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Days of Our Lives was jam-packed this last week. February Sweeps period hit and while my expectations for drama weren’t high considering the stories playing out beforehand, I was pleasantly surprised throughout the week. Romance made a brief return to Salem as did strong female characters getting down to business. There were some genuinely good moments mixed in between the eye-rolling moments but all in all, I can’t really complain too much about this last week. God knows I am sick of complaining about my favorite show. The best part is that there still seems to be more story left to the highlights of the week. Can next week continue down this more solid and stable path? There’s still about six months until we see material from new head writer Ron Carlivati so let’s pray. Now onto the highlights of this last week in Salem, USA!
Week in Review for Days of Our Lives episodes airing February 13th-17th.
A Side Order of Romance
Photo Credit: XJ Johnson/JPI Studios
The day of love came and went last week and it was easy to miss if you were spending time in Salem, USA. Holidays used to be big affairs on soap operas and while Steve and Kayla Johnson’s wedding played it out just in time for Valentine’s Day, I couldn’t help but want more than the side dish of romance we were given. That’s not to say the wedding wasn’t satisfying because surprisingly, it was, it’s understandable why Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols gushed over filming the scenes. Call me greedy but I just wanted to see more love stories spread over the week, not just Stayla and much too many helpings of Rope.
The Prague team made it back to Salem in record time (as expected) and all began to prepare for the upcoming nuptials. Patch and Kayla were set to marry for the third and hopefully final time now and just about everyone important were back in town too, so it was perfect timing. The wedding was held at Club TBD because obviously this was a rush job planning wise, even Kayla rushed to the venue with her dress half unzipped later on. It was just a little silly seeing everyone buzz around like bees trying to get to this wedding as if they didn’t have jet lag from the hours long flight from across the pond. The very first aw moment came when Stephanie Johnson made her long awaited return to Salem. The daughter of the duo set to marry strolled right into her grandmother’s pub, seamlessly sliding back into the canvas as if she’d never left. Apparently Stephanie is an accountant in Seattle now? Too bad her racing career fizzled out, huh? Shelley Hennig looked amazing and the chemistry she once shared with her onscreen mother and other family members was still there. She surprisingly fit well with James Lastovic’s Joey too and I wasn’t expecting much there.
It was weird, even leading up to the main event there seemed like a switch had been flipped for DAYS. Conversations actually felt genuine, cousins were interacting, brothers and sisters were picking on each other; for once, these characters remembered they were related and had personalities and relationships with one another. I was colored even more surprised when Club TBD filled up with not just a handful of our favorite Salemites but nearly every single one of them and their kids and grandkids. Almost everyone important to Kayla and Steve were in that club to support the nuptials – everyone but Hope Brady and interloper Rafe Hernandez. The over exaggerated screams of surprise when Hope had gone from wanted criminal to missing person to blackmailer to hometown hero. While prep for the wedding was taking place, Hope returned to Salem to help Rafe gloat to Lieutenant Raines who was only trying to do his job the entire time. The man never exhibited extreme force nor was he as aggressively annoying as the other officer working the case (Officer Hernandez…) yet he was treated like a villain. The man was literally trying to weed out corruption in the police force while trying to capture a known killer. But nope, according to the duo these writers desperately want fans to think are dynamic, Lt. Raines was the worst.
Photo Credit: XJ Johnson/JPI Studios
Unlike some other fans, I don’t think Hope’s return upstaged the wedding by any means. It was easy to move on passed Rope when true love was front and center. Patch and Kayla had a simple ceremony, surrounded by their loved ones with Abe Carver officiating. I almost wondered if Nichols and Evans wrote their characters’ vows or if they’d even adlibbed, so much of it seemed real and almost raw. You can tell these two actors love working together even after so long, you can also tell just how much they love their characters and value their history together.
As I said before though, I just can’t help but to be greedy. Patch and Kayla are one of the biggest super couples of all time; I wanted flashbacks to those larger than life times when they were kids from opposite sides of the tracks who’d fallen in love. It would have been perfect for reminding everyone at home just why these two characters fit together, why they work. But alas the showrunners wanted to go the simple route and it was effective, it was sweet and it was well done. Like Stephanie said, Salem just wouldn’t be Salem if Patch and Kayla were there but not together. I’m so happy that they can finally be happy together. Now let’s make it stick!
What did you think about this latest Stayla wedding?
Stephen and Mary Beth did contribute to the vows. They said so in many interviews. Of course, Higley didn’t write enough so thank goodness these great actors stepped in and took over. Those vows made the wedding.