2021 Wrap-Up: Best and Worst DAYS Moments

[DisneyBoy]

Sigh.

Let's try and get through this together, shall we?

 

BEST aka The Few Positives I Could Think Of

-John Aniston. Nuff said.

-Bill Hayes. Same.

-Eileen Davidson popping back in. Amen!

-I definitely didn't approve of the Ericole marriage never getting off the ground, but if they had to sabotage their relationship, I think the writers and cast did a decent job of making it believable. Using Xander and Sami made sense, and the dialogue during the breakup scene rung true. And the aftermath has been similarly believable. This may be the year's best executed storyline, even if it was on the back burner...and I would have preferred something else.

-It was long overdue to see Salem's Gay Couple in a gay bar setting. Who cares if it happened Beyond Salem, in an awkwardly staged drag competition? I had fun seeing Chad and Wilson werq it.

-Shane clearly not being on Team Ben. Amen! Such a small moment in Beyond Salem, but I appreciated it.

-Paul Telfer is still an MVP.

-Raven Bowens as the new Chanel is doing great and brought quiet intensity to this unresolved Allie/Chanel/Johnny triangle.

-DOOL even having a bisexual love triangle is worthy of praise. Let's hope they don't ruin the characters in the process.

-Dan Feuerriegel has slowly grown into EJ and deserves kudos for that difficult task.

-The show remembering that Philip has a fake leg.

-Belle being faithful to Shawn D all year. No pining for Philip.

-Brady breaking up with Kristen (let's see if it sticks).

-The quasi-reunion of Abe and Lexie in heaven for James Reynolds' anniversary.

-Ciara's amnesia, which allowed her to actually be uncomfortable around Ben and tell him to F Off.

-Xander quitting Titan. Good for you, mate.

(Note: I still haven't seen the Xmas movie, so it might be worthy of inclusion...or not.)

 

WORST

-Saint Ben.

-Saint Ben and Marlena's bizarre relationship.

-Ciara the narcissist and her "Super Couple" fantasy romance with Saint Ben which has sapped her of any likeability. (Romeo and Juliet? How?)

-All the characters who are forced to talk about and root for Cin in private when they have better things to discuss and curiously aren't preoccupied with any of the other couples on the show. Just Cin. Always Cin.

-Theo being made to look manipulative for reuniting with Ciara and then getting dumped at the altar.

-The forced regurgitation of beloved Bope story beats in the lackluster Cin saga (Ben abducting Ciara on her wedding day, their honeymoon destination, etc).

-The Cin baby. Already being propped.

-Face Masks.

-Dopplegangers.

-Zombies. (I cannot believe I have to write that.)

-Kidnappings to cover for actor departures (Sarah, Ciara, Sami). They never make sense.

-Jan Spears yoyo-ing in and out of a coma.

-Justin actually marrying Bonnie.

-Paulina, and specifically Jackée, who seems to be playing in her own sitcom and hearing a laugh track.

-The continual downfall of Philip (with Lucas on his heels apparently).

-Ava The Useless.

-Freaking Rafe.

-Kristen convincing Susan to go to jail "because they have ice cream!"

-Stacey's increasingly shrill and irritating Susan.

-Susan now apparently having Celeste-level psychic powers.

-Susan stabbing herself for no intelligent reason in the crypt, rather than using the knife to free John.

-General WTF? moments, from gaps in logic to editing issues to people jumping around town in ways that defy physics. Too many to name (you go ahead if you like).

-Kristen in general.

-Linda Dano having to play Vivian instead of getting a new character to play. This daytime legend shouldn't have to be compared to Louise.

-Kate faking blindness and having to endure ageist insults from Gabi all for the sake of holding onto Jake, who she lost anyway.

-The Behind The Scenes anti-vaxx sentiments that risk the safety of the older cast members. If you work with the elderly, you should take every precaution available or bow out.

-Destroying Ericole when they could have written it any other way.

-The convoluted murder of Charlie and the equally convoluted rape backstory. Waste of a good actor and potential love interest for Claire.

-Gwen, whose retconned backstory did nothing to enhance the character's presence. No offense to the actress.

-The wasted life of Laura Horton. Can't believe they offed her like that. Jamie always happily came back to the show for boring scenes of Abby/Jennifer propping, and they reward her by bringing her back for some retconned character assasination and then kill her off without even telling her about it. And no funeral. Wow! Legacy character done dirty.

