Days of Our Lives Review for the Week of 10-30-23: Two Weddings, A Halloween Fantasy, and…Murder?

Remember when weddings were romantic, large-scale soap events?

Days of Our Lives used to go all out. Destination weddings. Romantic speeches. Couples’ love overcoming a crisis at the wedding itself (I still shiver every time I recall Kayla getting her voice back at her wedding to Steve.)

Instead of anything like that, on Days of Our Lives during the week of 10-30-23, we got two tiny weddings. Did anyone feel the romance here?

Days of Our Lives has a smaller budget these days, and in the post-COVID world, the number of people on set at a time is severely limited, but that doesn’t mean weddings have to be these shoestring affairs.

The rushed, guest-free weddings are supposed to suggest that Nicole and Eric are making a mistake and should marry each other. But they were so last-minute that it was unrealistic.

Putting together a wedding in a heartbeat is a silly soap opera trope, but these went beyond that.

EJ and Nicole had few guests — Tony and Anna were conveniently out of town, and apparently, Nicole has no friends anymore. (Why didn’t she at least invite Abe and Paulina?)

And to add insult to injury, they didn’t have a real officiant, instead relying on the new DAYS trope of choosing someone who jumps online to get ordained just in time for the ceremony.

This mess was insulting to EJ/Nicole shippers. The writers only had these two go through the motions of a wedding so that EJ’s world can be turned upside down when Nicole inevitably dumps him for Eric.

Why are the writers sacrificing this relationship for yet another round of Eric and Nicole? Nicole hit the nail on the head last time they broke up when she said that their attraction to each other was based on nostalgia and that they are too different for a relationship to succeed.

That insight should make her stay away from Eric permanently. Also, this is the 21st century, where many divorced people co-parent.

Days of Our Lives needs to dump this antiquated idea that people need to be married for the baby’s sake and stop using that as an excuse to drift back toward someone whom they don’t belong with.

Eric and Sloan’s wedding was even more ridiculous. At least there was genuine love between EJ and Nicole, even if it’s not meant to last.

Eric did precisely what Nicole did with Rafe: get married so he could prove to the world he’d moved on. When Nicole tried it, it led to her and Eric having an affair that destroyed her relationship.

Can we please do something different this time?

Eric and Sloan’s wedding was so quickly thrown together that Brady didn’t know it was happening — and if he hadn’t walked in, Eric would have had no best man.

Sloan had no maid of honor, either. You’d think her new best friend Melinda would at least be in attendance.

Sloan: Our first time making love as husband and wife.
Eric: Did it feel different?
Sloan: Oh, I felt… I felt more connected to you.
Eric: I felt it too.
Sloan: Are you sure?

And if that pathetic excuse for a wedding, complete with Roman’s resigned comment that it looks like Eric is married again, wasn’t bad enough, the couple followed it up with honeymoon sex on the couch and Sloan wondering if Eric was sure marrying her was the right move for him.

Even if Eric and Nicole are endgame, why make it so obvious that Eric and Sloan won’t last? These lip service weddings are a waste of screen time.

EJ and Nicole didn’t get much of a honeymoon either, but at least Nicole’s hesitation was about the baby kicking and not about EJ, and the two are working as a team to defeat Stefan and Gabi’s latest nonsense.

This couple has potential.

I didn’t like the idea when they first got together because of their terrible history and how EJ had recently attempted to control Sami’s behavior. But now, they seem well-matched and have decent chemistry.

I wish they wouldn’t throw this away so that Nicole can return to “true love” Eric.

It also irked me that Nicole told Chad she could relate to his difficulty getting over Abigail’s death because she still had feelings for Eric. What? She lost Daniel in a drunk driving accident soon after they got engaged.

Why isn’t she talking about that, which directly mirrors Chad’s experience of losing a partner to death, instead of some nonsense about missing Eric despite moving on?

Nicole and EJ’s wedding was also intertwined with this silly Holly story.

Holly is a teenager, so it’s understandable that she would have a crush on Johnny and wish she could be with him. But let’s not turn this into an obsessive love story.

Holly is so out of touch with reality that her Halloween fantasy sequence in which she asked Tate to pretend to attack her to get Johnny’s attention didn’t seem out of character.

That’s…  not good.

And why is she so desperate to keep her feelings hidden? How does she think Johnny choosing her over Chanel will work if she doesn’t want anyone to know how she feels about him?

I get not wanting him to know until she’s sure he feels the same way (which will be never), but why is it that Nicole, Eric, and other adults need to think she’s not into Johnny?

Chad should have invited Stephanie to the wedding instead of assuming it would upset or anger her. Deciding not to only created extra distance for no reason and opened the door for a fight over Everett.

