2018 is weird, you guys. Already.
I'm giving Andre's murder the same leeway I gave the doppelgänger storyline. It's fine, as long as it wraps up fast. The Hattie part of the doppelgänger storyline was good. The Bonnie part was obnoxious. So let's hope Andre turns out to be more of a Hattie and less of a Bonnie.
The main reason it needs to end fast is because it's built on such a flimsy foundation. The whole murder revved up in about an episode. Gabi and Andre's fight was out of the blue, as was Kate's confession of love. Vivian's always a safe bet for murder, but her crimes have way more finesse than this. And, really, everyone's motive seems to be around a business deal. Um...yeah....we're talking about the psychopath who terrorized Salem for years. A business deal taking him down feels anticlimactic, to say the least. (By the way, it's laughable that DiMera Enterprises has an ethics clause against blood money.)
Finally, the Internet didn't make a peep about Thaao Penghlis being let go from DAYS six months ago when the whole thing would have gone down in real life. That just doesn't happen today.
Luckily, Thaao also plays another character. Some (okay, me) might argue he's been playing that character pretty much since "Andre" came back. I've never bought Andre's redemption arc. A few laughs with Abigail doesn't negate years of being a serial killer. It always made more sense for Tony to be taking those actions.
I'm more interested in learning who from my seventh grade class wrote Anna that note in bubble letters. Well, that and whoever is hiding in the bushes, watching them, but that's because I want this storyline to move on quickly. I don't really care who killed Andre this time. (And let's be honest, that dude's never really dead.) But I do care about what other storylines this could usher into Salem.
Things are getting interesting over in baby Lani land. I can appreciate Lani's lack of malice in this situation. She's not passing this baby off as J.J.'s as a way to hold onto a man. I do like that. But this storyline is putting a lot of pressure on itself to stand up. Lani's going to have to keep J.J. out of every prenatal appointment (around twelve) and off the Internet, where he'd surely know what appointments sync up with ultrasounds and decisions to be made about prenatal tests. Somehow, I don't see that happening.
Plus, as dopey as he is, Eli did lay it out there that he never knew his dad. He gave Lani a chance. And I believe him when he says he doesn't want to come between her and J.J. She's got a little bit to take him up on his offer, but she shouldn't wait too long. Too many people know her secret. By "too many," I mean the medical records at Salem U Hospital. Dr. Val "I can do math" Grant on the case already.
Still, I did love Jen and Hope's respective reactions to the Lani baby news. Hope was especially great to Lani and can relate to her desire to balance a career and family. And the idea of Grandpa Abe just makes me clap and smile. He will be the best!
LOOSE ENDS
Hey, hey! John found a secret potion that will bring Steve's sight back/regrow his eye and has been slipping it to him! That's the only explanation I can come up with for why John would be drugging Steve. That is, if that's really John. Oh, 2018. You so crazy.
I'm still not feeling the Brady/Sonny feud. But Sonny's warning to Eve wasn't wrong. Brady is using Eve; at least he is at the moment.
Sami Jr. ignored Marlena's advice and moved right in across the hall from the cute boy. And no, Paul, Will doesn't need to stay away because of Sonny. He needs to stay away because he's kind of stalking you.
Of course, there's a lot of sense to Will's stance that Paul's easier to be around because Paul isn't pressuring him to remember the past all the time. But this whole situation just feels stalled. This love triangle is eking by on Chandler Massey and Christopher Sean's chemistry. But pretty soon, Will's going to need to get past concert plans and focus on things like, you know, remembering his parents and daughter.
Galen Gering and Tyler Christopher were downright fun opposite each other. I'd like to see scenes with them again to see if it was a fluke or a lasting thing. I also like Galen and Lamar together. Rafe and Eli as partners is good stuff!
For someone involved with both Deimos and Eduardo, Eve freaked out way too much over the idea of being with someone who killed another person.
That's so funny, Eric! I have nightmares about you and Jennifer being in bed together too!
Also nightmare-worthy? This continuing dance between Abigail and Stefan. Their pairing is way too tarnished right now for me to get behind it. I think Stefan should stay single for a hot minute, get to know his new hometown, maybe have some scenes with people who don't work for DiMera, and wait for Nadia Bjorlin to get back from maternity leave.
HOT
Man, I really wish it was J.J.'s kid. Casey Moss is playing this happy role with an abundance of adorableness. Can't you just see J.J. as a stay-at-home dad? He'd rock those playground dates. Plus, you know he'd bust out that guitar!
NOT:
I'm giving a big thumbs-down to Eli saying he didn't bother to use protection because he thought Lani was on birth control. Actually, scratch that. I've got another finger for it.
