Days: November 2020 Discussion Thread

[DynamiteKiddo]

Xander not being Justin’s Alexander is one of the more stupid things they did new character wise over the last 10 years.  And that was Tomsell, who were definitely more invested in Adrienne & Justin than any other head writing regime, save for maybe RC.

[beebs]

Yeah, but TomSell were also almost comical in their stubborn refusal to introduce extant legacy children, with the exception of Theresa. They would almost exclusively introduce all new characters and shove them down folks' throats (Melissa Archer's Serena, who everyone screamed should've been Sarah, the entire Ozark yokel family), or retcon their new creations into being the sons and daughters of established characters (Beige Paige, Paul).

 

Xander was just yet another, seemingly more blatant middle finger to the fans in that regard.

[SFK]

I'm starting to get into this show, it was pretty inoffensive today (i.e., no Ben). I'm still reticent about what they're doing with Allie. I fear that she'll be turned into some antiquated "lesson" in what becomes of impulsive young women (slut-shamed). Meanwhile, good looking young men rape and murder yet deserve umpteenth chances at redemption.

[beebs]

Yeah, that's....that's basically the way it's been for awhile now.

I tuned out about two years ago, but still follow the goings-on via online and...yeah, that's pretty much it.

 

You're probably better off reading up on the Bell/Pat Falken Smith era than watching what's going on now, tbh.

 

ETA: God, I sound so cynical. If you're getting something out of it, I have watched a couple episodes here and there and enjoyed it, but nothing grabs me the way it used to, put it that way.

Edited November 18, 2020 by beebs

[prefab1]

Current DAYS might just be for you, but I will say that the strength of the show tends to be in its acting and dialogue, which doesn't always come through in internet summaries or discussions of its plots. 

 

For instance, Cady McClain's Jennifer had a great little scene today where she was talking to JJ about how tired she is of Jack always screwing up and hurting her, then trying to apologize after the fact. 

[beebs]

I will concede that what saved DAYS for me, even in the TomSell era, was the day-to-day writing, which was often ELECTRIC thanks to the talents of the Cullitons and Melissa Salmons. What episodes I have seen recently have been entertaining, again for similar reasons, and the acting has stayed strong throughout, absolutely.

I think the long-term storytelling is what is really letting this show down. I wish they would ease up on the looney tune stuff and not tell their stories from such an oddly regressive point of view, because it really lets down the awesome cast and writing staff they have.

[DynamiteKiddo]

Very true.  However, they did JJ, who imo was the best introduced legacy kid in God knows how long.

 

The thing with Xander is still just so frustrating.  It would've given Justin & Adrienne great potential conflict and he could've MAYBE saved whatever that was with Morgan Fairchild's Angelica lolol.  Plus giving Sonny a brother on-screen and fleshing out the Kiriakis family in a way that wasn't totally random . . . we also had to deal with Daniel the godson and freaking Deimos during that general era, too.

[Antoyne]

I’m so pissed at the show. They had Gwen tell Rolf about why she hates Abby, but not the audience

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.

 

The Kate and Jennifer scenes were great today, and I’m glad they mentioned Lucas.

[prefab1]

I was just getting ready to post this. Cady McClain and Lauren Koslow really brought it today. Loved the way they mentioned all the history with Laura and Bill and even (the unnamed) Curtis. 

 

And speaking of Gwen's secret, note how they yet again reminded us of the years Jack spent away from Jennifer after young Abby fell ill...

Edited November 18, 2020 by prefab1

[Dr Neil Curtis]

But why do they make it seem like he was gone for years... wasn’t he gone like a year and came back as Mark Valley’s Jack?

[pdm1974]

Today was good. I really loved the Kate/Jennifer scenes and the use of history. I watched during that original storyline when Kate first came to town, and I thought she was such a fascinating character. I think digging more into her backstory could reenergize the character. And, someone finally mentioned poor Lucas, but it would have been better to pull him into some of those scenes in person...the conflict! It writes itself. I hope they eventually take advantage of that story beat.

 

I'm really loving Cady in the role of Jennifer. She's bringing out some stronger aspects of the character's personality. I always felt like Jennifer was the type of character that things just happened to and she reacted in a passive way, but I can see THIS Jennifer being more of a take charge kind of character. I'm wondering if Cady really is going to stick around long-term and this was the story they spun to make the transition easier for some of the audience.