I haven’t been happy with Stephanie since this story began.

She supposedly understands that Chad is still grieving and told him when they first got together that she would be willing to take it as slowly as he needs. Then, out of nowhere, she decided that it was unfair that she had to compete with a ghost.

Stephanie’s been coming off as extremely self-centered, and the way she’s handled Everett’s re-emergence in her life hasn’t helped. She chose to go to bed rather than talk to Chad when he got home and was busy looking at photos of Everett instead.

So her excuse that she just hasn’t had a chance to tell Chad yet is BS, and it looks like she’s drifting from Chad to Everett no matter what she says.

Chad bears some responsibility for this situation, too. He hasn’t done anything to work through his feelings of grief, at least not in recent memory, and is giving Stephanie so much space that there’s been a total communication breakdown.

But Stephanie not only failed to tell Chad about Everett’s existence but also spent half an hour venting to him about the problems in her marriage despite saying that it was none of Everett’s business.

Everett: You didn’t tell your boyfriend ab out running into me?
Stephanie: It’s not like I kept it from him. I had an early meeting this morning and last night when he got home —
Everett: Look, I know you two are having problems. I saw you arguing at the Pub, remember?
Stephanie: That was no big deal.
Everett: You ran out in tears.
Stephanie: You really shouldn’t spy on people, Everett. It’s creepy and weird.

Everett is not Nick despite being played by Blake Berris. Still, it’s hard to believe he’s a good guy with genuinely positive intentions when he’s been following Stephanie around, spying on her, and now got a job in her hometown so that they’ll be in close proximity.

Why would Stephanie, who rejected Alex over his stalker-lite behavior, even give this guy the time of day? His story about the coma adds up less and less the more we learn about him — a well-known local reporter lands in a coma, and no one recognizes him? Really? — and he’s acting weird.

Stephanie needs to run far away, but it seems like instead, she’s gearing up for an affair. Right now, that hug is innocent, but after the next argument over it, will she turn toward Everett for comfort?

There was also some silly Halloween stuff that wasted an hour. The Halloween fantasies get increasingly over the top every year; can’t we have a Halloween episode with people going trick-or-treating or to parties?

And we finally got some Abe/Paulina time, only for it to descend into a nonsensical dream in which Whitley managed to turn Paulina into herself after hitting Abe over the head again. This was such a waste of Jackee Harry, James Reynolds, and Kim Coles’ talents.

The biggest story of the week, of course, was Li’s murder.

Murder mysteries are overdone on Days of Our Lives.

Li’s death was a surprise, though. After Gabi blackmailed him out of his shares, he had a knife in his hand and seemed set on killing her. And with Camila Banus exiting Days of Our Lives soon, many viewers expected Gabi would leave in a body bag.

Instead, Stefan walked in on Gabi holding a bloody knife and Li dead on the floor. This set-up makes it obvious that Gabi killed Li, so she probably didn’t.

Still, Gabi might be headed back to prison for a while. If she is innocent, she’ll be cleared eventually — but will a new actress take over the role, or will Gabi decide to live elsewhere since everyone thinks she’s a murderess?

If Gabi did kill Li, it’s very similar to her murder of Nick, who she shot in the back after putting up with him stalking and tormenting her for ages.

But there is another possibility here.

EJ swore he’d get back on top of Dimera Enterprises and get revenge on Stefan and Gabi. So, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that he had one of his hired goons kill Li and lure Gabi to the apartment to find the body.

EJ: The moment I learned Rolf had you on ice, I should have told him to rip Jake’s heart out of your chest.
Stefan: See, EJ, that’s why I’m such a better chess player than you are. While you’re sitting here second-guessing yourself, I’m always five moves ahead.
EJ: This match is far from over.
Stefan: Hmm. The only thing sadder than a mediocre chess player is one who doesn’t realize he’s been bested.
Gabi: Enjoy your extended honeymoon.
EJ: And you two enjoy your little victory. because I promise you it won’t last. Not only will I be back on top at Dimera, but I will make sure you pay dearly for what you have done.

We know he didn’t do it himself because he and Nicole were headed to the secret room for some fun time, but we don’t know what he was up to between leaving Stefan’s bedroom and talking to Nicole in the living room.

Besides, consistency isn’t a thing on Days of Our Lives; if the writers want EJ to have made a call, they’ll shoehorn it in even if it doesn’t make logistical sense.

What do you think, Days of Our Lives fanatics? Did Gabi kill Li? Were either of the weddings satisfying? And do you want Nicole to be with EJ or with Eric?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know! And don’t forget to check back on Sunday for the latest Days of Our Lives Round Table discussion.

Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.

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