Love, Lies, Loss, and Leo: Days of our Lives Two Scoops For the Week of December 29, 2025

Love in the afternoon made it from ABC's General Hospital to the Peacock streaming app so that Days of our Lives could end the year with one of the top things soaps are all about — romance.

While the real world rang in the new year on Wednesday night, Salem didn't see 2026 (or is it 2027, as the time jump will always leave us asking questions?) until the tail end of Friday's episode, when a familiar face appeared to deflate two newlyweds who thought they had it all. And that is where our story begins.

Didn't they almost have it all?

Dimitri was the wedding spoiler on Days of our Lives | Image: JPI

We can see our pop culture guru, who is often stuck in the glorious 80s, quoting this Whitney Houston classic. Yes, Javi and Leo seemed to finally have it all when Dimitri reared his now-curly head, ostensibly due to Gwen's machinations, but can they still have it all? Cause we are pretty sure anything that Leo and Dimitri shared is nothing compared to the real (well, fictional real) love we have witnessed between Leo and Javi. Dimitri and Leo were fleeting, comical, and sexual, while Leo and Javi have shared a true love story with connection and even a desire to raise a child together.

So, we think they can weather this storm, although Gwen sure won't make it easy. And will Ari step in and tell Javi, "I told you so"? A lot can go wrong here, but there is something so loving and pure about Javi and Leo that we see them as endgame, something we never would have expected just a few short years ago. And it was Ari who reminded us why.

The lies and Leo

Ari hasn't forgotten the old Leo | Image: JPI

It's been a nice touch having Ari be the only member of the Hernandez clan who can't seem to completely forgive and accept Leo. After all, he came onto the Salem scene as a foil for her two dads, Will and Sonny. Ari might have only been a little girl at the time who lived in a character closet, but she apparently knew what Leo was up to. We're not sure why Will and Sonny would have shared this with a child, but we'll roll with it because the Leo who Ari remembers is exactly who Leo was.

And now he has evolved, and it's been so lovely (and loads of fun) to watch. Remember when Leo had a thing for Chad and even woke up in bed with him during a Beyond Salem stint? (We believe Chad had just participated in a drag show under the name Belinda Chynashop.) Now, he is Leo's best bud and acted as his best man. And then there is Marlena, who watched what Leo did to her beloved grandson, Will. Now, she is Leo's other best bud and officiated their wedding. That's character growth, something we have yet to see with Gwen, and we don't expect to see it with Dimitri either.

Two lies and the truth

Kristen is finally telling the truth | Image: JPI

Leo was once a liar, and is now very much in love, but that doesn't mean there weren't other lies and liars floating around Salem this week. Still, at least one lie stemmed from a deep love that finally turned into truth.

Yep, we are still TeamKristen all the way and are glad she won't be heading back to Statesville, because for once, she doesn't belong there. Kristen wouldn't even sign the paperwork that secured her freedom unless she had assurance that Rachel wouldn't suffer and that Rachel's crime would never see the light of day. That's also character growth we never expected to see on a character who has been nothing but selfish and self-centered for over 30 years.

But there sure are some lies still happening at Bayview that we really don't understand. What is Sophia's endgame here? We now know she plans to run away, but why hasn't she just done so already and why is she still feigning mutism? Sometimes we think there is an ultimate payoff we are waiting for when it comes with decoding Sophia, and other times it feels like the writers are making it up as they go along.

We have gotten hints that we will learn more about this character's family, but her mother has disappeared from the Salem Earth, and her little brother came and went in one 10-second scene. Here's hoping 2026 brings us some answers...

Love without lies?

Stephanie and Alex are now engaged | Image: JPI

We are still not sure what to make of Alex and Stephanie. They are definitely a gorgeous couple, and their banter is adorable, but they seem to lack substance. We only see that they are in love, are told that they are in love, but we do not feel that they are in love, and that is the one missing piece for this wannabe Salem supercouple.

On the surface and on paper, Alex and Stephanie should work, but we are still unsure if they do. Maybe it's the fact that they are cousins by adoption. We are not sure. But okay, they are engaged now, and we guess we just have to roll with it.

The proposal was cute, although cliched, and their love is written as an honest love, but again, there is something missing here that we hope is found before the eventual wedding.

And Days of our Lives loss...

Marlena is living life without John | Image: JPI

Few soaps present us with widows who feel as deeply as the ones in Salem, and that what makes their grief so real. This week, Marlena finally broke down in a very real way with the other love of her life, Roman. Their romance was just getting off the ground when this writer began her journey with Days of our Lives about 45 years ago. Sure, Roman now looks just like Chris Kositchek, who was dating Kayla at the time and whose brother was the Salem Strangler who brought Roman and Marlena together, but we'll just roll with it cause why not?

It just seemed only fitting that Marlena was allowed to crack that veneer and just feel with a man who was once her rock and fathered two of her children. It just goes to show that love takes many forms, evolves, and is just what we need on our screens in the afternoon.

Catch all-new episodes of Days of our Lives weekdays on Peacock.