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Days of our Lives turned over a new leaf storyline wise during the week of November 3. On Friday especially, it felt like old storylines had finally ended their arcs or picked up the pace, giving a much more exciting feel to the show after having dragged a bit. With some veterans gone now, the newest face introduced to Salem, Paul Norita was like a breath of fresh air! There were some obvious hiccups in the storytelling but all in all, it was an enjoyable week in Salem, USA!
Days of our Lives Recap | Episodes airing November 3-7, 2014
The Salem Hillbillies
If only this messy family had gotten a little messier say… five or so months ago? I’m doing my very best to invest myself in this storyline, but it’s hard to after all the false starts when Jordan Ridgeway first showed up in Salem so long ago. Only now are we getting a taste of the reason why she ran away under multiple assumed identities.
This week, Jordan’s brother Ben Rogers had nearly made his first big move since coming to Salem. It was almost a guarantee that he’d land a nice apartment but he’s later denied after one of his references fell through. It turns out that since Sonny Kiriakis was busy, Chad Dimera spoke as his employer reference and lost Ben the apartment. Like any rational person would, Ben just punches Chad without asking questions. Abigail Devereaux and Rafe Hernandez rush into Club TBD to break up the fight that happened so suddenly. Chad explains that he was only trying to save Ben any future anger over living in a building owned by the Dimeras but Ben doesn’t buy it.
After Jordan questions Marlena Evans on repressed memories, she runs into her stepfather outside of Horton Town Square. Jordan and Clyde are still verbally battling it out in the woods until Clyde realizes that Jordan really doesn’t remember killing her mother – whether that was true or not. The next we see of Jordan, she’s at the club to try and bring peace, forcing Ben to apologize to Chad like the sensitive overgrown child he is. Somehow, Abby thinks that it’s all Chad’s fault and chooses to ignore the red flag of Ben’s temper. Thankfully Jordan has her head on straight and disagrees, its Ben’s temper that’s the real issue in this situation. No rational person should behave the way he does. We viewers get to see more of the steadily worsening temper Ben has while he tries to apologize to Chad outside, nearly jumping the man again when Chad mentions being Abigail’s first, and even suggesting that she might be a little strung out on sex because of him.
Inside, Jordan worries that Ben is turning out to be like his father after suffering his abuse for so long and stresses the point once he comes back in though Ben shoots down such a claim. Abigail meanwhile places all of the blame on the wrong person (her usual pattern), berating Chad who says that Ben almost attacked him again and he’s decided to not consider him for a position at his and Sonny’s new bar anymore. Later, Ben and Abigail head off together but the night soon turns sour when Ben can’t let go of his anger toward the youngest Dimera son. He feels that Chad is playing Abby and even compares it to her situation with EJ, this gets Abigail angry and she leaves him for the night. Jordan chooses to leave Chad for the night too as there’s something she must figure out on her own. Surely plagued with confusing memories coming back, Jordan finds her way to Clyde’s hotel room and waits, with a gun pointed at him, for him to awaken. Clyde attempts to talk his volatile step-daughter down but she’s not having any of his excuses. Instead of protecting her, she tearfully accuses him of rape.
For the first time in weeks, I’ve actually been interested in just where this story could be going. It still feels a bit “too little, too late” but there’s no doubt that there’s potential here. Ben’s anger issues could get him into a lot of trouble that’ll hopefully help him build some more character and Jordan – finally! – Jordan is showing more emotion than concern, distress and worry. Did Clyde really rape her when she was fifteen? Or was it one of his Duck Dynasty goons? Either way, there’s a lot more to this family’s messed up history than we know.
Aiden should have packed light!
Oh, the baggage! It’s come back to bite him in the butt! Ever since his inception on DAYS, it’s been pretty heavily hinted that Aiden Jennings was hiding something regarding his past life before Salem. Just like his romance with Hope Brady, things have been moving at a molasses like pace with his background story too. This week, Hope has a chance meeting with Bree, an old acquaintance from a Mommy & Me class who recently moved to Portland. They chat a little bit until Hope has to leave but Bree soon spots Aiden, someone she remembers from back in Portland. Aiden’s surprised to see her but remains friendly through their chat while she makes talk of him leaving Portland very quickly, wondering how Chase is doing after the move. She mentions Meredith, his ex-wife, and how a day doesn’t go by the she doesn’t think of her and how terrible it is that she’s gone. When Bree heads off for the airport, Hope comes back and asks how Aiden knows Bree. Bree and Meredith were once friends back in Portland to which Hope finds amusing. Unfortunately, Aiden doesn’t quite think so and cancels their family date night, heading off.
I know there are a few of you out there that don’t care much about Aiden Jennings, but I’ve loved him since the beginning! Daniel Cosgrove is not just another pretty face but he’s very talented too, no one can say anything against that. Both actors in the Aiden/Hope romance agreed that they wished writers had showcased more of their getting to know one another as a couple, but as a fan, I still think the pacing was perfect. It was realistic too. Hope just lost the love of her life and had to struggle with the decision to move on, or not to move on.
In a recent recap, I stated that Hope and Aiden did need some angst to liven things up a bit. There’s no room in soap operas for an easy romance and it looks like the writers are funneling in the angst now. According to reports, we might be learning more about Meredith in a few months with Julie Tolivar coming to Salem in February. So she can’t be dead… right?
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