Days of Our Lives Round Table: Is Ciara Really Dead?

Ciara "died" in a horrible fire, the judge made a decision about Allie's baby, Gwen tried to drug Abigail, Tripp returned, and Eli was upset when Lani covered for Kristen.

Our TV Fanatics Jack Ori and Christine Orlando are joined by Trey and Silvananoir from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate if Ciara really died, did Allie's baby go to the right person, why Gwen drugged Abigail, who is the biggest hypocrite in Salem, and more!

Do you believe Ciara is really dead? (No spoilers, please.) And if not, where do you think she is?

Trey: No, I don't think she's dead, but I don't think she will survive the blast as Ciara. She may have amnesia or come back after extensive plastic surgery (as a different actress).

Silvananoir: No. I think she is very much alive and that Vincent set the whole thing up to make us believe that she's dead.

In a couple of months, we'll have the big reveal. Ciara is a legacy, and Cin (Ciara and Ben) are still very popular. Regardless of cast upheaval, the character will be back.

Jack: I don't believe it for a second. Not only did Nicole supposedly die under similar circumstances (the warehouse fire and her necklace being the only thing the fire department found), but Ben was kidnapped during a similar explosion set by the same person less than a month ago!

I have no idea where Ciara is, but she's most likely alive, and her family needs to remember all the other missing-presumed-dead people who turned up alive after explosions.

Christine: No, I don't believe she's dead, and Hope finding her rings was pretty ridiculous. Unless Ciara dropped them somewhere, they would be connected to her dead body, which hasn't been found.

I'm sure Ciara will turn up, perhaps not looking like herself or remembering anything, but I'd bet we'll be seeing her again soon.

Did the judge make the right decision giving temporary custody of Allie's baby to Sami?

Trey: Yes, no, yes? Yes, I think the maternal grandmother should be the one to get custody of the baby in this scenario.

No, because Sami is too obsessed with her life with EJ and herself to raise a baby. I don't think she's doing it for the right reasons, but raising the baby so that Nicole won't. I didn't like that the judge said that a family member should raise the baby. Eric is also family.

Silvananoir: Yes. I'm team Nicole, but Jan's testimony was fresh in the judge's mind and seemed very credible.

It's just temporary custody. It's safer to give the baby to Sami for now. Think about it, it also gives time for Allie to come back and state what she wants.

Jack: Not at all. The fact that she ended with "don't make me regret this" demonstrates she's not confident in Sami's ability to do what's best for the baby.

She also said that even though the letter isn't legally binding, she believes that it reflected Allie's wishes as the mother. So her decision made no sense whatsoever.

Christine: Yes. Sami is the child's grandmother. Allie's letter should be given very little weight since no one can prove she wrote it, and she skipped town without telling anyone she wanted Eric and Nicole to care for her child, not even Eric and Nicole!

Yes, Sami is over the top, to say the least, but she loves her children and grandchildren. She should have temporary care of her grandson until Allie finally grows up, returns, and can make a more permanent decision…or the father turns up and gets his say.

If Gwen has been the one drugging Abigail, what do you think is her motive?

Trey: I definitely think that Gwen is on the DiMera payroll. I think she's working for Rolf/Stefano or Rolf/Vivian to get Jake away from Gabi and needed to see if the drug was viable. Abby is collateral damage and the guinea pig for the drug.

Silvananoir: I think she is. Gabi doesn't care about Abigail right now. The problem I have is Gwen's motive is that so far, the only thing that I can think of is that she must have some connection to the Dimeras.

Why else would she drug Abby and then run off to be with Jake? Someone must have put her up to it.

Jack: I have no idea. This story bugs me because of the timeline inconsistencies and how the writers seemed to have randomly decided Gwen is the bad guy.

Maybe Jake really is Stefan, and she's known it all along? But that still wouldn't explain what her problem with Abby is.

Christine: The only thing that makes sense is that someone is paying Gwen to drug Abigail. How else would Gwen even have that drug?

But the timeline is maddening, given that Gwen had checked herself into Bayview to hide from Jake and the Philly mob during the same time that Abigail was drugged. Hopefully, they have some sort of explanation for all of it.

Who is the bigger hypocrite: Marlena for insisting that Jan Spears can't possibly get better, or Kristen chastising Brady for wanting to check on his grandfather?

Trey: Definitely Kristen. There are different levels of mental disorders, and we don't know Jan's official diagnosis. Some people just aren't redeemable through therapy and meds. Kristen doesn't believe in family outside of her own.

Silvananoir: Kristen. Who the hell does she think she is? I know that we are supposed to be rooting for her epic love with Brady but has the woman forgotten that she is on the run? Has she forgotten the mile-long list of crimes?

