Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

Will was rocked when a past misdeed caught up with him! Plus, Jack, Jen, and Dr. Dan realized the funny little thing called their love life was nothing more than a hot mess. See what other bits from the past catch up in this week's Two Scoops.

It seems like nearly everyone in Salem was either making some kind of life-changing realization or getting the help they needed to better themselves last week. Bo, Hope, and Quinn are all in therapy. Abigail, too, talked with Marlena in an attempt to deal with her issues. Jack came to a sudden understanding about his present tri-dating predicament. Brady decided to help John rebuild Basic Black. And, of course, E.J. is helping Will become a better man. Whoops! I meant E.J. is helping Will become a better blackmailer. So, let's help ourselves to some fire-sale beverages from the Java Caf and share in some coffee tawlk.

BO and HOPE The detectives Brady traded in Marlena's couch for their bed. But before I go on, I have another case for super sleuths Bo and Hope. They may want to look into where their living room has gone. They seem to go from their bed to Jennifer's place. It's curious, but I digress.

Bo and Hope rehashed what they talked about in therapy. That is, rebuilding their trust. Their conversation wasn't edge-of-my-seat entertainment, but I like that we're getting to see a couple deal with their issues head-on, and together. And if we have to sit through them working things out to never have to watch them fall back on the same old excuses, I'll be a good little Scooper and hold my tongue.

In other "Bope" news, they found out that Alice had a secret partner. This I can't hold my tongue about because I remain adamant that I don't like Alice's good name being used like this. If there were allusions to the fact that Alice had a shady double life while she was still alive, I could understand this storyline, but there weren't. Now it's just uncomfortable that the writers are trying to invent one. I'm starting to agree with Bo and Stefano, and think maybe this storyline should just be forgotten about.

ABIGAIL and COMPANY Truth be told, Abigail and I have been getting along lately. I'm not entirely sure why, but I don't dislike her anymore. In fact, I enjoy that she's getting help to deal with her feelings about Chad and Melanie. That simple step saved her from becoming crazy like Stephanie, and that's a good thing.

More so, I like watching Marlena work. Doc on the job is a nice balance to her John-worshiping, as, um, endearing as it is. And since Mar Mar has experience dealing with angst-filled girls, she might be the right person to help Abigail. On second thought...

Anyway, amidst dealing with her best friend and boyfriend getting-but-not-getting together, Abigail found time to be with Austin. I think she should get help for her crush on him as well because Professor Reed has shown no signs he's interested. He treats Abigail like his friend's daughter, exactly how he should. I'm not sure where DAYS is going with this, but I think "caution" is the appropriate word.

CARRIE and RAFE Was I the only one not feeling the "feeling the heat" scene between Rafe and Carrie? In the interest of full disclosure, I enjoy Galen Gering and Christie Clark's chemistry. Rafe and Carrie's budding whatever is making me like, well, more accurately, dislike their characters less. The chemistry is natural and it works. Well, it worked better before the writers decided to do a montage of them exchanging glances. I've seen dieters look at a Krispy Kreme with less longing. We get it, writers. Trust me, we get it.

The writers need to take a cold shower and slow this one down. Haven't they learned anything from E.J., Taylor, and the scarf? Viewers don't need to be beaten over the head, or rubbed down with ice, to realize how hot things are getting between Rafe and Carrie. It was working just fine before. So, again, writers, take a step back, and "let life happen" as Jack and Dr. Dan say.

DR. DAN, JENNIFER, and JACK Speaking of Jack and Dr. Dan, I feel a little vindicated. This crew all agreed that their attempt at tri-dating was a bad idea. Nearly every fan has agreed with that since day one. So, thank you, writers, for acknowledging that through the characters.

However, that leaves them all single and in a familiar place. Jack still wants Jennifer. Dr. Dan still wants Jennifer. And Jennifer doesn't know what she wants. It's still a mess, just without a label.

