Failed weddings are a soap opera staple. 

Of course, it would be nice if the mismatched couples that have their wedding ruined were mixed in with some actual, loving couples who viewers could be excited to see tie the knot.

Still, though, seeing Rafe and Hope's wedding implode after their silly plot to keep it secret that they had eloped the day before the wedding was very satisfying.

I really don't know why Hope was in such a rush to get married that she had to do it the day before.

She'd been putting off her wedding to Rafe for a long time and the couple had had several fights about it, but Julie was all set to marry them the next day! 

Plus the whole idea of going camping in the middle of winter as part of this surprise elopement didn't make any sense at all.

Hope: You have the rings? Of course you have the rings. I hope nobody's upset that we're already married.
Rafe: Then maybe we should tell them we're already married.
Hope: No, we should stick to the original plan. Let's tell everyone at the wedding that we're already married.

• Permalink: No, we should stick to the original plan. Let's tell everyone at the wedding that we're...

I guess having Rafe and Hope already be married when the secret came out about Rafe and Sami's one night stand was supposed to create extra drama. But it seemed entirely unnecessary.

Were the writers throwing a bone to fans of the couple by letting them have 24 hours of wedded bliss before everything fell apart?

Anyway, the most annoying thing about the Smith Island wedding was hearing Hope and Rafe talk about it. Rafe is apparently irony impaired, since he kept pushing Hope to tell everyone their secret while keeping a much bigger one of his own!

Hope's plan to announce to all the wedding guests that they had actually got married already seemed either ridiculous or downright cruel. Why invite a bunch of people to a wedding and ask your stepmother to officiate just to announce the whole thing was redundant?

That's a mystery we will never have an answer to, though, because Claire spilled the beans about Rafe and Sami before Hope could make her announcement!

I thought the setup for this reveal was perfect. 

Claire had recorded Tripp and Ciara's conversation out of spite because Ciara wouldn't tell her her secret. It was part of the petty feud the girls have been embroiled in since Ciara's return, but Claire really got in over her head!

I liked that she agonized over her decision because it made her more human rather than being a one-note antagonist to Ciara.

And Ciara was making more of an effort to get along with Claire until she found out she'd recorded that conversation! Then all hell broke loose and Claire ended up telling partially because her feelings were hurt.

The reveal scenes were the kind of over-the-top drama that I enjoy rather than the nonsense that Claire and Ciara have been going around in circles over for the past month or so.

Doug: You look as beautiful as you did the first day we got married.
Julie: I think it's a lot easier to be the bride than to be the wedding officiant.

• Permalink: I think it's a lot easier to be the bride than to be the wedding officiant.

And while we all knew the wedding was going to fall apart, Julie's desire to give her stepdaughter the perfect wedding made these scenes all the more sweet.

I'm no fan of Hope and Rafe as a couple and the end couldn't come soon enough for me, but I almost wished I could like them. That's how lovely the pre-wedding scenes were.

Doug supporting a super nervous Julie was the best part. Doug always softens Julie, and I was glad she was too focused on the wedding to go for another round of whining about Gabi killing Nick.

I also couldn't help thinking that this wedding disaster was in some ways karma for the way the previous writers ruined Hope and Aiden.

The setup was almost exactly the same, with an oblivious Hope making jokes that viewers knew weren't really funny and Julie and Doug being thrilled that their little girl was going to start married life with the man of her dreams.

I still hate that Aiden's character was destroyed at the Hope/Aiden wedding, but I loved seeing Rafe sweat bullets and Hope almost discover his secret ahead of time.

If only he had told her instead of half of Salem learning before she did, he wouldn't have been in this predicament in the first place! 

I can't wait to see how Hope responds to Claire's pronouncement, especially since it's obvious that Ciara already knew and said nothing for months.

I just wish Lani and her baby lie weren't part of this wedding, though if that secret comes out too I guess it'll be acceptable.

