It appears as if Dean Trent Robbins has finally met his match. Viewers will not know who did the dastardly deed until probably February Sweeps.

Dean Trent Robbins arrived in Salem on May 29th. At first, his arrival seemed innocent enough. Days of Our Lives was just gearing up for the annual ‘Teen Yawn Fest’. It seemed appropriate that the good Dean would have a role in the lives of Salem’s local college yuppies. Given the recent budget cuts, I could not figure out why he would be casted for a role, if he was going to take a backseat to other storylines.

Then it happened. Max became obsessed and infuriated anytime he encountered Trent. The viewers were carefully led through series obviously deep-rooted feelings expressed by Max. What had the Dean done to one of Salem’s beloved sons? Max’s troubles began when his ‘Pop’ died in a plane crash earlier in the year. Never in a million years would I have imagined that he, out of all the children, would have taken the loss as hard as he did. The sudden arrival of Trent Robbins only seemed to compound Max’s loss for his own father.

Max did not hold back. He let Trent know every time he saw him, how much he hated the man. He even went as far as outwardly harassing the Dean. We later found out that Trent was Max’s biological father who had abandoned him both before and after his mother had died. Max was angry. He was angry that his mother died having a broken heart and he was mad that Trent did not come back to get him.

The plot thickens as we learn that Trent had a number of failed marriages and relationships with women. He married Nicole when she was just in college. She recounts how he abused her and how she finally got the courage to say, “Enough!” She left Trent, never believing that he would ever come back into her life again. And then it happened. The darkest day ever. He found her and was coming to collect what she had owed him, “Or else.”

In the meantime, Max and the gang took an extended trip to France to find his long-lost sister. Trent’s misery reached clear to the other side of the earth as the story unfolds about the daughter that no one knew. She, too, has experienced loss and heartache as a result of Dean Robbins’ issues. Apparently, his reckless ways and gambling problems were beginning to catch up with him. He insisted that his daughter, Melanie, bail him out of owing a bookie some money for a gambling debt. He asked her to spend a night with the Frenchman.

Luckily, Max and Nick arrived in time to save Melanie from feeling an even greater despair than which her father has brought upon her. Nick defends the young lady and is shot in the process. The teen scene returns to Salem and tells Dean Robbins to stay away from them. Even Momma Brady is rocked by what she has learned.

In the end, we know that Trent’s days are numbered. Nicole has told Victor about what he had done to her. Caroline threatened him for hurting Max and for using Melanie – both despicable acts. Nick was shot defending Melanie’s honor. Marlena thinks he’s a disgusting scoundrel. John is jealous of his presence around Marlena. It will be interesting to find out who is the one who killed the bad Dean.