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It was a short last week in Salem, but Days of our Lives kept storylines at its new steady jog of a pace for four days. Though the week kicked off with a shocking murder, there was no major unfurling of drama yet there was still a host of great things that happened.
My only complaint was that the murder of Paige seemed a bit like an afterthought which was a letdown considering how much of her viewers were force-fed. Other than that, Salem’s clocked in yet another solid week. Keeping optimistic about GriffLey! Now onto what went down in Salem, USA last week!
Days of our Lives Week in Review for episodes airing September 7-11, 2015.
Who Do You Think You Are?
Marlena Evans is never one to mince her words, especially not when it comes to the man she loves. This last week, she continued to make it known that she was against John Black returning to the ISA. John was moving back into Marlena’s townhouse that day, showing that the couple was serious about taking steps toward rekindling their famed romance but the ISA issue was still heavy on both of their heads. I saw a few fans gripe that GriffLey was making Marlena seem like a nag and no offense to the amazing character she is – but hasn’t she always been a bit of a nag? A lot of the times her nitpicking was warranted, especially when it came to her disaster of a daughter Sami Brady but a nag is a nag. She’s a therapist, she knows where and how to pick at people to get under their skin and John later admits to feeling ganged up on especially when his son Brady Black arrives. Both son and soul mate fear the danger that comes with being an ISA agent, though John remained firm the entire time, citing that this go round will be different from the last. To me, it felt like Brady and Marlena were making subtle shots at John’s age, even joking that Liam Neeson needed stunt doubles too. These scenes were naggy for sure, but the exchanges between the characters felt rooted in reality. This was their sixty-something year old love one set to again, become the nation’s top secret agent. Who wouldn’t be wary of that? Soaps tend to box in their longtime characters into unrealistic situations and personalities. John Black being Salem’s own Superman back in the 80s and 90s was more than believable but now might be laughable, the show touching on that is extremely clever.
For two weeks now, John promised he’d be able to balance his personal life and the ISA work but everyone surrounding him was skeptical about the idea. Finally, after more prodding by his loved ones, John admits that he only took the job offer from the ISA so that he could use their resources to find out who he really is. No longer an Alamain, a Brady or Dimera, John admitted that he wasn’t satisfied just knowing who he wasn’t anymore. He cited that his downtime in a coma thanks to a certain gold digger and fireplace poker was the catalyst for beginning this new journey of self-discovery. The big revelation and family celebration is cut short when Marlena is called away by a client. It’s a distraught Eve Donovan to whom Marlena rushes. The grief and anguish were palatable in these scenes as both women shared their love for their children and the loss they’d experienced. Paige was dead and Eve felt guilty for making the last few months of her life terrible. Marlena is the best friend to have in situations like these as she easily talked Eve down, reassuring her of her daughter’s love. Marlena goes after promising that Eve won’t go through this alone. The very next day, Marlena gives John her blessing to join the ISA, now more appreciative of what family means.
For the umpteenth time, DAYS is taking its viewers on another quest to discover the truth behind John Black’s past. At this point, shouldn’t we all just assume he doesn’t have one? Maybe he’s an alien baby like Cassie and Rex Brady, but instead of vanishing to that mystical place just over yonder (Chicago), John managed to beat the odds and stick it out. Or just maybe someone has been hard at work for decades misleading the former Pawn into thinking he has family ties.
Though the story has repeatedly been done, this time I’m excited to see where John’s family tree tracing will take us all. Not to knock any writers of the past or to over praise the current head writers, I do have faith that we will see a story that’s both solid and entertaining, and not convoluted. I don’t know about all of you, but I don’t think I ever fully understood the Colleen Brady and Santo Dimera debacle of 9 years ago; ridding John’s history of that was a retcon I could get behind. It made sense back in the past when it was just John without a past but now he has children and grandchildren who also know nothing of their background. Let’s just hope that this time, the story of how John Black came to be sticks.
