Soaps have been telling stories of mothers trying to drill wisdom into their daughters’ heads since long-suffering Mona Kane (Frau Helfin) tried to get her daughter, Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), to see the light on All My Children.
Days of our Lives actresses Cherie Jimenez, as Gabi Hernandez, and Vico Escorcia, as her daughter, Ari Horton, are carrying this beloved tradition as Gabi tries to steer Ari away from bad boy Liam Selejko (Hank Northrup).
Last week, a stunned Gabi wanted to know why her daughter was speaking to her in a tone that was “hostile, passive aggressive, and just plain nasty!”
Ari’s in that rebellious teen stage where a parent can do no wrong. She accused her mom of being a “helicopter” parent. In between fast-paced barbs, Ari managed to express her frustrations over being monitored too carefully by her parents. Escorcia played Ari’s vexations without being too over the top or unsympathetic. We could see the pain behind her feeling misunderstood.
Likewise, Jimenez played Gabi as being truly blindsided by her daughter’s point of view.
Gabi acted as if she’d been kicked in her well-toned stomach when her daughter announced that she no longer needed her anymore. A lesser actress might have opted to have her character respond in anger, but Jimenez had Gabi sit at the table across from Ari and attempt to reach out to her as the adult in the room.
Ari expressed her understandable frustration about the years that her mother literally was not there for her. Jimenez let that moment wash over Gabi, who then struggled to find the words to remind her daughter that it wasn’t exactly her choice whether or not she was there for her daughter.
“I went to prison for a crime I didn’t commit!” Gabi passionately reminded Ari.
“I know you didn’t leave on purpose, Mom,” Ari conceded, and then tossed in a remark that most teens have shouted at one time or another in their lives: “I’m sorry, but you cannot make up for lost time by trying to run my life now.”
Gabi pointed out that Liam was a thug, prompting Ari to reply that she was her “mother’s daughter” when it came to connecting with bad boys.
Gabi marveled at what her daughter could see in Liam.
“Well, for starters, he’s hot!” Ari shot back. “And edgy and has so many layers.”
“Layers? What are you dating, a birthday cake?” Gabi responded, using just enough humor in her voice, keeping the scene real without veering into comedy.
Escorcia’s only been playing Ari for about five weeks in terms of air shows, but she and Jimenez have already perfected familial chemistry.
Speaking from wisdom and experience, Gabi urged her daughter to ask more responsible questions about what she’d want in a future mate the next time she looked into a mirror.
Tensions escalated as Gabi tried to convince Ari that she’d been down this road in terms of choosing the wrong man. If Jimenez had played Gabi as only lecturing, Ari would have shut down. However, Jimenez brought both love and frustration to Gabi’s response to Liam.
Peacock
“The heart wants what the heart wants,” Ari responded, not with fury, but rather acceptance, which allowed Jimenez’s Gabi to come to the conclusion that loved ones have to make their own mistakes in life — just as she had.
These scenes were about more than Gabi lecturing her daughter. The two organically discovered where the other was coming from. Ari even (gasp!) apologized to her mom for saying the things that she had shared in frustration. In turn, Gabi met her daughter with understanding when they talked about Ari losing her pal, Sophia (Rachel Boyd).
The scenes between Gabi and Ari began with conflict and ended with an embrace. Brava to both Jimenez and Escorcia for delivering heartfelt and timeless scenes between their mother/daughter characters.
Days of our Lives, streams Monday to Friday, Peacock
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