Rafe blew up at Nicole! Kristen blackmailed Brady. Marlena, Kayla, and Kate were saved for the moment. And Gwen made out with a pillow this week in Salem.

Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Mikey from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate Rafe's reaction, Jack's decision to help Gwen over Xander, who will take down EJ, if Gabi and Stefan are meant to be, and more!

Was Rafe right or wrong to call out Nicole on her feelings for and behavior around Eric?

Mikey: The intent and the feelings are right, even if he was a bit brutish about it. Nicole married him. He didn't force her to.

Nicole has been salivating after Eric and seemingly forgets that she's married to Rafe for entire days lately!

Jack: He wasn't wrong in that she's spending a lot of time with Eric, isn't talking to Rafe much and is constantly physically comforting Eric. However, the way he handled it was wrong.

Rafe overreacted, and then to make matters worse, he avoided Nicole for over 24 hours. That kind of behavior is exactly why she didn't want to try again with Eric after he found out about the Xander one-night stand and was willing to forgive her.

Communication is key, and Rafe is blowing it.

Christine: Rafe wasn't wrong to call her out on her behavior concerning Eric, but how he did it wasn't helpful.

In Rafe's defense, he was frustrated, hurt, and angry, having watched Nicole "comforting" her ex repeatedly. But blowing up at Nicole only put her on the defensive, and at that point, neither was listening to the other.

But I give Rafe credit for taking the time to cool off, apologizing, and being willing to talk about the situation like an adult. Even though I don't expect Nicole and Rafe to last as a couple, I found their honest conversation refreshing.

Your turn, Days fans. Will Rafe and Nicole's marriage last, and if not, why?

Should Jack have offered a job at the Spectator to Gwen, Xander, or both?

Mikey: At least Xander has actual work experience. I'm not sure what he ever did as CEO of Titan, but he held the role and seemed no more disastrous than any of the other 20 people who've been in that seat in recent years.

But neither Xander nor Gwen has the scruples or trustworthiness to make a good hire.

Did they even specify what kind of job he would give Gwen? I could see maybe giving her a chance in the mailroom or as a custodian, but since this is Salem, she'll probably have to be the Editor-in-Chief, a.k.a. the CEO position of journalism.

Jack has been burned so many times by this girl that I'm not sure showing her any kindness is wise.

Jack: It depends on what either of them would be doing. "I need a job" is not actually a qualification.

The two don't need to work in the same department, so if Jack wanted to, he could put Xander in the mail room and Gwen sorting tips from the tip line in another part of the office. That way, they wouldn't have to interact.

I think Jack is thinking of how he and Jennifer met and fell in love at the Spectator. It's a shame that wasn't brought up because it would have been a perfect use of history.

Christine: Despite her many, many flaws, Jack loves his daughter and wants to help her turn her life around, so I understand him giving her a job at The Spectator.

And as much as I'd like to see him help out Xander, too, I understand why he didn't.

Gwen is still in love with Xander, and the only thing that will help her get over that is time and space. It would be difficult to get that if they're running into one another daily in the breakroom.

So, considering the circumstance, I think Jack made the right call.

Now that the orchid serum has saved Marlena, Kayla, and Kate, how would you rate this storyline?

Mikey: On a scale of 1-10, maybe... 4? It was nice to get some family stuff and solidify Kate and Roman's relationship, but other than the Kristen/Brady angle with the orchid, it was a total non-event.

Did anything happen? They sneezed, they went to the hospital, everyone stressed for a few days, and then the cure was delivered, and that was that. What was the point?

Jack: I'm giving it a 2. My favorite villain disappeared as soon as he'd poisoned the women, not counting one nasty note, and the whole thing was resolved in 30 seconds. They only had this story to give Kristen a way to break up Brady and Chloe.

A proper story would have included Steve, Roman, and John going on an adventure to find the orchid, with Orpheus opposing them at every turn, until finally they defeated him and got back with the antidote just in time to save their lady loves. Instead, they sat around feeling sad until the serum magically appeared and magically worked. Boo!!!

It's a 2 instead of a 1 because I love Orpheus. But this story was not worthy of him.

Christine: I give it a 3. Considering three major characters' lives were on the line, it was a rather lackluster drama. John, Steve, and Roman didn't do much besides sitting vigil bedside and wringing their hands.

I know they don't have the budget for grand adventures, but there needed to be more to this story because I never really feared any of them would die, so I never felt there was any real peril.

Would you prefer Stefan to be romantically involved with Gabi or Chloe?

Mikey: Gabi, for sure. Brandon Barash and Camila Banus have good chemistry, and they're building some nice angst for "Stabi" as the clear rooting couple here, with Li and Chloe as spoilers.

