If you hated the Devil storyline, it’s time to celebrate.
The whole thing came to a spectacular finish on Days of Our Lives during the week of 5-16-22.
Thanks to Tripp’s sacrifice, the Devil is gone… at least for now. Let’s hope it stays gone for at least another quarter of a century!
The Devil has been portrayed as an all-powerful evil being that can jump into whatever host it desires regardless of whether the person is open to it, so this doesn’t make sense. What stopped it from going back through the window and into one of the people in shock over Tripp’s sacrifice?
However, this story FINALLY made references to the theology that is supposedly behind the Devil. There was a guardian angel (Bo) and a man who made a Jesus-like sacrifice (Tripp).
Bo: Yeah, baby, I’m sure. You and this little guy are safe. It’s over.
Ciara: How do you know that? Dad, how can you be sure?
Bo: Because one good man sacrificed everything to get rid of it.
Viewed through that context, it makes perfect sense: Tripp’s sacrifice was the ultimate act of love, which eradicated the Devil’s power and sent it straight back to Hell.
Tripp’s jump out the window was also an homage to The Exorcist, so there’s that too.
The “exorcism” that preceded Tripp’s sacrifice was as campy as everything else surrounding the Devil story. It looked like a macabre children’s game, with everyone gathered around Allie, who shrank back in fear and exchanged taunts with the good guys.
Demonic possession is, in religious circles, more psychological than anything else. The idea that the Devil could snap Allie’s neck from within her was ridiculous, as was the way it jumped into Tripp without any sign it was about to leave Allie.
But whatever. That part of the story is over, and Days of Our Lives is much better for it.
And we got a ghostly visit from Bo out of it, too.
There will be more of Bo during the summer of 2022 when Beyond Salem returns. But the little bit we got was long overdue.
Bo came for a quick visit with Ciara to reassure her that she and his little namesake were okay. And he also encouraged Ben to forget the past and concentrate on the good man he’s become.
Bo’s sins were far less than Ben’s. He wasn’t a serial killer. But if rough-around-the-edges Bo’s transition to a heavenly angel means G-d has blessed Ben and Ciara’s union, maybe we can finally move on from all these stories about people trying to destroy Ben and Ciara because of Ben’s past.
It’s too bad Hope couldn’t come back for a quick visit, too, considering her daughter suffered a serious crisis immediately after little Bo’s birth. Let’s hope she’s met her new grandson by the time Beyond Salem comes around!
The aftermath of this Devil stuff is stronger than the supernatural storyline was.
Chanel never got a real chance to decide what she wanted. The Devil made both Johnny and Allie break her heart, and she was turning toward Tripp because they both had been hurt deeply by “Allie.”
Now that the demon is out of the way, Chanel has choices to make, and the Tripp/Allie/Chanel/Johnny story is heating up.
Allie: Is there something you wanted to talk about?
Tripp: I wanted to ask you what I asked you before, about whether you still have feelings for Chanel. But I think I just got my answer.
Tripp declared his love for Allie, and she said she still loved him too, but when Chanel entered the room, it was like she was the only person that existed in Allie’s eyes.
Tripp seemed utterly forgotten, both by Allie and Chanel, who had come there to see how he was doing after his near-death experience. He had to lie in bed watching for several minutes while Chanel and Allie hugged over and over.
Ouch! No wonder Tripp still feels insecure about Allie’s ability to commit to him.
Allie never fully explored or processed her feelings either. The Devil ruined things with her and Tripp, and after less than a day of her attempt to make things work with Chanel, the Devil destroyed that too.
So now we’re back where we left off before the Devil interfered, and this time we can proceed with this story properly.
Johnny also declared his love for Chanel, and they kissed, but Chanel seemed jealous of the idea that Tripp sacrificed himself for Allie. It’s hard to tell which one of them she loves, and she might also have some not-yet-explored feelings for Tripp.
What a mess! Some strong, soapy drama should come out of this one.
Meanwhile, Xander ran around Salem trying to make a ridiculously convoluted and unnecessary plan work to keep Sarah from finding out her baby died.
Xander learned nothing from the last go-around with this. He switched the babies because he was convinced Sarah was too fragile to know hers had died, only for her to find out and then dump him for causing her extra pain.
Now, Sarah thought Mickey was still alive, and Xander was convinced that she was too fragile to learn hers had died, so he made up a nonsensical story and tried to manipulate both Eric and Nicole into going along with it.
Unsurprisingly, the whole thing blew up in Xander’s face when Eric refused to go along with the lie. Now Sarah is furious at Xander again, and he has no one to blame but himself.
There was no reason for this lie other than the writers wanting a rerun of the baby switch drama. If Xander were worried Sarah would again be angry at him about the switch, he could have left that part out.
All Sarah needed to know was that her baby had passed away. If Xander had told her that, he could have helped her through her grief.
Why on Earth did Xander think this plan would work, anyway?
It required the cooperation of way too many people. He didn’t even consider the possibility that Sarah would ask Nicole or Eric where the baby was, so they were both blindsided when she showed up.
