All of Salem learned that Ava was alive, Joey was released from prison, Chad accused Abigail of having an affair, while Gwen stoked Jennifer’s paranoia this week on Days of Our Lives.
Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando debate Ava and Joey’s returns, Chad’s accusations, Kate’s secrets, and what was most annoying in Salem this week.
Now that all of Salem knows that Ava is back from the dead, how do you rate her return? From 1 (Can she go back to being dead?) to 10 (I’m thrilled that Dr. Rolf saved her.)
Jack: I’m giving it a 2. Ava is my least favorite villain. She looks like she belongs in one of the Marvel series on the CW, and she’s totally one-note, never doing anything except trying to mess with Kayla so she can have Steve for herself.
However, her interest in getting to know her son makes this time a little different and more interesting. I’m curious as to whether Tripp will reject her and her nonsense in the end or if she will manipulate him into bad behavior. And she’s had some great lines so far.
So she gets a little bit of a chance to have a point before I decide I utterly despise this storyline.
Christine: A 6, which is odd because I generally despise Ava, but this time I’m almost enjoying her return. I like that she wants to get to know Tripp and that Tripp isn’t willing to accept everything she says just because he’s missed having a mom.
Also, Kayla has been so anti-Tripp that it’s nice to see someone other than Steve defend him. And Jack’s right; Ava has had some of the best lines in Salem of late.
Joey is being released from prison. Have you missed him? And who do you hope he’ll be interacting with most in Salem?
Jack: I’m sad that JJ has left again. Joey is his cousin, but they never interacted much the first time around, and now JJ is gone. Beyond that, I’m curious as to how Joey and Tripp’s relationship goes.
Tripp didn’t want Joey to languish in prison once Ava returned, but at the same time, Joey “killed” his mother, and Joey may not be happy that Tripp and Ava are somewhat of a package deal.
Christine: Oye. I know this will sound mean, but I’m not a fan of the actor who plays Joey, and I was hoping for a recast. He’s never felt like he has any real chemistry with Steve or Kayla, whereas the moment Tripp arrived, I could believe he was Steve’s son.
But Joey has been gone for a while, so I’m willing to give him some time, and I hope I like Joey a lot better than I did before.
Chad accused Abigail of sleeping with Jake and then dredged up her affair with EJ, and what happened between her and Stefan? Were his accusations understandable or unforgivable?
Jack: This was ridiculous, manufactured drama. There is no reason to think any such thing other than Gwen saying so, and I don’t know why nobody thinks Jake may be sleeping with Kate when Kate sleeps with every man she’s not related to sooner or later.
And Stefan raped Abby. Chad knew that once upon a time. Now he’s shaming her for it like everyone else. Ugh. Can Chad go to Africa to visit JJ and Theo and never come back?
Christine: Wow. Talk about out of line. I may not like that Abigail had an affair with EJ, but that was long before she and Chad got married. And Stefan raped Abigail while she was mentally ill!
It feels like the writers are trying to make Chad as unlikable as possible lately. Abigail had every right to be angry and hurt, as those aren’t accusations she’s bound to forget any time soon.
Jennifer continues to be furious with Jack, and thanks to Gwen, she’s paranoid that he’s having an affair with Kate. If you had one piece of advice to give Jennifer, what would it be?
Jack: The obvious advice: stop letting idiots influence you. First, Jennifer did a lot of out of character drinking and flirting because Bonnie suggested it. Now she’s convinced Jack is still getting it on with Kate because Gwen said so.
Come on, Jennifer! You didn’t like it when teenage JJ let his friends influence him into bad behavior, and you’re way too old to be doing the same.
Beyond that, I think it’s time for her to visit Grandma Alice’s grave for a heart-to-heart, and if not that, another nice long talk with Julie in Alice mode to get these fears out of her system and start behaving rationally.
Christine: Why is Jennifer acting as though Jack and Kate had some torrid affair? Jack thought his wife would never wake up from a coma, got drunk, sought comfort from a friend, and it went too far. He regretted it immediately and made it clear to Kate it would never happen again.
I’m not saying Jack deserves a free pass, but Jennifer reacting as though he betrayed her with some long-term affair is ridiculous.
And Gwen being able to manipulate Jennifer so easily makes a mockery of Jenn’s years as an investigative reporter. I’ve always been a big fan of Jack and Jennifer, but this entire storyline is quickly becoming unwatchable.
So that Chad doesn’t find out she’s having an affair with Jake, Kate is willing to let Gwen manipulate half of Salem. Do you understand Kate wanting to protect Chad, or should she call out Gwen anyway?
Jack: Oh, come on. It’s not like Kate hasn’t had inappropriate relationships with men that Chad has disapproved of before (How long was she stuck on Clyde?). Their relationship will survive this.
Kate is one of Salem’s strongest women, but in recent years, she’s been written as giving in to any old blackmail threat without a fight. Why? What happened to the take no prisoners Kate who threw Nick in the river without batting an eye?
Christine: This storyline is so silly. Kate is a grown woman who can sleep with whomever she wants. So she’s sleeping with someone Chad doesn’t like. Boohoo.
Chad isn’t a child who needs protection. If he loves Kate, then he can disagree with her choices but still maintain their close relationship. If not, then that’s Chad’s problem and not Kate’s.
I really wish that Kate would find her backbone again and take Gwen down the way Gwen deserves.
Which character did you find the most annoying this week?
Jack: I want to say Gwen, but I can’t, because too many people are enabling her by acting stupid. Chad and Abby’s dilemma would be solved in two seconds if Abby ever shared any of the conversations she’s had with Gwen so that Chad could realize she tells him the opposite.
Same with Jack and Jennifer.
Elsewhere, Bonnie was an annoying waste of screen time. If they wanted more of Judi Evans and Wally Kurth, the writers should never have killed Adrienne off. Make Bonnie turn out to be Adrienne, or get rid of her!
I’m also way over all the manipulations in the Xander vs. Philip storyline, and can Sarah EVER speak in a normal tone and not that high pitched whine that grates my eardrums?
Christine: I understand why Kayla has a problem with Tripp, but some of the things she says are way out of line and seem out of character. The only upside has been some of Ava’s comebacks.
Kayla: You must be so proud of your little rapist.
Ava: Well, he never smothered anyone.
Also, the way Nicole kept insisting what a good person Allie is, and that’s why she didn’t shoot Tripp when Allie admits she would have shot him if Ava hadn’t taken the gun out of her hands. It’s like no one ever holds Allie accountable for anything.
And I’m so tired of listening to Jennifer’s whining about what Jack did. Enough already! Take him back or don’t, but stop crying about it.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week’s Days of Our Lives?
Jack: As much as I hate Ava, I laughed so hard at this Days of Our Lives quote:
Coming back from the dead in real life is hard, you know. It’s not like it is on soap operas.
Ava
Great meta-humor there!
Surprisingly, I also liked Joey telling Kayla she was wrong to refuse to press charges against Ava. Someone finally had some sense!
Christine: There were some great lines this week, such as Abe talking about Lani’s reaction to Kristen going to prison:
You would have thought we’d brought trumped-up charges against Mother Theresa.
Abe
And Sarah joking with Xander about their amateur investigation into Philip:
I read a lot of Nancy Drew as a child.
Sarah
Now, hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below to tell us what you think of the goings-on in Salem.
Want to chat more about the happenings in Salem? Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.