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 yesterday at 05:05 AM1 day 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.

6 hours ago, Liberty City said:

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.

If anything, the ship sailed for them when Stefan was written out. I wouldn't mind her getting back with Philip, or even with Theo for a little while... until Stefan is inevitably revealed to be alive

1 hour ago, AbcNbc247 said:

If anything, the ship sailed for them when Stefan was written out. I wouldn't mind her getting back with Philip, or even with Theo for a little while... until Stefan is inevitably revealed to be alive

I'd rather see her with Philip than Theo; I did not get any tingling of connection with Theo at all.

EJ has historically been a sexy/sexual character, at least for me. That seems to have disappeared.

So Stephanie missed? And I gotta say, what a letdown (again)

I didn't need Joy to be shot so badly that she almost dies, but a shot in the leg or the arm would've been something at least. And also could've really strengthened her determination, and given her better motivation to (possibly) keep Stephanie away from Kelsey. Despite this letdown, I'm still interested in seeing what happens though, and whether or not it leads Stephanie into the arms of another man lol. Abigail Klein continued to do a good job. And compared to RSW, and AlexAnn Hopkins, she really did carry those scenes, IMO. But yeah, Paula/Jeanne really need to stop with the 'good cliffhanger but piss poor resolution' thing that they've done too many times now.

I'm glad that we got to see Shawn and Jada again though, and that they were included in Stephanie's situation. I wouldn't mind the two of them having a bigger part in this somehow. Stephanie needs to have more scenes with her best friend, and we need to see Shawn and Jada a lot more than we do. They were sweet together in the beginning.

Tate and Holly were sweet together as well. I'm not really sure how Tate was able to sign a lease on a gym so quickly lol but at least we have a new set for characters to interact in, and to see Tate, and other people working out in 😉😂

Too bad that they didn't have him look hot though lol. To me, the sex appeal was pretty strong today 😍😂😂

And yep, still don't care about Leo and Gwen

9 hours ago, ranger1rg said:

EJ has historically been a sexy/sexual character, at least for me. That seems to have disappeared.

Honestly, I think that's as much on Dan Feuerriegel as it is on the writers.

10 hours ago, Liberty City said:

I'd rather see her with Philip than Theo; I did not get any tingling of connection with Theo at all.

I would too lol but it still feels like a missed opportunity to not have something happen between them. Or to get over his feelings for Gabi, Theo starts dating Arianna, while she's still pining for Liam.

Walking into another boring, disappointing, non-top-ten episode.

I have zero interest in this Amy Choi revenge storyline. She, nor her daughter was that important to the canvas to care. Plus, Shi Ne Nielson is not the type of actor who can handle this kind of material. She can barely handle playing the cold-stoned bitch as it is. Ugh. Not a Haley mention. That's another character we did not need to hear about ever, ever again. Sorry, Amy, but people tried helping your daughter, and she continued to play in their faces, so I am not surprised people have 'given up' on her.

Holly and Tate never hit with me, so their scenes in the Horton Town box did nothing for me. And that box-sized gym is laughably pathetic. And those names of the gym are... pathetic. Let's not go down any of those routes.

So, Joy was not hit by the bullet (unfortunately), and now they're going to put Stephanie into Abigail's territory opposite Ben Rogers Alex Kiriakis. Stephanie really has not dealt with the trauma she faced via Owen Kent. And seeing Abigail Klein pout was laughable. I did not buy her performance one iota. And Jada questioning if she would have to arrest her friend opposite Stephanie's family member shows just how corrupt the Salem PD is. We need more non-family players.

Poor Kelsey is being tortured by Leo. If I were Kelsey, I would be crying as loudly as I possibly could.

Why bring Gwen back? It's a choice I never really saw a need for, and judging from today, she is just a character passing through sets trying to stick to a wall. From talking to Leo at the Brady Pub (again) to randomly showing up at Tate's "gym" right after he finished porking Holly for self-defence classes, it just gives "lost puppy". Cut the loss there.

Today's episode was definitely a 'filler' episode with characters that could easily exit the canvas and we would not suffer for it. Not boring, though.