Ben and Ciara got married with explosive results, and Claire took all the blame. Sami tried to take control over Allie’s decision, while Sarah gave Xander a second chance.

Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Sportsgirl from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to rate Ciara and Ben’s wedding, choose the best outfit, decide who set the bomb, and vote on whether Xander and Sarah should reunite.

Ben and Ciara got married! Up until the explosion, how would you rate the wedding from 1 (it was the worst) to 10 (it was the best wedding in Salem)?

Sportsgirl: It was actually a very sweet and romantic wedding. Ciara looked beautiful & Ben looked handsome. I loved it when Rafe walked her down the aisle. I was surprised it even had an ending. I would give it a 7.

Jack: I’d give it an 8, not counting the explosion. Julie’s nervousness and the Julie/Doug moments were a highlight for me, plus the story she told about Ciara and the vows were nice.

My story was not supposed to be this. It was not supposed to be a love story. By some kind of miracle, you, it is.

Ben

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After I crashed my bike, and you were so kind, and you were so gentle, and you made me feel safer than I have ever felt in my entire life. And I’ve felt safe every day since. Safe to trust again, and safe to be myself again. I know that our life won’t be easy. It won’t, but I also know that it’s okay for me to be scared sometimes because I’m going to have you by my side every single day.

Ciara

• Permalink: After I crashed my bike, and you were so kind, and you were so gentle, and you made me feel...

The only reason it isn’t higher is because it’s hard for me to believe in this love story when all we’ve seen for months is their sexathon plus Ciara not being able to function when Ben isn’t around.

Christine: I have to give it an 8. It felt like a real wedding with family and friends in attendance. I enjoyed Julie conducting the ceremony, although it made me curious about what actual church allows a layperson to perform the ceremony.

Other highlights were the stories Julie told about Ciara and Will’s pep talk to Ben before the ceremony.

What did you think of Ciara’s gown? Who else in attendance was the best dressed? (Some choices include: Hope’s gold gown, Gabi’s burgundy dress, Julie’s grey/blue gown, Sarah’s red dress, Marlena’s royal blue dress, Allie’s blue and pink flowered dress, or Lani’s black with purple flowers.)

Sportsgirl: I actually really liked Ciara’s gown, even though she was probably wearing a push-up bra with it. It was lovely.

I don’t remember everyone’s dress, especially Sarah, as I was only paying attention to how happy she looked to be with Xander. The one I actually liked & would wear myself was Marlena’s blue dress. It was simply elegant, and I love that color.

Jack: Ciara’s gown was very pretty. I also loved Marlena’s dress, which I thought was tasteful and elegant.

Christine: Ciara’s gown was more traditional than I expected and very pretty, but I did think she was going to fall out of that neckline more than once! I also loved Lani’s dress. The black dress with purple flowers looked fabulous on her.

Your turn TV Fanatics! Whose dress was your favorite?

Do you think that Claire set the bomb at the wedding, and if not, then who?

Sportsgirl: No way was it Claire. It’s especially obvious since Ben was missing and not unconscious or dead.

She also brought up a good point of building it at Marlena’s condo & knowing everyone she loved was there. I believe it was Eve & probably Eduardo getting even for the death of Paige.

Jack: She absolutely did not. In Salem, the person that everyone “knows” did it always turns out to be innocent. Besides, where would Claire get the knowledge and expertise to build a bomb and set it to go off at the exact moment that Ciara and Ben left the church?

There are a few possibilities. First of all, I can’t believe that John has “no ideas” when Hope recently defused a similar bomb that Orpheus set at the penthouse, and Orpheus used this exact same device to kidnap Marlena years ago.

Orpheus is in jail, but he could have easily manipulated Zoey or some minion to set the bomb. How can John not have considered that?

Clyde is also a distinct possibility since he was angry that he wasn’t invited and said he sent a “wedding present,” which could have been code for a plot to kill Ciara.

Finally, with Eve and Eduardo both slated to make a return, one or both could have set the bomb to get revenge for Paige’s death.

Christine: Unless Claire became an explosives expert while locked up in Bayview (always a possibility given the facility’s history), I don’t see how it could have been her. I agree with all of the above answers.

Ciara made Orpheus angry when she forced Christian to confess to Jordan’s murder, and bombs are his M. O. And given Ben’s history as a serial killer, there are plenty of people who would like to ruin his wedding.

