DAYS: December Discussion Thread

[Michael]

I thought today was pretty lovely. Maybe I'm just less annoyed by stuff like this, I dunno, but it seemed appropriate to me that Maggie would give Daniel and Melanie ornaments, even if WE wouldn't. (I still think it's dumb that he's her son, but... enh.) And any show that still goes to commercial on a flashback of Tom and Alice hanging their ornaments, as well as gives Abe that sentimental speech (while surrounded by people we know and love) about what Christmas in Salem means, is still a show worth watching for me.

I still don't see Will's breakdown as so horrifically plot-driven that it's unbearable. As I see it, it's not even about him being gay. His mom, whom he's attempted to defend for the past few years -- and who has, largely, been a victim and thus less offensive to him and perhaps more worthy of him having to grow up fast to protect her -- has proven once and for all that she is and always will be a [!@#$%^&*]-up. I dunno, but it just doesn't feel insanely forced to me. The last time Sami got exposed for something really bad was the Stan thing. Will was like 13-14 (both on the show and in real time). The reveal of her first pregnancy by EJ was not "her fault." The reveal of the second pregnancy that she hid was tempered by Grace's death and the fact that she'd been driven into Witness Protection. Shooting EJ in the head was moronic, but she had clearly been wronged by the DiMeras there. So I totally buy that this is the first true, genuine Sami Brady Ruins Her Own Life that Will has experienced as an adult, and it's all the worse because they at least have a family now and Will isn't being forced to save Sami's ass and act like a grown-up.

On top of that, his girlfriend just dumped him. And we know that he's struggling with his sexuality and therefore the girlfriend thing stings even more (or in a different way), but I don't think that's even supposed to be onscreen at this point. I see it more as Will finally recognizing and letting out all this resentment toward his mom and that, coupled with the Gabi thing, is pushing him toward a breakdown that is going to result in him finally letting out this Big Thing that he's obviously worked to keep bottled up inside for however long.

Plus, Chandler Massey is doing some really impressive, interesting work, and the writing seems lively, so I'm onboard. And after today, I get that the "Will acts like 90s Sami" thing isn't about scheming and being evil and insane -- it's about him making things damn difficult for his mother, just as Sami did.

Two side notes: Will someone please burn (or at least get a slipcover for) that couch in the DiMera mansion? And it's so sad that Abe and Lexie have to wander around town, trying to get a piece of everyone else's Christmas tree because they don't even have a living room to call their own.

[quartermainefan]

Victor is not a Horton either. If you are going to consider Maggie a Horton-for-life even though she remarried, and you want to extend that to her family, it is all or nothing. Daniel at least has blood on his side tying him to Maggie, all Victor has is a piece of paper he signed and this isn't even his first one. And if you have to be married to a Horton to be a Horton, then that leaves Maggie out in the cold too.

[JellicleCat]

Luke wasn't drunk, or even drinking, at Christmas 2007. Maybe you're thinking about Christmas 2008? In 2007 he had just regained his abiity to walk after being paralyzed, and it was the first Christmas he spent with Noah. In 2008 on the other hand he had been expelled from school after cheating in the election and that's when he was drinking. This was also when Brian, Lucinda's new husband, had kissed him.

[JackPeyton]

Melanie, Daniel, and Victor all deserve the horton christmas balls hung on the tree and this is why. If tom and alice were still around, they would openly accept them. no questions, no hesitiation. maggie was as much as their daughter as their blood children were. if mickey were around he would accept daniel and melanie too. for anyone to think otherwise is just insane and dismissing the characters of tom and alice. you may not like it, hell i LOVE Melanie, and i HATE this stupid twist, but they deserve the horton christmas balls. its like saying that sarah and melissa are not hortons.

as for will, he is lashing out at sami because shes a selfish bitch who makes implusive actions that hurt him and his siblings and then plays innocent. the only reason it has anything to do with his being gay is because he already is dealing with so much, keeping so much bottled up inside, that he cant take it anymore.

[Khan]

As many balls as they've made for newcomers over the years, you'd think the tree would fall over at this point.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

lol at Lexie and Abe coming over () Sami and Rafe's apartment and ruining the intense moment with the family! DAYS had the momentum going with Will blowing up at Sami and then here they came to simmer it all down. Bummer! Luckily, things got intense again. Drunk Will was fun to watch! Though I can't help but feel really bad for Sami. AS is doing a really, really great job. The writing has been stellar IMO, Will/Marlena/Sami are perfection.

