The Haunted DiMansion; Days of our Lives Two Scoops column for August 26, 2024

It’s always a pleasure to see Cady McClain in Salem, and this brief but powerful Jennifer cameo was a doozy! I was genuinely shocked when Jennifer screamed, “That’s not my daughter!” It was something guttural from Jen’s soul that she couldn’t control. It makes sense why she and Jack need to jet off to Boston, but a mother’s intuition—not to mention the intuition of an investigative journalist—is ultimately going to turn out to be right.

I love that this storyline let us in on part of the twist right away. DAYS wasted no time in letting us know that Dr. Greene is the one working with “Abigail,” and she’s not really Chad’s wife. Whoa! I didn’t see Dr. Greene getting his hands dirty! His two other siblings have been downright wholesome, and this twist makes him all the more interesting. It also explains why those DNA tests could very easily be swapped, since Dr. Greene has access to the lab. And, we know poor Kayla couldn’t manage to keep any lab tests accurate, even if they were stabled to her lab coat.

But now, we have to know why. Who is Dr. Greene’s target here? Is it Jack? I feel like we’d been there, done that with Gwen’s storyline. Could it be Chad? It’s hard to think far enough back to when Chad might have wronged someone unless Mia McCormick was a long-long-ago Greene kiddo. Or could it be the entire DiMera crew? That deep conversation Abigail had with E.J. was not an accident. “Abigail” is positioned to be in a spot to blow the DiMera family all sorts of apart.

And while we’re talking about E.J., he was on fire this week. I would have sworn that Stefano would have sent him to etiquette school, but apparently, he skipped the day when they went over not telling a woman she’d been raped. Oh, and then you slept with her, too, but not in a rapey way, just in an “I cheated on my fiancée” way. Seriously, man, that came in a little hot. And knowing that this woman is not Abigail, it was hard not to notice the chemistry between her and E.J. Still, thank goodness, Chad barged in in time to keep E.J. from telling “Abigail” she had also murdered Andre. Save something for your second conversation, Eej.

Speaking of DiMera men who overplayed their hands, Stefan got tella-told off by one Gabi DiMera-soon-to-be-Hernandez. Gabi ripped into Ava and Stefan and, mercifully, ripped that Bandaid off for the whole audience. This secret—which was always much more of a plot point than a believable twist—was always going to be far less interesting than the fallout.

And again, thanks to E.J. this storyline is going to continue being interesting! We got three things to be thankful for this week. One is that Dan Feuerriegel is back on our screens. I get that E.J. needed a timeout after the Nicole stuff, but the show is measurably better with him on it, so I’m glad that ship is righted. Two is the utter delight with which E.J. exclaimed, “Oh, my!” when finding out Stefan had cheated with Ava. Pure magic, Mr. Feuerriegel. No notes.

Third was, thanks to E.J. being a bit of a hothead, he kinda forced Gabi into staying in the mansion. Yessss!! I love this! The house has become a bit of a Melrose Place with Gabi, “Abigail,” Stefan, E.J., Johnny, Chanel, Kristen, and sometimes Chad all roaming around these haunts. This group got a lot more interesting.

Loose Ends

I wonder if Melinda woke up and thought, “Ahhh, man! Can I at least get some stuffed animals and unlimited TV with my crazy lady?” Alas, she’s stuck with Connie and cardboard Li—which is far worse. I need Melinda to be rescued. Kristen knows she’s there. Ava probably still has a key to the place. Let’s see the unholy Power Puff Girls assemble for an all-girl face-off!

I’ve been a defender of the whole Body & Soul plot because it was a) nice to have something light-hearted and b) most importantly—not taking up a ton of time. Well, folks, we’re losing grip on that later point. This beast is sucking up way too many characters and not enough importance. Right now, it’s just an island for people who don’t have any other storylines.

Kate and Abe are producing the show because they don’t have anything else to do. Johnny’s been walking around with nothing to do for ages, and now he’s the director. Leo hasn’t had a definite direction ever on this show, so they’re making him the head writer because a few month ago, he became a journalist. Stephanie is the PR person because she has no more DID boyfriend drama. And now, Chanel and Alex are becoming actors because the bakery is running well and his marriage is annulled, respectively. I love that this is an umbrella storyline, but where’s the rain? Where’s the consequence?

