DAYS: April 2025 Discussion Thread

[brisbydog]

Kayla kept her pregnancy with Stephanie secret for months because Steve was off finding a stupid key with Marina. Jack was the one who figured it out and told Steve. But he wasn't hurt or angry so poor example.

I like Sarah loving a very complicated man and trying to manage him. From what I gathered at the Newark fan event that aspect is still playing out. The new writers sound like they don't drop important character beats because they want to jump to the next plot.

[Antoyne]

Bingo. There’s nothing wrong with humor. But when you basically tell your audience they’re dumb for watching, you lose me entirely.

[AbcNbc247]

And I'm the exact opposite lol

The worse it got, the more determined I was to watch. There was no way I was gonna let someone like Ron Carlivati drive me away 

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[AbcNbc247]

Damn… Sami’s leaving already. 

I get that they only had Ali Sweeney for a certain amount of time but I wish that Sami could have at least had some scenes with Marlena. Or some more scenes with Belle. It would’ve been a lot better than having her sleep with Rafe lol but I did enjoy their scenes together today and the advice that she gave him. It’s weird to me, that I like them in each others orbits but I don’t want them together now

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And, Vivian’s leaving too?

I was hoping for more, from both of them actually. And her scenes with Gabi reminded me why it was a mistake for her to be the mastermind behind Stefan leaving Salem. Because it’s a dangling plotline that I have no idea when is gonna be addressed. They really should’ve had Stefan just leave on his own and not made Vivian responsible for it, because it just seems so unnecessary.

Btw, is that office set that Gabi and Melinda were in a new one? 

Philip and Xander’s confrontation was ok but I was hoping for a little more. Or that Maggie, Stephanie and Alex had a part in it as well. But Paul Telfer did a good job once again. And I like that Xander didn’t find out yet that Sarah knew about the letter. Let the secret burn for a little bit more so that the conflict builds, not only for the two of them but Alex and Stephanie as well. And since it’s looking like that reveal is going to happen under the new writers, I’m really looking forward to it. 

As for the ending, I didn’t dislike it but at the same time, I’m wondering… what was the point? 

[Contessa Donatella]

And, I inhabit a totally different space, not like you but also not like him.

#1 Of course, as B&S dragged on, I considered, was it time to take a break. I do not consider that a case of someone driving me off. But, if I did, who cares? Really, what is that about?

#2 I did actually dump a month of shows but it was only because I got behind (which yes I do blame on B&S) and wanted to jump a bit to catch up. I did watch Julie shows during the jump month.

Now, up to date & a daily watcher again, wheee, here we go. It's like it's a soap again, hallelujah but then why in the hell did we have to endure that crap?

I have mused more than once if Ron could write like this then why wasn't he doing so the whole dadgummed time?! He is undoubtedly the most annoying of HWs ever!

Now, to Salem now, or the last 3 days at least. 

Sorry but I have to say it. Both Vivian & Sami were a disappointment to me. There is no excuse for this. But, I realize it is all down to the writing. Possibly what they  tried to do with each were impossible goals.  

Sami, was there realistically any hope at all of her explaining how she [gag] fell in love with her rapist & married him & had children with him. IMO women do not fall in love with their rapists. AFAIC it's a myth, and a bad myth to boot. Simply doesn't happen. I am at a loss for when TPTB will get this.

Now, Viv, it makes no sense AT ALL for her to spill all the beans to Xander. Yes, I know there had to be a reveal, but why such a clunky odd one?!!! 

Sami & Rafe, wow, that was so good. Showed him up well & also same for her. 

 

[BetterForgotten]

[AbcNbc247]

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[Bright Eyes]

The most annoying part is that when he doesn't pull crap like that, like in the confession scenes with Xander, he's damn good. I was really worried when the truth came out, the writers were going to take it as an opportunity to just pile on Philip, but they surprisingly went the emotional truth route. No macho flexing, just two brothers genuinely hurt, one betrayed, one contrite. It was beautiful to me. Especially the part where Philip made sure to state he wasn't laughing at Xander behind his back made me tear up a little. And he kept Sarah's name out of his mouth, which continues to make me feel like something might happen there once her part is exposed. 

I was a huge Sami fan until they tried to make her a heroine and she took over the show, so I never really cared about her with Rafe. I actually always liked her best with Brandon, until his weird second stint. Still, I really enjoyed her reunion with him. They do still have great chemistry, I have to admit. Plus, it excited me to believe that Rafe would go to Italy with her and we'd finally be rid of him. I do think there should have been a goodbye scene with Johnny, at the very least. I rolled my eyes at the convolution of Vivian and Sami using a ride-share or being on the same flight, but still enjoyed the two characters interacting regardless. The scene would have been much better if they would have grounded it with a John mention.

Also have to rep for my boy, Casey Moss this week. He was fantastic in those Gabi scenes, clearly wrestling with his duty and his loyalty and all the rest. I think he's the best male actor on the show.

