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If this week's episodes of Days of our Lives had a mission, it would read something like: “What if everyone followed their instincts… but their instincts were deeply unqualified?” People were bonding over mutual enemies, threatening each other in drawing rooms like it’s a Victorian melodrama, and making life choices that feel one step removed from a police report.
Meanwhile, Leo was out there collecting trauma like it’s a hobby, Brady was inching toward a full Black Patch glow-up, and somewhere in the background, Philip’s face was doing interpretive dance. Let’s dig in before someone else asks for a gun.
Days of our Lives loose ends
Brady stepping into John’s shoes isn’t just a nice full-circle moment; it’s practically begging for follow-through. There’s something oddly satisfying about watching him edge closer to Black Patch territory, like he’s finally found a lane that doesn’t involve emotional self-sabotage every five minutes. The question is whether the show lets him stay there or yanks the wheel for drama.
Cat continues to feel like a walking “What if.” What if she’s not as by-the-book as she looks? What if she gets tangled between Kristen’s schemes and EJ’s ego war? There’s a version of this where she tries to play conscience and ends up knee-deep in DiMera nonsense anyway.
And then there’s Leo and Dimitri, who have all the stability of a house built on pudding. Dimitri turning on Leo that quickly felt less like a twist and more like a warning shot. Leo finally starts figuring himself out, and Dimitri responds by going for maximum emotional damage. That spiral isn’t a “maybe.” It’s a “brace yourself.”
Pop culture references
Sophia asked Kristen how she could help bring EJ down. Kristen then asked who Sophia wanted to get revenge on. Sophia responded with Holly, and when Kristen pressed further, the young woman added Johnny. “Bingo,” she said, “EJ’s golden boy. Little Lord Fauntleroy himself.” That’s a reference to the famously prim, overly polished child character from the 1886 novel, often used to describe someone seen as spoiled, delicate, or held up as perfection incarnate.
Leo and Dimitri were walking around the hospital, and Leo remarked, “Oh, it feels so good to be out of that room. I was starting to feel like the grandpa in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. When Dimitri remained silent, Leo gave him a quizzical look and said, “Tell me you’ve seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dimitri shook his head and said, “Nope. It sounds made up. Willy Wonka…why are you looking at me like that? What, is it mandatory viewing?” And Leo gave the correct response with, “Yes, it is. It’s a classic!” He’s not wrong; it is required viewing. Leo’s referring to Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson), who famously springs out of bed after years of inactivity in the beloved 1971 film, making the comparison both dramatic and deeply Leo-coded.
At Bayview, Rachel apologized to Kristen for being mad at her, explaining that she was scared, lonely, and sad. Kristen wished she could make those feelings disappear. Rachel responded with a wry analogy, “In my book, Little Women, Jo sometimes fights with Marmee, but Marmee still takes care of her. We’re like that, right?” Her mom responded, “Oh, you bet we are.” This nods to Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, where Jo and Marmee’s relationship blends conflict with deep, unconditional love—an emotional shorthand Rachel uses with surprising clarity.
Shot of the week
There’s a moment in Leo and Dimitri's confrontation where Leo stands there, spine somehow still intact, after choosing—for once—to tell the truth about who he is and what he wants… and Dimitri just goes for the jugular anyway. Not in a burst, not in a messy soap shout-fest, but with surgical precision. “Pathetic.” “Damaged goods.” “Your last chance.” Each word lands like it was selected from a menu labeled maximum psychological damage.
And the real kicker? Leo doesn’t crumble the way he usually does. He doesn’t backpedal or twist himself into whatever shape keeps the other person from leaving. He just… absorbs it. You can see it flicker across his face—that brief, awful recognition that being honest didn’t protect him, didn’t soften the blow, didn’t earn him even a shred of grace. If anything, it made him an easier target.
That’s what makes the shot linger. Not Dimitri’s cruelty, which is practically theatrical in how far it goes, but Leo standing there in the aftermath, still choosing himself even as someone he cared about tries to reduce him to rubble. It’s brutal, it’s unfair, and it’s probably the closest this week got to something uncomfortably real.
LINE(S) OF THE WEEK
When Dimitri showed up at the hospital on Monday, a surprised Leo exclaimed, “Are you actually here? I feel like I’m hallucinating. Or maybe my mental marbles are still rolling around post that knock to the noggin, or maybe this is an extension of that dream I was having. I had just graduated from drama school and was doing this show up in the Catskills, a knockoff on Rent titled…get this…Mortgage. And I said to Sebastian, I told him, ‘Babe, you may as well get on your knees and beg for a cease and desist because…” He paused and asked, “Wait a minute…am I off on a tangent?” Dimitri took it as a positive sign that Leo was recovering from his concussion.
Leo would later hilariously describe the room he and Dimitri rented in Alamania as smelling like peeling wallpaper and schnitzel. Honestly, that’s less a description and more a Yelp review you read once and immediately cancel your reservation.
Gabi told Philip she was glad to be staying at the Kiriakis mansion, not just because he was there but also because EJ wasn’t. Philip responded, “Wish I could say Chez Kiriakis is drama-free, but…at least no one’s been shot here.” He paused to think for a moment, adding, “Not recently, anyway.” Philip really said that like a man trying to sell a house built on a sinkhole but insisting the view is lovely.
When Gwen allowed Xander to join her at the DiMera mansion, EJ tried to throw her out. As Xander then wanted to leave, she told him not to and that they would be going to her room. She turned to EJ, remarking, “And EJ can shove his bloody objections right up his pompous ass.” EJ just smirked and didn’t actually toss her out with a look that screamed “future revenge, slow simmer.”
Philip's facial reactions
The moment where Sarah asks Philip if he told Xander that he and Gabi were moving into the Kiriakis estate, Philip’s face goes on a brief but unforgettable journey through all five stages of “well, this is about to go spectacularly wrong.”
He starts almost charmingly smug, like a man who believes he’s just pulled off a clever bit of damage control. Then Sarah presses him, and suddenly you can see the gears grinding, like an old vending machine deciding whether it wants to eat your dollar and ruin your day.
There’s the micro-smirk that says, I’ve got this, immediately followed by the tight-lipped pause of, I absolutely do not have this. Then comes the head movement. Not a nod. Not a shake. Just… a philosophical shrug delivered entirely through his neck, as if his brain has temporarily stepped out for air.
And the best part? He still goes ahead and says the wrong thing anyway. Not just wrong, but strategically catastrophic, casually dropping the forgery bomb like it’s a fun icebreaker. You can practically see Sarah’s patience evaporate in real time while Philip stands there, looking like a man who just pressed a button labeled “Do Not Press.”
It’s the kind of reaction that deserves to be studied, preferably with a warning label.
Random Salem thoughts
Steve apologizing to Cat after being against her for so long was very moving. The man is still evolving, which in soap terms is practically a miracle. At this pace, he might achieve full emotional fluency sometime around the next lunar cycle.
Stephanie wanting to “get a gun” belongs firmly in the Bad Idea Jeans Hall of Fame. It’s right up there with “I’ll fix this myself” and “no one needs to know,” which are basically Salem’s unofficial slogans.
Gwen silently celebrated her divorce win as if she had just conquered a small nation that deserves its own graphic novel spread. You could practically see her planting a flag and renaming the territory in her honor.
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Kristen and Rafe bonding over their shared hatred of EJ isn’t just chemistry; it’s the opening scene of a future disaster. Nothing says “this will end well” like two people fueled entirely by spite and opportunity. Let's see where this goes...
Days of our Lives is available on the Peacock streaming app.
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