Days of Our Lives Review: Bullets Fly in Salem

Bullets were flying once again around Salem, which should be listed one of the most dangerous towns in America by now.

Jack Ori had to take the week off, so I’m stepping in and taking over his Days of Our Lives review. Not to worry, he’ll be back soon.

Now, back to Salem.

Chloe can’t seem to catch a break. All she wants to do is go on a picnic with Holly and fly a kite. Sounds simple enough, and Stefan was doing all he could to make that happen.

I’m waffling over my feelings about Stefan. I hate the way he’s always popping up in Chloe’s bedroom unannounced. It’s pushy and way to forward, but it’s not as though Chloe tells him to get out so I can’t really blame him for thinking it’s okay.

Then he goes all out to set up a day to show Holly how to fly a kite and he seems like he could be a sweet guy. In those moments he makes me want to forget all about the Gabby nightmare of a storyline and give him a second chance, especially since the recast.

Then Brady interferes. Is the show trying to make me hate Brady and Gabi?

Brady’s go-to move with people he claims to care about is to lie, manipulate, and blackmail to get what or whom he wants, and he’s pulling out all the stops with Chloe.

The upside is that Chloe’s calling him out on it. When she realized what Brady was up to, she was furious — “Now I remember why I broke up with you the first time and the second time” — but she wouldn’t go off on him in front of Holly.

That’s called responsible parenting and she may be one of the only people in Salem to have earned that title of late.

Chloe was right. Brady jumps from relationship to relationship as though he can’t stand to be on his own.

Brady claims to trust Chloe, unless she disagrees with him, then he’ll use almost any means necessary to get her to do what he thinks is right. It makes Brady look like an obsessive, borderline abusive boyfriend and I don’t blame Chloe for running in the opposite direction.

Plus, Brady didn’t seem all that interested in protecting Chloe until he learned she’d moved in with Stefan. He could have stood up to Victor long before now, but he didn’t, and Chloe shouldn’t live in a home where someone is always verbally abusive to her.

But it wasn’t just about getting Chloe away from Stefan, it was the lengths that Brady was willing to go to do it.

Brady’s basically pimping Gabi out in order to get Chloe, and Gabi’s going along with the plan in order to get revenge on Stefan and take his money.

Gabi offering to have hate sex with Stefan so he can get Gabby out of his system is reminding me of the horrible Stefan/Gabigail storyline, which I’d much rather forget, and adding to it yet another disgusting twist.

I used to like Gabi. When she helped save JJ I thought she was on her way to being one of Salem’s new heroines and it’s sad to see how far she’s sunk.

They’ve turned her into a conniving, lying witch who snarks at Ciara and offers to bed Stefan instead of being at the hospital where the father or her daughter is having brain surgery.

Even worse, the moment Stefan showed her some kindness at the hospital, all she could think about was how to use it to her advantage. I never thought I’d find Stefan sympathetic but this plot proves that anything is possible.

Before we get to all of those gunshots, let’s talk about Ben and Ciara.

I’m going to skip the whole, how can you expect the audience to accept a serial killer in a love story thread because it’s clear this storyline isn’t going anywhere, and the longer it goes on, the more it’s grown on me.

Trust me, I’m as shocked as anyone, but Robert Scott Wilson has won me over. Ben’s normal brooding is more attractive than most on the show, but couple it with moments like when he looks completely gob-smacked by Ciara wearing his t-shirt and the former serial killer with the killer abs suddenly looks pretty adorable.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that they are doing a slow buildup to Ben and Ciara finally sleeping together.

The last few years Days has had any potential couples hit the sheets so fast that it was a blink and you missed it event. It’s about time the powers-that-be remembered that real romance requires a slow burn to get us truly hooked, and so far, despite my initial misgivings, Ben and Ciara appear to have the potential of a long-term super couple.

Now back to those bullets flying… Eli reminded us that he’s a former Federal agent with real training. But I don’t understand why the cartel decided to split it’s forces by sending men to both Doug’s Place and the Dimera mansion. If they want to take out Chloe, then concentrate on Chloe.

And shouldn’t the Salem PD have escorted Chloe somewhere safe? I know Ramon was dead but Hector was still on the loose and Chloe is still a target, but the Salem PD only seems to care about Ciara.

Back at the Dimera mansion, I’m relieved that Ciara didn’t get shot. I’m sure that Ben’s angst would have been worth watching but he probably would have been blamed for her being there in the first place, and I’m tired of Ciara constantly being in peril.

