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Days of our Lives spent the week watching several people insist they were fixing problems while actively making them larger. EJ hid a dying Lexie, hunted Kristen, threatened Titan, and continued covering his tracks over Holly while somehow remaining surprised whenever anyone called him dangerous.
Philip tried repairing Xander and Sarah’s marriage by locking them in a wine cellar, Joy edged closer to the family she clearly still wants with Alex, and Leo flew halfway around the world to save Gwen only to end up imprisoned beside her. Somewhere in all that, Kristen disguised herself as Susan Banks, which briefly made Salem’s usual identity confusion look almost sensible.
EJ Kept Proving Susan Cleansed the Wrong Thing
EJ began the week showing an actual flicker of regret over what he had done to Kristen, which was almost encouraging until the rest of his behavior arrived. Once he learned Kristen had escaped the cargo-container plan, he immediately returned to damage control mode and helped Lexie disappear inside the mansion instead. Lexie even warned him that his path would leave him empty and alone, and EJ reacted like a man who had just been handed an inconvenient customer survey.
His conversation with Johnny made the situation much darker. EJ admitted enough about his plans for Kristen to make Johnny realize exactly how far his father had gone, then promised that Kristen would never threaten Johnny or his family again. That certainty sounded less like reassurance and more like somebody explaining a permanent solution, especially because EJ had already decided that eliminating threats was easier than dealing with them.
Holly finally learned that EJ framed her by planting the pills, which should eventually cause another earthquake in the family. Sarah explained what happened and warned her to keep quiet, leaving Holly to process the fact that the man who acted protective toward her also deliberately put her in legal danger. EJ may care about Holly, but he clearly cares about EJ more, and Salem has enough evidence now to stop pretending those two priorities are tied.
His war with Titan also escalated after Gabi used her inheritance to keep the company afloat. EJ responded by calling in Titan’s entire loan, giving Xander and Philip until the end of the month to find an impossible amount of money. Nothing says healthy business competition quite like demanding hundreds of millions of dollars because somebody laughed at you in Horton Town Square.
Lexie and Kristen Both Continued Saying Goodbye
Lexie’s return should have been a miracle, but the show has turned it into one long goodbye. She spent the week hiding beneath the DiMera mansion, distancing herself from Abe and Theo, and preparing letters for them to receive after her death. Her phone call with Theo was especially sad because every excuse she made about being too busy in Johannesburg was really another step toward removing herself from his life.
EJ surprisingly became one of the few people telling Lexie she was making a mistake. He understood that Abe and Theo would rather have whatever time remained than discover later that she spent her final days hiding from them. The fact that EJ could see the obvious emotional truth in Lexie’s situation while remaining spectacularly blind to his own family damage was very EJ.
Kristen handled her disappearance differently by slipping back into Rachel’s life disguised as Susan. The disguise became increasingly strange as Kristen’s own voice occasionally seemed to fight its way through the act, but Rachel was too upset about her mother to care about the performance. Brady recognized Kristen almost immediately once they were alone, proving there are apparently limits to what false teeth and a wig can accomplish.
Kristen insisted that disappearing was the only way to protect everyone from EJ, and Brady reluctantly heard her out. She left him a method for reaching her if Rachel faced an emergency, then prepared to vanish again until the danger passed. Salem parents frequently promise children they will return someday, and Rachel has unfortunately heard versions of that sentence far too often.
Matchmaking Cost Titan More Than Dinner and Wine
Philip decided Xander and Sarah needed help reconnecting, so naturally he locked them inside the Kiriakis wine cellar. The plan almost worked after the two shared wine, memories, and enough emotional warmth to nearly kiss before Philip opened the door at exactly the wrong moment. The fact that the door hinges appeared accessible from inside only made the entire imprisonment slightly less impressive as a security measure. The two could have easily escaped by removing the hinge pins.
