#Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem Season 1 Episode 1 Review: The Alamain Peacock

After months of hype, Peacock’s online spinoff of Days of Our Lives is finally here!

Unlike previous web series, Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem is a bona fide companion series, offering the adventure, romance, and relationship drama that the original series is known for in an online format.

In some ways, the limited series is superior to the original, at least judging from Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem Season 1 Episode 1, which left viewers with a ton of questions that we need answers to ASAP.

The premise behind the limited series is part silly adventure, part tribute to the Maltese Falcon (and to the network that is hosting the series.)

While on Days of Our Lives’ main series, the ISA’s involvement in stories has dwindled in recent years (not counting that silly John poisoning Steve story!), the spy agency is front and center on Beyond Salem.

The best thing about this is that it gave the series a reason to bring back fan favorites such as Shane Donovan and Billie Reed, neither of whom have been seen in years.

It also gave Ben and Ciara something to do besides lie in bed all day long. Hallelujah!

I was thrilled, too, that the pair found out the pendant Ciara had her eye on had been promised to Princess GIna.

Princess Gina herself is a silly, over-the-top character, but all of these references to Hope’s disappearance from the canvas possibly having to do with Gina made me think that maybe they’re working on recasting the iconic character… something that is long overdue.

Anyway, the Ben/Ciara part of the plot kept my interest more than anything this couple had done in a long time, though there were some plot holes here that viewers were expected to ignore, as usual.

For example, if the shopkeeper was holding onto Gina’s pendant, how did some random person buy it out from under Billie’s nose? That made it seem like the writers forgot what they’d put in the previous scene!

Still, this was as fun an introduction to Bille’s role in this story as viewers could have hoped for. If only Billie hadn’t had to say the usual nonsense about Ben being the former Necktie Killer, these scenes would have been perfect!

I hate that everyone who meets Ben has to have the same silly conversation.

Billie: How come you haven’t introduced me to this handsome young man?

Ciara: This is my husband, Ben Weston.

Billie: Ben Weston? No way. The Necktie Killer who tried to strangle my nephew Will?

Ciara: It’s okay now. He and Will are best friends.

Yes, Ben killed three people and tried to kill Will, Marlena, and Hope (the latter two are usually forgotten.) But Ciara’s insistence that the victims are “over it” always sounds ridiculous and the person complaining always sounds judgmental. Can we move on, please?

At least that nonsense was short-lived!

Meanwhile, Will, Sonny, and Chad had a more “normal” storyline… at least until Leo Stark showed up.

Sonny’s suspicions annoyed me even if he did have reason to worry that Will was cheating on him.

It’s happened before, after all, and Will does also have the history of having disappeared for months on end while following a story out in Los Angeles.

But if Will were meeting a nervous source, the last place he’d want to do it would be his office — he’d probably meet in a seedy restaurant or a parking garage, somewhere where his source wasn’t likely to be seen and therefore wouldn’t run away.

So Sonny’s insistence that if Will wasn’t in the office, he “lied to his face” irked me. The only one who said Will was going to the office was Sonny!

And Chad was right that Sonny would make matters worse by insisting on confronting Will when he didn’t even know what was going on. Sonny used to be a lot more level-headed!

This is a great story for WIll and Sonny, though, and it was great to have the two back for a few minutes.

Zach Tinker has some big shoes to fill, but so far, he’s doing an admirable job as a recast Sonny… something that is not easy to do when another actor has made the character theirs for years!

It was predictable that Leo was on the other side of that penthouse door, though. The question is: was he Will’s source, and if so, did Will know that’s who he was supposed to be meeting?

It’s possible that Leo tricked both guys. Either way, this should make for some great drama!

Also predictable: John and Marlena running into Tony and Anna at the auction.

I didn’t really have a problem with it, though. It’ll be fun for each couple to try to explain to the other what they’re doing there!

However, buying Carrie an expensive necklace won’t help Austin repair his marriage. Years ago, Maggie told Victor that indiscretion couldn’t be fixed with a pair of earrings, and that advice is equally true now.

Austin needs to take Tony’s advice: stop drinking and have a chat with Marlena or another marriage counselor.

And now that Marlena’s in town, Anna may get some bright idea about dragging her home to talk to Austin and Carrie right now, which won’t go any better than her random decision to visit Zurich.

In Miami, the Paulina story was easily the most over-the-top of all, and I kept getting distracted by Lani’s dress perfectly matching the painting on Paulina’s wall.

Most of the time, I enjoy Paulina’s larger-than-life personality, but all the name-dropping was annoying, and her story about Michelle Obama giving her that ring was not believable.

The robbery at the cafe was a bit on the contrived side.

While there’s always a risk someone will want to steal an expensive ring if you wear it in public, I found it hard to believe that these goons could get away with mugging a table full of people in broad daylight while other people were dining at adjacent tables.

This should lead to some compelling drama for the Price/Grant/Carver family, though, especially if Paulina is worried about Abe finding out the truth about Lani’s parentage at the same time as they’re all investigating this.

All in all, Beyond Salem has a more ensemble feel than Days of Our Lives has had lately.

Perhaps because it is a limited series, so far, all five storylines have been given equal time, and there has been room for cameo appearances, references to history, and developing the relationships and friendships that have made Days of Our Lives compelling for over 50 years.

Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics! What did you think about Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem Season 1 Episode 1? Are you hooked enough to continue watching the rest of the series? Was anything disappointing to you?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!

Want to chat more about Days of Our Lives? Check out the Days of Our Lives reviews and Days of Our Lives Round Table discussions.

New episodes of Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem Season 1 drop on the Peacock network daily from September 6 through September 10, 2021. 

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.