I don't read spoilers. Instead, what I do is scream, "Oh, my gosh!" and then quick text @Tony_S_Days to see if he knew about what was happening.
Tony got that text when Bo walked through that cabin door. I. Was. Shocked. I braced myself for some super awkward conversations where Bo was Hope's wingman. But instead, I got one of my favorite episodes yet this year. I loved it, not only as a DAYS fan, but as a dorky English major who still gets excited about symbolism and foreshadowing.
This one was about Hope. She's stuck in a lot of ways -- guilt over Stefano's murder, which man to choose, whether or not she's a good parent, how she can ever be a fair cop again. Aside from the shiny hair and the rare ability to actually pull off leather leggings, it's kinda sucked to be Hope lately. So, of course, she was literally stuck in a room for this whole scene! I see what you did there, writers!
Bo's appearance was to straighten Hope out. And he brought along some friends, each to tackle a part of Hope's life. The Brady Bunch consisted of Larry Welch (to reignite Hope's inner fighter), Stefano (to make peace about the whole murder thing), and Zach (to speak to her good parenting skills).
I chuckled when ghost Larry came in and poured himself a drink. (My kind of ghost!) I loved that Zach was older. It never occurred to me that Hope imagines him at every age, but of course she does.
But Stefano was the best visitor. It was great to see Joseph Mascolo again. But better yet, the show had to get Hope out from under Stefano's murder somehow. Obviously, she can't go to jail because we can't have Hope off screen for a long time. And as Bo rightly pointed out, turning herself in would mean taking Roman and Rafe down with her, which would basically leave the Salem P.D. to Lani -- and we don't have time for any part of that.
So instead, Hope struck up a deal with Stefano's ghost to look after Chad. Interesting. Very, very interesting. These terms are acceptable to Stefano because he does have a soft spot for Chad. It all makes sense. I like it!
On top of all of that, we got even more closure to the Bope saga. Hope needed to forgive herself. Some audiences needed to see Hope grovel for not believing in Bo. I needed to see Bo say that he should have told Hope about the mission. We all left happy. Good stuff.
The only part I didn't like was what happened after Hope woke up. I didn't buy Ciara giving Hope the thumbs-up to go for it with Aiden, especially since Chase's sentencing hasn't even happened yet. Oh, right, I forgot. Ciara had that one session with Marlena, and everything is sunshine and unicorns now. My bad.
Then, you know when you're watching The Bachelorette and JoJo gives a rose to the wrong dude? That's how I felt with the Rafe/Hope/Aiden triangle. And I'm still calling it a triangle because this one is far from over. Aiden is still lying to Hope about the timeline of his abduction. We'll probably find out why soon. But for now, my heart went out to Rafe when he realized that Hope was dumping him. Shoot. Could Rafe be the new Roman?
LOOSE ENDS
Hey there, Chloemeister! How ya been? Welcome back!
Jade's the biggest liar ever. Yes she did pressure Joey! Telling someone to do something illegal or you won't hang out with them anymore is the exact definition of peer pressure that D.A.R.E. warned us about! Ugh.
Furthermore, I'm not so sure I buy this notion that Joey is some sort of rebellious teen. All of his transgressions, including murder, have been motivated by his love or at least defense for others close to him. He's not so much a "fight the system" guy as he is a "get my parents back together" dude.
I don't care that Summer makes terrible decisions. I don't care that she's loved Brady since the second he pulled her from the ocean. I don't even care that I just had to seriously end a sentence with "pulled her from the ocean." What I do care about is seeing Brady march home and apologize to Theresa like it's his purpose in life. My girl was R.I.G.H.T. all along.
Mama H continued to be the worst. She's not-so-subtly meddled in Rafe's love life. This makes sense, since she knows him so well from being a present part of his life for the last ten years.
I didn't like that Kate so flippantly tossed in a mention of Ciara being raped. That move seemed very un-Kate. She always struck me as one who wouldn't make jokes about a woman being abused. Also, when you need to fake legal documents, you go to Rafe, not Aiden. Watch the show, Kate!
I agree with Ciara. Chad deserves better. Oh, she meant Abigail? Yeah, I meant this storyline.
NOT
You know that point at a party when all of the casual acquaintances leave and then -- finally -- you're left with just your friends and it's a zillion times better? Well, that's how I felt the second Deimos went into Nick Fallon River.
Belle representing Nicole? Yaasss! Rafe remembering he and Nicole are friends? Wahoo! Kate being one step ahead of Roman? I'll take it! Sure, Kate is pushing her luck a bit mouthing off to Roman that he better find whoever did this to Deimos. But I'm a sucker for anything that gets Roman and Kate sharing screen time again.
But, alas, Deimos is not dead. So I'm going to have to deal with this man whore who thinks it's cool to give "be my mistress or else!" ultimatums to women. Super. I love those dudes. I really hope that when Deimos does reappear, Kate tells everyone why she shoved this creep. No one will blame her.
LINE OF THE WEEK:
Brady (about having a new baby): "It's the three of us against the world. Who knows? If one of us got some sleep, the world wouldn't stand a chance."
This hits me where I live right now. True statement, Brady.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
I really want Nicole's blue, gold, and pink patterned dress.
Wait. Who is Adams?! If Kate's going to take back over, at least hire Henderson back!
Deimos can shut down that trashing of dancing competition shows.
Um, no, Bo. If something happened to you and Hope, the kids would not be fighting over the toaster. They'd be battling @Tony_S_Days for that white vase with the green handles.
In her dream, Hope walked out of the cabin and left her suitcase...or baggage...behind. Get it? #symbolism
Is someone bringing Joey's bike back to Salem?
Was Fynn hiding in the bathroom the whole time Steve, Joey, John, and Kayla were talking?
People have video baby monitors these days. Especially people like Chad, who just had a mental patient break into his house.
Shawn found two clues in under five minutes! No wonder they're running him out of town.
Is Roman allowed to say, "That's a fact?" I feel like he is.
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