Will Leo do the right thing and end this baby swap saga?
Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Andy from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate Chad and Stephanie’s future, if Leo and Dimitri are worth rooting for, Maggie’s gullibility, and more!
Does our round table team think Shane will save or out Theresa? Read on to find out.
Leo now knows that Sloan stole Nicole’s baby. Will he tell Nicole and EJ the truth or blackmail Sloan?
Andy: Leo has become one of my favorite characters on the show, which I did not expect when he first entered the scene. Besides his often laugh-out-loud quips, he brings a nuance and humanity to the character that is intriguing to watch.
So I love that he’s been pulled into this emotional, dramatic story with Nicole’s baby. I think he will struggle with doing the right thing and telling Nicole, but ultimately, he will probably blackmail Sloan and/or Trask in an effort to keep Dimitri out of jail.
Jack: I think he’ll attempt to tell Nicole and EJ the truth, but they won’t believe him, leading him to decide he might as well blackmail Sloan and get something out of this mess.
Christine: I’ve grown to love Leo, but he’s interesting because you never quite know what he’s going to do.
Gwen was his best friend, but that didn’t stop him from lying to her. So, will he do the right thing here and make Nicole’s ridiculously tragic life better?
I think he’ll try, but I’m not sure anyone will believe him. If he can’t make things right, I hope he puts the screws to Sloan.
Eric and Sloan named the baby Jude. Are you a fan of the name? When Nicole finally gets her son back, will she change the name?
Andy: I like the name Jude, and it’s nice to have a fresh name. Too many babies are named after other characters.
It’s cute under the right circumstances but starts to get old after a while. But I like that they snuck in Roman as the middle name. That was a nice touch.
Jack: I’m neutral on this name. It makes me think of The Fosters. I guess Eric dropped the Samuel idea.
I think Nicole will want to change the name, but if she finds out the baby is Eric’s, she’ll feel his father has a say, and Eric chose that name, so she may keep it.
Christine: I had the same frame of reference as Sloan did, thinking of the Beatles song instead of the saint.
Jude is different. I’m not in love with it, but then again, I didn’t love the name Tate either, and it’s grown on me.
As Jack said above, I’m betting Nicole will keep the name when she learns that Eric is the father.
EJ suggested trying to have another baby, but Nicole shot him down. What are your thoughts?
Andy: It’s a delicate situation that I can’t begin to imagine how either Nicole or EJ are feeling, but I don’t think I’d want to hear it suggested so soon to try for another baby. Especially with Nicole’s history.
I know EJ had the best intentions and is trying to navigate both of their grief, but I would have definitely been upset in Nicole’s shoes. And probably would not want to put myself through another possible loss.
Jack: I think it was way too soon to bring anything like that up and somewhat insensitive. EJ’s heart was in the right place, but it came off as saying, “Let’s just forget the baby we lost and make one to replace it,” even though that’s not what he meant.
I can understand Nicole not wanting to ever get pregnant again after losing three babies. It’s too painful. I wonder how she will feel once she learns her baby is alive.
Christine: I felt horrible for both EJ and Nicole. EJ was trying to make her feel better, but it was definitely a misstep and far too soon after such a tragic loss to discuss it.
And I can’t imagine Nicole wanting to try again after dealing with this devastation three times. Heck, I’m not even sure I could handle watching another Nicole pregnancy plot twist!
Is this the last straw for Chad and Stephanie? Was Stephanie right to move out? Do you hope they reconcile?
Andy: These two are just not clicking, or it’s just not the right time for them. There is too much animosity at this point, and Chad going behind Stephanie’s back should be the last straw for her. It’s not too much different than when she cut off Alex.
I feel bad for the kids in the situation, but I don’t blame her for moving out (even if it was just temporarily). I think when all of Everett’s history comes out, it will eventually bring these two back together, but I’m not terribly invested either way.
Jack: Is it ever the last straw for anyone? I think that when Stephanie eventually finds out Everett was with Jada and (this is my speculation) that he was never in a coma, she’ll beg Chad to give her another chance so that she won’t be alone.
