Days of our Lives Recap September 17: Sydney DiMera is Headed to Salem

On the Thursday, September 17, 2026, episode of Days of our Lives, EJ was thrilled to see Sydney, Leo held court in the Square, and Theo had a confession to make.

Awkward Moments

Paulina got a surprise at Small Bar | Image: Peacock

At Small Bar, Stephanie and Theo continued to lament their problems to each other. They were glad to have friends that they could lean on. Theo said he knew what it was like to want someone and have to stay away. "You're not one to break the rules, are you?" Stephanie asked. "Only on rare occasions," Theo replied.

When Paulina walked in, she took note of how close Theo and Stephanie were from afar. Stephanie spotted Paulina and called her over to break the moment, much to Theo's chagrin. "I didn't expect to run into the two of you here...together," Paulina noted.

"Such a small world in a Small Bar," Theo said, before looking at his watch and announcing he had to go. Paulina sat down in his place and listened to Stephanie complain about that "little minx, Joy Wesley." Paulina was surprised to hear that Joy was paralyzed.

Stephanie lamented her entire situation to a fascinated Paulina. "That sounds complicated. And that's coming from a woman whose husband recently left her for his dead wife," Paulina remarked, before changing the subject. She wanted Stephanie to give her a little personal PR advice as she lobbied the governor to pardon Lani. A pardon would allow her to be a cop again.

Meetings in the Square

Lani turned down Leo's offer | Image: Peacock

When Leo ran into Lani in Horton Town Square, he greeted her with, "Well, if it isn't Salem's own Batwoman?" Lani was humble about rescuing Holly from that mugger. He then intrigued Lani when he told her that he had a proposition and an opportunity for her.

Leo made a dramatic moment of announcing he was starting his very own podcast for The Spectator. Leo wanted Lani to be his first guest as part of an "Unsung Heroes of Salem" series. Lani didn't want to be in the spotlight. Leo begged her to think about it, at the very least.

Lani did not appreciate Leo's flattery and felt it was an attempt to coerce her into saying yes. She walked away angrily, leaving Leo confused. When Leo saw Cat walk by, he stopped her and told her that the FDA was looking into a complaint against DiMera Pharmaceuticals. That piqued her interest.

Leo informed Cat that his source, Arthur Fonzerelli, told him that DiMera had disposed of a biohazard that led to some serious issues. Cat agreed that sounded serious. "ISA serious?" Leo asked. Cat just sipped her tea. Finally, she admitted she had been ISA, but claimed that she wasn't anymore.

Lani then ran into Theo, who told her that he thought that DiMera Enterprises was knee-deep in illegal activity. "So, when Johnny shows up to work tomorrow, he'll find my letter of resignation sitting right on his desk," Theo said. Lani was proud of Theo for doing what he felt was the right thing. However, Theo didn't feel he was such a great guy because he'd nearly kissed a married woman.

Lani was taken aback by that comment but assured Theo he didn't do anything wrong. "I think the key thing is that you didn't actually kiss this married woman, whoever she is," Lani said. Theo said he had wanted to. "What can I say? She is miserable in her marriage. She deserves better," Theo said.

In Italy

Sydney reunited with EJ | Image: Peacock

As Chad and Belle enjoyed some time in bed, she wondered what Stefano would have thought of them being together. Chad thought he would have approved. "What if this whole scavenger hunt was his way of getting us together?" Chad asked. Of course, he was being facetious.

They got out of bed to pack for the trip home. Chad had a feeling they had reached the end of the road in Italy. They had their clues and now needed to figure out their next move. Later, Belle found Chad staring at the photo they had found of Stefano and a little blonde boy.

Chad said that he was affected by how young and happy Stefano looked in the photo. Chad wondered if Dominic could be a DiMera, but Belle wondered if he was really the missing pawn. Belle suggested that Cat might be able to help them, since she was a former ISA agent. Chad nixed that idea immediately and changed the subject.

Chad then got romantic and promised Belle a proper Italian vacation that did not involve chess set mysteries and Stefano.

In his hotel room, EJ contemplated ignoring another call from Cat as he packed his bags to head home to Salem. Finally, he surprised Cat by answering. He asked if whatever she had to say could wait and she told him that it couldn't. Cat told EJ that Johnny and George O'Halloran had been meeting and needed to reach him. EJ didn't seem to care and hung up to answer a knock at the door.

Sydney was standing there to surprise her father, much to EJ's delight. Sydney explained that Dante allowed her to finish their business trip early so she could see her father. EJ noted that it was taking quite a while for Dante to get Sami down the aisle, but Dante wanted to make sure Sami didn't have any regrets, knowing her penchant for marrying on a whim.

Sydney admitted that she didn't think her mother would ever be fully over EJ, but she was happy with Dante now. They then made some small talk in which we learned Sydney had been seriously SOARAS'd and was already a high-powered attorney when she was a teen a few months ago.

Sydney was crushed when she learned that her dad had to get back to Salem right away. "We leave this morning," he said. Sydney wondered who "we" were until Aunt Belle and Uncle Chad appeared. EJ suddenly had a grand idea and invited Sydney to return to Salem with them. She happily said yes.

Do you see a future for Theo and Stephanie? Are you enjoying Belle and Chad as a couple? Sound off in the comments.