Kristen escaped, Jan abducted Claire and found a bonus hostage in the trunk, and it felt like half of Salem was being blackmailed!
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Bradys and Wendylou from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate, who is crazier, Jan or Kristen, what’s Kate’s plan, if Xander should get that job, if there’s any difference between Sami and Nicole’s adultery, and more!
Who is crazier, Kristen or Jan?
Bradys: Kristen, of course. She is so crazy, and Jan is crazy too, but Kristen is on another level, Brady made the right decision.
Wendylou: Crazier? Jan, for sure. She’s not in touch with reality. Kristen is just plain selfish and evil. Not crazy.
Jack: That’s a hard one. They are both the same: delusional and obsessed with a specific person, and willing to do anything to try to force a relationship with that person.
Jan is a little crazier because she plotted out this whole murder just to frame Belle and used Claire getting attacked as an excuse, while Kristen’s crimes seem to be all impulse and afterward she regrets hurting people.
Christine: Jan because she is completely delusional. Kristen is her own version of crazy but at least it’s based on some sense of reality.
Kristen and Brady have had a relationship. Brady has actually said he loves Kristen, whereas Jan’s relationship with Shawn is all in her head.
Were you surprised that Kristen escaped once again? Do you think she’s left Salem already or does she have a reason to stick around?
Bradys: I was surprised. That was horrible, and she needs to go to prison. I think she is in Salem but hiding somewhere.
Wendylou: Yes I was surprised…and disappointed. I’m tired of this woman getting away with hurting so many people. I can’t believe after everything she did that she wasn’t kept under tighter security. I hope she’s at least gone for a while.
Jack: Kristen always escapes, so I wasn’t surprised as much as I was disappointed. I wanted her to get what she deserved for once and I liked the idea of her having to sit in prison and realize she’d lost everything.
I’m sure Kristen hasn’t gone too far. She wants Brady back, so she can’t resist being near him.
Christine: Dimeras always escape. That’s how Salem works, so I wasn’t at all surprised. It wouldn’t surprise me if Kristen doubled back and tried to take Rachel with her, maybe raise her on some Dimera island and make one last attempt at convincing Brady to go with her.
And if Brady doesn’t have security watching Rachel, he’s an idiot. But then again, Brady hasn’t proven to be all that bright, so the odds are Kristen could just walk in and take Rachel with no one noticing.
Kate’s lying about being blind, and likely lying about her memory loss. What do you think is her end-game?
Bradys: I don’t know really. I think she’s lying because she wants Jake’s attention, but that’s not going to work. Gabi and Jake are a strong couple.
Wendylou: I’m not sure she’s lying about being blind. I do think she’s lying about her memory though.
She was able to recount everything that happened to Dr. Snyder. I guess this is her pathetic attempt to cling to Jake or at least torture Jake and Gabi by forcing them to pretend they’re not together.
Jack: I think she and Gabi are playing the same game. Kate is trying to get Jake to spend time with her and shut Gabi out, while Gabi is name-dropping Chad and trying to make Jake jealous so that she can keep him away from Kate.
Christine: Kate is pissed! I think she knows that she and Jake are over but she wants to make him pay.
He kept promising he had no feelings for Gabi, and then within 24-hours of “Kate” breaking up with him, he was in bed with Gabi.
Kate’s going to toy with him and Gabi like a cat toys with a mouse and although I hope it doesn’t go on for too long, I’m happy to see Kate get her spunk back.
Nicole and Sami are both trying to cover up being unfaithful to their spouses. Do you think one is worse than the other? Will the truth come out for either of them?
Bradys: Nicole’s was the worst. Eric and her make an amazing couple. Maybe they divorce or something like that but I want them to stay together, so let’s see.
Wendylou: I don’t really think one is worse than the other but I do think Sami is being ridiculous trying to expose Nicole for doing the same thing she did…twice! I guess Sami is deflecting. Of course, they will both be found out eventually.
Jack: I have empathy for both of them. They are in the same situation, in that they are fighting feelings for someone other than their absent husband, though the absences are for different reasons.
I wish they would team up to get rid of Xander and support each other’s marital woes instead of trying to mess with each other.
Sami already knows or has guessed, the truth about Nicole and Xander, and Nicole will want dirt on Sami to neutralize her, so I’m sure she will find out about Sami/Lucas soon enough.
Christine: They’re pretty much the same. They’re both physically/emotionally distant from their spouses through no fault of their own. They’ve both slept with someone else.
Nicole’s was straight-up angry sex with someone she knew Eric hates, whereas Sami had sex with someone she’s always loved. You can argue one is worse than the other but in the end, they’ve both put their already shaky marriages in even more jeopardy.
And yes, of course it will come out. It always does, eventually.
Xander is blackmailing Nicole to give him a job. Should she hire him at Basic Black?
Bradys: Yes. I think Xander is a good option for Basic Black. He is changing right now, but he can be a better person if he wants, so I feel that the job would make him change.
