j swift

I'm unfamiliar with anything stage left of the living room, obviously stage right is the dining room, the kitchen is attached to that, and the office is upstage, behind the stairs, everyone slept upstairs in the past.

I hope it gets a rebranding. John Black and Steve Johnson really missed the boat the first time when they rejected the obvious name: John/John. Speaking of which, and given Steve's past in the Merchant Marines, perhaps a boating and fishing company might be nice for Rafe and Patch? They both live by the docks. ChatGPT has done away with our need for private detectives. And the lake feels like an unappreciated resource for the Salem economy.

Also, he has to be JJ, because there's also a Joey in his generation. Although, also not as unique in the Days universe when there's also an Alex and a Xander. And thank goodness you saved yourself from the shocking ages of Ciara and her niece Claire (Ciara is Hope daughter, and Claire is Shawn's daughter, but they're almost the same age). Time is a circle.

I was trying to decipher this one -- are you referring to JJ Devereux, who is Abby's brother? I apologize for not forming a consensus opinion, but Cat (Caterina, to differentiate her from her mother Katharina) hasn't been given a lot to do, so the jury is out. The actress has such a strong presence that it tends to distract from the establishment of any character traits thus far. One must simply accept that age is not linear in Salem. They live in a universe parallel to our own. And, are therefore not beholden to many of the organic issues which plague our world, like aging, weather, and digestion. Also, hair dye is beyond the budgetary expenditure for DAYS Hair&Makeup Dept.

I realize, at this point, picking on Jamey Giddens is very much like low-hanging fruit (no pun intended) -- but wouldn't you think a good writer might choose their words more carefully, in order to avoid comparing their new bosses to authoritarians?

Given that every project has to be a limited series these days, I'd love to see the final episode when she's 'mentoring' Harding Lemay, from the humorous perspective that he wrote about in his book. Showing the passage of time from her type of story-telling during that period in soaps.

I think you've hit the nail on its proverbial head. It was cruel to leak it, and suggests that often creatives make poor managers. And at the very least, it should make us question the source of some of our opinions. I know there's always one person to comment that they knew her professionally, and she was the meanest person that they knew. But, nobody deserves (or earns) that type of disrespect without a lot of animosity in the work place. And, the press tends to favor stories by people she fired, rather than those she supported.

Agreed BUT, that should also mean not always using magic potions to cure every character. Dr. not-Rolf, serving the same function as Rolf, is not a significant improvement in storytelling.

Yeah, in the DAYS thread, I referred to him as Dr. Nobody aka not-Rolf. He's got a magical potion, but it's not Rolf....

I'm always amused, imagining both actors on their day off, living in contemporary Manhattan. Because it is funny to think of them in that context, versus the iconic figures they portrayed in Springfield. For example, think of a man looking like HB Lewis ordering a bagel and schmear from Zabars on the UWS. That would be as legitimately funny as if I saw a woman who looked like Alexandra Spaulding on the subway. I know the actors who played Hawk and Miss Sally must have assimilated into their environment. But, it just makes me giggle to think of them trying on jeans at Bloomingdale's.

I wonder if now that Beyond Salem seem extinct, they'll be sidequests every year. Like with Bo&Hope last year in Greece, and the frozen ladies etc... It is an interesting story technique to revisit the past, but it feels poorly timed unless the EJ shooting is wrapping up quickly. Because that mystery, and Bo's return, and Tate's baby feels like too much at once. And, after all my guesses, Michael Dietz is just playing “some guy #2.” AKA not-Dr.Rolf, (even though it is the same type of magical cure that Dr. Rolf would've created).

Is this the correct timeline? Rafe sneaks in to hide the camera before Belle arrives. EJ finds Belle's wire EJ finds Rafe's camera and removes the memory card EJ gets shot Rafe retrieves the camera Rafe doesn't plug in the camera to his laptop for two days, including a day after his sister was accused of killing for a third time? @brisbydog it seems out of order, because didn't they find out on Thursday that the bullet wasn't a perfect match to Ava/Melinda's gun? Apparently, even under new leadership, Days of Our Lives remains steadfast in its belief that unspoken feelings and half-truths are the lifeblood of romantic entanglement. If Chanel's holding out hope for an emotionally mature conversation with Johnny about adoption, it looks like that's not going to happen. Still, I must give credit where it’s due: the Jada and Rafe breakup was handled with an admirable sense of finality. It didn’t reek of the usual soap-operatic holding pattern—no wistful music, no lingering glances suggesting they’ll be back in each other’s arms before the week is out. Instead, it read as an actual, adult conclusion. Which, blessedly, opens the narrative space for Shawn-D to be more than the third wheel in a variety of tight leather jackets. And may I say, it was refreshing to see the mystery arc tuck itself politely behind the romance, rather than running roughshod over it. This is the balance DAYS has historically handled best—when suspense serves the emotional core. Think of the 1980s Stefano plots: yes, there were puzzles, but they always propelled the love stories. The mystery was never the point; the people were. This week felt like a subtle return to that ethos. Take, for instance, what is clearly being telegraphed: Shawn-D, guilt-ridden and angling for redemption, sets off on a mission to save Bo. Now that Jada’s single, she’s well-positioned to accompany him—and if the writers are smart, to bond with him along the way. A romance forged through adventure and mutual respect? Quelle surprise! But consider: for this to work, Shawn must resist his unfortunate tendency to go Full Brady Brooder and exclude Jada from the plot entirely “for her own good.” We’ve seen that story before—many times—with diminishing returns. So, here lies the true test of this new writing regime: can this so-called “fresh start” resist the gravitational pull of recycled beats and instead allow for evolution? Or will we be back to secret-keeping and missed connections?

