Days of our Lives Recap: Days of our Lives Recap, April 22, 2026: Kristen issues a deadly directive

On the Wednesday, April 22, 2026 episode of Days of our Lives, Kristen reunited with Lani and activated her protégé-in-crime, Kate took a turn in the hot seat, Chanel and Johnny feared the worst, and it was Career Bingo Day at the Brady Pub.

What happened on Days of our Lives

Marlena grilled -- um, counseled -- Xander. \Image: Peacock

At the hospital, Xander and Sarah had a cordial exchange about Xander taking Victoria to the zoo…with a little pining thrown in for good measure. Xander made his way to Marlena’s office for an appointment, where he was immediately greeted with an interrogation from the doc. Did Xander set Johnny up for plagiarism? Xander hemmed and hawed and then pleaded the Fifth. He’d understand if Marlena wanted to drop him like a bad habit (insecure much, Xander?).

Marlena assured her not-so-favorite client that that wasn’t the case. Xander was an international criminal, after all, so a little plagiarism was the least of his sins (including the small detail that he’d shot Marlena while trying to murder her son). Marlena decided to move the chat to a safer topic…Gwen (said no one, ever). But Xander wasn’t so sure he was feeling it with Gwen anymore. Sure, he was definitely ‘feeling it’ in certain respects, but Gwen’s main appeal had been the access she’d offered to the DiMera Manse.

Marlena correctly surmised that Xander was using Gwen. He knew she didn’t approve of his particular form of sexual therapy, but they could take it up in their next session. With that, Xander got up to leave. (Seriously, that’s it? On the bright side, at least Marlena didn’t make vague references to Xander – or the entirety of Salem – being in danger this time.)

Fresh from her five-minute therapy session, Marlena went to the Brady Pub to have dinner with Brady, who pinky-promised that he didn’t blame Marlena for Rachel’s latest stint in Bayview. On to happier topics: Brady had decided to follow in John’s footsteps at Black Patch, which earned a smile of approval from Marlena. As for Basic Black, Marlena wasn’t so sure it was the right move for her anymore (maybe not-so-happier topics).

Tate’s a man with a plan

Tate dropped some big news on dear old dad. \Image: Peacock

Before his dinner with Marlena, Brady squeezed in a flirty phone call with Sarah and a visit with Tate at the pub. Tate had an announcement to make, but not the one a parent typically wants to hear. He was officially dropping out. Brady took a moment to process and then asked his son what was next. Not to worry, Tate had a career in mind. Since he’d actually liked his exercise physiology class, he’d decided to add a few initials to his official title as a CPT, or certified personal trainer.

Tate even had a part-time job lined up as a sorta-sensai with his martial arts instructor (Karate Kid Tate?) Brady took the news in stride. Turns out he, too, would be adding acronyms to the family since he was accepting Steve’s offer to hang up the corporate suits for a PI-certified magnifying glass. Oh, and about the Sophia caper, the lab still didn’t have fingerprint analysis results yet (probably the most realistic thing to happen in Salem).

After breaking the Salem U news to his dad, Tate made time in his day to wander through Horton Town Square and issue a new round of threats to Sophia (uh-oh, Sophia). If she didn’t leave Holly alone, he’d, he’d –

Sophia said Holly was the one acting all vengeful stalkery. She’d been smearing Sophia's (not-so-good) name all around campus, and had even wished her former bestie dead. Tate would probably like her to disappear, too…and maybe he’d get his wish.

(So, could Sophia be planning to set Holly up for her "murder?" Uh-oh. Watch out, Holly!)

Kate’s in Spin City

Days of our Lives' Kate lied like a rug. \Image: Peacock

Johnny approached Roman and Kate outside the pub, greeted his granddad (or Uncle Roman, as Johnny has been known to call him on occasion)…and gave Kate the cold shoulder. Roman took his wife to the park for a proper scolding. Once and for all, did Kate set his grandson up? Kate went all who me? Couldn’t be, and denied, denied, and denied some more.

