Soap Hub Performer Of The Week For Days of our Lives: Emily O’Brien

It was horrifying to watch as Abby’s perfect little world crumbled around her, courtesy of her newest nemesis on Days of our Lives. But the way Emily O’Brien showed us another side of that horrible Gwen in the midst of her dirty deeds was enough for Soap Hub to award her Performer of the Week honors.

Emily O’Brien — Performer of the Week

And boy is that Gwen bad — so bad she’s trended on Twitter several days recently. But during the build-up to her reign of terror, we’ve never really been allowed to see her as anything other than ruthless. No remorse, no second thoughts, no vulnerability — until now. And it was a turn that was subtle, but all the more powerful for it.

It happened when she was twisting the proverbial knife in Chad (Billy Flynn), blackmailing him to let her stay at the mansion, or else she’d tell their cheating secret to his beloved wife. When he called her disgusting, her bravado remained in place — until he turned around and left. In an almost blink-and-you-miss-it moment, her facade briefly fell and we could see the toll his words really took on her.

Despite her saying she’s used to people not liking her, something about Chad or perhaps just the situation, had her feeling a twinge of regret. But she continued to plow forward a little later as she did indeed spill the beans to Abigail (Marci Miller) that she didn’t sleep in a chair that night with her beloved husband Chad but instead he betrayed her on New Year’s Eve.

“It was deeply passionate…one might even say mind-blowing,” purred Gwen. “Your husband is a very talented lover.” Which of course caused Abby to haul off and slap her — just as Chad arrived. “Chin up, darling,” went her parting words. “I know how painful the truth can be. Maybe one day you’ll thank me.”

This of course sends the mind reeling — she knows how painful the truth is? Hmm. Gwen then went head to head with Kate (Lauren Koslow), who was able to figure out that Gwen has something against Abigail’s family but when she asked what it was, Gwen demurred and left Kate — and the audience — hanging.

Emily O’Brien is truly coming into her own with this villainess and the audience can’t wait to see what happens next. Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.