Salem’s latest double wedding crashed and burned in spectacular fashion! Ava made a deal, which infuriated Gabi, while Chanel and Tripp grew closer.
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Mikey and Tony from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to rate the double wedding debacle, debate Gwen’s confession, Chanel and Tripp’s new bond, Ava’s win, and more!
Rate the double wedding that wasn’t from a 1 (I hated it!) to a 10 (It was awesome!)
Mikey: I’ll give it a 5, which is generous because it felt like a random, thrown-together event populated by B- and C-level characters. A double wedding between Xander/Gwen and Leo/Craig? What show am I watching?!
But once it was underway, I have to say that I was impressed by the production value of the wedding itself — this felt like one of the bigger weddings we’ve seen in some time — and they did pull off two fun “exposed at the altar” climaxes.
Jackie Cox was amusing enough, although I’m still trying to figure out how she had those particular men’s clothes *underneath* her drag garb, and then Abigail finally putting Gwen on blast was pretty satisfying.
It was awfully strange not to have Sarah there at all, but the Gwen vs. Sarah part of this has always been pretty indirect. And as complicated as my feelings toward her are, I appreciated having Melissa Reeves’s Jen there for this, too.
Emily O’Brien was terrific in all those scenes, which once again made me lament how poorly they’ve used her.
Jack: I’m giving it a 9. I didn’t like how smug Brady and Chloe were about breaking up Leo and Craig. I wasn’t before, but now I’m rooting for Craig and Leo to get back together and show those idiots they haven’t won!
And I was a little impatient with Abby recapping everything and not getting to the point, but then it made sense.
I thought the whole thing was really well done, and the lighthearted nature of the Leo reveal made the pain of the Gwen one that much worse.
I hope this is the end of Gwen’s life in Salem, but Emily O’Brien did a fantastic job as Gwen saw her whole world fall apart.
Tony: 5. It wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t terrible. The fallout was better, though.
Christine: It gets a 9 from me. I wasn’t expecting much, but I enjoyed this wedding fiasco from beginning to end.
Personally, I’m rooting for Craig and Leo, but I wasn’t expecting this wedding to work out for them. Chloe and Brady grated on my nerves, and Justin trying to drag out the ceremony was a bit annoying, but I loved Leo’s grand entrance! And I do believe he loves Craig, so I hope they get back together.
And Abigail calling Gwen out in public was fantastic! I’ve had some semblance of sympathy for Gwen up until she switched the drug on Sarah. That was pretty evil, and I’m thrilled that Xander knows the truth.
All of the emotions of this event were so well played that I’d consider watching the whole thing over again.
Do you think Gwen purposefully killed Laura, or did she say that to get one last parting shot at Abigail?
Mikey: I think she said it out of spite. I guess we might never know the truth, and there’s really no coming back from that for Gwen, but it struck me as the kind of thing she’d say just to get in one last nasty dig because she had no cards left to play.
Jack: I think she said that to get a parting shot at Abigail. If Abby takes it at face value, though, that could spell more trouble for Gwen.
Tony: At this point, nothing that Gwen does would surprise me. I’ve always had a small suspicion that she may have meant to kill Laura, or if not kill, then at least do great harm to her.
Christine: I don’t think Gwen intentionally killed Laura. I think she said it because she knew it would upset Abigail and inflict as much emotional damage as possible.
Whether Gwen killed Laura purposefully or not, just saying this makes her about as close to irredeemable as you get in Salem.
Should EJ take Clyde down or continue to keep quiet?
Mikey: This is EJ, so it’s tough for me to imagine that he’ll let sleeping dogs lie. And Clyde is overplaying his hand already, so it might be a public service for EJ to step up and shut him down.
Jack: If it means the end of EJ and Clyde’s conversations about the same old thing, go ahead and take him down. I really don’t care either way about this story and just want it off my screen.
Tony: Much as I’d like to see Clyde taken down, EJ should bide his time and wait for the right moment.
Christine: Yes, but EJ needs to do so carefully. Between Clyde and Orpheus, there could be blowback for EJ. But EJ can’t let Clyde walk all over him either. That’s not very Dimera-esque! EJ will need to come up with a plan for dealing with Clyde soon.
Ava made a deal with Trask and walked free. Do you hope Gabi continues to go after Ava?
Mikey: No, mostly because I do not care about this forced rivalry at all. There are so many people who should be taking issue with Ava walking free: Steve, Kayla, Rafe, Gwen…
It continues to feel like they just plopped Gabi into this to give her something to do, and this apparent Ava/Jake/Gabi triangle they’re setting up could not be less interesting to me if they tried.
