4evaQuez

Because of how unhappy I am with current Days and our current "teen" scene, I wanted to agree with you that I'm nostalgic for the Ciara/Claire, etc., teen scene. I mostly wanted to agree as a way to insult current Days. However, when I thought about that teen scene I realized that I still think they're just barely serviceable. 1. Ciara - I still think the actress was set up to fail. The show gave the actress entirely too much too soon for a new character. Not long after her introduction, Ciara has to deal with her father coming back from the dead and then dying again. Her stepfather attempting to kill her mother. Her stepfather being "revealed" as the necktie killer before the real reveal. After all this, she had to deal with being raped by her stepbrother on the Horton family couch. Even a young Meryl Streep would have struggled to characterize Ciara. I actually think the original Ciara actress had a much better mother/daughter rapport with KA/Hope than the recast. Although the recast was a better actress. I think if the show had stuck with the rumored Ciara characterization, a young Erica Kane, the actress and the character would have greatly benefitted. Personally, I think Hope and Bo raising a young Erica Kane makes total sense with their personalities and family dynamics. What could have been? 2. Claire - I think ORK was the strongest actor in this teen scene. Unfortunately, I thought the writing let her down to being a great character. First, I'm not even certain if I could characterize ORK's Claire as a heroine, antiheroine, or villain. It's not because she had such dynamic writing that created a complicated character that was hard to interpret; unfortunately, it's because the show seemed to have no idea who they wanted Claire to be and often Claire felt isolated from the cast or as an appendage to Ciara. (I think the appendage was more to recast Ciara than the original Ciara). Claire was connected to the Brady, Horton, Kiriakis, Evans, and Black families. (I can't remember when John's parentage was retconned for the last time, but I think ORK's Claire was a blood Dimera at one point, too). The show often made Claire feel superfluous, and I still remember how excited we would get on the board whenever she would have family scenes with anyone outside Ciara. The alleged rumors that KA/Hope didn't want to be seen as the grandmother to a teenager also didn't help Claire. This stopped the Ciara/Claire rivalry from reaching new heights that would have elevated their interactions, raised stakes, and even added context to their interactions. Instead, their "family" scenes always felt constrained because Hope was not their anchor, and the show has done such a poor job of managing Shawn D's legacy - and Belle to a lesser extent - that Claire often felt aimless and superfluous as a character. My unpopular opinion is making her a pyromaniac was the most the show seemed interested in the character - even that was just angst for Cin. 3. Joey - I've never liked the Brady/Johnson branch of the show. Joey was no exception. I thought the only interesting thing he's ever done was kill Ava, and the show retconned that. The show won't even give Tripp and Joey any type of rivalry considering Joey attempted to kill Tripp's mom. I don't think the show lost anything when Joey left, nor do I think it gains anything when he returns for his brief visits. My unpopular opinion is I wish the show had given Joey a coming-out storyline. It still would have been a few years after Will, and I think it could have been interesting for Steve to not be accepting. There also could be a good contrast and rivalry with Tripp doing the less "masculine" medical career and Joey doing the perceived more "masculine" detective or cop career. It could have been interesting to see how the citizens of Salem and Steve responded to a gay "masculine ideal." Without that, I see Joey as just another forgettable Brady, and the show apparently agrees with me. 4. Theo - I don't think the show knows how to write black male characters. Nor do I think the show writers are comfortable portraying black male characters as 'whole people. I also have my suspicions that the show is still concerned with portraying black male / white female romantic relationships. I could never take the idea that Theo would get with Ciara or Claire seriously as a romantic partner because I wasn't certain if Days would actually invest in a romantic pairing. I felt the same way about Abby and Cameron. Did Eli ever have a white love interest? I know there were Sami and Brandon, but at this point, they were literally decades in the past. As a result, I didn't find anything interesting about Theo because I didn't think the show would ever take him seriously as a character regardless of his legacy status and connections to the canvas. Even with the recast, the show seems to isolate Theo and overly emphasize his relationship to Paulina, instead of John, Marlena, Roman, etc. The show does a good job with his relationship with Chad at least. 5. Chase - As you mentioned, that was ruined pretty quickly. I think Chase was supposed to be the Chloe of this group. A character with no biological relationships with any of the major families that could have a somewhat outsider perspective and we could see their relationships with the various families grow over time. Unlike Chloe, Chase had a wonderful anchor with Hope and Ciara and was an honorary Horton. After the rape, there was nowhere to go with the character. I would argue that Ciara was the only person who actually recovered from what was mostly a failed teen scene. Even with Ciara, that took a recast and an unexpected pairing that blew up - Cin - however, Ciara took a back seat to that pairing. That pairing was about Ben, and Ciara's legacy and importance to the cast elevated him and salvaged her from being a character as forgettable as the rest of her teen scene set.

