Days of Our Lives Round Table: A Sad, Pathetic Excuse For a Funeral

Chloe took care of Brady, Nicole volunteered Rafe’s home, Abigail reached out to Gabi, while just a few Salemites mourned Laura on Days of Our Lives.

Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Soaps4Ever and MurphysLaw from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Chloe getting close to Brady, Laura’s blink-and-you-missed-it funeral, Abigail and Gabi teaming up, and more!

Is Chloe foolish to get so close to Brady, knowing that Kristen already wants her dead? Do you think her true motive is guilt over Brady getting shot or her attraction to him?

Soaps4Ever: I think Chloe is a bit foolish knowing how volatile Kristen can be. I think she is motivated by guilt and also her attraction to Brady. But I do enjoy watching Kristen seethe over it.

MurphysLaw: Yes, I do believe that Chloe is fooling herself that Kristen isn’t a threat because she is behind bars. After everything that Kristen has done, Chloe should know better than to ever underestimate her.

Chloe may have started out helping Brady from guilt, but it is now all about her attraction to him.

Jack: Yes and no. I’m a firm believer in not letting other people dictate the terms of your life, but Chloe is foolish to assume that just because Kristen is in prison, she’s been neutralized. Have any of these people ever met Kristen before?

Since when does being temporarily removed from the situation stop her? I think Chloe is very clearly smitten with Brady. Everyone but her seems to be aware of it.

Christine: Oye. This story bothers me because Chloe has to either be an idiot or completely forget all of Kristen’s history to believe there will be no consequences to getting close to Brady.

I mean, the woman broke of our prison and already held a gun on Chloe; what more does she need to know that her life is in danger?

Laura is dead. Did the show have to kill her off to further the rift between Abigail and Gwen, or could this have been done another way? And did Laura deserve more than a mostly off-screen funeral?

Soaps4Ever: I don’t think it was a very good farewell to a classic character. I feel they could have done better. I think they did use that storyline to create more of a rift between Abigail and Gwen.

But they could have chosen another way without killing off Laura. They could have chosen a different situation that was just as traumatic.

MurphysLaw: I was very upset that they killed another iconic character like Laura just to push this feud between Abigail and Gwen.

There were many other ways to push this feud that would have been a much better story than killing Laura when COVID prevented a true send-off funeral. As a long-time viewer, I felt cheated.

Jack: I am beyond aggravated with this. I was so mad about it I wrote an entire column about it here on TV Fanatic! [https://www.tvfanatic.com/2021/02/days-of-our-lives-must-stop-killing-off-legacy-characters/ ]

There was zero reason to kill Laura off. She could have just left town never to return, and Abby could resent Gwen for that. Or she could have lapsed into a coma without dying. Or Gwen could have just blamed Abigail for what Laura did.

Or Abigail could have fought back with her job at the Spectator and written an article about how Laura was right to not want Gwen in her life. Etc., ad nauseum.

And then, to add insult to injury, Laura got no real funeral. Jack and Jennifer grieved for one scene, maybe two. Out of town family stayed out of town. In-town family didn’t bother to attend.

There were no flashbacks, and Laura was portrayed as a “devoted mother” for the sake of aggravating Gwen, totally ignoring that her schizophrenia often precluded her from being terribly devoted.

In fact, she left Jennifer on a bus while in the throes of mental illness and was in and out of institutions during Jennifer’s childhood, plus she lied about who Mike’s father was for years.

It would have been a wonderful story for 1) Jennifer and Mike settling Laura’s estate to be on-screen so that they could discuss their complicated feelings about her history 2) For there to be flashbacks of Laura’s many years in Salem, as is done for other legacy characters, and 3) for there to be a real funeral.

Instead, the writers made it clear Laura’s death was nothing but a plot point, and the whole reason for a funeral at all was for Gwen and Abigail to fight at the graveside. Ugh.

Christine: I’ve never been a fan of Laura’s, and even I thought this was a horrible ending for this character.

As others have said, she could have been in a coma or simply left town in disgrace, and Abigail and Gwen still could have hated one another.

Instead, a legacy character was killed in a lackluster way and given a quickie funeral that was mostly off-screen, just to provide Abigail with more reason to hate Gwen. Like this show needs more revenge plots!

Does Gabi actually have feelings for Jake, or does she just want him because he’s with someone else?

Soaps4Ever: I think Gabi does have real feelings for Jake, but I think the fact that he is with someone else makes Gabi want him even more if that makes any sense. She likes competition.

MurphysLaw: I do believe that Gabi has real feelings for Jake, and she wants him because of those feelings, not just because he is with someone else. I am not so sure if her feelings for Jake are just for Jake or tied to the fact that he looks like Stefan.

Jack: I think Gabi thinks she has feelings for Jake. I’m not sure Gabi is capable of having feelings for anyone but herself, really. And she is definitely jealous that Kate has Jake and she doesn’t.

Christine: I’m still not convinced that Gabi’s feelings for Jake don’t stem from the fact that he looks exactly like Stefan, a man she truly loved. I think Gabi would have walked away from this relationship if Jake weren’t with Kate.

The whole thing makes Gabi looks childish and desperate, and her bending over in her too-tight dress to show Jake her ass was tasteless and demeaning.

Was Nicole out of line when she said that Ava could move in with Rafe? Is this really Ava’s best option to stay safe?

