Once in a blue moon

It was time for rare sightings in Salem. But was everything as it seemed? Is Daniel really okay? Is Will really being helpful? And is Abigail's decision all that hard? Let's take a deeper look in this week's Two Scoops.

How many of you caught the blue moon on Friday? It was a beautiful sight and one that we won't see again for years!

Just like the blue moon, we had another extremely rare sighting last week -- Daniel passed on an opportunity to lecture Nicole! Wonders never cease! Okay, truth be told, he would have had no place to lecture her in the first place. Nicole and Daniel weren't together when she and Eric kissed. They were supposed to go on their first date that night. Not Nicole's best timing, but hardly a massive breach of commitment. But I digress.

Because of his return to reality, we got awesome scenes with Parker. And any scene with Parker is a huge boost of cuteness. Seriously, who wouldn't want their name on a sign with streamers? No one. The answer is no one. And this is the one and only advantage I see Daniel has over Eric when it comes to Nicole. She's desperately wanted to be a mother for years. Daniel and Parker give her that chance.

Still, Nicole needs to come to her senses and realize that deep down, she loves Eric. Tell me I wasn't the only one who laughed each time one of them trotted out the "we were about to die" excuse. Look, you two, I watched the entire Horton Town Square blow up a few years ago, with people trapped underneath and people actually did die. Not one single time did anyone strip down and start making out with someone else. Not even once! That is not the normal reaction to a brush with death.

I hope Eric doesn't give up. I appreciate that he's a nice guy. But this is Nicole we're talking about. It's her turn to have someone fight for her. And right now, Daniel's best moment is that he didn't yell at her. Once.

Yes, Eric had his issues with Nicole and was furious with her. But his anger was justified. He'd put a ring on it and was heartbroken when she betrayed him. Daniel, on the other hand, treated Nicole like she was a dog getting ready to squat where she shouldn't every five minutes. Nicole never actually did anything to hurt Daniel. (Jennifer, Eric, E.J., Sami, yes...but not Daniel) So I never understood why he appointed himself her keeper.

Moving on to other things I don't understand, we got the mnage akward of Will, Sonny, and Paul -- with Derek thrown in on the side. This one makes my head spin a bit, so please help me understand it.

First, why is Sonny okay with Will inviting Paul anywhere? Paulson history aside, Will cheated with that dude not too long ago! That would be like E.J. saying, "Oh, Samantha, I invited Abigail over for brunch with us. That's okay, right?" Um, no. Sure, maybe one day they'll reach the Roman/Marlena/John status of zen, but last time I checked, Will's in double therapy, and I doubt spending time with the dude with whom he cheated is all that advisable.

Second, maybe it's just me, but I got a bit of an uneasy feeling when Will crafted the story for Derek about how Derek's family didn't accept him after coming out. From a scheming standpoint, I love it. It's very sneaky to use his notes from the in-depth Paul interview to manipulate him. But from a personal standpoint, I didn't like it. DAYS has been very responsible about showing, but not tolerating, homophobia. (See: John and Rafe's excellent display of awesomeness, kicking those two jerks out of the club!) But this move felt like a bit exploitive of the very real problem that the show's worked so hard to counter.

But that's all background because the real point is that Sonny is uncomfortable seeing Paul move on with another guy. Er...I mean another, another guy. (Guess Sonny was too mad about the Will/Paul tryst from the Will side to realize that, yes, that also meant that Paul was smoochin' another fella.) Sonny's made no secret of his affection for Paul but always insisted it's in the past. If it truly isn't, that could spell some truly deep problems for Wilson. No worries though. Will usually reacts well in stressful situations. Oh, hi, Arianna! Cute glasses!

Moving on, let's talk Abigail. Poor thing, she's got two gorgeous men who adore her to pieces. They both know she's sleeping with the other one. They don't care. They want her and her magical mane of hair no matter what. Whatever will she do? Why, obviously, pick the one who fathered her child, regardless of who she really loves. That's how all the fairytales end, right?

I kid because I'm so baffled as to why this storyline is letting Abigail down. Big time. I get it loud and clear that Abigail is confused, scared, and conflicted about what she should do. My problem is she has no good reason to be any of those things, much less all three.