Not onscreen. Sarah was reintroduced to the canvas after Dan's death.

She did. Sarah and Dan being siblings has come up several times. It came up when Eric and Sarah were fighting Chloe and Brady for custody of Holly. It came during an argument with Chloe vs. Sarah and Sarah said she disliked Chloe for how she treated Daniel. She also vehemently defended Daniel's honor to Chloe. Not long before Chloe's last departure, Sarah mentioned her offscreen relationship with Parker as her nephew. It's not consistent, but it has been mentioned.

I wish the show brought back David Banning, Eli's father, and his brother Scott Banning. It makes no sense that they would kill Eli's father off when there's so much storyline potential between David/Eli/Valeria. There's also sibling rivalry potential between Eli/Scott. David could even have a daughter since he's been off canvas for so long. Give Scott a wife and two kids, and Julie has an entire line that could interact with Hope and Jenn and their family lines. The show now has an intact extended Horton family that makes sense. Bringing Eli on canvas and then seemingly being afraid to pair him with a white woman and not expanding his immediate Olsen/Banning/Horton family was a recipe for disaster for the character. He became an accessory to Lani who did have a much more extended family. Hell, her extended family and parentage changed multiple times to provide her storylines.

I agree Joy would be wonderful. However, I think the only issue is who would be her anchor on canvas. It would have been great if they could have introduced Joy (and a teen Parker) when Chloe, Craig, and Nancy were on canvas. She'll at least have a year's worth of ties to the canvas by the time Chloe left. If the show brought on Parker, I guess they could emphasize his ties to Maggie and Sarah and Holly - if she returns - and then bring in Joy that way. I also think JT would have been a good addition to the cast when Hope/Bo/Ciara were still on the cast. He would have had an honorary connection to the Horton/Brady family without being blood related to anyone, I think. Again, it feels too late with the Williams/Brady portion of the show absent. The should could also SORAS Evan and Jan Spears kid. Jordan Ridgeway also had a kid that could be SORASED. However, I don't remember who the father was. There are a few kids on the show that have little biological relations, but it seems the problem is there aren't any anchors for them.

Sami and Theresa are first cousins on the Brady side. So Will and Theresa would be cousins, too.

Carrie was married to Lucas

You're only supposed to get ornaments after marriage.

That has to be the worst Day of Days promo I've ever watched. I'm not certain I'm interested in anything. That being said, I wonder if we're getting prepped for some virus storyline. Gwen...I mean Theresa...looked ill when she was kissing Brady. Holly (?) also was on a ventilator. Maybe they're not connected, but that was the only thing that somewhat interested me. ETA: I also wonder about the Horton house being on fire. My initial thought, after my shock, was if BB's/Former Nick Falon's new character set it on fire. It would add new stakes to what I assume will be a Stephanie/Jada/Rafe/Chad/BB's new character storyline. It would also give BB/Former Nick Falon and Julie a reason to interact in a nudge, nudge, wink, wink fashion that Ron loves.

