31 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I always thought it was meant to be, and that Kate and Xander expected Dimera to settle. But Johnny refusing to do it was a curve ball that they didn't expect.

The writers just needed to do a much better job at explaining all of that

Exactly. It's confusing as to why Xander/Kate thought Johnny would settle no questions asked and why they went to all that trouble to set him up over a book. Surely, Xander and Kate could have figured out something better.

I've been catching up on the show. My random thoughts:

1. The Lexie is Alive storyline is awful and the actress playing Lexie is a cold, brittle, dud. Renee Jones imbued Lexie with a warmth and sparkle to the point that half the audience was rooting for her when she kidnapped Hope's baby, and the other half at least understood why she did it. This storyline was never a good idea, but in the hands of this particular actress, Lexie is just an unlikable bitch. The pub scene with Marlena, Abe, and Lexie highlighted this so harshly as Deidre and James Reynolds were so warm and then you've got Nikki Crawford patting Abe on the arm patronizingly saying she wanted him to focus on their family while she's been dead for 14 years. This storyline is ill conceived and nobody could have made this work...though if Renee Jones had done it, at least we'd feel something for Lexie. But this particular casting choice...whew.

2. Leo is still annoying as hell.

3. I liked the Cat and Rafe scenes.

4. The Xander and Kate sabotaging Johnny storyline is the one with the highest stakes and yet it's the one that's gotten the least attention, and been burning so slowly, that it's like it was an afterthought on the part of the writers, and somewhere along the way a producer noticed how good it is and have pushed it along. That's all down to Paul Telfer and Lauren Koslow. God knows it isn't the writing.

5. The writing for the Chanel medical scenes has been very unfortunate and made me cringe. They went the cliche route of having Chanel quote maternal mortality statistics to the robotic jerk white male doctor. Wouldn't it have been more original for Chanel to express her concerns to the doctor and for him to surprise her by acknowledging her concerns and saying he's got her back? Characterizing doctors as villains really bothers me because 99% of the profession are stellar people, especially those in oncology.

6. The scenes with 'Destiny' were also cringe. Like...isn't it pretty clear she was drug addicted, malingering, and looking for painkillers? Why make Sarah look like an idiot?

Edited 14 hours ago14 hr by DaytimeFan

What a lousy opening scene.

Joy does not need to have a friendship with Leo or have him be a babysitter for Kelsey. Not at all. We don't need to see him anymore than we already do. There was also a little too much Leo and Gwen today.

Luckily, a lot of scenes that came after the first one were better. And Alex looked hot too 😍😍

But welcome back Stephanie, even though you were still acting like a douche today. I do like the way that this is all being built up though. Stephanie's actions still make sense to me based on everything she's been through. Abigail Klein is doing a pretty decent job as well. And even though we all knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, the cliffhanger was really good. A good hook to get people to tune in tomorrow. I really, really hope that we're not let down this time though.

Xander and Kristen were ok too, and their first scenes did seem a little Peacock-like 😉

I'll never be a fan of them together but they do have chemistry. And I liked the conversation that they had about parenting, and about being there for their children. As for EJ telling Gwen that Xander and Kristen are sleeping together, I probably would've liked this story beat a lot better if it had involved any characters other than them. Honestly, maybe it's time for EJ to be sent packing.

And as for Javi/Gabi, with all their talk of Gus today, we should've seen him.

And, we heard from Dimitri! I hope he's doing well and I can't wait until

we see him onscreen again. Hopefully, he sticks around this time

5 hours ago, DaytimeFan said:

1. The Lexie is Alive storyline is awful and the actress playing Lexie is a cold, brittle, dud. Renee Jones imbued Lexie with a warmth and sparkle to the point that half the audience was rooting for her when she kidnapped Hope's baby, and the other half at least understood why she did it. This storyline was never a good idea, but in the hands of this particular actress, Lexie is just an unlikable bitch. The pub scene with Marlena, Abe, and Lexie highlighted this so harshly as Deidre and James Reynolds were so warm and then you've got Nikki Crawford patting Abe on the arm patronizingly saying she wanted him to focus on their family while she's been dead for 14 years. This storyline is ill conceived and nobody could have made this work...though if Renee Jones had done it, at least we'd feel something for Lexie. But this particular casting choice...whew.

I do love the fact that this storyline is basically despised by the entire Days fanbase 😂😂

About to watch another boring and awful episode. Predictable. I can see it now.

Kristen and Xander work on paper. However, I just... do not see it happening long-term. And I hope that they are not considering pairing EJ and Gabi. Visually, it could work, but I don't buy it in terms of character. Kristen getting some kind of sexy kink out of Gwen pounding on Xander's door does nothing for me.

I did not miss Alex or Stephanie as a couple. I could do without seeing these two together ever again. Please, stop counting those "abs" on him, Steph. And he needs to put a shirt on and stop moaning. 🤮 Now, if Stephanie did shoot Joy, then praise be! If only it could have been her husband she shot, too.

I forgot that Joy and Leo had history. Completely forgettable as friends. Glad those scenes lasted 2.5 seconds. But Javi with Trey? That was cute but also tortured because of what Javi has been through. But Nicole Kidman... at the Brady Pub?! That is laughable as f**k.