Dr. Raynor confessed all to Nicole who struggled with what to do with the truth, Brady and Kristen felt the pull of MacKenzie, and all of Salem was pranked on April Fool’s Day.
Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Stephanie and Ronnie from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate whether Dr. Raynor is villain or victim, if Kristen will make a good mom, Ben and Ciara’s career options and whether April Fool’s Day was a hit or a miss.
Is Dr. Raynor the innocent victim she makes herself out to be?
Stephanie: I would say yes and no here. On the one hand, Xander pretty much threatened Dr. Raynor’s life, and if people have to choose between keeping a secret or dying, most people are going to choose to keep the secret.
However, on the other, she did have a choice. She could have refused to take the money Xander and Victor bribed her with initially and gone straight to the authorities if they threatened her.
Jack: No, no, a thousand times no. I’m sorry, but this is no different than Lani giving in to Gabi’s demands.
Raynor could have refused the money and gone to the cops, and if she was scared Xander would kill her on the spot, she could have taken the check, then gone to the cops instead of the bank. She could have even let the cops use her as bait so they could catch Xander trying to attack her.
Ronnie: Dr. Raynor is certainly not a victim but Xander and Victor are the real villains of the story.
Christine: No! And it makes me crazy that she keeps calling herself Sarah’s friend. I’m sure Victor and Xander pressured her that night but she could have gone to the police.
Instead, she cashed the check and kept her mouth shut. Then she whines that the local mob boss wants to kill her when she keeps the money and doesn’t leave town. Well, that’s what happens when you make deals with crime lords and take their money!
At this point, I have absolutely no sympathy for Dr. Raynor and I hate that she’ll probably wriggle out of this with no consequences. She deserves to lose her medical license. Victor and Xander couldn’t have pulled this off without her.
If Brady and Kristen do get baby Rachel back, do you think Nicole is right and Kristen will make a horrible mother?
Stephanie: I actually think Kristen might make a good mother. She has softened since losing Rachel, and the fact that she wants to volunteer to hold babies at the hospital shows that she has a natural urge to want to take care of children.
In any case, I’d like to see her have a chance to be a mother. It would be a fresh change from watching her either try to ruin everyone else’s lives because she’s unhappy or watching her walk around mourning all of the time.
Jack:I think she’s wrong on this one. Even having given birth has softened Kristen, and she will be a devoted mother if she gets her baby back.
Though I would be worried about anyone who had anything to do with this because she may lash out at them and we know what happened to Haley last time Kristen lashed out in blind rage.
Ronnie: Kristen is a psychotic rapist. I don’t blame Nicole for thinking that she would make a horrible mother. I guess now that she has found God we’re supposed to forget what total nutjob she actually is.
Christine: At one time, most of Salem would have said Nicole would make an awful mother too. Kristen has many, many faults, but she can also be fierce, loyal, and loving. I think she has the potential to be a great mom.
What do you think Sarah will do when she learns the truth?
Stephanie: I think Sarah will throw one of those screaming fits we’ve seen her have when things don’t go her way. She will most likely dump Xander and refuse to date anyone for a while.
She won’t want to hand Mickey over to Kristen and Brady, but I also don’t see her going on the run with her or anything like that either. It probably won’t happen right away, but she’ll most likely do the right thing and give Kristen and Brady their child back eventually.
Jack: She’s going to be broken hearted, and probably break up with Xander (hopefully not to have grief sex with Eric again).
I think since Mackenzie already knows Sarah and Eric as her parents, they should share custody with Kristen and Brady, but Sarah will likely give the baby to Kristen full stop.
Ronnie: I would like Sarah to just go away because I can’t stand her. But I think she’s going to dump Xander and then cry and scream a lot. So pretty much what she already does, except she will lose Xander as a lapdog for a little while.
Christine: She’ll probably not believe it at first, then Xander will offer to go on the run with her and MacKenzie, but in the end, I think Sarah will do the right thing and give Kristen and Brady her child.
Whether she will hate Xander forever or see that this was his and Victor’s desperate attempts to protect her and Maggie is anyone’s guess but I know I’m hoping for the latter.
What was your favorite part of the April Fool’s Day episode? Did you wish any of it were true?
Stephanie: I actually liked Daniel coming back. I hated the way his character acted in this episode, but it was nice to see him again.
I would be okay with him coming back for real and being a father to Holly. Salem University Hospital could also use another doctor on staff since Kayla seems to be the only one who does any work there now.