Marlena later gave Xander the advice he actually needed. She warned him that one emotionally charged evening did not erase Sarah’s anger, his violence, or the problems that broke them apart. Xander wanted the wine-cellar moment to mean reconciliation was around the corner, while Marlena reminded him that romantic progress usually requires more than accidental confinement and a bottle of red.
Unfortunately, Philip and Xander barely had time to celebrate Titan’s financial rescue before EJ pulled the floor out from under them. Gabi’s money covered the immediate crisis, but calling in the full loan left Titan facing a far bigger one. By Friday, Philip was eyeing a gambling app while Xander worried that his failures had destroyed Victoria’s future, which suggests the corporate strategy meeting may need stronger supervision.
Gabi also admitted that taunting EJ probably did not help matters. Alex was somehow the adult in the room when he asked why everyone found it so difficult to keep quiet after scoring a victory. Considering this group includes Xander, Philip, and Gabi, expecting a humble celebration may have been overly ambitious.
Joy's Crises Mounted
Joy spent another week insisting that Stephanie was the problem while steadily arranging circumstances that kept Alex nearby. She threatened to return to New York with Kelsey rather than accept Stephanie in the child’s life, then told Alex that she still imagined the three of them becoming a family. That does not necessarily make every complaint about Stephanie fake, but it certainly makes Joy’s preferred ending easy to identify.
Alex finally pushed back when Joy threatened to leave. He reminded her that he had parental rights and made it clear he would go to court if necessary, which was long overdue. Joy softened enough to stay in Salem as long as Stephanie kept her distance, giving Alex temporary access while moving Stephanie another step outside the circle.
Then Joy developed severe arm pain and ended up in the hospital, where doctors diagnosed spinal stenosis. Her fear about caring for Kelsey was understandable, and Alex immediately stepped in to reassure her that she would not face it alone. The problem came when he decided to move into Joy’s room at the Salem Inn while she recovered at the hospital and told Stephanie she would not be the one helping with Kelsey.
Stephanie’s suspicion about Joy may now become difficult to separate from jealousy. Joy really does have a medical condition, but she also openly wants Alex back and repeatedly ends up in situations that pull him closer. Stephanie has made enough mistakes that shouting manipulation every time Joy needs help will only make her look worse, which is exactly the position Joy benefits from most.
Leo’s Rescue Mission Is Dimitri’s Reunion Plan
Leo deserves credit for traveling to Alamainia after learning that Dimitri had Gwen. He knew Dimitri was dangerous, understood that Gwen could be in serious trouble, and went anyway because leaving her there was not an option. It was brave, reckless, and extremely Leo.
Dimitri, unfortunately, was waiting for him. He revealed that Gwen was essentially bait and made it clear that his real goal was getting Leo back. Instead of freeing anybody, Leo ended up trapped alongside Gwen while Dimitri cheerfully discussed sleeping arrangements and insisted that Leo would eventually remember they belonged together.
Gwen and Leo at least repaired some of their damaged friendship while trying to escape. Gwen admitted that she cared about Leo and was glad he helped destroy her marriage because Dimitri was awful, which may be one of the stranger friendship affirmations Salem has produced. Their attempt to fake appendicitis nearly worked until Dimitri revealed that his ISA training apparently included enough medical instruction for him to volunteer to remove Leo’s appendix himself.
Meanwhile, Javi remained determined to go after Leo despite Gus pretending to be understanding. Rafe correctly warned that Gus might not be nearly as comfortable with Javi’s attachment to his ex as Javi wanted to believe. Javi may eventually reach Alamainia, but by then the rescue party could contain enough romantic complications to require assigned seating.
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Join us next time when EJ presumably sneezes his way toward another felony, Stephanie discovers that moving into your husband’s ex’s hotel room is apparently considered practical parenting, and the Royal Society for Unnecessary Wine Cellar Locks arrives from Britain to explain that door hinges have been removable since approximately the invention of doors.
Days of our Lives is available on the Peacock streaming app.
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