We knew Days of Our Lives would go there eventually.
Polyamory has become a popular television plotline, though it’s usually done wrong. Viewers have guessed Allie and Chanel would end up in a threesome since the Tripp/Allie/Chanel days.
On Days of Our Lives during the week of 10-04-22, Allie proposed a threesome with Alex Kiriakis for reasons that make it harder to take this story seriously.
When Allie initially brought up the idea, Chanel hit the nail on the head with her suggestion that Allie was responding to her jealousy of Chanel and Johnny’s friendship.
That’s exactly what Allie was doing. Will had wasted the better part of his last hour in Salem trying to convince her that this was the wrong reason to do something like this.
Five minutes later, Allie coldly suggested it in response to Chanel sharing her concerns about Johnny and Ava. This isn’t Allie trying to spice up their relationship. It’s her trying to distract Chanel from Johnny with the promise of a no-strings-attached sexual adventure.
Before we go any further, I want to make one thing clear. Just because I’m sexually fluid does not mean I have to have a man. I’m in a committed, happy relationship with the woman I love.
Chanel
I was glad that Chanel pointed out that being attracted to more than one gender doesn’t mean you need to have sex with multiple people to be satisfied.
This is a common myth about bisexual people. Sometimes people think that if you’re bi, you are incapable of monogamy, and that harmful belief makes life harder than it needs to be for many bisexuals.
However, the storyline does little to dispel that antiquated notion since Allie convinced Chanel that they needed to do this. If they go through with it, the story will have to be handled carefully so that it does more than reinforce stereotypes about bi people.
Allie’s reasons suggest that, at the very least, she’s still unsure of what she wants.
Chanel is confident in her ability to be monogamous and is happy with Allie, but Allie doesn’t seem happy with her. Allie misses Tripp and sex with men. She seems to be projecting those feelings onto Chanel, who isn’t looking for anything more than what she has.
This no-strings-attached sexual arrangement will undoubtedly lead to someone developing feelings for Alex, further complicating things.
I wouldn’t mind if, eventually, Allie and Chanel implode over this nonsense. These two have little chemistry together, making it hard to buy the idea that Allie fell hard for Chanel.
Lani and Kristen would have been a much better choice for Salem’s first lesbian couple, but that ship has sailed, and now we’re stuck with this boring one. A threesome won’t fix that; it’ll only shock some viewers and titillate others.
Most television stories revolving around polyamory are full of unrealistic drama, so taking this on is a heavy lift for Days of Our Lives. But this played-for-shock-value beginning isn’t a good sign.
This idea isn’t any better for Alex than it is for the women. He’s sulking because Stephanie and Chad were holding hands when he walked by.
Alex needs to grow up and stop obsessing over Stephanie, but this isn’t the way to do it. At best, he’ll give the women a half-hearted romp in the hay while dreaming of the woman he can’t have.
Alex will either jump into bed with the women to forget Stephanie or reject their offer so that he can “save himself” for the woman he loves. Neither is a great option or particularly entertaining.
Alex needs to take Sonny’s advice to heart. Why did he ask for it if he wasn’t going to follow it? At least Sonny talked him out of any further sexual harassment of Stephanie. Sheesh.
Meanwhile, Stephanie and Chad’s kiss will probably not go any further, at least not for a while. Chad is tipsy, and Stephanie is Abigail’s cousin; she’ll probably pull away and say this is wrong.
Stephanie and Chad are a better couple than Stephanie and Alex, but it is too soon, especially since Stephanie is Chad’s widow’s cousin. Besides, with Chad grieving and Stephanie worried about her mother’s health, neither of them is in the right headspace for a relationship.
Chanel may soon have bigger problems now that Sloan is making vague noises about life being difficult for Paulina’s daughter. Of course, Paulina has another daughter currently serving a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. But since Lani is not on canvas, it’s safe to presume that Sloan was talking about Chanel.
Paulina’s bid for the governor’s mansion will put Chanel in the public eye along with her mother. Paulina might object to this threesome idea because it could hurt her chances of winning the election, and Sloan is sitting on another secret that could cause problems.