However, I wouldn’t want him with Nicole again. I always found them boring as a couple.
Jack: Honestly, my favorite part was Leo saying April Fool’s at the end so that this stupidity was over. I don’t like campy fantasy episodes that add nothing to ongoing stories.
That said, I wish Daniel was really alive. It would be less good without JJ in the show since they shared a special relationship, but Daniel was one of my favorite characters and I hate that he was killed off.
I also wouldn’t mind Sheila coming back and making trouble for Lani and Eli. They need a story other than giving Gabi dirty looks.
Ronnie: The baby was super cute. That’s pretty much all I can think of, and I guess as a TLC fan It was nice to see Tionne « T-Boz » Watkins back as Sheila.
Christine: I loved Leo! From his outfit to the way he riled up Will and Sonny, and all of his off-handed quips, his return had me laughing the entire time. Also, I knew five minutes in that this was all an April Fool’s Day spoof so that made it easier to enjoy.
What job opportunities should Ben and Ciara pursue?
Stephanie: I think Ben and Ciara should pursue police work.
Even though she was only motivated to do it because of her obsession with Ben, Ciara proved to be smarter than everybody at the Salem Police Department when she realized that the DNA found on Jordan could belong to David’s father.
Ben has experience with security after working for Stefan for a while, so they could probably find a place for him in the department too. Whatever they do, I hope it leads to some better storylines than them just laying around in bed all day!
Jack: Hopefully, jobs that keep them away from each other for a good part of the day so that their story is about more than having sex.
Ciara needs direction. Did she ever finish college? Maybe she should go back and work on figuring out what she really wants to do with her life.
Ben used to work at the club before he went nuts, so why not go back to being a waiter or bartender while he figures out his next move?
Ronnie: I honestly don’t know. Ben used to be a bartender/waiter before he started murdering women, so perhaps he should go back to that. As for Ciara, being Ben’s cheerleader is the only thing she seems to truly care about and be good at.
Christine: Ben is a worker but no one will hire him due to his record and Ciara couldn’t even hold down a job at her family’s pub so I don’t see them having a lot of prospects.
I can see them starting their own detective agency and competing with Black Patch since no one seems to work there anymore. It’s also following in Ciara’s parents footsteps which could be a cute homage to them.
What, if anything, disappointed you this week in Salem?
Stephanie: I was disappointed by the fact that it seems like Nicole is going to make the same mistake yet again and not tell Eric the truth about Rachel and Mickey.
This will be probably the third time in recent years that she has kept a huge secret from Eric, and it will blow up in her face as it usually does.
Jack: The April Fool’s Day episode was awful.
Beyond that, I could have done without all the violence surrounding Marlena’s rescue. Too many guns and then all that blood after Anna took Stevano’s eye out with her shoe.
And Tony was right — Stefano would NEVER harm his children or condone them turning violent against each other.
Finally, Nicole better not keep this secret to herself after all the trouble she went to find out the truth!
Ronnie: The show still trying to sell Brady and Kristen as some kind great love. I just roll my eyes at them.
Christine: Nicole being a hypocrite about Xander. Xander was wrong but he switched the babies, at Victor’s urging, to protect Sarah and Maggie.
Years back, Nicole blackmailed Dr. Baker to switch Sami’s baby with Mia’s to steal Sami’s baby for herself and it wasn’t to help anyone but herself.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline this week on Days of Our Lives?
Stephanie: On the flip side of what I said in the above question, my favorite scene of the week was Nicole questioning Dr. Raynor.
She was smart and told her that the DNA results she got proved that Mickey actually belonged to Kristen and Brady. If she hadn’t done that, I’m not sure Dr. Raynor would have confessed so easily.
I enjoyed seeing Nicole figure out how to make the situation work in her favor. It’s a side of her we don’t see very often anymore.
Jack: I loved Nicole confronting Raynor and getting the truth out of her for once and for all! Kristen and Tony’s scenes were surprisingly sweet and supportive too.
Ronnie: Everything Anna. Abby and her made a fun little team and and her poking Stevano’s eye with shoe was hilarious to me.
Christine: John being there for Brady as he struggled with taking care of MacKenzie and convincing himself that the birthmark was simply a coincidence. I love the father/son moments between John and Brady. John is always there for his son, no matter what.
Want to chat more about the April Fools Day episode and the baby switch? Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.