Loud and clear

It ain't a party until someone has a breakdown, and Salem's latest soirees didn't disappoint. There were laughs, toasts, and merriment. Sorry, wrong parties. There were fights, fussing, and frigidness. Find out who helped clean up the mess, and who reached a new level of creepy with the cohost's lingerie. RSVP in this week's Two Scoops!

Once upon a time, I went to a Halloween party. It was to be a great time as nearly all of my friends were going to be there, and having moved away the prior spring, I was looking forward to catching up with everyone. After working all that day, I drove the two plus hours to attend. I should have been tired, but I was running on excitement and eager to celebrate our costume-laden reunions. And then I arrived.

Granted, everyone was donned in their Halloween best, but the vibe was off. Some were in drab moods, some were just tired, and others were just cranky. At one point, a guy dressed as Backwards Man -- an obscure character from a bad movie, and a costume he had to continually explain, much to his frustration -- well, he nearly got into a fistfight with someone, but couldn't get his backwards suit off and ended up slumped in a corner, pouting.

A couple, who admittedly always brought drama to parties, ended up not disappointing. Their fight ended with the lady dressed as a slutty bumblebee telling the gentleman dressed as a boy band member zombie, "I hate you. You're stupid. I wish your head would explode," before she buzzed out the door and left him stranded. And that was all before nearly everyone except for me fell asleep while watching a scary movie. Nope, it was not the party I was expecting, but it was rather memorable in a train wreck kind of way. And that's kind of why I loved DAYS last week.

For starters, Dr. Dan and Jennifer's party was a delightful disaster. I'm sure Theresa would have been just as amused as I was. Brady wasn't allowed to invite her. I bet Jenny's regretting that now, as it was her closest friends, not her enemy, who caused the party to nearly crash and burn.

Still, I love big group scenes like that. From Nicole's hysterical hello to Hope to Maxine busting some heads, I was in. There was even a point where Hope and Nicole were standing side by side, scorning Aiden and Eric, which I found utterly entertaining. I didn't even care that the party was in honor of Dannifer's reconciliation.

The thing is, many truths came out during Salem's parties last week. Characters seemed to take a page out of Maxine's book and tell it like it is. Let's break some of it down.

Eric and Nicole found out where they stood with one another. He called her selfish. She called him a prude. In the end, he remained, um, firm in his convictions -- he was hot for Nicole, like her for him, but convinced her to wait until they were married to go all the way. There was no ruling on heavy petting.

Hope's relationship with Aiden also found new footing last week. They've decided to be non-friends, just civil to each other on an as-needed basis, if you will. I'm okay with that for now. If anything romantic does develop between these two strong personalities, it has to be a long, slow burn (SEE: Magic). But I will admit I don't dislike the idea of Hope and Aiden. I've always adored her, and he's growing on me. I think his straight-forwardness and dimples help a lot. Okay, it's the dimples.

As for Abe, well, he's still single. Couldn't someone have invited Kayla to the party? I should give up on that because Abe did give Maxine a ride there. Hmm! Here's the thing. I'm not opposed to an Abe/Maxine pairing if done right. The writers would have to let them organically get together. I don't want to see a scene someday in the future where it's explained they've been hanging out since the party and began dating. I adore Abe and Maxine both too much to not see this play out on-screen.

Of course, Maxine was her fabulous self at the party. She shut down the drama and convinced everyone to play nice. That only supports my theory that she could rule Salem as the next mayor, but I digress. Sure, sure. Maxine had her Dannifer pompoms shaking, but I don't mind. Whereas Dr. Dan and Jennifer are an Alex North Memorial Award-winning couple, which is far from a good thing, I can see Maxine's perspective. She loves both of them. They love her. They're friends. It makes sense that she's thrilled to celebrate their reunion, despite my personal feelings about them. So, go on with your bad self, Lady Maxine.

Really, all was well that ended well. Feuding couples ended up in better places. Dr. Dan and Jennifer got to have some, let's say, alone time. And Liam got to sniff Jennifer's lingerie. Yes, I'll backtrack.

Creepy McCreeper stole a piece of Jennifer's undies and cuddled up. It's official. The guy's crazy. It also looks like he's trying to lure Theresa into his plan. This could work well. It could either redeem her and/or he'd have a scapegoat. I guess that makes him a clever crazy guy.

As much as this seems like a Dannifer propping storyline, I'm not sure that it is. I'm actually into it a bit. It's creepy and intriguing. And, let's face it, it's not about Dr. Dan and Jennifer breaking up every two seconds. Anyway, Dr. Dan is eager to rescue Jennifer, but she's pretty stern on being her own hero. I like this side of Jennifer. She's much better as a take-charge, strong woman. It may be a little step, but it could be one toward redeeming her a bit. Honestly, she could use all the help she can get. So, I'll bite for now.

Over at the DiMera mansion, a more intimate dinner party was held for two. That is, Stefano and Kate finally had their, um, date? I'll be honest here. I was a big Stefano and Kate fan. I hated that the writers broke them up for a silly reason and then had her claiming Rafe saved her soul. That one still makes me cringe.

Anyway, their dinner was rather a gloves-off exchange over a bottle of expensive wine. They each ripped into each other about past sins and misdeeds. I'm glad they were honest about their feelings, well, as honest as two dishonest people can be, that is. However, I do suspect if they do reconcile, it won't be out of love, but out of something more sinister -- a mutually beneficial relationship -- but, hey, it worked the first time for these two. So, more, please!