I loved Sami/Kate shooting the [!@#$%^&*]. It would have been fun if they started off purely gossiping about other people in town and then got into their own business. The way Kate's eyes lit up when Sami mentioned that Jada slept with Shawn was a little moment that made me smile and even when Kate first apologized to Sami with Roman earlier in the week, the way Sami responded with, "Since it didn't end badly, I forgive you, almost feeling like a subtle threat. Like she said, okay, but not too much now.

I enjoy Gabi getting to have a fire, but Cherie Jimenez sounds way took much like a valley girl with no grit. I like her well enough, I'm invested in her with JJ, but I'll think there's someone better out there to play her and would probably write her out, too, eventually.

As for Leo, who brings this show to a grinding halt everytime he unfortunately appears. I am choosing to believe that Sami jumping on the hate train and warning Javi about him means that Leo will be screwing up again soon, making Javi look like a fool. I have to believe it for my own sanity. I do wish people were more pissed at him for writing these articles about him. He's much easier to take when I see other characters hating him.

[brisbydog]

Excellent show. I thought the Philip and Xander confrontation touched on everything it should. Philip's lonely childhood with no connections to Rex or Bo, Xander's feelings that he was always an embarassment to Victor, and them somehow growing to like each other. It's been the big plus in this story and I have truly enjoyed their growth as brothers. I have a feeling Xander is going to get over the Philip part of this fast (it's not like he wouldn't have pulled this himself). The Sarah part will be far worse.

Rafe sure isn't in a hurry to find out who shot EJ. Nor is he sharing with the police.

Vivian's visit has been a blast. I always enjoy her and this propelled the plot forward which is most welcome. Sami and Rafe are a snooze but that's mostly him. I loved Sami and Viv leaving together.

The other "big" return of Rex appears to be forgotten. Did he leave town? Is he still on that one room at the pub? Do I care?(spoiler: nope).

[1974mdp]

I've actually grown to like JPL as Phillip. His first go round fell flat, I thought. But, he's settled into the role this time. I'm hoping they keep him around.

[j swift]

I find it to be a full circle moment, because one of the things that I've praised RonC for is his use of friendship.  And today made the point that this tale is different from Theresa's fraud.  In the end, neither Xander nor Philip wanted money as much as they wanted to feel that they belonged to a family. 

I'm really glad that we've gotten an exploration of Xander.  I wish there was a bit more with his mother, but I think that plot really informed this story. 

My hope for the near future of scripts is that characters talk to each other more about their motivations.  It cost zero dollars for characters to sit together and either offer insight, or be given insight from others.  Rather than simply repeating the most recent events to each other.

I think there's a lot of good groundwork laid for the future.  We have an active and dynamic teen scene that's tied to legacy families.  We have a group of very charming and handsome leading men (even though many of them are dumb).  And I would watch a show centered around Jada, Gabi, and Stephanie because they all feel like authentic, smart, driven women.  And, Julie, Maggie, and Marlena are all still relevant and vibrant.

My biggest issue is pacing.  Stories start, stop, reverse, stand still, and repeat for weeks.  There needs to be consistent story telling, told with anticipation, and more of a through line to tie events together.  But most of all, we need more defined characters, so it doesn't seem like you could pluck a random name out of the Salem phone book and watch bad things happen to them.  For example, Melinda owning the stolen necklace, seems out of character, but she's been off-screen for so long, maybe something changed that we didn't notice.

[Soaplovers]

I think these scripts were written after Ron C was shown the door.   His ideas were probably in place, but I have a feeling the new head writers had a hand in how these scripts were written.

To me, it seems as though these last few episodes are tying up the Ron C era, but I'm not sure exactly where the new writing team will be focusing on based on these last few episodes.

[Contessa Donatella]

He is truly working as Phillip to me, this go round, also. 

[AbcNbc247]

JPL's grown on me too, despite the acting tics, and I hope they find a way to keep him/Philip around.

There's still plenty of story to be told, once Xander finds out that Sarah knew about the letter. And also, with Stephanie and Alex as well.

Agreed.

There definitely needs to be more build up and follow up when it comes to certain things, so that we get a better understanding as to why things happen the way that they do, or way characters do the things that they do.

And I hope they cut back on the short contracts stuff because I think that was a big part of the reason why the Fiona storyline was, ultimately a bust

[j swift]

I get the humor/urge/logic behind attributing these episodes to another writer.

However, that Johnny and Sami scene will go into the canon of DAYS as a significant event, and exceptionally well considered, scene.  I would add the Kate/Sami catchup, EJ telling Belle that he won't provide her absolution, and the build up of the Philip/Xander relationship are all evidence of good writing.

I think we all have the capacity to be thankful for the contributions of this headwriter, while maintaining a balanced litany of stylistic choices that we didn't like. Given that he's credited with those episodes, I think we should show some respect that we universally enjoyed it.  I'm grateful for these Sami episodes, the forementioned good setup for future stories, and the satisfying resolve to the Xander/Philip saga. 

Including, but not limited to, who is going to tell Philip to tuck in his shirt?  Because, now I see he's influenced Alex to dress more casually for the office.

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I vote for Mr. Shin, Philip would listen to him.

Edited April 18 by j swift