Days of Our Lives Round Table: Where Is the Real Nicole?

Will the Real Nicole Please Stand Up?

The truth about Nicole’s mysterious behavior was finally revealed, Maggie fell off the wagon, while Jack appointed a radical new police commissioner in Salem.

Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Katherine and Tinab from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate Nicole’s real fate, Ben seeing baby David, Jack and Eve’s power play, Brady helping Maggie, and which one character they want back in Salem.

So if “Nicole’ is actually Kristen, is the real Nicole alive, and who has Holly?

Katherine: I do think that the real Nicole is alive, I don’t see the point in bringing back Ari Zucker for real Nicole to be dead.

As for who has Holly, based on what Xander said to Ted, I believe while its an unknown person, I think Xander basically placed Holly up for adoption on his own, probably for money.

Tinab: I think Nicole made a deal to somehow to get Holly back, and that she would “stay away” and give Kristen and Xander time to do their damage.

Jack: I hope the real Nicole is alive. This kind of switcheroo is super disappointing, especially since her "return" was super hyped and she's a popular character (and one of my favorites). Holly is probably being held in some Dimera lab somewhere.

Christine: She better be alive, and I hope Holly is with her. If Nicole isn’t entirely well after the trauma of the fire, she may have made a deal with Kristen in order to get Holly.

Or perhaps Kristen is holding Nicole and decided to bring her Holly so that Kristen didn’t have to deal with a child in her quest to nab Brady.

Should Ben be allowed to spend time with Baby David? Should Lani be involved in the decision?

Katherine: Yes, I think Ben should be allowed to spend time with his nephew, he already pointed out knowing he’s not ready to take custody and that he still has issues to work out, but David is Ben’s family.

As for Lani, absolutely not! She is already too attached to baby David as it is, and the child is not hers so she shouldn’t have any say in the manner.

Tinab: Lani should have no input. That being said, if I were in charge of a baby I would never let a convicted serial killer have any contact, yet somehow I am rooting for Ben, but I still wouldn’t give him a baby.

Jack: Yes, Ben should be allowed. I agreed with Ciara that there's no reason he can't have supervised visits with the baby. He isn't violent anymore and if there are people watching he can't get away with kidnapping David or anything like that.

Lani should not be involved. She is nothing more than a babysitter/nanny, not a parent or any kind of legal guardian for the child.

Christine: Yes, supervised visits seem appropriate so he can get to know his nephew. I wasn’t concerned about Lani spending time with David until she inserted herself into this decision.

No one asked Lani for her advice and she has no right to be making it. Instead of lying to Ciara she should have simply told her to talk to Rafe first.

Jack is now mayor of Salem, and Eve is the Police commissioner. Do you think this will make for great stories or does the thought it make you cringe, and why?

Katherine: The whole thought makes me cringe, while Jack with his memories would back a decent mayor the problem is Eve. Eve doesn’t know the basics of the job, the law, or probable cause, and that was proven in her conversation with Eli.

Secondly the job isn’t there for Eve to get revenge, or whatever her goal in going after Ben is because of Paige death, the job title isn’t meant to be used to settle Eve’s vendettas.

Tinab: It’s completely cringeworthy. Eve being a commissioner is stupid. I actually work for a police department and obviously this would never happen, but this is a soap opera.

Jack: I'm divided on this. I hate the idea. It's unrealistic and obnoxious, and Eve is going to make a mess of the police department.

But at the same time, seeing Jenn snipe at Eve was fun, and seeing the cops deal with Eve should be entertaining.

Christine: Everything about Jack and Eve makes me cringe. Jack only cares about himself and Eve doesn’t know the first thing about managing a police force.

Plus Eve's desire to use the force for her own personal vendetta has future lawsuit written all over it. I can’t believe I actually want to see Ben take down Jack and Eve but that’s exactly what I’m hoping will happen.

Should Brady tell Victor that Maggie’s been drinking or keep Maggie’s secret? And should Victor fire Kate for Maggie’s sake?

Katherine: I’m kind of in between on this one. While I don’t think Brady would out right tell Victor what is going on, Maggie needs help to handle ‘Holly’s death’, so Victor should be steered in the right direction.

