Happy Tuesday, everyone. No Lexie today, no DiMera tunnels, no resurrections. Instead we got something almost as rare in Salem — a quiet episode where people actually talked to each other. Ari told Liam she doesn't care about his record. Holly told Tate he doesn't understand her. Sarah told Holly what she needed to hear. And Marlena told Belle what John would have said. It's a talky hour, but a good one. Let's get into it.

Forwarded to you? I write The Salem Dispatch daily for other fans of Days of Our Lives: full recap of yesterday's episode, tomorrow's spoilers, and what other fans are saying.

Marlena Closes the Book on Stefano — For Now

Marlena is home from the will reading and wants nothing to do with Stefano DiMera's legacy. Marlena fills Belle in on what she missed — Stefano left her and John the chess set, with just a pawn and a queen sitting on top, which she did not take. "I don't want anything from that man in my house," she tells Belle. "He's gone. He's dead now. Stefano can't hurt us anymore." They say it multiple times, almost like they're convincing themselves. Belle wonders if there's a message hidden in the chess pieces, but Marlena shuts it down. She left the set at the DiMera mansion and has no intention of going back for it.

Belle's Conflict of Interest

The conversation shifts to Shawn. He's getting discharged tomorrow and moving in with Jada to recover — not with Belle. She says she understands, that helping him with intimate tasks while they're separated would be awkward for both of them. Then she pivots to work: Amy Choi wants Holly charged with cyberbullying over the posts she wrote about Sophia. Belle is torn — she knows Holly suffered at Sophia's hands, and Tate is family. Marlena channels John: "Always do the right thing. And sometimes it won't be easy, but if it doesn't feel easy, that means it's the right thing." Belle decides to recuse herself and hand the case to an ADA, remembering the fallout from the Judge Dabney mess and the dressing-down she got from Paulina.

Holly Spirals - Again

Holly shows up at the pub to meet Tate, and she's falling apart. She's convinced she failed her chemistry final — she couldn't concentrate, couldn't stop thinking about Sophia, and didn't even finish the last half of the test. Tate tries to reassure her, but every attempt lands wrong. "You're overreacting." "It's just a chem final." Holly fires back that he doesn't understand because he's dropping out of school — none of this matters to him the way it matters to her. Then she goes quiet: "It's not like my life is over. Not like Sophia's."

Later, Sarah takes Holly to dinner. She tells Holly that Amy Choi called Maggie, that they've seen the posts, and that Mrs. Choi wants cyberbullying charges. Holly is stunned — "All I did was put up a few posts." Sarah is gentle but direct: words are weapons, and whatever goes on the internet stays there. Holly doesn't want to hear it. "The way you're talking to me right now, like I'm a bad person that deserves to be punished." Sarah hugs her and tells her she loves her and has her back, but part of supporting someone is telling them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Holly leaves anyway.

Meanwhile, Brady checks in with Tate after his own visit with Rachel. He didn't tell Rachel about Sophia — the therapist advised waiting until they know exactly what happened. Brady gently pushes Tate toward counseling. Tate says Salem U is making counselors available and he'll look into it. Brady warns him not to confront Amy Choi, and not to withdraw.

Gabi and Philip's Power Play

At the Kiriakis mansion, Gabi is worried the DiMeras will bury her inheritance claim. They're demanding forensic proof that Stefan didn't sign the divorce papers, and she doesn't have it. Philip does. He dug through old papers and found samples of Vivian Alamain's handwriting — the key to proving Vivian forged Stefan's signature. Gabi is grateful, and she offers Philip a chunk of the money if she inherits. Philip refuses. "You don't owe me a cent." What follows is one of their warmest scenes — Gabi listing everything Philip has done for her, Philip insisting the love and the occasional breakfast in bed are enough. Gabi reminds him that she's apparently a limited-edition catch. Philip reminds her she's stuck with him. She seems fine with that arrangement.

Ari and Liam Finally Kiss

Ari walks into Bookshop and tells Liam she's done with the "stay away from me" routine. She ticks off everything she knows — the plea deal, the reading tutor, the five-year-old son, the Vivian Alamain connection, the FBI questioning. "Is there anything else I should know about you before I decide if you're good for me?" Liam tries again to push her away, pointing out her family wouldn't approve. Ari isn't having it. "My mom's a felon. If she has a problem with you because of your police record, she's a huge hypocrite." Liam brings up his son — Gage gets a say in who he's with. Ari counters that they haven't even really kissed yet. ("If that technically counts as a kiss, then I've made out with half my family.") They agree it's time to verify. They kiss.

My Take

Ari Horton kissed Liam in Bookshop today, and it was the simplest scene in an episode full of complicated people doing complicated things. But there's nothing simple about Ari Horton. She may be the most interconnected character on Days of Our Lives — a walking intersection of four of Salem's biggest families, raised across three households, and now falling for someone who has absolutely no ties to any of them.

Let’s start with her parents. Ari's mother is Gabi Hernandez, Rafe's sister, a woman who has been a fashion mogul, a convicted murderer, a DiMera wife, and — as of this week — possibly the rightful heir to a chunk of the DiMera fortune. Her father is Will Horton, the son of Sami Brady and Lucas Horton, which means Ari is a Horton on her father's side and a Brady through her grandmother. Sami's parents are Marlena Evans and Roman Brady. That makes Marlena Ari's great-grandmother.

