Credit: Howard Wise/JPI, Jill Johnson/JPI (3), Peacock screenshot
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The returning writers are wasting no time shifting stories, dropping couples and redirecting plots — and Days of Our Lives hasn’t been this interesting in ages. Things are moving fast with Jude, Gabi and Abigail, and that twist at Maggie’s non-wedding surprised us all!
The End of Konstantin
OK, let’s just jump right into the one thing I thought I’d want to avoid like the plague this week: Konstantin! Ever since the handover last Friday, I’ve been thinking, “Wow this show is a nice change of pace.” And then Konstantin showed up and everything I’d been hating all came flooding back.
And that embezzlement set up made even less sense when Konstantin bumped the wedding up. It takes time to steal money. Konstantin wouldn’t just clear out the account she gave him in a few hours, then show up to the wedding with a smile on his face. And why would he even need to marry her if he got all that money?
That’s what I was thinking, but then at the wedding Justin got the alert that the trust account had been cleaned out. It would be stupid for Konstantin to move that fast, and I got the distinct impression Maggie and co. were the ones who swiped it. Which… was that always the plan? Eh, whatever, because I actually enjoyed the wedding and seeing Konstantin bluster and blow in his humiliation.
Plus, I laughed out loud at Theresa’s “What the eff is going on?” look on her face as Konstantin tried activating The Pawn and Bonnie’s utter confusion as they unwound Konstantin’s lies. Oh, and Alex’s cheerful grin as Maggie told Konstantin he’s going to prison actually made me not hate him.
Was It Worth It?
In the end, I think this storyline may almost be salvaged. I’m going to go out on a limb and say none of us were expecting Konstantin to spit at everyone that he sabotaged Victor’s plane and killed him! That makes all these past months so much creepier and darker as he then preyed on Victor’s widow and planned to kill Maggie as well. That’s why he would have gone through with the wedding, even if he already stole most of her money. (Though wanting to do that with The Pawn at the wedding was just stupid, dude. Everyone would know it was you…)
As for Maggie, as I get into here, this could have far reaching consequences and really shake her. At this point, Konstantin is, as I say in the headline, a dead man walking. Spoilers for next week have someone getting shot and the Kiriakis men being left with cryptic words from Konstantin… on his deathbed? Will a scuffle go off for John’s gun leaving him dead? Will Theresa step in and “accidentally” kill him? Will Xander finally let loose his rage on the man?
There’s no way they can let him live, but he may tip something off that’ll lead them to realizing the truth about Xander and Alex. Then again, Xander’s mom could do that the second she shows up now that Bonnie and Sarah finally called her. In any case, yes, we got six months of Konstantin driving us all crazy, and I don’t know if anything can make up for that, but this was a very welcome surprise. That’s how you do a Friday cliffhanger.
Hot and Cold
Elsewhere in the Kiriakis family drama, we got a first look at a story that was dropped flat by the returning writers — Alex and Kristen. That pivot felt like they took one look at the pairing and were like “Oh, hell no!”
But I appreciated how Alex pointed out to Kristen how many times Theresa slipped up (it’s been a lot over the past few months) and seemed over eager about things like the money and covered with little lies. Ignoring those has been as blatant as Maggie ignoring all of Konstantin’s red flags. I’m getting whiplash, though, as the returning writers set that quadrangle straight. Kristen dropped Alex out of nowhere, Theresa slept with Brady, then dumped him within episodes to get back with Alex.
I kind of felt bad for the poor guy, but we all know how Brady is when it comes to making smart romantic choices.
Death, Lies and Abigail
I was really expecting the writer switch to wrap up Clyde fast since he’s been dragged out so long, but instead, they pretty much guaranteed we’ll be seeing him more regularly again for a little while. And all he had to do is say, “Abigail’s still alive.”
The fan theories have been running rampant about Abigail. That she’s alive and about to come back. That Clyde’s got a lookalike he’s been waiting to break out. Maybe there’s a clone out there that Clyde’s had imprisoned and Dr. Rolf’s had the real one on ice. Or this is all just a way for Clyde to save his own skin and buy some time — there’s no Abigail and in the end, the show will finally let Chad move on.
Clyde’s revelation wasn’t exactly a shock (especially since the weekly teaser video included it), and say what you will about resurrection on this show, but it’s got people talking and that’s almost always a good thing. Plus, Abigail was a beloved character that I think most fans are OK with bringing back. But one way or another, hopefully this will put an end to all the teasing. (Or maybe I just read too much into every Abigail mention and discussion because I’m paranoid.)
The Fall of House DiMera
And Jude! We can’t forget about that! From all I can tell, Sloan is really, truly gone and not coming back. And while I liked her as a character (more so when she wasn’t desperate for a baby and to keep Eric), I’m OK with that for the story, because the fallout isn’t going to be about her. It’s just a matter of how EJ is going to be undone.
Melinda’s a force to be reckoned with once again (Rafe caved way too easily with something he should have arrested her for, but I really enjoyed her cool command of the situation), and EJ would be wise not to tick her off. Or maybe Leo will finally put two and two together about why EJ wanted him quiet. Then there’s the DNA results sitting in the DiMera safe — I’m pretty sure those are still the real ones Sloan screwed up in switching. And Eric just doesn’t trust EJ, ever. He could start digging into how Sloan really got away and come up with something.
In the end, EJ’s living on borrowed time, and the longer this goes on, the worse it’ll be for him when he loses Nicole and Jude.
Some Final Words
It’s Emmy night, so instead of snarky stray thoughts, I wanted to leave you with something uplifting. Because when I spoke with a few of the Days of Our Lives folks about the Emmys, it was clear how much everyone truly cared for each other.
More: How to watch the Daytime Emmys
You can check out what Linsey Godfrey (Sarah) had to say about the daytime community here. And Tamara Braun (Ava) happily cheered on everyone who was nominated. Yes, she was looking forward to the ladies’ lunch (which you can check out here), but she wasn’t ready to stop there.
“It is so nice that people are supportive in our field,” she shared. “And I don’t understand why is it just a ladies’ lunch and not everybody? I was thinking about that. I think everybody should get together and have lunch and support one another and love each other.”
As for Emily O’Brien (Theresa/Gwen), “I’m just looking forward to celebrating with all my fellow classmates. We’ve got Wally [Kurth, Justin] and Eric [Martsolf, Brady] and me and Lindsey and Tamara and in real life we get on so well. So the fact that the five of us have a nomination is just, I don’t know. One, it’s like a gift. So I just can’t wait.”
Neither can I. So good luck tonight, everyone at Days of Our Lives and the daytime community!