Nicole showed incredible character growth when she encouraged Xander to tell the truth instead of getting deeper into a complicated mess. Of course, some of it was self-serving since pretending to be with Eric again would have ruined her relationship with Rafe.
Still, she didn’t consider this nonsense for a second. Good for her.
Eric is generally a straight shooter, especially in priest mode. His problem isn’t lying; he tends to be extremely judgmental of those who don’t tell the truth. Either way, though, he would never go along with Xander’s nonsense.
I’m glad he didn’t. This story was a lot to take, and it only lasted a few days! If it had gone on for months, it would have been torturous.
Eric didn’t deserve Xander’s wrath, either. He TOLD Xander he was not going along with this, and Xander set everything in motion by making up this silly story instead of telling Sarah the truth in the first place.
Since Sarah is again on the outs with Xander and the child version of Sarah had a big crush on Eric, the chances are good that she’ll want to give Eric another chance romantically now.
Xander will likely run all over town trying to convince Sarah to give him another chance, especially since Gwen has made her deal and is off to prison — or is she?
We don’t have proof that Gwen has been shipped to Statesville yet, so could she hear about this mess and decide to let Ava bust her out instead? I hope not, but anything’s possible since she’s got an opening to steal Xander back from Sarah.
Across town, Paulina’s cover story about how she shot TR is even more full of holes than Xander’s lie!
She isn’t fooling anyone. Eli and Abe noticed that her story didn’t add up in about 30 seconds, and Rafe seemed suspicious.
Unfortunately, Eli decided to put his usual integrity aside so that Lani won’t go to prison and encouraged her to let Paulina take the fall for TR’s death.
While it’s true that Eli also turned a blind eye to Lani sneaking Kristen out of jail, he also made it clear that was the one pass she got and that this type of behavior wasn’t acceptable to him.
But here we are again, and Eli has no problem letting an innocent woman go to prison so that Lani can remain free.
Besides all the ethical considerations, how is Lani going to be able to keep this secret? She already said she couldn’t function on the job or feel confident telling her kids to be honest if she’s keeping this secret.
She’s already slipped up a bunch of times, and Eli may not be the only one who wants to question her.
Paulina is overconfident about her plan, too. And worse than that, Days of Our Lives has again managed to malign people living with real PTSD with this storyline.
Paulina explained gleefully that she can say at trial that she has PTSD because of TR’s former abuse of her, and therefore she thought he was a threat when he wasn’t and killed him.
Days of Our Lives is stuck on this pernicious myth that people who suffer from mental illness are violent when it’s not true. Plus, mental health issues aren’t something you claim you have to get out of trouble. They’re serious, pervasive problems that interfere with people’s ability to function.
This storyline makes a mockery out of those issues. Again.
Paulina’s also incredibly overconfident, and it’s not clear precisely what she plans to do. She told Lani she’s pleading guilty and Chanel that the jury would exonerate her. Is she planning on going to trial or not?
Chanel: I’m a nervous wreck because of what’s going on with my mom.
Johnny: I’m sorry.
Chanel: It doesn’t feel real that Mama shot and killed someone, and not just anyone. Lani’s biological father.
Johnny: How is she doing?
Chanel: She’s putting on a brave face. She’s saying everything’s going to be okay. But what if she’s wrong? What if they put her in prison? It’s not right. She’s not a dangerous criminal. She is a mother. She is MY mother.
Chanel’s heartbreak over her mother’s arrest is the best part of this story. Paulina didn’t even consider the possibility that Chanel would be upset when she decided to confess to killing TR. Meanwhile, her daughter is wandering around Salem with tears in her eyes because her mother may go to prison.
Paulina did this for her other daughter. Will Chanel someday resent the fact that Paulina cared more about protecting Lani than about her other daughter’s well-being?
The Shawn/Jan/Belle drama is getting old. It also feels like a redux of last month’s Tony/Anna/”Renee” problem.
Shawn is allowing Jan to manipulate him over and over. He seems to have left his brain in his desk at the Salem PD and comes running every time Jan wants something.
Belle would have been better served by her original plan to ignore Jan. Getting in her face is sure to help Jan make herself into the victim here.
Finally, Dimera Enterprises is playing musical CEOs again or trying to.
There was yet another board meeting to oust the current CEO, and it almost worked, but then Kristen randomly showed up.
I can’t imagine why Kristen would be on Gabi’s side. She’s the most loyal to Stefano of all the Dimeras! But there would be no point to her dialing in at the last minute only to support everyone else’s bid to unseat Gabi.
I’m more intrigued by the reference to Peter Blake, even though he apparently cast his vote in the chat section of Zoom since he didn’t say a word. He hasn’t been heard from for years — could the writers be planning something bigger for him than this off-screen appearance?
Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts about the end of the Devil story, Xander’s lies, and everything else that happened on Days of Our Lives during the week of 5-16-22.
If you’re eager for more Days of Our Lives chat, check back on Sunday for the latest Days of Our Lives Round Table discussion.
Days of Our Lives airs on NBC on weekday afternoons. Check your local listings for airtimes or watch on Peacock TV on weeknights after 8 PM EST / 5 PM PST.
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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.
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