The daytime world can be a weird place. And that’s especially true in a town like Days of Our Lives‘ Salem! Redeeming villains like murders and serial killers is often just par for the course. As absurd as it may seem to turn them into leading men and women, it’s that absurdity that makes it possible. Killers, supervillains and mob bosses are just far enough removed from reality that we can more easily shrug off any change in behavior. Oh, they got therapy and got better? It was just a brain tumor? They just… stopped being bad? Sure.
But characters whose bad behavior is too real, too close to home, that can be a lot harder to forgive. Stephanie’s talk with Alex on Friday’s episode made clear that she’s still traumatized by her relationship with Jeremy. And it tackled that trauma in a painfully real way as anyone knows who’s been through an abusive relationship or knows someone who has.
There’s the fear Stephanie still had, but she also admitted she can’t quite forgive herself. She can’t quite convince herself that she wasn’t at fault. And feeling ashamed that she not only got involved with Jeremy but stayed with him when he terrorized her. It was well written and Abigail Klein did an incredible job in making us feel what Stephanie’s feeling. And despite Alex saying all the right things, it’s clear Stephanie’s struggling to believe them.
It is a bit baffling why Stephanie would put a scene with Jeremy in her book, but abusive relationships are incredibly complicated, leaving people with conflicting, confusing feelings. And Stephanie clearly didn’t want that in the final draft. It’s also a bit odd that Julie seemed so oblivious to what happened in their relationship Chad mentioned Abigail speaking highly of Jeremy. But again, these aren’t topics anyone in the relationship like talking about, so maybe few people know what actually happened.
If Days of Our Lives does want to redeem Jeremy, that’s fine. And it’s probably easier since what happened back then is removed enough from many current viewers that his behavior isn’t remembered well, if at all. But the one thing I really, truly hope they don’t do is have him become a part of Stephanie’s life again. And I especially don’t want them to pull out that old, dated trope where characters end up falling in love with their former abuser.
Maybe Jeremy’s just trying to apologize to Stephanie, not realizing how much he’s scaring her. Maybe she can even forgive him, to a degree, as a way to forgive herself. But please, let it end there. If Jeremy did, indeed, get help and become a better person, fine, but send him out for another romance, away from Stephanie.
This is a topic worth tackling, but if Days of Our Lives is taking on a real issue like the trauma of abuse, they need to treat in a real way. No reunions, no falling in love. Work through it in a way that can maybe help those feeling trapped in their own lives, or feel lost in trying to move past it. The show was off to a good start with Stephanie and Alex’s scenes, but they still need to stick the landing.
