Theo’s back in Salem…but what’s he up to? Days of our Lives Two Scoops for the week of September 8-12, 2025

Gabi was dismayed when she realized Xander and Philip had found the bug she planted in their office. The whole thing about Philip using a forged document to get half of Victor’s fortune is so old now. Does anybody really care anymore? Xander’s about to make Philip legit by making his position at Titan official, thereby nullifying whatever harm the forgery revelation could cause. That whole story is moot, which is a good thing in my opinion. This week, we saw a real change in how Xander treated his brother, and they’ve already proven that they’re stronger when they work together than when they’re fighting.

It was revealed that Gwen is in on whatever EJ’s plan for the hospital is. She was telling him that Cat was looking at the blueprints, and he told her she wouldn’t have gleaned anything from it. I firmly believe they’re building a secret, sub-basement lab to bring Stefano back from the dead.

Theo’s back with a new actor, Tyler Joseph Andrews, playing him. Tony sent a jet halfway around the world to get him. I wonder what the mysterious business dealings they have are?

In one of the most heartbreaking scenes, Javi finally opened up to Leo about his daughter, who had died. The story of what happened was so horrific, I don’t want to repeat it here. But Al Calderon should be considered for a Daytime Emmy on the next go-round because his grief was so real and palpable. Even Leo had very little funny dialogue this week and was very supportive of Javi.

LOOSE ENDS

When JJ bumped into Theo in Horton Square, it was an oddly uncomfortable experience. Theo was standoffish, and then they made a point of showing that he saw JJ’s badge and gun. He looked uncomfortable and found an excuse to exit right away. What’s up with that? JJ seemed to notice this at the end of the conversation, so with Theo’s connection to whatever Tony’s up to, it’s obviously starting to slowly unfold.

I know soaps like to have characters return from the dead. But I hope that since they went to so much trouble crafting the most heartbreaking tale about the death of Javi’s baby, Solana, that it doesn’t turn out she’s alive and older. That would totally take away what makes the story so powerful. And besides, Javi explained that her death was the reason he decided to become a paramedic. You can’t demean his motivation by having her death be faked.

EXTRA SCOOPS

TONY’S OUTFIT OF THE WEEK

Similar to last week, Tony’s wearing a sharp black suit jacket over a black shirt, keeping things monochromatic and casual with no tie. His pocket square pops against the dark palette — it’s gold with a bold red border, folded so that the red edge frames the gold center neatly in his breast pocket. Unlike last week, the major difference is the pocket square. Last week, he had a plain white square folded straight across, much more understated. This week’s red-and-gold square makes the outfit more dramatic and adds a little flair, which fits Tony’s signature style of dressing elegantly but with a touch of boldness.

LINE(S) OF THE WEEK

Philip and Xander were talking about the pen with the camera in it that they found in their office, and after Xander said they might have avoided things if they’d found the pen sooner. Philip responded, “And we should have discussed it before you crushed the device, like, well, a bug.”

EJ and Gabi were talking about Stefan, who’s been MIA for quite some time. He said to her, “I just think it’s strange that the only person who’s been in contact with my brother since he left town is Vivian.” Gabi stated, “She’s his mother,” to which EJ replied, “She’s also a homicidal maniac.”

Thomas revealed to Jack and Jennifer that Rachel was obsessed with snakes and reptiles, to which Jack commented, “So Kristen’s daughter is obsessed with reptiles. Imagine that.”

When Chad saw EJ’s new office at the hospital, he told his brother that it seemed rather modest. EJ asked if that was a compliment, and Chad replied no, but he was surprised. He had heard about EJ’s budget cuts and said, “I kind of assumed that I was going to walk in and see that all the money was spent on a wet bar and a hot tub.”

At the Bistro, Philip asked Gabi why she kept looking over at the bar. She replied, “Because I’m worried that they’re going to throw me out. Last time I was here, Xander got me placed on the no-fly list.”

Alex and Steph were disagreeing. He felt that whoever planted the bug in Xander and Philip’s office wanted to take down the merger. When Steph scoffed at this, he responded, “Why else would somebody else have planted the bug? What, do you think somebody was trying to listen in on Xander waxing lyrical about rugby?”

As Javi was trying to muster the courage to tell Leo what happened to his daughter, Leo said, “Look, I know that I can come across as gossipy, insolent, and irreverent, and that I often make very funny jokes and occasionally the not-so-funny joke at inopportune times. But you know my heart is in the right place.”

Leo further tried to convince Javi to open up to him about what was bothering him by saying, “So you can trust that whatever this is, I will not do or be any of the aforementioned awful things that I am capable of doing or being. Okay?”

REACTION OF THE WEEK

When Javi revealed to Leo that he had a daughter who had died, Leo’s reaction was amazing. You could see the simultaneous shock, understanding, and heartbreak in his eyes. Good for Greg Rikaart! That was well done.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Philip was mad at Xander for destroying the bug they found in the office. He rightfully reasoned that they could have left it alone and fed whoever was listening some bad intel. Even further, they could have hired Steve or someone else to find the frequency the bug worked on and trace it back to whoever planted it. (Yes, I know it was Gabi, but they don’t know that. Yet.)

Random thought: Phillip was mad that Xander destroyed the bug. Xander didn’t see the point, but Phillip probably is going to say they could’ve used it too. Give false information to whoever was listening in. I wonder if there’s a way they can do that by hacking into the frequency or even just buying another one that's on the same frequency?

Since Tony’s still wearing business casual, as well as getting really cross with Gabi because her bug was discovered, I still wonder if he’s really Andre. His dressing is darker and casual, he gets angry easily, and he seems to be just darker overall, what with trying to wrestle DiMera back from Kiriakis control.

Shawn and Belle seemed to be reconnecting. Personally, I feel that whatever spark they had is gone. I’m sure that’s where the writers are headed, though.

Stephanie was begging Steve to tell her who hired him to look into the Tiatan-DiMera merger. He rightfully stood his ground and refused to reveal his client. PI/Client privilege, you know? If he’d told her, he would have lost all credibility because he couldn’t be trusted. Good for Steve!

And speaking of Steve, as he and Brady investigated the veracity of Sophia’s story, he called Rafe in for some help. It’s super fun watching them put clues together and do detectivey things. It’s a testament to some good writing here as Steve and the gang put together the little bits and pieces. Pretty soon, the truth about Tesoro’s identity is going to come out and cause havoc!

Little Rachel took a ride share to Statesville to see Kristen. It was really funny because Kristen asked her how she did it because Brady had switched off that function on the girl’s phone. Rachel admitted that she used her mother’s account, to which Kristen couldn’t help but remark about how resourceful Rachel is. The apple doesn’t fall far…

So, one thing that irritated me this week was the constant, obvious red herring they kept throwing at us. Every so often, Rachel would tell someone that Kristen's being in jail was all her fault. I guess the intent was to build suspense and make viewers think, ‘Oh! Did she remember shooting EJ?’ But it was so obvious each time she said it that she just meant finding Rachel Blake set everything in motion that led to Kristen supposedly shooting EJ. You can’t help but feel bad for Rachel, and it gave me this thought: What if Rachel remembers shooting EJ, but she’s so far off the rails into demon-child territory, she’s pretending not to remember and is letting Kristen take the fall? Think about it.

PARTING THOUGHTS

Maggie and Julie had a nice moment this week. It’s nice to see their characters working hard at moving on with their lives after the passing of their husband. Then later, there was a montage of each of them reminiscing about their husbands. It was a really nice touch and once again showed the heart at the core of the show.

OUTRO

Join me again next time DOOL-ers when I take up competitive napping. I plan to sleep through the competition.

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