Days of Our Lives Round Table: Jack Is Back!

Jack Deveraux returned from the dead on Eve’s arm, much to the shock of everyone in Salem, while Gabi was arrested and Abigail tried to move on with her life.

Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Kpatch and Tghca from MyHourglass a Days of Our Lives fan forum to debate Jack’s return, Abigail’s decision not to press charges, Stefan’s future and more!

Were you surprised that Abigail chose not to press charges against Gabi? Did she do the right thing?

Kpatch: Abby surprised me. I’m glad she chose to let bygones be bygones, but I don’t think Gabi should get off scot-free. I don’t want to see her separated from her daughter again, but her crimes were real and the consequences could have been far-reaching.

Gabi's actions were premeditated, and while Abby’s not a saint and not entirely innocent, her actions were not premeditated and not done out of cruelty.

Tghca: I am genuinely surprised that Abby chose not to press charges and honestly I don't feel like she did the right thing. Even if they are even now, Gabi committed unspeakable crimes not only against Abby but against Chad and against Stefan, even though I hate that character's guts.

Not to mention what she did to Charlotte who is an innocent child in all of this, by making her think one man was her father when the other man was her father all along. Like really, who does that?

Gabi should have to pay for that, don't you think? Not to mention even if Abby doesn't press charges other parties involved could press charges against her such as Chad and Stefan because they were both affected by this.

Jack: I wasn't surprised since Abby let Gabi spend Christmas with Ari before being made to face charges. I don't think she did the right thing. Her reason made no sense.

Holding someone accountable for what they did is not the same as seeking vengeance, and one of the purposes of jail is to protect public safety.

Gabi is still full of rage and sees Abigail letting her go as Abby thinking the score has been evened. She is dangerous and there's no guarantee she won't lash out at Abby, Chad, or someone else again with another awful revenge scheme.

Christine: I’m proud of Abigail for trying to take the high road and ending this madness, but Gabi should still have to pay some sort of a price. She could have stopped this horror show at any time but chose not to do so.

Gabi used an innocent child to get her revenge and now whines that her own child could be left without a mother. I don’t necessarily want to see her in prison, but there should be consequences.

Jack is back! With which character do you most want to see him reconnect?

Kpatch: JJ! We’ve never really seen these two actors interact, except with Jack as an apparition. There is so much meat, so many possibilities. I hope the writers do them justice.

Tghca: I actually have characters who I would want to see Jack reconnect with such as his sister Adrienne, his brother-in-law Justin, his nephews Sonny and Tripp, but also if Steve were in town I would want to see the Johnson brothers reconnect.

Since that isn't happening anytime soon I will settle for Jack interacting with Abe, John, Marlena, Roman, and Julie.

Jack: JJ! JJ suffered so much as a result of Jack's "death". Every bad decision he's made stemmed from his inability to deal with his grief and his rage at the rest of his family because the only person he felt fully understood, accepted, and loved him was gone.

Plus we never got to see them bond on-screen since JJ returned to Salem after Jack was gone.

Christine: Definitely JJ. When Jack was a “ghost” these two had great chemistry and JJ deserves to reconnect with his father. I’m more excited for Jack/JJ scenes than I am for Jack/Jennifer scenes and I was a huge fan of this couple.

In your opinion, is Rafe a good cop, a hothead with a badge, or something in between?

Kpatch: Something in between, I’d say. I think he’s an okay cop but he is never objective and has different sets of rules for different people. To be fair, that could be said of any member of Salem’s law enforcement community.

Tghca: I think Rafe, in my opinion, is a good cop but he can also be a hothead, but more hothead than a good cop. A cop is a police officer who can be objective and not let his emotions or personal feelings get in the way of a case and Rafe does this all the damn time.

Jack: Hothead. Total hothead. He irritates me because he uses the power of the badge to intimidate people then gives Hope lectures about how we have to be by the book.

Christine: When people call Rafe a “by the book” cop, I want to ask, what book? He has different rules for different people and frequently lets his emotions and his temper take over. That’s not a good cop in my book.

Stefan was arrested. Do you hope he returns to Salem or is gone for good?

Kpatch: I kind of like Stefan. I think his vilification was unfair. I hope he stays in Salem but would like to see him be more three-dimensional. He’s a good actor and the character has potential.

