Clyde is back and already blackmailing Ava!
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Andy from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate Sarah and Xander’s custody battle, Abe’s amnesia, Leo and Dimitri’s future, and if Belle was right to tell off Talia.
And if Nicole learns that Eric is the father of her baby, will she tell him? See what our round table team has to say.
Clyde is back, and he’s blackmailing Ava. What should Ava do about it?
Andy: Ava should go to Steve first and foremost, especially since Tripp has been threatened and already attacked. But she could also ask Harris or Rafe for help.
I have a feeling she’ll try to handle things herself at first, and it’ll get worse before it gets better.
Jack: Ava has SO many choices here. She could pretend to go along with Clyde while secretly getting evidence against him, go to Steve, or tell Harris.
Harris makes the most sense since he already proved he’d do anything for her and is now part of the police force!
What she should not do is give in to Clyde’s threats. Come on, former mob boss! Let’s see those skills.
Christine: Please, don’t let Ava just roll over and give Clyde what he wants. She’s supposed to be a former mob boss, and she needs to start acting like a woman who can take charge.
The easiest thing to do would be to tell Harris, but she could also tell Steve, Rafe, or even EJ. EJ would love to know that Clyde abducted Susan, and he’d be happy to get revenge, and that would likely take care of Ava’s problem.
Sarah and Xander are fighting for custody of Victoria. Was Sarah’s reaction to Xander wanting full custody over the top? Is Xander wanting full custody wrong?
Andy: These two act like children, especially Sarah. They need to be adults, do what’s best for Victoria, and learn how to co-parent and share custody. Otherwise, they’re just going to keep going round and round, hurting each other.
Jack: Sarah’s reaction was completely ridiculous. Until that moment, she had planned to raise Victoria as Rex’s baby, and Rex had said a million times that he wasn’t allowing Xander any access to the child. Was Xander supposed to just accept that? Of COURSE, he took action!
At this point, Xander and Sarah should agree to joint custody instead of being at each other’s throats. There’s no reason for this animosity at all.
Christine: Sarah’s moods swung so fast during her conversation with Xander that I began to worry about her mental health. Her reaction was over the top.
Xander petitioned for full custody when Sarah and Rex were telling him he’d never see his daughter. He had every right to be angry and fight for Victoria.
If Sarah would calm down for a minute and have a rational conversation with Xander, they’d likely agree on joint custody and move forward, but goodness knows if that will happen any time soon.
Abe wanted to divorce Paulina. Rate his amnesia storyline so far.
Andy: I might have some amnesia, too. I almost forgot about these two. Abe’s amnesia storyline was fine at first, but it has dragged on too long at this point.
Jack: I’m so disappointed that all we are getting are crumbs here.
Abe and Paulina’s attempt to rebuild their relationship should be fully ON-SCREEN. 99% of their dates have been off-screen, and Abe’s story seems to consist mostly of telling John and Steve his concerns about dating Paulina.
I feel so cheated, especially because James Reynolds and Jackee Harry are great actors who would knock their scenes out of the park if only there were any.
Christine: Why is so much of this story off-screen? This should be a rebuilding of Abe and Paulina’s love story. Instead, we’re getting nothing but Abe and Paulina having conversations about their relationship with other people.
It really is a waste of time and talent and Abe wanting a divorce for all of ten minutes felt like made up drama.
Jada thought Belle was out of line for telling Talia to steer clear of her. Was she?
Andy: Absolutely not, Belle had every right to tell off Talia. Talia’s lucky she didn’t get slapped on her way out of town.
Jack: It’s no different than anyone else in Salem. Didn’t Jada tell Eric to steer clear of her after they broke up?
I don’t really think any of Belle’s behavior has been in character for a while, including this, but she had every right to do it.
Christine: Belle wasn’t in the wrong here in any way. She didn’t go looking for Talia; Talia confronted her. And all Belle said was that she didn’t want to see the woman who slept with her husband, and who can blame her for that?
It seems like Jada thinks everyone in Salem should feel sorry for her sister, but Talia wasn’t some victim here. Yes, Shawn is the one who is married, so he carries the bigger share of the blame, but Talia knew she was married, and it didn’t stop her from jumping into bed with him.
I’ve got no sympathy for Talia, especially when any sane person would know to steer clear of the person whose spouse you just slept with.
Leo’s throwing everything away for Dimitri as they go on the run. Do you hope either of them returns to Salem?
Andy: I hope this isn’t the last of Leo and Dimitri. I find them very entertaining together. They bring a nice mix of zaniness and soapiness to the show. And I always appreciate having some gay representation on the show.
Jack: Sadly, no. I loved Dimitri when he popped up on Beyond Salem 1 and thought he and Billie had such good chemistry. I was disappointed he turned out to be a bad guy.
But this story has been terrible, and his character has become ridiculous. If he and Leo are going to go on the run, let them do it off-screen so viewers can have a break from these two idiots.
Christine: I’m so disappointed in this storyline. I love Leo. He’s the conman with heart and has all the best lines that make me laugh.
And he and Gwen had one of the best friendships in Salem. I can’t believe they had Leo betray his best friend for this terrible storyline.
