Brady digs too deep — and finds a lie that changes everything: Days of our Lives Two Scoops for the week of Augus 25, 2025

With the ISA’s help, Steve figured out that Philip’s letter was a forgery. But Stephanie convinced him to keep quiet about it for the greater good. Stephanie also had a good suggestion for Xander to shore up the Titan-DiMera merger by legally legitimizing Philip’s place in the company. It’s interesting because things are aligning to solidify Philip and Xander’s positions, and storywise, it’s good because they’ll continue to have to deal with each other until eventually they get over their animosity.

Stephanie’s book, One Dark and Stormy Night, is starting to become a hit in Salem. How long before we see someone following Stephanie because they recognized some of the scenes in her book? We saw people all over Salem enjoying it, so as it spreads like wildfire, Stephanie’s life could be in danger. As a result, Steve quit working for Gabi, but she said to herself afterwards that she wouldn’t give up. She would later put a pen that doubles as a recording device on Xander’s desk, so that’s going to explode as well.

Susan Banks said she didn’t get any vibes from Kristen that she was the shooter. But she did continue to get bad waves around Marlena, who seems to vacillate between believing Susan and denying her powers are legit. Marlena has been taking her warnings to mean she’s having a physical health scare of some kind, but Susan said the dark waves she was getting were about Marlena’s body, mind, and spirit combined. Perhaps it’s a spiritual crisis tied to the return of Stefano.

Cat managed to talk EJ into hiring her as his personal assistant. Now she’s got an in for her investigation with Rafe into what EJ is actually up to. There’s a good possibility that he’s in league with some nefarious characters, Tony/Andre included, to bring Stefano back.

Brady followed his instincts and went to Steve for help in figuring out what really went down when Sophia supposedly gave her baby up for adoption. Brady has the makings of a great PI, and he finally encountered the lawyer who supposedly brokered the adoption. Shockingly, she told him she never heard of Tate!! This whole baby thing is going to explode sooner than I expected, and there’s going to be damage everywhere in Salem!

LOOSE ENDS

Brady saw right through Kristen when she gave him her song and dance about why she shot EJ. He knows something is up, and his instincts are good. He’s also been putting together the Sophia adoption thing, which hasn’t been sitting well with him. I was glad he went to Steve for help because I was going to suggest that he leave Basic Black and join Black Patch as a new PI. He’d be very good at it!

Stephanie was discussing PR strategy with Xander in case Philip’s fraud becomes public knowledge. She advised Xander to name Philip as co-CEO, making it official. While Xander kind of poo-pooed the idea, she explained that if the truth did come out, it would be beneficial if Xander secured Philip’s position at Titan-DiMera. Otherwise, Philip might tell the cops that Xander beat the crap out of him. What makes this a loose end for me is that I don’t understand it. I thought the judge ruled that Xander and Philip had to split everything, including the company. Wasn’t that official enough?

At one point, when Marlena was talking to Rachel, the little girl stated with certainty that Kristen didn’t shoot EJ. She didn’t know why she felt that way, so it must have been her subconscious informing her of that. I feel that eventually, she’s going to remember what happened and have enough courage to be the one to confess.

EXTRA SCOOPS

REFERENCES

When Gwen and Cat bumped into each other for the first time, Gwen had just come from giving blood and admitted she was a little off because of it, and reasoned that was why she was given a juice box, although she’d rather have a mimosa. Cat said drinking probably wasn’t a good idea when giving blood, and Gwen retorted, “I was joking, Denise Do-Right.” That was a play on the cartoon character, Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, created by Jay Ward and a few others. The character’s short cartoons appeared as a segment on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends.

Leo and Javi were walking the baby, and Javi mentioned his abuelita’s menudo, to which Leo asked, “So was the boy band named after the soup, or…? Never mind.” Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band from the 1980s, and the most famous member was former General Hospital star Ricky Martin.

Leo then said, “Ah, I am so glad to be out of that musty jury room, away from my Chatty Cathy roommate, Adam. Chatty Cathy was a doll introduced in 1960 by Mattel that could say different pre-recorded phrases when you pulled the string on its back. It has come to mean someone who’s extremely talkative.

After encountering Gwen, Javi asked Leo if all of their encounters with her were going to be as abrasive as the one they had. Leo said it would happen until she found a new target for her wrath, to which Javi responded, “Or someone drops a house on her.” Leo then gasps and says, “Wicked!” Of course, in The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the East was killed when Dorothy’s house landed on her.

Alex explained to Stephanie that he was walking around her apartment in only a towel when Jada showed up. He said he accidentally put on a show for Jada, and Steph asked, “How much of a show?” Alex responded, “Uhm, PG-13.” In 1984, after public outcries because movies like Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had lots of violence, the MPAA created the PG-13 rating, which would sit between the PG and R ratings. The first film to be released with the PG-13 rating was Red Dawn.

