Chad and Belle’s storyline should be one of the most exciting Days of Our Lives stories right now, but it… isn’t.
On paper, it’s equivalent to other Days of Our Lives adventures of days gone by: a twisted scavenger hunt, a potentially alive Stefano, and Belle insisting on going full steam ahead into an international investigation.
Yet this story is sleep-inducing — but it could be so much better with a few minor tweaks.
The Most Obvious Problem Isn’t Chad and Belle
A big part of the problem for many Days of Our Lives is that Chad and Belle don’t have the chemistry they need.
The drama falls a bit flat because of all the unnecessary flirting between people who seem more like friends than lovers, but the biggest obstacle is that Joe Mascolo (Stefano) died in 2016, making it harder to believe Stefano could be alive.
This would be fine if the story was centered on an investigation into who was imitating Stefano and why — but instead, everything is set up as if Stefano himself is about to walk into the room and reveal that he’s alive after all.
The refusal to show a face, while repeatedly giving us scenes of someone wearing Stefano’s ring, smoking his cigar, and drinking a martini, was a clear bait-and-switch: it was way too obvious this wasn’t a new Stefano.
It didn’t seem to occur to anyone that someone was trying to make them think Stefano was still alive, yet no one even suggested this could be Stefano.
That left the story in limbo, and the repeated inserts of the mysterious ring wearer have become tedious rather than suspenseful.
Even now, when Dante’s conversation revealed that “Dom” is the mystery man, we still haven’t seen his face — what exactly is the point of that?
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These scenes of Obviously-Not-Stefano are becoming repetitive and annoying.
If Stefano is gone, let’s get on with the business of revealing who is trying to be him (other than Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Trelane, who I think of every time EJ wonders where his ring disappeared to)
It Almost Feels Like Days of Our Lives Is Going Out Of Its Way To NOT Build Suspense
The soap keeps missing golden opportunities to create something genuinely interesting in favor of… nothing happening.
For example, it’s obvious that Rita isn’t as loyal to EJ as she claims, but this story isn’t moving forward; it’s spinning its wheels.
EJ keeps calling her to ask her to look into various things for him, including the disappearance of his ring, and afterward… she just disappears from the screen.
I need a little more than that. I mean, Rita being interrupted during her facial was funny, but why didn’t she do anything afterward to suggest what she’s up to or who she is working for?
The odds are she’s working for Dom, but a suspenseful, ambiguous scene where she does something that clearly undermines EJ’s mission in Italy would make that connection more exciting.
Similarly, Chad and Belle’s investigation shouldn’t feel like watching paint dry.
The two got to Italy and spent an entire episode in a hotel room discussing the latest clue while Dom secretly watched them on his tablet.
Instead of all the back-and-forth and one-sided phone calls with Paul, Chad and Belle could have followed the clue about the green staircase on Milan Street immediately.
Even though it was predictable that the person who showed up without permission was EJ — in fact, I guessed that in my Days of Our Lives spoiler post for the week of 9-14-26 — the faster pace and a Friday cliffhanger of someone rattling the doorknob at Dom’s home would have instantly upped the suspense factor.
Similarly, once EJ did arrive, doing something other than a whole lot of talking about how weird it was that someone had all of Stefano’s favorite things set up might have helped.
What do you think, Days of Our Lives fanatics? Can Chad and Belle’s Italian adventure be saved, or was it an unsalvageable idea from the get-go?
I want to hear your opinions, so let ’em rip in the comments.
Don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join the conversation. A lot is going on in Salem, so don’t miss any of the Days of Our Lives editorials.
Days of Our Lives airs on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.
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The post I’m Sorry, But Chad and Belle’s Big Days of Our Lives Adventure Is Putting Me To Sleep (But There’s An Easy Fix) appeared first on TV Fanatic.