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Days of Our Lives didn’t make me angry this last week – which I love! Though I may not have hate watched like I did last week, there was still so much that dragged on this last week. Not to mention so much material that should and could be cut as well. I understand that we still have four months left with this writing regime and that my complaints won’t change what’s already in the can – but I hope the future writer is hearing out all the fans! There have been so many missteps with our precious Salemites these days and as the people who have grown up or grown to love these characters, we know them pretty damn well. Because so many of the characters are being poorly written, the drama in these storylines is just severely lacking. There needs to be a revamp of individual characters before the show can have a successful revamp itself. The drama will then begin to unfold all on its own, honestly! Let’s get into some highlights of this last week in Salem, USA!
Week in Review for Days of Our Lives episodes airing March 13th – 17th.
#NotMySuperCouple
Unfortunately, there have been very strong opponents to the latest incarnation of Chabby. Billy Flynn’s Chad Dimera had explosive chemistry with Kate Mansi’s Abigail Dimera and last year, I’d have to say the two of them hard carried most of the show in 2016; it’s understandable that people are still clinging to that version of the couple. But Marci Miller has stepped into the role of Abigail and the Chabby dynamic has changed but that doesn’t make it bad! Far too often, stubborn shippers cling to a certain couple’s past to downplay their present, pair that with writing that seems intent to work against the couple and it’s the perfect breeding ground for hate. This last week gave viewers a host of sweet Chad and Abigail scenes juxtaposed against fabricated Chad and Gabi Hernandez scenes to try and level the playing field of this messy love triangle. And whether or not I’m a Chabby fan, Chabi just isn’t viable competition but why do the writers think otherwise?
Abigail finds Chad and Gabi in an awkward moment.
The fire that this triangle once had has really begun to dim for me. These three actors are some of my favorites on the show but this story is doing no one justice, in fact it is making them all look like complete idiots. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t both Gabi and Chad agree to stop pining over one another? This last week we had to sit through fabricated flashbacks from the two while Abigail worked her butt off to support her man, completely oblivious that he still wanted her best friend. After an entire year of torturing this couple, the writers couldn’t just let them kick back, relax and enjoy their family life? Everything about this triangle feels so contrived even if the chemistry is there.
Dena Higley (I know it’s you, girl!) wants the viewers to think of Chad and Gabi as an up and coming epic romance between two star-crossed lovers – but in reality, Chad couldn’t stand Gabi. The show aired some of the most unintentionally silly scenes I’ve seen in a long time, flashing back to Gabi giving Chad baseball tips in high school and citing that as the start of their love affair. But for anyone who has watched over the 8 years that Chad has been on canvas, he was busy knocking up another girl and avoiding Gabi’s advances. This girl was so obsessed with him that she blew up half the town which took out Abigail’s father in the aftermath! It’s one thing to make up a little back story to add to already crafted history, but to completely change it to something that shifts the entire narrative of the last few years? Lazy, simple and downright dumb. There was so much tied to Gabi’s past dark obsession with Chad from Melanie Jonas being kidnapped, the Salem explosion, Jack Devereaux’s death, Chad blackmailing her, Rafe lying to keep her involvement in the DAYSaster a secret… now all of that is null in void because of cheeky flashback about baseball practice. And why does choosing the perfect life partner become that much harder for Chad because one knows how to pitch?
There were some great Chad and Abigial scenes to offset the other silliness though, thank God. I’ve mentioned before that I think Marci Miller’s Abigail has the amazing maturity about her, still a little fragile but somehow a sensual kind of presence. With her Abigail, this version of Chabby feels more adult with a different kind of sexiness. The stupid quips about last week’s preposterous belly dancing fiasco aside, there was this easy banter between them and a lot of unspoken words shared just with eyes that you didn’t see with Kate Mansi’s Abigail. Not that they didn’t have chemistry but the characters and the couple were fierier with a loud kind of passion. This Chabby is on a quiet storm kind of level which I enjoy. The scene of them racing to the bedroom trying to get naked was both adorable and sexy; a route I feel like should have been taken with these characters instead of plopping them into another triangle. There’s so much more they should have done with this couple that they didn’t do, like give them time to find their own rhythm on their own with Marci Miller’s recast changing the dynamic. Chabby is arguably one of the biggest couples DAYS has seen in recent years, one that almost universally had fans cheering them on but now they’re being downplayed in favor of the side couple. Not a smart move!
I am all for conflict for couples but it does not always have to be based around a love triangle. I would have preferred for Gabi to step aside like a good friend (play up Gabi and Abigail’s friendship more, not just when they’re closing business deals with their bodies…) to let Chad and Abigail sort out their lives. Maybe some therapy sessions to help them both deal with the fact that for a few months, Abigail was dead to the rest of the world but now she’s back. Chad went through hell with Abigail’s family trying to take away his son all because Abigail wanted to play dead, there should have been more confusion and resentment on his end. Instead we just got angry Chad then adulterous Chad as an answer to the major revelation that his wife had returned from the dead.
It used to be that “the other woman” was written almost endearingly and you wanted to root for her, much like Kristen Dimera back in the 90’s. Funnily enough, the wife is now being written as the other woman and it just makes Abigail look stupid. I’m happy she has a purpose now doing her event planning for Dimera Enterprises, but I’m going to need her to kick her attitude up a notch. She’s Chad’s wife and mother of his child, Gabi should not be behaving as if she has some kind of claim on her husband. If they’re not going to try to keep these women as real friends then Abigail really needs to smack the mess out of Gabi. But nope, they’ll be keeping her meek while her husband screws her best friend and her best friend’s other brother makes googly eyes at her. Basically it’s an uninspired, too slow burning mess.
This storyline has a few exit points now it seems; either Gabi will gravitate toward Eli Grant instead of walking in on half-naked Chad every day (thanks for the visuals though!) or Chad will focus all his attention on Deimos Kiriakis pilfering ancient artifacts instead of paying more than ten minutes of attention to his wife. Or the love triangle will continue to grow and grow…
Absolutely on point. The only thing I’d add is that it’s beyond irritating that Sonny and Paul are being wasted on this baby mob boss wannabe mess. Where’s the chemistry? The heat? It’s like the writers are throwing up their hands and saying, “we let them kiss, a couple times, like grandpas, what more do you want?” Any other new/reunited couple would be hitting the sheets yesterday. The double standard is infuriating.
This review was completely on point. All of the weaknesses of the current writing regime were correctly identified. It’s a real chore to watch the show right now. Thank you for correctly pinpointing the reasons why.