The more you know

Pucker up, DAYS fans, because there was a lot of smooching going on in Salem last week! Nicole and Deimos made it to first base. Shawn and Belle did, too! Aiden and Hope had a rainy reunion peck. And Ciara dreamed about playing kissy face with Chad. Put on your favorite lip gloss and let's talk locking lips in this week's DAYS Two Scoops.

Ah, the Hollywood screen kiss! Several Salemites passionately puckered up last week, but not all of those steamy smooches may (or should) lead to romance. Let's take a look at some of those kisses and where things stand between the kissers.

To begin in a happy place, J.J. and Gabi continued to pine after one another. In fact, J.J. is Gabi's hero again. Their relationship is a good thing for both characters, and I'm a fan. I'm just not sure Mama H really needed to give her blessing. It was a nice gesture, I guess, albeit a bit late to the game, since Gabi's Victory Love Tour consists of a teenage pregnancy from a one-night stand with her gay former high school sweetheart, stalking a crush which resulted in half the down blowing up, and marrying a psycho homophobe she later killed. Gabi dating a guy who had some issues in high school is kind of like winning the lotto for the youngest Hernandez.

My verdict's still out on Nicole and Deimos, and Kate and Deimos, for that matter. The entire Kate as Salem's Welcome Wagon shtick is a bit tired. By "bit tired," I mean completely and utterly exhausted. And now Kate wants to marry the man. That is pure romance, especially when marriage talk can include the lines, "If we had souls, we'd be soul mates" and "going in for the kill." Nope. Love in the afternoon is not dead in the House of Kiriakis 2.0.

True, Kate and Deimos had an honest-for-them tte--tte about their, uh, relationship, which, let's be honest, has about as much depth to it as drunk strangers making out while in the line for the bathroom at a club. They would certainly be a power couple as far as money and status go, but I'm also having issues with that as Kate is pretty powerful on her own. She doesn't need a pre-nup or a quickie Vegas wedding to a nouveau riche, vendetta-minded dude with little interest in her other than Champagne-laden romps and her corporate knowhow to prove her ferociousness. I'd rather Kate have some arm candy (Dario, perhaps?) who adores her or a blue collar guy (hey, Roman!) by her side while she plays in the big league boardroom with Salem's other movers and shakers.

While Kate is surely fired up about Deimos' interest in Nicole, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them yet. Nicole certainly knows what it's like to be burned by Victor. Deimos does, too. They have that. And, really, both of them have legit reasons to sort of, kind of, really hate Victor. They've both sought out revenge, Nicole via hairdryer in the bathtub, amongst others, and Deimos by emotional blackmail, amongst others. So, is hating Victor enough to bond on? I know Nicole is trying to set Deimos up, but part of me suspects her history and her new "anyone can change" approach to life may make her change her tune and give it an honest-ish go with Deimos at some point. She could do worse. She has done worse. I'll have to see more of them and report back.

Forever grateful to Marlena, John planted a big one on her at the hospital. Um, John, close up that robe. You're showing the entire neighborhood your business. Anyway, I like the place of mutual respect John and Marlena are in right now. The days of her being the damsel in distress to his swashbuckler hero are over, and equality has reigned as they now rescue each other. And if they take Paul home and more charming scenes of them together happen, I'll consider that icing on the cake.

Sadly we go from sweet cake to what could quickly become a total crap sandwich. That is, Chad and Ciara's possible whatever. I just don't see the need. At all. Both characters have way too much going on right now to add anything romantic into the mix. I could totally get behind them becoming besties. That's fine. But Chad and Ciara just, ugh, no.

The dream kiss was awkward, and the age gap was way too apparent. I've been a fan of May/December romances before, but this sort of, well, Chad is a married corporate man with an infant, and Ciara is still in high school. Ciara needs to talk to Amy Fisher and ask how things worked out for her. Not to mention, the last person Abigail was pissed at, she tied to a bed and set on fire. Yeah, that, too.

