On this week's Days of Our Lives, JJ was officially charged with murder minutes before his sister Abigail entered a sham marriage and Rafe pulled his cousin Hope away from trying to clear his name in order to propose to her.

Our TV Fanatic Jack Ori is joined by Kpatch and WendyLou from My Hourglass: A Days of Our Lives Fan Forum to debate whether Rafe or Abigail was more selfish, whether Claire and Theo have any future, and whether Tripp redeemed himself after standing up for Kayla.

1. Rafe insisted on a romantic picnic and proposal for Hope and Abigail married Dario while JJ was under arrest for murder. Who was the more selfish, Rafe or Abigail, considering that Hope wanted to focus on JJ's case and Abigail's brother was the one in trouble?

Kpatch: I think Rafe was totally self-absorbed. His proposal could have waited until after the workday was over. Or the next day. Or the next. He behaved like a child who couldn’t wait. I give Abby a pass here because marrying Dario was not a selfish act. She was doing it for Dario, not herself.

WendyLou: I guess out of the two I'd have to say Rafe. Abigail acted like a brainless lemming, letting Dario push her into marrying him despite her brother's troubles, but she didn't initiate her wedding. Rafe on the other hand was the one initiating the proposal and keeping Hope from her investigation. I wouldn't call either of their actions selfish. I would say self-absorbed. Rafe was the more self-absorbed one. 

Jack: I guess I'm in the minority here, but I found Abigail and Rafe to be equally selfish. Abigail annoyed me more because JJ is her brother and her focus should be far more on his possible incarceration than on Dario, and she should be far more suspicious of Dario's controlling behavior considering what she went through with Ben. But I agree with kpatch that Rafe had absolutely no reason not to wait until Hope was ready to receive his proposal.

2. On a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being a total waste of screen time to 10 being hilarious and/or romantic, how would you rate Rafe being forced to run all over town to get permission from Bo and Hope's family members to marry Hope?

Kpatch: I would say 1. It was silly and embarrassing. I enjoyed Roman, Victor, and Doug’s reaction, but generally speaking, it was cringeworthy.

WendyLou: Maybe a 3? It wasn't awful and it kind of started out cute, it just went too far and I can't believe Hope sat there for what had to be hours waiting for Rafe. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had just stopped after he spoke with Doug.

Jack: I wish I could give this a negative rating! These scenes were torturous for me to watch and I didn't find anything at all endearing about a woman in her 50s not being allowed to decide for herself whether or not she wants to marry someone. I have a feeling it was supposed to be light hearted comedy but for me it completely fell flat.

3. Do you think Brady has any reason to be upset or annoyed about Eric and Nicole's Halo-induced time together that Nicole did not tell him about?

Kpatch: Brady has a right to feel a twinge of jealousy, but he has no right to hold it against Eric or Nicole. That said, Nicole should have told Brady immediately instead of acting like she had something to hide.

WendyLou: While I don't believe Eric or Nicole bear any responsibility for what happened after someone drugged them, I also can't blame Brady for being upset or jealous. Eric and Nicole have a past and he may very well be remembering what happened between Eric and Kristen (again when Eric was drugged) as well. Even the most understanding person might have trouble dealing with this type of situation, especially when there are so many unresolved feelings. 

Jack: All of this was non-consensual, including the Kristen thing, so Brady really has no reason to be jealous. I agree though that Nicole should have told Brady immediately. This is a rerun of some stupidity where she didn't tell Daniel that she had kissed Eric while they were trapped together, and it would be nice if she learned from that instead of repeating the same mistake.

4. Paul kept encouraging Sonny to keep his memories related to Deimos' death to himself despite JJ being charged with the murder. Why do you think he did that, and did you think it was consistent with his character?

Kpatch: Sonny really doesn’t know what happened. No one has clear memories. As far as being consistent with character, I’ve given up on that. No one acts true to their character. It’s all about the plot of the moment.