And JJ spent time with Gabi at the wedding after Lani disappeared, so there's hope that he will be out of this awful relationship soon.

Lani is learning that JJ isn't as dumb as she thinks all men are -- he keeps asking about her baby bump and her vague ramblings about all women carrying differently aren't going to work forever.

But she's continuing the lie and JJ is continuing to be over-the-top overjoyed about this baby, as is his whole family, and Valerie continues to be the only one who sees any problem with the whole thing.

I'm more and more disappointed in Eli the more this drags out. He didn't talk to Valerie for months when he found out she'd lied about who his father is and that his real father was dead!

He keeps saying he doesn't want to do that to his kid, but he's doing it so his sentiments don't really matter.

Everyone needs to stop walking on eggshells around JJ, which doesn't do his recovery from depression a bit of good, and Eli needs to tell Lani that he is not giving up his child just so she doesn't have to confess to sleeping with a man other than JJ!

Lani: Not that this is any of your business, but I am marrying JJ because I love him.
Valerie: You love him so much that you'll pass off another man's baby as his?
Lani: You mean like you did?

• Permalink: You mean like you did?

Lani was downright mean to Valerie, throwing her own mistake in her face just so she wouldn't have to admit that what she's doing is wrong.

I've had to accept that Days is never going to write Lani as the villain that she is, but it's obvious she doesn't love JJ and just wants to hold onto him.

It's painful to watch JJ profess love to her when there was never any love there to begin with -- just a woman taking advantage of a man who was too drunk to consent and then using his mental health issues against him to stop him from leaving her.

Abigail's mental health issues are not being treated much better than JJ's are.

Stefan read a book by Kim about DID, which was a nice nod to Kim's history on the show but which was full of myths about people with the illness such as the idea that everyone who has it is a violent murderer.

Considering the national dialogue around mental health issues and violence, this is irresponsible as well as inaccurate and I want it to stop.

In addition, I thought it was out of character for Vivian to be unable to handle Gabigail.

This is a woman who buries her enemies alive and steals other women's embryos to implant in her own womb. I found it unbelievable that she didn't know how to deal with Abby wearing a dark wig, calling herself Gabi Hernandez, and threatening Vivian with a poker when she argued with her.

Chad also had a run-in with one of Abby's alters, although he didn't seem aware that that's what was going on. Abby was her usual sweet self but she talked in some strange ways and didn't seem very interested in kissing him.

I want Chad to find out the secret sooner rather than later. Stefan keeping it to himself is doing Abby as much good as Lani hiding from JJ that this baby isn't his.

Just once, I want a mental illness storyline to be about getting the ill person help rather than being a plot point or an excuse for someone else to tell lies.

I never thought I'd feel sorry for Gabi, but I've got to admit I'm rooting for her this time.

It would be nice if they actually showed her with Arianna, but I found her fear that she'll be separated from her daughter forever when she is innocent believable and emotional anyway.

She has no idea that her severely ill best friend is the one framing her, but her life is falling apart anyway.

I'm hoping that she will bond with JJ over this, since he was held as a person of interest in Deimos' murder over almost as flimsy evidence as there is against Gabi for Andre's.

Ever since Gabi helped JJ during his suicide attempt, I've enjoyed their friendship again and if we're not getting Paige back (which is always going to be my number one choice for JJ), then Gabi is a far better alternative than Lani and her lies.

I just wish the show would acknowledge that Lani raped JJ in the first place and that Gabi's reaction to his confession about it was inappropriate.

Anyway, I almost believe that Eli loves her given how hard he is working to prove her innocence, even though he's also keeping it secret that he is the father of Lani's baby.

What did you think of Days of Our Lives during the week of 2-26-18?

Did you enjoy the wedding disaster?

Did you think Claire was right to do what she did?

How long will it be before JJ realizes he is not the father of Lani's baby?

Weigh in below and don't forget to check back on Sunday for the Days of Our Lives Round Table.

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.