A Critic’s Review of Days of our Lives: Playing the Beats

When it comes to Days of our Lives, every fan has their own opinion — and Soap Hub is no different. For five days, we sat and watched the good, the bad, and everything in between. Here we lead with optimism. Unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want. So here’s a review of DAYS’ week that was.

What I’m Feeling This Week: Playing the Beats

Watching DAYS the last few weeks, something struck me. Characters are relating their history to what’s going on today. Because of Holly’s predicament, EJ (Daniel Feuerriegel) mentioned his time when he was basically down and out (very out) and he was laid up at a facility that helped him recover.

And now they may send Holly (Ashley Puzemis) there. Talking to Theresa (Emily O’Brien), Eric (Greg Vaughan) brought up his drunk driving accident that killed Daniel (Shawn Christian). We’re generally hearing the characters open up about their painful and not-so-painful histories. Chad’s (Billy Flynn) talking about Abby (Marci Miller) more. We’re finally getting to know these characters in deeper, richer ways.

It’s really satisfying, and it’s provided good, heartfelt moments. Like Eric sitting at Holly’s bedside apologizing for leaving her and Nicole (Arianne Zucker) to go to Africa. Because Holly is kind of a wild child, Nicole bringing up her past makes sense. It adds much-needed depth to the show and I’m here for it. Please, keep this up, DAYS!

Other Soap Thoughts

I’m Not Feeling: Alex’s (Robert Scott Wilson) attitude towards Justin (Wally Kurth). I get that Alex explained to Chad that he’s taking out all of his pain and anger on Justin. After all, Justin is around and Victor (John Aniston), unfortunately, is not.

And, yes, Justin isn’t always the most ruthless of attorneys, but he didn’t deserve Alex taking over and icing him out of Tate’s (Jamie Martin Mann) case. When he got iced out himself, I felt a smidge of satisfaction (OK, more than a smidge). 

Where’s the Friendship? This one’s for Stephanie (Abigail Klein) and Jada (Elia Cantu). One of the issues that I have with Everett (Blake Berris) having ties to both Stephanie and Jada is that the show never invested much time in their friendship.

They’ve had a scene here or there. But then they’ll go weeks and months without even walking by each other in Horton Town Square. When the two women eventually figure things out, why should I feel anything? I don’t feel like they’re that close. 

You Got Me to Tear Up: Okay, Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) is really going through it right now. He’s feeling like the worst parent that’s ever parented, and I understand where he’s coming from. The show’s bringing up his absentee ways with Tate once he left to go live with Theresa.

Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) keeps him from seeing Rachel (Finley Rose Slater) — I still don’t get that decision. Brady’s feeling the consequences of his actions and his choices. And he’s at his wit’s end now that his boy is behind bars. Brady’s struggling and I’m really feeling his pain. 

Soap Wish List: I need DAYS to speed things up when it comes to this Konstantin (John Kapelos), John (Drake Hogestyn), and Steve (Stephen Nichols) story that is supposed to involve John’s “Pawn” days.

Piling it On: I love that this show continues to serve up the drama for Paulina (Jackée Harry) and Abe (James Reynolds), but this potential health story is a lot to handle. Her husband still has amnesia. Let Paulina raise a little hell as Salem’s first Black female mayor, pretty please!

The best place for true soap fans to be is our Facebook groups. Have you joined? If you love soap spoilers, gossip, and fans as dedicated as yourself, check out Days of our Lives Fans, General Hospital Exclusive, The Young and the Restless Fans, and The Bold and the Beautiful Fans.