If she wants to be with Chad, then she should be with Chad! It's laughable that she's worried what her mom will think of her. As Kayla so adorably pointed out, no one thinks less of Johnny or Sydney because of E.J. Plus, to be fair, it's not like anyone will be shocked that Abigail makes inappropriate decisions when it comes to sexual partners. Ship ---> Sailed. Plus, I worry about her ability to recognize emotions since she left Chad's raw, honest, heart-tugging confession just lying there on Wilson's apartment floor because...Chad yelled at her that one time? (On a truly positive note, this move proved once and for all that Abigail and Daniel could never, ever be an item.) Or, perhaps, she feels as though she can't trust him. But again, I'm a little confused as to why the girl who is already plotting to leave the country with Chad's baby is worried that she can't trust him.

Additionally, baby granddaddy-wise, it's basically a wash. Though, you and I know that. But Abigail is still feeling the effects from the night she got into Ben's stash of stupid pills. Jordan made it clear to both of those knuckleheads that Clyde was bad news bears. But did they listen? Nope.

Of course, Clyde is going to manipulate the DNA test to prove that Chad is not the father. He's probably going to get away with it, too, because he's Clyde. And unless Abigail can find some guts and stick up for herself, she might just end up as Mrs. Weston. Bottom line, eventually Abigail is going to have to take some responsibility for her own decisions. And if Billy Flynn's magical performance isn't enough to convince her to fight for Chad, I have no idea what is.

LOOSE ENDS Rafe totally has a crush on Hope, which, again, falls into the "1000% unnecessary storyline" category right now because: 1. Bo's on his way back. 2. Clyde no longer trusts a blissfully happy Aiden. That doesn't bode well for Aiden's life expectancy. Boo.

Unlike Haiden's dance, I have complete confidence that Jarlena's dance is going to last for a long time now. Cheers, kids!

It was highly commendable of Lucas to encourage Justin not to give up on Adrienne. And he was correct-o-mundo when he told Will to focus a little more on his making his marriage work and less on scheming. Still, I'd love for Lucas to have something else to do than just fix other people's lives.

I really don't need to see J.J. and Paige argue again. Not only does rinse and repeat dialogue drive me a little batty, I've firmly made up my mind. I'm #TeamPaige. J.J. screwed up. Paige needed to dump him. He doesn't get to tell her what to do at all anymore. I need no more evidence in this case, councilors.

Noooo, Bev! I will miss you, girl! But, good on you for not agreeing to be J.J.'s eternal second choice.

HOT

Kate and Justin are funny together! See: Kate: "We should give Will a commission." Justin: "You know we take all the credit and all the money, right?" Kate: "Of course I do. I just have to say those things every once in a while just to throw people." Ha! I love their banter. For now, I'm going to pretend I didn't notice that spark between them, because I like that they are genuinely looking out for each other. His warning about Clyde was right on.

NOT I'm sorry, did Serena say that she admitted to her mistakes? Because I am positive that she's walking free because she won't cop to the diamond smuggling, nor has she ever. She still thinks that her only mistake was dating Xander. Everything else is someone else's fault. Ugh. Bye, Felicia Serena!

LINE OF THE WEEK Will: "I'm going to be over here chewing on my foot."

RANDOM THOUGHTS Melissa Archer looks really great in black.

Baby Tate's bassinet is so regal and amazing. I would sleep in that thing! Did no one in the wardrobe department realize that Abigail looked like a minister the whole week? I feel like it's mandatory that no one come through Will's door unless they are bearing a gift for Arianna.

It took me until Friday to realize that Paul was wearing a printed t-shirt and not a vest or massive rope necklace.

Do police informants get paid?

I wouldn't wear floaties that didn't match my swimsuit either! Right on, Arianna!

Hope must have the tiniest gun ever to be able to fit it either on her body or in that purse somewhere.

I hope Aiden didn't hire from the same P.I. firm Kate did.

I almost spit out my tea when Will told Derek to "Let go of the bitchy comments." Hello, Pot. My name is Kettle!

Does anyone believe that ring actually belonged to Ben's mom? Of course not.

I love the magical Disney music that plays each time someone picks up that bicentennial flyer.

I wish people would stop throwing Victor in Maggie's face every time they decide to shack up with the wrong person.

I love you, Sonny boy, but I think you're going to have to take a seat on the whole "Vanquish" argument. Lucky for you, there are plenty them in the business that you named "Club TBD."

Billy Flynn has solidified Chad as a bona fide leading man.

I would be terrible at interviewing nannies. I'd basically ask them to dance with me through Salzburg and show me how many lamps they can pull out of their carpetbags.

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.