Gwen finally came clean with Jack and Jennifer, Abigail left Chad, Tripp faced off with Charlie, while Maggie told Bonnie off, and Gabi tried to win Jake back.
Our TV Fanatics Jack and Christine are joined by Andy and DoolFan4Life from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Gwen’s story, Maggie’s lack of forgiveness, Lauren Koslow’s 25 years as Kate Roberts, and if Charlie can or should be redeemed on Days of Our Lives.
Do you believe that Gwen is Jack’s daughter? If Jack is telling the truth about not knowing anything about Gwen, who would you like to see uncover the truth?
Andy: I really hope she’s NOT actually Jack’s daughter, as I’m not a fan of the long lost child trope that is overplayed on this show. It’s fine that she believes she is his daughter, and it makes her revenge plot more believable, but I hope there is more to the story.
Whatever the truth is, it would be interesting if Gabi uncovered it and actually worked with Abigail and Chad against a common enemy rather than be petty and use it against them.
DoolFan4Life: This is tough, I really don’t want Gwen to be jacks daughter cuz I cringe thinking of her as a permanent addition to the show, but I feel like she will be or made to believe she is until the writers realize she sucks and come up with a tampered DNA test explanation.
I believe Jack is telling the truth, but who knows if he was Stefano’s pawn, and that’s why he doesn’t remember.
As far as uncovering the truth, I’m still not sure I care enough, but maybe Abby or Anna as she seems to be the brains of the town.
Jack: I’m not sure. She may be, but the story is so crazy and full of holes I can’t tell if Gwen is lying or the writers just haven’t thought of obvious things (e.g., why didn’t her mom get a child support order instead of taking hush money?)
If I could pick ANYBODY to uncover the truth, I’d have JJ come back to town. He’d be furious that the woman he thought would be his girlfriend turned out to be an evil potential half-sister and begin his investigation by going to England and visiting his old boarding school to check whether she was a student there when he was.
Wouldn’t it be something if she was seeking revenge way back then, and she was the one who got him started on drugs after Jack supposedly died, only he didn’t realize it was the same person because she was using a different name and looks different as an adult?
Anyway, that’s who should be investigating this, but maybe Abe and Jack can bond over having pop-up daughters and investigate together since JJ isn’t on canvas.
Christine: I believe Gwen could be Jack’s daughter, and I’m okay with that. Jack has always been an outsider, and Gwen could be an extension of that.
Either way, Gwen definitely believes Jack is her father, which explains her hatred of him and Abigail.
As for uncovering the truth, it should be Jennifer. She’s an investigative reporter and has a vested interest in finding out if her husband is lying, has a daughter he never knew he had, or is being played. I’d love to see Jennifer look at it all logically, such as following the money trail for those payments and figure out the truth.
Is Maggie right to still hold a grudge against Bonnie?
Andy: Maggie has every right to never want anything to do with Bonnie, after everything she’s done with Adrienne, Mickey, Lucas, and that ridiculous Southern accent.
Bonnie may be trying to be a better person, but it’s asking a lot for Maggie to be okay with having this woman in her home and around her family. Bonnie can be a better person anywhere else in the world. Salem is not the place to move on with her life!
DoolFan4Life: I don’t think it’s an issue of right or wrong because it’s how she feels, so only she can decide what’s right. However, she’s forgiven a lot worse people for a lot worse things, Xander, Eric, Victor, etc.
It seems Bonnie is trying, but Maggie just doesn’t have the interest. I think Bonnie instead of Adrienne is silly, so I won’t focus too much on it.
This was SO out of character for Maggie. I can understand her being upset, but she was acting so much like Victor does with all of Brady’s girlfriends that I could hear her voice in my head telling Victor to cut out the behavior she was currently engaging in!
Christine: Yes! Bonnie has always hated Maggie and has messed with both of her husbands. Maggie is a good person, but she’s human, and she doesn’t have to forgive Bonnie.
If Justin wants to spend time with Bonnie, so be it, but he can do it somewhere other than Maggie’s living room.
Tripp and Charlie finally met, and Tripp expressed empathy for his brother. Do you think Charlie is redeemable? Do you want him to be?