WendyLou: He did it with the misguided intention of protecting Sonny. He's afraid that either Sonny did kill Deimos or that it will appear that he did and that he'll go to jail. I'm not sure whether or not it is consistent with Paul's character. He's seemed like a pretty honest guy but he's also always loved Sonny so I can see him being worried about what might happen to him and wanting to protect him.

Jack: I agree with WendyLou that Paul wants to protect Sonny, but I expected him to be more conflicted. Sonny may be his lover, but JJ is a close friend and I didn't see Paul throwing him under the bus for Sonny's sake! Plus, I'm surprised Paul isn't relating this whole thing more to the way he turned violent when he had Jungle Madness or doubting that he himself is innocent because of that.

5. Did you think Tripp standing up for Kayla after creating a situation that caused Seth Burns to be suspicious of her redeemed him at all?

Kpatch: I did not interpret Tripp's actions as standing up for Kayla at all. If he was, he'd have confessed his part in it. So no, this was not a redeeming factor, but I do think he is redeemable.

WendyLou: NO! Absolutely not. I think that was all just part of his act and he only stood up for her to throw suspicion off of him. If he'd tried to gang up on her with everyone else it would be too obvious that he was up to something. 

Jack: That's a good point, WendyLou. I really want to believe that Tripp realized how serious his behavior is and doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore, but I'm not hopeful. I found the whole thing confusing.

6. Claire realized that Theo represented the stability she yearns for in his life but refused to back off and give him space to cool down after their break-up. Do you think this couple has any future, or has Claire completely sabotaged this relationship?

Kpatch: I think they have a future. They’re young and still figuring out who they are as individuals and as a couple. It’s nice to see some character growth for Claire. 

WendyLou: Who knows? They certainly didn't get off to a good start with all of the lying and manipulation. I can't help feeling that Ciara will return to Salem in the Fall and if that happens I wouldn't be surprised to see her try to get Theo back.

Jack: I certainly hope they have a future. Now that Claire has given up the selfish act, she and Theo are two likeable, flawed teens who I want to see find their way back to each other. I'm sure that if Ciara returns there will be yet another triangle, but I don't feel that Theo and Ciara are destined to be lovers just because they have been friends since early childhood.

7. What did you think were the most realistic and unrealistic storylines this week?

Kpatch: Kayla’s been a standout lately with her reaction to her mistakes and questioning her own abilities. I liked seeing Tripp have second thoughts about his actions and the way the whole family will be affected if Kayla’s career is ruined. However, it’s not at all realistic that he’d have the ability to change dosages without being caught.

Kate and Andre may not be realistic, but they are the most entertaining thing on Days lately. Their dialogue and acting on Friday was a real bright spot in the midst of murder and deceit.

WendyLou: Let's start with unrealistic - a hospital administrator standing in the middle of the lobby loudly accusing his chief of staff of malpractice. Totally unprofessional. That kind of stuff should be done behind closed doors.

I also have a hard time believing that Abby could be led into marriage so easily by Dario. It's like she has no mind of her own.

The way the police investigation was done. I had no idea hypnosis played such a heavy role in detective work.

Most realistic - I guess Claire and Theo's discussions after the breakup. Honestly, not a lot.

Jack: I also thought the police investigation scenes were super unrealistic. JJ appears to have just been confined to his work place rather than to an actual jail cell and was allowed to have as many private visits with friends and family as he wanted! Plus the cops are holding him based on flimsy evidence yet have not bothered to dust the murder weapon for prints, which would resolve all this in a hurry, instead relying on hypnosis techniques that may or may not be yielding accurate info.

I agree that Kayla's response to her dilemma was realistic. Not only was Tripp's being able to change dosages unrealistic, but so was her family being allowed at this meeting with her boss.

Claire and Theo were definitely the most realistic, and I enjoyed their scenes more than all of this other nonsense. I know it's a soap, but there should be SOME realism involved!

Interested in more Days of Our Lives chat? Check out our Days of Our Lives review right here on TV Fanatic!

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.