Just one look

Dario did the strangest thing. Upon learning that he lost his job at the docks, he went out and looked for another one.

A coworker of mine informed me that it only takes one day to get involved in a soap. Still grieving from the loss of Guiding Light, she had been searching for a new soap to watch. Being the good DAYS fan that I am, I kept singing the praises of Crystal Chappell and what an awesome addition she was to Salem.

Last Friday, my coworker informed me that she watched DAYS on her day off. The following Monday (when her daughter was sick) she watched it again. Now, she's hooked.

It may be a small victory, but it's a victory nonetheless, and one that we can (and should!) share with our fellow soap-a-holics. DAYS has tons of good material coming up for May sweeps, and we should take one more look at it now.

DANIEL and JENNIFER Daniel and Jennifer make me smile. I like that they're taking this relationship slow, complete with awkward, joking banter and high school references. I love that their first kiss was very uncertain. I love that Daniel isn't the one doing the pursuing here. Heck, I don't even mind that they're Cubs fans, and that's saying a lot from this die-hard Cardinals girl. Sure, there's the looming cloud of doom that is the Jack bashing. I'm sure the writers want to remind the viewers that everyone and their sister thinks Jack is a jerk, but all it really does is to just keep bringing up the notion that Jennifer is not with Jack. I've watched the show long enough to know that Jennifer was a star long before Jack came around, but not everyone remembers that. I'm not sure the best tactic is to crucify Jack in order for Jennifer to move on. Jennifer's perfectly capable of making her own decision.

I also have to side with my partner, Tony, and cross my fingers and toes that Danifer doesn't mess with Carly and Jennifer's friendship. Jennifer stuck by Carly despite the fact that Carly was shacking up with Jennifer's cousin-in-law. Certainly a little thing like Doc Jonas isn't going to ruin the sisterhood now. Right?

CARLY A lot of people are noticing how crazy Carly has been acting lately. But, their efforts stops just short of insisting that she get actual help. Riddle me this: if your friend/mother/baby mama who had a history of bottling things up so much that she snapped and stabbed a man to freaking death, wouldn't you try a little harder to get her to open up? Just me? Okay, never mind.

Honestly, I hope that Carly gets help before she loses her medical license. That's the only thing right now that is keeping her one foot in "strong woman" land. I'm actually hoping that Hope figures out what Carly is going through and gets her help. Hope knows the dangers of pill popping better than anyone. Plus, there's part of me that just loves watching Kristian Alfonso and Crystall Chappell act together. If not Hope, Melanie should see the difference. Remembering the change that she saw in Nick and what he did to her while on pills should send red flags up in her brain any second now. That and the fact that she's a nurse and knows someone has been stealing pills from the hospital.

HOPE, LEXIE, BO, ABE, and FAFE The kids came home and good times were had by all. Well, accept for Fafe who was the one to accidentally find the kids and get showered with a bunch of unnecessary credit. I thought it was funny to watch Fafe roll his eyes during Bo's speech about Ciara being the most important thing in the world. Watching Fafe squirm has become one of my favorite pastimes. The dude is deliciously inappropriate. He's like the Cartman of Salem.

Other than that, this little storyline didn't seem to go anywhere. Ciara did announce that Fafe is only nice when adults are around but I doubt that Bope will listen to her. That makes sense. Remember what happened the last time Ciara said things and they didn't believe her? It all turned out well.

DARIO Dario and I did not get off to an easy start. I needed another know-it-all Herndadez man like I needed another inch on my hips. But this week he started to grow on me. I like how awkward he was when he asked Mel out. I like it even more that he mocked the idea of Mel and Brady. I'm sending him a cookie bouquet for that move alone.

Best of all, Dario did the strangest thing. Upon learning that he lost his job at the docks, he went out and looked for another one. I really don't know how this guy got past the bouncer at Salem's border, but I'm glad he did. If the writers focus more on turning Dario into a lovable doofus who has more heart than brains, rather than positioning him as an opinionated jerk, I could get behind him.

TAYLOR and E.J. It's never a good sign when Stefano is the voice of reason. But, that's what happened when he informed E.J. that Taylor's appeal was solely the fact that she restricted E.J.'s access to her forbidden fruit. That's all I can come up with, too, since I don't buy this gobblygook about Taylor's "never-felt-anything-like-this" love changing E.J. But we've been over how little there is between Taylor and E.J. so let's talk about something great.

