Days of Our Lives Round Table: Is This Really the End of Eric and Nicole?

Eric went on a bender and broke up with Nicole. Sister Mary Moira came to town to mourn Susan and chastize EJ. Bonnie’s PTSD had her seeing clowns everywhere. And Will won’t be coming home to Salem for Christmas this year.

Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Tony from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate if this is the end of Nicole and Eric, Sister Mary Moira’s visit, who enjoys the Alex/Stephanie/Chad triangle, and if Will should be recast once again on Days of Our Lives.

Was Nicole and Eric’s demise as a couple inevitable? Is this finally the end for them, or is it just another spiral on the crazy roller coaster that is their love story?

Tony: It was absolutely inevitable. Too much time and hurt have come between Eric and Nicole in the past. This would have been a great couple at one point, but not now. I really hope this is the end for them.

Jack: I hope this is the end for them! Nicole had it exactly right when she said they were trying to recreate what they once had and had forgotten why they don’t work as a couple.

I’m afraid this is only temporary, though. With Eric appearing interested in slimy Sloan, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nicole investigates and eventually exposes Sloan’s misdeeds to the world and “rescues” Eric from his evil girlfriend, leading him to realize Nicole is his true love after all.

That thought makes me puke, but it seems like the most logical story here.

Christine: There was a time I liked Nicole and Eric, but that was long ago. I’m so tired of Eric losing his temper or deciding that Nicole isn’t good enough for him ten minutes after declaring his love for her.

I hope this is the end of this couple, but I’m not about to get my hopes up.

What was your reaction to Sister Mary Moira’s arrival in Salem?

Tony: I loved it! I have, for a long time, wanted to see the return of Susan’s siblings! It’s great to see Stacy Haiduk playing another of the Banks quads!

Jack: I was thrilled! I love Susan, and her alter egos, and I was curious about how Stacy Haiduk would approach the role since this is the first time she’ll be playing Sister Mary Moira.

I’m surprised that “Aunt Sister” didn’t slap EJ’s wrists with a ruler, though.

Christine: Ugh. I may be in the minority, but I’m not a fan. At least Susan’s quirkiness can be endearing in small doses. But Sister Mary Moira is nothing but mean and judgmental. I thought EJ showed great restraint in not telling her off and kicking her out.

Rate the Alex/Stephanie/Chad love triangle?

Tony: A 6. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it, either. I’d prefer Stephanie with Chad, but it seems like the show really wants her and Alex together.

Jack: -100. We don’t need any more of these types of triangles, and now everyone is doing to Chad what they all did to Nicole for months: telling him how he feels and encouraging him to fight for someone he’s “just friends” with and works with.

Also, this constant trope of Stephanie canceling dates with Alex to work with Chad is already overdone. And Chad and Stephanie eating the dinner she’d made for her romantic evening with Alex was tacky.

Christine: I give it a 4. Chad has no business getting involved with anyone as he’s still mourning Abigail. I thought Sonny encouraging him to go after Stephanie was insensitive and disrespectful.

Alex and Stephanie have their moments, but I’m not rooting for either of these couples, so the triangle is pretty boring.

Will isn’t coming back home for Christmas. Are Will and Sonny headed toward another breakup? And if so, do you prefer them together or apart?

Tony: Sadly, the writing is on the wall for this couple. It feels a lot like the last time they did this storyline. While I’d prefer them together, this seems like the only storyline the writers can come up with for Sonny and Will.

Jack: This seems like a repeat of what happened with Nicole and Eric when Eric was in Africa, which was a repeat of when Bo was MIA and never called Hope.

Every time an actor isn’t available, they either kill off the character or have a long-distance relationship that implodes because the faraway partner ghosts their spouse. I’d rather they recast Will again than this!

If Will and Sonny break up, it needs to be the end of them. This back-and-forth thing doesn’t work for any couple.

Christine: Considering Will and Sonny have been down this path before, and it led to cheating and divorce, their future looks bleak.

The Sonny recast has worked well, so if they want to keep this couple going, they should probably recast Will again.

Will Bonnie turn Xander in, cover for him, or mistake her assumption for a symptom of her PTSD?

Tony: I really hope Bonnie turns him in! Not because I want Xander to lose Sarah again, but because it would be nice if Bonnie got justice for her attack.

