Kristen got full custody of Rachel!
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Trey from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate, that custody decision, Paulina kissing Abe, Xander and Eric’s proposals, Sloan and Melinda’s friendship, and more!
And was Chad being a jerk for the way he treated Alex? See what our round table has to say…
Are you happy the judge gave Kristen custody of Rachel? Do you think she’ll handle Rachel better than Brady has?
Trey: No, I’m not happy that Kristen has sole custody of Rachel. At this point, neither parent is appropriate for full or shared custody. She should have a neutral home where both parents need to go to counseling to work out their issues prior to co-parenting.
However, since this is a fantasy soap, it makes the storyline interesting by turning the tables on Brady.
Jack: Ugh, no. This was the wrong decision. If anything, Rachel will be worse off. She may want to live with Kristen, but now that she has her, Kristen will likely ignore her unless she can use her as a pawn in some other scheme.
At best, Kristen will continue to fill Rachel’s head with lies and treat her like she can and should do whatever she wants to get whatever she wants.
Brady’s attempts at discipline are half-hearted, but at least he doesn’t encourage her negative behavior!
Christine: I love it! Neither Brady nor Kristen are fit parents, but Brady is so arrogant that it was fun to see the rug pulled out from under him this time.
Rachel is Kristen’s mini-me. I love the mother/daughter bond, but I also look forward to seeing them butt heads, which is inevitable.
Were you surprised that Paulina came onto Abe so strongly? Was Abe right to call Steve and ask to stay with him and Kayla?
Trey: Paulina was out of line. She’s putting her needs before Abe’s needs. Not only was he victimized, but he was also conditioned to think someone else was his wife. It was deja vu for him all over again, and she didn’t respect his pace or anyone’s advice.
Jack: This is Paulina’s character. As Marlena said, patience isn’t her strong suit. (Remember when Abe was shot and not allowed visitors, and Paulina said, “We’ll see about that!” and stormed off?) And she made it very clear that she was going to argue him out of amnesia!
I don’t blame Abe for not wanting to live with her under the circumstances. He just had weeks of Whitley pretending to be Paulina and trying to convince him to be with her, and he’s not comfortable because he doesn’t remember Paulina at all.
I’m hoping Steve and Kayla can help meditate and that someone can get Paulina to stop pushing so hard.
Christine: I know Paulina isn’t a patient person, but you’d think she’d make more of an effort after hearing Marlena’s advice.
Poor Abe is in such a vulnerable state this likely felt like some sort of attack. Calling Steve and getting himself out of a highly uncomfortable situation was the right thing to do.
My hope is that Steve and Kayla can give Abe a place to feel safe, rest, and recover. Then the memories will likely return on their own.
Will Melinda keep Sloan’s secret?
Trey: I’m disappointed Melinda decided to keep this secret. However, it’s interesting to see how Melinda will use this as leverage. She’s not a fan of Eric or EJ, so she doesn’t have a vested interest in this scenario…yet.
Jack: For now, she will, but ultimately, secrets always come out. Plus, I don’t see Melinda being comfortable with this long-term. If it were to come out that she knew and didn’t do anything, it would harm her reputation and career.
Christine: Yes, but not indefinitely. I’m guessing that this paternity switch story will go on for a while, and I’m still holding out hope that the baby is EJ’s.
Melinda may be enjoying her friendship with Sloan, but there’s only so far she’ll be willing to get dragged into this mess.
Chad took EJ’s advice and confronted Alex. Was he wrong to keep that information from Stephanie and then encourage Alex to spend time with them in front of her?
Trey: I think it’s wrong for Chad to have acted one way and behaved another. He’s turning into the possessive brute that Stephanie accused Alex of being.
Chad should have an honest conversation with her (and Alex) and not try to be two-faced.
Jack: Yes, that was stupid and annoying. I also don’t know how Stephanie didn’t hear that loud discussion. She wasn’t that far away!
Christine: Chad had every right to set boundaries with Alex, but he should have spoken to Stephanie about it first so they were all on the same page.
And Chad was a real jerk to then try to look like he wanted to be friends with Alex in front of Stephanie after practically threatening Alex to stay away. Maybe EJ can pull that kind of thing off, but Chad will eventually get burned.
Eve is a patient at Bayview and interacted with Harris, who apologized for bullying her in high school. Would you like to see more of these two in Salem?
Trey: I would absolutely like to see more Eve! Harris is boring and bland. I’m not a fan of his, so if he never returned to Salem, I’d be okay with that.
Jack: I would love for Eve and Harris to have a second-chance romance while the Bayview staff discourages it because they’re both patients in a mental hospital.
I’d especially love it if Paige was magically resurrected like everyone else and had an opinion on it.
Christine: I’ve always had a soft spot for Eve, so I’d love to see her back in Salem. It would be great to see more of Andrew, her half-brother, and have them interact.
But as far as I’m concerned, Harris can take the road out of town and never look back.
