Days of Our Lives Round Table: Which Character Should Leave Salem for Good!

Yo Ling kidnapped John and Paul and spouted all kinds of crazy nonsense and Summer made Maggie cry. Thank goodness we had a romantic wedding and a proposal to make up for it.

TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Mikey from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Chad and Abigail’s wedding, Brady proposing to Theresa, and which character they’d like to say leave Salem asap!

Is there one couple you wish would get more screen time?

Jack: JJ and Gabi. This once every couple weeks thing isn't working for me. How about moving some of the violence off screen so that their romance can be onscreen?

Mikey: Not really. The screen time distribution has evened out a lot over the past 2-3 months. There are a lot of people not in actual couples who could stand to be seen more, though: Eric, Jennifer, Paul, even Nicole, who’s now just an adjunct to the Brady/Theresa/Summer thing.

Christine: I’m glad we’re seeing more of Chad and Abigail but I’d love to see more JJ and Gabi too. Also, I agree with Jack in that I wish they’d ease off on all the violence. Love in the afternoon is way more enjoyable.

Rate Chad and Abigail’s wedding?

Jack: About a 7. I loved Doug stepping aside so JJ could walk Abby down the aisle, though I think he should have been given a minute to change out of his uniform, and Jennifer and Julie's readings as well as their pre-wedding gifts were wonderful. I loved Chad and Abby's vows. Things I did not like: it being so small, JJ wasn't asked to play his guitar for them, Chad insisting they lie to Abby about Ben's whereabouts and Eric starting up with Jennifer/sneaking alcohol when he didn't get his way.

Mikey: I’ll give it a B-. The actual scene content was, by and large, great: the gifts from Abigail's older relatives, JJ walking her down the aisle, the beautiful vows. Even the intrigue surrounding Ben’s escape was done well — enough to add to the drama without detracting from the romantic part of the wedding. But the trappings of the wedding were ridiculous. The guest list was pitiful (their infant son wasn’t even there!), and the “reception” was just six people walking around the living room for 20 minutes before everyone made excuses and left.

Christine: All of the above. I know budgets are tight these days but as far as soap weddings go, the scale of this one was rather pitiful. That said, I thought it was romantic and I was relieved when JJ got to walk his sister down the aisle.

Brady proposed to Theresa. Do you hope they get to walk down the aisle?

Jack: I love this couple but I feel like they're moving too fast and it's only about a year ago that Brady was proposing to Melanie so I hope it's a long engagement so that I can actually be fully excited about their potential wedding.

Mikey: I truly could not care less. I have zero investment in them as a rooting couple because I don’t feel like I ever saw them fall in love. Their destructive dynamic was interesting (though I got tired of it), and it feels like Brady just decided to be in love with her one day last fall.

Christine: I am totally rooting for them. It’s nice to finally see Theresa happy but I do agree that they did move Brady from I don’t want you near me to marry me, rather fast.

Do you understand the John/Yo Ling story and are you enjoying it?

Jack: I neither understand nor enjoy this thing. Yo Ling is a bunch of walking stereotypes, John being held captive went out of style a long time ago and it makes no sense that Yo Ling was American by birth but somehow became Korean after almost being killed on the battlefield. I also think all of these anti-American things he says are in bad taste considering recent terrorist attacks by people who hold similar views about America. (Not to mention EVERYONE knows what happened in Korea so his comment that they don't teach it in the US is ridiculous.)

Mikey: I more or less understand it. I appreciate that they took the effort to weave John’s history (the Alamains, Petrov, etc.) into this new narrative. I don’t need to see another “Who is John Black?” storyline for the rest of my life, but I’m kind of digging the darkness and creepiness that they’re playing. Tobin Bell was a great casting choice.

Christine: Please, please make it stop. This is a horribly bad, convoluted mess of ridiculous stereotypes and bad story tropes. I didn’t think they could make John’s past any worse but they’ve proven me wrong to the nth degree.

Of all of the new characters who have arrived in Salem which would you like to see leave: Dario, Deimos, Summer, or Yo Ling?

Jack: Yo Ling can leave yesterday and it would be great if he took Summer with him. Neither of these two add a single thing to the canvas and they drag down everyone else involved in their storylines.

Mikey: Summer! She’s horrific. I don’t even mind the actress, but I cannot handle another retconned child for Maggie. She just never mentioned this?! It’s insane. The thing about Summer and Dario being cons kind of got my attention, but unless they faked that DNA test, I do not want her around.

Christine: A week ago I would have been buying Summer a ticket to anywhere but Salem and I’m still all for her leaving but Yo Ling is one of the worst characters I’ve been subjected to in a long time. Whenever I see his face I just want to fast forward until it’s gone.

What was your favorite quote, scene or storyline from this week?

Jack: Doug telling JJ and Abby that Jack's namesake should walk her down the aisle. Close second was Eduardo telling Gabi he missed his family and wants a second chance even though he doesn't deserve one.

Mikey: Julie reading the excerpt from Jack’s book at the wedding. The excerpt was beautifully written, and the emotion in the room was palpable. Jennifer’s face almost brought me to tears myself! That kind of stuff is always the heart and soul of Days of Our Lives.

Christine: I loved the scenes with Chad and Abby and then Chad trying to tell baby Thomas a story. He’ll need to work on that. But the baby is so darn cute and I love that he gets to keep the name Devereaux.

Don’t forget to check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives recap and review right here at TV Fanatic.