A Critic’s Review of Days of our Lives: Teased-To-Death And Lacking

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, and now we offer you a handy review, and a cheeky critique, of the Days of our Lives week that was.

Days of our Lives: A Critic’s Week In Review

Were you to do a walkthrough of my abode, you would see, in addition to copious back issues of various soap opera magazines, a ridiculous number of TV tie-ins, and a plethora of books on the history of cinema, shelves, and shelves full of murder mysteries; the cozier the better. I’m particularly partial to ones with punny titles and animals who provide backup for the featured (usually amateurish) sleuth.

Therefore, it probably won’t come as too much of a surprise when I tell you I was very much looking forward to Days of our Lives’ teased-to-death (pun intended!) murder mystery. So far, it’s been lacking. And it hurts me greatly to say that.

Once upon a time, Days of our Lives was the king of the whodunit…or, more precisely, it earned itself that title after the cancellation of the massively underrated, now barely remembered serial The Edge of Night.

Just think back to the days of The Salem Strangler, The Salem Slasher, The Riverfront Knifer, and the like.

But the leadup to Abigail Deveraux DiMera’s (Marci Miller) slaughter seemed so hastily thrown together that there are barely any real viable suspects. In the span of 48 hours, she seriously teed off half-sister Gwen Rizczech (Emily O’Brien), and earned herself Lucas Horton’s (Bryan Dattilo) ire because she learned his not at all well-kept secret and…what else?

Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) was thrown into the suspect pool by virtue of his being trapped inside the spouses’ DiMera’s closet, but I just can’t see him shoving a knife into Abigail’s gut even if she had caught him perving.

Oh, and then out of the clear blue, about an hour or two (in Salem time) before Abigail’s attack, Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) goes running to Marlena Evans Black (Deidre Hall) with the news that she’s had a disconcerting hallucination. Suspect number 4? Why not. Makes about as much sense as Gwen being able to just waltz out of Statesville or a drunk Lucas infiltrating DiMera House and snuffing his niece.

Further DAYS Musings

* As I’ve pointedly pointed out in many of my Days of our Lives recaps – published daily here at Soap Hub – this is Belle Black Brady’s (Martha Madison) world and we are merely living in it. How funny it is that Jan Spears (Heather Lindell) is Belle’s stalker and that it is Belle’s life whom Jan has made a misery on and off for twenty years.

I could have sworn it was Shawn Brady (Brandon Beemer) whom Jan imprisoned in a cage and whom Jan raped. But of course, those were all affronts to Belle. Also, Chloe Lane (Nadia Bjorlin) called and she wants to thank Belle for her martyrdom.

* Days of our Lives Best Bit Of Dialogue:

Abigail: Thomas said he was down in the basement playing hide-and-seek with his sister and he ran into the tooth fairy.
Susan: [groan of disgust] She and I are not on good terms!
Abigail: You had a falling out with a fairy?
Susan: She owes me a buck fifty for my wisdom teeth. Hmph. Do you think she’s fluttering around down there still because, you know what, I’d like to have a word with her!

* Good for Chanel Dupree DiMera (Raven Bowens) shooting down both Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman) and Allie Horton (Lindsay Arnold) and their pressuring behinds! Even though that act was immediately negated by Chanel welcoming Allie back to the bakery with open arms.

* Rafe/Nicole/Eric, Li/Gabi/Jake/Ava, and Abe/Paulina/Lani/Eli who?

Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Salem, check out all the latest that’s been posted on DAYS spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.