Abe got arrested, Lucas and Brady fell of the wagon, Marlena botched her rescue phone call, and Chloe returned to town this week in Salem.

Where to even begin?  Let’s start with Abe.

Does anyone believe that Abe was really in cahoots with Dario? Or that Hope and Rafe would make a public spectacle out of arresting their long time friend?

Admittedly, that would be a great twist if the writers could come up with an adequate reason for it, but I certainly can’t come up with one myself, not to mention that there’s been little to no build up to the downfall of Abe Carver. 

Abe has always been one of Salem’s most solid, law abiding citizens, so much so that he borders on boring, so believing he made a deal with Dario Hernandez to produce counterfeit bills is pretty ridiculous. 

On the surface, the charges against Abe appear to be just another in a long line of red herrings concerning Dario’s schemes and Deimos’ murder. Perhaps it’s all a ruse to give the real suspect a false sense of security…I’m guessing it’s Raines, but time will tell. 

Speaking of murdering Deimos, is there anyone left in Salem who hasn’t either been accused of, or confessed to, killing the man? The Salem jail must have a revolving door for anyone who even thought about killing Deimos.

Not to mention how convenient it was that they let Chad and Sonny share a cell so they could share memories of the murder.

A soap murder plot with lots of viable suspects can be fun, but Days has taken this one past the point of all credibility. Every one was drugged against their will. Even if they did kill him, is it really their fault? 

Chloe popped back into Salem and jumped into several storylines…but I have one problem with her reappearance.

When did Dario supposedly call Chloe to hire her for the club? Before he got arrested, when he was blackmailing Abigail to go in to Witness Protection with him, or just before he skipped town? It was a lame excuse for bringing Chloe back. 

But I’ll put all that aside and simply hope that they write Chloe as a sane, likable character this time around. She certainly seemed that way with Lucas, Brady, and Eric. 

Lucas falling off the wagon hurt. He’s been sober for so long and he’s worked so hard for it. To have someone like Bonnie Lockhart derail that is a tragedy. 

Chloe: Lucas, I was married to you long enough to learn the 12 step lingo. No person can force another person to drink.
Lucas: Well, I guess another one of my exes didn't read the big book, did they?
Chloe: Oh lord, who was it? Nicole? Carrie? Don't tell me Sami's back in town.
Lucas: Don't say that! Don't say that! Please don't say that. But thank you for the death march down memory lane.

• Permalink: Don't say that! Don't say that! Please don't say that. But thank you for the death march down...

The only upside is that Lucas seems to be pulling himself back together quickly and taking responsibility for his decision to take that drink.

I wish we could say the same for Brady but this Days of Our Lives quote says it all.  

You're an idiot.

Nicole

• Permalink: Nicole: You're an idiot.

That sums it up nicely. 

For once I was happy with Victor’s response. He didn’t let Brady off the hook but still tried to be supportive, in his own way. His only misstep was blaming Chloe for Brady becoming an addict in the first place, but expecting Victor to be perfect will only lead to constant disappointment.  

Brady doesn’t think things through. Heaven forbid Brady have gone and actually spoken to any of the people he’d decided betrayed him. Why bother having an actual conversation with Nicole or Eric when he could just secretly fume and lash out. 

Brady was quick to believe his brother killed Deimos and couldn’t wait to turn evidence over to the police, which doesn’t say much for Brady’s character.  Of course, as Victor pointed out, the moment Brady took that amulet, he tainted the evidence, making it virtually useless. 

Nicole and Brady never change. Even when her motives are good, Nicole can’t help but keep secrets and it always ends badly for her. 

Brady continually jumps to conclusions, and falls back into self destructive behavior. What was even more disturbing was that, unlike Lucas, Brady took almost no responsibility for his drinking; instead we heard a lot of excuses for his behavior. 

That doesn’t bode well for Brady. 

On the flip side, both Joey and Tripp were willing to stand up and take responsibility for their actions. 

Tripp’s turn around was rather abrupt, but perhaps that happens when you realize you were almost willing to murder someone because you were given false information. 

Tripp’s comeuppance to Kayla, and her acceptance of it was one of the better scenes of the week; my only complaint was that he never said that Jade was the one who told him Kayla was responsible for murdering his mother. That reveal could have been satisfying. 

Joey’s journey has taken far longer, but it was good to see both Steve and Roman realize that protecting Joey hasn’t worked. 

And Kayla’s reaction was painful in the best, most realistic way. What mother wants her son to face prison time? Kayla was desperate to protect him. 

Although we never really saw Joey growing up, his story about stealing from grandma Caroline helped Kayla come to terms with this being Joey’s decision. 

My guess is that Joey will get a short sentence because he was a minor at the time, and was forced to keep quiet by his parents. 

The best thing that could happen to Joey is that he leaves, and then is recast before he returns. 

Now we get to the stupidest storyline in Salem.  

Hattie, Bonnie and Anjelica kidnapping Marlena and Adrienne.

As Roman himself said, “You can’t be serious.”

Marlena’s phone call to John was such an overplayed trope that I couldn’t even be bothered to roll my eyes. She wasted so much time yelling into a phone that was going dead, when she could have sent him a text message with actual pertinent information. 

Watching Adrienne beg, plead, and cry in prison wasn’t any fun either. 

The only upside, and it was minor, was watching Roman and John interact after Hattie kissed Roman…

You can still throw a hell of a punch there, dude.

Roman

• Permalink: You can still throw a hell of a punch there, dude.

After John’s initial anger, it was good to see these two go back to acting like rational adults. 

I’m really hoping that Kate is involved in this story. I love her with both John and Roman, and she’s devious enough to figure out Anjelica’s ridiculous plot. 

At least that’s my hope, because right now this insane story just makes me want to change the channel. 

Jack Ori will be back next week with his Days of Our Lives review, but you can see more about the happenings in Salem with our Days of Our Lives round table this Sunday. 

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