Now I've got to pack my things and go

Goodbyes are hard, especially when we have to say them to Eric's freedom, Abigail's sanity, and Kayla's reasoning. Let's get through it together in the group therapy knows as Two Scoops.

Last week, I was all about Abigail and Ben. This week, Billy Flynn's Chad took over. He's the other half of this soap triangle (#soapmath), and for my money, he's always been the best part of this storyline.

He did not disappoint. Poor Chad. He walked away from the DiMeras to get away from crazy people. Yet Abs is a flag-waving nutcase, and Chad is a heartbreaking combination of scared and protective. Billy is doing an amazing job of keeping Chad together on the surface but panicking underneath. I cheered when Chad snapped back at Lani for the general incompetence of the police department.

I have a feeling it will be Chad in the end who has to have Abigail committed. He's the only one who knows what she's done (though Ciara is close to figuring it out too). So he'll have the burden of hurting her in order to save her. I can't wait to see what Billy does with the remainder of this storyline.

I hope, for everyone's sake, that the rest of Abigail's storyline will play out better than Eric's last days. It was all I could do to keep from throwing things at my TV every time this stupid storyline came on. For those of you who were never fans of Eric, or perhaps didn't even see his storyline back in the 90's, you can be excused from the rest of this section. I'll meet you in "Loose Ends."

Now that it's just us Eric fans here, I feel the need to lead us all in exercise I like to call "Are you kidding me, DAYS?!"

Are you kidding me, DAYS?! You're going to railroad a legacy kid like this? Rather than have Eric go back to doing humanitarian work or even take a job as a traveling photographer, he's becomes the ultimate sacrifice on the altar of St. Jonas?

Are you kidding me, DAYS? When Nick Fallon dangled Melanie from a balcony, she showed up at his sentencing hearing to plead for mercy. But, Jennifer and Brady -- one of whom was at the police station, the other of whom is Eric's stepbrother -- were not even offered a chance to speak.

Are you kidding me, DAYS?! Eric has one last night in Salem, and he spends it with Jennifer and not Nicole? Good grief, Eric picked Nicole over God and yet, there's no goodbye scene for them?

Are you kidding me, DAYS?! Eric - a.k.a. Father Brady -- spent his entire life on the right side of the law, even devoting a period of his life to helping people in third world countries, yet he's literally taken away in chains along with a group of men -- all of whom I'm sure have at least two neck tattoos.

Are you kidding me, DAYS?! Roman covered for Hope, Joey, and Steve when it came to actual, intentional murders, yet all you're going to let him do for his own kid is give him a quick intro to one of the guards? I don't have a problem with Eric being reprimanded. I have a problem having this storyline coexisting with the Hope, Steve/Joey, and Abigail stories -- all of which involved malicious intent -- and expecting me not to notice the inconsistency.

The only way to make this storyline worse would be to bastardize another character along with it. Oh, wait! Remember, Jennifer's addicted to pills -- but only sometimes. One day, she's fine to check on her daughter. Yet, the next day, Marlena's dragging Jen by the arm into a room. Jen is way too old to have her booty call's mother tear into her. So, I repeat, are you kidding me, DAYS?

LOOSE ENDS I really do like Nicole and Dario, especially if he gets her drinking a martini again! I haven't recognized Nicole for months.

Soap fans grant storylines a gracious amount of latitude with reality and time. The one thing we don't stand for is rewrites. And things in Stayla land have been rewrite central. I'm getting really cranky about having to see Steve blamed for Ava being in their lives. First, she was obsessed with him -- which is not his fault. Second, Steve was brainwashed when he and Ava got together in the first place! This was never a situation that Steve entered into willingly, yet suddenly, he's responsible for the whole thing.

It's not that I don't think Kayla has a right to feel scared. But the fact that Kayla believed Steve dead for over a decade and still didn't move on leaves me one hundred percent certain that she can't carry out this stance to push Steve away.

And if she does think she could carry it out, I'd strongly suggest that she have a sit-down with Mama Hernandez. Out of all the women who hate their men's jobs, she has the real argument. He actually left her to protect her. And he did it right by destroying all the photos and making them think his family meant nothing. I can't imagine that's actually what Kayla wants.