Stephanie’s inability to see the difference between Chad grieving his late wife and Chad stringing her along while secretly not serious about her makes this relationship impossible, and Chad’s behavior doesn’t help.
Chad shouldn’t be engaging in underhanded tactics, but at the same time, Stephanie NEVER takes responsibility for her part in this.
She seems to like male attention and encourages it — with both Alex and Everett, she refuses to set any boundaries whatsoever, and with Everett, she’s been acting like she thinks that if Chad doesn’t marry her, maybe she should have an affair.
While Chad’s behavior is wrong, his reasons for being jealous are spot-on, and she won’t acknowledge that.
For all these reasons, this couple — which I once loved — needs to break up permanently. But it seems like this is more of a split for the sake of drama.
In any case, Stephanie did this in the most cowardly way possible by moving out without telling anyone and leaving the key with Alex, almost as one last slap in the face to Chad.
And did she say anything to the kids? Or are they going to be left wondering when she’s coming back?
That’s really messed up — just ask Neighbours’ Nell what happens when your stepmother disappears not that long after your birth mother’s death.
Christine: These two are such a mess. It feels like they were a couple set up to fail. They moved in together much too soon and with different expectations.
Chad not being ready to remarry isn’t wrong, but if Stephanie is in a different place, then she needs to move on.
Chad firing Everett was wrong, but I understand why he sees Everett as a threat. He is one, even if this is a love triangle I don’t care about, and Stephanie won’t acknowledge that.
It’s just a mess, and these two need to separate. I can’t say I really care if they get back together or not because they’ve never been that interesting.
If Shane sees his daughter, Theresa, on the video holding the kidnapped baby, what do you think he will do?
Andy: That would be an interesting twist for Theresa to be caught by her father. He might try to protect her, given that ultimately no one was hurt, and Victoria was quickly returned.
If he confronts her first, I can see her shifting the blame to Konstantin, that he somehow forced her into doing it.
Jack: I don’t see Shane making excuses for Theresa. I think he’d come to Salem and arrest her himself. (Or maybe that’s just me wishing Charles Shaughnessy would grace our screens again!)
If Shane questions Theresa, will he see through some convoluted story she makes up about finding the baby on a park bench or something? I hope he doesn’t fall for any nonsense!
Christine: Shane loves his daughter, so I can’t see him wanting to arrest her. As this was Konstantin’s plan, my guess is that Shane will be furious but still help Theresa by taking down Konstantin. Then maybe this horrible Theresa recast mess will end too.
Is Maggie on to Konstantin but playing along, or is she as gullible as she appears?
Andy: I would *love* if Maggie is actually playing Konstantin. Now, that would be a fun twist and much better than her being played as so gullibly blind.Especially after the show so recently tried to portray her as a savvy businesswoman.
Not to mention, it would be kind of a nice tribute to Victor that she learned some things from him in the same way she helped soften him a bit over the years.
Jack: Sadly, I think she’s as gullible as she appears. I can’t believe this is the same woman who saw through Victor’s BS each and every time for over a decade!
Christine: Oh, I hope Maggie is playing him, but I fear her recent loss of Victor is making her vulnerable and gullible.
But it would be wonderful to see Maggie turn the tables on this guy. Being married to Victor has to have taught her something!
Leo and Dimitri had a rocky start, but have they become a couple worth rooting for?
Andy: I’m biased. I always appreciate the on the show (for better or worse). And I have to admit, Leo and Dimitri are generally fun to watch.
They’re both kind of morally gray people, so that’s an interesting dynamic for them to play off each other. I will root for them, if for nothing else than to keep them on screen.
Jack: Meh. Leo seems to have changed for the better, but it’s because of delivering the baby, not because of Dimitri.
Dimitri’s character is all over the place. He seemed sociopathic until Jackie Cox showed up, and even then, he debated whether to actually sacrifice his freedom for Leo or not.
Leo is not as annoying as he used to be, but I wouldn’t mind Dimitri being shipped to a secure ISA facility for his previous crimes and not being seen again for a long time.