I hope the writers follow through with this entire "let life happen" mantra. Each character has enough going on to keep them busy while feelings are sorted out naturally, especially Jennifer who received a 2011 Alex North Memorial Award for "Most Over-Utilized Character." As frustrating as it is for both "Jack and Jen" and "Dr. Dan and Jen" fans, perhaps this course of action would be the best fit for all involved at the moment.

BRADY and COMPANY Basic Black has officially risen from the ashes! John and Brady have decided to team up, and Brady even resigned from Titan. Of course, this didn't sit well with Victor until Maggie gave him a little dose of Big Red reasoning. I enjoyed that names like Isabella and Philip were abundant in those scenes. Their names brought validity to Brady's decision as well as Victor's reaction to losing Brady as C.E.O.

Of course, Victor has already found a replacement for Brady. He asked Madison to take his place. This leaves a lot to be desired. I have my doubts about how Madison will balance a company one hundred times larger than Mad World and her busy lotion-rubbing schedule. More so, running Titan would have been a great way to incorporate Justin (or one of his sons) into a storyline. But, nope, we get more contrived Madison time. Great.

SONNY and COMPANY Bummer about the Java Caf! It burnt down, and the owners aren't rebuilding. There were so many memories there. But I dig Sonny's new "Common Grounds" venture, too. Although, I'm a little bummed to see the Cheatin' Heart go, too. Every town needs at least one good dive bar. I guess it is back to drinking booze out of a paper bag on the pier for the poor, local drunkards.

Nevertheless, Sonny met with his new investor, Mateo. And Mateo met Will, and the two of them playfully ganged up on Sonny. It was great to see Will enjoy himself for a while. The boy needs a smile-break. Of course that didn't last long. When he got a little too comfortable being himself around them, he made an excuse and bolted. It was rather heartbreaking, but I completely understand those feelings. I think most people can relate to being scared of something, even if that something is a good thing. And Chandler is doing an amazing job with this material.

I also liked that Sonny was looking out for Will's best interest. He's being very respectful to Will's struggle, and it makes me happy that Will has him in his corner. Will's also lucky to have Justin! Both father and son seemed to reach out to Will, even if the young Horton was too freaked out to realize it. The Kiriakis kindness is a nice balance to everything else Will is going through, and I hope that he realizes that through his anger.

E.J. and WILL Just like Jell-O, there's always room for James Scott and Chandler Massey scenes. Those two are absolutely amazing! And I would brag I predicted that Will was the person who shot E.J. back in 2007, but I think most avid DAYS fans had suspected as much. Still, it was a well-played twist.

One thing that left me scratching my head about the revelations was that Will is easier to read than skywriting. The kid wears his emotions on his sleeve, and I can't believe he was hiding something that big all of these years. Maybe E.J. was right when he said Will began to believe Lucas shot him as a defense mechanism to cope with his guilt. Um, sure, I'll buy that for now, and move on.

Ultimately, Will went to blackmail E.J. and ended up the recipient of a big old helping of DiMera vengeance. That was as fascinating as it was uncomfortable. Sure, E.J. using Will seems cruel, but E.J. doing something despicable is hardly breaking news. And considering Will shot him in the head, I guess a little comeuppance is warranted, even if I hated every minute of watching Will being forced to hack Abe's laptop and the eventual effects it had on Abe. But there's still a multilayered, train wreck factor I can't help but be entertained by.

Plus, Will struggling with right and wrong is plausible. It seems like he's always been in the middle of some kind of struggle, both external and internal. For years he was a rope used in the tug-of-war between Sami and Lucas (and Kate). Clearly the lad still has issues with that, and that's in addition to all of his other issues.

Simple genetics make up his internal struggle. I mean, seriously, the kid's a cocktail of Sami and Lucas, who both inherited angels and demons from their family gene pools. So, we might have only seen Will's "good boy" side so far, but it's not hard to fathom he's got a few genetic markers for the dark side. I'm curious to see how this plays out for many reasons, including what it means for him if he someday explores things with a certain sunny someone who tends to be the epitome of good and rational thinking.