Philip tells Belle, “I’m like Sisyphus, being punished for all my trickery and forced to push the rock up the hill, only to have it roll back down!” In Greek mythology, the king of Corinth, Sisyphus, was punished for his deceit and condemned to rolling a huge boulder up a steep hill, only to have it roll back down every time he got close to the top. The myth serves as a cautionary tale and represents the futility of endless, pointless tasks.

When Marlena impersonated Dracula, Sarah asked, “And did Dracula and Lestat make an appearance too?” Dracula needs no explanation here, but some folks might not know that Lestat was the main vampire in Anne Rice’s trilogy of novels that started with Interview with the Vampire. Lestat was played by Tom Cruise in the 1994 film adaptation of the novel. Marlena came back with, “Well, the blood suckers of literature have been conspicuously absent.”

There were actually quite a few more references in Friday’s episode, so if you caught any, throw them in the comments below!

SHOT OF THE WEEK

Outside of Johnny and Chanel’s apartment, Susan Banks started to convulse, and some kind of negative energy just seemed to wash over her. This was never stated, but that was the implication I got. She’s on to something, and I think it’s all tied in to the return of Stefano.

LINE(S) OF THE WEEK

Gwen overheard Leo tell Javi that the jury was going to vote Johnny not guilty. She thanked them for the tidbit, and when Leo said they were having a private conversation, she remarked, “Well then, you shouldn’t be having it in public, should you?” I’ve been saying this to soap characters for decades! That seemed like something very meta to say on a soap. She later tells Chad about it and remarks, “Well, it’s not my fault that people keep talking where I can hear them,” again hitting the point home.

Xander was talking to baby Victoria and told her he didn’t want to go into the office. “Everyone there thinks I should be nicer to your Uncle Philip,” he said, continuing, “But I don’t think that cheating, lying, [and] swindling should be rewarded with kindness. What do you think?

Gabi told Javi that her latest assistant quit, and Javi asked, “Another one? How many assistants have you gone through since I quit?” A flabbergasted Gabi retorted, “Is it my fault that no one lives up to the standards that you set when you were my assistant?” She then asked if he would consider returning to the position, and his response was, “Yeah, no. A world of no.”

Belle told Philip that EJ accused her of being the shooter. Philip scoffed at that, saying it was ridiculous because she could never do something like that. Belle responded, “Part of me wonders if we’d all be happier if I’d had the guts to off that son of a bitch.”

Marlena and Sarah were talking, and Sarah had an idea for a test to do on Marlena, but figured she didn’t want to have any more blood taken. Marlena stated, “Especially after…Susan’s latest warning.” When Sarah asked what the warning was, Marlena did a horrible Bela Lugosi as Dracula impersonation and said, “They are coming to suck your blood.”

Sarah talked Marlena into getting another blood test and added, “Just in case you are a vampire, I will bring along a crucifix and some garlic.”

REACTION OF THE WEEK

Philip and Belle decided to play hooky and hang out. Belle said it reminded her of the time he talked her into cutting class in High School. Philip didn’t remember at first, and when it all came back to him, he had a hilarious physical reaction.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

When Kristen confessed to shooting EJ in court, she should have led with, “I shot EJ by accident. Or I accidentally shot EJ.” That would have lessened the impact on Rachel and may have made the court consider some leniency.

The awful irony of Kristen confessing just before the jury was about to exonerate Johnny reminded me of the ending to the movie version of Stephen King’s The Mist. I won’t give it away because I think you should see it, but something major happens in a similar way that has an ironic twist.

There was a cool spy moment when Steve explained to Stephanie that the ISA examined Philip’s letter and used gas chromatography to study the ink. They learned that “the ink used to write that letter wasn’t commercially available until January of last year.” Thus, Victor couldn’t have written it. That’s some pretty cool spy work.

How did Alex never hear of Pigs in a Blanket? Sausage wrapped in a pancake. I thought that was common everywhere. Although Steph remarked that he was more of a protein shake kind of guy. As Steve munched on them, Kayla explained what it was, and Alex looked intrigued, so Steph said, “Maybe for you, Uncle Roman could name it ‘Alex in a toga.’ They all had a good laugh at Alex’s former toga mishap.

PARTING THOUGHTS

Kayla told Stephanie, “Just remember that there’s no shame in reversing course if EJ makes you do anything that’s crazy, like, oh, I don’t know, like maybe cloning the hospital staff so that we work two shifts at once.” Stephanie responded, “I promise that I will run the other way at the first sign of Dr. Rolf.”

Funny that they would mention cloning with Stefano’s return around the corner. Unless they transplant his consciousness into another person, EJ may have taken the hospital over for real cloning experiments in an effort to bring Stefano back. That could be why the ISA and FBI have joined forces to find out what he’s up to at the hospital.

Salem University offered Johnny a job as a professor, and Tate, Sophia, and Holly are all probably going to take his class. What hijinks await?

OUTRO

Thanks for joining me as always, DOOL-ers. Stay tuned as I explore parallel universes -- because somewhere out there, I’ve already finished this article.

Days of Our Lives can be found on the Peacock streaming app.