As much as I dislike Sarah, I'm sad to say I didn't get any enjoyment in the Kate/Sarah scenes. First, this isn't the Kate who framed Sami for Franco's murder or poisoned Chloe. This Kate is rather tame, and she's been tame for quite some time. Getting snarky with Megan (sp?) Dimera was the last time she had shown any fire to me. (Yes, even the scenes with Vivian haven't been particularly scathing as far as I'm concerned.) Second, the show has never invested in Rex and Sarah. I mean they don't even have a couple name online. (Sex is right there!) Yes, I know they have a lot of (offscreen) history, and Rex was apart of adult Sarah's reintroduction storyline. However, that was mostly off-screen and short-lived before the Emily/Mimi/Bonnie baby lie was revealed. There's the on-the-run storyline with Mackenzie, but they weren't in a relationship. There's Chicago but that was mostly off-screen. Now there's this fake wedding, but Sarah has made it perfectly clear she has no romantic feelings for Rex. Rex even knows she has no romantic feelings. Third, while I love Kate in Mama Bear mode and she has generated stories for Austin, Lucas, Philip, and Billie as a Mama Bear, this kinda goes back to my last point. Kate simply isn't that character anymore, and Rex doesn't have the same established relationship with Kate as a mother or a protector. Their relationship feels pretty generic and mostly to serve the Karmen (Kate/Roman) relationship. Fourth, Kate and Sarah don't have a history interesting enough to give those scenes gravitas. A reignited Kate vs. Sami? YES! Kate vs. Chloe? YES! Kate vs. Bo or Hope? Kate vs. Carrie? Not really anymore since that's so far in the past but I'll take it. Even Kate vs. Belle could be juicy. Kate vs. Sarah? Not at all. Xander, Eric, Gwen, Kristin, and maybe Rex have a relationship or antagonism with Sarah to really give her scenes a pizzazz of history and rivalry. Kate simply isn't it.

I've always wanted a Parker/Sydney pairing.

I hate that NB left the show. With Tate and Holly being SORASED, I'm certain a teenage Parker would have joined them had she still been there.

I actually think Chloe leaving is in character for who she's been for the past several years. Chloe let Lucas go when he needed to help Allie with her drinking problem - which the writers seemingly forgot about. Chloe also didn't resume her relationship with Brady because she didn't want to negatively impact his relationship with Rachel. Part of Chloe's reasoning for being against Leo and Craig was how Leo would impact her relationship with Craig, her father. Chloe's belief that parents and children should be together has been quite solidified over the past few years. I think it's in character for her to leave Xander, so she doesn't impact his relationship with Victoria. To your point about it being 2023, I agree, but I don't think Chloe would. Ironically, this would be the second time Chloe revealed the paternity of a child that had drastic repercussions for Sarah and Rex. The first time was with Emily/Rex/MiMi/Sarah/Bonnie.

For me, I don't despise Sarah for the things she does; I despise her for LG's interpretation and how the show frames Sarah's actions. Sarah, for whatever reason, is played and framed like a spiteful I Love Lucy character. LG plays Sarah either as comic relief or as unnecessarily cruel. The show, similar to KM's Abby, also doesn't allow people justifiable rage at her actions. Eric should hate Sarah for life for the Mackenzie lie. We know if Nicole had done such a thing the would provide years of drama. I have no faith that the paternity lie with Xander will result any anything substantial or noteworthy. Chloe is by far my favorite character. People rightfully hated her after her affair with Dan on Lucas. People rightfully hated her after her affair with Philip on Daniel. People rightfully hated her when she schemed against Jennifer. People, unfairly, shunned her after her Holly/Nicole/Deimos storyline. The show plays Sarah's actions like comedic relief. Isn't Sarah Horton just so wacky? I'm also annoyed that the show isn't doing more with the Mackenzie history. We see flashbacks of Sarah/Mackenzie/Xander which led to the baby switch. Then, we see Sarah wake up with Xander holding Victoria. She doesn't have any fears? She isn't demanding Xander prove he hasn't switched her child again. She names Victoria after the man who facilitated the baby switch in the first place. Maggie and no one else is reminding Sarah this is the second time she's lied about paternity. I also hate how Sarah goes out of her way to demean Mickey Horton's history. I'm not even a Mickey fan, but since she was introduced she goes out of her way to make sure everyone knows he isn't her "real" father. (Although he raised her and she has his name and family. But okay). That Victor is the love of Maggie's life, etc. I just find everything about how she is played and framed infuriating. Sami is another favorite of mine and it isn't until the late 2000s (with EJ's introduction and Carrie leaving campus) that I think she has similar issues of being a terrible person while the show is trying to frame her as a heroine.

