Days of Our Lives Round Table: What's Up With Nicole and Xander?

Hope filed for divorce, Jack was elected mayor, Xander and Nicole were secretly working together, and Haley and JJ went on the run this week in Salem.

Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Tghca from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Xander and Nicole’s master plan, Melinda Trask’s back story, Hope and Rafe’s breakup, and who gives the best advice in Salem.

Do you have any idea why Nicole and Xander are working together or what their plan is?

Jack: Not sure what Nicole's goal is, but this reminds me of when Theresa needed Xander to get her out of Mexico and agreed to work with him, but was just using him. I think this is something similar.

Tghca: I am still of the theory that the woman who we all think of as Nicole is either really Kristen DiMera in a mask or Nicole has to be under some kind of mind control. However, as far as their plan your guess is as good as mine.

Christine: Wow! I wish I knew. Xander wanted the position at Titan, which he got because Brady felt so bad for Nicole he would do anything to get rid of Xander for her.

But what does Nicole get out of this deal? Does she know Holly is alive? Is she mentally unstable because of all she’s been through. I really can’t wait to find out.

Hope and Rafe both signed their divorce papers. On a scale of 1 (I love these two as a couple and don’t want them to break up) to 10 (Please, don’t tease me. Let it really be over!) what’s your reaction?

Jack: How about 100? Hope and Rafe are the worst couple Salem has had in a long time. They bring each other down, do nothing but fight, and have no chemistry. Please let Rafe be the next amnesia victim and forget he ever knew Hope.

Tghca: My reaction is a 8 out of 10 because there is a little bitty part of me that wants them to get back together but then a very, very huge part of me that wants these two over and done with.

Hope is better with a love interest that is worthy of her, and as far as Rafe, he's more likable when he is not with Hope.

My ideal pairing for Hope would be Roman considering Roman hasn't had a love interest in a while and yeah I know he is Bo's brother, but so what? My ideal pairings for Rafe would be either Nicole or even Chloe.

Christine: 10+! These two are terrible together. Hope, who was always confident, is whiny and insecure around Rafe. Rafe is overbearing and controlling with Hope. These two need to stay far, far away from one another.

What kind of mayor do you think Jack will be for the town of Salem?

Jack: Well, while Hope is a terrible commissioner who deserves to be fired, so far Jack seems to be making impulsive decisions based on having his feelings hurt, so that doesn't bode well.

I also wonder whether Eve rigged the polls somehow and if Jack will be un-mayored at a later date.

Tghca: Jack has shown that he will certainly be a vicious mayor. Anything to win an election even if it means selling out his own son and betraying him by exposing Haley.

Jack is nothing more than a puppet doing Eve's bidding. He is clearly not the brains of their operation. He is doing whatever Eve wants. If she says jump, Jack asks how high?

Jack can't think for himself, so how can he be expected to run a whole town? Especially a town where most people, including his own family, can't stand the sight of him.

Christine: Oye. Since his return, Jack has been selfish, petty, and easily manipulated by Eve. None of that bodes well for the residents of Salem.

Who gives the best advice in Salem? Who gives the worst?

Jack: Jennifer gives good advice but it's often stuff she hasn't followed herself which makes it harder to get behind what she has to say. JJ is usually right in what he says and has some passion behind it.

Maggie's advice is good except she's got blinders on when it comes to Sarah's relationships. And surprisingly, Stefan often gives good advice to Ben.

As for worst advice giver, sadly lately it's Marlena, who should know better being a therapist and all.

Tghca: Definitely Roman gives the best advice because he's seen it and done it all but also if you want someone to be objective, he is the man to go to.

Definitely Kate gives the worst advice given her track record but also the messes she usually makes and then by the skin of her teeth she barely manages to get out of it. She basically could lead others (ie. Gabi and Sami in the past) to do the same which she has.

Christine: Generally, Maggie, but lately her judgment seems off. Jennifer’s advice isn’t bad, unless it’s about Hope and Rafe. And even Stefan’s advice has been pretty good since the recast.

The worst advice giver in Salem is definitely Marlena, which is quite sad given her profession. She’s become judgmental, untrustworthy, and disrespectful of other’s wishes.

Now that you know Melinda Trask’s back story, does it change the way you see her character?

Jack: No, because this seems contrived and made up in the last week. Plus she could have easily helped Haley with her immigration status, being a high profile attorney and all, and instead ran a mayoral campaign based on the importance of deporting undocumented immigrants.

She created the situation Haley is in YEARS after her accidental pregnancy. That doesn't score her any points with me.

Tghca: For me, yes because it adds a whole other layer to Melinda as a character. In my opinion, it makes her somewhat sympathetic. However, given Trask's past and how she has treated people in this town, especially her own daughter, is exactly why in some ways that I can't.

Christine: In part, yes. I’d suspected Haley was actually her daughter for some time and the sense of shame ingrained in Melinda by her father at a young age explains a lot of her actions and why she kept quiet.

That said, she’s a grown up who could have been making better choices and none of it excuses how horribly she frequently treats people.

If you could have told off one character in Salem this week, who would it have been?

Jack: Does that obnoxious ICE agent count? Or how about obnoxious Jack who was so smug when he talked to Abe? Also, Hope and the games she's playing with her divorce from Rafe can go any time now.

Tghca: Definitely Jack, but rather than tell him off, I would have done a whole lot worse by beating the crap out of him, memory or no memory, and he would have deserved every minute of it given how he has handled himself and other people.

Christine: Claire for trashing Maggie’s living room. I don’t care how upset she is, nothing justifies purposefully destroying someone else’s property.

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline this week on Days of Our Lives?

Jack: I liked JJ telling Jack that he was done with him forever. Also Victor and Kate had some great lines during their conversation about Brady and Xander.

Tghca: My favorite quote was by Tripp after he found out what Claire had done and he called her a destructive little bitch because that is what Claire is at the end of the day.

Christine: Xander had some of the best lines. I couldn’t help but laugh when he said that he was going to hand the recording of Nicole confessing to Deimos’ murder to the police. “At least the Salem PD will finally solve a case. “ LOL!

Want to check out more about the happenings in Salem? Check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.