I cannot believe EJ and Nicole had sex on that couch again..seriously shame on EJ, LMAO. He FLASHED BACK to him & Sami porking on that couch 2 weeks ago & STILL did it on there again. Disgust!

JackPeyton, excellent post about Mel/Daniel/Victor getting ornaments. I could not agree more.

Melanie and Chad

[quartermainefan]

Chandler Massey has come out of nowhere to really carry his story. This must be his first story in the two years give or take since he has been on the show, and he has really stepped up to the plate. I loved the scene at the living room even though the idea of Lexie paying a christmas visit to Sami is just so bizarre. The Horton christmas is just too early but oh well. I liked that it was timed to the christmas episode and then either Doug or Chloe or someone would lead into song that would segue into a montage. This was just eh, and who was that woman singing and what was that song??? "White Christmas" it wasn't, it wasn't even "Blue Christmas" or "Santa Baby". Was it even a Christmas song?

Watching the preview for tomorrow, I think I am starting to get fed up with Madison, and I hope mean Sami emerges to take her down a peg. Sami could team up with Kate!

[Cheap21]

No its not. Sarah and Melissa are Hortons bc they were RAISED as Hortons. Being related to Maggie doesnt automatically make someone a Horton, but the kids she raised with Mickey are. Melanie and Daniel come years after the fact and have no direct ties to the Hortons themselves. They are not Hortons. Its enough for them to be invited to the party as Maggie's guests. They dont deserve to be given the honor of getting the traditional family ornaments

[darraholic]

Agree 100% with Cheap. Roman & Marlena and Abe & Lexie were closer to the Horton's then Daniel & Melanie ever will be and yet they don't have an ornament. Anyways, my hatred for the Jonas's grows each and every week. I just have to FF the two twits. I can't stand Jennifer either anymore. Her remark when Jack showed up bugged the hell out of me. So over Jennifer. Jack needs to forget about the beyotch and find himself a hot tamale.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the drama at the Hernandez's. Sami tearing into Marlena, Will tearing into Sami, everyone defending Sami & Marlena lol. And how awkward for Abe & Lexie during that scene with Will blasting Sami.

Ejole <3 So hot.

Doug & Julie really need to be on more. Even if they don't have a storyline, they should still be seen.

[JackPeyton]

I get what you are saying, in theory. However hvaing watched Tom, Alice and Mickey my entire life i have aboslutely zero doubt that if any of them were around today they would present Daniel and Melanie with the horton balls as well. So, i have no issue with it (even tho this is a beyond pointless and stupid plot twist)

Belle, Chelsea, Carrie dont deserve them.

And what is the offical stance on made up hortons? Because we have had A LOT of those in recent years too.

[Antoyne]

Belle is married to a Horton/Brady.

[Shawn]

So much word on this. It's just another desperate attempt by the writers to integrate the Jonas family deeper into the fabric of the show. It's never going to happen. By doing this, they are insulting both fans and characters that matter.

Carrie only had one when she was with Mike. When they split, her ornament went bye bye.

[juniorz1]

Well, Jack still has and has always had his ornament all these years, whether he was divorced from Jenn or not.

And Maggie is a Horton for life! She didn't divorce Mickey, he died while they were still married. I think it made perfect sense that they gave new husband Victor an ornament and I liked that Julie even made a little comment on the unlikelihood that Victor ever would have an ornament on the Horton tree. And like JP said, Tom & Alice certainly would have given Daniel & Melanie ornaments this year so it makes perfect sense that Maggie would present them to them. I'm not a huge fan of Daniel being Maggie's son either (too contrived) but it was a sweet, heartfelt moment and exactly what Maggie would do, so I ended up actually enjoying it.

But it's what the Hortons would do! This is Christmas in Salem. At the Horton household. If Alice were alive and well and was taking out the ornaments with Hope to get ready to decorate the tree, does anyone honestly see it playing out like this?....

HOPE: Gran, what do you think about maybe giving Victor an ornament this year, since he's Maggie's new husband, and giving them to Daniel and Melanie as well, since she just found out Daniel was her son, making Melanie her granddaughter?