No matter how much I like Xander, what he did to Bonnie was wrong, and it’s clearly having a huge effect on her.

Jack: I’m afraid that no one will believe Bonnie because of her PTSD. They’ll assume she was hallucinating again, especially since Sarah has “proof” that Rednax exists.

Christine: I think that everyone will think she’s hallucinating again, which will make it worse for Bonnie, and so much worse for Xander when the truth finally comes out.

I wish there was a way for Xander to come clean about this, but the whole he’s digging himself just keeps getting deeper.

Speaking of Bonnie suffering from PTSD. Do you think this is just to enhance Xander’s downfall, or is it about time someone experienced some consequences from being kidnapped?

Tony: A little bit of both. It’s ridiculous that all these people keep getting kidnapped and are totally fine two seconds after getting saved, so it’s nice to see someone not be okay.

However, the way things went this week, I kind of have a feeling that it’s just to enhance Xander’s downfall, and the PTSD will vanish after he suffers some kind of consequence.

Jack: If this were written properly, I’d be thrilled. DAYS characters rarely have any long-term consequences for being kidnapped or violently assaulted.

But as written, DAYS is spreading misinformation. Contrary to Sarah’s claims, PTSD does not involve hallucinations. This is more similar to when Sarah was drugged and hallucinating than to PTSD, and I could do without this inaccurate version of PTSD.

Christine: It seems to be written to make the consequences for Xander as bad as possible.

But I do wish Days would deal with the trauma someone would experience after a scary or violent event in a more realistic way. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to get that here.

Who would you rate as the Performer of the Week after this week’s episodes of Days of Our Lives?

Tony: Stacy Haiduk as Sister Mary Moira Banks. Susan’s sister, the sister, has been a favorite character of mine for ages, and Stacy has done well in her one episode so far!

Jack: As much as I hate the Eric/Nicole story and that the show screwed over Nicole/Rafe for this nonsense, I thought Ari Zucker and Greg Vaughan both did amazing work in their breakup scene.

I also continue to be impressed by Raven Bowens, who shines in every scene she’s in.

Christine: Dan Feuerriegel has done an amazing job of showing EJ’s vulnerability and grief, while never losing EJ’s edge. I’ve enjoyed every scene of his over the last couple of weeks.

What surprised or disappointed you the most this week in Salem?

Tony: Eric and Sloan. I’ve been disappointed in Eric since he decided to degrade Nicole for the millionth time, but his actions this week, particularly since meeting Sloan, are a new low. I’m also disappointed that Eric got out of jail so quickly and how easily everyone agreed that he’d “suffered enough.”

Jack: As I mentioned above, I wish DAYS would treat mental illness seriously instead of being wildly inaccurate for the sake of the plot.

I’m also disappointed that Eric took Sloan’s side so quickly and seemed ready to jump into bed with her minutes after breaking up with Nicole.

Why are those darn French doors at the Dimera Mansion still unlocked?

Finally, Paulina should NOT have resigned as governor. She should be stronger than this and let Abe help her turn the tables on Sloan!

Christine: Did Sarah and Maggie really let a distraught and hallucinating Bonnie walk out of the Pub alone? Bonnie was screaming and crying and attacking people. Sarah should have escorted her to the hospital, not allowed her to wander Salem alone.

Eric was running around Salem calling EJ a criminal who deserved to be punched, but Eric was the one who assaulted EJ and Shawn, drove drunk, and disrespected his sister, who was only trying to help him. It seems like Saint Eric needs to realize the word criminal now applies to him.

And why does Stephanie need to call Chad to right up a simple press release? Wasn’t she doing this job solo a month ago?\

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline on this week’s Days of Our Lives?

Tony: Sister Mary Moira’s scenes are a delight! I loved her chastising EJ! Honorable mention goes to Belle for standing up for herself and Shawn when Eric was being belligerent. I just wish she’d kept her backbone.

Jack: Sister Mary Moira’s comments to EJ cracked me up.

Christine: EJ calling Sister Mary Moira “Aunt Sister” was ridiculous fun. I loved watching him try to keep his composure and be respectful even when you could tell he wanted to explode.

And once again, Leo and Sonny were both sweet and fun. I look forward to seeing more.

Not it’s your turn, Days fans. Who was your Performer of the Week? Hit the SHOW COMMENTS button to let us know. Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.

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C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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