Soap Hub Performer Of The Week For DAYS: Arianne Zucker

When her drugged-up alter-ego, Nicole Walker, lost her inhibitions, DAYS’ Arianne Zucker got the chance to show up and show out and you can bet that she made the most of it. Soap Hub bestows this week’s Days of our Lives Performer of the Week to the actress for her layered performance.

Arianne Zucker — Performer of the Week

Passionate though they were, Zucker managed to convey a sense of underlining urgency in the kisses she gave co-star Dan Feuerriegel (EJ DiMera). Nicole wanted, no, NEEDED to prove that she was well and truly over ex-husband Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan), and how better to do that than getting underneath — or on top of — somebody else? Her pleas of, “Make love to me EJ. Make love to me right now,” were lustful and pathetic in equal measure.

When EJ pulled away the first time and suggested that engaging in sexual congress might not be the best idea, Nicole was, at first, incredulous, then flippant. “I don’t care about Eric. And, obviously, he doesn’t care about me. He and Sloan are probably somewhere off doing it like rabbits.”

With the potent potion that she’d accidentally consumed doing its job, Nicole grew increasingly manic. She rambled. She digressed. She slammed EJ onto the bed and mounted him.

When EJ pulled away for the second time, Zucker imbued Nicole’s indignation with just a hint of shame. “Don’t you want me,” she asked, searching Feuerriegel’s eyes for an answer. He did. Well, EJ did. The rub? Nicole was drunk as a skunk and in no fit state to give consent.

“I’m not drunk,” Nicole argued, before continuing, “as a skunk…in a trunk…with a monk.” And anyway, how could she be drunk? She only had one measly mimosa — and maybe, “a teeny, tiny champagne chaser. Teeny tiny.”

One twirl about the room to prove her sobriety resulted in a rush to the nearest commode. Okay, maybe she was drunk. Drunk and wholly embarrassed. Cue the self-recrimination. Cue an attempt to lighten the mood with a self-deprecating joke.

Then came a quieter, less theatrical moment during which Arianne Zucker laid bare Nicole’s innermost thoughts and feelings. “Not everything I said and did was because of the alcohol. I am sick of pinning over Eric. He’s not the same person I used to love. And…I’m ready to move on. And, if you’re willing, I’d like to move on with you.”

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