Days of Our Lives Review for the Week of 8-14-23: Victor’s Swan Song Was a Beautiful Tribute

The week we dreaded lastly got here, and it was as lovely because it was heartbreaking.

Since John Aniston’s loss of life in November of 2022, followers knew that Days of Our Lives would ultimately have to jot down his iconic character out.

And on Days of Our Lives throughout the week of 8-14-23, Victor’s household realized he had perished in a airplane crash, sending shockwaves of grief and guilt all through most of Salem.

I used to be skeptical of the thought of Victor dying in a airplane crash. It appeared pointless, contemplating the character had suffered a number of strokes, and it appeared extra seemingly he’d have one other one in his sleep and by no means get up.

That may need been laborious to tug off since Aniston was lengthy passed by the time these scenes had been filmed, and it would not have been satisfying for that kind of loss of life to be off-screen. But on paper, it sounded extra respectful and sensible than Victor’s airplane happening over the Mediterranean.

Victor’s exit sequence labored much better than I anticipated. When Victor’s airplane went down, his household clung to hope that he’d one way or the other survived, however viewers knew he hadn’t, making the discovery that he was gone extra painful.

And to make issues worse, airplane crashes resulting in survivors being caught on an island are a cleaning soap opera trope; everyone knows that if Aniston had been nonetheless with us, Victor would ultimately grow to be doing a Robinson Crusoe imitation.

The state of affairs additionally launched a bit of a thriller. Victor had left Bo’s bedside for elements unknown and allegedly appeared to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Fans are as anxious to be taught what he had been as much as and whether or not his airplane had been sabotaged as his household is.

That thriller should wait; first, we needed to get by two days of flashbacks and tributes, with extra to return subsequent week.

That’s appropriately. Victor Kiriakis was one of Salem’s most iconic residents, and if anybody deserved this kind of send-off, it was him. He touched folks’s lives in numerous methods. But nobody might actually say he hadn’t affected them in any respect.

Whether you liked him or hated him, you needed to admit, there was solely, and ever will probably be, one Victor Kiriakis.

Kate

Days of Our Lives did a incredible job encompassing who Victor was. Many folks had combined emotions about him or knew they’d miss him terribly regardless of their typically adversarial relationship with him.

Steve was the bluntest, asking Kayla point-blank if it was so unhealthy that Victor died.

While Steve had his share of run-ins with the outdated Victor, it appeared like the ice had thawed in recent times, and Steve was greater than keen to succeed in out to Shane to seek out out if there was any information about the Kiriakis patriarch’s disappearance.

Still, his response was trustworthy, resulting in some incredible flashbacks that newer followers could by no means have seen.

Days of Our Lives additionally outdid itself with its tribute to Suzanne Rogers, which it largely built-in into Maggie’s grief over Victor’s loss of life earlier than giving us some bonus clips at the finish of Friday’s episode.

Everything that makes you cry at the moment,will consolation you tomorrow, and in years to return will carry you pleasure.

Julie

If Victor had been alive, he and Maggie would most likely have talked about how glad they had been to have discovered one another, and we nonetheless would have had a lot of flashbacks. But Maggie’s dialog with Julie about dropping two husbands was simply the most emotional half of a heartbreaking week.

Xander, Bonnie, Justin, Brady, and Shawn additionally grieved in their very own methods, demonstrating their sophisticated relationship with Victor and their deep love for him.

John Aniston was beloved by many of his co-stars, so the characters’ grief over dropping Victor seemingly mirrored their real-life heartbreak over dropping his portrayer.

Shawn’s insistence on blaming himself for Victor’s loss of life and working off to the nearest bar will get a large, fats F.

Everyone grieves in a different way, however this was an annoying step backward in an irritating storyline.

The Shawn-as-alcoholic story by no means rang true — it appeared extra seemingly that Brady would hit the bottle after Victor died or as a result of of different stress in his life — and its resurgence now detracts from the in any other case great means that Victor’s loss of life has been dealt with.

In each actual life and fiction, folks suppose all kinds of issues which have little resemblance to actuality, however Shawn’s insistence that everybody blames him for Victor’s loss of life appeared like a stretch.

It was additionally totally predictable that after once more pushing Belle away, Shawn made his approach to a bar to drink.

It would have been a compelling twist if he’d as an alternative gone to Marlena’s for an emergency session or a assist group assembly.

Instead, Victor’s loss of life is an excuse for Shawn to return to unhealthy habits. That’s doubly disappointing as a result of I loved sober Shawn going head-to-head with the performing mayor.

Rawlings: Are you accusing me of abusing my energy?
Shawn: I’m not the one throwing round accusations.
Rawlings: I had what that girl did to me on tape!
Shawn: And I’ve precise assault victims whose circumstances I’d like to resolve. So when you can go and act as mayor whereas I’m going and do my job, that may be nice.

If Rawlings finds out Shawn’s consuming once more, he’ll use it in opposition to him, and that is not a compelling storyline.

It could be a lot better if Shawn stayed sober and helped examine what Victor was as much as and why his airplane went down. That thriller is price exploring!

Chances are, Victor was headed to Europe to go to Philip. Maggie does not know Philip is alive, so Victor would not inform her the place he was going, and if it seems that is why he was on that deadly airplane journey, Philip will give Shawn a run for his cash in the unearned guilt division.

