Night of the creeps

It was a real fright night in Salem as several of our believed heroines faced evil! None of them walked away unscathed, and one of them may never walk again. Grab your safety blankies and flashlights for this week's eerie DAYS Two Scoops!

Okay. Let's not be shy. Who had to turn on the lights while watching DAYS last week? Abigail was living out a horror movie (or was she?). Maggie was poisoned. And Ciara had to face life with Chase roaming around the streets of Salem. They were a rather creeptastic sting of episodes, amIright!?

So, let's begin with Abigail's night of terror. More so, let's just ring the victory bell and give mucho kudos to Kate Mansi. She is playing Abigail's crackup brilliantly. I've always been a fan, but if we don't see her next year at the Emmys, I'm throwing a Two Scoops-sized temper tantrum. Of course, that would mean they actually have to air the Emmys on TV, which is another ongoing rant I'm fired up about, but the moral is -- Kate Mansi is golden. Love the shoes. Love the crazy. Love it all.

And I also love Robert Scott Wilson. I don't think he can do wrong. And Kate and Robert's chilling chemistry is still spot on. Though I never liked Ben and Abigail as a couple, them as a couple of adversaries has been made of win. When Ben asked Abby, "Do you miss my face?" it was unsettling. So, between the lighting, directing, writing, and performances, last week was downright anxiety-inducing. I'm still not sure if Ben -- the real Ben, not the imaginary Ben -- ever even showed up at the mansion, and that's rather captivating.

Still, as scary as those episodes were, I couldn't help but chuckle at a few things, some horror movie clichs, if you will. Abs was potentially being stalked by a serial killer, yet roamed around in high-heeled boots. Snaps for fashion, but I'd have on some quick-escape sneakers. Actually, I would have been cowering in the old secret room with a gun pointed at the entrance while swigging wine instead of sitting in the middle of a room filled with doorways and windows. Then again, let's be real. I would have died from fright long ago, so Abs gets super props for surviving.

Um, sort of surviving. I'm not sure how much Abigail's mental health is surviving. Was it all in her head? It seems that way, but again, I'm not sure. One thing is for certain, though, Chad and J.J. are both worried about her. They need to be. Chica is going loco after what she's been through, and I'm glad the writers are exploring the scars left by what she went through. It's one thing to witness a character go through a horrendous experience, but to see the aftermath is just as rewarding for the audience, as that doesn't always happen.

And if we're handing out props, Billy Flynn certainly deserves some, too! He's playing Chad masterfully. I guess being cast as a DiMera child, you have to know how to handle inner conflict, but this latest round is amazing. While Chad wants to save Abigail from Ben, he also seems to be struggling with the fact that he's losing the Abigail he knows as her breakdown worsens, yet you can also tell Chad wants to deny this at the same time. It's been powerful, and Billy and Kate have been top notch in every scene.

Okay, I will question Chad's idea of the garden picnic and, um, frolicking. Being outside while a serial killer potentially looms is kind of the equivalent of being a ditzy blonde in a slasher flick, or saying, "I'll be right back." Those blondes and "be right backers" never fare well.

And while I'm frightened for Abigail, I'm just downright scared for Maggie. Talk about anxiety! I'd hope that the current writers don't put Maggie in a wheelchair (or worse) after all she's been through, yet hoping for the best with that gang is a little dicey. They seem on a mission to ensure everyone is miserable in the most horrific way possible. I guess it's a step up that Maggie wasn't bludgeoned by a booze bottle, you know, again, but I'll move on...

So, Deimos did what he thought he had to do. He destroyed Victor by hurting Maggie and backed Vic into a corner until he signed over everything. Everything! Ding, ding. Deimos won this round, I'll give him that.

And if I'm being honest, I'll also give him a pass on wanting to destroy Victor. As much as I love that curmudgeonly tycoon most of the time, Victor wasn't doing himself any favors. In fact, he was wrong. Is Deimos a dirty bird and do I want to throat-punch him for hurting Maggie? Yes and, oh, yes. But...

Deimos was caged up for thirty years for a crime he didn't commit. That was on Victor. And that would make even the sanest Salemite go a little batty, grab a red Sharpie, and want revenge. Even if he didn't mean it, Vic could have easily apologized, and that would be that. But, nope. Vic had to be stubborn when he should have actually apologized. Yes, Deimos hurt him by bedding Helena, but does that really equal a lifetime in jail? I'm going with "no."

Ultimately, it's Maggie paying for Victor's stubbornness. Yes, Deimos did the deed. It's his fault-fault that Maggie was hurt, but Victor could have prevented it. And while there were some magical "Magic" scenes last week, I'm worried here. Victor is losing me as an ally. I know we're to believe that his heart is in the right place, but snapping at Summer over Maggie's body wasn't fun to watch (and I'm not even holding a "Welcome Summer" sign). Maggie cringing while he acted like a baby at Brady's party wasn't fun to watch. And Victor not being man enough to admit his faults isn't fun. It's obvious that Victor loves Maggie more than his money now, but he's not really proving he loves her more than revenge. Ugh. I'm not mad at him, just disappointed.

