Days of Our Lives Review: Resisting the Siren Call
Jack Ori
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Brady Black is a walking definition of an addict.
When he's not drinking or using cocaine, he's jumping into bed with the wrong women. The worse the woman is for him, the more likely he seems to be to sleep with her.
On Days of Our Lives during the week of 9-9-19, Brady finally figured out that his attraction to Kristen was like his attraction to alcohol. But will his resolve to stay away last?
Kristen's stories are all the same.
She always comes to town with some hideous scheme to lure Brady back into her arms. Her plan always involves hurting all of Brady's family members and she's always shocked that that doesn't make Brady eager to resume their relationship.
Somewhere along the way, she gets caught and arrested before...SURPRISE! she manipulates her way back to freedom and stalks Brady some more.
Related: Days of Our Lives: 13 Things That Only Happen in Salem
This latest go-around was no different, except perhaps that Kristen's scheme was even less likely to work to begin with. Multiple characters pointed out to her that shedding her Nicole mask and informing Brady he'd slept with her was not going to go the way she expected, and she was forced to stay in costume around the rest of the world.
Nevertheless, it was unsurprising that Brady stopped rolling his eyes and showed up at Kristen's hotel room after all. How many times has he been through this cycle before?
Besides, too many characters warned Brady to stay away for him to do anything but knock on Kristen's door.
Brady: Everything you said is true. Even when you were pretending to be Nicole, part of me knew it was you. I felt your pull. I felt your connection. I feel it right now. You are the fire I can't fight and that is why I came here tonight.
Kristen: I knew it.
Brady: STOP! Let me finish. I'm feeling what I'm feeling and I want what I want but I hate it. I hate that I tried with every fiber of my being not to be here, yet here I am. I fight every damn day against the desire to drink. I want it so bad that I can almost taste it, just like I can almost taste you.
Kristen: I would never hurt you. I would make you happy. [Holds up the glass] Drink some. Drink me.
The first half of Brady's argument with Kristen was tedious. It was more of the same push-pull, with Kristen insisting Brady loved her and Brady alternately giving in and pulling away.
But Brady's realization that Kristen was equivalent to alcohol for him showed some character growth. His decision not to drink either from Kristen's lips or from the champagne glass she kept offering him was refreshing.
It would have been nice if Brady figured that out without the latest almost-tryst with Kristen, but that would have been too much to ask for. Besides, Kristen being the literal personification of Brady's struggle with alcohol was a twist I didn't expect.
Let's hope his resolve lasts. Kristen is going to double down on the over-the-top behavior and God only knows how this is going to end up.
The back-and-forth between Brady and Kristen was nothing compared to Sarah's non-telling about her pregnancy.
Eric and Sarah took far too much airtime getting to the point where they mutually agreed to separate so that Eric could be with Nicole. If there was a real foundation for this relationship, these would have been powerful scenes.
But as it was, they felt like a waste of time. Eric always claims to love the woman he's with and always dumps her in favor of Nicole. And in Sarah's case, there was zero chemistry and zero buildup of this relationship.
The only thing that was at all interesting about any of this was the question of whether Sarah was going to tell Eric about her pregnancy.
DAYS teased us with this possibility over and over. Sarah made a series of long rambling speeches and managed to get interrupted every time she was about to get to the point, while Xander almost spilled the beans to both Maggie and Nicole.
That's standard for Days of Our Lives, but that didn't make it any less annoying.
And all Sarah had to do was show Eric the paper she was carrying around. No words necessary since she was having so much trouble forming them.
Related: Days of Our Lives: Why Social Messaging Matters
Plus, this is only a dilemma because the Days of Our Lives writers are unaware that people can co-parent without living together.
Eric doesn't HAVE to drop Nicole and reunite with Sarah because she's pregnant. Assuming Sarah decides to keep the baby, she, Eric, and Nicole could try to work something out together.
Eric and Nicole need conflict, but it doesn't have to be over whether Eric should be with Sarah "for the sake of the child."
It could be about Nicole having mixed feelings about Eric's involvement with Sarah even as a co-parent or Holly acting out because she doesn't like the idea of living part-time with the new baby.
Speaking of Holly, that child is adorable!
It's unrealistic that she would be so well-adjusted after being bounced around from parent to parent and home to home, getting kidnapped, and living in multiple dangerous situations, but the little girl lights up the screen.
Nicole's reunions with just about everybody were also a high point, though Marlena's attitudes were irritating.
Marlena NEVER had any use for Nicole before and often tried to use her knowledge of psychiatry to put Nicole down. So it was disingenuous, at best, for her to express so much joy that Nicole was home safe and had reunited with Eric.
And Marlena kept pushing Eric to act on his feelings for Sarah! When she was going on and on about how bad she felt that Sarah's heart would be broken, I kept thinking it was partially her own fault.
The best part of any of this is that Xander is now free to be with Sarah -- if his waiting until he had done 90% of the job before deciding against killing Ben doesn't ruin that.
Xander is one of the most interesting characters Days of Our Lives has had in a long time. He can be ruthlessly violent to get what he wants...or he can be soft and gentle like he is when he is around Sarah or Maggie.
