Bright Eyes

I saw this on BlueSky and had no idea she had pipes like that. Beyond that amazement, just a beautiful performance.

This one is especially shocking because she always seemed so vibrant and full of life.

Aw, I my sporadic viewing pre-teen/adolescent self loved Nicole back in the day as the boozy bitchy gold-digging hotmess, with a harrowing back-story. I never bought the baby-rabies version of her character that killed her spark for me, even though Arianne Zucker's self-admitted acting classes prior to her initial return helped immensely in strengthening her talents as a more well-rounded actress. Though I am reminded that one of Dena Higley's better post-it note ideas that I'm sad never really came to fruition was when she first returned and had her sights set on seducing Philip, when JKL was still normal and sexy as hell, though I hated the misplaced Paris Hilton schtick with that stupid dog she carried around. Probably for the best she is in rest mode now. All this to say, sign me up as another one on wishing Carrie was back in Salem. I'm still pissed we didn't get to see her reunite with Kate on-screen a few months ago. Speaking of Kate, I wonder if they'll bother giving her an anniversary episode in January. It would be tricky, since all her best/closest relationships are gone, but this show is no stranger to returns. I can definitely see Mary Beth Evans getting one in May.

I have to strongly disagree. Abby should stay dead. I've loved seeing the toll her death has taken on the Deverauxs and Chad. It's made death actually mean something and the Hortons at present are strong enough where I don't find her return necessary. She comes back, everything just becomes status quo. Boring!

Completely understand wishing for more specificity in character, but the younger set are actually pretty solid for me, and like you mentioned, it's the mix/match older group that's more messy. Allie and Claire are moot points right now as they've both been rested for a couple years at this point. I can't tell you how happy I am that they surprisingly decided not to be recast happy with Allie, like they have with practically everybody else. Recasting Chad in particular seems especially egregious with how notable Billy Flynn has been as Chad. Even if Conner Floyd is digestible, it's only going to dilute Chad's importance in the grand scheme of things. With the current younger set, other than the creature known as Rachel Boyd, all the characters are played by solid actors. Cutting Holly and Tate after solidly playing them for two years now, who are still as fruitful as when they began, would be a mistake. Plus, both characters are played regularly with their respective elder statesmen in Maggie and Marlena. Marissa Reyes as Arianna has been built up slowly, and has impressed. Now, she could do with more scenes with various family members, but to be fair, she's literally related to almost everyone. Plus, with her addition the younger set seems more complete and the friendships of Tate/Aaron and Holly/Arianna are believable. I think this latest story of Johnny finding out about his conception has been the making of the character. I literally never cared a lick about him before, but those wonderfully in depth scenes with Sami at EJ's hospital bedside after he was shot, plus the earlier scenes where he initially confronted EJ, eventually leading to the convoluted but highly watchable court drama of him on trial, made me care for him a great deal and Carson Boatman surprisingly delivered. The fact he was coming off that horrid Joy tale is astounding. Raven Bowens is another stand out when she gets the chance to be. But both lack friends and its embarrassing at this point. Chanel literally has no one to confide in except her mother. Johnny has no close pals either. And you can go down the line with most of the characters leading the show right now. It's insane. As for the business stories, I think this latest one with the forged letter has worked tremendously because it was all about family drama, with Titan merely being used as a tool. And the scenes last week where Maggie wrangled the Kiriakis boys (Philip, Xander, Alex, and Brady) together felt monumental in strengthening the future of the Kiriakis clan. You even had Philip genuinely apologize to Brady for past machinations and this is when JPL thrives. When he's being earnest and forthright and not a joke. Nearly all of Philip's scenes with Belle, where he's comfortable enough to lay himself bear have been marvelous. But JPL becomes too messy as we all know, and if I am being ruthless, Philip and Shawn would both be recast. Of course, in a perfect world Jason Cook would finally agree to return. I know he was far from being Douglass Watson or Michael Zaslow, but as that Hogestyn Zoom tribute showed, he just fits on this show like a glove. Now Martha Madison's Belle has many detractors here and that's understandable, but this show has been steadfast in keeping her and has basically bullied me into accepting her. If this was still 2004 or various other times where Belle has come and gone, then I'd agree to a recast as well, but I think complaining about her looking too old has passed its caché now. I really dig the writing regarding her time as the former Daddy's little girl, who has completely messed up her life and has to start again, on her own, without the hero of all heroes helping pick her back up. Plus, Martha Madison always delivers in the dramatic moments and has strong familial chemistry with Deidre Hall and Eric Martsolf. And they've even played her well now and again with Johnny and Tate. In regards to Gabi, the issue is Cherie Jimenez has no grit to her. I'd continue to play her with JJ and eventually pull that dangling Stefan strand, who'd only return temporarily to be an obstacle for her and JJ, but I think I'm leaning to eventually killing her off. And my issues with Abigail Klein as Stephanie have been made abundantly clear. She is the white rice of actresses and a lot of the way she says things itches my vocal stim in the wrong way. Stephanie has only ever been interesting when she was a neurotic hot mess, so I'd lean into building up to that, which would eventually lead to her losing her marbles by digging much deeper into her neuroses and insecurities, resting her character in a mental asylum (not Bayview!) for a bit, before recasting with someone much more rewarding to watch. Then lastly there is Sarah, whom is basically the main lead heroine on the show, if anyone can be chosen as such. Linsey Godfrey got on my nerves a lot early on in my return to watching, but this great Kiriakis feud story has been a revelation for her. She has been shoulding a lot of heavy lifting and has soared to heights I didn't think were obtainable. She's been absolutely brilliant. I do wish she'd be played with the Hortons more. She seems so disengaged with them. But I guess my rumblings can just be boiled down to my personal actor preferences and not necessarily in solving the systemic issue that is writing characters as clearer individuals. I think this team of writers have done well in expressing the inner goings on of characters, but it's more clearly defined differentiating traits that need to be more prominent as well.