 

I'm really loving Gwen and wondering what her secret is and her grand plan. She's the best addition in a VERY long time.

[DynamiteKiddo]

Re. today (11/18): it was good!  This was a very contained episode insofar as sticking to one general overarching story, but the different scene partners' content really varied while remaining dynamic, not disjointed.  Jack's scenes with Roman were all about character-driven introspection, but also furthered the "filling in the pieces" function for the time jump Jack/Kate "retcon."  And speaking of exposition--Gwen's scenes with Rolf were great!  Forget character, this was all plot exposition . . . but RC and the scriptwriter had a great time with the OTT mustache twirling camp; it was like JER but totally self-aware/deprecating, not shockingly stupid.  Then the Abby/JJ and Jake/Chad scenes juxtaposing how different those sibling relationships are was very effective.  Abby/JJ are magic, whether it's Mansi or Miller.  And Brandon Barash continues to delight as Jake (the further away he or anyone is away from Ben, the better).  And I was legit lol-ing at Remington Hoffman as Li Shin--at first I didn't know if he was a very bad, confused actor in Chad and Abby in Paris, but he has to be in on the joke now with how campy his shtick is.

 

But clearly the MVPs of the ep. were LK/Kate and Cady/Jenn.  I have refrained from commenting on Cady because I am pretty ride or die for Missy's Jenn, but she has been doing a very nice job at picking up on a lot of Missy's tics while dually giving Jenn a whole new energy.  She is playing hurt so well . . . and, this one's a double-edged sword--she's dropped a lot of the saccharine stuff that Missy overdid, but she's missing the bubbly effervescence I associate with the character.  But better or worse, Cady's is a much more grown up Jennifer.  (Which is crazy to say for a 50-something y.o. character lol.) Considering how much history was played in these scenes, they were still very effective without Missy.  And Kate talking about Bill and her "place" in the Horton family was a treat--it's such a big part of her characterization that rarely gets mention.  And Kate (and the dialogue writer) nailed how self-absorbed, holier-than-thou, stubborn-to-a-fault Jenn is.  She rarely gets called on her flaws (like Jack always does), and when she does, it's by characters like Eve and Ann, who're supposed to not be taken seriously.  Jenn HEARD Kate, but at the end of the episode, she couldn't get out of her own way.  The irony that that's Jack's "flaw" was well-played.  But my biggest problem with this "story" (besides how random and stupid Jack & Kate hooking up is) is how Jack is reacting to everything . . . Jack makes huge mistakes and makes huge excuses . . . but he's usually filled with guilt--self-loathing and self-deprecation.  He's kinda pathologically trying to not take accountability here and they're implying he's a compulsive liar.  Jack's a lot of things but I don't think he's ever been that.  But I guess I'm super glad he's not the groveling lapdog he's been since Mark Valley assumed the role after the of late oft-mentioned missing year(s) after Abby got sick.  I am trembling in fear that Gwen is a Jack/Laura baby!  LOL.

 

One disappointment about today's episode was the director, Albert Alarr.  I was really impressed by Scott McKinsey's directing on Tuesday's episode--he really tried and I felt it.  While Alarr just went through the motions, and the contrast was super evident.  GH is the only other soap I really check in on, and while that show has been a dumpster fire for years now imo, it has a visual pov.  For most of the past decade, "Days" has had no visual identity . . . so when I see them attempt to use the sets and cameras to do something, anything different, I really appreciate it.  And Tuesday to Wednesday showed me how much a difference it really does make.

[Gray Bunny]

 

So, I'm 3 weeks behind, but wasn't Jack gone a second time, sometime around 1998-2000 when Jack & Jenn were living in Ireland? They had originally left for Africa but when Missy's Jenn popped back up in the fall of 2000, she was in Ireland and Jack was off god-knows-where while Jenn had gotten a little close to Dr. Colin Murphy. 

 

However, it sounds like they're just focusing on the 1993-1994 absence. 

[pdm1974]

OMG...I'm not sure how they could possibly play that one as Laura returned to Salem right after having sex with Jack...but what a crazy twist that would be!

[AbcNbc247]

Yeah. I think at some point when they were in Africa, Jack became obsessed with making money and other get rich quick schemes, so Jen took Abby and left.

 

And I completely agree with you @DynamiteKiddo, Albert needs to go.

Edited November 19, 2020 by AbcNbc247