Enough already, Gabi!
Since Gabi was beaten in jail, then exonerated, she’s done nothing but lash out at everyone while constantly announcing that she’s the real victim.
Her constant tirades against Abigail were bad enough. But on Days of Our Lives during the week of 10-21-19, she decided to take revenge against Lani for killing Stefan to a whole new level… and not an enjoyable one.
Camila Banus is killing these scenes.
Gabi is an obnoxious character that makes me want to turn the channel every time she opens her mouth, but that wouldn’t happen without a strong actress making her awful words feel realistic.
Too bad the writers aren’t giving her something to do that makes Gabi a love-to-hate villainness instead of the hate-so-much-I-want-you-off-my-screen type.
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Gabi’s latest revenge plot is so wrong on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to begin.
For thing, it’s a rerun.
In 2018, Steve went blind and his moving, realistic story about dealing with losing his vision and having to depend on Kayla somehow descended into a silly story about how Stefan offered him a bionic eye, then threatened to remotely disable the device if Kayla didn’t do his bidding.
In 2019, Julie needs a new heart and her moving, realistic story about dealing with her sudden health crisis has descended into a silly story about how Gabi offered her a new heart, then threatened to remotely disable the heart’s pacemaker if Lani doesn’t do her bidding.
The original version of this storyline was ridiculous enough. Nobody needs a second version of it.
Plus, Steve and Kayla are a legacy couple that fans have routed for since the 1980s. Lani and Eli were thrown together all of a sudden after Lani was bounced from guy to guy and bonded over having a stillborn child together.
That makes it hard to root for Lani and Eli to overcome Gabi’s threat and make it to the altar!
It’s not that they’re a bad couple. They’re not annoying and they don’t tear each other to shreds and call it love.
They’re just…nothing.
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Their love story is so rushed that it’s practically non-existent. Plus Gabi’s threats only have any power over Lani because Lani is doing nothing to counteract them except giving Gabi angry looks!
Lani has had multiple opportunities to tell Eli what Gabi is doing, but she hasn’t because she doesn’t want him to be disappointed that Gabi isn’t a nice person.
Um… okay… Why is that so important?
I feel terrible about what happened. I fell apart last night after we saw you. But I’m not going to break up with Eli just so you can feel we’re even.
Lani
Instead, Lani let Gabi rant at her for a good 30 minutes about how she hates Julie and will use her app to murder her if Lani doesn’t dump Eli at the altar.
Lani is a cop, but it never once occurred to her that Gabi is breaking a billion laws with this behavior and that if she arrested her for it, she would be able to confiscate Gabi’s phone and neutralize the app she’s using to make her threats.
Instead, Lani stood there watching helplessly as Gabi pressed a button on her phone to make Julie’s heart beat too fast.
That doesn’t make her a riveting heroine.
It’s also irritating that instead of JJ’s suicide attempt on Christmas Eve 2018 leading to a worthwhile story, all that came out of that history is that Lani and Eli slept together and Gabi is now using that as her excuse for treating Lani the same way Abe treated JJ after JJ shot Theo.
All of these characters deserve better.
Lani and Eli were given an insta-romance, as were Stefan and Gabi, for the sake of this drama, while JJ was left out altogether.
Gabi could be an interesting, complicated villain if only she were given layers instead of being this one-note character who is all about revenge.
Gabi’s grief is the most powerful part of this story.
Camila Banus rocks the pure grief scenes, and they make Gabi sympathetic…until she opens her mouth and a nasty comment towards Lani comes out.
The funeral was pathetic, though. All it was was a casket in the park. There was nobody officiating and nobody doing anything about burying Stefan.
I get that most people didn’t like Stefan, but come on!
Rolf is also engaging in a bizarre revenge scheme. Turning Hope into Princess Gina could be fun if only this wasn’t part of the doppelganger-of-the-month trend that has plagued Days of Our Lives since Ron Carlivati took over as head writer.
But at least Rolf’s motivation makes sense. Gabi’s is weak and Jordan’s… well, the less said about her the better.
Throughout the week of 10-21-19, Jordan planned to poison Ciara for reasons unknown.
It turned out that Jordan was innocent of trying to mow Ciara down in the parking lot of the Brady Pub.
Jordan’s immediate reaction to Ben’s apology for doubting her was to invite Ben and Ciara to an impromptu birthday party so that Ciara could eat a poisoned cupcake and Jordan could frame Ben for it.
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This entirely unnecessary story resulted in baby David almost getting poisoned and then Rafe eating the poisoned cupcake, both thanks to little Ari.
Kudos to DAYS for allowing a child to act like a child and not a miniature adult, but still.
