There’s been something different about Xander on Days of our Lives ever since his last breakup with Sarah, and he started seeing Marlena for therapy. Xander has learned to calm his anger. However, he recently proved that looks can be deceiving, especially as his true feelings for Sarah are still front and center.
Key Takeaways
- On the surface, Xander has been calm, cool, and collected.
- Xander desperately wants to be with Sarah, but keeps holding back.
- He is a ticking time bomb.
Xander Keeps Showing Restraint No One Expected
For years, Xander (Paul Telfer) has had a major anger problem that has blown up his life more than once. The most recent was when he nearly beat Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) to death.
It cost him his marriage to Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) and his access to his daughter, Victoria (Angelica Nero), for a long time. Xander has spent countless hours with Marlena (Deidre Hall), learning to control his anger and rage as she delivers hard truths.
Anyone can see that Xander has learned restraint. That was proven with his reaction to Sarah moving in with Brady (Eric Martsolf). The old Xander would have flipped his lid and caused a major fight with Sarah.
Instead, Xander remained calm and fully supported Sarah in her decision. Xander’s response was so unlike him. Sarah was shocked at the way he reacted to her news.
The move was perfect. If he had exploded, it would only have shown Sarah that nothing had changed with Xander and that he needed to be kept at a distance.
Things May Not Be As
Once Sarah left, Xander literally busted a stress ball in half, and it became clear he had shoved down his real feelings in front of Sarah. Xander knows all too well that only an angry blow-up will rock the delicate balance he has found with his ex.
The problem is that keeping all of that anger bottled up isn’t healthy. Xander is a ticking time bomb set to explode, and in true soap fashion, that will likely happen at the worst possible time ever.
Despite Xander wanting to put in the work to change, the signs point to him simply learning to contain it, and that is not the same thing. The more he puts on a show that his anger doesn’t control him anymore, while he hides it, the more damage he will do in the long run.
The one thing that could save Xander is Marlena. She has a way of reaching him that could get him to see what he’s doing. After all, Marlean got Xander to realize he isn’t ready to be back with Xander, even though that’s what he wants more than anything.
