Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI, Peacock screenshot (4)
You’ll have to forgive us if our first thought when we realized Days of Our Lives would be doing a teen drug story if we were a bit skeptical. After all, it’s been tackled so many times in so many different genres over the years, it feels practically impossible to do it without feeling like an after school special.
But then Holly overdosed on New Year’s Eve and the show started the new year jumping into emotional overdrive. Holly’s still alive, but just barely. Her brain activity has nearly stopped, putting her in a coma. And while that isn’t a death sentence, it doesn’t mean she’s coming back — just ask Bo! It would be a heartbreaking blow to Nicole, but it also might be just what Sloan needs to finally fess up and give Jude back to his real mother.
Time will tell if we’ll be hit with that twist, but Days of Our Lives is already surprising us left and right as it begins the new year. And the best part? It’s not doing so with over-the-top plots, but with brilliant performances and great, redemptive character work.
Arianne Zucker and Dan Feuerriegel have both been doing incredible work as they’ve come to grips with (supposedly) losing EJ and Nicole’s baby. But now, as Holly’s life may soon be tragically cut short, the drama has spread out across the Days of Our Lives canvas in incredible — and in some cases, entirely unexpected — ways!
Jamie Martin Mann’s performance, for one, has been brilliant as Tate, the past few days, has been hurt, terrified and so frustrated that he’s not believed by the authorities that you can see him holding back tears. He turns to his parents to help as any kid would, but then refuses to let his dad throw his life away, convinced that because he really is innocent, it’s all going to turn out OK in the end. That, though, isn’t how life always works, especially in a town like Salem.
Brady as a protective father ready to throw his life away to save Tate has almost made us forget how little he was in Tate’s life to begin with. And, we never thought we’d say this, but we may like Papa Bear Brady even more than Dark Brady. His frustration as EJ steamrolled over Tate’s protestations was palpable, but rather than being helpless, Brady did the only thing he could: Take the blame himself. Or at least, try to.
Then there’s Theresa. While she’s shown pangs of guilt over working with Konstantin, she’s mostly been reduced to a gold-digger who’s barely glanced in Tate’s direction. But now she’s standing by his side — and right in front of EJ — turning her fire and venom on anyone who threatens the son she knows is innocent. And she also made it clear how hard she and Brady worked to beat their addiction, how proud they are of doing it and how hard it was on Tate. In short, Days of Our Lives is getting us back in touch with a far more nuanced, emotionally deep Theresa.
Plus, we just about stood up and applauded when she called EJ an “arrogant little British bastard.” But that’s not to say we don’t understand where he’s coming from as he feels helpless to do anything to protect Nicole — but punish those he feels are responsible! That’s something Dan Feuerriegel himself talked a bit about with Soaps.com. (Which you can find at the link at the top of this article!)
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This is even elevating Tripp and Ava. He’s not just the steadfast doctor, updating folks on whatever accident’s befallen them in Salem and going about his relatively drama-free life anymore, but the son of a darn good PI who put nearly all the pieces together about Ava’s drug business. And knowing Tripp, he’s not going to be content to just this go without getting involved and that, we’re sure, is about to put him even more in Clyde’s crossfire than he already is!
Then there’s the island Ava’s been on practically since the moment she came back from Bayview. Because it looks like Ava’s coming crashing into the mainland! Her reluctant drug dealings just put Holly of all people, in a coma, thrusting her front and center, whether she likes it or not. It also rekindled memories of the friendship she once shared with Nicole and the love she had watching Holly grow up. And it’s a friendship that’s been sorely missing in her life. Perhaps, someday, the two can reconcile — then again, maybe not once Nicole learns Ava was, in part, responsible for Holly’s coma!
We don’t yet know what Holly’s fate will be, but while we do not want to see Nicole lose another child, we can already tell that this journey is going to be one Days of Our Lives fans will remember for a long time. And all we can say to that is: Bravo!