“But Her Ex Is Still Hanging Around!”
Even the DAYS promos are using clever lines again! Bo Brady was very much hanging around all week; in Steve Johnson’s mind, Hope Brady’s heart and in someone’s basement dungeon! Viewers discover that Aiden Jennings is not a good guy as we’d hoped which in a sense is unfortunate, considering deceitful men certainly have a short shelf life on this show and Daniel Cosgrove has been nothing but dreamy. But would you rather take sappy, gray Aiden over Aiden living with secrets and debt? I think it’s safe to say that no matter how bad he is for duping our Fancy Face, it’s much more enjoyable than watching them go to Chicago for early dinner dates every other week.
After a week of obvious teases, the viewers got to see everyone’s favorite hunky hero again – except with more soot and scars from three years of torture. In this short amount of time he’s been in town, Steve has looked more into Bo’s out of character disappearance even more than his own family. After finding inconsistencies in Bo’s letters home, he tracks down John to find out if Bo had even been contracted by the ISA, wondering if it was a rouse to throw his loved ones off. Unfortunately, John isn’t very receptive as he too has bought into the Fleeing Husband Syndrome that’s plagued Salem for years now. He doesn’t think Bo being gone is any reason to call foul play. But foul play is exactly what’s gotten Bo being fed what looks like dog food on a platter in some musty dungeon.
The viewers learn that Aiden Jennings is working for none other than Stefano Dimera, who for some reason wants Hope and Bo Brady to remain separate and is using Aiden to do that. Aiden is to marry Hope to receive what we can all assume to be a large chunk of cash, of which the successful lawyer seems to need lots of and soon. Stefano has to remind a snappy Aiden that he’s the boss with Aiden’s past secrets in his hands; therefore no money is exchanged until marriage vows are. While Aiden’s shady dealings are coming to light to the viewers, Hope is still blissfully unaware across town at her home. After years, we get to see Hope in her own home, joined soon by precocious Ciara who quickly reads her mother and figures out that Aiden proposed. Happy to have a new brother and father figure, Ciara gives her mother her blessing – just as long as she gets a prominent part in the wedding that allows her to use the diamond earrings her cousin Sami once bribed her with. I don’t even want to get into how tragic it will be to lose darling Lauren Boles when Ciara is SORASed next month, it’s still too painful to even think about let alone write. But not even Ciara’s brightness could keep Hope from sobbing all on her own, recalling all of the good times with her ex-husband.
Later, Steve has another run in with Aiden that quickly turns heated. He does not trust Hope’s new love and unbeknownst to Patch, he’s spot on for having those feelings. Hope breaks up what was soon to escalate into a fight but soon has to fight verbally, defending herself and Aiden to her old friend. Steve is worried that Aiden preyed on the vulnerable Hope but she disagrees with him. To Hope, Bo had deserted her, hadn’t even gotten in touch with her after she filed for divorce which was enough proof for her. Steve continues to try to get Hope on his side, mentioning that he thinks Bo’s letters home may have been written by someone else but she is not budging from Aiden’s side. She later accepts her boyfriend’s proposal. Doug Olson isn’t quite sure when his daughter tells him of her marriage plans as he feared she wasn’t completely sure that she was doing the right thing, but her sister and step mother Julie is over the moon. They both convince Doug that this is the right move for her and decide that the nuptials will take place during Salem’s big bicentennial celebration. As if any wedding ever goes according to plan in Salem, then throw in a town wide event… There will only be mayhem. I can’t wait!
This coming week on Days of our Lives, Ben reveals a secret to Abigail, John begins to dig into his past, Stefano has a big health crisis, Gabi is released from prison and Marlena puts Chad under hypnosis. For more, check out our Days of our Lives spoilers for the week of September 14.
As usual, if I missed something you really wanted to talk about or if I missed something important in my recap, let’s start a discussion! Comment below, tweet me and let’s chat!
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