HOLLYWOOD—The NBC soap “Days of Our Lives” has certainly seen its share of murder and mayhem in the past 6 months. It all begin back in August 2015 when the ‘Necktie Killer’ aka as Ben Weston was unleashed to wreak havoc as he planned to take out his nemesis Chad DiMera. Well, Batty Ben has escaped the mental hospital and set his sights back on Salem and his former fiancée Abigail.

All seemed good for the sweet one, well that was until she got a glimpse of her former lover on her wedding day that left her rattled for weeks. She has been having constant delusions and visions of Ben that has left Chad, JJ and those close to Abigail questioning her sanity. Well the victim turned to the avenger, as Abigail came face-to-face with Ben and it was NO hallucination this past week. She was rattled beyond belief, but it became an instant realization she was dealing with the real thing and she decided to play Ben’s game for once.

She seduced her former lover, knocked him out cold, tied him to the bed, stabbed him in the chest, dosed the bed with gasoline and lit the fire, igniting ‘Batty Ben’ ablaze. Oh, yes, it was a moment to say the least, but just when fans suspected that Ben was a goner once and for all, Chad came to the rescue. Hmm, I would have expected Chad to allow Ben to burn to a crisp. It is true what they say, all DiMera’s are not made equal, because if it was Andre, Tony, Stefano, Kristen or even EJ they would have certainly allowed the enemy to meet a fiery end.

Kate Mansi has been delivering top-notch acting for the past year on the soap, so she might have been passed up for an Emmy nomination in 2016, but watch-out 2017, because this woman could be a major contender to say the least. When she learned that Chad rescued the enemy she broke down in tears, which proves not only is she mentally losing it, but she is volatile to say the least.

Other happenings in the world of Salem involve the sordid history involving Victor Kiriakis and his nefarious brother Deimos who has been busy giving the DiMera clan a run for their money. Not only did he poison Maggie causing her to take a massive tumble down the stairs, but he blackmailed his brother into giving over all his assets for the antidote, and caused a near death heart-attack for the great Victor.

Yes, Deimos is sitting well, but he may have come across the one woman who could be his downfall: Nicole Walker. Yep, Nicole, when someone peaks her interest she sure knows how to get all the dirty details on their past. Nicole be careful, this is an enemy you don’t want to go toe-to-toe with. Her resemblance to Helena, a woman from both Deimos and Victor’s past might be the key to unlocking the mystery between two brothers. It’s always a woman isn’t it!

With so much murder in Salem, I’m still trying to figure out how so many people are able to get away with crimes without as much as a slap on the wrist. I mean Hope killed Stefano and covered up the crime, to which Roman turned a blind eye. Joey murdered Ava, Steve took the fall, and another blind eye to justice. Now, what has me in uproar is Chase who has found a way to post bail after raping Ciara. I’m still stunned that Hope didn’t fire bullets directly into the teen’s chest. Ciara is grappling with a bevy of emotions right now, and Theo being right by her side is proving to help her cope with the incident.

While Batty Ben might be bandaged, severely burned and lying in a hospital bed, he’s not dead. Which means chaos is still likely to emerge in coming weeks in Salem. With May sweeps right around the corner, it’s just a matter of time before fans see just how Mansi’s departure from the soap takes place and who will tackle the role that has seen Mansi burst into a bona-fide actress in my opinion.