Tripp and Wendy's departure from Salem moved one of the most boring couples off-screen. It didn't have to be this way.
Tripp and Wendy had once been dynamic, fascinating characters. Instead of using them to their full potential, Days of Our Lives threw them into an annoying love triangle, followed by an unnecessary and uninteresting kidnapping story.
They left town on Days of Our Lives during the week of 4-29-24. Let's hope they have better stories if and when they come back.
Tripp and Wendy are often referred to by fans as boring.
It's especially disappointing that Wendy went this way because when she first came to Salem, she was a refreshing new character who brought a lot of energy to the show and was one of the only Chinese characters on canvas.
The Wendy Storyline That Should Have Happened
Wendy was initially introduced on Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem 2 as Li Shin's feisty sister. It was unsurprising that Li was so attracted to Gabi then, because Wendy was so much like her: high energy, impulsive, and determined to succeed despite her family's disapproval.
When she came to Salem, she wanted to get a job in IT despite her traditional Chinese father's belief that such jobs should be reserved for men. She immediately bonded with Gabi.
If only Days of Our Lives had focused on Gabi and Wendy opening their own female-powered business that competed directly with Li, both characters would have been far more entertaining!
Instead, Wendy's interest in proving herself evaporated as soon as Li finally got her a job, and her primary function became trying to convince Li not to do weird things like brainwashing Stefan Dimera, as often happens in Salem.
The Love Triangle That Ruined Wendy's Character
That nonsense was bad enough, but then Wendy's existence began revolving around a stupid story in which she couldn't decide between Johnny Dimera and Tripp. She constantly went back and forth between them and complained that she didn't know which one she wanted to be with.
Love triangles are a tired soap trope at the best of times. This one was boring. There was no evidence of chemistry between Wendy and Tripp, but it was obvious who she would choose.
Johnny kept breaking their dates to offer his ex-wife Chanel a shoulder to cry on, so it didn't take a genius to figure out where this would end up.
To make matters worse, this all came on the heels of an equally annoying storyline where Chanel couldn't decide between Johnny and Allie!
Wendy's inability to decide what guy she wanted to be with wholly undermined the female empowerment story she had started out with. She was watered down and made into another female character who enjoyed having two men fawn all over her.
Her desire to work in IT had so much potential. Days of Our Lives could have built upon the familial and cultural disapproval she was dealing with or written a social justice story illustrating the difficulties that women often face in the IT industry.
The love triangle story didn't get any better after it was resolved.
Wendy and Tripp mainly professed their love to each other. Even during their imprisonment in the beer tank, all that happened was that they pretended they were on vacation until their near-death experience. That wasn't exactly compelling!
Wendy Shined In Mental Health Storylines
Wendy's grief when Li died, and her PTSD after she and Tripp were rescued were more compelling stories than her relationship with Tripp. Victoria Grace did some great work, and if they had been developed further, these could have been moving mental health stories that made her character more interesting.
Instead, Li's death was forgotten for months, as if the only point to his murder was to usher Gabi off-screen when Camila Banus left Days of Our Lives. It was only mentioned again recently when Kristen questioned Wendy about it... right before Wendy decided to leave town.
This dropped storyline should have been airing all along, and Wendy should have been struggling with Li's death more instead of her and Tripp having virtually no story for months and then leaving town.
Tripp Also Could Have Been Used Better
Wendy's wasted potential was more egregious, but Tripp also suffered from a lack of proper storylines.
Tripp was Ava and Steve's son. He was initially full of anger at having been placed in an abusive adoptive home but soon got turned into a good guy whose major storylines revolved around carious love triangles and trying to keep his unstable mother out of trouble.
The Charlie storyline could have led to something powerful, with Tripp realizing Ava's focus on him helped push the half-brother he never knew toward violent criminal behavior.
Tripp also could have worried that he was destined to be a criminal like Ava, similar to how JJ Deveraux worried that he had inherited bad genes after learning that his father raped Kayla.
Instead, Tripp was there to be the town doctor as needed and to quickly bounce from one relationship to another. His inclusion in the Charlie story was also disappointing because Allie's rape was treated so salaciously, and the focus was on Tripp proving he wasn't the one who had done it.
His stories with Ava were the same, too. She did illegal and ill-advised things, which affected him, and he forgave her. Yawn.
If only Tripp's relationship with his mother had been more nuanced, with him struggling with mixed feelings about her because he knew she had mental health challenges but also disliked her behavior, it could have been a fantastic story for him.
One Reason Tripp And Wendy Might Return
Most fans are glad these two are gone because they were so uninteresting as a couple. However, they may need to return if Days of Our Lives moves forward with solving Li's murder.
There are persistent rumors that Li is still alive. If he is, Wendy should come back to see him (and tell him off for upsetting her family!). If he stays dead, but his real killer is unmasked, Wendy should also return to confront that person, apologize to Gabi, and possibly testify at a trial.
It's only worth doing if the writers take it seriously and let Wendy and Tripp have a story that uses them to their potential instead of putting viewers to sleep.
What do you think, Days of Our Lives fanatics? Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and tell us how you feel about Wendy and Tripp leaving Salem.
Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.