Let’s not make her the next generation Marlena.

It’s good to see Ciara fighting back. That’s something I’d expect from Hope and Bo’s offspring.

But I hate that Rafe got shot!

Not because I care so much about Rafe but it finally feels as though we’re on the verge of getting rid of Rafe and Hope as a couple and I fear the writers are going to use this injury as a way to get them back together.

Is there someone I can beg, or maybe pay off, to make sure that doesn’t happen?

I haven’t enjoyed Rafe and Hope in ages, and I’m one of the few who thought they might make a good couple way back when. I’m willing to admit that I was horribly wrong.

I don’t even care what happens with Ted. He’s nothing more than an occasionally charming, occasionally annoying distraction.

If they want to use him as a wedge to pry apart Rafe and Hope, fine, but his supposed “love” for Hope and his mysterious phone calls are superfluous and generally not that interesting.

Is he working with the cartel? Is he talking to Diana Colville? Does he have some other super-secret plan? I just don’t care.

Hope should have dumped Rafe for good after he slept with Sami. Hope deserves better and it made me angry that no one else in Salem seemed to think so. Every person Hope came across pushed her to take Rafe back.

Now I fear they’ll be pushing Hope to help raise Jordan’s baby in order to save her marriage. Hope is in her 50s. She’s raised her children and even tragically lost one. I hate Rafe and Lani acting like taking care of a baby is no big deal. It’s a huge commitment and it won’t help their already shaky marriage.

If Rafe wanted kids he should have married someone else.

Speaking of marriages, there were two weddings in Salem this week but neither was worth attending.

My head hurt after watching Jack and Eve’s wedding. It was nothing more than a piece of political theater.

The judgmental pastor stepping in to marry the arrogant couple was the icing on a very unappetizing cake.

As if to double down on the bad taste, Eve took the time to gloat to Jennifer about how she nabbed Jack, and Jack decided to have sex with Eve. Gross.

I think I’m going to change the channel now. Can someone send me a message when the real Jack finally wakes up and his story is worth watching again?

The second wedding was Tripp and Haley.

Oddly enough, I like Tripp and Haley. They make good friends but what Tripp is doing to Claire is completely wrong.

Yes, Claire can be a self-absorbed brat but not even she deserves to have to stand back and watch her clueless boyfriend marry someone else as though it’s no big deal.

Claire’s parents have been mostly MIA since she was in her teens and it’s left her holding on too tight to every guy she’s been interested in. If she had more self-esteem she’d dump Tripp and move on.

I also don’t feel any chemistry between Haley and JJ. All of their supposed romance feels forced and artificial. I want JJ to have a real love interest, not be a pawn in some politically motivated immigration story that pits him against his father who doesn’t remember him anyway.

Watching Haley and Tripp sit on the sofa eating cake is more enjoyable.

What’s even less watchable is Marlena poking her nose into her adult son’s love life.

It’s clear the good doctor doesn’t give a damn if Eric completely wrecks his relationship with his half-brother, as long as he gets the girl Marlena thinks he wants.

And speaking of nosy, Sarah was annoyingly so. What was Eric talking to his mother about? Why is he offering to be the wedding photographer? Why wouldn’t he be Rex’s best man, and why won’t he tell her what his argument with Marlena was about?

Sarah was doing her best impersonation of a toddler asking why after every response. How does anyone stand being in Sarah’s presence?

Rex actually came across as the calm adult in this ridiculous threesome, and I never would have expected that. I like Rex the best when he’s playing doctor and not having the same conversation over and over and over again with Sarah and Eric.

One of the upsides of Will’s brain tumor is that it’s given Rex something else to do.

Another upside is that it’s made Will and Sonny far less annoying. I doubt that will last long, but it’s given me a small hope that this couple can find it’s way back to that remarkable chemistry that had me rooting for them when they first got together.

And who knows, maybe Gabi will remember that Will’s in the hospital too and stop trying to seduce Stefan long enough to go check on him…but I won’t get my hopes up.

So TV Fanatics, what did you think of the wedding dramas? Will Ciara actually get shot? Is there any chance Hope and Rafe will finally call it quits? Who the heck is Ted on the phone with? And was Chloe right to kick Brady to the curb?

Let me know what you think, and don’t forget to check back in on Sunday for our Days of Our Lives round table!