on finding at Wyndemere),
but the mystery has defi-
nitely gotten our attention!
We hope Ms. Barnes will
stay awhile.
thumbs down!
YOUNG AND RESTLESS
Brother’s Sleeper
Michael’s guilt over
leaving Kevin behind as
a kid has driven him to
bail his little bro out of
numerous troubles and run-
ins with the law. However,
Michael’s latest mission
to save Kevin just doesn’t
make sense. Kevin’s
harebrained scheme to
gain leverage over Adam
by kidnapping Phyllis
not only backfired hor-
ribly, but has resulted in
Adam blackmailing him to
carry out yet more illegal
activities. When Michael
found out, he sought to
free Kevin by offering to
“trade places” with him,
an offer Adam gleefully
accepted. The idea that
Michael would risk his
hard-earned reputation,
his career, his friendships
and worst of all, his mar-
riage — all to help Kevin
skirt out of a mess of his
own making — feels plot-
driven, a device to push
Michael back to the dark
side. Without the proper
setup, it feels too implau-
sible that the Michael we
have seen lo these many
years would put everything
he holds dear on the line for
Kevin, which makes it hard
to invest in the story.
QHelpless is not a word often associat-
ed with Brooke, but when watching her
vulnerable daughter marry the wronga mama bear unable to protect her cub.
Brooke tried in vain to persuade Hope
that she could still mother motherless
Douglas without tying herself to manipulative
Thomas. Lang initially employed false smiles and loaded glances,
hoping her daughter would wise up, but when she didn’t, Brooke
blew. “Honey,” Lang began sweetly, “when you were marrying
Liam, you were bursting with joy ... I don’t see any of that today
... so if you want to call it off, you can.” Her plea was met with
crickets, and Brooke’s determination turned to desperation.
Lang infused her words with ache and anguish. Eyes brimming
with tears, voice cracking, she radiated sincerity as her maternal
instincts possessed her. “I don’t have a good feeling about this,”
Lang urged. “I am begging you, please....” Then, Lang’s voice grew
strong and measured, as the inflection of each word rose pro-
phetically when she warned, “Don’t. Marry. Thomas.”
After a silent moment, Hope brushed away her mother’s tear,
then dismissed her — and Lang’s face fell. In those scenes, Lang
embodied a mother’s angst at her inability to heal her child’s
pain, and the constant weight of worry that comes with the job.Performer Of The Week
been seen, he’s been warm-
ing up baby formula. Yes, Rafe
was part of a surprise twist that
had him spend the night with
Carrie before she left town, but
that was a swift, two-episode
arc that went nowhere. And
he was brought into his sister
Gabi’s shenanigans, but only
toward the end of it all. DAYS
needs to get Rafe out of casa
Hernandez and back into the
Salem cop shop. The precinct
hasn’t been the same without
him, and Galen Gering certain-
ly deserves better than playing
the nanny.^ S
O
A
P
O
P
E
R
A
D
IG
E
S
T
Katherine Kelly Lang
(BROOKE, B&B)GI
LL
ESTOUCAS/C
OURTESY^ OF^ BELL-PHI
LL
IP
TELEVISIO
N^
INC.thumbs down!
DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Do The Limbo
Stepping up to care for
Jordan’s son, David, has left
Rafe, once a major lead-
ing man and pivotal cog at
the town’s police station, in
limbo land. As the senior cop
on the force, Rafe’s pres-
ence has been sorely missed,
especially with Hope hav-
ing been fired. Actor Galen
Gering’s screen time has
seriously dwindled during
the story downturn, and the
few times his character has