-Nicole's friendship with Ava and desire for Rafe. Sure. Ok. Mmhmm.

-EJ dumping Sami and hating her after she saved his sorry ass and made his recovery her entire existence for years. Classy. What a catch!

-Brady/Chloe/Philip. Could have been okay. Really isn't.

-Marlena repossessed. I still can't believe the shoddy writing. There was no decent explanation for why the devil came back now or how it happened. "Because" seems to be the reason. Doug was cool as the demon, but instead they went with an elder abuse subplot in the midst of a campy monster story, which was offensive and depressing as hell. The effects and execution are weaker than what we saw in the '90s, making the show look cheap, out of ideas and generally cringey....so....yeah.

 

Agree? Disagree?

[boes]

^^^ DisneyBoy, I think you're dissection is admirable and absolutely right on!

I wouldn't change a thing - except to add a totally redundant "Ben and Ciara" suck general comment.

[BuckeyeLou]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

Sigh.

Let's try and get through this together, shall we?

 

BEST aka The Few Positives I Could Think Of

-John Aniston. Nuff said.

-Bill Hayes. Same.

-Eileen Davidson popping back in. Amen!

-I definitely didn't approve of the Ericole marriage never getting off the ground, but if they had to sabotage their relationship, I think the writers and cast did a decent job of making it believable. Using Xander and Sami made sense, and the dialogue during the breakup scene rung true. And the aftermath has been similarly believable. This may be the year's best executed storyline, even if it was on the back burner...and I would have preferred something else.

-It was long overdue to see Salem's Gay Couple in a gay bar setting. Who cares if it happened Beyond Salem, in an awkwardly staged drag competition? I had fun seeing Chad and Wilson werq it.

-Shane clearly not being on Team Ben. Amen! Such a small moment in Beyond Salem, but I appreciated it.

-Paul Telfer is still an MVP.

-Raven Bowens as the new Chanel is doing great and brought quiet intensity to this unresolved Allie/Chanel/Johnny triangle.

-DOOL even having a bisexual love triangle is worthy of praise. Let's hope they don't ruin the characters in the process.

-Dan Feuerriegel has slowly grown into EJ and deserves kudos for that difficult task.

-The show remembering that Philip has a fake leg.

-Belle being faithful to Shawn D all year. No pining for Philip.

-Brady breaking up with Kristen (let's see if it sticks).

-The quasi-reunion of Abe and Lexie in heaven for James Reynolds' anniversary.

-Ciara's amnesia, which allowed her to actually be uncomfortable around Ben and tell him to F Off.

-Xander quitting Titan. Good for you, mate.

(Note: I still haven't seen the Xmas movie, so it might be worthy of inclusion...or not.)

 

WORST

-Saint Ben.

-Saint Ben and Marlena's bizarre relationship.

-Ciara the narcissist and her "Super Couple" fantasy romance with Saint Ben which has sapped her of any likeability. (Romeo and Juliet? How?)

-All the characters who are forced to talk about and root for Cin in private when they have better things to discuss and curiously aren't preoccupied with any of the other couples on the show. Just Cin. Always Cin.

-Theo being made to look manipulative for reuniting with Ciara and then getting dumped at the altar.

-The forced regurgitation of beloved Bope story beats in the lackluster Cin saga (Ben abducting Ciara on her wedding day, their honeymoon destination, etc).

-The Cin baby. Already being propped.

-Face Masks.

-Dopplegangers.

-Zombies. (I cannot believe I have to write that.)

-Kidnappings to cover for actor departures (Sarah, Ciara, Sami). They never make sense.

-Jan Spears yoyo-ing in and out of a coma.

-Justin actually marrying Bonnie.

-Paulina, and specifically Jackée, who seems to be playing in her own sitcom and hearing a laugh track.

-The continual downfall of Philip (with Lucas on his heels apparently).

-Ava The Useless.

-Freaking Rafe.

-Kristen convincing Susan to go to jail "because they have ice cream!"

-Stacey's increasingly shrill and irritating Susan.

-Susan now apparently having Celeste-level psychic powers.

-Susan stabbing herself for no intelligent reason in the crypt, rather than using the knife to free John.