Hello, Tamara Braun! It took me all of about 30 seconds to realize that this gal can act her face off. It's much easier to get noticed when you get to portray a heavy character like psychopath, Ava Vitali. But Taylor isn't exactly a character that jumps off the screen and demands attention. So, Tamara had to maximize every shrug, eye roll, smile, and touch she put into Taylor to make me forget that Taylor's been a pretty disappointing character up to this point.

In fairness to Natalia Livingston, the writers did say that they were taking Taylor in a different direction, and this week Taylor had some of her smartest dialogue since she started on the show. But there was strength to Taylor that I hadn't seen before. Sure, I will be the one starting the slow clap when Ejaylor is over, but Taylor is welcome to stick around Salem for a while. This version of Taylor might be a better match for a certain ticked-off sister.

NICOLE Hell hath no fury like a diva scorned. She saw the kiss and snapped. Nicole hates a lot of things, but being made to look like a fool is on top of the list. Considering the very nature of their marriage, I can't feel too bad for Nicole that E.J. hurt her. But Taylor showed up on Nicole's doorstep, asking for help with a picture of the two of them as innocent children. Nicole had no reason to suspect Taylor would turn into such a hobag.

But that wasn't the only proof that Nicole got her hands on. All that sun on the island must have fried Viv's brain a bit because she threw the DNA evidence in a trash can on the most traveled pier in Salem. Once Nicole gets the concrete proof that Rafe's DNA matches the mystery man's DNA, she'll have two trump cards. Yup, it's a good time to be Nicole. Well, despite the whole husband cheating with your sister thing.

I still say that Nicole needs a partner in crime. I had suggested Abe, but that clearly won't work now that Nicole needs someone with questionable morals and computer hacking skills. So, what about Sami? Nicole and Sami did team up once before to fight Kate. And Sami can certainly commiserate with Nicole on the topic of "Losing a fella to your perfect sister" thanks to Carrie.

Try as I might to convince myself otherwise, I know that Rafe is going to come back, and Sami's going to be set on getting revenge on E.J...again. A Nicole/Sami alliance might help to settle my nerves. And watching Rafe try to wrangle both Sami and Nicole (to whom Rafe should be grateful for solving his mystery) might be entertaining.

CHLOE For the record, I thought the way Philip left was completely bogus. He's been Chloe's number one defender for years, even going back to when she accused him of raping her. If he didn't abandon her when she left his child on the side of the Salem river, he wouldn't abandon her for getting drunk and telling off Kate. And really, who among us hasn't wanted to tell off Kate at one point or another?

Yet, this may be totally unfair, it seemed like Chloe spent the whole week pouting because she's having to deal with the mess that she created, rather than doing some actual soul searching to figure out why she keeps making destructive decisions. Her extended pity party consisted of appearances by Maggie, Nicole, and Justin, who all extended help to her. Even the dude that Chloe hit with her cheeseburger offered to buy her dinner. I was always asked to leave the bar when I tried to pick up men that way.

I want to see Chloe actually do something. As I remember, Philip made sure that Chloe got a hefty divorce settlement from Brady. So, she could use some of that money and open a studio. Or, she could start a program at the hospital for cancer patients. Or, go dig up dirt on Philip and get access to her kid again. Chloe has a lot of passions in her life, and feeling sorry for herself is the least entertaining of them all.

MAGGIE I don't understand why Maggie is helping Chloe. I get that Maggie has a good heart, but this is a stretch. Chloe and Maggie have never been close. Chloe has deeply hurt two members of Maggie's family and while Maggie's always been forgiving, she's been fiercely protective of her family first and foremost. I'm not saying that Maggie needs to carry around a case of rotten tomatoes and hurl them in Chloe's general direction, but how about she just not parade around town with the "Chloe" banner?

While I'm at it, I could go ten thousand years without hearing Maggie give Victor an ultimatum again. I really want to believe in Magic (In a young girl's heart...do do wah!) but it's hard when Maggie uses his feelings for her as leverage to win any argument. It's also very unsettling when Maggie uses Victor as an insult -- as in, "Melanie, you remind me of Victor Kiriakis right now!" Just a day ago, Maggie was all snuggles with the big Greek, and now he's the symbol for all things selfish in the world. Maybe I'm just cranky because the writers gave Maggie and Victor all of about ten seconds of happiness before they started messing with them, but the Victor bashing needs to stop.

RAFE Apparently Rafe was being held captive in Ireland because he made it to the same mountain that Coleen jumped off and lived. Of course I wouldn't expect anything less than for Agent Chosen One to fall off a cliff, land in an ice cold river, and make it out with just a few scratches and a wet flannel shirt. That's so Rafe!