You guys, not only is Fynn managing to sidestep the "womanizing prick" label he was headed for, but last week he actually respected HIPAA rules and refused to give Steve health information about Kayla! I wonder how Fynn drives around town without his unicorn horn breaking his windshield.

Victor's whole "you betrayed the family" thing would hold a lot more weight if he hadn't turned his back on Xander, Philip, Brady, and Deimos in the past last year.

Look here, J.J. Ben didn't just "play" crazy. The dude genuinely was bananas. But since you mentioned Will in your rant, I'll let it slide. At least someone remembered him!

Rafe and Hope's romance is happening both too soon and too fast at the same time, which somehow makes it just about right. I didn't think I would, but I like these two together. They can be honest with each other. I completely agree with Rafe that they're way past the friend stage, and I'm glad he told her so.

Also, it's a good thing that Rafe has been in love with Hope since the Aiden days because there's nothing about her recent behaviors that would make any sane person say, "She snapped and shot a man to death? Back off fellas! That's the one I want!"

I'm not mad at Dario or sticking up for his mom. As someone who's been the "Guurll, you don't need to go back to that scrub!" friend, I get Dario.

HOT:

A huge hat tip to Greg Vaughan for giving us a fantastic sequel to Eric Brady. I'll be honest, when I saw Eric return in that priest collar, I was ready for this storyline to fail. But the talented Mr. Vaughan crafted an internal turmoil within Father Eric that was both captivating and, miraculously, relatable. In doing so, he turned in some of the best work of his career. So, that's how I'll choose to remember his run on the show.

The good news is that a five-year sentence in soap time means that he could be out of jail by November Sweeps.

NOT: The sheer fact that insta-character Summer has two storylines right now is infuriating enough. But to add on top of it, both storylines are horrible clunkers.

First, I'm all shades of Team Theresa when it comes to Summer. Summer may not be purposely trying to wreck Thrady's happiness, but she's doing it. I'm glad that Theresa finally turned some of that responsibility on Brady too. He needs to lock it up here. The woman literally showed up on their front doorstep. Theresa was not out of line at all to call both of them on their ridiculous behavior. Second, and more serious, giving a child away because you can't take care of it is a heartbreaking thing to do. I've had personal friends on both side of this situation. I don't like the way DAYS is painting with the broad brush when it comes to Maggie and sending her down a spiral of self-hate for being seventeen and realizing that not all farm boys turn out as you wish they would. Yet there Maggie is, having to relive a painful decision that is nearly half a century old. And here we are, having to watch a grown woman go through mommy issues.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Theresa: "You know what a con is? An improv artist? They take whatever's thrown at them and they make the most of it. And Summer, she just got a really sad story, and what did she do? Did she go talk it out with Maggie? Did she leave town? No, no, she showed up. She arranged herself on our doorstep like a little orphan in from a storm. And then she won't talk about it. She'll wait and hold out until you beg her to talk about it. And then, when she finally tells her oh-so-tragic tale, you'll feel even more sorry for her."

Truth bombs, by Theresa. I'm getting shirts made for all of us.

RANDOM THOUGHTS This conversation happened at my house last week: Husband (walking past the TV): "Why are people always lighting each other people on fire on this show?" Me: "It's not everyone, just these two. He was trying to light her on fire before."

J.J. is a real cop now. He answers the phone by just saying his last name.

After Belle leaves, Marlena will have no kids in Salem. Has that ever happened before?

Who eats one fry when they're starving? Ugh, Jade.

Clearly, they used the budget savings on J.J.'s wardrobe to buy Jen cooler jackets and dresses.

As I was noticing how much A Martinez and Jordi Vilasuso look alike, I realized that casting is interesting. It's got to be an odd process to meet a stranger who looks so much like you.

Why are people going in and out of the DiMera mansion through the patio door?

I'm fascinated and impressed with Kate's mixing of patterns, one of which is leopard!

Every time I see Kayla's ring, I remember that it's made from a bullet. And then I roll my eyes super hard.

It's odd to see Victor in something other than a suit.

Whew! Henderson didn't get fired. At least some parts of the Kiriakis mansion didn't get tossed out..

I know for sure Abigail is crazy because two people offered to soothe her crying baby, yet she opted to have him cry in her face. Nuts.

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.