Since diving into the role of Shawn Brady and Belle Black’s only daughter, Claire Brady, Isabel Durant has handled the assignment with grace and precision –- subtly transforming the mentally unbalanced teenager into a repentant, rational young woman. A true character to root for. Hence, the decision by Days of our Lives to script Claire’s exit is a major mistake.
Isabel Durant’s Claire Has Quirk
Isabel Durant picked up on Olivia Rose Keegan’s original interpretation of Claire and ran with it. Her Claire was quirky and fun, insecure and vulnerable. She tempered the character’s wild wacky side and shifted her into adulthood. In the process, Claire slowly became more mature, grounded, and above all, suddenly relatable.
Potential, Potential
Isabel Durant’s Claire also proved she had true leading lady potential during her ill-fated romance with Mike Manning’s Charlie. The two actors’ special connection made the Claire/Charlie coupling unique and unconventional. Their characters were both outcasts who shined together, realizing they were worthy of real love.
Sadly, the soap put the kibosh on their special pairing, when Charlie was revealed to be Allie’s (Lindsay Arnold) rapist. Playing the shock of learning the ugly truth, the fallout of her shattered romance, and a subsequent broken heart was some of Isabel Durant’s finest work. She deserved a next chapter and a new love interest, neither of which she ever got.
Missing You
Take Claire off the canvas, and Shawn (Brandon Beemer) and Belle (Martha Madison) lose a major part of their purpose and appeal. They’re no longer doting protective parents.
Meanwhile, Ciara Brady Weston (Victoria Konefal), who just regained her memory, loses her best friend and closest family member. And it comes just as they’ve made peace and reconnected. Ben Weston (Robert Scott Wilson) will definitely feel the void, too, as Claire had emerged as his number one confidante and supporter when he was desperately trying to reach his amnesiac wife.
If there’s any justice, Isabel Durant’s exit is temporary, as her Claire made an indelible mark on Salem. In the meantime, all viewers can do is wait and hope that she’ll one day return because there’s so much more story that needs to be told for the character.
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.
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