If we had to have this nonsense at all, it would have been far better for Jordan to plan to hurt Ciara and then change her mind when she saw how wonderful Ben and Ciara were to her and her child.
Also, can we not have Ciara say things like, “Eating this cupcake is almost like I died and went to heaven”?
The too-on-the-nose dialogue is almost as bad as the constant flashbacks. Viewers are not stupid. They can figure out that Jordan intends for Ciara to eat a poisoned cupcake without ten reminders an episode.
Jack and Jennifer’s scenes were a welcome relief from all the craziness.
This is another couple with a long, long history, and fans have been waiting FOREVER for them to get back together.
During the six years that Jack was presumed dead, fans mounted social media campaigns to bring him back onto Days of Our Lives. Then he returned with amnesia and it took eight months for him to even be able to stand to be in the same room with Jennifer.
Jennifer: This is…
Jack: Yup
Jennifer: But it is the ring you gave me before I lost you, Jack.
Jack: I am so glad you recognize it.
Jennifer: But this was in my bedroom. How did you even get this?
Jack: Well getting my memory back does have its benefits. It comes in really handy. I remembered you always kept the key to the house under the planter on the front porch.
Jennifer: Yes and you were always bugging me to change that.
Jack: And I’m so glad you never listened to me so if you don’t mind… [takes ring] The best is yet to come.
[Jack gets down on one knee.]
Jack: So. I may not be reciting Romeo and Juliet on a rooftop. I may not be coming down the chimney in a Santa Claus suit. I may not be standing out in the pouring rain with a jade plant. No. It’s just you and me and this scone. No frills, no bells, no whistles.
Jen: No. I don’t want that. This is more than enough.
Jack: I know. I know. Me too. But you know me. I love the grand gesture, the big surprise.
Jen: I’m tired of surprises, Jack. I’m over them.
Jack: Me too. You know what’s really important? I love you. I LOVE YOU. I always have and always will. So all that remains is the question. Jennifer Horton, will you marry me.
But during the week of 10-21-19, Jack proposed that he and Jennifer get married again, and it was perfect.
Jack and Jennifer’s inability to get Adrienne to leave them alone was hilarious, and Jack’s proposal was vintage Jack Deveraux: one part goofy and two parts romantic.
JJ was so affected by his parents’ divorce and Jack’s supposed death, so it would be powerful to see him come full circle and participate in his parents’ wedding. And Abigail needs to come back from Paris for it ASAP.
THIS is the kind of wedding that excites fans: a couple that has a stable, enduring love overcoming the odds to once again come together, hopefully, this time forever.
And Steve has double reason to come back from wherever he disappeared to because both his presumed-dead brother and his baby sister are getting remarried!
Justin and Adrienne’s proposal was random since we haven’t seen either of them in months, but at least they have the chemistry and relationship history that makes them worth rooting for.
Can’t you keep her confined to quarters? It’s bad enough living in the same house, never mind the same room.
Victor
Victor got off some great one-liners about Kristen.
He’s not wrong, even if he is being both rude and controlling.
Brady thinks he has everything under control and that he’s just taking care of his baby’s mother.
But when Brady’s drinking, he thinks he has his alcoholism under control too.
And Kristen’s one skill is manipulating Brady.
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She got him to stay in her room to watch a movie when he could have easily signed into Netflix and then left her to watch whatever she wanted by herself.
And she got him to sleep in her bed. Yes, they were fully clothed, but it made her more convinced that her plan is working…and she’s probably right about that.
Sonny didn’t need to peek into Brady’s room to see if his bed was made or not, but he and Will were still right that Brady is getting tangled up in Kristen’s web.
Finally, there was some more nonsense around Sarah and her baby drama.
This is yet another storyline that could be easily resolved if a few people would find the courage to tell the truth.
There is no reason for Sarah to keep it secret that she’s pregnant with Eric’s baby. None.
Eric does NOT have to dump Nicole to be a good father to his baby. Justin can draw up a custody agreement. End of story.
And Nicole knows this. She lived with Daniel while Daniel and Chloe co-parented Parker.
Daniel stood up to Chloe when she thought he was going to dump Jennifer for her to parent Parker together and again when Chloe didn’t want Nicole to help parent her son.
Nicole knows all that. So there is no reason for her not to tell Eric the truth except her own insecurities, and we have been down this road too many times before.
Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics!
Do you love or hate this Gabi revenge storyline?
Which wedding are you most excited for?
And who do you most wish would just tell the truth and get it over with?
Weigh in below, and don’t forget to check back on Sunday for our Days of Our Lives Round Table discussion.
Days of Our Lives airs on NBC on weekday afternoons. Check your local listings for airtimes.
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