-General WTF? moments, from gaps in logic to editing issues to people jumping around town in ways that defy physics. Too many to name (you go ahead if you like).

-Kristen in general.

-Linda Dano having to play Vivian instead of getting a new character to play. This daytime legend shouldn't have to be compared to Louise.

-Kate faking blindness and having to endure ageist insults from Gabi all for the sake of holding onto Jake, who she lost anyway.

-The Behind The Scenes anti-vaxx sentiments that risk the safety of the older cast members. If you work with the elderly, you should take every precaution available or bow out.

-Destroying Ericole when they could have written it any other way.

-The convoluted murder of Charlie and the equally convoluted rape backstory. Waste of a good actor and potential love interest for Claire.

-Gwen, whose retconned backstory did nothing to enhance the character's presence. No offense to the actress.

-The wasted life of Laura Horton. Can't believe they offed her like that. Jamie always happily came back to the show for boring scenes of Abby/Jennifer propping, and they reward her by bringing her back for some retconned character assasination and then kill her off without even telling her about it. And no funeral. Wow! Legacy character done dirty.

-Nicole's friendship with Ava and desire for Rafe. Sure. Ok. Mmhmm.

-EJ dumping Sami and hating her after she saved his sorry ass and made his recovery her entire existence for years. Classy. What a catch!

-Brady/Chloe/Philip. Could have been okay. Really isn't.

-Marlena repossessed. I still can't believe the shoddy writing. There was no decent explanation for why the devil came back now or how it happened. "Because" seems to be the reason. Doug was cool as the demon, but instead they went with an elder abuse subplot in the midst of a campy monster story, which was offensive and depressing as hell. The effects and execution are weaker than what we saw in the '90s, making the show look cheap, out of ideas and generally cringey....so....yeah.

 

Agree? Disagree?

I think you hit all the High & Low points.  I am a fan of Paul Telfer & have enjoyed all his scenes, he worked well with Sarah and Gwen and Nicole and Jack, pretty much anybody he was paired in a scene with.  

[Panopticon]

Well said. If I were doing a list from scratch, I would have as my top five:

--Abe's anniversary episode. Congratulations to Jim Reynolds for being part of the fabric of Salem for longer than a lot of us have been alive.

--Multiple successful recasts. Welcome, NuEJ and NuChanel. And welcome to our first adult Johnny, while I'm at it.

--The simultaneous implosions of Nicole's and Sami's marriages while everyone played hot potato with Kristen's letter about the Lucas/Sami affair.

--Bill Hayes, as he inches closer to the century mark, playing a major role that went from "ripped from the headlines tearjerker about the diseases of aging" to the super-campy "possessed by the devil."

--The episode where Sami framed herself for Charlie's death, driving Belle and Rafe crazy while Lucas tried to pry the truth out of Allie. I love it when Sami decides to be ridiculous for reasons other than her own ego.

My bottom five:

--Nicole involvement with Rafe. I can buy that Nicole pined after Eric, had a self-destructive moment with Xander, and was intrigued by EJ. I cannot accept that a talking teddy bear or its daddy should be a part of any of this.

--The continued worship of the Necktie Killer. If one or two people loved him, that would be fine, but everyone loving him is maddening. I especially hated that Allie was willing to go for jail for him even though he'd "killed" her brother and she barely knew him otherwise.

--Mrs. Necktie Killer being pregnant. This is never going to end, is it?

--The resurrection of the Broe/Phloe triangle. I like Brady. I like Philip. I like Chloe. I like Brady/Chloe. I like Philip/Chloe. What I did not ever need was a redux of the triangle, especially if it meant Philip losing his mind.

--The resurrection of the Lumi/Ejami triangle.  (And a bonus "I hate you" to Will for leaving his own father out of his Christmas fan fiction while featuring the rest of his family.)

 

 

[DisneyBoy]

...so I'm not being overly negative? This was a pretty bad year? I'm not some miserable grouch?

If anyone had favorite scenes or moments feel free to mention them. Best argument? Best love scene?

Also, while scanning summaries as a refresher for this list, I read that Vincent committed suicide..? I must have missed that. Did it happen or was it a fake out?

The recasts were good...though I'm so bored with Big Hair Theo. He seemingly has no autism (did they even tell him about that detail?) and no pulse either.

