When Rachel Boyd took Performer of the Month honors back in July, it was for Sophia giving birth and then delivering her baby to the firehouse. She nailed each performance as Sophia — with Melinda Trask’s help — lied to Tate, her mom, and all of Salem. In September, Sophia is getting creative in dealing with a couple of her enemies. As a result, Boyd has turned into a fun yet relatable villain.
Honorable Mentions: Alice Halsey and Paul Telfer
Alice Halsey is young, but she’s a powerhouse. As Rachel Black, she’s had an emotional month. She has had to deal with the fear, the angst, and the loss of her mom being in prison. Halsey infuses her character with relatability even when Rachel does something obnoxious or damaging. For instance, she just hurt Thomas (Cary Christopheri) when she blabbed everything awful she knew about his dad and Cat (AnnaLynne McCord). When Rachel lashes out, she makes sure her victims hurt as much as she does. Halsey’s able to convey all of that anger and heartbreak beautifully.
Meanwhile, Paul Telfer also gets to play a character that exhibits a wide range of emotions. He’s currently working to improve himself in sessions with Marlena (Deidre Hall). However, it’s been challenging because he’s on the verge of losing Titan due to Philip’s fraudulent debacle. His anger is always simmering under the surface. However, thanks to Telfer, we believe that Xander wants to change and that he’s starting to achieve some success. He’s digging deep to try to forgive Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier), and he experienced a breakthrough with Sarah (Linsey Godfrey). Telfer is always wonderful, but in September, he was impressive.
On Our Radar: Tyler Joseph Andrews
While we haven’t seen a lot of Tyler Joseph Andrews yet, what we have seen, we like. As the new Theo, he has already done a really good job of playing the emotions of the time JJ (Casey Moss) shot him. And when Theo confessed to the fact that he was horribly bullied in high school, we felt his pain. But we also loved how Andrews’ Theo reconnected with Billy Flynn’s Chad. This Theo can be sweet and fun one second, and then the next, he has this edge that the character has never had before. So far, Andrews is proving that his Theo is a keeper.
Taking the Top Spot: Rachel Boyd
Life post-pregnancy for Sophia has been fairly chaotic. She started college, and she got a job at The Brady Pub. On top of that, she’s still hiding her secret about giving up her baby, and so she sometimes has to do damage control. Oh, and she also took a hard turn to the dark side.
This side of her has always been a part of Sophia’s personality, but now she’s going all out for payback. Every time she taunts Johnny (Carson Boatman) or eavesdrops on him and Chanel (Raven Bowens) or carries out part of her master plan of revenge, Rachel Boyd looks like she’s having so much fun. Sophia has turned into a lurker, a liar, and a pot-stirrer of the highest order.
A chaotic villain is the best, and one that figures out how to get two enemies back for the price of one is priceless. The fact that Sophia is pursuing Johnny so hard-core was unexpected but very much welcome. That’s why we look forward to Sinister Sophia as October and Halloween roll in. And we look forward to seeing more and more menacing from Boyd.