Dishonorable Mention:
You'd think after all the time Abigail's spent with serial killers, she'd be able to tell the difference between a figure of speech and an actual threat. But nope. She thought Gabi was a legit suspect. Saying Gabi killed before was a convenient repurposing of history. That statement is not untrue. But, it's not exactly applicable in this situation the way Abigail used it. I was so glad when Gabi threw back at her, "I know that you're not going to be setting another man on fire." Exactly.
Let's be honest here, Abs. If Gabi was going to bash anyone's head in, it would have been yours for sitting her in the holy time-out chair during your double wedding.
LINE OF THE WEEK:
Will: "Uh, no. It's Ben Weston's building, and I'd rather not live in a place I once died."
I had to laugh at this only-on-a-soap line.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
I see J.J. took Stefan shopping for suit jackets. Cool!
The door to the Kiriakis living room is the new Salem park. Lurk around there for five minutes, and you'll hear a confession.
Eve and John both got the awesome-shade-of-blue memo.
Rafe's oatmeal-colored shoes fascinated me all week, especially since he paired them with a dark ensemble.
I like Kate's longer hair.
Ha! Eli thought Tony's urn was a martini shaker, too!
Yes, Hope and Rafe. Tell us more about how a dude shouldn't get involved in a situation where his woman kills a DiMera.
Aw! Will kept the scary-ass chicken thing Sami gave him! He does care!
Hope, Lani, and Gabi all had very fancy nighties. They looked nothing like my T-shirts and fleece PJ pants.
Between the flashbacks and the dream sequences, about 15 minutes of new material aired all week.
Lani may have done the impossible here. Once the secret comes out, Val and Julie are going to be on the same side!
Nope. Incorrect. Andre did not help Abigail come back to Chad. It's also not technically correct to say Tony and Andre are brothers.
Remember that time John went to check on his granddaughter to see how she's doing since her boyfriend moved halfway around the world? Me either.
Marci Miller is a rare pretty crier. When I cry, it looks like my face is doing an impression of a ticked-off balloon.
Emmy Fun!
The Daytime Emmy pre-nominations are out! Of course, this doesn't mean any of these fine actors will be nominated on Emmy night. And it isn't indicative of the vast pool of talent, since actors have to elect to submit a reel. But that doesn't mean we can't get the conversation started. Here are my snap judgments upon hearing the nominees.
DAYS Outstanding Lead Actor pre-nominees:
Billy Flynn (Chad), Galen Gering (Rafe), Eric Martsolf (Brady), Stephen Nichols (Steve), and James Reynolds (Abe)
Snap judgements: I love all of these men, but I'm championing James Reynolds here. Big time. Not only is he a legacy actor, but he turned in some of the damn finest work of his career last year.
DAYS Outstanding Lead Actress pre-nominees:
Judi Evans (Adrienne /Bonnie), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), and Marci Miller (Abigail)
Snap judgments: All three are great, but my biggest takeaway is to give kudos to whoever made the right call and submitted Marci Miller/Abigail in the correct category! Abigail is one of the leads of the show, for sure! Also, I would have loved to see Deidre Hall's name for both Marlena and Hattie.
DAYS Outstanding Supporting Actor pre-nominees:
Chandler Massey (Will) and Greg Vaughan (Eric)
Snap judgments: Oh man, let me pick between ice cream and wine here. I'd be happy seeing both of these gentlemen move on to the next round.
DAYS Outstanding Supporting Actress pre-nominees:
Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe), Eileen Davidson (Susan), Susan Hayes (Julie), and Arianne Zucker (Nicole)
Snap judgments: I love seeing Eileen's name on this list for a guest spot! I wish Alison Sweeney had done the same, but maybe she didn't submit herself. Who knows? Either way, my emotional support here is all Arianne Zucker. She was underappreciated for too long in the soap world. I'm rooting for her get some love!
DAYS Outstanding Younger Actor pre-nominees:
Lucas Adams (Tripp), James Lastovic (Joey), and Casey Moss (J.J.)
Snap judgments: Since nominations are based on a max of two episodes and eight minutes of footage, it's easy for an actor to slip through on the basis of one or two good shows. Such is not the case with any of these three. When they were used, all three of them turned in solid performances.
DAYS Outstanding Younger Actress pre-nominees:
Olivia Rose Keegan (Claire), Victoria Konefal (Ciara), and Paige Searcy (Jade)
Snap judgments: Olivia definitely had the most material to work with here as the other two ladies were only on the show for a short time in 2017. However, the thing that strikes me most as I think back on their performances is, unlike the fellas in the younger category, I can't recall these ladies having many scenes with people outside of the teen scene. The gentlemen all had deep scenes with vets that developed their characters. The gals were relegated mainly to gossip and bickering with each other. That needs to change.
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