It’s happened again.
Days of Our Lives dragged out a murder mystery for several months, allowing one person after another to be falsely arrested, only to reveal a killer that nobody could have ever guessed.
As promised, Abigail’s killer was revealed on Days of Our Lives during the week of 9-19-22, but the answer was far less shocking than advertised.
The only clue as to who stabbed Sonny was that the perpetrator smelled like vanilla.
This could have meant many things. It could have been someone who had just come from Chanel and Allie’s bakery, spilled vanilla on themselves during a cooking accident, or wore vanilla-scented perfume or cologne.
It turned out to be the last option, which was fine, but the way the writers used it was silly.
Chad thought he smelled vanilla on Craig Wesley, who had returned to town because he heard his ex was in jail for the deed. But after sending the cops after Craig, Chad learned that the smell came from Clyde, who was standing nearby.
First, Chad has been wrong about the person who “definitely did it” so many times that his opinion is meaningless. In addition, Clyde was standing far enough away that it was improbable for Chad to think the scent came from Craig or to smell it strongly.
Oddly, no one has noticed that Clyde smells like vanilla before or since, except for Nancy mentioning she likes the scent. It’s bizarre that Will didn’t notice when Clyde was standing right next to him, and Will knows that Sonny’s attacker smelled like vanilla.
Plus, with the cologne being sold in Barrons, how probable is it that only one person in Salem wears it?
Even if you leave these logistical issues aside, there are significant problems with this murder mystery and its solution.
Clyde doesn’t seem to have much of a motive. It’s conceivable that he stabbed Leo to get revenge, but why go after Abigail?
While Clyde threatened to hurt anyone close to EJ if EJ told his secret, Abigail hardly qualifies. EJ had an affair with his sister-in-law almost ten years ago and enjoyed a cordial but distant relationship with her now.
Johnny and the off-screen Sydney were far better targets if that was Clyde’s motive. Even Sami would have been a more logical choice!
Clyde wasn’t a shocking suspect as far as Sonny went. He had stabbed him once before, and Leo was on Clyde’s enemies list — a more dangerous place to be than the one Leo had.
This twist was so underwhelming that many viewers expected a further one. Fans speculated that Clyde might have been a copycat who attacked Sonny while someone else killed Abigail.
However, this didn’t appear to be the case. According to Chad and Sonny, the perpetrator used the same knife in both attacks. Plus, Clyde doctored the security footage to give himself a non-existent alibi.
There could be a further surprise when Days of Our Lives returns on Monday, but since spoilers said the killer would be revealed this week, chances are that Clyde killed Abigail.
At least it didn’t turn out to be Craig, so there’s that!
Leo seemed extremely narcissistic when he claimed that Craig was sneaking into town and following him around so that he could find an opportunity to kill, all to get back at Leo for breaking his heart.
Sorry, Leo, but you’re not so powerful that you turn exes into killers.
There was no evidence that Craig was involved except for one erroneous claim that he smelled like vanilla and Leo’s self-centered fantasies.
Of course I didn’t stab Sonny or murder Abigail. Besides the fact that I’m not a homicidal maniac, I wasn’t even in town.
Craig
Craig’s turning up in Salem just in time to be accused was suspicious, though. His explanation for why he was back didn’t make much sense, either. There was no reason for him to return to visit Leo in jail, especially if there was no future for these two.
It would have made more sense for him to return to help find a cure for Kayla’s disease. Craig was originally a bacteriologist; in Salem, that’s synonymous with being able to find cures for toxin-based illnesses!
Plus, that’d bring some high drama since the last time he was in town, Craig let Leo talk him into taking over Kayla’s job.
Maybe Craig’ll stick around to do that. There was no real reason for him to return to New York except that he was embarrassed about the Leo debacle.
It would have been a shocking twist if it turned out Clyde stabbed Sonny, but Craig killed Abigail. Thank goodness Days of Our Lives didn’t go there.
It’s not good that Chad is taking matters into his own hands. He nearly choked several innocent people to death because he thought they killed Abigail, and now he has a gun.
Clyde most likely is guilty. He doctored the tape to make himself appear to have an alibi and used the same knife to attack Sonny. But Chad should go to Rafe with his new evidence, especially since Rafe and Jada seem to be coming to the same conclusion about Clyde.
It’s hard not to feel sorry for Nancy. She loves and believes in Clyde, and he will get arrested or shot at their wedding.
It’s also unclear why Clyde is in such a rush to get married. That won’t stop the police from arresting him, and he doesn’t know they have any doubts about Leo’s guilt.
In any case, Nancy and Clyde’s wedding is likely to be as much of a disaster as Leo and Craig’s was. The odds are that Clyde will be dragged off in handcuffs again after telling Nancy he stabbed Sonny for her because Leo hurt her so deeply by stealing Craig from her.
Nancy’ll be as heartbroken as Craig was, while Chloe and Brady get to be smug that once again they were right and Chloe’s parent fell for a loser. Ugh.
Chloe and Brady’s custody battle with Kristen continued to be a wild ride. It was a pleasant surprise when the judge ruled in Brady’s favor, but Kristen is far from finished with this.
She’s likely either going to kidnap Rachel or try to kill Chloe again or both.