He chose to give up the approval he's sought from Victor forever and spare Ben's life, but his dual nature makes him more like Victor than Victor would ever care to admit, because Victor also has a softer side that often comes out around Maggie.
I'm not sure if I'm sold on Xander and Sarah yet (though they are far more interesting than the snoozefest that is Sarah and Eric.) But if that's what it takes for more Xander/Maggie scenes, it's worth it.
Maggie both likes and distrusts Xander. Perhaps she sees the similarities between him and her husband, who she is now going to have to confront about the whole Ben situation.
In any case, even though she wants Xander to stay far away from Sarah, she continues to treat him like a friend, confiding in him about her fears that Eric will have broken Sarah beyond repair.
It remains to be seen what Xander will do with Sarah's secret. Undoubtedly he will use it to get closer to her in some way, much to Maggie's chagrin.
The most logical thing to do is pretend to be the father of Sarah's baby.
It would be a great use of history if he roped Nicole into this scheme since she hid one of her pregnancies from EJ and later allowed Rafe to pretend to be the father of that baby.
Plus, it would be a huge conflict for her and Eric for her to be keeping it secret that he was the father of Sarah's baby. And it is in both Nicole and Xander's interest for Xander to be with Sarah, as that keeps Sarah and Xander away from Nicole and Eric.
Xander: Maggie and I have become friends. It turns out we have a lot in common.
Nicole: I can't imagine what you have in common with her and I don't want to know. I just wanted to tell you that you no longer have any power over me. You are not going to interfere with my happiness with Eric anymore.
But with Xander almost telling so many people about the pregnancy, the danger is that he'll tell the wrong person before this plan can get going.
The worst thing that could happen would be for Xander to slip up in front of Kristen, who undoubtedly will have some off-the-wall scheme involving the pregnancy and her desire to reconcile with Brady.
Meanwhile, the Dimeras' mad scientist went to work...for Jack and Jennifer.
The Jack/Jennifer story isn't getting nearly enough airtime, and that's a shame. Jack/Jennifer fans have been waiting over eight months for Jack to regain his memory and reunite with Jennifer and now we're getting a half story that is missing a LOT of beats.
Their uncomfortable truce in Chicago somehow turned into the two being best friends without any explanation of what changed.
Jack and Eve's court battle occurred entirely off-screen and no one even mentioned the case until they were waiting for a decision.
JJ went from distrusting that Jack would change even if he got his memories back to helping him babysit Rolf and getting impatient for Rolf to make the serum already, again without any explanation for his changed attitude.
This rushed story is far less than Jack, Jennifer, and JJ deserve, and now someone's smashed the serum yet again.
Enough already. It's beyond time for Jack to get his memories back. That should have happened before he magically did damage control with everyone who loves him, though I can't complain about Jennifer's vows to support him no matter what.
Jack: Eve told me I would have regrets if I got my memories back. Well, now I have regrets and no memory!
Jen: No! You're the stubbornest man I ever met, remember? You are not giving up.
I also didn't like the way Rolf looked at Hope. We just got finished with the tale of Kristen pretending to be Nicole and there have been countless other doppelgangers before that. So please, soap gods, do NOT let Rolf turn Hope into Princess Gina!
As for Eve, her constant anger and desire for revenge is right up there with Gabi's. Eve used to be a nuanced character who did stupid and self-destructive things but could also be kind and loving when she wanted to be.
Eve's alliance with Vivian was random and weird, though soap divas trying to out-diva each other is always fun.
And Jack grabbing her arm was not a good look. There was no need for that kind of violence and the Mayor doesn't need anyone taking pictures of it.
Julie's heart condition is the kind of realistic story that Days of Our Lives used to be known for. When John and Marlena went through this, it soon turned into campy nonsense, so let's hope that doesn't happen this time.
And there should be more family there for Julie. It's irritating that JJ was only present for the ridiculous Rolf food-fest scene and didn't even ask how Julie was when he came to the hospital, for one thing. And what about Julie's off-screen grandson Scotty? And are any of the original Hortons still alive?
Shawn and Belle should be there to support Hope and Doug, too, and someone should have notified Abby and Chad.
And as long as Rolf is working for Jennifer, why not have him whip up some immortality formula for Julie while he's at it?
Meanwhile, things are not looking good for Kate. I'm glad Sarah finally called Rex because everyone was making a big deal out of notifying Lucas and her other son had been forgotten.
Philip should also be notified. That would be an interesting development considering that Vivian implanted Kate's embryo and carried Philip to term.
Anyway, the way things are going, it seems Kate is going to be in critical condition for a while. As usual, Salem University Hospital has no security, allowing someone to destroy Rolf's lab while Vivian disguised herself as a doctor to finish Kate off.
My guess is that Kate will be on the brink of death and someone will beg her family to donate her heart to Julie, only for a miracle to occur somehow for both women.
Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics! Did the Kristen/Brady almost-sex dance thrill you or bore you to tears? What about Sarah and Eric's breakup? And what are your predictions for what's going to happen next?
Weigh in below, and don't forget to check back on Sunday for our Days of Our Lives Round Table discussion.
Days of Our Lives airs on NBC on weekday afternoons. Check your local listings for airtimes.
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.
