Days of our Lives sold us on the fact that Xander and Sarah were never, ever getting back together following their last split. Now, however, Soap Central is bestowing Performer of the Week honors on Telfer and Godfrey as they have given Xarah fans some hope for the future following a health scare for Victoria!
Days of our Lives, Performers of the Week, Paul Telfer and Linsey Godfrey
Not only have Xander and Sarah split, but he’s been having fun with Gwen (Emily O’Brien), and Sarah’s been leaning on Brady (Eric Martsolf) for support. The wild card in all of this is the couple’s daughter, Victoria (Amelia and Kennedy Hileman), and the mutual love they have for her.
When the tyke came down with pneumonia, Sarah and Xander put to rest any past animosity and focused on their daughter’s recovery. Once she was out of the woods, Sarah and Xander were able to catch their breaths, and Sarah surprised Victoria’s dad by announcing that she was revisiting his visitation rights.
DAYS set the stage perfectly for Telfer and Godfrey to show that there’s still a lot of love between their characters. Rather than have Telfer’s Xander diabolically use his daughter’s illness against her mother to try to gain custody, he assured the good doctor that she was also a good mother.
In turn, Godfrey brought vulnerability to Sarah as she told Xander it wasn’t fair to Victoria to not see her father — and it wasn’t fair to him. Don’t get us wrong, we all want Victoria to spend time with her pop, too. However, these scenes were about both Xander and Sarah being vulnerable to each other, and trusting that the other wasn’t going to take advantage of that.
Father’s daze
Xander wondered if Sarah was going to make a new visitation policy contingent upon dumping Gwen. It seemed as if he wasn’t asking that entirely because Sarah might be leery of any influence Gwen might have on Victoria, but rather, he was inquiring how Sarah felt about him being involved romantically with another woman. “Would that be a deal breaker?” Sarah inquired.
“No, it wouldn’t,” Xander said. Again, he’s not speaking so much as Victoria’s dad, but as Sarah’s ex. Sarah pointed out that it wouldn’t be fair of her to ask that of him. “Because you’re not walking away from Brady,” Xander concluded.
Again, this wasn’t about Brady’s influence on Victoria — it was about Sarah, Xander’s ex, spending time with another man.
Telfer and Godfrey maintained eye contact a great deal during these scenes as Xander and Sarah were trying to figure out what the other was truly feeling. Who was going to take that first step and say that there was something more going on between them?
“It’s not about anybody else, but our daughter,” stated Sarah, returning to the main issue at hand. She’s correct about Victoria, of course, but two things can be true at the same time! Sarah could want Victoria to spend time with Xander, and she can still have lingering feelings for him.
A touch of class, Days of our Lives
While waiting for Melinda Trask (Tina Huang), Xander’s lawyer, to arrive so they could get the wheels on the new deal in motion, Xander handed his wife a cup of coffee. That’s when Sarah said she could kick herself for not bringing Victoria in earlier, prompting him to instinctively put a guiding hand on her shoulder — like a supportive husband would.
Xander genuinely praised Sarah for being such an amazing mother. After Melinda left to get the new arrangement set up, Xander told Sarah that he should be going. “You don’t have to,” she said.
Just then, Brady arrived, which prompted Xander to say his goodbyes. “You’ll let me know if anything changes,” Victoria’s dad told Victoria’s mom. Sarah replied, “Of course.”
Something has changed, however. Before Victoria’s health scare, Xander and Sarah were divided. It’s a bit too early to say that anything more will develop between the two. Whether or not their love will be rekindled is anyone’s guess.
However, it’s clear now that the stage has been set for more loving moments between Victoria’s parents. Kudos to Telfer and Godfrey for these touching scenes that have given Xander fans hope for a romantic reunion on Days of our Lives.
Catch all-new episodes of Days of our Lives weekdays on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform.
Edited by Michael Maloney