But there was also a major lesson to be learned from last week. That is, do something bad and get a tripped-out sports car. Oh, wait! That's not it. It's that one should never walk into the DiMera living room without warning bells on! I can't wait to see how Sami reacts to seeing Will and E.J. canoodling. More so, I can't wait to see how Will reacts to Sami with his new, calmer E.J.-like 'tude. Oh, and what Nicole does when she figures out what's going on, because, let's face it, girlfriend knows something's up, and it's always more interesting when Nicole holds some cards!

LOOSE ENDS I'm glad that Quinn is getting help. Kudos for self-improvement and all, but I need the writers to help me figure out why he was brought back to Salem. He's on once a week, if that; and we haven't been able to witness his journey from sinner to saint less of a sinner. Methinks this hunky Aussie needs more of a storyline, like, yesterday.

Whereas I can sympathize with Melanie's troubles over losing Abigail's friendship, I hate the "I can't be with you because of them" excuse she's using on Chad. It's unfair, and never seems to work for any character. It's a soap, so no couple can have a clear path to each other, but declarations like "we can never be together" are silly when they could be if they take things slowly, and perhaps join Abigail in a few therapy sessions.

I love the throwback to the "The Face of the '90s" contest that Sami came up with for Countess Wilhelmina. It was genius! Heck, Christie Clark has barely aged since then, so perhaps Carrie will win again. Regardless, this will be a fun way to work others into Kate and Sami's banter-filled world, and I can't wait to see what happens when those two try to play nice around others.

HOT: I saw Justin and Adrienne! I did. I really did! And it's sad that their mere presence is enough to earn them a "Hot," but since we don't see them often enough, they've got it. Plus, Justin pretty much snagged his "Father of the Year" award for his scenes with Sonny and Will. Oh, and that he bought Adrienne a kegerator, and it's in the Kiriakis Mansion! Love it!

NOT: This is petty, but I've never claimed not to be in my Scooping life, so here it goes -- Madison is a hypocrite. She threatened to fire Sami for getting a massage at Quinn's spa because they carry Countess Wilhelmina products, but she didn't seem to mind spending the day there getting rubbed down and simply getting down with Brady. Methinks a little consistency is in order here, Maddie.

LINE OF THE WEEK: E.J. (to Will): "It's very simple, my young Padawan. You're about to start earning favor with the master."

Points for the Star Wars reference, although Lord Stefano might have issues with E.J. calling himself "the master."

RANDOM THOUGHTS: The ease with which Rafe got a silver bucket of ice made me wonder if their office is in a hotel?

So, like, Kayla's still in Salem, right? Oh, sorry! She must be spending time with Steph and Joey.

I absolutely loved that Nicole checked her bracelet for a GPS device!

Why are all of the self-defense classes held in the lobby at Intensity?

Has anyone else noticed a rattling sound in the background during scenes at the Horton Town Square? I thought it was my TV, but it never happens during any other scene.

I wonder what Chandler Massey will be wearing when he accepts his Emmy.

Austin got his ears lowered. Nice!

Do you think Abigail really needs financial aid? Maybe Jack could cash in those seven-day/six-night tickets to Hawaii to help Abby through college, I mean, after he sends a tuition check to J.J.'s European boarding school.

Casting Spoiler Alert: I predict Salem is about to become more fabulous, darlings. Celeste is coming home this spring! Hell-to-the-yeah!

PARTING THOUGHTS: So, friends and DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of January 16! It was another great week in Salem, but, unfortunately, a sad one in the soap neighborhood of Llanview. One Life to Live concluded last Friday and I'm not too proud to admit I shed a few tears. Click here for Soap Central Live's special tribute to this very special show. It will be deeply missed. But if there's one thing we take away from saying goodbye to yet another soap, it is to tune in to DAYS every day. We might not always love what we're watching, but it's good to have the option to watch (and complain)! And, "That's a fact!"

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