Oh and now that we've seen Marlena torture 95 year old Doug by locking him away and drugging him nearly to death, I fully understand why Deidre spoke up months early about an "upcoming storyline" her fans might have trouble with. This was ugly and taints the good Doctor. I don't see how Marlena can realistically bounce back. 

Edited December 23, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[DisneyBoy]

2 hours ago, Panopticon said:

This is never going to end, is it?

My thoughts exactly.

[FilmTVGeek80]

5 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Sigh.

Let's try and get through this together, shall we?

 

BEST aka The Few Positives I Could Think Of

-John Aniston. Nuff said.

-Bill Hayes. Same.

-Eileen Davidson popping back in. Amen!

-I definitely didn't approve of the Ericole marriage never getting off the ground, but if they had to sabotage their relationship, I think the writers and cast did a decent job of making it believable. Using Xander and Sami made sense, and the dialogue during the breakup scene rung true. And the aftermath has been similarly believable. This may be the year's best executed storyline, even if it was on the back burner...and I would have preferred something else.

-It was long overdue to see Salem's Gay Couple in a gay bar setting. Who cares if it happened Beyond Salem, in an awkwardly staged drag competition? I had fun seeing Chad and Wilson werq it.

-Shane clearly not being on Team Ben. Amen! Such a small moment in Beyond Salem, but I appreciated it.

-Paul Telfer is still an MVP.

-Raven Bowens as the new Chanel is doing great and brought quiet intensity to this unresolved Allie/Chanel/Johnny triangle.

-DOOL even having a bisexual love triangle is worthy of praise. Let's hope they don't ruin the characters in the process.

-Dan Feuerriegel has slowly grown into EJ and deserves kudos for that difficult task.

-The show remembering that Philip has a fake leg.

-Belle being faithful to Shawn D all year. No pining for Philip.

-Brady breaking up with Kristen (let's see if it sticks).

-The quasi-reunion of Abe and Lexie in heaven for James Reynolds' anniversary.

-Ciara's amnesia, which allowed her to actually be uncomfortable around Ben and tell him to F Off.

-Xander quitting Titan. Good for you, mate.

(Note: I still haven't seen the Xmas movie, so it might be worthy of inclusion...or not.)

 

WORST

-Saint Ben.

-Saint Ben and Marlena's bizarre relationship.

-Ciara the narcissist and her "Super Couple" fantasy romance with Saint Ben which has sapped her of any likeability. (Romeo and Juliet? How?)

-All the characters who are forced to talk about and root for Cin in private when they have better things to discuss and curiously aren't preoccupied with any of the other couples on the show. Just Cin. Always Cin.

-Theo being made to look manipulative for reuniting with Ciara and then getting dumped at the altar.

-The forced regurgitation of beloved Bope story beats in the lackluster Cin saga (Ben abducting Ciara on her wedding day, their honeymoon destination, etc).

-The Cin baby. Already being propped.

-Face Masks.

-Dopplegangers.

-Zombies. (I cannot believe I have to write that.)

-Kidnappings to cover for actor departures (Sarah, Ciara, Sami). They never make sense.

-Jan Spears yoyo-ing in and out of a coma.

-Justin actually marrying Bonnie.

-Paulina, and specifically Jackée, who seems to be playing in her own sitcom and hearing a laugh track.

-The continual downfall of Philip (with Lucas on his heels apparently).

-Ava The Useless.

-Freaking Rafe.

-Kristen convincing Susan to go to jail "because they have ice cream!"

-Stacey's increasingly shrill and irritating Susan.

-Susan now apparently having Celeste-level psychic powers.

-Susan stabbing herself for no intelligent reason in the crypt, rather than using the knife to free John.

-General WTF? moments, from gaps in logic to editing issues to people jumping around town in ways that defy physics. Too many to name (you go ahead if you like).

-Kristen in general.

-Linda Dano having to play Vivian instead of getting a new character to play. This daytime legend shouldn't have to be compared to Louise.

-Kate faking blindness and having to endure ageist insults from Gabi all for the sake of holding onto Jake, who she lost anyway.

-The Behind The Scenes anti-vaxx sentiments that risk the safety of the older cast members. If you work with the elderly, you should take every precaution available or bow out.

