STOP KIDDNAPPING EVERYBODY!

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I disagree; for all of the lame soap tropes that Days is guilty of, it arguably makes sense that a trio of characters like Orpheus, Clyde and Xander would take a hostage, as it gives them leverage and makes people suffer. They're basically being depicted as domestic terrorists, and taking hostages is part of that package.
The only thing I think that takes away from the imperative here is how myopic the Trio has been, both in how they're causing their terror and limiting themselves to just this small set of people in what has to be, in spite of claims to the contrary, a rather well populated, sprawling city. They didn't have to knock out an entire power plant just to sneak in Kayla and Steve's house; they could have just cut power where it came into the house, or maybe taken out the block, but if you've got the resources and ambition to take out all of the power in the entire city, and cause that much mayhem, then you have to set your sights higher than two or three small families, out of thousands. It's always the story they could have told, but don't, that always seems to be more interesting than the one they choose to tell. It reminds me of when Johnny went missing, and the police found the body of a little boy; inexplicably prompting Sami and EJ to add another stain to the Dimera living room couch, out of grief. Of course it turned not to be Johnny, and yet they found the freaking body of a young boy! What happened to him? How did he die? How did no one know that another little boy had gone missing around the same time? How were so many people out looking for Johnny, but not this kid??

In this case they could have told more of the stories about the people of Salem being tormented by these domestic terrorists; losing their power, having their homes and businesses broken into by looters, and just random people being pulled off the street by these three men wreaking havoc on the city. Were they really going to shoot Claire or Joey when they held them hostage? No, probably not. It would have been incredibly shocking if they had, or if Clyde had actually killed Abe, instead of giving him Iron Man's origin story. The real problem here isn't how often people are being taken hostage by someone - maybe how often the same people are getting kidnapped, but that's all part of the same theme I'm trying to get at. People being kidnapped and taken hostage is, sadly, something you can quite often see in the news; maybe not as much domestically, but it does happen, everywhere, and I doubt that most people would read those headlines and think, "Geez, another kidnapping? That's so over done. Why can't they come up with something more original?"
Now, it may be relatively commonplace enough that some people might grow less sensitive to it, but the outcomes generally have some emotional barring when people hear what happens to them; they're thankful if a set of hostages were released or rescued safely, and disheartened when the worst happens. To set those stakes though, the worst has to be a possibility; and that's really where Days fails, because they keep pulling their punches, and a lot of these outcomes become predictable. Had the Trio taken any random person in Salem hostage, someone we've never met, someone who may not be on the show long term, then anything could have happened; and it sets the stage for the protagonists - John, Marlena, Hope, Rafe, Roman, you name 'em - to really act as the heroes of this narrative, and try to save a life they weren't already personally invested in saving, but do so anyway because it's the right thing to do.

And that goes the same for the rest of the stories told on Days, going beyond just the Trio of Morons. There are countless shows about doctors and lawyers and cops, and freaking spies; yet somehow Days always tells the stories about the least interesting aspects of the lives of these very same archetypes. You bring in a new, non-contract character as a patient at University Hospital, or as the victim or suspect in a crime being investigated by the Salem PD; and suddenly you can tell stories where the outcomes aren't necessarily a given. The patient might actually die, or the suspect might actually be guilty of something they can be charged with and convicted of, and make the Salem PD look reasonably competent. It can also potentially breath new life into the show by introducing new characters short term, with the possibility of keeping them around if their story warrants it and develops organically; sort of how it used to be with this show.


"Sorry, I mistook you for a corpse."