Chloe didn't lie about Parker's paternity. She had no idea Caroline Brady attempted to switch paternity results. She thought Daniel was the father. (At the time it was believed to be Philip before the retcon.) The Holly storyline was a mess that was obviously changed a lot behind the scenes. However, once Chloe discovered that she had forgotten that she was inseminated with Daniel and Nicole's embryo, she actually attempted several times to tell Nicole. However often Deimos would interrupt, and once Chloe had a stroke while attempting to tell Nicole. Chloe finally did admit to Nicole Holly was her child. However, unlike Sarah, Chloe was actually shunned and a town pariah for several months after this storyline. People would literally randomly verbally accost her for her actions. (I find this funny in hindsight since Chloe's reasoning was Deimos was evil and would harm Holly. Nicole ended up killing Deimos, so Nicole eventually proved Chloe right.) However, we know absolutely no one will hold Sarah's feet to the fire for her second paternity lie. I despise Sarah

You don't have to be married to give the child the father's last name. As I said, I thought it was odd the show didn't specifically mention the child's last name. Horton or Brady, the show should have told us.

I know this, but I still hate made-up history. There are times when I think it's necessary. For example, Stephanie and Jada discussed some long ago birthday party they attended as children. That makes sense, and it should be a jumping off point to establishing a relationship based on the show's history since Jada isn't a Brady or Johnson, and she'll need something to help cement to the audience her connection to Stephanie and Kayla. For Theresa and Stephanie, it didn't work for me. One, it went on too long. Two, it made them both seem childish, and I think Stephanie, in particular, always comes off as childish. (To be clear, the childishness comes from the way the actresses played the scene.) I also wasn't certain if the characters would be young enough for the Miley Cyrus story they told. I assume Steph and Theresa are mid/late 30s. Stephanie came onto the show as a teen in 2007, and the story they told sounded like middle schoolers. I don't think Miley Cyrus was even having concerts like the one they mentioned in the early 2000s. I also hate it because Days leans on fake history instead of establishing real history. So much of the Allie/Johnny dynamic was based on things that happened in Europe that we did not see. The same can be said for Johnny/EJ. Simply having them acknowledge they are cousins and it's been so long just would have been better for me. The Miley Cyrus story highlighted the ways that Days takes cheap shortcuts lately for me.

Is Victoria's last name Horton? I heard when Sarah named her Victoria Margaret, but I didn't hear the last name. I assumed it was Brady - for Rex. Eventually, I assumed it would become Cook or Kiriakis. I really don't like her naming the child after Victor. I also hate how the child who was named after Mickey died. For some reason, this show is dedicated to having Sarah disrespect Mickey's memory. Like when Sarah called Victor the love of Maggie's life. Why would Mickey's daughter say such a thing? I agree about Alex. I know he's a legacy character, but he feels so pointless. I feel like its a downgrade for Brady to share scenes with him. I don't care about his potential romantic relationships. I just want him gone. Personally, I feel the show still hasn't found a place for him. I disliked the Theresa/Stephanie scene. First, the characters were not on the show at the same time. That would be fine, but the show feels the need to make up history between the two. The two are first cousins. That's enough history for them to have lunch together. I hated the Miley Cyrus concert story. These are women in their mid/late 30s. I want them to act like women in their mid/late 30s. Stephanie acts like a perpetual 13-year-old and Theresa is no better. I didn't like the Vivian and Bonnie scenes.

Yes to @SouthernChick. It was Lucas who convinced John and Paul to search for Chloe. Theresa didn't care.

Even worse, Hope forgiving Chelsea was the "Christmas Miracle" that year. I still remember Hope giving Chelsea a Horton ornament to signify Hope's forgiveness and Chelsea's official introduction to the Horton/Brady family. I was pissed. So Dick Van Dyke is John's father. That would have been impactful 20 years ago. Today, I won't get too emotionally attached. I strongly suspect in another 10 years we'll discover Parker and Rachel are John's parents. I despise Sarah. I genuinely wanted Chloe to slap her several times during this delivery. Maggie has consistently produced some of the most annoying spawns in Days' history: Sarah, Melanie, Daniel, and Summer. I don't have high hopes for this new Simmons child. I'm assuming Vivian had something to do with the will disappearing. It's so wonderful seeing LS's Vivian again. She really does bring energy to the show, and everyone seems more energized in her presence.

