On the July 13 episode of Days of our Lives, Stephanie kept complaining to Kayla about how much she dislikes having Alex running off whenever Joy calls about Kelsey. Kayla validates her daughter’s feelings. After all, Stephanie is still traumatized from her kidnapping by Owen. It’s why she shot at Joy. Marlena also told Stephanie she wasn’t to blame. It’s just her past trauma from a difficult childhood. Steve even came over to Stephanie’s to cry about how this is all his fault. Stephanie told him he wasn’t to blame. And we agree. But we also have to ask: If Stephanie is traumatized by her childhood, why isn’t every other person who grew up in Salem?
Key Takeaways
- Stephanie was kidnapped as a baby, and her Papa was presumed dead
- Belle was kidnapped as a baby, and her dad was presumed dead
- EJ was kidnapped as a baby, and Holly was kidnapped as a baby, and Tate was kidnapped as a fetus, and Theo’s mom was presumed dead, and Shawn’s mom was presumed dead, and Sarah had rotating fathers and….
Excuses Are Us
Stephanie (Abigail Klein) was definitely traumatized over being kidnapped by Owen (Wes Ramsey). And it’s good that she is getting therapy with Marlena (Deidre Hall, one of the DAYS actors who’s Emmy Worthy this year). But Marlena has floated the possibility that Stephanie’s trauma is connected to her being kidnapped as an infant, and to Steve (Stephen Nichols) being presumed dead for a large portion of her life. We’d buy this. If every other character in Salem didn’t have an almost identical history. But didn’t have a complete meltdown over it.
Separated at Birth
Belle (Martha Madison) was kidnapped at birth, too. By her older sister, Sami (Alison Sweeney). Who sold her on the black market. Sami was mad that Belle’s father was John (the late Drake Hogestyn) rather than Roman (Josh Taylor). Well, how else could she have expressed her displeasure? Then, once Belle was returned to her parents, John was periodically presumed dead. And yet, Belle has not used that as an excuse for her adult behavior.
Me Too
EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) was taken from Susan (Stacy Haiduk) as a newborn, and Kristen (also Stacy Haiduk) passed him off as her son with John. (Yes, their age difference is… flexible.) And let’s not talk about how regularly EJ’s dad, Stefano (Joseph Mascolo), was presumed dead. Holly (Ashley Puzemis) and Tate (Leo Howard) were both born to women who were not their biological mothers — Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin) in Holly’s case, Kristen (again) in Tate’s. Weird that they’ve never discussed it. Theo’s (Tyler Joseph Andrews) mom just came back from the dead, and both of Shawn’s (Brandon Beemer) parents have, also more than once. As for Sarah (Linsey Godfrey), she grew up knowing that Mickey (John Clarke) wasn’t her biological dad, but thinking that a dead guy named Evan (Lane Davies) was, courtesy of Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) being a surrogate mother. But then she found out that Neil (Joe Gallison), her mom’s doctor, had pulled a switch-a-roo. How traumatizing! And still, not an excuse. Take a lesson, Stephanie.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next on DAYS.