Soaps4Ever: I thought Nicole asking Rafe to take in Ava was way out of line! Surely there are other options, and it’s not Rafe’s obligation to see that Ava is safe. She is not his responsibility.

MurphysLaw: I am a really big Nicole and Rafe fan, but even I have to say she was out of line offering Rafe’s house without talking to him before she said anything, and Rafe had much better ideas for Ava’s safety than her moving in with him.

I absolutely loved their conversation about it, though. They are so cute together.

Jack: This seems silly and unnecessary. Tripp offered to stay with Ava. Why isn’t that good enough? And why has no one filed a restraining order against Charlie on her behalf?

I know those aren’t always enforced well, but it would at least be a step in the right direction.

Christine: Although I did enjoy Rafe and Nicole’s banter over this, Nicole offering his home was way out of line. As Rafe said, he shouldn’t have to babysit a mob princess on his off time.

Not to mention that it’s unnecessary given that Ava can afford security and Tripp is willing to stay with his mom, so what’s the point?

Abigail is trying to recruit Gabi to help her get revenge against Gwen. Has the show gone overboard with revenge plots, and have you had a favorite or a least favorite?

Soaps4Ever: I actually like Gabi and Abigail teaming up. They have been enemies, and now they can be frenemies. It’s kind of refreshing, actually, and I look forward to seeing how it plays out.

It might turn out to be my favorite. Gwen’s revenge plot has been my least favorite. She’s not very endearing, and it makes it hard to sympathize with her.

MurphysLaw: Abigail and Gabi working together to bring Gwen down is the only thing that has come out of Gwen’s storyline that has me interested.

Gwen’s whole plot to ruin the sister who had nothing to do with what happened to Gwen or her mother never made sense and has to be the worst reason for revenge I have ever heard.

Jack: I am so tired of revenge plots. Right now, we have two going on at once (Evan/Orpheus vs. Ciara and Gabi/Abby against Gwen.) Gwen came to town looking for revenge, Eve and Vincent wanted revenge on Ben, Ben wanted revenge on Vincent… the list goes on and on.

Christine: I am so tired of revenge plots. And given that Gwen supposedly didn’t kill Laura intentionally, I really don’t want to see Abigail and Gabi go after her.

If Gwen is going to stick around Salem, I’d prefer to see Gwen and Jack try to build a relationship rather than yet another revenge plot that drags on and on for no real purpose. I’m bored, and this storyline has barely begun.

Ciara was kidnapped by Vincent, then held by Rhodes, and now she’s in the clutches of Christian/Evan. How long can they drag this out, and do you think she’ll be back with Ben before February Sweeps is over?

Soaps4Ever: I don’t think Ciara will be back with Ben for a long while. They are just milking this ridiculous storyline for all its worth. And I also think Claire is developing feelings for Ben. Which for sure will complicate things once Ciara can get free.

MurphysLaw: I sure hope that they get Ciara back by the end of sweeps because I am already over the whole “who has kidnapped Ciara this time” plot. Been there, done that! Enough already.

When Ben finally gets her back this time, he needs to implant a GPS tracker, like they do for pets, so he can always find her, and we can finally move on.

Jack: I wish they would just end this. It’s so ridiculous and uninteresting. And why doesn’t Shawn trace the call Ben supposedly got from Ciara instead of yammering about dead ends?

I feel this will go on for a long time and that Ciara will be “killed” again only to pop up being held captive by yet someone else later on.

Christine: So they brought Ciara back from the dead just to lock her in a room where she can’t interact with Ben, Hope, or anyone else who cares about her. What’s the point?

It reminds me of when they brought Bo back only to have us watch him be tortured in a cell for weeks on end. It’s such a waste of time and not what fans want to see.

What was your favorite and least favorite scene or storyline from Days of Lives this week?

Soaps4Ever: I think my favorite scene is where Abigail suggests she and Gabi team-up. It is good to see them having a shared goal instead of fighting.

Also, I liked where Susan decided to switch places with Kristen since it will be interesting. But at the same time, I don’t like that Ben and Kristen were both trying to take advantage of Susan. And since Kristen doesn’t have psychic powers like Susan does, she won’t be any help to Ben once she and Susan switch.

I did think it was amusing, though, when Kristen told Susan they had a sundae bar at the prison, and how she was using that and the threat of Chloe to lure Susan into switching. But I don’t know whether to feel sorry for Susan or not since she knows how conniving and untrustworthy Kristen is.

MurphysLaw: I love any time I get some Rafe and Nicole scenes. I really love these two together!

I was very disappointed with the poor send-off Days gave to Laura. Her death was very unnecessary, and she deserved better.

Jack: Though there weren’t nearly enough of them, I liked what grief scenes we did have with Jack and Jennifer, and I was thrilled that they at least remembered to have Jennifer talk to JJ on the phone.

I also liked Belle and Claire’s conversation. I’m a sucker for these family time scenes that we don’t get enough of nowadays.

Christine: I loved Xander and Sarah’s joint marriage proposals, but I wish we’d gotten more followup instead of just seeing the happy moment and then the show moving on to something else.

I also appreciated that Jennifer, even in the middle of her grief, stopped Julie’s tirade in deference to Jack’s feelings about his daughter. They’re all going through enough without having Julie go off the deep end about her hatred for Gwen, and Jennifer was probably the only person who could have stopped her.

Now it’s your turn, TV Fanatics! What was your favorite scene of the week? Hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below and let us know. Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.

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C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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