Great White might have to rerecord "Once Bitten Twice Shy" as "Twice Bitten Thrice Shy" for Shawn-Douglas and Belle. After some more fighting over how to handle Claire, they had a bonding moment. That moment lasted until Shawn-D dropped Belle off at home and they shared a kiss at her front door. Well, Marlena and John's front door, but that's neither here nor there. Moral is, they kissed! As a Shelle fan, knowing that both Martha Madison and Brandon Beemer are both leaving, and lack of interest in either Philip or Lani as love interests for Belle or Shawn, I'm in. Someone needs a happy ending.

Remember that scene a few weeks ago when Aiden returned and told the story and Hope was all bajiggity? Yeah. Pretty much that scene happened over and over last week again. I agree with Laurisa's brilliant last Two Scoops, Every now and then I fall apart. The way they brought Aiden back was totally believable in a way respectful of Bope's history and DiMera dirty work. So now Aiden is here, Rafe is here, and Hope has a major choice to make.

Having enjoyed Hope and Aiden's romance until it was thrown under the bus, I'm hoping they can reclaim a little of that magic again, but I'm not exactly dusting off the old "Haiden" foam finger just yet. He's still lying to her about the timeline of what happened. You know, where he backed out of killing her moments before he was going to kill her. Plus, I'm kind of enjoying Hope and Rafe's romance right now. It's organic and genuine. I can see why Hope is torn. I am, too!

LOOSE ENDS: Are Hope and Aiden still married, legally, that is? He really can't argue they are, since that would blow apart his story of when he was swapped, but if he wanted to play the "we're still married" card to cause problems, I think he could. Right? I'm confused.

Not to be insensitive, but how could Mama H and her weak arse immune system not get seriously infected by the Yo Ling A Ding Virus!? They lady's missed every family function since the first Hernandez appeared on-screen because of one malady or another. I guess she was building up tolerance, perhaps, but I digress...

Thankfully, the virus situation has been contained, and everyone is out of those white Breaking Bad/Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Hazmat suits. Even more thankfully, err, thankfuller, no one who makes Salem spin actually died! I'm shocked that the writers didn't try to gut us with the death of a beloved character. Well, you know, besides the model and photographer. I'll mourn What's-Her-Face and Who's-His-Name for years to come.

Perhaps the only thing this outbreak had going for it were the tender scenes it created between characters. J.J. being Gabi's hero led to some adorable moments, though the John/Paul/Marlena scenes stole the show. John's face when Paul tried to push him away will be my new emoji when I'm texting sad. I'm glad Mar Mar stepped in to help Paul. I wouldn't mind more of these two together, as they share a similar Marlena/Chad vibe, and that was made of win. Ultimately, John and Paul are good, John and Mar are good, and we can wish a hearty, healthy goodbye to this storyline. Don't let the door hit you in the hourglass on the way out, Yo Ling A Ding Virus.

I'm so happy that Theresa and Anne are besties working together again. One of the highlights was Anne's pep talk to Theresa as well as calling her out on switching up her name. She'll always be Jeannie-T to me, too, Anne. And, boom! Mic drop. I loved Theresa and Anne's talk about Brady's track record when it comes to marriage proposals. They're not wrong. At all. I'm beginning to think Brady just loves wedding planning. Too bad there wasn't a booming industry for that.

On the topic of Brady, I adored the scenes he had with Belle. What great sibling bonding time! Belle's biting self-awareness that her life is a mess is pretty spot on, but she does make brilliant points nonetheless. More so, I get that Theresa has insecurities, as I've met Theresa for more than five minutes, but this one's on Brady. Theresa has come a long way since the coked-up gold-digger days, but she's not totally secure in Brady's commitment to her, either. That's on her, but what he says and what he does are two different things, so I can't blame her. Brady would comment on that, but some random chick in the town square broke a heel on her shoe, and he has to go rub her feet, buy her new shoes, and then help her pick a 401(k) plan.

