Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI (3), Peacock screenshot 3
We’re smack in the writer’s strike material, which is why the stories have seemed to shift in tone. And this week was definitely a mixed bag. The drug performances continued to be great, but it didn’t have quite as much splash as last week. We may be in the middle of getting setup, but it’s too soon to tell if any of it will pay off.
How’s It Hanging?
There wasn’t really a cliffhanger this week, was there? I enjoyed the conversations we got as folks actually talked things through — which is why I always enjoyed Xander and Chloe so much. I’m a fan of taking breaks from nonstop action for character beats to explore relationships of all kinds. But if I had to say anything about Friday’s episode, it seemed like it was resetting things.
Theresa and Brady essentially just decided to keep supporting and believing in Tate. It was sweet, though (and I don’t mean the chocolate), and I’m starting to wonder if it’s setting up a triangle with Brady, Alex and Theresa. Or a quadrangle with Kristen in there too?
Look, I don’t exactly ship the horribly unhealthy relationship that is Brady and Kristen… but man, they do have chemistry together! She really livens up that lovable oaf. Speaking of which, Brady, sometimes just stop and think before acting or speaking, please. He might have gotten through to a grieving Nicole if he hadn’t been like, “It could have been Holly’s fault. But that’s fine because look how terrible a mom she had. I mean that in the nicest way, Nicole, as you slept your way through Salem. Anyway, about getting EJ to back off…”
As for Alex, after being a complete jerk to Justin all week (and for a little while now), he’s remorseful. I get his explanation, I do. Sometimes when we don’t know what to do or a situation scares us, we lash out at the people we love. And it was nice for him to acknowledge that. But it’s too little, too late for me. He’s just been infuriating this week. I loved Brady, Theresa and Justin all putting him in his place. Hard. And it’s nice to see that it got through to him. But ugh. Still, I feel like it’s setting him up to think about family and take the next step with Theresa, at the worst possible moment.
And then there’s Nicole and EJ, who finally communicate about Holly and start to realize she isn’t the saint they thought she was. It was a bit of a turn for EJ after his irrational, over-the-top determination to punish Tate. But at the same time, I did appreciate that the way they presented it, it was clear that EJ (at least the part of him he’s willing to acknowledge) has been thinking he’s doing the right thing in prosecuting the poor kid. I’m sure the greater part of him that he doesn’t acknowledge was just doing it for revenge, but it pulled back just enough to give him a human touch again.
More: Dan Feuerriegel’s much-needed advice for EJ
Now, though, we’re getting to those wondrous DiMera resources with EJ’s idea to send Holly to Italy for treatment. It’s not Dr. Rolf, but come on, you can’t have him just swoop in with a magical answer to every medical problem. He’s just been getting used heavily lately, so we’ve been taught a little too much to expect it.
With that said… EJ was off recovering for years. Bo’s been in a coma recovering somewhere in the world since last year. Are we about to lose Holly so soon after getting her? I didn’t think for a second she’d die, but I wasn’t expecting them to send her off. And if she leaves, where does that leave Tate as the only teen left in town? Ah, for the days of an actual Salem high school.
Cough It Up
So Everett and Chad prepared a list of questions for Paulina, then only recorded her official statement on drugs, which amounted to “I’m going to tell people drugs are bad. Problem solved! Spread the word to the rest of the country, we fixed the drug problem!” But are paper owners usually this hands-on to the point that they’re going along to interviews? Or whatever that was with Paulina, giving her full editorial control.
And since we’re on Paulina, that coughing fit was a lot. I wanted to drink some water and clear my throat. Jackée Harry is selling it, but Paulina has got to get out of this denial, find out what’s really wrong and get it treated. For our sake as much as hers.
I’m going to guess the whole point of that meeting, though, is to build up to some exposé at the paper and a health scandal that, combined with EJ’s DA missteps, will result in he and Paulina getting booted from public service. Maybe it’ll happen just as Abe gets his memory back and takes back over being mayor? I don’t know how it works in Salemland, but I’m sure Paulina can step down and just hand it back to her husband.
