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Days of Our Lives will never please every viewer, in fact, no show can or will. There’s been a development of people utterly loving the latest reboot of Salem, USA while others loathe everything about it. I’ve found myself somewhere in between, understanding the points of both factions but ultimately still enjoying the show much more than I did only several months ago. The biggest complaint I’ve seen is how everything has been plot driven lately and that the stories will crumble once the overarching plot is gone. Personally, I believe DAYS needed to shift to a plot driven story for the time being. Characters weren’t moving, the canvas was flat and barely living while this prison break has gotten characters to interact in ways that should have happened a long time ago. There’s been a lot of promising bits that came off refreshing to me as a viewer. As always, you know I remain hopeful with everything about my Salemites! Let’s get into some of my favorite highlights from Salem, USA this last week!
Week in Review for Days of Our Lives episodes airing September 26th – September 30th.
Digital Girl
We all knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but Claire Brady got herself caught in Orpheus’ clutches this last week. All for Youtube views! Her attitude during the entire siege of Salem has polarized many a viewer but when it came to a head this week, I don’t think anyone wanted to lose Belle and Shawn’s daughter at the hands of these convicts. There are just many, many more people in need of a good bullet than the budding teen songstress.
The new head writers of the show seem to be moving toward adding a little more authenticity to their characters. Claire came to Salem headstrong, but thanks to awkward dialogue and stories, she never felt much like a teenager to me. But her obsession with all things digital was on fire this week. While one of her best friends and cousins was kidnapped by the trio of criminals in a warehouse, Claire was much more interested in finding a source of power to charge her tablet. John Black wanted to secure a plan to keep them safe in case Orpheus, Clyde Weston and Xander Cook decided to blow up some more of Salem to get to them. Even with their history of super crime fighting, John and Marlena Evans played the role of grandparents perfectly and shut Claire down at every turn. Her disregard for her own safety in favor of Youtube views was irresponsible and it would not fly under their roof. Still, the warnings fell upon deaf ears.
Photo Credit: © XJ Johnson/JPI Studios
Marlena and Claire went out with their bodyguard for the day but after coming upon a woman who needed protection, they made the silly mistake of leaving the guard with her. It was clear that all of Salem was on edge. Thinking it’d be safe to take a back road to the hospital, Marlena and Claire run right into Orpheus who promptly took them hostage. They play it really smart, pretending to not know one another but Orpheus had already figured out Claire’s relation to Marlena. But what he hadn’t figured was that John had a tracker on his ladies’ phones and when Marlena had the chance to, she pushed her panic button which sent the private eye running. By the time John had arrived, they’d also taken Kate Roberts hostage but when shots rang out all of the criminals were sent scattering back to their base of operations.
Funnily enough, even after the harrowing experience, Claire is still stuck in her digital world. Her performance from prom had taken off and there was demand for more videos. Uncle Paul Narita was left in charge of watching her while Marlena and John coordinated with Salem PD and Abe Carver. Salem might be in darkness and in fear but the rest of the world wasn’t, that was her validation for needing to get out of the safety of the townhouse to power up her tablet. Unfortunately for her, she got out in a way she never expected. It’s assumed that when Paul was in the living room speaking with Sonny Kiriakis, she snuck out only to be caught by Orpheus. The next time we see her is when she’s tied to chair, making a tense phone call to John who understood immediately that she captured.
Marlena blamed herself for letting Claire get caught and her stress levels rose even higher after not being able to get ahold of Claire’s parents. In the face of Claire and her dangerous stubborn streak, I’d say Marlena did a damn good job keeping her in line but when a teenager wants to do something, it can be hard to stop them. But John was right by saying Claire could easily outsmart the three criminals, and no matter what anyone says about her whining for Wi-Fi, Claire has often proven herself to have a lot more sense than most other Salemites. Remember when she led the charge to take out Chase Jennings in that warehouse? Should have listened to Claire…
Just as her grandpa predicted, Claire outsmarted the criminals without them even suspecting her. While they hijack the broadcast of Mayor Carver’s speech, Claire has ungagged herself and instructed Joey to press the alert on her necklace gifted from John. As expected the Wi-Fi has chosen this exact time to act up so John received her location with a bit of a delay, but they’re soon off to rescue the kids as chaos ensues in the square. As a shootout kicked off, Joey Johnson and Claire free themselves but it’s only Claire who makes it out when Xander knocked Joey out with a pistol whip. Kayla Brady and Steve Johnson’s nightmare is far from over as the Three Stooges of the criminal underworld made off with Joey still in tow, while Claire has been saved.
But will this day from hell be enough to knock some sense into Claire’s head? Outside of the online world, the real world could be very dangerous. I can see it making sense that Claire isn’t used to this kind of danger, this isn’t normal for her after having lived away from the hub of insanity known as Salem, USA. I hope the writers touch on that fact as well as use this as a bit of a cautionary tale to the generation that lives plugged in. Claire could have easily lost her life – twice! But knowing her, it might just be fodder to make a really interesting vlog.
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