Then there's Ari's stepfather, Sonny Kiriakis — the man who helped raise her alongside Will and Gabi in one of daytime's first prominent three-parent families. Through Sonny, Ari is connected to the Kiriakis empire: Victor, Justin, and the sprawling Greek dynasty that has shaped Salem's power structure for decades.

The point isn't just that Ari has a big family. The point is that she exists at the intersection of families that have been at war with each other for generations. The Hortons and the DiMeras. The Bradys and the Kiriakises. The Hernandezes caught in between. She carries all of those histories, and she's old enough now to start making her own choices.

Which is what makes Liam so interesting. He has no Salem pedigree. No legacy family. No last name that opens doors. He's a single dad with a criminal record, a plea deal, and a five-year-old son named Gage. He works in a bookshop and is learning to read with a tutor. In a town where your last name determines your storyline, Liam is a blank page.

Ari sees that as a feature, not a bug. When Liam tried to warn her off today, Ari's response was perfect: "My mom's a felon." It cuts through Salem's class pretensions in a single sentence. Gabi has done time. Will killed someone in a car accident. The idea that any of them would judge Liam for his record is, as Ari put it, hypocritical.

But Gabi will judge him — she already has, confronting Ari about Liam just last week. Gabi's protectiveness isn't irrational. She spent years watching the people she loved get pulled into danger, and she spent time away from Ari because of her own choices. She doesn't want her daughter repeating the pattern.

Today Ari made her judgment about Liam. She kissed him. Not because she doesn't know about his past, but because she does. In a town where everyone is somebody's cousin, ex, or nemesis, Ari chose someone who is simply himself. Whether that lasts is another question — Liam's past with Vivian Alamain suggests his blank page may have some fine print. But for now, Salem's most connected kid is writing her own story. And she started it with a kiss in a bookshop.

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Who are Ari Horton's godparents?

Steve Pays Alex a Visit

Steve Johnson shows up at Alex Kiriakis's place with questions that only a seasoned ISA detective — and a worried father-in-law — would ask. What's the deal with Joy Wesley? Where does she stand? And what does Alex really intend now that baby Kelsey is on the scene? Steve is reading the Joy situation as a potential threat to Stephanie, and he's not wrong to worry. As CDL's Wednesday spoiler and Daytime Soap Stop's weekly preview both flag, this is the first sign the show is widening the Joy/Alex/Kelsey triangle beyond Stephanie's point of view.

EJ Outmaneuvers Gwen

EJ DiMera works a sly play against Gwen Rizczech — true to form for a man currently juggling Lexie's return, the will reading, his Cat hypnotherapy plans, and Kristen circling. CDL and Michael Fairman TV's preview both tease the move, though details are thin.

Marlena Reaches Out to Paulina

With the cover-up about Lexie's revival now in the open, the fallout is starting to chip at the Abe/Paulina marriage. Marlena offers support, per SheKnows' weekly spoilers and CDL. Given today's Marlena scene — channeling John's "always do the right thing" — she seems to be stepping into a counselor role across multiple storylines this week.

The skeptics have entered the chat. Lexie's return was the moment fans had been waiting for — but now that she's back, the online conversation has shifted from shock to side-eye. Reddit's r/DaysofOurLives is filled with fans betting Lexie doesn't last the year, joking about Salem's revolving-door afterlife, and one thread even proposed the town needs its own "resurrection law centre." Soap Central's Daily Rehash went further, arguing the show has gone to the resurrection well so many times that the impact is gone. Their verdict: Abe was the only character who reacted like someone had actually come back from the dead.

Everyone is watching Paulina. That final shot — Paulina in the hospital doorway, watching Abe hold Lexie's hand and say he loves her — is the image driving this week's conversation. Reddit is already divided on who Abe should be with. Jackée Harry isn't being subtle about what's coming, posting that Lexie's return is "about to shake things up for Paulina and Abe" and advising fans to "hide the kitchen utensils." James Reynolds (Abe) has been gentler, telling fans they'll "be happy with the journey."

Kristen's Pet Sematary warning is landing. Fans are loving that Kristen — Kristen! — is the only person in Salem questioning whether bringing Lexie back was a good idea. SheKnows picked up the thread with a piece called "The Salem Horror," asking whether Lexie could come back changed or darker after years in Rolf's lab. Theo's question on screen — "Will she be the same?" — has only fanned those theories.

The Sophia investigation is about to blow up. Stephen OYoung has been cast as Sophia's father Jason Choi, and fans are bracing for Kristen's murder to unravel. Theories about whether Sophia is really dead range from guilt-driven hallucinations to a full revenge return. SoapHub's "The Rinse" column is also pushing the idea that Chad's question to EJ — could Abigail come back the same way? — is more than just a throwaway line. Abigail's missing body plus Rolf's track record? Fans aren't ruling anything out.

Dan Feuerriegel broke the subreddit. A single photo of him out of EJ's signature suit was the most-upvoted post of the week (74 upvotes). The EJ recast continues to be one of the most popular moves the show has made.

A few things I'm chewing on after today.

Hit reply and tell me what you think. I’ll include a summary of all of your thoughts in the “What Fans Are Saying section.” I read all of your responses!

Abigail Deveraux and Sonny Kiriakis. Two of Salem's most beloved characters were chosen to watch over Ari — and both have had their own dramatic journeys since. Sonny went on to help raise Ari as her stepfather, while Abigail's story took a far more tragic turn.

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