-Destroying Ericole when they could have written it any other way.

-The convoluted murder of Charlie and the equally convoluted rape backstory. Waste of a good actor and potential love interest for Claire.

-Gwen, whose retconned backstory did nothing to enhance the character's presence. No offense to the actress.

-The wasted life of Laura Horton. Can't believe they offed her like that. Jamie always happily came back to the show for boring scenes of Abby/Jennifer propping, and they reward her by bringing her back for some retconned character assasination and then kill her off without even telling her about it. And no funeral. Wow! Legacy character done dirty.

-Nicole's friendship with Ava and desire for Rafe. Sure. Ok. Mmhmm.

-EJ dumping Sami and hating her after she saved his sorry ass and made his recovery her entire existence for years. Classy. What a catch!

-Brady/Chloe/Philip. Could have been okay. Really isn't.

-Marlena repossessed. I still can't believe the shoddy writing. There was no decent explanation for why the devil came back now or how it happened. "Because" seems to be the reason. Doug was cool as the demon, but instead they went with an elder abuse subplot in the midst of a campy monster story, which was offensive and depressing as hell. The effects and execution are weaker than what we saw in the '90s, making the show look cheap, out of ideas and generally cringey....so....yeah.

 

Agree? Disagree?

Mostly agree. My only small exceptions is I have no real use for Xander and, as hypocritical as it was, had no issue with EJ breaking up (unfortunately temporarily) with Sami.

 

2 hours ago, Panopticon said:

My bottom five:

--Nicole involvement with Rafe. I can buy that Nicole pined after Eric, had a self-destructive moment with Xander, and was intrigued by EJ. I cannot accept that a talking teddy bear or its daddy should be a part of any of this.

--The continued worship of the Necktie Killer. If one or two people loved him, that would be fine, but everyone loving him is maddening. I especially hated that Allie was willing to go for jail for him even though he'd "killed" her brother and she barely knew him otherwise.

--Mrs. Necktie Killer being pregnant. This is never going to end, is it?

--The resurrection of the Broe/Phloe triangle. I like Brady. I like Philip. I like Chloe. I like Brady/Chloe. I like Philip/Chloe. What I did not ever need was a redux of the triangle, especially if it meant Philip losing his mind.

--The resurrection of the Lumi/Ejami triangle.  (And a bonus "I hate you" to Will for leaving his own father out of his Christmas fan fiction while featuring the rest of his family.)

Absolutely agree. The Duke thing could have been cute for a little bit, but the significance it's been given is stupid.

Yeah, Allie being willing to go to jail for Ben was asinine craziness, especially from a young mother.

I don't have the history with Phillip/Brady/Chloe, but yeah, it was entirely pointless. I tend to hate triangles in general, but Days has been abysmal with them this year, mostly because most of them aren't really triangle - just one sad sack being in love with someone not as into them while we're really supposed to be rooting for one specific pairing.

I didn't see the Christmas movie yet (may not at all.) Was there an explanation given for that or were we supposed to not notice Will's father not being involved?

[Panopticon]

34 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I don't have the history with Phillip/Brady/Chloe, but yeah, it was entirely pointless. I tend to hate triangles in general, but Days has been abysmal with them this year, mostly because most of them aren't really triangle - just one sad sack being in love with someone not as into them while we're really supposed to be rooting for one specific pairing.

I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a triangle (if I ever did), but I found the two reduxes this autumn especially awful.  

Quote

I didn't see the Christmas movie yet (may not at all.) Was there an explanation given for that or were we supposed to not notice Will's father not being involved?

Yes, the in story explanation was

Spoiler

that Lucas ran off to Antarctica with Chloe. It happened at Christmastime and was one of the reasons Sami hated the holiday.

It was actually funny. Sonny pointed out that Will was trolling his family with the whole story.

Quote

so I'm not being overly negative? This was a pretty bad year? I'm not some miserable grouch?

It was a great year if your absolute favorites are John/Marlena and Ben/Ciara. Otherwise, not a season for the ages. 

Edited December 23, 2021 by Panopticon

[FnkyChkn34]

56 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

...so I'm not being overly negative? This was a pretty bad year? I'm not some miserable grouch?

I have to say that I was mostly just bored.  There were quite a few weeks (months?) that I stopped watching and felt like I barely missed anything.  

