Shawn cheated on Belle!
Mikey from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, joins our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, to discuss whether Dick Van Dyke should return, Gwen knowing the truth, Chanel and Johnny’s reconciliation, and more! And which plot lines should be dropped? Continue reading to find out what our round table crew has to say. Gwen is aware of Leo and Dimitri! Were you taken aback? What do you believe her plan is?
Mikey: I was genuinely surprised! She was acting differently toward Leo on Friday’s episode than she was in Iceland, so I wonder when she figured it out — not that Leo and Dimitri have been anything close to subtle — and if we’ll see flashbacks to something in particular that confirmed it for her. If she’s smart, which is questionable where any of these people are concerned, she’ll play dumb for a while longer in order to divorce Dimitri for his infidelity and walk off with the Von Leuschner millions. I still don’t understand why he didn’t just tell her about the codicil in the first place, though. This is a woman who ran numerous cons on her own biological family. If he’d offered her a cut of the inheritance to stay married for a few years, he would’ve been spared cutting in Kristen *and* having to invoke Gwen’s ire.
Jack: I was relieved. She’s been acting so ridiculously stupid that, in retrospect, she’s had to have been playing the guys for a while. Her best revenge is to stay in the marriage in exchange for a huge payday so that she can torment the men by not allowing them to be fully together. I hope that’s what she does!
Christine: I started to suspect when she was so over-the-top in talking to Leo about her sex life with Dimitri. That was a lot, even for them. But, overall, I was surprised because Gwen has seemed so clueless up to this point.
I’m hoping she makes Dimitri pay her back. She’d wind up with a fortune, and he’d be able to tell Gabi, Stefan, and Kristen to go away. But Gwen can’t be happy that her bestie treated her this way. I’m sorry that this could ruin Leo and Gwen’s friendship, since they’re one of my favorite male/female friend combinations in Salem, but she needs to hold Leo accountable for lying to her about something so significant. Shawn informed Talia that he believed Belle owed him the room to fall apart, especially since she had cheated on him. Is he making a valid point, or is this merely an excuse for him to act destructively?
Mikey: In theory, sure, he has a point. He needs space to grieve and heal. But Belle hasn’t been hounding him to forget it and move on. She’s offered various forms of help, from her own support to therapy to inpatient care, and he’s scoffed at all of it.
No one “deserves” space to drink themselves into a constant stupor, destroy their career, and make life-ruining decisions. Ultimately, those are Shawn’s choices, but he’s digging up old dirt to justify his self-loathing and spiraling.
I suspect they’ll ultimately brush aside his cheating with Talia just like they’ve done with Belle’s various affairs and go back to “normal” until there’s another round of tension in their marriage, though.
Jack: He has the right to space, and he has the right to self-destruct if he really wants to, but there are ways he could fall apart without drinking and starting public arguments. (Or cheating on her with Talia. Ugh.)
In any case, Belle can’t force him to fix himself, and her attempts at support feel like invalidation to him, so it’s understandable that he wants her to leave him alone.
Christine: Shawn has been shooting Bo for months. This isn’t about a lack of space. He’d have a point if space meant coping with things on his own or having time to receive the support he requires. But Shawn is stuck in a self-destructive cycle that he appears unwilling or unable to break free from. And, yeah, Belle cheated on him, but that doesn’t give him the green light to cheat on her. I’ve never thought these two had the strongest marriage, and the fissures are visible. If this turns into a game of self-destructive one-upmanship, they’ll both be in big trouble. John brought his father home to meet his grandkids. What did you think of those scenes, and would you like to see Dick Van Dyke stick around?
Mikey: I’ve enjoyed Dick Van Dyke’s stint, even if it’s comical how easily the pieces got put together. I really appreciated that they didn’t create an entirely different backstory for John and instead just tweaked the most recent, pretty unsatisfying one, and DVD has been incredibly charming.
If that entire family reunion had lasted more than one episode, it would have become syrupy, but it was nice for a single episode. I value just about any sense of familial connection and togetherness among familiar folks these days! It was also fantastic to have Paul involved, however I was amused at how individuals kept marching into the townhouse right on cue once their names were mentioned. After everything they’ve been through, you’d think Marlena and John would lock their doors.
Jack: I loved these scenes. It reminded me of what’s been missing in DAYS for a while. Family used to be the backbone of the show, and now it’s an afterthought. It was great for John to have all his kids there.
I do wish Dick Van Dyke was staying. I know it’s not likely that we’ll see him again, though I’ve read he had a blast and would love to come back for another guest shot sometime. But it seems a little anticlimactic for him to meet the entire family, move in with John, and then disappear from our screens.
I’d love a story of him working to get the rest of his memories back and being a mentor to some of the younger generation as he gets to know them.
Christine: This was just a lovely, heartfelt story that finally gave John the father he deserves. The family reunion made me smile from beginning to end, and I loved that Paul got to be there with Andrew. It was a wonderful way for Dick Van Dyke to be on the show and I’d love for him to return, even on a limited basis, I’d love that too. He’s a real charmer who had instant chemistry with the cast.
Chanel chose Johnny! Are you happy to see this couple back together?
Mikey: I still think these two have a certain X-factor together, and I’m happy to see them reunited, but I wish there had been more of a story to it.
They used Johnny as an occasional friend or talk-to for Chanel all throughout the Sloan/Colin storyline, and I still feel that it should’ve culminated in some life-or-death situation that brought them back together.
At any rate, I’m happy to see her away from Talia, which was an absolutely insane pairing and made Chanel look like a fool, and I’m interested in what comes next for them.
Jack: I am, but I don’t like the way it was done. Johnny and Chanel should have reunited after Wendy chose Tripp, full stop. If they needed more angst, Johnny’s fear of being rejected again would have been enough without the stupid Talia detour.
Chanel should not have dated the woman who tried to ruin her life, whether Talia was being manipulated at the time or not, and it felt cruel for her to move on with Tallia and then, out of the blue, dump her for her ex. I haven’t liked the million times that Eric has done that to various women to be with Nicole, and this wasn’t any better.
Christine: I’m overjoyed that Johnny and Chanel are reuniting. They’ve always been a terrific relationship, and the devil was the only thing that kept them apart, which wasn’t Johnny’s fault. I’m hope that these two are given a nice story to tell together in the future. Talia, on the other hand, awful. I’m not a fan of her, and pairing her with Chanel only made matters worse. I feel for Talia and wouldn’t be surprised if being dumped drives her into a tailspin. That’s why I was startled when Marlena didn’t warn Talia about becoming involved with someone else so soon after Colin. Talia is still dealing with mental health issues, which could jeopardize the work she’s previously done.