Andy: At one point, I may have thought Charlie had a small chance to be redeemed depending on learning the full truth of what happened with Allie (at least in the context of a show that forgives a serial killer).
But after that, letting Tripp take the fall, everything he did to his own mother, and not taking accountability for any of it… it’s going to be hard to redeem all that in the near-term. Maybe they should just make him go full villain and stay that way.
DoolFan4Life: No, I don’t think he’s redeemable anymore than Ben is. I don’t really want him to be redeemed either because it just irks me how everyone gets away with rape as if it’s no big deal on this show.
Charlie is a good, bad guy much like Ben, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Otherwise, you end up with an ex serial killer moping around Salem crying over Ciara over and over…. boring.
Jack: I like the actor, and I’m disappointed that Days again went the route of “nice guy turns out to be a violent criminal.”
But if serial killer Ben can be redeemed and is now giving Allie support and advice about how to handle the next step in her rape case, Charlie can be too.
I would not be surprised if he goes to Bayview for a bit and comes back ready to resume with Claire now that he’s sane, but no one believes he is because it’s not like we haven’t done that twice before in the last year.
Christine: I loved how reasonable and empathetic Tripp was with Charlie, but that doesn’t mean Charlie needs to be redeemed.
It’s nice to think that broken people who do despicable things can change, but it’s not always realistic, and Days has far too many murderers and rapist eventually becoming good guys. It can be tough to watch.
Should Philip be staying with Chloe while the mob is after him? Did Brady have the right to tell Chloe she should stay away from Philip?
Andy: I think it’s irresponsible for Philip to drag Chloe into this ridiculous mess and put her in danger, and Brady is right to be concerned. Although I did like Chloe standing up for herself and calling out Brady for always trying to save women.
This is definitely the beginnings of a love square, and Chloe should probably be more worried about Kristen than the mob.
DoolFan4Life: Probably not as he’s putting her at risk and Parker already lost a parent, but I can understand he has nowhere to go, and she offered.
Brady has the right to an opinion but nothing else after that. He endangered Chloe by putting her on Kristin’s radar, which is more lethal than any mob.
Brady has a lot of nerve expecting her to just submit to him as if he can control any aspect of her life. It’s nice that he cares, but it’s more that he’s controlling, and I’m just going to say it…..what a pig!
Jack: There are no words for how much I hate this story. I’d much rather a realistic gambling addiction story where Brady starts out judging Philip but eventually, they bond over both being recovering addicts.
Instead, we have Brady/Chloe/Philip AGAIN with Kristen thrown in the mix along with violent mob bosses. Ugh.
No, Philip staying with Chloe is a bad idea, even if she killed a drug cartel lord during the last mob story. But Chloe is right that she’s an adult and can make her own choices, and her standing up to Brady about his overprotective behavior is the only part of this story worth watching.
Christine: Philip staying with Chloe is just wrong. It puts her in danger because Philip is too scared to tell his daddy he’s screwed up again.
Brady was right to voice his concern, but then he went too far. Brady has issues when the women he cares about disagree with him, and Chloe calling him out on his savior complex was the best thing about this convoluted storyline.
Lauren Koslow has played Kate Roberts for 25 years! Do you love Kate or hate her? Do you have any favorite Kate moments?
Andy: I love Kate. I haven’t known Days of Our Lives without her. I like that she’s a gray character, and she often does questionable or straight-up villainous things but with generally good intentions.
Her cancer storyline sticks out in my mind and the many rivalries with her children’s partners. I liked her paired with Roman and wish they’d revisit that relationship.
DoolFan4Life: I don’t hate Kate, but I don’t love her either. I always thought she’d have more potential as a strong female character, but it’s lather, rinse, repeat with her.
Same stories, failed attempted murders, sleep with everyone, and overbearing mother….. now and again, you get a good scene where you temporarily root for her, but most of the time, she’s a love to hate kind of character for me. I like the actress, but I’d just like to see Kate evolve a bit.
My favorite Kate moments are ones she’d share with Sami when they teamed up to take over Dimera. I loved the alliance, and I enjoyed watching them grow to respect and actually love one another. Kate and Sami were a great team.