I don't hate Ben and Rafe as much as everyone else, but they aren't exciting or interesting either.  I guess I just like to look at them?  So let's make a "highlight" whenever Ben takes his shirt off. 😉

Another highlight was Doug locking Julie in the freezer.  Hasn't everyone wanted to do that for a long time?

A real low is this whole possessed storyline.  Again.  It was horrible the first time (from what I barely remember) and it's horrible now.  Whenever they distort Marlena's voice and use the bad effects to make her eyes yellow, I just laugh.

I also can't stand Ava.

[tribeca]

Rafe has been well feed all year.  
 

[4evaQuez]

1 hour ago, tribeca said:

Rafe has been well feed all year.  
 

You reminded me of one of my favorite lines this year. This isn't an exact quote, but Gabi said to Ava not too long ago. "Are you finally tired of making spaghetti, and you're heading back to your mob ways?"

Again, not the exact quote, but it was something along those lines. I got a good and satisfying laugh.

[DisneyBoy]

That was a good line!

Can I add the Xmas rape of Shawn D to the Worst list? Because that was unnecessary and gross.

And because he's a man, the violation will be downplayed as "he got lucky and he's grumpy about it, and his rapist gets to openly flaunt it in his face" (see Eric).

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

And because he's a man, the violation will be downplayed as "he got lucky and he's grumpy about it, and his rapist gets to openly flaunt it in his face" (see Eric).

Rape of women is downplayed too so I don't think it's a gender thing. It's an 'a lot of writers have rape issues and Ron has them big time' thing.

[tribeca]

Worst 

Eric and Nicole divorce.  Everything about this storyline was disappointing.  Nicole encourage him to go.  Then sulks about it.  The writers could have came up with better storylines of why Eric could not come home.  Instead they have everyone even his father  saying how awful Eric was being for not coming home.  
    Sara being drugged and dropped on an island.  No one notices she is gone.  Even if you don’t like the character this was a terrible exit. 
 

best 

Lumi reunites even if it was for just a brief shining moment I loved it. 

[FnkyChkn34]

On 12/25/2021 at 2:10 AM, DisneyBoy said:

Can I add the Xmas rape of Shawn D to the Worst list? Because that was unnecessary and gross.

Yes!  This may have been the lowest of the low for me, given that Shawn is a favorite character of mine (mostly for nostaliga, but he's really not bad).  

On 12/25/2021 at 9:24 AM, peachmangosteen said:

Rape of women is downplayed too so I don't think it's a gender thing. It's an 'a lot of writers have rape issues and Ron has them big time' thing.

See:  Outlander.  Why are some writers obsessed with such violence?

[Peanut6711]

As I sit back and try to reflect on the past year of Days….I’m realizing I’m a little hazy on the line between 2020 ending and 2021 beginning. So bear with me on my best and worst of the year list.  These are the things that stick out to me. I’m sure there’s more, but I’ll leave it at 5 each for now. 🤔 Okay, maybe 6 worst because the bad tends to outweigh the good. 

Best

1. If Orpheus appeared in ’21, those scenes. (If not, see worst list)

2. Doug as the devil. Bill Hayes rocked that. The only downside was that it was too short lived and proved that Ron isn’t making the best use of certain characters/actors.

3. Original Channel (PW). I really liked that actress’s take on the character. She was fun and upbeat.  (That was 2021 she showed up, right?)

4. Some of Paulina’s lines. She adds some good humor when she’s commenting on other characters and situations.  (For example, learning about Zander’s past or when Doug grabbed her ass.)

5. The Exorcist Rip-Off 2.0.  Yes, it’s campy, lacks continuity, and has more (plot) holes than Swiss cheese. But it’s held my interest more than most of what’s aired this year or last.  Plus, if it lays the groundwork for CIN’s baby being an evil character rather than a revered and worshipped legacy brat, then it works for me.

Worst

1. Gwen puking!  OMG that was so gross and unnecessary! Bear in mind, I don’t hate Gwen or resent her character/backstory, and I’m not upset that Abs got puked on. Frankly, I wanted to puke on her myself back during KM’s days as Abigail. But simply implying it would have sufficed.  I did not need to see it. Of all the special effects that they’d put energy into, that one would have been better left on the editing room floor.

