Days of Our Lives Review: Stabbed in the Back

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Salem is short on heroes.

That's one of the reasons I love the Steve/Kayla storyline right now so much.

Steve's blindness hasn't weakened his character and it isn't being written as if he is helpless because he has a disability.

In fact, Steve is stronger than ever, and his positive attitude and refusal to stop living his life on Days of our Lives during the week of 4-02-18 is downright inspiring.

Steve is the same wisecracking, protective, intelligent guy he was before his blindness, and Salem needs that, especially since nobody was able to see through a bunch of obvious lies elsewhere.

Facing Madness - Days Of Our Lives

Quite a lot of airtime was devoted to Abigail's continued unraveling.

It's no secret how much I hate this storyline.

While Marci Miller is doing a kickass job portraying all the faces of Abigail, the story has been ridiculous and inaccurate from the beginning and it gets worse with every scene.

And now the only reason "Dr. Laura" is getting away with any of this nonsense is because Chad is overlooking an obvious lie. When the only way to keep the story going is to make a major player oblivious and stupid, there's something wrong somewhere.

Dr. Laura: You're a pushy one, aren't you, Dr. Evans? That's why I have to keep Abigail away from you. Because if you start digging around in her head, the truth'll come out, and she can't handle the truth.
[Chad walks in]
Chad: Who's she? And what truth are you talking about?

To Chad's credit, he finally realized things were not quite right with his wife.

Gabigail's explanation of why she claimed Gabi confessed to murder didn't make any sense whatsoever and he could tell something was off about her.

He also heard "Dr. Laura" mumbling to herself about not letting Abigail see Marlena, but she covered by saying she was talking about Gabi not being able to handle her guilt over Andre's murder and he seemed to buy it.

He also bought her explanation for suddenly needing reading glasses and didn't seem to notice that she was falling apart when Rafe questioned her about her testimony.

But worst of all was that he bought her lie about staying with Jen all night.

Abigail had got control of herself for a few seconds after a ridiculous scene where Gabby and Dr. Laura fought with each other about who got to come out and had gone to see Marlena while Chad and JJ talked about how weird Abby's behavior was.

Then Dr. Laura called Chad and said that she was staying with Jen because Jen was very sick, and the next morning gave a mysterious non-explanation of Jen's supposed illness that was short on details.

Chad didn't question this, nor did he wonder why JJ hadn't mentioned his mom being sick when he had just seen him.

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That isn't to say that there isn't anything good that came out of all this nonsense. I loved seeing JJ and Chad bond. They never should have been enemies in the first place, especially since they have similar personalities and I always thought half of Abby's attraction to Chad was because he reminded her of her brother.

Seeing Chad support JJ through the Lani drama and seeing JJ turn to family for help instead of wallowing in depression was a breath of fresh air and I hope we see more of them together.

I also enjoyed seeing Marlena try to counsel Abby and her alters, though I questioned her methods. Telling Abigail that she doesn't need the alters seemed counter-productive since the whole battle for control is based on Gabby wanting to be seen as a real person.

In addition, Marlena should have been aware that she was dealing with Dr. Laura pretending to be Abby and not Abby herself and not let her go home with a promise to come back.

Kayla Gives Bad News - Days of Our Lives

Elsewhere, the baby lie story took some annoying turns related to DAYS' insistence on treating villainous Lani as a heroine.

The story of Eli wanting to be a father to a baby that Lani refused to let him have anything to do with had potential.

This could have been a fascinating story in which both Eli and JJ realized that they were dealing with a sociopath who saw the baby as a means to holding onto JJ and nothing more.

The two might have had to form a reluctant alliance to try to protect the baby from this crazy mother while also trying not to stress Lani out so that she didn't lose the child.

Instead, Lani's evil attitude lasted 30 seconds. She then had cramps and was spun off into some story where her pregnancy is now high risk and she and Eli bonded over both wanting to be there for their baby.

I care about whether Lani and Eli have a healthy baby together almost as much as I cared about whether Jade's father was mean to her when that story was suddenly made front burner.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Lani is not a heroine. 

She is selfish, manipulative, and will lie without a second thought if it means she'll get what she wants.

She doesn't care about her child if it means she can't hold onto JJ, and treating her like a heroine doesn't change the fact that their relationship began with her raping him and ended with him discovering her latest attempt to force him to stay with her was a total lie.

On Opposite Sides - Days of Our Lives

I'm disappointed in Abe for taking his wayward daughter's side in this.