Wendylou: She could give him a shot. He might actually do a good job. At least it might shut him up for a bit about exposing her. I do wish Xander hadn’t regressed quite so much to his old ways after Sarah’s exit.
Jack: Absolutely not. There is no reason for Nicole to give in to this blackmail. All the things she said about no one believing Xander are true, and anyway, since Sami has figured out 99% of the truth there is no reason to worry about Xander telling Sami.
Personally, I think Nicole doesn’t belong at Basic Black anyway. She’s at her best as an investigative reporter and should either take Abby’s job at the Spectator until Abby returns or give Jack some competition at some other news outlet.
And that would solve the problem of Xander wanting her to get him a job at Basic Black because she wouldn’t be there to give him one.
Christine: Xander did well at Titan, and he’d probably do well at Basic Black. He’s motivated to prove himself.
The problem is that Brady will never forgive Xander, which I understand (although he forgave Victor and the baby switch was his idea!)
Everyone blackmails everyone in Salem, so I’m finding it hard to judge Xander for this. He doesn’t have many options at the moment. And as much as Nicole says she hates him, she did have sex with him, so her protests aren’t as strong as they once were.
Jordan returned as Ben’s conscience. Were you happy to see her?
Bradys: I don’t know. She is not a classic character, so meh. It was an interesting return but I enjoyed her.
Wendylou: No. But I’m honestly never happy to see Ben either. The whole Weston family, including the new Mrs. Weston, can leave Salem for all I care. Not a Cin or Ben fan.
Jack: These scenes were such a waste of time. They seemed pointless, especially since I don’t expect Jordan to make any more appearances. And if Ben is seeing his dead sister and hearing her tell him not to do things, he needs to get his meds adjusted.
Christine: I’ve never liked Jordan. Not the nice, boring version who first dated Rafe, and not the crazy version who was killed. She annoys me whether she’s alive, a ghost, or Ben’s conscience.
What is frustrating you the most right now on Days of Our Lives?
Bradys: Kristen. Everything about Kristen is making me mad. I hate her right now. She hasn’t a reason to escape, she needs to stay in prison for a few months or maybe years.
Wendylou: The stupidity of the Kristen story was the most frustrating thing for a long time so I’m glad that mostly ended, although I hate that Kristen got away again.
And, this Phloe fan is still frustrated at the lack of Philip and Chloe scenes but hopefully, that may end soon too.
Jack: That everyone is giving in to super weak blackmail threats! Sami should NEVER have given into Kristen, not for a second. That’s not Sami’s character at all, and she should have stood up to her.
And unless they are going for a story about domestic abuse, Sami being scared of EJ just proves she needs to get rid of him.
Similarly, Nicole should not give in to Xander at all, and there is no reason she needs to keep this secret from Rafe. Rafe is a good, nonjudgmental friend and he’s not the one she cheated on!
And Gwen could easily get out of this Snyder blackmail too. Her father is a reporter for Salem’s most-read newspaper, for God’s sake!
Now that I think about it, the fact that there are three such storylines going on in the space of a few weeks and two of them (Sami/Kristen, Nicole/Xander) are the same story with different characters is the real problem here!
Christine: I wish Gwen had come out completely to Jack instead of telling him a half-truth. Snyder’s only able to blackmail her because she’s so afraid of losing Jack, the only person who has ever backed her.
I don’t see how Gwen gets out of this without Jack’s help, and I’d love to see Jack take down Snyder, but it’s not likely to happen, at least not any time soon.
Also, Shawn and Belle’s plan was so dumb. For a detective and a lawyer, you’d think they could come up with something better.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline in Salem this week?
Bradys: I enjoyed Kristen’s interrogatory and her break-up with Brady. Stacy Haiduk did it so well, and Brady made the right decision, he is a good man and she is an evil woman.
Wendylou: I like Jan and Kristen’s plots sort of colliding by Jan stealing Kate’s car with Chloe in it. I am also happy to see Philip getting involved with some of this, including looking for Chloe.
Jack: I don’t know how long it’ll last, but I loved Brady finally standing up to Kristen and telling her that her creepy, stalker-like obsession with him is not the kind of love he wants. I cheered out loud when he said what he said!
And Chad standing up to Kristen too was a nice surprise! For once he didn’t get manipulated. I especially liked this Days of Our Lives quote:
Kristen: Brady came to see me and he doesn’t want anything to do with me.
Chad: What did you think would happen? You thought Brady would be thrilled that you were stalking him as Susan Banks?
Christine: I liked Gwen making bangers and mash for Jack, who pretended to like it, and then Xander walks in and loves it! It’s all about what you grew up with.
And I can’t wait to see Xander try and sleep on that tiny sofa! It’s tiny and doesn’t look the least bit comfortable.
It was also nice to see Sami and Allie sharing a little mother/daughter time that wasn’t contentious. They’ve come a long way and I’m happy they’ve finally turned a corner towards a healthier, happier relationship.
Now it’s your turn, TV Fanatics! Tell us what you thought of this week’s Days of Our lives by hitting that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below and chiming in.
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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