Holly overdosed on New Year’s Eve!
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Trey from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to rate the holidays in Salem, Nicole seeking therapy with Marlena, John and Steve abducting Konstantin, and more!
And is Paulina’s cancer storyline informative and intriguing or too heavy-handed? Read on to see what our round table team thinks.
Holly overdosed on New Year’s Eve. React!
Trey: As a mom, this scenario is my worst nightmare! I’m glad Tate said no, but I am sad that Holly felt she had to get high to have fun. I hope she’s okay.
Jack: My first thought was that the writers really seem to be drawing inspiration from JJ for Tate’s storylines. First, the kicked-out-of-boarding-school story, then the bad girl love-interest overdose story.
I’m glad Tate is a stand-up guy who tried to discourage Holly’s drug use, but he’s going to get blamed for the overdose, and that sucks.
Nicole doesn’t need her daughter potentially dying from drugs on the anniversary of Daniel’s death, thanks to Eric’s drunk driving. Will the writers even mention that, or continue to pretend Daniel didn’t die at Eric’s hands because it interferes with the idea that Eric and Nicole belong together?
I am betting Holly will survive, and I hope I’m right. Tate can’t be the only teen in Salem (especially if he’s in jail!), and Nicole believing both her children are dead is too cruel even for DAYS’ writers and their obsession with making her suffer.
Christine: I loved that Tate tried to talk her out of it. Overall, he seems like a good kid. Holly does, too, but she’s prone to stupid, misguided decisions, and hopefully, this one doesn’t get her killed.
But many times, people truly believe they’re taking something harmless just to have a good time and have no clue what’s really in the drug they’re taking.
But I really feel sorry for Nicole. That woman has been through enough! How much should any one person have to endure?
Nicole went to Marlena for therapy. What did you think of their session?
Trey: Well, I’m glad to see Nicole had therapy, which she has needed for quite some time. I thought it was weird she went to Marlena.
I don’t know how neutral and objective Marlena can be. There’s a lot of emotion and baggage to uncover, and I hope Nicole will continue.
I’m also glad to see that she’s getting genuine help and that Days can show people need therapeutic wellness sometimes.
Jack: As a social worker, it aggravates me to no end that Marlena is treating a woman who was once married to her son and is now married to a man Marlena’s daughter used to be married to!
I had to take a semester-long ethics class as part of my training, and it emphasized the importance of referring someone to another practitioner if there was any reason you could not provide proper care. This was a textbook case of that.
Just because Marlena can identify with Nicole’s sense of loss does not mean she could or should be treating someone with so many ties to her family, especially one she didn’t get along with in the past.
That said, the session itself was one of Marlena’s better ones. If you ignore the obvious ethical dilemma, it was written like a real session, which is unusual for DAYS.
In some spots it was a bit superficial; Nicole mentioned deep feelings and then jumped to the next topic instead of Marlena helping her explore them more (other than her desire to be with Eric over EJ, which seems to be the purpose of any scene with Marlena and one of them lately).
Christine: Marlena has never actually liked Nicole, so it felt wrong for her to be treating her, given their long personal history.
That said, it was one of the better therapy sessions on Days. Nicole should definitely be seeing a therapist with all she’s been through, and I was happy she had the chance to talk things out with a professional.
Were John and Steve out of line in abducting Konstantin and telling him to leave Salem? What do you think Konstantin will do next?
Trey: In real life, I would’ve been mortified for anybody to be kidnapped. However, since this is a fantasy world, I’m glad that John and Steve were proactive.
Konstantin is bad news, and he is definitely out for trouble. Hopefully, he goes to somebody and tries to say he was abducted. Maybe Maggie won’t believe his story. I can’t believe she’s fallen for his act so far.
Jack: I know Steve used to be a Kiriakis goon, but I didn’t like this. Yes, Konstantin is slime, but this wasn’t any different or better than when Abigail kidnapped Gwen, and Gabi had to stop her from going too far.
I liked that Konstantin was like a human version of the pagodas that used to make John freeze up years ago, and I am interested to see where that goes (but please don’t undo the amazingness that was Dick Van Dyke’s character learning he was John’s father!)
Konstantin seems interested in discovering why John looks familiar, so he will likely lay low while staying in Salem to figure that out. He might also tell Maggie how Steve and John acted, as she will surely be upset and take his side, which might buy him more time.