Abe used to be my favorite because unlike most of the Salem PD, he had high moral standards. He had no respect for liars and if anyone was caught in a lie he was quick to call for their punishment.

But Abe's daughter lied for months about who the father of her baby was and used JJ's mental health issues as an excuse to keep the lie going and so far, he hasn't shown an ounce of disappointment or anger at her for it.

Instead, he poured his rage out on Valerie, and her suggesting that Lani's lie messed up a lot of people's lives made him so angry he couldn't speak.

To his credit, Abe quickly made up with Valerie, but only after she said she no longer wanted to keep secrets from him and acted like she was the one who needed to be forgiven.

Meanwhile, Lani told Valerie she needed someone like her in her corner because she needs to hear hard truths and all was well between them.

If I were Valerie, I'd wonder what angle Lani is working now. Lani has done nothing to deserve anyone's trust or support and should not be so easily forgiven by her family for any of this.

Sometimes you choose the challenge. Sometimes the challenge chooses you.

Steve

Thank goodness there were some more Steve scenes to balance out all that ridiculousness!

Kayla took Steve to the cafe, where he spent time with Tripp and reassured him that his life was far from over now that he is blind.

Steve joked around about his "candy cane" and his "cool shades" and then told Tripp that he was approaching this the same way he'd approached everything else: as a challenge to overcome.

This was such a refreshing change from all the excuses other people are making for bad behavior. Steve has an actual disability and is not letting it stop him just like he didn't let the loss of his first eye stop him years ago.

Steve's story is also giving characters a chance to shine who are stuck in storylines that aren't doing them any favors.

Tripp is a prime example of that. In general, he's a go-between and cause of tension for Claire and Ciara and ends up babysitting tese two overgrown preschoolers in adults' bodies.

I'd much rather see him being there for Steve than any of that nonsense.

Abe also took a break from being obnoxious to help Steve practice walking in the Square with his cane. The old Abe was back during these scenes and I was sorry that Lani's nonsense interrupted.

I wondered if Steve knows about Lani's lie. It's hard to believe that he would be cool with it since he is so protective of his family, though characters like Jennifer who should know better are being written to prop Lani so I guess there's no telling what anyone will think or do.

You look happy. Whose life did you destroy today?

Stefan

Steve confronted Stefan and it was all sorts of awesome.

I don't watch General Hospital, but I understand from reading fan forums that their conversation about Steve reminding Stefan of his uncle from another life was a reference to both actors' time on that show. 

That was a clever in-joke that fans of both soaps could enjoy without viewers who don't watch General Hospital getting confused.

And the actual confrontation was yet another testimony to Steve's strength. Blind or not, he could see exactly what Stefan was about and wasn't about to let him get away with messing with Abigail or anyone else.

I just wish Steve and Kayla hadn't left before JJ confronted Stefan too. I'd love to see Steve and JJ team up to take Stefan down!

Related: 7 Ways Days of Our Lives Could (And Should!) Be Using JJ Deveraux

I was proud of JJ, though. Stefan tried to push his buttons by saying that JJ shot Theo and JJ didn't take the bait! I'm still bitter that we haven't seen any proper therapy for JJ on-screen, but I like seeing him doing better anyway.

On a Date - Days of Our Lives

Something was off about Jennifer and Eric's date.

In the past, I've enjoyed this couple but their scenes weren't doing anything for me this time. 

Jen's shock at a romantic movie including sex was ridiculous, and her telling Eric that she was glad he was there for her kids didn't make any sense considering how angry she used to get at Daniel for daring to be there for JJ.

Plus, Eric is supposed to be JJ's therapist so him dating his mother is just wrong.

Jen and Eric weren't the only so-called romantic couple that was uninteresting to me.

Justin set up a candlelight dinner for Adrienne and ordered in burgers. The scenes were cute and if Steve and Kayla had done the same thing I probably would have loved it, but I felt nothing and just couldn't get into them as a couple.

And Will and Paul lay in bed after sex talking about Sonny, while Sonny quickly bedded Leo, who was secretly seducing him on Vivian's orders, then had an awkward conversation with his mother about the new guy in his life.

None of that was romantic, and the Sonny stuff was just annoying. He's not sixteen, and when Adrienne followed that up by teasing Jen about whether she had slept with Eric I couldn't help thinking that Adrienne needs a hobby other than talking about people's sex lives.

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What did you think of Days of Our Lives during the week of 4-2-18?

Is there any hope for the end of this DID storyline, and are you eager for it to wrap up?

Are there any rootable couples besides Steve and Kayla?

Does anyone have any sympathy for or interest in Lani?

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

Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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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.

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