I wish they had let Gwen on the scheme; then she could have stayed married to Dimitri for the money, while Dimitri and Leo had a relationship on the side, and they’d all try and keep the secret to keep the inheritance.
That could have been fun. But the way things are, I hope Leo and Dimitri leave Salem and, at some point, Leo returns for a better storyline.
Are you enjoying the new younger set in Salem with Holly and Rachel squabbling, and Tate and Holly agreeing to be friends?
Andy: I always enjoy when a new group of teens enters the scene and seeing characters born on the show age up. Tate and Holly have been good additions so far.
I’ve enjoyed Holly’s interactions with Rachel, Kristen, Nicole, and Johnny/Chanel. I think she will definitely stir the pot, and Tate will surely get mixed in somehow.
Jack: I’m enjoying Tate, and I’m glad that SOMEONE put Rachel in her place, though I wish it was over something more important than a bottle of shampoo!
I like the actress playing Holly, but so far, Holly is obnoxious. I hope her friendship with Tate helps her tone it down.
Christine: I’m enjoying having Tate and Holly in Salem far more than I expected. Rachel and Holly’s spat was funny and realistic, and it’s good to see someone challenge Rachel.
Tate actually seems like a decent kid who just needs some boundaries and discipline. But I’m betting Holly will get him into more trouble, which he’ll take the blame for while trying to be a good guy.
But it’s great to see parents actually interacting with their kids and seeing interaction with their grandparents and other family. I’m looking forward to more.
Nicole was given a second copy of her baby’s genetic testing. Will she learn that EJ is not the baby’s father, and if so, what will she do about it?
Andy: I think this will drag out for a while longer, maybe until Eric and Sloane have actually adopted a child of their own. I do wonder if Nicole would learn the truth and keep it secret so as not to hurt EJ or disrupt Eric’s new life.
But at the same time, she knows how much Eric wants a biological child, so keeping that from him would be another blow to their neverending saga.
Jack: I hope so, so that we can get this story over with already. This secret has dragged on for long enough!
I would love for her and EJ to stay together while she co-parents with Eric. Hopefully, this won’t turn into a Chloe/Xander situation.
Christine: Ugh. Is there any way this can still be EJ’s baby? Nicole is more fun when she’s with EJ, who loves her for who she is, unlike Eric, who always seems to want her to be a “better person.”
And Eric is more fun with Sloan, a relationship that will likely blow up once the truth comes out.
If Nicole learns the truth, will she break EJ’s heart to give Eric the child he’s always wanted? Probably, and I’ll hate every minute of it.
What annoyed the heck out of you this week in Salem?
Andy: Sarah’s blowup at Xander irritated me the most. This is all her own selfish doing, and she acts so superior to him. Xander isn’t perfect by any means, but Sarah always comes off as a petulant child.
Jack: Dimitri and Leo were a waste of screen time. Abe and Paulina’s dates should be on-screen.
And WHY does Konstantin have to turn out to be up to no good? I was enjoying his and Maggie’s getting to know each other. DAYS always does this. Every time a legacy character meets a new man, he turns out to be evil. I’m so tired of this trope!
Christine: Rafe knows that hospital security is lax and that Dimitri will try to escape, yet there’s no police officer guarding the room, and neither he nor Jada stays behind to watch him.
Steve was criticizing Tate for a school prank. Given everything that Steve has done in his life, not to mention that his son did a prison term for trying to kill someone, he really has no place to talk.
Gabi and Stefan plot to use Rachel once again to get Dimera shares. Just when I think these two can’t sink lower, they find a sub-basement door.
This couple has been reduced to hatching criminal schemes. It’s even worse because Gabi has a daughter who could easily be used as a pawn against her if she’s not careful.
And while John is checking in on Belle and worrying about her, Marlena is busy telling other people that Shawn cheated on her. As Talia was her patient, this seems unethical, not to mention that Belle might not want her Mom spreading her dirty laundry all over Salem!
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week’s Days of Our Lives?
Andy: I really liked Holly and Kristen’s interaction. The two played off each other well, and I’m curious to see how this all plays out.
I laughed out loud when Holly called out Kristen for marrying her brother.
Also loved saying goodbye to Talia. Hopefully, she stays gone.
Jack: Even though I was annoyed that Abe’s dates with Paulina have been off-screen, I enjoyed his conversation with John. We need more scenes of friends talking; we don’t get nearly enough.
Christine: There were a lot of good Days of Our Lives quotes this week. I couldn’t have loved Leo more than when he said,
What would Lucy and Ethel do?
Leo
Although I think Brady is finally doing right by Tate by making him take responsibility for his actions, I also liked Tate calling his Dad out on being mostly MIA the last few years.
You don’t have Rachel anymore, so you’re making do with me.
Tate
And as much as I hate Gabi and Stefan using Rachel once again, I did laugh when Gabi said,
Rachel is a Dimera, and in this family, kidnapping is like a right of passage. It’s like your Quinceanera
Gabi
Only in Salem is kidnapping a right of passage!
Now it’s your turn, Days fans. Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to tell us your thoughts on Clyde blackmailing Ava, Sarah and Xander’s custody fight, and if Nicole will tell Eric the truth! 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.