Pawned
I know the show’s revisited The Pawn stuff a lot over the years and trust me, I get how ridiculous John’s constantly revised family is, but I’m still intrigued by the Konstantin stuff. Because we don’t really know what John’s life was like before Salem. That’s a lot of untapped potential that’s been skimmed over in favor of switching out his dad every other year. Having Konstantin, who’s known Victor for decades and may have had not just loans but dirty dealings of his own, realize John may be someone from his skeezy past makes some sense.
More: How much does Konstantin know about John?
Victor bought The Pawn years back, only for Steve to intercept the “asset” and try making some extra money by demanding cash from the Kiriakis mobster. But what if Victor and Steve’s dealings with John before that bandaged stuff went deeper than we think? We’ve kind of gotten away from Konstantin pulling the wool over Maggie’s eyes and made him a touch more interesting again. But for the love of God, someone talk to Xander about him! They had dealings back in Xander’s villain days, surely he knows something!
Noncanonical?
OK, this week it was tough to ignore some of the missteps and mistakes. Last week, I mentioned things like how odd it was that suddenly Sarah’s charmed and surprised by the Scottishness of the man she’s loved for years and been married to. It was cute enough to gloss over, but it definitely felt like the writing of folks who haven’t had a long tenure with the show.
This week’s mistakes I winced a bit more over. First, they mentioned Eric killing Daniel eight years ago (technically true), then the next day talked about how a newly-17 year-old Holly never knew her dad. The math isn’t mathing, but it never does after SORASing, so it’s best to just not call attention to it.
Then today, Nicole called Eric a recovering alcoholic, when the show’s gone out of its way to say he’s not one, he just watches his drinking since he killed Daniel. And somehow, Chad’s son, Thomas — who lived across the hall from Alex for months — had no clue who he was. Even though Alex has been in his home. I guess Thomas just never peeked out of his room whenever Alex stopped by.
And that makes me think that not all of the character adjustments are intentional. Theresa being a concerned mom is more in line with the Theresa we saw last time she was around. But it’s a huge jump from the Alex-obsessed, money grubber we got this time. I’m loving this Theresa more and more, but it’s a definite pivot.
Harris is suddenly a know-it-all cop who can pull strings to get Lucas out of jail, but I’m pretty sure this whole cop gig is new to him. Just because he was a Navy SEAL doesn’t mean he knows the legal system. And while I guess Harris knew Lucas might balk and wanted Kate on his side to help convince him to be a snitch, it seemed a bit odd that he’d go talk to mommy first to get permission. Don’t worry about ticking Kate off, Harris, you aren’t going to be around long enough for it to matter.
More: We may have gotten our first tease of Gabi’s return
And Chad’s gone from over-the-top puppeteer jealousy with Everett and Stephanie to “Hey man, no big deal that you and Stephanie kissed, but you said you weren’t going to and it kind of hurt my feelings.” I like this Chad, but that’s one heck of a turn.
Stray Thoughts…
- So the staff of The Spectator is… the owner, Chad, Editor In Chief, Everett, and gossip columnist, Leo. I mean, if they can pull off an entire paper with just those three, I guess it should at least be cost-efficient.
- I don’t hate the almost friendly rivalry dynamic between Chad and Everett. Chad hasn’t really had any friends since Sonny and Will left. I hope it doesn’t sour again.
- Um… Lucas. You probably would do better staying under the radar, by just keeping a low profile instead of screaming how you’ll never rat anyone out. But sure, draw attention to your midnight visitors no one would have probably noticed otherwise.
- I care far less about solving this drug problem than I do about the Holly/Tate stuff. Just get rid of Clyde and be done with it. Please.
- Let’s hear it for the Carrie and Belle shout outs!
Check out our photo gallery of 20 folks who should be in jail — you may just be surprised at who in Salem is running around free and should be locked up!
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