The judge should have made a criminal referral after viewing that security footage.
Of course, Chloe shouldn’t have been allowed to give her evidence outside of the courtroom, nor was most of what happened during the hearing appropriate. Kristen took the opportunity to make wild accusations against everybody and then cry victim when they lost their tempers on the stand.
Kristen: Mr. Black is here to testify as to Brady’s character, is he not?
Judge: Yes, and that’s appropriate.
Kristen: Is it? His wife went on a three-month crime spree recently and he didn’t even realize it, so is he really a good judge of character?
If the judge had any sense, she would have realized that Kristen’s behavior in court was why this couple was getting divorced and not allowed her to misuse the court this way.
She shouldn’t have had to rely on an 11th-hour statement from Chloe, nor should Roman have had to try to tell her Philip was alive to counter Kristen’s claims that Brady was a murderer.
At least Brady’s eyes were finally opened to what Kristen was like!
Kristen: I just want to say I’m sorry about your o.
Brady: I love it when you try to seem human.
Kristen: I didn’t know! I didn’t know she was ill, Brady, and if I had, I would have never pushed John like that!
Brady: If you had, you would have thrown it in his face.
Kristen: Just drop the high moral tone. I mean, you have your whole family lined up behind you to keep me from Rachel, You can’t expect me to not fight for her.
Brady: You know, you can drop the whole ‘I’m fighting for my daughter’ routine, because it is a load of crap. This is not about Rachel. It is about you and your sick compulsion to win. Every little hill for you, every little molehill, is a hill to die on! You are your father all over.
Kristen: Yes, I am. So think about it, Brady. If I’d die for a molehill, imagine what I’d do to keep my own daughter.
Brady: Mm hmm. Do you hear it? My own daughter. This is not about a little girl for you, Kristen. It is about ownership. You know, there was a point — a very low point, mind you, where I thought, I can do this. I can share custody with Kristen. But after seeing the way you behave in this courtroom, I will do anything to keep Rachel safe from you.
His confrontation with Kristen was nothing short of epic, with both characters delivering powerful lines. I’m curious about what Kristen will do next, though I hope it’s not what I think it is.
Orpheus stole that toxin from Dr. Rolf before using it on the women. Kristen knows where Rolf is. So Kristen could easily get the antidote from Rolf but only be willing to do so if Brady breaks up with Chloe.
She’s done that before, using her ability to cure John as a bargaining chip to get Eric to drop the rape charges against her. (Side note: since Eric agreed to do that, her rape of him should not have been covered by her pardon and should have been fair game during the hearing!).
It would be an awful end to the toxin storyline, but would it surprise anyone if Kristen used three women’s lives for her own purposes?
Steve and John are unlikely to get anywhere before it’s too late, especially if Steve continues to waste time fighting with Orpheus.
He should have known he’d never get any satisfaction from threatening the guy. Orpheus is a master manipulator who bullies with a soft tone of voice and makes himself look like the victim whenever necessary.
It’s too bad that Steve doesn’t know that Jan killed or tried to kill Evan. If he did, he could use that as a bargaining chip: Reverse this, and I’ll help you find your son.
That’s the one thing Orpheus might respond to. In the 1980s, he forced Marlena to be a surrogate mother to his children, enraged that they were growing up without a mother because of Rebecca’s death.
Much like Stefano or Victor, he’d do anything for his kids. Maybe he’d even allow the women to live to help his son.
Finally! I was wondering when the Justice League would get here. My guess is that Cyclops drew the short straw.
Orpheus
Instead, Steve acted like an idiot, allowing Orpheus to push all his buttons. Orpheus’ behavior was so transparent, and after 40 years of dealing with him, Steve never should have fallen for such obvious tricks.
As predicted, Gwen couldn’t go more than a few days without getting blackmailed again. That’s just what Gwen does.
She shouldn’t listen to Jennifer’s out-of-character threats. Gwen knows more than anyone what opioid abuse can do to a person. She watched her mother die slowly from the disease.
Protecting Jennifer from a similar fate should be more important than Jennifer’s threat to force Jack to disown Gwen. Even if Gwen is only telling Jack out of spite — and the jury is still out on that — she would be saving Jennifer’s life!
The Jennifer story suffers from the same problem as the murder mystery: instead of a carefully developed story, Jennifer is suddenly hiding pills and acting nasty.
It’s too bad that Eric didn’t go for the job with Jack. As a former addict and ex-partner of Jennifer’s, he’d be in a great position to intervene,
Instead, there was some more nonsense with Eric and Nicole. Nicole picked another fight with Jada, then admitted to Eric that she only gave him the job because she lied to Rafe.
Eric was going to quit but didn’t. Too bad!
Instead, he and Nicole confessed to having sexual dreams about each other, and Eric ran away. Blah.
Finally, while I find EJ’s constant attempts annoying to secure a re-vote so he can become CEO again, Stefan’s reactions are interesting. Stefan claims to hate Gabi yet seems reluctant to hurt her whenever EJ brings it up.
What are the chances he’ll regain his memory during the next re-vote so Gabi remains CEO?
Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics. Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts about the latest Days of Our Lives developments.
Don’t forget to check back on Sunday for the Days of Our Lives Round Table discussion.
Days of Our Lives streams 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.