By 
Law & Order
I cannot be the only one loving Belle Black right now. She came back to Salem a woman grown with ideas of her own with means to achieve said ideas as well, a definite turn from what most DAYS viewers were used to with the character. She had a long, long slip that landed her in Phillip Kiriakis’ bed again instead of her smolderingly sexy husband’s but these days she’s seemed to turn herself right side up again. Thanks to her, everyone was kept in line just as one would expect a Mini Marlena to do and boy, was it refreshing.
JPI Studios
I’m going to start off by saying that Belle and Shawn D. Brady should be the leads of this show. Point blank, period. Not only are they legacy characters, they’re still very much young and sexy enough to believably pull off some of the storylines their parents and grandparents are still being thrust into. No, I don’t think older characters should be stuck at home knitting with a kettle on the stove but at a certain point one has to leave the adventuring to the next generation. Focusing on Belle in multiple stories just made sense, it felt right to see her be able to be a support for friends, be there for her daughter and love her husband all in one day. Belle has multiple ties to Salem and she strengthened them all this week. She should absolutely not be on her way out of town… but that’s for another time.
Having missed out on DAYS for a few weeks before the hiatus, I’m not exactly sure what the current standing of the longtime love square between Chloe, Phillip, Belle and Shawn is but the latter still seems a bit worried about his (ex?) wife’s feelings. Personally, I don’t think Belle even has Phillip on the brain save for their business relationship with the record label. I understand Shawn’s insecurity though, especially since the two of them are on unstable ground at the moment, trying to find their way back to one another. They have the right idea by focusing on their daughter (unlike Hope Brady) to strengthen their bond and it was some kind of adorable watching them fuss over her, deciding as parents whether or not to let Claire defer college for a year to work with Chloe. The scene played so realistically warm that I couldn’t help but smile, even as all they did were weigh the pros and cons of the situation before eventually allowing Claire to hold off on college.
Just the start of her busy day, Belle then made it to the Dimera mansion to check on client Chad who just can’t seem to clean up after the loss of Abigail. Chad couldn’t stop blaming himself for putting her away in the first place but Belle wouldn’t hear any of it. Some said Belle not letting Chad go through these stages of grief was insensitive but to me her tough love felt warranted. Chad has a lot at stake right now, namely son Thomas and there really was no time for breaking down – at least outwardly. But Chad, exhausted and defeated, could no longer deal with it all and wounds up firing Belle who was only trying to pull him out of his self-pity. Even though she was now officially off the case, funnily enough Belle received a lead on Jennifer Horton thanks to her half-brother Paul Narita. Belle is the first on the scene at a seedy motel where Jennifer had just relapsed on vodka and pills. She could have easily snapped photos of the fallen Horton to win Chad’s case but instead opted to call Kayla Brady over.
I don’t think there was a DAYS fan that didn’t rejoice when three of our favorite blondes were in one room, supporting one of them in their darkest days. A still high Jennifer was very much like us, confused to find Belle and Kayla there in her motel room, there to rescue her from this dangerous situation. Belle admitted almost immediately that she was going to use this relapse against Jennifer in court but changed her mind, citing the fact that she too was a mother and could only sympathize with Jennifer’s fall off the wagon. They head back for the Horton house so the family could reconvene. Belle is invited to stay though she felt out of place with the legal drama hanging in the air. She stayed for a time only to leave again once Chad showed up with Thomas, hoping for Jennifer to care for him that night. Instead Belle chose to stay at the Dimera mansion to care for both Thomas and Chad. And that is hopefully all that will go on between the two that night. I’m begging for DAYS to show that not only can men and women just be supportive friends to each other, but that Belle can drive story without having it always be about past love drama.
But honestly, after this latest breakdown (love that this addiction story wasn’t tied up with a pretty ribbon just yet) how can any of Jennifer’s family still think she’d be a good parent to her grandson? I hope that once Belle is done knocking sense into Chad, she makes a trip back to the Horton house to spearhead the campaign against ending this upcoming court battle. Chad may be grieving at the moment but Jennifer could be an actual threat to Thomas in her current state.
Missing Heart
For fear of ranting, I only wanted to touch on this subject for a short piece. I’ve said it numerous times in many of my weekly recaps but DAYS is lacking a heart, a center right now. Almost every DAYS fan will agree with that statement though the higher ups would counter that there’s nothing but warmth and love on screen in the form of Victor and Maggie Kiriakis. But no, for weeks now I’ve felt nothing but contempt for the once beloved characters.
This last week, Maggie’s legs were miraculously saved thanks the efforts of the man who indirectly broke them in the first place, Deimos Kiriakis. In under ten minutes her surgery was done and she could feel again and now the once spicy Deimos was everyone’s mild-flavored savior. The mini Kiriakis family reunion was supposed to be this warm event but really all I wanted to do was fast forward through it all. It’s obvious that Maggie and Victor had strong ties to Daniel as the show is seemingly pushing them in the same way now. Every day they’re on our screens being pushed into the foreground with the writing directed at them while loudly screaming, “Good! They’re good! Love them!” Nothing about them feels lovable or loving or warm, the Kiriakis clan stem from crime not hugs so why are we expected to care about them the way we do the Bradys and Hortons?
Salem needs to showcase family interactions and drama, utilize all of the connected characters on the canvas instead of making up new ones who always somehow have ties back to the Kiriakis family. Yes, they’re a legacy family who deserves to be built up but they just don’t fit at the center of a show based on warm family traditions at its core. It doesn’t feel authentic at all. There’s Caroline Brady, grandmother to half the town and Julie Olson who is related to so many people in more ways than one. These women have connections, they have that motherly air about them and yet they’re being used as just Maggie’s friends? This is the same Maggie whose eggs have shown up to Salem on two separate occasions as fully grown disasters. Then there’s Victor, the misogynistic, crabby patriarch who is more believable as a kidnapper of his own great-grandson than a cuddler.
Focus and build around what you already have, DAYS! The new writing regime begins airing in a week and after another round of promo boasting the return of romance and love to Salem, I can’t say I’m hopeful. As long as Maggie and Victor are in town eating up airtime instead of yearlong cruises around the world then I don’t think DAYS fans will be getting the warmth they desire.
As usual, if I missed something you really wanted to talk about or something you felt was important, let’s start a discussion. Comment below, tweet me and let’s chat!
Comments