Regarding Kate, no I don’t think Victor should fire Kate. I think Maggie needs to be more understand that it’s a complicated situation that includes his son, Philip, and that Victor needs to be more considerate and meet Kate outside the mansion on business.

Tinab: He needs to tell Victor and others in her family. Secrets solve nothing!!

Jack: Brady should definitely tell Victor! Not telling is nothing but enabling and he should know that by now. I know he wants Maggie to trust him but this is the kind of secret that shouldn't be kept.

I think Maggie is acting ridiculous when it comes to Kate but I think Victor should at the very least take some time off to spend time with her while she's going through the grief of believing Holly is dead.

Christine: Brady should absolutely tell Victor. Addicts keep secrets. Helping Maggie keep this a secret from Victor only enables her behavior.

Maggie is in pain due to Holly’s “death” but she’s also become insecure and paranoid. She needs help and Victor needs to be there for his wife. Not allowing him the opportunity to step up is a disservice to both him and Maggie.

JJ and Hayley are on the run. Do you consider them an entertaining romantic couple, or do you wish they’d would disappear and never return?

Katherine: JJ and Hayley are more interesting that Eve and Jack to me. But I also think the pairing is too new.

Right now, to me, Ben and Ciara seem to be a stronger pairing, but it doesn’t mean JJ and Hayley won’t get there. I’m interested to see where the show writers take them, for now.

Tinab: Definitely fun and entertaining. JJ is one of my all time favorite characters and I hope they do even more with him!

Jack: I don't like them as a couple but JJ is my favorite character and I don't want him to disappear! We've had enough of him being shoved into the background. This story is ridiculous but it keeps Casey Moss on my screen, so there's that.

Christine: I like JJ and I’m grateful he’s getting a story but he and Haley are a bore, no matter what they throw at them. I just don’t feel any chemistry between these two characters which makes me wish Haley would run off and not return.

If you could choose one (supposedly still alive) character to return to Salem who would it be?

Katherine: I would bring one of Sonny’s brothers back to town. They get mentioned from time to time, but it would be interesting to see more than one of Justin and Adrienne’s children in town.

Tinab: Easy, EJ! My all time favorite, but I don’t want him played by anyone but the original actor, James Scott!

Jack: Unfortunately most of the characters I want back are supposedly dead. Paige and Daniel both would add a ton to the current stories.

But if I had to choose someone who is alive... can we bring Rory back as a full fledged character instead of an occasional joke? Or Bev as a blast from the past for JJ, who left because she knew he wasn't over Paige but who might be interested in trying again now?

And also Lucas should have stayed in Salem. He and Sami both should be part of Will's story.

Christine: Can I name two? Philip Kiriakis, especially played by Jay Kenneth Johnson, would be a great addition. He’s got ties to Victor and Kate and lots of family and could be involved with the drama over who controls Titan with Brady and Xander.

Second choice is Leo. Greg Rikaart made Leo despicable, vulnerable and highly entertaining, and just when his story got interesting they sent him packing. I know Rikaart is now back on The Young & the Restless, but I’d still love to see Leo again in the future.

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline this week on Days of our lives?

Katherine: Ben and Ciara’s was my favorite storyline this week because, while the screen time they shared wasn’t much, there were some important events that related to them both. One being that Ciara was able to reason with Rafe about speaking to Jordan while calling Lani’s behavior out in front of Lani.

Ben scenes with Claire are the second reason why, Ben was smart about how he confronted Claire about the fire last June, he asked her, instead of accusing her, of what she was up to with Tripp’s clothing, then he asked her to see the lighter rather than accusing her out right of lying about where she got it, figuring he’d recognize it.

Tinab: It was a good week. I really love Claire’s unraveling, also Kate and Gabi are so good when they are working together!

Jack: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Brady comforting drunk Maggie. I thought I'd hate this story! But it was nice to see this more mature Brady trying to help Maggie put her life back together.

Christine: Brady being their for Maggie was a definite highlight, I just hope he follows through with the kind of help she need.

Second, was Gabi and Kate teaming up once again. These two make fantastic cohorts in crime.

Finally, Chloe catching Stefan with Gabi. I almost felt badly for Stefan…almost. But Chloe was outraged, and rightly so, and ended any hope he had of having a relationship with her. If Stefan still thinks he has a chance, he’s delusional.