How about this new pace?

So it's been a while since I've blogged about Days and the main reason is because of the pace of the show (and the pace of my life lately). Man they have kept things moving lately and I gotta say I like it! TPTB have started to clean house (thank goodness) and have gotten rid of some dead weight that was slowing things down - namely Willow. My biggest fear was that we would be left with a who killed Willow storyline and what happens to Willow's baby story. I was very happy with how quickly both situations were dealt with so we can move on with stories and characters that we actually care about.

Now that the DiMeras are back, it is clear who the villains in town are. There is definitely a battle between good and evil and I love that we are finally getting to see some answers about why it all started in the first place. The small battles over Sami, Lucas, and EJ are exciting and well written. I don't even mind seeing another "Who's the daddy?" story because it makes sense when you see how it relates to Colleen Brady and Santo Dimera's affair in the past.

The dreaded flashbacks have even become welcome and entertaining. I love seeing the old characters relive scenes from the past and they have done a good job of keeping them timely. Today's show used a recent flashback with John and Marlena when John was in a coma to show why Marlena was so determined to stay with him instead of leave the building while he worked on the bomb. It seems like they used to use flashbacks to remind us of what had happened the day before. Maybe they have finally realized their viewers are smarter than that!

Finally, my favorite storyline ... Shaun and Belle. I never thought Phillip could be redeemed but it looks like he has changed his ways. Whether Papa Victor has or not may determine how long it stays this way. Shaun's attitude in the coming days may influence it as well. I am again thrilled that they moved the missing child storyline along quickly. It was definitely the right way to take the story but Old Days would have drug it out all summer long. I think the real story here is in how Shaun, Belle, and Phillip rebuild this family with Claire. I see a real battle between Shaun and Phillip and for some reason I see Shaun coming out looking much worse than Phillip. If he continues to try to kick Phillip completely out of Claire's life he will look like a total jerk and like he is turning his back on the agreement they made on the boat. As much as I don't want another love triangle, I believe this has isosceles written all over it!