Christine: I love Leo, and Dimitri, although far darker, is growing on me.
I had wondered how real their feelings for one another were, but the goodbye in jail was far more touching than I expected, so I do find myself rooting for them.
What annoyed the heck out of you this week in Salem?
Andy: The DNA test and results were beyond ridiculous. I’ll give them some credit for having the test run on EJ to drag this out, but it’s still unbelievable that they wouldn’t test Nicole, come on.
Also, Wendy’s return reminded me how much I did not miss her. And I’m just not interested in seeing her mourn for Li and hate on Gabi, nor am I invested in her and Tripp as a couple.
Jack: The latest DNA test fiasco was ridiculous. Nicole was waiting for the results. The proper procedure would have been for Kayla or a nurse to tell her her sample was insufficient and ask her to take one on the spot.
And it didn’t make sense for Nicole to not demand a new test using her DNA just for her peace of mind. We could have resolved this whole story, including EJ learning he’s not the father, in one fell swoop.
Instead, we’ll have more of Sloan making faces and telling obvious lies that Eric falls for. Ugh.
And why the heck did Nicole not question Kayla about Dr. Pierce or the alleged cremation while she was in the office?
It continues to annoy me that anyone puts stock in DNA tests that are never accurate. I think Nicole should have said, “Well, the test says that’s not my baby, so that’s all the proof we need that it is.
I was there for that whole Philip/Daniel mess over Parker. And Eric, have you forgotten that Sami invented DNA switches, and then everyone else in Salem jumped on the bandwagon?”
The Ava/Stefan story continues to also be really stupid. I’m sorry, but former Mafia princess Ava should not continually say they have no choice but to go along with Clyde. He should NOT be a match for either of them.
I was not surprised that Vivian turned Stefan down, given that Gabi is involved. But I was disappointed because I wanted to see Ivan ruin Clyde’s plans.
Finally, this stupid Holly/Johnny thing needs to end NOW. Tate needs to stop letting Holly manipulate him and realize she’s not worth it.
Christine: Kayla is the Chief of Staff of such a horrible hospital. I know this is a soap, but come on! A baby dies and is mistakenly cremated, and there’s no investigation? And why wouldn’t someone just swab Nicole’s cheek for a DNA sample?
Dimitri going along with Sloan’s plan and turning himself in instead of using the knowledge that the baby is very much alive to get them off the hook is annoying. Dimitri is smarter than that.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from this week’s Days of Our Lives?
Andy: Great acting from Arianne Zucker. She continues to knock it out of the park with this storyline. I appreciated her call back to stealing Sydney and then (rightfully) accusing Sloan of the same thing.
I also actually enjoyed the implosion of Chad and Stephanie’s relationship. Not because I’m against them as a couple, just that it’s been an interesting build-up (or breakdown) of their relationship over the past few weeks, and it feels like this was the payoff.
Jack: I continue to love how supportive EJ is (stupid suggestion to have another baby, notwithstanding.) He is 100% right for Nicole at this point.
EJ knows how to handle her anger and frustration and is so empathetic and loving he doesn’t seem like the same ruthless person he usually is. I hate that this couple isn’t the endgame. I’m enjoying their scenes too much.
Christine: As much as I can’t wait for this baby saga to end, Ari Zucker and Dan Feuerriegel’s performances are Emmy-worthy.
Nicole’s devastating pain over losing another child is painfully real. And EJ is dealing with his own grief while doing everything possible to be there for Nicole.
As much as I hate that EJ isn’t the baby’s father, part of me can’t wait to see EJ’s elation at finding out the baby is alive, only to realize that the child isn’t his just because I believe Feuerriegel’s performance will make it worth it.
I also just love Johnny and Chanel now that they are finally together and happy. Not even a conniving teenager like Holly can ruin their love story.
Now it’s your turn, TV Fanatics. Will Leo do the right thing? Are you on board with the name Jude? And is this the end for Chad and Stephanie?
Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to let us know. Then read Jack Ori’s Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.
Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.