure of himself but every time Will makes a decision to choose his career over his family, we have Sonny moaning and dancing around the real issue. The Sonny Kiriakis that first came to Salem would have not stood for his husband putting his career before his family. Hell, the original Will Horton wouldn’t have either! Growing up, Will was caught in an everlasting tug of war between his family members, bouncing from country to country while paternity tests and custody agreements were settled. He understands the importance of family. Will Horton would never be so blind as to miss his husband’s uncertainty about moving cross country for a writing job. As such a docile guy, Will Horton’s fiery fighting side only ever comes out when his family is threatened, there’s no way he’d ever be the threat to that family. Maybe this month away from Salem will give the writers time to refresh this character – or to shake up WilSon because God knows they needed it. You can only live in marital bliss for so long in soap operas before it becomes a snoozefest!

Sami leaves Salem

The obvious highlight of this week in Salem was Samantha Gene Brady leaving the small town behind! Who would have thought this could ever happen? But after a week and some change of heavy grieving (wearing clothes inside out, wearing snot on her face, etc.) there came a golden chance from Los Angeles, California. This week we get to see her reconnecting and ultimately saying goodbye to all the important people from her 21 year stay in Salem and honestly? It was all beautiful! I don’t want to fully babble on doing a recap of this moment because I think it’d be much more potent to just react to it all! When the news first came that Ali Sweeney was ready to hang up her devil horns, I was in disbelief for a long time. Sami Brady was the reason I stuck around with Days of Our Lives, she was the reason that I dove into the show’s history and learned as much I can because she was pure entertainment no matter what she did! But as I see her leave, I can understand why it had to happen. Sami dominated nearly every storyline nearly all of the time and with her departure, it leaves a hole in the canvas for another female to fill. I personally think the show would be great revolving around Nicole Walker or Kate Roberts but whichever scheming leading lady steps up to the plate, I can’t wait to see just how it all plays out.

But back to the story! Last week we saw Sami agree to move to California and her beginning her goodbye tour with a shockingly sweet visit from Nicole. This week she got to say her goodbyes to her mother Marlena Evans, father Roman Brady, aunts Kayla and Hope Brady, longtime family friend Abe Carver and of course (her soul mate) Lucas Horton. I can admit without shame that I cried through just about every one of these scenes with their reminiscent dialogue paired with flashbacks, but what got to me the most was Sami’s goodbye to her grandmother, Caroline Brady. Everyone knows that Sami had her issues with her mother so it was her grandmother that she turned to for guidance. Caroline was sweet but she never let Sami get away with anything and she always told her how it was and should be, which played out even in these farewell scenes. With Sami unable to let her go, crying like a baby for her to join her in California, Caroline remains strong while re-enforcing that Sami is strong too and she’ll have to make it on her own. Salem is all Caroline knows and she’s fine with that, but she wants Sami to be able to stand on her own two feet again after losing her husband so suddenly. Sami is a character that no matter how tough she tries to be, always needs someone to depend on In a childish sort of way. Watching Caroline tell her she has to go it alone was metaphorically like a mother bird pushing her baby out of the nest to fly, it really touched me. Hands down one of my favorite scenes of the week though the scenes with Kate are a close, close second place.

How many tears did you shed when Sami left Salem? Do you think Will is acting out of character too? There’s a lot to talk about so feel free to let it all out in the comments or tweet me! I want to know everything you’re thinking!