ALICE: To be honest with you Hope, I didn't even plan on putting up Maggie's ornament this year. My sweet Mickey has left us and Maggie has moved on with her life. Now I'm not saying I'm not happy for Maggie because I am. But she's not really a Horton at all dear. She's a Simmons! Therefore, while she and her new family are welcome to come to the house tonight as guests while we decorate our tree, they won't be placing any ornaments on it. Why it's the Horton Christmas tree, Hope! And those balls are special to the Hortons, but you have to be a Horton to get one. We can't be giving them out to Simmonses and Kiriakises and Jonases and Laytons! Why Hope, if we were going to give ornaments to our friends to hang, don't you think I would have given one to my neighbor Marlena by now? Or the Carvers? Or the Bradys? Of course not dear. Now, enough of this talking- we'd better get to work if we're even going to have the tree ready for the Hortons to hang our ornaments on.

Sorry, but as a viewer of this show for the past 29 years, I just don't think that would be the case. I get that the point is that the writers shouldn't have made Daniel Maggie's son in the first place, but the reality is that they did and it only makes sense that Daniel & Melanie would end up getting ornaments this year. It's how the Hortons operate.

ITA!!!

Maybe it's because I'm always reading such negative things about MarDar, but I must say that I'm thoroughly enjoying their take on DAYS. I'm more intrigued by this Alice storyline than I have been by anything on DAYS in YEARS! I honestly have no idea where it's going but I'm enjoying the hell out of the ride. CAN'T WAIT to see Susan today. I've seen fans complaining about ED not returning as Susan for the episode and that Brynn couldn't possibly take her place, but I LOVE that Brynn says in SOD that the show had her study ED's performances as Susan on YouTube and do her best to imitate it. And that was just for the audition, so clearly Thayer more than likely gave the closest imitation of Eileen's Susan and got the part. Sounds like it's gonna be a ton of fun to watch!

I'm also LOVING this stuff with Will and I completely buy Will finally flipping his lid on his mom, after years of bad parenting and hypocrisy. The struggle he's having with his sexuality combined with his breakup with Gaby (blowing his cover) combined with Sami's transgression and then he has to stand there and listen to her lay into Marlena about how she & John have ruined her life......it's no wonder he's hitting his breaking point. I completely bought and ate up Drunk Will calling out Sami and going over the edge. He obviously has great affection for Marlena, since they mentioned when she & John first came back that Will emailed them every day. I'm looking forward to watching the Will/Marlena connection continue and watching the rest of this story play out. I think Chandler Massey is doing an exceptional job as Will and think the acting in this tale has been surprisingly first rate so far. I disagree with those that are saying this story seems more plot-driven than character driven. I feel like eveyone involved is acting completely in character, including Will. It's been a reallllly long while since I've felt emotionally connected to a DAYS story like this but I'm really feeling this one.

I'm starting to enjoy the mayor storyline, especially for some of the character interactions we're getting from it. Nicole/Jennifer? Nicole/Marlena? The scenes with Marlena were especially amazing! When they kicked it off the first week, it seemed sort of tacked on to the rest of the show (kinda like the Madison story that I'm about it talk about) but now, it's turning into a story I look forward to seeing when it's on. In fact, the mayor aspect is far more entertaining and interesting to me than the John in Prison aspect of it

The Madison Mad World vs Kate Countess Wilhemina is probably the weak point for me, but it's probably just because it's moving kind of slow. Which isn't a bad thing as it is giving the audience (me!) time to get to know Madison. And thusfar, I like her and the slight quirks that Sarah Brown has already given her. Wow, this girl is everything to DAYS this year that Tamara Braun wasn't (in this stint- I actually LOVED her as Ava the 1st time and wish they'd brought her back as her). Plus she has chemistry with Eric Martsolf, not to mention Koslow and Sweeney. I'm loving watching Madison lay into Sami about her lack of professionalism in the office. I'm quite looking forward to learning more about her and I'm liking Sarah Brown very much in the part. I'd only seen her on ATWT and B&B and didn't care for her too much on either show but I'm really liking her on DAYS.

All in all, as far as I'm concerned, I'm completely on board with this reboot and I think DAYS has more potential right now than it has in years! With the ratings starting to slowly inch up, I'm hoping this regime is able to keep the quality up and keep DAYS on the air well past its 50th Birthday!!!

[Khan]

The only thing missing for me would be Alice taking out Maggie's ornament and then crushing it in her bare hand.

[Antoyne]

Ugh to Chad and Melanie.