From Days of Our Lives’ Wedding Revelations to That Huge Writing News, Salem’s About to Undergo Big Changes

Credit: Peacock screenshot (3), Jill Johnson/JPI

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Soaps.com may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

From the double wedding kicking off to the writing news, we’ve got a lot to talk about this week for Days of Our Lives, so I’m just going to jump right in!

Story Shift

OK, well, this soapbox shifted a bit once I got the news that headwriter Ron Carlivati was gone after seven years with the soap. It was the last thing I was expecting, maybe because I feel like we just started getting back on track after the strike writers. And in talking to the actors recently, they’ve loved the material since the strike ended.

But what we’re seeing was shot all the way back at the beginning of the year, and the Writers’ Strike ended in the fall, so it’s not like it was an instant turnaround.

And that gets me to the point that for now, at least, the whole thing is kind of moot. Carlivati’s stories will be airing until April of next year — that’s nine months away. It looks like the show’s gotten even farther ahead than ever, which as we’ve talked about before, makes it incredibly difficult to change course if something’s not working.

It’s funny, though, because I know we’ve all had our frustrations with stories (six months of Satan, anyone?), but episodes like today remind me where Carlivati really shines. I was skeptical of the double wedding because it seemed forced on the characters, but also hopeful because I could see the dramatic potential for it. (Seeing as how we’ve gotten how many disastrous double weddings in recent years?)

A Nice Day…

First off, it’s so nice to see an actual wedding again that isn’t in a living room with just a handful of people! I wish they could have gotten some more regulars in there, but at least they filled out the chairs with extras enough that it feels like a bigger affair than anything we’ve got in ages.

More: Roman’s recast — the most shocking of all time?

Then there’s all the drama; from Brady’s struggles nearly spilling over into taking a drink, to Xander’s touching moment where he gives Jack the paper back to that incredible entrance at the very end by Xander’s mom, Fiona.

Serena Scott Thomas’ line delivery was perfect. Her breezy, ever so slightly entitled, “So sorry, I’m late,” has me so excited to see what she does at the wedding — and how she does it!

Paul Telfer and Linsey Godfrey had nothing but wonderful things to say about Scott Thomas and, as we’ll get into a bit later, they also had a lot to say about the emotionally heavy story that’s heading their way. So don’t think Fiona’s visit is a quick one and things will return to the status quo after. I feel like it’s going to be a seachange for Xander, Sarah, Maggie, and the entire Kiriakis family.

…For a White Wedding

That, we know, is all going to start next week when Theresa’s lies are exposed and Alex is knocked down a few pegs. Sorry, but I’m more excited to see his return to earth than Theresa’s schemes crumbling, especially after his encounter with Justin. Yes, he returned, apologized and made nice, but I was so unbelievably happy when Justin finally snapped. After Alex ranted about how Justin needs to be nice to Victor since he’s his dad, Justin yelled back what we’ve all been wanting him to: “So was I, dammit!!”

You still are, Justin, and you still would be even if that letter was true!

More: Celebrate John Aniston’s Victor debut

Alex is going to have a long, long road back to redemption and healing the rift he’s allowed to grow between him and his dad. Yes, this was Theresa’s doing, but Alex didn’t need to react to it by pushing the man who raised him to the side.

Brady, though… Oof. This is going to be a gut punch, even more than the wedding. Because there’s no way Theresa is sticking around.

Playing Dirty

I had thought Nicole was playing a little too nice with EJ, but then the claws came out this week. She didn’t just want to divorce EJ, but lock him up. He, however, isn’t letting her go that easily. And though I’m not entirely sure how it’ll play out, I can see his refusal to divorce Nicole and let, as he said, her and Eric “wander off into the sunset” with Jude being what drives her away and allows everyone else to stay.

Maybe EJ will have something to hold over them, forcing Eric and Nicole to go their separate ways. I don’t know what that could be, but I can see something forming here that’ll drive Nicole out.

Too Far?

They are really stretching out this “Will Rafe live or won’t he” thing. Yes, of course he’ll live, but he might be in a coma for a bit. Though it looks like from spoilers next week, Connie’s going to make another go at taking him out.

I’m just wondering how long he might be out of commission. First John went to Greece, then Steve followed. Now Rafe’s potentially in a coma for some time. Is everyone taking vacation or is there a budgetary reason for these extended exits?

In other Connie news, I’m glad Bobby was aghast at her telling him she killed Rafe. I really thought he’d gone full villain and was encouraging her to murder the commish. With that said, he’s probably the only one who didn’t think Connie meant that when she said she’d get Rafe out of the way. He might want to work on his investigative journalist instincts here if he couldn’t put that together.

Stray Thoughts…

• Was anyone else surprised at how vicious Marlena got? Sami’s done her share of horrible things (in related news, we make the case for Sami to return here) and while I’m not excusing EJ, he didn’t do nearly as much as Sloan and Melinda. Plus, she didn’t haul off and slap Leo for keeping the initial secret for months!

• They actually mentioned Gwen by name this time when her and Leo’s double wedding came up. (You know, the one that, as Leo put it, “was more camp than a row of tents.”) Are they prepping us for her return when Theresa flees town?
• When Justin pulled out the supposed letter from Angelica saying he kept looking for a reason why it wasn’t true, suddenly I realized how much easier this would have been if he’d demanded a DNA test.
• So Sophia’s going full mean girl here, huh? Forcing Holly to work all summer and give her the money in exchange for not telling anyone Tate is hiding in the Horton cabin is… kind of diabolical. Just please don’t turn her into a new Jan Spears.
• Abe, Kate and Chad running a soap in Salem seems like a very Ron Carlivati plot. I’m wondering how far this will get and how integrated into the real show it’ll be by the time we get to the writing changes. I could see it being something that’s jettisoned.