By 
Bittersweet Symphony
Hope Jennings – er, Brady? Williams? – has not been having a good few days. I think back now onto when Kristian Alfonso teased stories getting crazier for Hope on The Today Show, all I can do is my best to sympathize with her. She’d been on Cloud 9 up until the night of her honeymoon where after a failed attempt on her life by her new husband, her world came crashing down.
Thankfully, ex-husband Bo Brady arrived just in time to save the day. We’re lead to believe that Salem’s top cop had been held captive in Mexico for the last three years, all by evil scientists keen on getting their hands on the miracle cure for dementia. The beginning of this week picked right up where we left off but unfortunately ended with the untimely death of Aiden Jennings at Bo’s hand. To Bo who’s been missing for years, Aiden was just some low life criminal invading another home; he had no clue that this man had been romancing his wife while he’d been held prisoner. Though it was something so subtle, something so simple too, I really found myself appreciating the fact that Bo’s confusion about Aiden was played out on screen. The last head writing regime would have totally missed that beat and would have probably just glanced over it all together – if they hadn’t spent years tarnishing Bo’s name and reputation throughout town, that is.
But alas, Aiden is the sacrificial lamb in the end as he dies sort of unceremoniously. Everything about the last battle with Hope, Aiden and Bo was so gorgeously shot and choreographed; it was like a scene out of a movie. I almost expected Aiden to rise up from the floor just to meet one more bullet. Instead it was over like that and Daniel Cosgrove was off DAYS in a body bag. Aiden may not have been the most interesting character on canvas but there really seemed to be so much more Daniel Cosgrove had to show, he especially shined these last few months. Though the story took that sudden dark turn, the ramifications of that fateful night will be felt for a while. Suffering from post-traumatic stress, Hope spent the last half of the week visibly on edge, even waking up screaming in her hospital room. That uneasiness follows her back home too, infecting just about everyone that lives there. Ciara Brady reconnected with her father this week and in turn learned the horrible truth about Aiden, someone she’d grown to trust which in turn made her distrust his son, Chase Jennings. Hope and even Bo want Chase to feel like he belongs now that he’s without family so they enlist Marlena Evans to softly break the news to Chase, that his father not only attacked Hope but was named as the Necktie Killer. There’s no kid in the world let alone a teenage boy that would take the news well, so he flees only to be brought back by Bo.
Photo Credit: © JPI Studios
Though the adults speak about coming together as a family, they don’t seem to be too settled in the idea either. Bo is all over town fainting and Hope seems to be withdrawing, barely even there after being horrifically betrayed by a man she loved. Thanks to a little push from Aunt Maggie, Jennifer Horton comes to her cousin’s side offering cake and room for the whole family at Alice Horton’s place. Initially, Hope thinks getting away from the house would be a good idea but after Chase laments that Jennifer’s family will regard him as homicidal, she rescinds the offer. Hope is seemingly content with silently suffering now. She’d rather sacrifice her comfort to ensure Chase’s, as she’s practically all he has left. Pile all of that on top of the guilt she feels for doubting Bo for those years and the results it brought her, it’s amazing that Hope hasn’t broken down every few minutes on screen. We only really see her crying alone like when she collapsed into tears on the sofa. This just seems to be the beginning of a downward spiral.
The twist of Hope – for the lack of a better term – being stuck to raise the son of the man who attempted to murder her is as deliciously dark as I like my DAYS. In a way, it brings to mind Hope and Chelsea Brady with whom she had to learn to love for her husband’s sake even after she killed their son. This time there are two teenagers at play, Hope was the victim and Chase has no familial ties yet they really are stuck with him. Ciara seems like she’ll be the one to take it the hardest while Hope will try her hardest to be accepting. Though after getting checked out at the hospital, Bo’s seemingly set to receive tragic news which won’t spell any good for the already fragile Hope.
Again, fans seem to be up in arms about the probable and impending loss of Bo Brady once again. But what those fans seem to forget is that Peter Reckell’s entire reason for returning to DAYS was to fix the lazy exit story from 2012. No, maybe it didn’t play out as some wanted it or maybe it didn’t last as long but it was entertaining and true to form. Viewers saw what they knew all along about Bo, that he’d never abandon his family on purpose and that he’d do anything for them. For 32 years, Reckell played a family man on TV, so isn’t it high time he got the chance to do it in real life as well? As the writer respected the actor’s wishes by showcasing the real Bo Brady, fans have to respect the actor’s wishes by letting him go, even if it means forever.
This coming week on Days of our Lives, Ciara upsets Chase, Marlena demands answers from Stefano on Sami’s whereabouts, Bo and Hope make love, Steve and Kayla reconnect, Abe and Theo discuss Lani and a shocking diagnosis is revealed!
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!
Photo credit: JPI Studios.
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