He's a big reason why we got Eli Grant, for which I'm thankful.

I've had my issues with the Chad/Cat pairing, mainly the forced situations they've found themselves in being repetitious and silly, but AnnaLynne McCord was strong enough today that I found my heart breaking for Cat. Her and Chad do have chemistry and their relationship has such complexity to it that when written maturely like today, they excelled. Where both characters go from here should be interesting. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane with Jennifer, one of my favourite heroines. There was a section where it was just flashback after flashback that would have had no chance of being possible if DAYS were still on network tv. It made me remember how I felt like I'd won the lottery years ago when I found a Jack/Jennifer dedicated website that had a treasure trove of classic clips, which is where I first saw the integral post-rape slap scene; some of Ashford and Reeves' best work. The show basically mentioning how Jack and Jennifer are the unconventional super-couple is helped by both of them actually aging naturally. Not a botox needle in sight. Also, Frankie (bring him back!) and Emilio Ramirez mentioned in 2025! The JJ flashback clip in the beginning had me emotionally invested immediately, and I wasn't even watching then. This current story would be even stronger if we got Abe's point of view at some point. Him and Roman discussing it could be a great scene. When was the last time they even shared a scene? This has been a very strong week. Let's hope tomorrow can stick the landing.

His socials have been a mess. He is spiralling.

Marissa Reyes continues to impress. I could easily feel her emotions as she was saying goodbye to Holly. Not to mention, their friendship seems so genuine already. Pretty good for actors that have only worked together a few months. I do think it's funny that whenever Ari is talking to or about 95% of the cast, she can throw out how she's related to them. Chanel and Johnny trying to figure out who is ruining their life was played way too light-hearted for me. Where's the fury? The desperation? They were acting like they were just trying to figure out what to watch on Netflix. However, the Sophia/Sarah scenes were must see. I think Rachel Boyd is at her best, for whatever that's worth, when Sophia is more human. The only other time she did well (for her), was when she had her traumatic birth. Linsey Godfrey has a been constant standout, and with these scenes, she really measured her performance brilliantly. I also couldn't be happier that Tate is not the father. He's not even 10 years old in real time, balance that with Brady's rapid ageing, and it would just be a mess. As for Tesoro, when all is said and done, I think Aaron and Mark will probably just take him and leave Salem for good.

Oh yeah, he knew exactly what he was doing when he bailed as soon as could. Hopefully, the same success finds Madelyn Kientz.

The earliest it could have been was 1986, starting with the debut of Mary Beth Evans in the role of Kayla. But if it wasn't 1986-1987, before Bo left, the next qualifying year would be 1990.