Jack: I never used to like Kate. I found her annoying. But now I’ve come to appreciate her. I love her dry wit and her loyalty to her children and grandchildren, even though she is just as bad as Sami about putting her nose in people’s business.
She is one classy diva! I absolutely love it when she and Lucas butt heads and he tries to put her in her place.
Also, before Gabi was rewritten as completely unlikeable, her friendship with Kate was enjoyable. I remember when Gabi was arrested for killing Nick and Kate told her, “I’m not sorry you killed him. I’m just sorry you got caught.”
That was a far cry from the Kate, who was judging Gabi for being a murderer, and the Gabi, who was judging Kate for throwing Nick in the river we saw on Friday!
Christine: I’ve grown to love Kate over the years. She’s strong, independent, and fiercely protects her family, whether they like it or not.
I also loved it when she and Sami teamed up and when she helped Gabi dispose of Nick. I’m even enjoying her current relationship with Jake. Kate Roberts is a gorgeous, smart, older woman who takes no crap from anyone, and she’s fun to watch.
Which storyline are you enjoying the least right now on Days of Our Lives?
Andy: Overall, the Philip mob storyline has made his return disappointing. I hope that gets wrapped up quickly and the character starts being written more like the Philip I remember.
I’m also not really enjoying the twin kidnapping just because it’s so overdone. But at least the motive behind it makes sense, and it’s given Lani and Eli some better material to work with.
DoolFan4Life: I least enjoy anything with Gwen. I’ve never found it so hard to try and care about a story, but she literally sucked the interest out of any of it.
Jack: Did I mention how much I hate this Philip vs. the mob nonsense?
I also don’t like the repeated Raynor stealing the babies story, especially when we could have had a more realistic drama about Lani and Eli trying to adjust to parenthood while Abe, Valerie, and Julie constantly bombarded them with their opinions of how things should be done.
Finally, Li Shin caring what a tabloid magazine says about Chad/Gwen?
Where was he when the same tabloid exposed EJ’s affair with Abigail? And for that matter, why hire Gabi EVER if he’s concerned about sexual exploits hurting his company’s reputation?
Christine: Philip’s mob storyline is just boring, and turning it into a Philip/Chloe/Brady/Kristen love quadrangle isn’t helping. Philip hasn’t been well written in years, and although I desperately wanted him to return to Salem, this story is such a dud that I wouldn’t mind if he left for a while.
Also, why is Gabi so desperate to get Jake back? She and Jake had barely gotten started when she left Salem.
Having her first priority be rekindling their barely-there romance comes off as needy and pathetic.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week’s Days of Our Lives?
Andy: As much as I’m not crazy about the outcome, I was happy to finally see Gwen’s motive fully revealed and thought the scenes with her/Jack/Jennifer and Abigail/Chad were well done and held my interest.
I also loved when Anna tripped Gwen in the square!
And as a Gabi fan, I’m glad she’s back but not thrilled about the desperation and pettiness. I like Gabi and Kate as a team. I don’t want to see them pitted against each other, especially over a man.
DoolFan4Life: All scenes involving Anna were fab this week. She’s quick to pick up on everything that everyone failed to see for months, and her scenes are enjoyable.
I loved that Anna reminded us that messing with a Dimera is a big mistake. I really hope the writers remember this as well because so far, it’s lost all meaning.
An old fashion Dimera punishment could be the saving grace to all the months of suffering we did watching Gwen chew her nails like a disgusting cow.
Jack: Even though I dislike Gwen, I thought the reveal of her as potentially Jack’s daughter was well-done.
I also can’t stop laughing at some of Anna’s lines. She and Tony add a lot to the show, and I hope they stick around for a while.
Christine: As much as I’m not a fan of Gwen, I felt her fury and pain as she told Jack and Jennifer her story. I’m not sure where this is going, but I’m finally enjoying this story.
Also, I was proud of Abigail for not running back to Chad. No matter what Gwen did, Chad still chose to believe this stranger over his wife, which speaks to how broken their marriage really is. I’m glad Abigail wants to face that instead of sweeping it under the rug and blaming it all on Gwen.
Not it’s your turn, TV Fanatics! Hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below to tell us how you feel about this week’s Days of Our Lives. And don’t forget to 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.