Christine: Ugh. I can’t stand Konstantin and hate that Maggie is being taken in by him. After being married to Victor for years, she should be smarter than that.
Was abducting Konstantin wrong? Yes. But this is Salem, so I’ll let it slide. My issue is, what was the point? If they were just trying to scare him and this backfires, it could make things worse.
And Konstantin doesn’t seem like a man who scares easily. He always has a contingency plan, and I’m worried about what he’ll do next.
Stefan told EJ about Clyde blackmailing him and Ava. Will that come back to bite him?
Trey: I don’t know. EJ was right to steer clear of Stefan and Ava as well as Clyde. I don’t think EJ will use this against Stefan, at least not right now. Perhaps EJ will watch him sink himself and use it to his advantage later.
Jack: What worries me most is that EJ may realize Stefan and Ava are responsible for Holly’s overdose but use Tate as a scapegoat because he doesn’t want to actually get Stefan in trouble.
So far, EJ has had no loyalty to Stefan and threatened to bury him legally, but when push comes to shove, family is always first with the Dimeras, including him.
I also don’t understand why EJ couldn’t charge Clyde with extortion and drug dealing and have him moved to a maximum security prison where he can’t do any more damage. Problem solved.
Christine: I liked that EJ prioritized his family with Nicole and didn’t want to get involved. He knows Stefan is willing to stab him in the back at any time, so their family loyalty is thin.
But I was surprised he didn’t take this opportunity to try to take Clyde down for good. If Dimitri was moved to a maximum security prison, that seems like something EJ should be looking into for Clyde.
Chad, Everett, and Harris spent Christmas together at the Brady Pub. Can you picture these three becoming friends, or was this a one-off situation because of the holiday?
Trey: I think it is a one-off off; however, I’ve noticed this week that there have been a lot of character interactions that haven’t been happening as of late. It’s refreshing!
I don’t know if Chad and Everett can be friends, at least not right now, since they are both lusting after Stephanie. And Harris just seems like an oddball fit by age, personality, and career.
Jack: Well, now that Chad’s seen Everett kiss Stephanie, I expect that Jealous Chad will come out again to play. But if Chad can accept that he lost Stephanie, it’s possible that these two could ease into an uncomfortable truce.
Harris’ involvement with any of them was weird, though maybe Everett is supposed to help him uncover the drug ring. That’s the only way those two being involved makes any sense.
Christine: This was an odd trio, but I didn’t dislike it. It would be novel if Chad and Everett sort of became friends, and neither of them ended up with Stephanie.
And I do think that Everett and Harris will be in one another’s orbit as they are both investigating Salem’s drug trade.
Rate this year’s New Year’s Eve party in Salem. Who had the best time? Who wore the best outfit?
Trey: This New Year’s Eve party was very subdued compared to years past. However, it was refreshing. There was no surprise, reveal, or anybody coming back from the dead. There was a lot of relationship-building and some drama.
I liked Everett’s awkwardness. I loved Leo’s cape and Holly’s dress. Brady looked dapper, and Nicole’s blue outfit was very cute. But everyone looked fantastic, and I am really excited about all of the interactions!
Jack: This was one of the better parties. There were actually more than three people in it!
I liked that it felt like a real party with different groups of people socializing and that most of the drama was realistic. If Holly hadn’t overdosed, we might have actually had a party that didn’t end in disaster for anyone!
The more realistic scenes of people being sad because the one they want is kissing someone else is more the type of thing I enjoy.
Tate looked great in his suit and I had a hard time believing Holly’s dress was in Nicole’s closet. Leo’s flashy costume and cape were great, though his attempt to crash the party to ask for a job in the middle of it was typical annoying Leo, LOL.
I wasn’t a fan of Theresa’s dress, which I thought was too fancy for the occasion. Nicole wasn’t at the party, but I liked her dress.
I wish Theresa hadn’t gotten upset with Brady. It seemed like it came out of nowhere and was plot-driven to get her to almost catch Tate and Holly with the pills.
Chanel and Johnny probably had the best time. I know I had a good time watching them have an actual date where they focused on each other without any interlopers.
Christine: I thought it was one of the more interesting New Year’s Eve parties. It had the Holly cliffhanger. Chanel and Johnny’s midnight kiss.
I loved Chanel’s dark purple dress, and Johnny’s coat was gorgeous. Leo’s outfit made me smile. I’m hoping this is a good omen for the year to come.
