Days of Our Lives Round Table: Abigail's Crazy Plan!

Eric and Maggie argue over what’s best for Holly, Lani and Eli became a couple, and Abigail pretended to be Gabby to get back to her kids on Days of Our Lives.

Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by UhSir and Soaps4ever from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate if Eric should have custody of Holly, Lucas and Chloe’s breakup, Lani and Eli making-up, and Abigail’s plan to outsmart Stefan and Gabi.

Is Maggie right? Is Eric not emotionally stable enough to raise Holly on his own?

UhSir: He's certainly been shown to be unstable but I wonder if getting Holly would be the key to fixing that. And as Sarah said, he wouldn't be raising her alone. Pushing Eric though could make him retaliate by getting custody of her and then going away with her. I don't see him getting that drastic but this is soapland.

Jack: Yes, but not because he's an alcoholic -- because he has a hair-temper trigger, turns from love to hate in a second, and holds grudges. Eric is quite frankly abusive to everyone who doesn't live up to his impossible standards.

He is probably about to jump into a relationship with Sarah (until Nicole magically returns from the dead or Sarah does something to disappoint him). That's not someone who should be raising a child on his own!

Soaps4ever: I think Maggie is right that Eric is not stable enough to raise Holly. I think Holly should be in Maggie's custody until it can be best determined who should get final custody. Eric's emotions are all over the place right now so he is not a good choice to take care of Holly.

Christine: Eric is a mess. He has no home, no job, and has a temper that quickly leads to violence. That’s no place for a child, especially an emotionally vulnerable one who just lost her mother.

Like it or not, Maggie can provide a more stable home right now. Eric can have a relationship with Holly, and perhaps they can revisit custody decisions later on.

Lani and Eli are now an official couple. Rate your excitement from 1 (I couldn’t care less.) to 10 (Supercouple territory!)

UhSir: They are a cute couple. I would enjoy watching them if I could get to see some character and relationship development, and that goes for all of the characters and couples for me. I don't want them to be a couple if all I'm going to see is them fighting in another triangle and then another and another.

Jack: I'll give it a 2. These two bore me to death and Lani is still manipulating to get her way as usual, but at least it keeps her away from JJ so there's that.

Soaps4ever: I really don't care one way or the other whether or not Lani and Eli are together. Eli can be likable at times but Lani is not one of my favorite characters on the show.

Although their chemistry is good and they have been through a very tough time together with the passing of their baby and were a comfort to each other. But I feel just meh about them as a couple. So probably a 5.

Christine: They get a 2 from me. They are such a boring couple. The only upside is that this keeps Lani away from JJ, but JJ has almost disappeared lately. I’d have preferred it if Lani had vanished and we got a decent story JJ.

Did Abigail do the right thing pretending to be Gabby to get back to her children?

UhSir: I think Abigail had no choice but to. If she was there for any length of time they likely would have started drugging her. I just need this story to go away.

Jack: This is an awful plan. Abby reinforced Stefan's belief that he didn't rape her and convinced him that his imaginary lover is real and coming back to him.

She's going to have to have sex with him at some point before this is all over, and she also convinced Jenn that her DID is back in order to go ahead with this plan. What she should have done was demanded to see the head psychiatrist for an evaluation so it could be proven she has no mental illness.

Soaps4ever: I think Abigail was just doing what she thought she had to do to be able to get out of the situation she was in, and that was the most effective way to make is happen.

Christine: A mother will do absolutely anything to get back to her children and that’s what we’re seeing here. Is it a flawed plan? Definitely, and I don’t know where she goes from here but at least she’s out of Bayview and has her newborn back.

Now she needs to prove what Gabi’s done so she can get back to Thomas and clear herself.

Were you surprised that Jenn didn’t lie to Rafe the way Hope asked her to? Should she have?

UhSir: I'm not surprised at all and I'm very glad that she didn't lie to Rafe. I hope the next scene we get with Jennifer and Hope has Jennifer laying into Hope for putting her through this.