I’ll say right now if it’s to make a love triangle between Alex, Chanel, and Johnny, I’m out. Chanel is going to have to be so dumbed down to make us believe that she’d ever fall for Alex, especially when she’s literally married to the upgraded version of Alex. Johnny and Chanel had the storyline of the cad meets the queen. Only Johnny’s cad didn’t make you reach for hand sanitizer every time he came around. Johnny actually has a lot more class. And class is what we demand for our Lady Dupree.

Fiona is still a little mystery to me. I think she’s sad that Sarah is hurt? I don’t think she’d lie to Victoria when no one else is around? But, still. This angle that she didn’t really set Brady up, but sorta did leaves me puzzled as to what her motivations are. I can’t imagine she really expected to sign up to have to look after Brady this month. But our guy is going through it. Thanks to Kristen calling him, he thinks he may have hit Sarah. Ugh. I love the fact that she’s going to be wrong. However, I don’t love that the truth is that Brady fell off the wagon because of Theresa, slept with Fiona, and passed out in his car.

Sarah’s heart-to-heart with Maggie was utterly lovely. I adore that Sarah is looking at the prospect of living a full life, regardless of whether that’s on her feet or in a wheelchair. I loved Sarah saying that she doesn’t need a pep talk; she needs support. This is such an important line that we need to say in real life, too! The prospect of having a DAYS character who is in a wheelchair would be a nice step toward wider representation on soaps, too.

I’m rooting for Rafe to wake up, no doubt. But Jada is kinda killing this comish thing. She handled Xander like a boss—but with compassion, something no commissioner since Abe has been able to manage. If Rafe were to come back as a detective with ties to the FBI who always “has a guy” and Jada got to remain in charge, I wouldn’t be upset.

Sophia went to heckle Tate about being a virgin (who can’t drive). I’m glad Holly threw Sophia out. However, if Holly doesn’t believe Tate right away on Monday, I’ll be livid. The amount that this dude has gone through for her earns him the benefit of the doubt. Plus, I’m ready for the teen scene to get off this island—literally and metaphorically. They’re established personalities now and could do with a better storyline in the real world.

EXTRA SCOOPS

HOT:

Julie got an update on “Abigail” and rightly checked in on Chad. I love this. Susan Seaforth Hayes got to unleash her superpower in this scene. Julie's way of looking at certain people with such care and admiration is unparalleled. Sometimes it’s delightful (Doug). Sometimes it’s misplaced (Nick). But with Chad, it’s delightful. I love that she thinks to check on him. He’s not blood, but he is family to her. It’s endearingly delightful.

NOT:

Thanks to the placement of the scenes, it made it hard not to notice these head-slap moments.

First, right after a Body & Soul scene where Abe is deciding who should be cast, we cut to a scene with Jada saying that they’re really shorthanded with Harris and Shawn (not to mention Rafe and Goldman) off the force. Huh, if only there was a decorated police officer with time to kill that could help look at evidence.

Next, E.J. had the scene with Abigail where he implies (but not outright says, which is not cool, DAYS) that Stefan raped Abigail. This immediately preceded the scene with Stefan telling Gabi that cheating on her was the biggest mistake of his life. Really? Really, Stefan? Infidelity is not great. But rape is an actual crime.

LINE OF THE WEEK:

Paulina: “Are you busy?”

Jada: “I am. But I can multitask.”

I loved the low-key shade that a very busy Jada cast on someone interrupting her. I think I want to use this line in my real life!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

I love the people at the Bistro bar just watching Gabi tear into Stefan and Ava.

As a chronic over-sharer, I feel for Leo not getting a job.

I love that Xander calls Victoria a “bonnie wee lass.”

The score over most Brady Pub scenes is a kind of slow country music. However, shouldn’t it be Irish?

I liked how Fiona was in her room, drinking a fully garnished bloody mary.

Can we please get “Abigail” a real name? Lord help me, if they make her another Greene kid and name her “Rachel,” I will groan so hard.

For what it’s worth, I think it’s fine for Chanel to go on through life thinking Alex is an Fboy. That’s not inaccurate. And he betrayed her in a pretty intimate way.

Part of me wonders if Brady will remember the truth and then team up with Xander to get revenge on Fiona.