Victor was wrong as hell, but Kristen needs to drink a tall glass of shut-up juice. Marlena is going through it right now, and I think part of her anger is a small part of her does blame Sami for John's condition. She's lashing out.

Jack: Marlena, for sure. I don't agree with Sami very often, but she was 100% right when she pointed out that Marlena rushed Claire's release and vouched for Ben, yet insists Jan should never have been released without more to go on than a 5-second conversation.

Christine: They're both hypocrites, but I'm giving Marlena the prize. Ben's a serial killer, yet she swears he has recovered! Claire tried to set her cousin on fire!

Marlena isn't Jan's doctor, so how can she possibly know Jan's progress? To dismiss the possibility Jan's treatment program has worked for her just because Marlene fears Jan is a threat to her family is the height of hypocrisy.

Is Lani wrong to expect Eli to stay quiet about them watching Rachel and Kristen being back in town? Do you think he'll continue to do so?

Trey: Absolutely! She is an officer of the law and not above it. Justice is supposed to be blind.

Silvananoir: Yes. He's a cop. They are both risking their careers. She is making them both accessories after the fact and is asking Eli to risk everything he's worked for. She's risking their marriage and their livelihood for Kristen.

Yes, you supported each other for a year, but this is stupid. This is not how a good girl helps her bad girlfriends. Take notes from Chloe, Lani.

Jack: I doubt Eli showed up at Kristen's door to welcome her back to Salem. He's not happy with this situation, and I think he's a little jealous of Kristen's place in Lani's life. Which makes sense since Lani is making Kristen her priority, not him.

Lani is still acting like Kristen is the one she's in love with, and the show really needs to go there, because otherwise, her behavior makes no sense. And she is definitely wrong to expect Eli to go along with this just because she wants him to.

Christine: I understand Lani being loyal to her friend, but the fact that she and Eli are law enforcement officers makes this a really difficult situation.

Lani didn't just take this risk on herself, but she dragged Eli into it without his consent. My fear is that Eli will arrest or turn Kristen in, which will only further the rift in he and Lani's marriage.

Tripp has returned to Salem. Are you happy to have him back, and do you think he and Claire should rekindle their relationship?

Trey: I love Tripp! I didn't like what he did to Claire and am glad he admitted it. I don't think Claire should focus on a romance because she's got so much work to do on herself. Maybe down the road, but not right now.

Silvananoir: With the 30 set being rebuilt, we need more of the 20-set, especially if Claire is back on canvas full time. I'm ambivalent towards Tripp, but he's a known character, so that's always nice.

Jack: I was never a huge Tripp fan, but when written properly, he's an okay character. And his presence gives Steve and Kayla something to do, so yay for that.

I don't really care about him and Claire one way or the other, but we'll see where it goes this time.

Christine: I really like Tripp. I think he and Steve have great chemistry on-screen, definitely better than Steve ever had with Joey.

I was happy to hear Tripp admit how badly he treated Claire in asking her to cover for him and Hayley. With the new actress playing Claire, I wouldn't mind seeing a slow-build romance between these two moving forward.

What were your favorite and least favorite moments of the week?

Trey: I thought this week was well acted and well done! I guess my favorite things are the return of Philip and the potential Xander/Philip showdown.

I also liked that Abigail called Gwen out for kissing her husband, for Justin still being a friend for Kayla, Tripp's return an apology to Claire, and the new mystery surrounding Ciara.

My least favorite things are the return of Kristen and Brady. I don't think they're necessary, and they were kind of blah.

Silvananoir: I'm not a Phelle fan, but I enjoyed their talk. Their chemistry was very friendly, and it was nice to see. Jan was also a delight. I still really hate the Cin story. It got a little interesting with Wendy, but I wasn't that interested in it.

Jack: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Kayla and Justin's discussion about Ciara's alleged death. I was glad to see two mature ex-lovers become friends and doubly glad Steve didn't show up and throw a tantrum about it.

I also liked Marlena bonding with Brady.

Least favorite: All things Gwen. Abby is right that Gwen is Gabi 2.0, and at this point, the story is just irritating.

Christine: I loved Sarah encouraging Xander to fight for what he wants. They really make an adorable couple.

I also loved Justin and Kayla being friends, despite all that's happened between them. And Philip and Belle having a real conversation as people who share years of history was refreshing.

But there was way too much Gwen this week. I hate it when the show brings on a new character, and they seem to monopolize screen-time.

Also, Marlena yelling at Sami that "everyone knows" that Jan's not better annoyed the heck out of me. Let's face it, Marlena's favorites are Eric and Belle. She won't even side with Sami when it comes to Sami's own grandson!