Way back before the world turned upside down and large events were canceled, NBC was on track to air the Olympics. Thus, DAYS was going to be dark for a few weeks, and this week was to be the Olympics cliffhanger. This was supposed to last us a full two weeks in hopes that we'd all come back after the games were over. I'll say right now, this spectacular week will live with us even longer than that. I don't know if I'll ever forget it!
Let's start with the pre-wedding stuff. When Ciara woke up seemingly hungover, she drew the conclusion that Claire had poisoned her and promptly fired her as maid of honor. Of course, Claire didn't do any of the things Ciara accused her of, and there's no proof of Ciara being drugged at all. But considering Claire did pick out that Guns N' Roses wedding dress, I'm very confused on which Brady gal is in the wrong here. (That veil was great, though!)
Shawn, Belle, Marlena, and Hope all lined up to say they hoped Claire didn't do this. But they all kind of think she did. Victor seemed to be the only one who was truly neutral. The whole week made me feel really bad for Claire. She's in a position to prove a negative. She's on the hook until the real villain is caught.
As for the groom-to-be, Ben woke up from having a very Lannister sibling-type vision where shirtless Ben confronted his sister, who was wearing a wedding dress in his fantasy. Sure. Cool. Luckily, he called Marlena for a quick session. She calmed him down. She said she'd sit on his side of the wedding. She almost referenced him as "my dear boy"! The whole scene was top-notch Doc. My heart went out to Ben when he talked about having no family there. I wished Rafe could have brought David to the wedding.
And what a wedding it was! My soap fan flag was out flying in full force. I loved the elaborate set and a packed church. But, most of all, I loved all the memories it brought up. I looked at the stained-glass window and could still see Shawn riding his motorcycle through it. Ciara's princess updo immediately brought me back to Chloe and Brady's wedding. I could almost see E.J. plotting a DiMera scheme from that vestibule. The nostalgia was a pure, unexpected treat.
Sure, the ceremony itself ran a few unintentionally hilarious/side-eye moments. I'm pretty sure both Hope and Allie walked down the aisle, carrying their purses. Jake has clearly never had to turn in a catering order, since he thinks he can bring a plus-one without RSVPing. And while Julie's cringe-worthy sermon likening Ben to a feral cat (oh, good lord, Jules), at least she brought Doug, who saved the day with the joke, "All I know about marriage is what she tells me." Never change, Doug.
But Ben's vows -- specifically Rob Scott Wilson's performance -- was the heart of the romantic day. Ben's said these things to Ciara in pieces before. But, RSW delivered the whole thing together with such genuine emotion and a flat-out, show-stopping charisma. It was reminiscent of Tom Cruise's "you complete me" moment from Jerry Maguire. It's a testament to RSW and Victoria Konefal that they can bring this whole grand display to a complete stop. I don't know how they did it, but they made all that grandeur and all those people disappear. Good stuff.
And then... DAYS literally blew the roof off. The church exploded. Everyone scattered, regrouped, and searched desperately for Ben. The image of Ciara wandering around, carrying Ben's shoe, was heartbreaking. Ciara immediately accused Claire of blowing up the wedding and gave her a tongue-lashing for the ages. While that was happening, Orpheus was closing the trunk on Ben.
Okay, so that's just a guess. It will take a heck of a rewrite to make Claire able to build and plant a bomb without anyone knowing about it. But Orpheus? That's his jam. And he has a beef with both Ciara and Ben. He's probably less than thrilled with Ciara dragging his son across town at gunpoint. And if Ben were to marry and show proof of a stable life, he could look to be an even better candidate for custody of David. Orpheus is buddies with Clyde. Clyde did call Ben on his wedding day.
It's all speculation now, and I don't know if I like it better than my Eve theory. But it's fun to guess. What do you think?