LOOSE ENDS: It's official! Abigail is not pregnant with E.J.'s child (or at least she was told she's not by a shady doctor, hmm). I know they were both relieved, but part of me can't help but think E.J. was a little disappointed his magical sperm didn't come through. They've proven to be champs at conceiving, but I digress. They're not having a baby, and to be honest, I'm just as relieved as they are. It's not that a Horton/Deveraux/DiMera/Banks baby wouldn't create oodles of drama, but this storyline has been coming at the expense of Sami's intelligence and Adrienne's nosiness, and that kind of hurts.

Conversely, E.J. and Abigail might not be having a baby, but Stefano knows all about their tryst. And thanks to Dr. Garcia, Steffie knows they're not pregnant. I knew something was fishy about her! Anyway, Stefano secretly has an upper hand now, and I'm assuming he also has the photos of E.J. and Abigail. That makes me wonder what he has planned for EJami's May wedding. Mmm!

I adore Sami and Lucas as best friend's forever. Their scene was a great nod to their long history, and it cracked me up they were researching Allie's family tree (a daunting task, no doubt). It's also sweet that they want the best for each other, but I can't wait to see where Lucas' loyalties will lie when the truth comes out about E.J. and Abigail.

As much as Brady and John's relationship eats up a lot of my patience because they're both kind of annoying at the moment, I feel the opposite about Hope and John. I really enjoy their friendship. It has deep roots and mutual respect, and any awkwardness of the submarine sex has totally vanished. Well, almost.

Hmm, it's being set up that Paige is the Sandy to J.J's Danny. It's just an odd sort of back-pedal for the character of J.J., since he's been thrust in more mature storylines since he arrived in Salem. Still, I'm willing to give it a chance. Yet where I draw the line is this Marybeth chick. She's kind of annoying. Yes, I'm picking on a teenager, but she started it. She made the leap from a social media friend request to stalker in under a second. Methinks she needs to cut back on the Lifetime TV movies.

Victor gets a bit more awesome every day. This time, he decided he's going to pay for Sonny and Will's wedding. The only downside is watching Adrienne act a fool as she helps plan it. Ugh.

Speaking of fools, Gabi mentioned that Sami and Kate make her feel like the dumbest person on the planet. Oh, honey, it's not their fault. Just look in the mirror and eventually you'll get it, dear Gabs. Well, probably not, but you can keep blaming others for your idiotic decisions in the meantime.

Finally, Maggie's "Really!?" upon finding Brady and Jeannie-T was rather legendary. I cracked up. The rest of the scene, not so funny, but I adore the way Maggie loves her family. However, if Brady gives all his drinking buddies expensive trinkets, don't ruin a good thing, Big Red. I'm in need of some new technology, and I have an aged bottle of scotch with Brady's name on it.

HOT Hope mentioned Chelsea! Yes, she really did. This makes me happy. A small victory, if you will, but one that I'm celebrating because I feared my favorite feisty once-thought-to-be-dead swap baby was going the way of Rex and Cassie. Next, let's bring her home for a visit!

NOT This isn't the Nottiest of Nots ever, I admit. But the rinse and repeat dialogue between Sami/Gabi, E.J./Nick, or Nick/Gabi is eating up a lot of airtime, and I'm kind of narrowly resisting the urge to fast-forward. I'm pretty sure I'd rather be learning more about Jordan's past, finally discovering why Anne hates Jennifer, catching up with Kayla, or even getting to know the newbies like Sheryl, Ben, and Paige. In fact, the "I'd rather" list is longer than that. Let's move it along, dear writers.

LINE OF THE WEEK J.J.: "Bev. I didn't expect to see you back here so soon. Looking for an un-fun time?"

RANDOM THOUGHTS Some gems from Rory, who's unsurprisingly a pizza delivery guy: "Say no to drugs. Blah. Blah. Blah. Same old, lame old." And, "Mrs. Horton, hey! Didn't expect to see you here. [Whispers] Don't worry. We didn't put any pot in the pizzas."

Why did Theresa take a stab at Sami's parenting abilities? Not cool, Jeannie McGold-Digger.

I liked the green carnations and bunting at the pub. They really went all out for St. Patrick's Day. Right.

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, why was Brady not drinking green beer? At least use the town alky to give a nod to the holidays, people.

Could Abigail really be the black sheep of the Horton clan with Nick around? Wait. That's right. Nick is a saint. Sorry, Julie, my bad.

Jennifer said Brady could invite any date not named "Theresa." Technically, her real name is Jeannie. Just saying.

Paige reminds me of a young Sydney Penny.

I want to see these Abigail/good old Uncle Lucas scenes!

Why was Sami dressed so horribly in Abigail's daydream? Ms. Horny Horton needs to add that to the list of things to eventually apologize to Sami for.

I'm surprised Jennifer's scenes don't play out in the halls of Salem High.

Don't be rude to Ben, Jordan.

I love that Hope loves sweets so much. She's always diving into something chocolate. And that's one of the many reasons I love you, Fancy Face.

I'm always pleasantly surprised by Shawn Christian's comedic chops.

Well, at least Liam wasn't wearing Jennifer's lingerie. There's that.

PARTING THOUGHTS So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of March 24. I can't believe the month is almost over, but that only inches us that much closer to a little Eileen Davidson's return as Kristen! Yep, Ms. DiMera will teach all these boys what a real psycho can do, and "That's a fact!"

As always, thanks for reading! Tony

Need more Two Scoops? Head over to read blogs by Laurisa or Tony for more ranting, raving, and all-out randomness

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