Finally!!!!

Kidding Sarah made me realize how few women are Days are allowed to have moral flaws without becoming evil. Ava on GH and Phyllis on Y&R are both Neutral Evil: (Selfish and ruthless, willing to harm others to achieve their desires, without necessarily being bound by rules or chaos). But, I would argue that historically Salem has had a lot of cads like Alex Marshal, or even Tony Dimera, but very few morally gray women. Other than Anna, I can't think of many women in Salem who weren't either chaotic evil or Lawful (Jada)/Neutral (Stephanie)/or Chaotic (Gabi) good. - the lawful to chaotic scale is based on valuing the rule of law over personal desires.

Tell your Mom to check Poshmark, you can 30 bucks for a used Freedom Bag (I was curious).

Let's also never forget, that left to her own devices, she never would have let Xander know that he was Victoria's father. Which was convenient, given that he found that he was the sole heir to a fortune less than one year later... I mean, at least Theresa was honest about being a gold digger.😎🤑 Side note: I know we're supposed to feel compassion for Sarah, I am just teasing.

While I agree that Xander doesn't need to cheat, it looked like that was the setup based on today's scene. However, I disagree with your take on Sarah. She lied because she didn't trust Xander to run the business on his own. She can defend it by saying that Philip had a right to a percentage of the estate. But, her motivation was that she didn't want Xander to hurt Philip, nor did she want him to turn into a megalomaniac. Both of which are just another way to say that she doesn't trust his base instincts to know right from wrong. And that's bad. If I were in the same preposterous circumstance, I would think it was worse than cheating that my wife shared information with all of my friends and family, because she doesn't trust that I wouldn't hurt someone. The mother of my child doesn't trust that I have my family's best wishes at the fore. -- Then, I'd buy my own condo and stop living with my step-Mother.

Kind of gives a new perspective when watching this scene Also, who knew Abby was such a liberal that she thought about intersectionality?

I assume Xander and Sarah will get back together, Kristen is just the mistress. And, you know what Jimmy Goldsmith said, “when a man marries his mistress, he creates an immediate job vacancy.”

I don't know any spoilers, but I'm willing to bet that Xander turns to Kristen once Sarah's secret is exposed, and that will start the triangle. Have they ever been romantic in the past?

The couch is awful, and those curtains in the dining room don't match anything. I think Diane lost some of her decorating skills during her fake death.

I'm surprised Julie wasn't throwing around some of Doug's inheritance, he had plenty of dough.

Is a Xander/Kristen/Sarah triangle brewing? I'm not a fan of this setup. On another note, if Maggie had $1,000,000 for the auction and Gabi bid $15,000 (correct me if I got her amount wrong), why not just donate the money directly? Why the whole carnival spectacle? It makes me nostalgic for the '90s when this would’ve been a glamorous black-tie gala fundraiser. Picture it: someone (probably Leo) scheming to steal the funds, only to have a change of heart and return it in true soap fashion. Also, why so many kids on the show today? That said, it’s fun to imagine Rachel, Charlotte, and Thomas as adults—wonder what their stories would be. I wonder what happened with Charlotte BTS, that she got less screen time than the others. Are we just waiting for the EJ/Rafe showdown to reveal the shooter’s identity? And what’s with EJ’s sudden remorse—any theories?

I apologize for any inferred rudeness. I was simply using your post as an example that we all tend to repeat these ideas, but now with the gift of time, we can examine to see if they are true.

But, doesn't Harding Lemay teach us that fresh talent are hired with the instructive that the past didn't work? They need to re-invent because they're hired due to the failure of a prior team to attract an audience. Which may be why new writers rarely sought inspiration from the history of the soap. Just rallying here, but again this may be one of those ideas that doesn't hold up to the scrutiny of time. Fresh talent has never been a guarantee; not there are any guarantees in creative endeavors.