LOOSE ENDS:
From what I can gather, Allie's stance on her baby was, "I love you, Will. But, Rafe already called dibs. Ugh, sorry!" It was all very strange. I'm very glad Rafe gracefully removed himself from this whole storyline.
I howled when Vivian sat up in that coffin. I never believed she was really gone. I sincerely hope there's more to her visit. Also, does Vivian just have her own line of coffins by now? If not, this is a missed opportunity.
You guys, Sarah pulled off a red sequined jumpsuit at a wedding. Not only that, but she's well on the path to smoothing things over with Xander. I loved how he stayed at the hospital all night to bring her coffee and pep talks. I'm so glad we got confirmation that the woman was a masseuse. I can't wait for them to go on that dinner date.
Jake and Gabi's first date was certainly one for the books. It started out day-drinking Champagne on a bench and ended with him rescuing her from a collapsing building and carrying her home. I really like this pair. As sure as I was that this was Stefan, I'm so glad that it's Stefan's twin. This gives us all the goodness of Camila Banus and Brandon Barash, and none of the rapey parts of Stefan's character. (And yes, Gabi. Stefan was a rapist. I'll put that right up there with you disrespecting Harold as something I'd rather you not say ever again.)
While I thought it a bit odd, if not a reflection of some imbalance in Salem, to have Gabi be the one to tell Jake the history of the DiMeras, I appreciated that she nailed the number of DiMera siblings. Technically, Jake has twelve siblings if you want to include Quinn Hudson on Vivian's side, but that's just me being a total soap dork. Carry on, you two. I like what I'm seeing so far.
I'm still tracking Marlena's Magical Penthouse. Claire was able to leave without being noticed again. And Ciara got there in record time from the church. Could this place be the epicenter of some supernatural powers that pull people in and out of it at will? Is Marlena actually some sort of sorceress?
HOT
That explosion was utterly epic. The effects, camera work, performances, makeup, hair, sound, editing -- everything came together for a truly stunning piece of soap television and catapulted it right into DAYS lore. The image of a soot-covered Ciara charging through the church ranks right up there with Kate covered in Roman's blood on their wedding day.
NOT:
I've said it before. I'll say it again. Nothing terrible better happen to Lani's baby. I know we like to repeat storylines on soaps. This is not one I need to see again. Please and thank you.
LINE OF THE WEEK:
Julie: "Who gives this woman?"
Rafe: "Well, this woman makes her own choices. I'm just lucky enough to walk her down the aisle."
Nice job, Rafe! Classy and woke!
RANDOM THOUGHTS
For every wedding I've been in -- including my own -- I've worn yoga pants and a zip-up hoodie while I got my hair and makeup done before the ceremony. Hope wore a silk pantsuit. Yet another reason I'll never live up to Hope.
While we're talking comfort fashion, I can't believe Gabi didn't immediately change out of that body con dress the second she got home to ice her ankle.
I feel like Gabi and Claire could be interesting friends.
I'm kind of obsessed with Claire's earrings. Wait...bad choice of words. I really loved Claire's earrings.
Sarah carried a tablet. But Marlena had a paper chart for Allie. Is that normal?
I kind of loved John referencing Ben as "that boy."
Will is Allie's favorite older brother. For the record, yes, Johnny is older than Allie.
Shawn had to use a microphone at the wedding. Julie did not. That checks out.
It was hard not to have a The Graduate moment when a raven-haired beauty in a wedding dress screamed, "BEEEENNNN!"
Sarah got changed into her scrubs in RECORD time!
I can only hope on my best day I'd look as good as Kristian Alfonso does post-explosion
I needed "all the days of our lives" worked into that wedding ceremony, Jules. Come on. That's a rookie mistake.
Well, that's it for this week! Wedding season in Salem wasn't all bad. Three out of four couples made it through "I do." Sure, there's a church reduced to rubble and a kidnapped groom, but that's really splitting hairs when it comes to daytime weddings. Tony will be back next week to help track down Ben!
Laurisa
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