Roman reminisced with Kate about the time when her son (Lucas) had kidnapped his daughter (Sami) while Kate kept mum. That was so different, according to Kate. And Roman would do the same for his family. What could she do to make things right? Roman had a pretty simple idea: drop the lawsuit. Well, Kate would do anything, really – except that. Business was business.

Once they’d reached a détente, Roman and Kate returned to the pub. Roman was all congratulations, and Kate was all smiles when they spotted Marlena. Basic Black would be back in the black with two strong women at the helm. Not so fast, cautioned Marlena, as she threw the metaphorical glass of cold water on the partnership prospects (better than the literal glass she probably would have preferred to lob in Kate’s face instead).

Does Chanel have cancer?

Chanel and Johnny shared a bittersweet moment. \Image: Peacock

Chanel wrapped up at the bakery and thanked Lani for playing impromptu babysitter before heading home. Later, at her and Johnny’s place, Chanel was worried, feeling her chest when Johnny came inside. Proving he was still a husband on training wheels, he announced that he’d made a doctor’s appointment – right now – and gotten a babysitter on Chanel’s behalf. And yep, Chanel snapped at him for going behind her back (these two are just a wee bit exhausting). Following a mea culpa from Johnny, Chanel begrudgingly agreed to go.

Later, in the examining room, Sarah reassured Chanel and Johnny that denser breast tissue could be a normal effect of pregnancy. But just in case, she wanted to do a mammogram. Chanel was understandably rattled. After a few more words of reassurance, Sarah left to order the exam.

Sarah’s hopeful façade quickly crumbled when she spoke with the lab tech over the phone. She had a “worrying” case involving a young mother, which required immediate attention. Sarah upped the worry factor later when she met with Xander to hand over Victoria and was clearly distracted. After Xander asked what was wrong, Sarah only said she had been reminded to count her blessings.

Johnny and Chanel returned home and gushed over the latest sonogram picture Sarah had given them. Chanel got emotional while gazing at the picture. What if she wasn’t around to watch her babies grow up? (Uh-oh, Chanel. Will little Trey become an orphan?) Johnny did his best to comfort his wife and pledged he would be there for her, no matter what may come.

Sister Act

Kristen and Lani got back in the habit. \Image: Peacock

In Horton Town Square, Kristen was over-the-moon when she saw Lani, and the verrry close friends readily resumed their nuns-on-the-run chemistry. It did Kristen’s heart good to see her BFF, and even better that Lani planned to stay in town. Lani asked about Rachel, but Kristen wasn’t ready to talk in-depth about it. She suggested hanging out with Lani and the kids the next day instead.

Lani would love to, but she and Chanel had already made a playdate at the zoo. Johnny couldn’t come along because he’d be busy…news that seemed to make Kristen’s ears perk up (uh-oh -- OK, maybe Marlena had a point about Salem being Danger Central). Later, Kristen began making herself at home at the mansion. EJ’s second-most-unwelcome pest, Xander, soon made an appearance. He needed to get something from Gwen’s room.

Kristen easily called out Xander’s true snooping intentions. But she didn’t really mind so much. In fact, maybe Xander and she could join forces and commence “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” (God help Salem. Maybe Kristen could create her own supervillain squad).

After Xander left, Kristen went to work on her other recruit and called Sophia. As Rachel Boyd (Sophia) did her best Crazy Eyes protest, Kristen proclaimed that her nephew would be freed up and ready to be unalived the next day. Operation Kill Johnny was on.

What’s coming up on DAYS

Steve gives Little Sweetness her first gun lesson. What could go wrong? Meanwhile, Jeremy has something he really needs to say to Julie. Could it be related to that mystery phone call?

The conversations are likely to be no less fraught between Leo and Javi and Chad and Gwen, who have enough collective drama between them for an entire Shakespeare festival. And speaking of DiMera drama, EJ’s gonna get blindsided by some.

Tune in and stream new episodes of Days of our Lives on Peacock.