2. NuEJ. The actor tries, I’ll give him credit for that.

But he’s no JS who made that role, and this is a case of better left alone for me.  If the next writer retcons this into an imposter storyline, then that will make my ‘best’ list for that year.

3. Not enough Orpheus. So many missed opportunities. Like this: 

Geez, GD got nominated for a daytime emmy, but it seems that doesn’t count in Ron’s book since he clearly favors the winner. See #4.

4. Ciara. And as I think about her, move this one up to my #2.  She’s conceited, self-involved, and obnoxious whether she’s loving Ben or hating him. The Romeo & Juliet thing was the worst storyline of the year. If it had played true to the origional tale and they’d both died at the end then it might have made the best list, but as it was, it was utterly eye-roll worthy.

5. Charlie’s exit. His character was entertaining, his material with Ava was good, and he had potential as a villain to liven up the Allie/Tripp pairing.

6. Jan as Charlie’s killer. Lame reveal and worst paced who-dun-it.

[Squeaks]

Best - Suzanne Rogers recovering and returning to the screen as Maggie.

[DisneyBoy]

YES! Thank you for adding that. Between her and Judi Evans, DOOL has some astonishingly resilient women in their cast.

[boes]

I have no "bests".  At least not in any positive sense.  Though I do think the best thing I've seen Missy Reeves do since forever is come out today dressed in her "Eva Braun celebrates Hitler's Birthday with a PICNIC" outfit.  I was waiting for her to do the two step goose step.

Did the Devil take up residence in the costume department?

Worst is easy, so many choices.  Sure, I hate Julie and find her insufferable but at least she's old school awful.  

REAL awful are Ciara and Ben/Ollie.  She's an utter abomination of sociopathic self-regard, bullying and bad choices from what she wears to what comes out of her mouth.  Then there's the 8 pack Ab serial killer with a blockhead of gold.  There's nothing left to say that hasn't been said about Show's relentless attempt to bully us all into liking him as a character and those two hooting horrors as a couple.  

 

[FnkyChkn34]

13 hours ago, Squeaks said:

Best - Suzanne Rogers recovering and returning to the screen as Maggie.

 

8 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

YES! Thank you for adding that. Between her and Judi Evans, DOOL has some astonishingly resilient women in their cast.

I didn't realize that Suzanne Rogers was sick.  Did she have covid?  I remember that Judi Evans had cancer, right?  (Or was that just Adrienne?)

[DisneyBoy]

Adrienne had breast cancer in the show but was cancer-free in her final years before getting killed off (pointlessly) in the convoluted car accident during the Time Jump.

In real life, Judi's 23 year old son passed away in Dec 2019 (allegedly from drugs), less than a month after Days ended her contract. Then she suffered a broken collarbone, seven broken ribs, two chipped vertebrae and a collapsed lung from blunt force trauma after being thrown from a horse in May 2020. By June, she'd contracted Covid-19 while recovering in the hospital and nearly had both her legs amputated due to blood clots.

To put it mildly, things were shitty as hell for months and she still pulled through.

Suzanne had her own series of struggles. She was caring for her elderly mother with Alzheimers and had to put her ìn a facility in 2019, and was then asked to show Maggie falling off the wagon and believing herself to have accidentally killed Adrienne (Judi) on the show. This lead Maggie to prison and a suicide attempt, which proved so stressful for Suzanne to play that she lost weight and developped diverticulitis. Then in Nov 2020, she started choking on a pill, called 911 and woke up in the hospital two weeks later. Her autoimmune disorder, myasthenia gravis, flared up and she feared she'd get covid. She didn't, but was stuck in the hospital without visitors through the New Year doing rehab. And because her hair was in curlers the night of the incident, somehow this burned her scalp and made her bald. So she's wearing a wig in the episodes currently airing.

We're lucky to see either of them on the screen.

[DisneyBoy]

Did Belle nearly pull the plug on Jan at the start of this year, or the end of the last one?

If it happened in 2021, add it to the Best list, because I loved that scene. MM did great.

[FnkyChkn34]

Thank you, @DisneyBoy - I didn't know any of that.  That's amazing what they both went through and that they are doing so well today.  Very glad to see them back on the show!

[Rafael]

Ben and Ciara are easily the worst thing about the show in 2021. 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Rafael