Paulina may have cancer. So far, are you finding this storyline intriguing, informative, or overly heavy-handed in its message about early detection?
Trey: I am intrigued by the storyline, and I’m hoping they do right by the thyroid cancer storyline. As a person who has stood by friends with thyroid cancer, I am surprised in a good way that Days went there.
But I am actually happy that they are getting the message out, and I hope they do justice to the storyline.
Jack: I liked the part about Chanel worrying for Paulina and trying to get her to get checked out. That was realistic, though hard to watch as someone who has had family members deal with cancer.
But the tenth rendition of “Remember, Mama, early detection is so important” was annoying and pulled me out of the story. It was too much like an infomercial about early detection.
Chanel reminding Paulina about Uncle Stuart’s lung cancer. Kayla telling Paulina, “The good news is that if it is cancer, we caught it early so chances are we can treat it.” Johnny comforting Chanel with ONE telling of his eye cancer story would have been fine. The repeated emphasis was too much.
Also, the weird time jump messed the story up. Paulina got checked out on Christmas Day, read the story, and then came to Kayla’s office on New Year’s Eve, complaining she’d been waiting a long time for info on her next step.
It made it seem like she’d been in the hospital for a week waiting for Kayla. No wonder she was so impatient!
Christine: This has the potential to be a good, realistic story, and I hope Days continues to do it well.
There was a fair amount of repetition, but soaps do that a lot in case someone missed the previous episode. For those of us who watch every day, it can make the message feel very heavy-handed.
What annoyed the heck out of you this week in Salem?
Trey: This week was a good character-building week. If I had to choose storylines that annoyed me, it’s that Marlena was that therapist for Nicole and that Chad got a lot of airtime.
I think the thing that annoyed me the most was Alex being a jerk to Justin. There are a lot of frustrating situations happening, but I feel like the writers are weaving a good story.
Jack: Most of what annoyed me was what I said in the question above about Paulina. I was also annoyed that Christmas Day was more or less an afterthought. After that beautiful Christmas Eve, I was expecting a lot more than we got on the Christmas Day episode.
It felt like a regular episode, except Paulina happened to read the Christmas story at the last minute. I thought they should have had the Kiriakis Christmas on Monday and let Stefan and EJ have it out on Tuesday instead of the other way around to make it seem like Christmas.
I also didn’t appreciate Konstantin crashing a second Christmas party, and I wasn’t a fan of Steve and John kidnapping him.
I’m also not terribly happy with this overdose story. And if Holly went to the bathroom to take her pills, why was she found in the alley? I guess she could have gone outside to try to get fresh air when she felt weird, but that didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
Speaking of which, I can’t believe Nicole was so relaxed about Holly’s drinking. The only consequence Holly suffered, besides a hangover, was the embarrassment of Eric learning about it.
Nbody brought up that alcohol abuse led to her father’s death. Holly needs some tougher love than she’s getting. That’s what led to this overdose situation.
Finally, Rafe and Jada spending all day in bed was boring, especially when Everett was downstairs, and I was dying for Jada to run into him.
Christine: Alex was annoying and a complete jerk to Justin, Maggie, and Xander at Christmas. If the show is trying to make me root for Alex’s downfall when the truth comes out about his parentage, they’re doing a hell of a job.
And having to endure Konstantin for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was beyond annoying!
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week’s Days of Our Lives?
Trey: The steamy kiss from Xander and Sarah at the end made my heart flutter! I’m so happy that there was some actual romance with my favorite couples, Johnny and Chanel, and Xander and Sarah!
I love seeing shades of old John and Steve taking action into their own hands. I liked seeing Nicole and Holly’s relationship. They seem very believable as Mom and daughter.
Jack: I liked Johnny supporting Chanel and them spending New Year’s Eve together. I also liked Holly and Nicole’s conversation.
Christine: Johnny and Chanel, just being together made my week. They have become my favorite couple in Salem.
It was also nice to see Xander and Sarah getting closer, along with spending time with their baby. Nicole’s seeking therapy was long overdue and a highlight.
And despite Konstantin and Alex making the Kiriakis Christmas a depressing affair, I did appreciate that they took the time to remember Victor.
Okay, TV Fanatics, now it’s your turn. Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to tell us your best and worst moments from this holiday in Salem.
Then check out Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.
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C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.