8 hours ago, carolineg said:

Jen is coming off like a shrew in all this.  I don't know if it's my personal thoughts on Missy, the writing, or both.    I have always preferred Missy to Cady's Jen, but I feel like Jen is more compassionate than this.  I think her and Jack's points are valid.  I have also seen Jen and Jack be much more willing to forgive people.  

Definitely the writing.

Because Jack and Jennifer's points are very valid, but with the way everything is being written, it like they want to make them the bad guys. And it's just not working.

1 hour ago, j swift said:

I remember there was another actor playing an Ob/Gyn when the Nicole/Sloan baby switch initially occurred, but didn't Dr. Mark Greene switch a DNA test for Sloan, which Kayla found out about right before he shot Chad?

He switched the first test that Chad had run to prove that Cat "was" Abigail. The second test that he switched was all a scheme planned by Steve in order to trick Mark into exposing himself as a fraud.

Sloan was already gone by the time Mark showed up.

 

Edited September 8Sep 8 by AbcNbc247

Jennifer is a shrew. Her whole purpose in staying in Salem is to keep an eye on Cat. Maybe someone should keep an eye on Jennifer. She might take some more pills and run over someone else. Instead of Cat, maybe Jennifer shouldn’t be allowed to see Chad’s kids.

Edited September 9Sep 9 by SouthernChick

6 hours ago, Antoyne said:

It’s kind of amazing that the Horton/Devereauxs are supposed to look bad for not just hand waving away what Cat and the Greenes did.

I don't actually get the impression that Jen or Jack are being written as unreasonable. So far everyone's being written as kind of fair? Of course it's leaning in Cat's favour because she's about to be paired up with Chad, but I don't think they're doing this black-and-white but feels like a dilemma. 

Today was a bit of a slow one.

There was a lot of brotherly bonding today, which I hope doesn't mean that everything is going to be fine from now on. Xander and Philip were the perfect example of this.

But I did like that Chad immediately suspected that EJ was up to something as they talked about the hospital renovation. I've had mixed feelings about all this, but I'm curious about what it's going to lead to. Whatever EJ's doing could have a lot of ripple effects across the canvas and drive a lot of storyline.

I thought Stephanie was used pretty effectively today as well. Having her be the PR person for both Titan and EJ/the hospital was the right decision. And also shows how unnecessary the whole book thing is lol Xander suspecting that Stephanie was the one who planted the bug, or knows who did, and getting Alex to question her about it could lead to something interesting happening. Which they definitely need right now because they're still so boring. I did see a little chemistry between her and EJ as well. And I'm glad that she was able to change EJ's mind about what he wanted to name the free clinic.

And yeah, I stand by what I've suspected about Tony from the beginning.

Btw, welcome back, Theo!

12 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Today was a bit of a slow one.

There was a lot of brotherly bonding today, which I hope doesn't mean that everything is going to be fine from now on. Xander and Philip were the perfect example of this.

But I did like that Chad immediately suspected that EJ was up to something as they talked about the hospital renovation. I've had mixed feelings about all this, but I'm curious about what it's going to lead to. Whatever EJ's doing could have a lot of ripple effects across the canvas and drive a lot of storyline.

I thought Stephanie was used pretty effectively today as well. Having her be the PR person for both Titan and EJ/the hospital was the right decision. And also shows how unnecessary the whole book thing is lol Xander suspecting that Stephanie was the one who planted the bug, or knows who did, and getting Alex to question her about it could lead to something interesting happening. Which they definitely need right now because they're still so boring. I did see a little chemistry between her and EJ as well. And I'm glad that she was able to change EJ's mind about what he wanted to name the free clinic.

And yeah, I stand by what I've suspected about Tony from the beginning.

Btw, welcome back, Theo!

Wait are you saying you think Tony is Andre for the 100th time? 

Just now, Antoyne said:

Wait are you saying you think Tony is Andre for the 100th time? 

Yep 😂

The things he's been doing lately don't seem very Tony-like. But I'm just speculating, I haven't heard anything.

I think I'm going to wait and watch again when

Spoiler

Chandler Massey returns.😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Nothing is interesting enough to make me tune in.

When that long promo video came out, I was sure that Thaao was playing Andre in those clips and that there had either been a switch or Tony had just been Andre all along. But now I'm not so sure. I kind of think they just decided to write Tony being more devious, and Thaao is playing the same way he played Andre from 2015-17 because he doesn't have a damn clue who Tony actually is, since they retconned half his life away and the actual Tony has done so little of consequence.

Edited September 10Sep 10 by Michael

Does anyone think they could get Chandler back full time. Im guessing Zach Tinker has been booked and busy. It seems like Freddie Smith won't be back and I dont miss him. 

2 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Yep 😂

The things he's been doing lately don't seem very Tony-like. But I'm just speculating, I haven't heard anything.

God I hope you’re wrong. It’s been done way to death. Let Tony just be the surviving one. I still think it’s absurd that they retconned Andre into being his brother in the first place. Was that Ron? And how did they explain it?

29 minutes ago, Michael said:

When that long promo video came out, I was sure that Thaao was playing Andre in those clips and that there had either been a switch or Tony had just been Andre all along. But now I'm not so sure. I kind of think they just decided to write Tony being more devious, and Thaao is playing the same way he played Andre from 2015-17 because he doesn't have a damn clue who Tony actually is, since they retconned half his life away and the actual Tony has done so little of consequence.