Jack: I do, only because I want Ava to get her comeuppance, and I’m incredibly disappointed that Trask made this deal with her.
Tony: Yes. I’ve never been a fan of Ava, and much as I don’t like Gabi either, I’d rather see her win than Ava.
Christine: I’m rooting for Ava! She’s far smarter and more fun to watch than Gabi. I want Ava to figure out her place in Salem and thrive, which would make Nicole, Gabi, and Rafe crazy.
What do you think about a possible Chanel and Tripp romance?
Mikey: Chanel feels way too dynamic to be saddled with a ho-hum “nice guy” like Tripp, but the actors work decently together, and I can’t fault either character for a rebound, given what those Demon Twins have put them through!
After being second choice for so many women, Tripp should be able to recognize when he’s once again someone’s fallback option.
Jack: Ugh. I don’t like how Chanel keeps bouncing from one person to another in this group. Of course, we know it’s partially because of the Devil’s interference, but this isn’t a good look for her.
Tony: It’d be a little odd since they were both in love with Allie, but it wouldn’t be the weirdest pairing the show’s ever had.
Christine: I prefer Chanel with Johnny. I thought the two of them had the best chemistry. And I think Tripp needs to get away from this foursome. Maybe bring Claire back for him.
But I can understand why these two are bonding right now. I just expect it to be a rebound fling instead of any type of long-term romance.
Which characters would you like to see leave Salem?
Mikey: Does this column have a word limit? Off the top of my head, you could cut the following: Gwen, Ava, Rafe, Jake, Gabi, Xander, Bonnie…
I know Ciara and Ben have their fans, and Ciara is obviously an important character in terms of family, but their story feels done to me at the moment.
There are way too many random people floating around who are now the focuses of their own story threads instead of being complications for “our” characters. I’ve had it with the poorly redeemed villains being pushed as protagonists.
Jack: Gwen and Ava can both go. If Jake is going to be torn between Ava and Gabi, he can leave too.
Tony: More than anyone, Gwen and Leo. Both are incredibly grating to watch, and I’ve never really liked either of them.
Christine: Rafe, Gabi, Nicole, Chloe, Brady, Bonnie, Nancy, and Eric can find the Brady Pub exit for all I care. I’m sorry to say I find all of these characters boring and/or annoying and have for some time.
What disappointed you the most this week on Days of Our Lives?
Mikey: Paulina continuing to let TR get close to her, let alone kiss her, really upset me. I believe it’s probably true-to-life as far as the dynamics of abusive relationships go, but Paulina went to such great lengths to keep her daughter away from TR.
It’s hard for me to buy that she’d let him back in this quickly and readily. Mostly it’s disappointing to see her inviting in such pain yet again.
Jack: That Trask made that deal with Ava! She clearly didn’t want to, so why did she do it? That’s not Trask’s character.
Also, the whole rest of the week was so much more enjoyable. Why did we need the Devil crap on Friday?
And Paulina needs to kick TR to the curb ASAP. I can’t believe she kissed him!
Tony: I wouldn’t say disappointing since this is kind of his default personality, but my least favorite parts of the week were Brady being smug. As much as I don’t like Leo or think he and Craig make a good couple, there was no need for Brady’s comments.
Christine: I hated that Chloe has been such an obnoxious brat about her father and Leo, and now she gets to run to Craig’s rescue.
I also couldn’t believe that Gabi grabbed ahold of Trask when she tried to walk away. Gabi’s like Trask didn’t throw her in jail.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline this week in Salem?
Mikey: Abigail’s entire takedown of Gwen was incredibly satisfying. They’ve been playing this beat of “Gwen does something dumb, gets away with it, feels guilty, wash-rinse-repeat” for almost two years. It hasn’t been fun to watch.
So for everyone to hear the sum total of all the wretched things she has done felt very, very good, and it’s also the most I’ve enjoyed Abigail in a while!
Jack: I loved the whole takedown of Gwen. I was especially glad that Jack finally gave up on giving her more chances. www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/i-forgave-and-forgave-and-forgave-and-believed-that-you-could-be/
Tony: I’m so glad that what Gwen did is out in the open! I’m not sure how long it’ll last, but I’m glad she finally got some kind of comeuppance!
Christine: Yeah, Abigail taking down Gwen was epic! And having Xander there to hear it all was the best part for me. Now I’m looking forward to more of that fallout.
Your turn, TV Fanatics! Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button down below to tell us your answers to our round table questions. And 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.
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