Xander proposed to Chloe. Eric planned to propose again to Sloan. Are you excited by either of these?
Trey: I love watching the nightmare between Eric, and Sloan play out now that she’s keeping a huge secret from him and someone else knows her secret. The baby’s paternity is twisted, and it’s a good soapy storyline.
Xander and Chloe seemed rushed. Why is Xander so quick to go down the aisle? He should just enjoy being a couple without complications (that he knows of).
Jack: Not particularly. They both are moving way too fast. If I had to choose one, I’m more interested in Xander and Chloe, though, with Sarah pregnant with Xander’s baby, I don’t see this relationship lasting.
Christine: Oddly enough, I enjoy Sloan and Eric and am rooting for them, despite the paternity mess. Eric has eventually forgiven Nicole for a lot. Why not Sloan?
And as much as I’ve enjoyed Xander and Chloe’s easy chemistry, we all know this is coming to a head once he finds out that Sarah is pregnant with his child.
But it might be fun to see some conflict between Chloe, who accepts Xander for who he is, and Sarah, who wants him to change or is willing to cut him out of her, and it appears the baby’s life.
Kate admitted to Roman that she encouraged Eric and Sloan to have a baby and tried to hire Harris to kill Megan. Were you Shocked that she came clean about both or by Roman’s reaction?
Trey: No, I’m not really shocked. The opposite, actually. I’m a little upset that, once again, a “Brady” is allowed to bend the rules, but they judge others so harshly.
How can Roman, who once worked in law enforcement, say that Kate’s actions were okay but Sloan’s weren’t?
The only really bad thing (that he knows) that Sloan did was try to sue Paulina and Chanel for her mother’s murder. That pales to kidnapping, torturing, hiring to kill, drugging, etc. Sloan’s misdeeds pale to Kate’s.
Jack: I’m glad Kate came clean. I was pleasantly surprised by Roman’s reaction. He can be judgmental sometimes, and we didn’t need another round of him needing time to think about whether he wanted to be with Kate after this.
I loved him saying he knew who she was when he married her. FINALLY. (Eric, if you have any thoughts about being with Nicole again, learn from this!)
Christine: Kate promised she’d be honest, and she was, eventually. And I’m relieved that Roman didn’t flip out again. I’m tired of people believing the other person will change just because they’ve gotten married.
And Trey was right. Roman was being a hypocrite when it came to Sloan. She didn’t hurt Abe. Her brother did. Roman doesn’t have to like her, but he was kind of an ass when Eric told him that he and Sloan were having a baby.
What annoyed the heck out of you this week in Salem?
Trey: My number one annoyance: Talia is still in Salem.
Runners up are Jada’s towel, Paulina trying to force Abe (and Steve) into an awful situation by rushing Abe’s recovery, and Roman’s hypocrisy of forgiving Kate but holding a grudge against Sloan.
I’m also slightly irked that Wendy interfered with Li and Melinda’s date. I loved the love/hate sparks between them.
Jack: This Leo/Dimitri/Gwen triangle has gotten way out of hand. I think it’s being played totally for laughs, but I found my mind wandering. I’ve had enough of hearing about Dimitri’s magic man part, thanks.
The scenes with Tripp and Leo were just weird, and while I do believe Dimitri might have been closeted because of his snooty family, he went from hating Leo to being unable to keep his hands off him for 5 seconds way too fast to be realistic.
And how is Gwen this naive? I’d rather the twist be that she’s been playing Dimitri the whole time and knows he’s not into her but wants a cut of the money.
Similarly, Nicole is supposed to be an ex-reporter with sharp instincts. How could she not realize what Sloan was up to?
Christine: Why is Talia still lurking around Salem? Send her on her way with Colin. And, as the doctor who actually poisoned the biscuits, she should have gotten way more than just community service.
Plus, why are Jada and Rafe hanging out in the rental room she shares with her sister instead of the big house he lives in alone?
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline in Salem this week?
Trey: There are a lot of fun things this week: Eve’s brief return, Salem weddings that finally went through, Leo’s quips when he woke up with Tripp and realized he confessed everything to Tripp.
I also appreciated Xander pointing out that Victor’s loneliness was his own doing, as well as Xander and Gwen being civil and making amends.
Jack: I loved Harris and Eve’s scenes! I’m annoyed that it appears this was a one-off, and I want to see more of them! Eve is one of my favorite characters, and I’d hoped she and Harris would cross paths since his return.
I also am thrilled that Abe finally came home! Now we can move on to the next part of this story.
Christine: I LOVED Tripp and Leo. I love that Tripp is secure enough that he didn’t freak out over finding Leo cuddled up to him in the morning. And Leo is entertaining with almost everyone, but I find him at his best with people who don’t hate him.
And I’m enjoying this weird Leo/Dimitri/Gwen triangle far more than I thought I would. I have no clue how it’s going to end, but for now, it’s a lot of fun.
Now it’s your turn, Days fans. Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to chime in and tell us your thoughts on this week’s Days. 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.