I can't say definitively, but I swear I remember Victor Miller surprisingly sticking up for Megan McTavish in some interview sometime after her last HW'ing stint.

Damn, Colton's body is insane!

Bill Bell always knew how to make it work. I wonder if he invented it? Anyway, random fact I just figured out ... Jamie Martin Mann is the youngest male actor to be on the show as an adult (18+). Okay, back to talking about classic DAYS!

I'm confused on how to feel about this. On one hand, it's always sad to lose the prominence of a Horton. However, with this show, recurring doesn't necessarily mean anything at all. However, since Bo and Hope left, he hasn't done much, which makes me think it wasn't his choice. It's a crying shame the HWs seemingly don't think building a Shawn/Jada pairing is worthwhile. However, like was reiterated above, I just know there's a better actor out there who can play Shawn. I do feel bad for Beemer though with the amount of times the show has jerked him around.

The Arianna and Theo meet-cute has officially happened. I don't have any trouble buying that they didn't recognize each other. Regardless of the joke that both had different heads the last time they were in Salem together, Arianna was also a little girl last time they were around each other, and despite the recasts, I think that part of it is probably still canon. When JJ said he wasn't aggressive, I wanted to slap him. I'm probably JJ's biggest fan, but that was some bs. Maybe he's just a bad cop. Time to become a mechanic, like Mike, Shawn (who should still be one), and Max before him. Plus, then he could be shirtless half the time. We're inching closer and closer to Sophia's lies coming out, and I can't wait. Hopefully, the climax doesn't disappoint. When Holly said she never wanted to come back to Salem, my only thought was, "No, you can act, we need you!"

delete

Thanks for letting us know.

Finally we got back to having some good drama again! Michael Roark is giving leading man, and for him to be playing a Horton, is just icing on the cake. Melissa Reeves shone in her scenes with Steve and Kayla. I hope the rest of the week is this good.

In his prime, few have ever been hotter than he. And as a DAYS fan, though I'll miss him as Eric, hopefully this means he and Nicole are staying together for the foreseeable.

Max Ehrich just got leaked by a hacker taking over his Instagram.

That sounds both encouraging and frightening at the same time.

She was giving a masterclass in how to play Big Brother, but Alison Grodner struck her evilness once again.

It's never made sense to me that they haven't given Nicole/Dani a point of view about Vanessa's constant cheating. After what both women have been through, it makes their friendship with her feel false. Why don't they hold any grievances whatsoever with her about her infidelity?

They acknowledged and explained Belle's sudden asthma attack as being brought on by a mix of EJ's cologne, her stress, and being trapped in close quarters with him. Obviously, her having it is new, but I bought that explanation just fine. It's really not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things for me. Watch them ever mention it again though. They have done more than enough to explain Theo's opposition to JJ for me as well. It makes total sense that once JJ became a cop again, Theo's dormant issues with him rose up again. Plus, we get to see two legacy characters, two who are played by good actors, have this natural conflict with each other. How wonderful that this was Cwikly/Ford's first major decision. Anyway, I definitely don't think the Xander and Sarah drama is done. Them properly becoming closer should have been the prompt for Xander to admit the truth about beating up Philip . Sarah would have still have been pissed, but I think with the blackout they would have been forced to hash it out. As it stands, Xander has made Sarah look like a fool, and when the truth finally does come out, she's bound to blow up all over again ... and into the arms of Brady? We shall see. One thing I found interesting, albeit unfortunate, about the Chad/Cat scenes, even the Sarah/Xander ones, is the fact that it seems proper love scenes are a thing of the past. Those kinds of scenes made a couple getting together feel so special and add to the emotional stakes of their bond, now it just seems like two people boned and that's that. Do other shows still do them? I know Beyond the Gates has dabbled. Also, whatever the hell is wrong with Marlena is going in circles. The blackout should have been used to finally reveal it to us once and for all. And to make it worse, Susan still exists. True pain and torture. Sue me, but I actually didn't mind Gwen beginning to thaw to Leo. But if he betrays her again regarding her involvement with EJ, I will accept nothing less than her shooting him dead. Q: Did she not debut on this show in a mental institution with Claire? Could we infer that could have added to her being so freaked out when she was trapped? Still, I wonder if she does thaw to Leo enough, if she'll use her money to help him and Javi adopt Tesoro.