Seriously, it is. The writers could go the Jason Bourne route with Rafe and have him wonder why he has this seemingly natural ability to investigate and escape, training that he had to undergo as a top-secret FBI agent. But, nah. Having him follow a necklace is just as good.

LOOSE ENDS: Viv grew so impatient with the lack of screen time amount of time it's taking Gus to discover the identity of the mystery DNA donor at cellar DiMera that she's moving onto plan "B." I love a schemer who has a backup plan.

I was not glad to see Sami show up. She doesn't bring a whole lot to the table for me anymore. The old Sami would have investigated Rafe's symptoms, gone back to the scene of the accident, or maybe even snuck a peek at Rafe's medical records to figure out what happened to him. But this version of Sami is just going to use her mom voice on Fafe again. I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve it. I'm just saying that it's time for Sami to try something more interesting and entertain me again.

Chad decided to spend his summer working for DiMera enterprises, and Abigail (She's so grown up now! Look, she uses all her letters!) is going to spend the summer working at the hospital. Oh well. At least there's no danger of them operating an airline to Vegas with either of those jobs. At least, I hope not.

Dang it. I saw a spark of chemistry between Melanie and Brady this week. Mind you, I'm still violently opposed to this pair, as evident by the loud gagging noise I let out when Melanie acknowledged her willingness to date Brady. Personally, I blame Eric Martsolf. The guy has the ability to flip on the "you're the only person in the world" chemistry whenever asked of him -- a power that TPTB should only use in moderation; else I'm fairly certain that angels will start to weep. Or I'll continue to gag. Whatever, same difference.

HOT Shawn Christian and Melissa Reeves are so quick playing off each other. When you think that soap actors probably only have one take and little rehearsal time, it's all the more impressive to watch their playful banter.

NOT Maggie ridiculously referenced the last two times that Chloe drank as proof that Chloe is an alcoholic. Granted, I don't think Chloe made a smart decision to mix booze and pills, but I don't think she did that because she's an alcoholic. I think she did it because she's not dealing with the loss of her marriage/baby and, oh yeah -- her suicide attempt. If this was a silly way to get Maggie to connect with Chloe, it's a flimsy reason. Considering that we see Carly risk her career for pills, it seems a little silly to pretend that Chloe's displayed enough reckless behavior for Maggie to throw around such serious accusations of addiction.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Maggie: "I'm still praying for Ciara and Theo" Victor: "Good. He probably listens to you more than me."

RANDOM THOUGHTS: If there really is a website where newly single women go to move on by meeting men who want to move on, I'm fairly certain that it was founded by Sam Malone and Barney Stintson. Wait, I found it: www.lietoherandshe'll believe it.com

Maggie's rant about Craig and Nancy not being there for Chloe was spectacular. It was a gross misrepresentation of Craig and Nancy, since the couple conceived a child for the sole purpose of finding Chloe a bone marrow donor. But I love it when the writers let characters voice what the fans have been screaming about. Now, would it be too much for Chloe to get a phone call or a Skype chat with her parents? Please? Does anyone else find it odd that Chad hardly ever mentions Nicole, much less shares scenes with her, when the two of them live together and have such a juicy past together? Nicole bought and then swapped Chad's baby for crying out loud!

I'd hate to see what would happen if Melanie ever found out that Chloe attempted to kill Carly.

It was a little strange when Dario and Gabi started speaking Spanish to each other. I kind of felt like I did when I was little and my parents would spell things in front of me. But neither Rafe nor Arianna ever spoke Spanish before. We know that Rafe supposedly spent time at an orphanage in the past. Could it be that he and Ari didn't grow up with the rest of his siblings?

Melanie's decided that the best way to get over her ex is to move into his father's house and hang out with his nephew. I wonder if she tries to lose weight by working at a doughnut shop too.

It made so much sense to hear Chloe suggest that the affair with E.J. wasn't really Taylor's fault. Chloe's the queen of deflecting blame. And right now, Taylor's very close to continuing down "Chloe" lane. (Ha! You're welcome for that pun!)

I love how Kate greets Stefano with a musical, "Hello, my love." If these two ever run away, I sincerely hope they take me with them.

And that's it for this week! Grab your popcorn because next week starts the May Sweeps Spectacular! Do you want to see what Vivian's feminine wiles actually are? Do you think Stefano forgot that Ciara, technically, isn't a Brady? And, are you hoping that Victor lets Justin and Adrienne use the patio for a big reception? Let me know by using the feedback section!