Paulina is one of Salem’s strongest women, so hopefully, she doesn’t give in to whatever blackmail Sloan has in mind.
I’m curious as to what Chanel’s secret is. Hopefully, it’s something worthwhile.
Jennifer called Mike to ask for help. His first visit in over a decade was far too short.
Mike and Nancy went from bitter enemies to friends in an hour, but they’re both returning to New York, rendering the whole thing pointless unless they come back.
Nancy: Nice to see you again.
Mike: Really? Do you have amnesia or something?
Nancy: No. I just meant –
Mike: You want me to forget the things you did to me, is that it? Well, don’t worry. I’m here for Jennifer. I really don’t have time for old enemies.
Although Mike’s anger was justified, he was over the top. Nancy was saying hi to be polite. It wasn’t necessary to go on a rant about the past.
After that, he quickly arrived at Jennifer’s and left with her. I’d have liked some more brother/sister time and more of Mike in general!
Jennifer and her family continued to be an afterthought in this storyline. It’s evident at this point that the accident was mostly so that Gwen could have a redemption arc.
Gwen and Jennifer both realized that Jennifer had caused the accident. However, Gwen quickly forgave Jennifer, decided she would tell the cops she still had no memory, and tore into Leo for trying to blackmail Jack over it.
Leo will have to get his act together to keep his friendship with Gwen. They’re no longer partners in crime, and his schemes are getting him nowhere except deeper in debt and other trouble.
Elsewhere, another schemer was exposed when EJ consulted a handwriting expert offscreen about Ava’s forgery.
This story suffered a bit from the handwriting expert being offscreen.
After all, how do Johnny and Ava know that EJ didn’t make the expert’s report up? Ava will probably feel guilty and confess, closing that plot hole, but still.
It was also strange that Johnny and Ava gave up their plan to make EJ think they were together. What was the purpose of that, other than for EJ to act friendly and then pull the rug out from under them?
Either way, this story suffers from the same thing Sonny worried about at Titan: too many rotating CEOs weaken the company’s standing.
EJ’s plan is unlikely to work anyway. It depends on Stefan, who is anti-Gabi at the moment, but that could always change.
Knowing how Days of Our Lives usually operates, Stefan will probably get his memory back moments before he casts his crucial vote.
Although it’s predictable, I’m hoping it goes that way because if EJ manages to unseat Gabi, Gabi will find someone to help her plot to unseat EJ, and this story will never end.
Also, let’s talk about Kristen.
Kristen showed her true colors, bothering a seriously ill Marlena for the sole purpose of messing with Brady and Chloe and using her young daughter as a weapon against the couple.
This is disgusting, but Brady and Chloe aren’t handling it well.
When Rachel acted out because of the note in her lunchbox, Brady should have taken action. Yes, it’s hard for her to deal with losing access to her other — although Kristen has been in jail for most of her life, so this is nothing new — but that doesn’t mean she gets to act any way she feels like.
Brady should have told her that her behavior was unacceptable and made her return to the table. She needs to learn that it’s okay to be angry about the situation but that it’s not okay to express anger in destructive ways.
Instead, he and Chloe are enabling Kristen’s abuse by allowing Rachel to behave this way and calling it “acting in her best interest.”
Rachel had no problem with Chloe until Kristen put one in her head. Chloe is not the problem here and should not keep her distance for Rachel’s sake.
Finally, over at Basic Black, Nicole and Eric shared a hug. Jada was surprisingly mature about it, but I’d end this relationship now if I were her.
Eric poured out his heart to Nicole about Marlena’s illness, then told Jada he didn’t need to talk because he already had gotten support from his ex.
Could he be any more blatant about the fact that Jada is merely a placeholder until he can win Nicole back from Rafe? Sheesh.
Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics. Hit the big blue SHOW COMMENT button, and let us know your thoughts.
Don’t forget to check on Sunday for the latest Days of Our Lives Round Table discussion.
Days of Our Lives airs on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekdays at 6 AM EST / 3 AM PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.