That Ciara was so sure this was all about her, and Claire was pretty ridiculous.

Claire: I love you. You’re my best friend.
Ciara: I’m your best friend? Well, with best friends like you, my dear, who needs homicidal maniacs!

• Permalink: I’m your best friend? Well, with best friends like you, my dear, who needs homicidal maniacs!

Is Rafe adopting Allie’s baby a great idea or a lousy one, and why?

Sportsgirl: Rafe would have been a wonderful father as he was with David, but as he said, he just wasn’t ready yet.

Jack: I’m in between on this. Yes, Rafe would make a great dad. But I agree with what he ultimately said about it being too soon after losing David. Plus, he’s trying to work out visitation with Zoey, so would he really be able to focus on a newborn right now?

Christine: Rafe will eventually make a great dad to a child who needs one but not Allie’s. First, it’s too soon after the David debacle.

Second, if he adopts Allie’s baby, he’ll have to endure years of drama from Sami. Why would he want to put himself through that?

Should Jake fight for his share of the Dimera fortune?

Sportsgirl: Yes, Jake is a DiMera, and he should be entitled to his share. He doesn’t have to change anything else, though.

Jack: He has a right to it, but I wish he wouldn’t. I don’t like the elitism on display in this story. Gabi and Vivian think Jake should “do better” than be a mechanic as if a blue-collar job is something to be ashamed of. I

’d like Jake to tell them to stuff it and keep following his own path.

Christine: I’d like to see Jake get his share of the money, and then go back to living his life. If he wants to be a mechanic, he can do that with cash in the bank. He should be able to inherit his share without having to be sucked into the Dimera nonsense.

Sarah seems to be open to giving Xander a second chance? Should she? And are you happy about it if she does?

Sportsgirl: I love Sarah with Xander. They are so adorable together. Should she, though? Yes! He may have done a lousy thing, but it was done because of his love for her, and Victor had a huge influence on his decision to also help Maggie.

Jack: The only time Sarah is at all tolerable is when she is with Xander (and not berating him -- seriously, wasn’t Eric’s two years of berating Nicole enough?). So I would be happy if they got back together.

And yes, Xander hurt a lot of people by going along with Victor’s plan, but Sarah’s reaction has been over the top cruel, and I’d rather she forgives him.

Christine: Please let them get back together! Sarah is only watchable when she’s paired with Xander, and together, they have some of the best chemistry on the show.

These two are so much more fun together than apart, they can’t reunite them fast enough.

What were your favorite or least favorite moments of the week?

Sportsgirl: My least favorite scene was Ciara saying, “No, it wasn’t revenge on Ben it was her!” I really dislike the fact that she just dismisses the fact he was a murderer. So instead, she charges into Claire making it all about her.

My favorite was a Days of Our Lives quote when Ben was being stopped by Will from going to see Ciara in the hospital. 

Will: No way, Weston. You’ll have to kill me first.
Ben: I tried that once, and it didn’t work.

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That line really made me laugh out loud! 

Jack: Favorite: Allie and Lucas. Lucas has finally calmed down and was able to have an adult-to-adult conversation with Allie. I loved every minute of it.

Lucas: You are your mother's daughter. You have a lot of fire in your belly and you are so brave. But I know you must have been so scared for yourself and for your baby when that explosion happened.
Allie: It was like one minute we were so happy and the next there was nothing but smoke and flames and it looked like the world ended.

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Least favorite: Gabi berating Jake for “almost getting her killed.” Does anyone find her screeching entertaining? Because I certainly don’t. 

Christine: I loved Will and Allie acting like brother and sister. These two can really be fun together as they try to handle their parents.

And Allie's reaction to Xander rescuing her was funny.

Allie: What’s going on?
Will: You fainted at the church and Sonny’s cousin, Xander, carried you all the way here.
Allie: The hot guy? That’s embarrassing.

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Least favorites were Ciara being completely over the top with Claire, and then Gabi yelling at Jake. The one upside was that Jake and Gabi ended up having a nice conversation after she calmed down.

Gabi: Hey, Jake. You were right about earlier. I was being unreasonable.
Jake: I believe the phrase I used was, “pain in the ass.”

• Permalink: I believe the phrase I used was, “pain in the ass.”

Want to chat more about the explosive wedding? Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic. And hit that BIG, BLUE, SHOW COMMENTS BUTTON down below to chime in and let us know what you thought of this week’s Days of Our Lives.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.