This makes sense to me. Everytime the man thought he was playing Tony for years on end, they’d come in and be like nope sorry that was Andre. He’s had so little time to actually carve out who the real Tony is because of the retcons for the last 40 years. I do hope he remains Tony as I’ve enjoyed their being an elder DiMera that isn’t evil. He’s the perfect big brother for the clan.

Cat is the latest example of character propping, which I noticed started under Ron and continuing under this new headwriting team.

Jennifer is being very logical and realistic over her feelings toward Cat.. and also about Chad starting to become interested in dating Cat.  It was anyone else, I don't think Jennifer/Jack would have a problem because they would understand that their daughter would want Chad to find someone... but the fact that it's Cat is the issue. 

Perhaps if she were played by a less one note actress, it wouldn't be an issue.. and I happened to like the actress from when she was on 90210 (one of the few bright spots of that show/cast).  It's just that the writing isn't playing into her strengths as a performer.

7 hours ago, Antoyne said:

Was that Ron? And how did they explain it?

That was Higley/Griffith.

Andre revealed to everyone that, apparently, Stefano had knocked up his brother’s wife 😂😂

Edited September 10Sep 10 by AbcNbc247

There were a lot of good scenes today. The theme of family always sticking together played a large part in the episode and I enjoyed that. We got a pretty good understanding of why characters are feeling the way that they do. 

And, Shawn and JJ were each used very effectively for the first time in a while. Hopefully, writing like this continues.

I liked that Shawn comforted Belle about everything that she's been dealing with lately. It's always good when she has someone to talk to because she doesn't really have that many friends lol. Their trip down memory lane was really sweet as well. I just think they need to feature Shawn a lot more. Dropping his relationship with Jada wasn't the right move and I hope that it gets revived, for a while anyway, before Shawn and Belle inevitably reunite. And, we found out why Claire and Theo broke up. I wonder if that has something to do with why he seems a little off. 

Speaking of Theo, I enjoyed his reunion with JJ and I wonder if the fact that Theo sold his stake in the company that he and JJ founded is going to mean something somewhere down the line, or has something to do with the reason why he seemed so off. I wouldn't mind JJ investigating that. But it was a little bit of an odd choice that Theo's first stop in Salem wasn't Abe, even if Tony was the one who brought him back to Salem, but whatevs, I also enjoyed his reunion with Abe and Paulina. And I'm looking forward to seeing what he's going to bring to the business storyline. Too soon to judge about nuTheo's acting though. 

JJ having dinner with his cousin Stephanie was a nice surprise as well. I'm glad that he also had someone to talk to. His revelation about feeling smothered by Jack and Jennifer brings up a pretty interesting dynamic that I hope gets explored. And, I also liked that Stephanie is feeling caught between Steve and Alex. It could lead to some good conflict for her.

And I loved Maggie and Julie's discussion about grief and how they're always there for each other. Maggie discussing losing Mickey and how she eventually moved on with Victor was also a nice surprise. But I expected Julie to say that she was going to take after Alice and not try to move on with someone else 😂

But it really is too bad that Marlena couldn't have been a part of those scenes though. The three widows discussing their grief together would've made their scenes even nicer.  But I'm glad that she confided in Kayla about the dreams, and her worries about her family. And, with Marlena confessing that she's struggling to find out who she is without John, I hope we continue to see that play out onscreen. 

**Good episode—7/10.** The show moved well today, with fresh pairings and tighter dialogue. I liked seeing more of Steve and Stephanie’s dynamic. His instinct to protect her by taking the hit for the listening device felt appropriately scaled.  It is a believable risk for someone at his age and stage, and it landed sweetly.

I wish they’d go further with how Theo’s ASD could shape the story, especially now that he's re-entering the canvas in a high-stakes business context. When JJ recounted his interaction with Theo to Stephanie, it felt like a missed opportunity. Someone could’ve noted that Theo’s Autism diagnosis might cause a blunted affect, making him harder to read—which could be an asset in a setting like DiMera where calm unreadability is a power move. On the flip side, many people with ASD find lying under pressure difficult, which could make him vulnerable in corporate deception plots. There’s rich potential there, both dramatically and representationally, if the show chooses to name it.

It seems like the contrast between Theo's intellectual approach and Philip's instinctive approach could fun.  However, reading between the lines of the promo press, there appears to be less interest in writing about Theo living with ASD.  Rather than just using his diagnosis as an inconvenient part of the narrative.

The dinner locations felt like a production block choice rather than narrative logic. JJ and Stephanie’s conversation, in particular, felt more like a pub moment—grounded, casual, reinforcing that they’re not being positioned romantically.

But the Marlena thread really stood out. DAYS has always used haunting, literal and metaphorical, as a way into emotional states.  Marlena being followed by her anxiety fits that tradition. What worked was the contrast: Julie and Maggie spoke openly about grief as a stage of life, about what comes next. Marlena, by contrast, said plainly she doesn’t know who she is anymore. That fracture between self and self-perception, between conscious healing and unconscious collapse, was some good stuff. It wasn’t a “give Deidre her Emmy” moment. It was something quieter and truer: a character losing herself in a space where the fantastical makes emotional sense.

 

Edited September 10Sep 10 by j swift