I wonder if Jennifer Anniston watched today's episode. It was nice to see so many characters in one place again. I can't remember the last time that happened. Pre-pandemic? Unfortunately, the mausoleum set was too small for us to see very many interactions. That's the other benefit of having multiple characters in one space. Hopefully next time. Alex is hitting on women at his grand-uncle's funeral. What a bum. Am I the only one who thought Chelsea and Alex felt a little too flirtatious? I had to remind myself they were biologically related. With Alex, I don't think that would stop him. The Shawn storyline feels so haphazard. It honestly feels like someone is throwing darts and giving him character beats based on where it lands. Today he's suicidal. Today he's angry. Today he's recovering. Today he's struggling with hs drinking again. If this felt like an actual storyline and not just random scenes joined together this wouldn't be such a problem. I'm shocked Chloe and Rex had a scene and RC didn't include any nudge, nudge, wink wink scenes since Rex used to be Brady. The two didn't even sing opera at Victor's funeral. I despise Sarah. Kate was Victor's best partner. Maggie was just the one who tolerated him the best.

I always love Chloe/Nicole scenes, but they've been having the same scene for months now. I despise Theresa, but I did like her scenes with Xander. I also always liked Theresa and Eric scenes. I'm curious if we'll see a Theresa and Chloe scene. I was rooting for the hitwoman to shoot Harris and Ava. Preferably multiple times and in vital organs. I despise Sarah. It felt odd hearing Philp call Rex his brother. JPL is starting to fall into his old acting habits. He isn't as annoying as when he was Rex Balsom, but it's starting to feel too comical. The EJ actor recently got a haircut when his scenes were filmed, and it looked good on him. That's the only good thing I have to say about EJ. The photo he took with Susan didn't feel like one that made sense with the EJ character or his history with Susan. Entirely too silly. With the exception of Harris and Ava, I really liked today's cast. Even though there were three characters I couldn't stand, it still felt like a strong Days cast. There was tons of character history while still seemingly setting things up for the future.

Technically we got that seen several years ago with Carly, Nicole, Vivian and Kate. This was before Maggie married Victor, but I can't see her bemoaning her time married to Victor. She seemed to like it regardless of the headaches.

There were some aspects of today's episode I really liked: Chloe/Brady/Philip and Marlena/Belle. I continue to think JPL/Philip and NB/Chloe are working better together this go-around. I like JPL's decisions. He seemed genuinely remorseful, but there's something about him that still comes off as a kind of scoundrel. That, I think, is quite interesting. I thought Phloe v Broe was the definite highlight. It's sad the show hasn't done more with this great triangle. I struggle with the Shawn scenes. I think BB is handling them well, but so much about his storyline happens in quick bursts. The scene with him and Marlena would have been more touching if I felt I got to see them interact more. I also wish Shelle could be given more screen time as an actual couple and not just random cheating and affairs. I do actually think it makes sense why Shawn would be suicidal. BB's Shawn feels like an afterthought by the writers thus the other characters. He's increasingly become more isolated and Ciara is obviously everyone's favorite. Add his guilt about Bo, Hope's seeming neglect of him, and Victor's anger at him before Victor's death. It does make sense. Unfortunately, I don't feel a lot because so much of this happened in fast forward. I didn't care about anything else that happened.

I actually really liked JPL as Philip this go-round. Maybe it's because JKJ did such a confounding and at times terrible job as Philip during his last stint. However, JPL seemed more mature - I always thought he brought a childishness to his characters - and he had a more rugged look. It made him feel more adult, and it also matched what I remember JKJ looking like in his last stint. I also didn't notice the odd acting tics he used to have. I thought he and NB/Chloe worked well together. I also liked the cliffhanger with him and Brady. I wasn't too interested in anything else.