Tghca: I hope the character of Stefan is gone for good either by going to prison or being killed off.

You could have a Who Done It scenario and have a whole bunch of suspects because let's face it, Stefan does have a lot of enemies in this town like: Chad, Abby, Gabi, Rafe, Ben, who will most likely turn on Stefan because he ends up losing Ciara, Kayla, Kate, Ted, etc.

Jack: I hope he's gone for good. He added nothing positive to the show and his claim to fame is being a rapist who was in love with someone who doesn't exist.

Christine: Stefan was kind of sleazy right from the beginning and him having sex with a mentally ill woman in the middle of a breakdown killed this character for me. I hope he heads out of Salem and forgets the way back.

Does Gabi have a future in Salem? Where would you like to see her story go from here?

Kpatch: Gabi needs a vacation. She’s burned a ton of bridges. She should leave Salem for a few months. It will take a lot to redeem her. Maybe she can go find Rolf and bring Nicole back, newly alive.

Tghca: I think Gabi honestly does have a future but not in Salem, and the only way for Gabi to have any kind of redemption is for her to leave Salem altogether. A fresh start somewhere else and you can reboot the character by bringing her back in a few years.

Jack: I would love it if she would get some help for the sake of her daughter but I expect she will remain a villain and be angry that half of Salem rejects her. Maybe she and Ben will bond over being town pariahs.

Christine: I’d also like to see Gabi really deal with her issues and try to rebuild her life in Salem. Unfortunately, she’s made so many enemies that it limits her possibilities. Maybe she, Sonny, and Will could start their own business. They all seem to need to restart their lives.

What, if anything, disappointed you the most this week in Salem?

Kpatch: The Leo/Sonny/Will storyline is both boring and irritating. I have no interest in it.

Tghca: I would say JJ has disappointed me the most this week and that is because not only did he not even take his own sister Abby's side, but also the way he has come off as being stalkerish towards Haley is exactly why.

Jack: Abby letting Gabi go was ridiculous and was yet another attempt by the writers to make it look like Gabi's anger was justified and that what she did wasn't that bad.

I also really wish Paige's death had been undone. Paige caught in the middle between Eve and JJ over Jack would have added to the Jack story, and Paige would not be afraid to confront JJ about the way he keeps avoiding his feelings about Jack's return by changing the subject.

Beyond that, Eve seducing Jack using similar lines and mannerisms to how she seduced JJ was gross. I hope Jen told Jack about the JJ/Eve mess off-screen so that he is prepared for this and that Jack recoils in disgust come Monday!

Christine: The kind of blasé attitude some people had to Jack being alive (Hope, Kayla, Abigail), but I guess this kind of thing happens so often in Salem that no one is shocked anymore.

Also, the Will/Sonny/Leo story is a real drag. You know it’s bad when I’m more interested in Leo than I am in Sonny or Will and they were once one of my favorite couples!

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

Kpatch: I liked Jennifer showing Jack his past and his reaction to it. I’m glad he is suspicious of Eve now.

I also liked Roman telling Jennifer she’s being selfish by only caring that Jack has no memory and should appreciate the fact he’s alive. He was very tactful how he said it.

Tghca: My favorite storyline right now is Jack's return from the dead and my favorite scene is Jack's grand entrance into Doug's Place on New Year's Eve, completely shocking everyone.

My favorite quote this week on Days of our Lives would have to be "I don't remember any of you!" and that being Jack's line.

Jack: I loved Jack and Jennifer's conversations about their past. Jennifer's passionate explanation of how Jack changed her life made me remember all the reasons I fell in love with this couple years ago, and Jack seemed to have some sort of unconscious memory of his bond with JJ when he saw that photo of JJ in the stroller.

Afterward, Jack seemed more like his old self when he confronted Eve. Those scenes were great with the exception of Eve trying to seduce Jack.

Christine: I’m thrilled to have Jack back as he’s always been a favorite of mine and I appreciated that Jack’s investigative reporter instincts started to kick in with Eve.

Jack has never been one to trust others easily and I’m glad we’re not only seeing that with the friends and family he doesn’t remember, but also with Eve who seemingly gained his trust but could lose it just as easily.