Well, at least Deimos and Kate are happy after all of their years of being kept apart. There's that. Oh, wait.

LOOSE ENDS: I can't help but mist up every time Ciara talks about what Chase did to her. It's so heartbreaking. I'm glad Hope is there for her, but I'm hoping we will see some follow-up. One, for starters, I want to see Ciara's therapy sessions with Marlena. Two, I want to see Ciara talk to Aunt Kayla and Cousin Jennifer. And three, I want to see Ciara give Chad a high-five for kicking Chase off the DiMera grounds. I mean, just when you think Chad is already swoon-worthy cool, he ups his game. Hat tip, sir. Hat tip.

I was grateful for Brady and Theresa's engagement party. It provided some much-needed relief. Theresa crawling on the floor was hilarious in an awkward, humiliating-after-a-while kind of way. The sincere speeches from Brady and Theresa were sweet. I adore that John looked past his coma and welcomed Theresa to his family. That was big of him. For those reasons, I was grateful for the party, even though no one from Theresa's side could come. You know, because Eve is still too busy at LaGuardia, looking for Claire.

Good on you, Belle Black! I'm so glad she went there with Philip and sidelined his declarations of love and commitment. I wish more soap characters were honest about stuff like that.

HOT

Give it up to Salem's "scream queens" Kate Mansi, Suzanne Rogers, and Vivian Jovanni! As each Salemite battled their own monsters, these three actresses were fantastically flawless. More, please!

NOT Probably not the NOTTIEST "NOT" ever (or really of last week, if I'm being real), but I'm more than ready for a real Belle and Paul scene. Those two kissing hello was nice, but I want to see them, you know, get to know each other. I'm sure they would be fun together. I'll even trade about ten Belle/Philip scenes for just one solid Belle/Paul scene. I know, I know. I'm generous like that.

LINE(S) OF THE WEEK: MAGIC EDITION! Victor (to Maggie): "So I am going to be eye-candy and I don't have to be nice?" Maggie (to Victor): "Well, no one expects polite conversation from you, dear, but they still invite you." Victor (to Maggie): "Listen to how cranky you are. You're never cranky. I'm the cranky one."

RANDOM THOUGHTS I think Abigail summed up DAYS with the understatement of the year, "...seems like so many bad things are happening at once." Word, girl. Word.

I love, love, love that Brady's started to call Theresa "Jeannie T." Welcome aboard, Brady Black!

If Abigail doesn't want the pills that Fynn gave her, I'm sure Jennifer would take them off her hands. Just saying.

Speaking of Jenny Bear, really? Abby's room will feel like a tomb now that she's gone. She's laying it on pretty thick, especially considering so many Salemites are dropping like flies lately. The entire town will soon feel like that. Stick to, "Why don't you ever call me?," "I haven't seen the baby in a while...," and other such mom guilt trips, J-Ho. They're a little less creepy.

Chad always has the best socks. Ever.

Raise your hand if you want a pissed-off Nicole to pull her claws out of retirement and go after Deimos for what he did to Maggie!

I kind of chuckled when Eduardo asked Gabi, "What's wrong with you?"

Galen Gering has one of the best "I'm smitten" smirks/twinkly eyes combos ever.

In addition to her general fabulousness, I adore Martha Madison's facial expressions so much. When Theresa was crawling around on the floor, the look on Belle's face was priceless.

Ahh, Andre's still in prison. Probably for the best, but I miss Thaao Penghlis. Maybe Tony will come back with Anna instead. #DAYSdream

I want to fall in love with Dario again, I really do, and, while he's not wrong about a lot of things, nearly every other word out of his mouth makes me wonder if there's a "ShutUpDario" hashtag trending on Twitter.

I kind of wish they'd used "Collin" as Thomas's middle name so he could be Tom Collins.

And giant stuffed gorillas are being added to my list of things that creep me out.

I'm glad that Chad is carrying on Stefano's tradition of hiring handsome henchman/guards. No, Marco, we haven't forgotten about you.

I mean this respectively, but even after a few weeks, I'm still not sure how Mama Hernandez isn't AT LEAST dragging around an oxygen tank after all of the maladies we've heard her go through since the first Hernandi first arrived in Salem. I guess she has mutant healing powers and gets better right after important family events.

At the party, it almost looked like Brady was sporting the George Clooney "Caesar cut." If '90s hairstyles are coming back, maybe Summer would score some points with Victor if she rocked the Rachel from Friends do. *insert exaggerated stage wink*

PARTING THOUGHTS So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of April 4. Just like old times, Laurisa will be back next week! I'll even leave the lights on for her as Salem has become even creepier. And, "That's a fact!"

As always, thanks for reading! Tony

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