Speaking of fellow mental giants like Brady who need a better storyline, Joey is right there. While I'll give this commune plot some points for trying something different, I'm not exactly sure what the end game will be, aside from proving to Joey that Jade is not as cool as he, Dirk (ugh), and Jade herself think she is. That point could have probably been made in Salem sans the Manson Family-lite gang.

Finally, it was nice of Eric to send Nicole a letter. And then Nicole to cry about St. Dr. Dude some more. It really made up for not having a final scene between acting powerhouses Ari Zucker and Greg Vaughan. I'll cherish that letter forever in my keepsake box labeled "Too Little, Too Late."

DOUBLE HOT

HOT 1: Even though Stefano's advice to Chad was a little jive, I'll never not love seeing Joseph Mascolo! I miss that man.

HOT 2: I loved all the bonding scenes last week! Sometimes characters having simple interactions or heartfelt conversations is way more entertaining than death, rape, and more death and rape. Justin and Victor's scene was stellar. Hope and Shawn-Douglas actually had scenes together (no, really, they did)! John, Paul, and Marlena had amazing ones. I dug the Belle/Brady bonding. Hope and Julie's chat was welcomed. And I didn't even mind the Hernandez family bonding time. Good job, writers!

NOT I'm begging the writers on my "I 'Heart' Kristen DiMera" pajama set that they keep Chad and Ciara's kiss solely in her dreams. This doesn't need to happen, writers. This doesn't need to happen for real.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Victor (greeting Maggie and Summer the bipolar con artist): "My beautiful wife...and you."

EXCHANGE OF THE WEEK: Steve: "What's with the Jimmy Buffet look? Why don't you just get a parrot hat and be done with it?" Karl: "Says the guy who looks like a pirate." Steve: "Touch."

RANDOM THOUGHTS Now that Aiden is free, he should have given his bird to Chase. Incarcerated teenage dirt bags need dead pets, too.

Sassy pants Belle is still the best. I'm compiling a list of people I want her to tell off for me.

Kayla really should have been wearing a raggedy red headband and holding a shotgun when she exclaimed, "I gotta do this. I'll rest later." #badass

I think Lucas is the webmaster of "Pal Page." I could see him sitting behind a computer, reading his friend's updates, and eating his emotions while secretly hoping someone calls him for real to ask him to do something.

Poor Claire! She's not getting a new car for graduation. I guess she'll have to settle for that lame-o recording contract. #hardknocklife

Speaking of "poor me" attitudes, Dario's new theme song should be Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River." With all the unemployed time he has on his hands, Dario should go to therapy and figure out how to get rid of that chip on his shoulder.

Chad nearly nabbed the line of the week with his gem to Ciara, "Well, if your family was a bunch of gangsters, maybe they'd be more open-minded." He should hang out with Hope more. Just saying.

Rafe and Aiden talking about having doubles was kind of funny in a not-meant-to-be-funny kind of way. Maybe if Princess Gina can return, everyone will win in this triangle.

Who else found it a bit awkward when Kate told Mama H, "I'm a friend of your son, Rafe." Though, Kate really could have added, "Oh, and Eduardo, too." I wonder if she'll jump on Dario next for the Hernandi Trifecta. He is new in town, after all.

I do kind of want to see the Hortons have a luncheon where everyone blows up at one another. Lucas could vent that nobody calls him. A fed-up J.J. would lament how he's become the stable Deveraux. Marie could join in and complain about why the Christmas tree is filled with name bulbs she doesn't even recognize. And it could end with everyone snapping at Julie because they don't want to watch any more cruise slideshows and Jennifer sobbing on the floor while wailing, "I don't even like doughnuts!" Of course, Tommy Jr., Melissa, and Sarah would be in "the other room" the entire time.

PARTING THOUGHTS So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of May 23. I'll be back next week to see if any of our horny Salemites make it to second base. And, "That's a fact!"

As always, thanks for reading! Tony

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