Shawn placing Rawlings in his place earlier than studying about Victor’s loss of life was one of the week’s most satisfying scenes.

Rawlings: Are you accusing me of abusing my energy?
Shawn: I’m not the one throwing round accusations.
Rawlings: I had what that girl did to me on tape!
Shawn: And I’ve precise assault victims whose circumstances I’d like to resolve. So when you can go and act as mayor whereas I’m going and do my job, that may be nice.

The complete Rawlings vs. Abe story’s already gotten out of hand. Anything can and does occur in Salem. But Rawlings was unelected, and his appointment was short-term, and Abe needs to renew his duties as mayor, in order that needs to be that.

I do not purchase that he can determine that Abe is incompetent and that, anyway, he does not like Abe’s insurance policies, so he’ll simply reject Abe’s determination to return and keep in the place himself.

Fortunately, Abe’s character is unbroken, so he isn’t accepting it both.

That disastrous press convention might have gone a completely different means with some prior planning.

Abe rapidly realized all his pals’ and relations’ names, even when he did not keep in mind the folks. If he needed to be mayor once more, he ought to have spent a jiffy on the metropolis council web site memorizing names, which might have rapidly taken the wind out of Rawlings’ sails.

Someone additionally ought to level out that amnesia is not a disqualification for political workplace in Salem.

Didn’t Jack serve half a time period, solely relinquishing the mayor’s workplace to Abe after he acquired his reminiscence again? If his lack of reminiscence did not make him unfit, why ought to Abe’s?

Abe and Paulina’s new plan is on the weird aspect. Why ought to Abe resign after appointing Paulina as his new deputy moderately than staying in the place and researching previous political points as wanted?

Going again to work may spark Abe’s reminiscences anyway. Sooner or later, Abe all the time turns into mayor once more, so why ought to this time be any completely different?

Hopefully, when Abe will get his reminiscence again, he’ll clarify why he appointed Rawlings as Deputy Mayor in the first place since the two agree on nothing, and it is extra seemingly than not that Acting Mayor Rawlings is a racist.

The Johnny/Chanel/Talia triangle took an annoying flip elsewhere in Salem.

Marlena was proper to encourage Johnny to specific his emotions to Chanel, although giving the similar recommendation to 2 folks fascinated with the similar girl appeared ridiculous.

But Talia acquired there first, and Johnny slunk off with out saying a phrase.

It’s laborious responsible him for that. Johnny’s been on the dropping finish of two love triangles and has no need to be rejected but once more.

Still, Johnny and Chanel needs to be endgame. The Johnny/Wendy/Tripp story felt like a short-term impediment for Johnny and Chanel, and now that Johny’s free, all that is left is for him and Chanel to confess they’re nonetheless in love.

But as an alternative of the payoff for sitting by the final terrible story, Johnny now has to take care of Chanel’s emotions for Talia.

Come on! This is a continuation of the similar downside with a completely different individual in the means—sufficient with the Johnny love triangle tales. Put Johnny with Chanel and transfer on already.

It’s additionally not plausible that Chanel has woke up emotions in two girls who previously recognized as straight.

There are closeted bi folks in the world, of course, and a few stay in denial till they can not anymore. But the means that is written implies that Chanel has this superpower that turns straight girls bi.

That’s not how any of this works, and it isn’t a constructive illustration of bisexual folks to repeatedly write tales that counsel individuals who previously thought they had been straight randomly turn out to be bi after they experiment with a horny bi girl.

Elsewhere, Brady acted like a full ass to attempt to cease Chloe from marrying Xander.

I liked Chloe placing Brady in his place, and I did not thoughts Xander punching him. Usually, the macho fistfights over girls irritate me, however Brady solely advised Xander he kissed Chloe to get a response.

He acquired one, and now Chloe is contemplating saying ‘sure’ to the proposal. Of course, when Philip returns for Victor’s funeral, she could really feel in a different way.

Brady overheard, so his subsequent transfer is prone to whine that Xander hit him, however hopefully, that will not work any higher than his different silly plans.

I’m not even a Xander/Chloe shipper — that is acquired no future, and with Sarah returning, it is on its means out anyway — however Brady is so obnoxious in terms of Chloe that I’m thrilled for his plans to fail.

He could not even hold the peace out of respect for the incontrovertible fact that Victor simply died. Sheesh.

Even that wasn’t as ridiculous as the Gwen/Dimitri/Leo nonsense. I do not know why Dimitri thought inviting Leo to remain at the similar resort the place Gwen and Dimitri are honeymooning made sense.

There was by no means any means Dimitri might get away with this. This foolish dishonest story must cease ASAP.

The better part of this nonsense is Gabi’s try to get the reality out of Rachel. For as soon as, Rachel did what she was advised and saved her mouth shut, and Kristen walked in on Gabi making an attempt to govern the secret out of Rachel anyway.

Kristen likes to be the just one to govern her daughter, so this needs to be enjoyable!

Your flip, Days of Our Lives fanatics. Hit the large, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and tell us what you suppose of Victor’s send-off and the different tales this week!

Check again on Sunday for our Days of Our Lives Round Table dialogue for extra DAYS chat.

Days of Our Lives streams solely on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.

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