Jack: First of all, other than the out-of-character sitting on info because Eve said Eric wouldn't love her anymore, Jen isn't a liar.

Secondly, Rafe didn't ask if Hope had spent the night -- he asked if she was still there. And if Jen had lied about that Rafe would have asked to see her and then what? Besides, no one should be covering for Hope. She needs to be caught and stopped from this latest abuse of power.

Soaps4ever: I was a little surprised Jennifer didn't lie to Rafe but I think she was trying to avoid being dishonest because of what happened with Eric. And the truth always comes out anyway, so it's good she didn't lie.

Christine: Actually, Rafe looked at Jennifer and said, “She said she spent the night here last night.” Jenn didn’t respond and gave him a look that clearly said she hadn’t.

I was a little surprised Jenn didn’t cover for Hope because they are so close, but Hope didn’t give her much information and outright lying to someone’s face isn’t in Jennifer’s nature.

Lucas and Chloe officially broke up. What would you like to see for Chloe moving forward?

UhSir: I would love to see Chloe bring Parker to Salem and we get to see her being a single mom. I would also like for her to occasionally sing at Doug's Place for holidays or special occasions. And wishful thinking...Philip comes back and they work on starting over again.

Jack: I'd like to see her remember she has a son and spend some time with him, and get involved in a story that doesn't have to do with romance. Chloe has never been a weak woman who can't survive without a man and I'd rather not see it happen now.

Soaps4ever: Chloe needs a good storyline. She should have a relationship where she has chemistry with the person. It seems like they are hinting of a possible pairing with Brady but who knows. They do have a history together and are on good terms.

But things shouldn't go perfectly smoothly because that wouldn't be interesting. Also, I am sure she will be involved in the custody battle for Holly.

Christine: I was hoping to see Chloe have a real storyline with the club. She should be singing! Maybe even a duet with Doug from time to time. And we should see her dealing with being a single mom to Parker. Chloe deserves a dynamic story all her own and it’s long overdue.

What, if anything, disappointed you the most this week in Salem?

UhSir: Triangles, triangles, triangles. There's no variety. It's very difficult to stay interested when every story is basically the same.

Jack: This Stefan story is more disgusting every week. Now we have a rape victim telling her rapist it wasn't rape and engaging in a subterfuge that will require her to have sex with him again.

I'm also tired of Kate covering for Gabi. She should be stronger than that. And this Leo story can go any time. Instead of kicking Kate out when she could actually help, Sonny should have accepted her help, and instead of crying that he has no choice but to marry Leo, he should go upstairs and tell Victor what's going on.

Finally, can the writers think of something for people who are mad at each other to do besides try to choke each other? Are we really at the point where Ben's strangling three people to death is just normal Salem behavior?

Soaps4ever: The thing that most disappointed me the most was Kate constantly falling victim to Gabi's manipulation. That is just going to backfire on her anyway. Also, Hope and Ted's attempt at trying to get Ben to confess was a low point as well.

Christine: Hope trying to trap Ben into a confession was ludicrous and boring. Sonny kowtowing to Leo instead of going to Victor for help to get rid of the jerk made my head hurt. And Lani and Eli got too much screen time. They put me to sleep.

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

UhSir: I like what Leo and Ted are adding to the show.

Jack: I like Maggie taking a strong position when it comes to Holly. I also really liked seeing John, Marlena, and Abe in the Square. That was a great use of our veteran characters and their friendship! Finally, I laughed out loud when Jennifer said to Stefan that he couldn't love Gabby because she isn't real.

Soaps4ever: I guess my favorite scene was Brady talking to Chloe after Lucas left and Brady had the fight with Eric. They seemed to be a sounding board for each other. That was nice.

Christine: I liked John and Marlena talking about the problems between their sons. They were able to share their feelings like adults without ending up in petty bickering. They acknowledged that horrible things were done but still wanted the best for their family. I wish we saw more of that on the show.