Days of Our Lives Round Table: Was Hope Right to Suspend Rafe?

Claire outed Tripp and Haley’s fake marriage, Jack asked the unthinkable of Kayla, Hope took action against Rafe, and Maggie’s sobriety hung in the balance on Days of Our Lives.

Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Andy and Sportsgirl from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Tripp learning the truth, Hope suspending Rafe, Kayla’s response to Jack, and whether Maggie will take that drink in Salem.

Will Tripp figure out that Claire set him up?

Andy: I really hope Tripp figures it out soon, it's been dragged out long enough. Claire has gotten away with too much for too long. I have zero sympathy for her anymore, and I can't wait for Tripp to dump her.

Sportsgirl: Absolutely and I feel very soon. Tripp isn't an idiot and all this evidence easily points to her.

Jack: Good God, I hope so! I can't stand the stupidity. If he doesn't get it now, he never will.

Christine: I hope so, and soon. I think Tripp has been so preoccupied with saving Haley and trying to placate Claire that he hasn’t taken the time to put all of the pieces together. I have to believe that if he hears that recording, everything will finally click into place.

Do you think Haley will really be deported? Do you want her to stay in Salem?

Andy: I don't think Haley's story is over yet, so I doubt she'll actually be deported. I don't mind her staying in Salem once this drama is over, as long as she gets interesting stuff to do. Maybe she can become friends with Ciara.

Sportsgirl: I don't believe Haley is an illegal alien. I think Haley is Melinda's daughter born right here in the US. I believe Melinda couldn't provide a good home for her at the time and sent her to live with her parents in China.

Jack: Of course she will be. The writers went to the trouble of writing a completely unrealistic story about an undocumented immigrant and for her to not be deported at this point would make all of that into wasted effort.

I'm meh about Haley and wish Paige was still in town instead, but at least she gives JJ a reason to be on screen every now and then so there's that.

Christine: I doubt it. I find this story particularly boring and I fear Haley will be around for a while. I just hope she gets something more interesting to do because I just don’t feel any chemistry between her and JJ.

Jack asked Kayla and Jennifer to tell the public that they’d forgiven him for raping Kayla many years ago. Should they have done so?

Andy: Absolutely not. I couldn't believe Jack asked that of Kayla especially, going as far as to writing out the words to come out of her mouth. And for purely selfish reasons. It's so disrespectful to someone who he victimized, regardless of whether she has chosen to forgive him or not.

Then dragging Jennifer into it and bringing up her past experience...I hate what they've done to Jack's character, I wish he hadn't come back at this point.

Sportsgirl: Jack doesn't deserve this treatment. He has been nothing but awful to everyone except Eve. This isn't the Jack that they knew & forgave, this is some other Jack that is coldhearted & selfish.

Jack: Big fat no. It was offensive for Jack to do so. Kayla forgave him originally because of all the work he put into making sure he never hurt a woman like that again, but now it's as if the unchanged Jack was asking her to forgive him before he did that work.

This was yet another example of the writers bring up rape in a cavalier manner. The press isn't bothering Kayla and there was no real fallout from JJ's blurting this out other than Jack's ridiculous statement. I'm glad at least Kayla didn't sign it!

Christine: No! Jack’s motives were completely selfish. He really doesn’t care about how this affects Kayla or Jennifer, just how it could ruin his chances to win the election.

Plus, not only doesn’t Jack remember assaulting Kayla, he doesn’t remember the work he put into atoning for it or becoming a better person. This Jack doesn’t remotely resemble the man they forgave, which makes it all the worse.

In her grief over losing Holly, will Maggie start to drink again, leave Victor, both, or neither?

Andy: I think Maggie will continue to struggle with drinking, but I think she'll find the support somewhere to stay sober. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that support will come from Victor, which is so disappointing. Maggie has a lot of reasons to leave Victor based on his recent behavior, but I think they will eventually reconcile everything.

Sportsgirl: I believe Maggie will drink again because not only about Holly, but because of her lousy husband. I believe she will also leave Victor & I believe she sure should.

Jack: Ugh. It looks like we're headed towards Maggie drinking again and probably ruining her relationship with Victor.

Christine: I think Maggie is headed towards a downward spiral which will include losing her marriage and her sobriety. Granted, Victor has been an ass lately, but I do wish someone would see how badly Maggie is hurting.

Was Hope right to suspend Rafe?

Andy: Hope was within her rights to suspend Rafe. He was out of line, conflating their personal issues with his own actions disobeying orders. These two should not be in a relationship AND working together, especially in any capacity where one is the other's boss. They've proven time and time again that they can't handle it.

Sportsgirl: In this situation, yes, Hope was right to do that. Whether Rafe liked her decision or not, she is still his boss and he should have respected that. Even though she is really a lousy commissioner.

Jack: Under normal circumstances, cops can't just do whatever they want and ignore chain of command.

But in this case, Rafe was trying to save Holly's life while his commanding officer was so busy being lovesick she didn't follow established protocol for dealing with ransom demands. So no, Hope is the one who should be suspended, not Rafe.

Christine: Yes. Rafe once again ran off and did whatever he wanted, and it’s not the first time. He could disagree with Hope all he wants to but she’s his boss and it was her call. In the end, his lack of respect for Hope had him playing into Ted’s hands perfectly.

If you could have told off one character in Salem this week, who would it have been?

Andy: Oh man, just one? I could have told off Jack, Eve, Claire, Victor, Rafe...

I think the biggest disappointment is Victor though. He's offering zero respect or support to his wife during a traumatic experience, knowing that she's a recovering alcoholic on top of that. I expect Victor to be hateful and crotchety toward everyone else, but he's treating Maggie terribly.

Sportsgirl: Tough one, but I will go with Hope. She has become whiny and needy and not the strong woman she used to be. She needs to be slapped silly falling for Ted's lines instead of the old Hope that would be leery of his actions.

Jack: I was never so tempted to break my TV as when Claire was smirking after Haley's admission. However, I wanted to shake some sense into Haley too. She had the perfect opportunity to turn the tables by using that speech to expose Jack and Eve as blackmailers and instead she just went along with what they wanted.

Christine: So many choices…but I have to go with Nicole. She found Maggie sitting in front of a glass of vodka and thus far hasn’t told Brady or Victor. This isn’t something she should keep quiet about.

Maggie’s in pain and struggling badly and only Nicole may realize that this woman’s sobriety is on the line but she’s not doing anything to help.

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline this week on Days of Our Lives?

Andy: As hard as it is to watch, seeing Maggie struggle with drinking at the mansion and again at the pub was really powerful. And I loved Nicole supporting her.

I'm also kind of digging Gabi and Stefan's love/hate relationship. I think the new actor is helping me forget how terrible Stefan was, so I can enjoy them together much more.

Sportsgirl: This is the hardest question being everything is so dark, dreary & sad, so I will go with the story that is different from the others. I am actually enjoying Lani with baby David. It is a sweet story that I wonder where it will lead. Bonus is it is the only time I am finally liking her.

Jack: I liked John and Marlena's date. It was nice to have some romance to break up all the gloom and doom elsewhere. I also liked Nicole supporting Maggie when she found out that Maggie was considering drinking.

Christine: I loved the way Kayla stood up for herself with Jack. She didn’t get hysterical or verbally abusive like some other characters would. Kayla kept her dignity while making her position clear. The woman is the epitome of strength.