Fans are divided as to whether Stefano DiMera’s (Joe Mascolo) will-reading was worth all that build-up. Personally, I felt like it was a bit underwhelming.
Not Enough DiMera Family Conflict or Soapy Goodness at the Reading
While it ended on a good cliffhanger when Lexie Carver (Nikki Crawford) came up from the DiMera tunnels, the actual reading of the will was sorely lacking in soapy drama.
There wasn’t nearly enough family conflict. Also, there wasn’t much excitement regarding the division of assets Stefano left to others, especially the chess set he bequeathed to Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall).
Marlena stayed for about five minutes, then said, “Peace out, I’m gone.” And with that, she exited stage left, leaving her chess set behind. Why did she even come? It was completely anticlimactic and uneventful.
Then, there was the fact that we all expected Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) to walk in and declare that she was Stefan DiMera’s (Brandon Barash) widow, but we also expected a lot more from that particular plot point.
Yes, EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerreigel) and Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) were furious over Gabi’s announcement and in disbelief of her claim.
Yet, we didn’t see her actually gain anything from stopping by. The who-gets-what business should have really been sorted out by the time Gabi arrived.
So, Gabi and Stefan were never legally separated. Yet, there wasn’t much evidence beyond the fact that Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel) forged their divorce papers based on the affidavit Vivian’s manservant apparently signed.
Who Exactly Inherited What? We Wanted to See the Division of Assets
We also wanted to see Gabi inherit a pretty penny so that she could bail Titan out of financial trouble. It would have been interesting to watch EJ’s and Tony DiMera’s (Thaao Penghlis) reactions.
Plus, we didn’t even get to see Philip Kiriakis (John Paul Laviosier) in Alamina. We didn’t get to see him actually score the proof Gabi needed to make her presence at the will-reading feel worthwhile.
We also didn’t get to see exactly what EJ and Kristen inherited. Or maybe I fell asleep and missed it. Anyway, whatever it was couldn’t have been that grand or interesting since I clearly don’t remember.
Chad DiMera (Conner Floyd) should have been given something as well. The division of assets was the whole point.
The most we really saw was Stefano’s beloved servants, like Harold (Julian Barnes) and Rita Lesley (Maggie Carney), being taken care of.
It’s great that he rewarded his staff’s loyalty. However, it was the actual family members we wanted to see butting heads. we wanted to see them lose their collective minds over their share of the DiMera pie.
We had a couple of amusing moments. Rita mentioned that late-80s hip-hop song, “Funky Cold Medina,” which was fun and all. We also found out that Rita had a thing for Tony, as Anna DiMera (Leann Hunley) mentioned.
Stefano’s Message to the DiMera Family Was Superb
There was also another fun moment when EJ and Kristen sniped at each other, and Stefano told them from beyond the grave to knock it off.
The overall message was superb; Stefano clearly wanted his family to be united and to “stand tall and hold their heads high as DiMeras.”
That was a good aspect of the will reading, Stefano’s message to his family. However, it’s like Kristen candidly pointed out, “I’m here for my share.”
We really wanted to see who got what here. Nothing about this will-reading was life-changing. It was actually pretty dull, mundane, and predictable.
Where was the high-stakes dramatic event that we were promised? The real buzz didn’t come from the reading of the will itself. It was Lexie’s sudden dramatic entrance that everyone was talking about.
Stefano’s will reading was supposed to be an uncontainable explosion of family drama, and we fully expected EJ and Kristen to battle it out.
The lack of dramatic revelations and compelling twists and turns made the entire will-reading feel lackluster, haphazardly thrown together, and contrived.
I am not trying to pick on Days of Our Lives. I love the Peacock soap, which is why I expected so much more from the DiMera family, who typically provide us with a wealth of entertainment (pun intended!)
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