It was almost a year ago when Nicole left a devastated and heartbroken Eric (and us) at the command of blackmailing Brady. Since then fans waited on tip toe anticipation hoping for any word that Arianne Zucker and Nicole were headed back to Salem. Our hearts leapt for joy when it was announced that both were and at the thought of an upcoming Ericole reunion.
The looks, the angst, the kisses, the love scenes have been everything we missed about Ericole. They still have it, of course! But our restored hearts are now on the verge of collapse again. With each passing episode, spoiler and anvil it appears more and more certain than our beloved Nicole, Nik, Misty will not make it out alive this visit. Our smart, beautiful, sassy, tough, take no prisoners Nicole, how can we say goodbye again and so soon?
We must ask the question. Does Nicole have to die? One school of thought is to let Xander play the audio recording for Hope Brady as he threatened and let Nicole go to jail. You could say that storyline would keep Eric “paralyzed” and longing for Nicole. But he would have to find the strength to move forward. He did before. He would have to for Holly’s sake.
Another possibility is why not have just left things as they were? Although we missed Nicole, it was oddly comforting knowing she was out there somewhere longing for Eric as much as we were for Ericole. The resurgence of the Brady vs Eric battle is an entertaining by product of the secret coming out about what Brady did to Nicole. But they could have written a zillion other story lines that resulted in Eric punching Brady. A JenEric break-up, another by product of this story line, was going to implode soon enough since Jack is close to being back.
Or why not have Arianne do Alison Sweeney like pop-ins (if she was open to it). The irony is the best thing about Ericole, is their deep love for each other coupled with their magnetic insane chemistry. Yet, it’s this very love and chemistry that would make pop-ins virtually impossible. Ericole just can’t stay away from each other.
All of the above are just thoughts that run through the soap portion of our brain as we struggle to come to a place of acceptance and an acceptable reason why Nicole has to die. It could feel like it’s the only way to go (since Ari isn’t coming back full time) but that still is a hard pillow to swallow.
And man, Ericole fans, this super couple has always been just out of reach of their HEA. No weddings no kids just angst angst angst (which they do soooo well) sprinkled in with brief arcs of happiness. If any couple deserved some happiness, it’s these two. Soooo we are keeping our eyes and ears open for the possibility that Nicole’s miracle baby, Holly, is not Daniel’s but actually Eric’s. Daytime has given us much more farfetched rectons; so Days make it happen.
We have only known one actress to play our Nicole Walker (not a small feat in this genre). And aside from a brief hiatus Nicole and Ari were constants in Salem prior to her departure last year. Through all the creative highs and lows (and there were more than a few) and characters who came and left, Arianne and Nicole hung in there and gave us all they had.
We love our soaps and characters so much. And it hurts when they leave. They are family. But we wish Arianne only the best. We are thankful she came back and we try to find comfort in that.
So if we must, we will kick, scream, yell and sob. But we are grateful for the privilege to be a Nicole Walker/Ari Zucker fan. And for all the Ericole fans our deepest sympathies.
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS; IT’S A SOAP. NOBODY EVER REALLY DIES!
Do you believe Nicole will die? Will the audience believe she is dead? Should Holly be Eric’s? Should Arianne Zucker Return full time?
How would you have written Nicole’s return and departure?
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