I liked the potential of Stefan with Chloe way back when, but it was never anything of note, and most of what appealed to me about it then was Chloe's messy history with Vivian, who's kind of a non-factor now.

Jack: Gabi. Stefan and Chloe never were anything, and he's only into her because he's been brainwashed. That needs to be undone so he can choose freely.

Christine: Gabi. Chloe and Stefan make for good friends, but there's no passion or chemistry there.

This entire storyline is about waiting for the payoff of Gabi and Stefan's reunion.

EJ took over as CEO, but Johnny, Wendy, Ava, Gabi, and Li would all like to take him down. Who, if anyone, do you think will best EJ?

Mikey: Someone will, and then he'll best them back, and this will go on and on long after a nuclear apocalypse takes the rest of us out.

I find it so difficult to take these business power struggles seriously when the CEO never does anything but argue with other people about being CEO.

It would be a lot more interesting if they'd introduce some kind of business objective, pet project, or anything even a little specific.

Jack: I'm rooting for Wendy and Johnny. Maybe they'll cross paths with Ava, and the three of them will work together.

Christine: My first choice is Ava, but having Johnny, Wendy, and Ava team up sounds like fun.

And it appeared that Ava was going to enlist Xander as he needed a quick infusion of cash. I'm sure Xander wouldn't mind making life miserable for EJ after EJ gave him that beatdown and took back the $1 million.

I love EJ, but it's entertaining to watch someone take him down a few pegs when he gets too full of himself like he is now. And I really want to see Ava end up on top.

Did Brady give in to Kristen too easily? Is there anything he can do to save his relationship with Chloe?

Mikey: Way too easily. I cannot fathom why he didn't go to Chloe and tell her what Kristen was demanding, and then the two of them could fake a breakup while figuring out a way to get one over on Kristen.

Brady has never been the smartest Salemite, but this is particularly goofy of him.

Jack: He absolutely did. He had so many opportunities to get the upper hand, and he didn't do it.

Kristen's threat to withhold second doses would have been empty if he'd told Rex about it. Rex could have synthesized extra serum while he was testing it.

Brady also could have told John and Chloe what was going on or dropped hints they could easily pick up. He and Chloe could have pretended to break up to get the meds but secretly still been together.

There were zero reasons to give in to Kristen. Why is Paulina the only person in Salem who has ever heard of NOT giving in to blackmail?

If Brady wants to save his relationship with Chloe, he needs to tell her the truth, and they need to work together to neutralize Kristen.

Christine: Brady could have gotten ahead of this. He could have spoken to Rex to see if he could duplicate the serum. He could have told John what was happening so they could have worked together to neutralize Kristen.

And he could have explained what was happening to Chloe so they could devise a plan to get through this until Marlena, Kayla, and Kate were safe.

But as mentioned above, Brady has never been the brightest bulb in Salem, so it's not surprising he's allowing Kristen to call all the shots.

What disappointed you the most this week in Salem?

Mikey: A lot, now that I think about it! The storyline about the poisoned ladies fizzled out like a balloon someone forgot to tie.

Brady's aforementioned stupidity was frustrating... and the CEO stuff always feels so lifeless to me. Not my favorite week, though there were smaller things I enjoyed.

Jack: This Brady/Kristen nonsense is bad enough, but they misused Orpheus and several veteran characters for the sole purpose of allowing Kristen to blackmail Brady.

Also, Jack is too forgiving when it comes to Gwen. How many times has she burned him already? And why are we calling the horrible things she did "mistakes"?

Finally, enough already with the Nicole/Eric nonsense. And Jada, stop eavesdropping and then gossiping about what you heard. Grow up already.

Christine: Gwen making out with the pillow was cringe-worthy and embarrassing to watch.

I wish we had seen Xander ask Victor if he could move back into the mansion.

And we got nothing about Paulina being blackmailed all week. I hate it when they go too long in updating a story.

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

Mikey: This was a quick moment, but when Joey made that comment about Wendy "choosing the best Johnson" and Tripp made that face in reaction, I cackled. That was funny!

Jack: I loved all things Wendy, but especially her scenes with Gabi. I would love for these two to decide to forget Dimera Enterprises and open their own company together!

Christine: Tripp punching EJ. As much as I don't want to condone violence, sometimes EJ takes things too far, and he had it coming to him. And Li protecting Tripp was one of the few times I've liked Li Shin.

Now it's your turn, Days fans.

Go to the SHOW COMMENTS button and tell us what you thought of this week's Days of Our Lives. And if you'd like to chat more about the happenings in Salem, check out Jack Ori's weekly Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.