Tuesday's episode had a little bit of everything.. Leo and Gwen are back in each other's orbit, and it reminded me why I fell for these two in the first place. Also: Conner Floyd's first day as Chad, and a moment at Lexie's bedside that stopped me cold.

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EJ Kicks Gwen Out of the DiMera Mansion

Gwen comes downstairs to find her luggage stacked by the front door. EJ is already there, looking pleased with himself. He's moving Kristen in, and Gwen out. Gwen is furious — there are twenty guest rooms in that house — but EJ has his reasons, and Xander is the biggest one. He doesn't want Kristen snooping around, and he definitely doesn't want Xander hanging around with any excuse to dig up dirt on DiMera Enterprises. He also wouldn't mind skipping the sight of a "scantily clad buffoon pillaging my breakfast buffet" every morning. Gwen fires back that he can't afford to make her angry, not when he needs her money to finish whatever his secret project is. EJ pivots to charm. He's covering her stay at the Salem Inn, comped executive room service, pool access, the works. Gwen resists for about thirty seconds before taking the deal.

Theo Gets His Journal Back

Theo catches up with Gabi at the Pub, where she's holding his journal. She hands it back and he asks the question he has to ask: did she read it? She tells him no, absolutely not, she would never violate his privacy. Theo is relieved. But we saw yesterday what Gabi actually did — she opened it and read what he wrote about her. Philip shows up moments later, all charm, and Theo bolts. Philip asks Gabi what he just walked in on. She plays it off as nothing.

Chad Comes Home

NuChad is finally here! Chad arrives in the square with Thomas and Charlotte and runs straight into Cat. It's awkward. Thomas won't look at her. Chad makes him apologize, but the kid clearly isn't there yet. Cat handles it with grace, and Chad tells her they'll figure it out with time. After Cat leaves, Chad heads to the DiMera mansion to check in with EJ. He notices luggage by the door — Gwen out, Kristen in. EJ fills him in on the musical chairs and asks how Thomas reacted to seeing Cat. Chad admits it wasn't great, but says it won't be this fraught forever. EJ's not so sure.

Leo Goes Full Internet Stalker

Leo is in his hotel room, trying and failing to write a story about the sanitation department, because all he can think about is Javi and his new firefighter boyfriend. He pulls up a list of every registered firefighter in Corpus Christi — 515 of them — and starts scrolling through photos. He's rating them out loud as he goes. Then he hears noise in the hallway, opens the door, and there's Gwen with her luggage. She's his new neighbor.

Gwen and Leo: The Reunion We Needed

This is where the episode comes alive. Leo and Gwen settle into adjacent rooms at the Salem Inn, and the banter is instant and sharp. Leo tells her about Duke Archibald Fluffernutter, a cat he fed once and couldn't get rid of — "he was convinced the entire world revolved around him and demanded to be brushed every single morning like it was a royal decree." Gwen fires back that she's "handsomely solvent and comfortably flush," and Leo immediately flips the words around, trying to remember them. They drink. They toast. And then it gets real. Leo admits Javi has a new boyfriend, and Gwen says something surprising — watching Leo lose everything doesn't feel as satisfying as she thought it would. "I got everything I wanted," she says. "It doesn't mean anything if you don't have somebody you love to share it with." Leo wants to needlepoint that onto a pillow. They toast to life being empty without a true love.

Gabi Pitches Philip on a Gabby Chic–Titan Partnership

Gabi shows Philip her international expansion numbers, and they're impressive. She's not gloating — she wants to float a partnership between Gabby Chic and Titan Shipping. Philip is interested but cautious. He tells her to field other offers first so she's not leaving money on the table because of their relationship. Gabi says she's already heard other pitches, including one from Theo on behalf of DiMera before he left the company. Philip says Titan will put together a formal proposal. It's professional, but underneath it, you can feel how much these two trust each other.

Leo Pumps Gwen and Cat for Information

Leo hasn't given up on the hospital pod story. He tries to get Cat to spill — she works for EJ, after all — but Cat shares nothing. Then he turns to Gwen, who lived in the DiMera mansion for months. Gwen reminds him for the "millionth time" that she had nothing to do with the lab and couldn't see anything the night of the blackout. Leo pushes harder, reminding her she handled "that important delivery" the night of the gala. Gwen deflects and hits him where it hurts: maybe if he spent as much effort patching things up with Javi as he does on this wild goose chase, they'd still be together. Leo drops the bravado and admits Javi's new boyfriend is probably everything he's not — "brave, discreet, decisive." Then, with a flicker of hope: "Humorless. Please let him be humorless, because Javi once said if someone is funny like me, then they have his heart."

Theo Visits Lexie — and She Moves

Theo sits at his mother's bedside in the secret room beneath the DiMera mansion. He talks to her about journaling, about Gabi, about Lani and Eli moving back. He tells her about his father visiting this spot with him when he was young, talking to her grave — only now he knows she was never there. She was stuck in a pod somewhere. "I always thought you were at peace," he says. "I'm sorry for everything you've been through." Then he touches her arm, and it moves. Not a random twitch — Theo is certain it was intentional. He races to EJ, who is pouring himself a drink after Chad has just left. EJ is stunned. He says purposeful movement is the first sign. "Our brave, brilliant Lexie is finding her way back to us."

Chad Confronts EJ About the Pod

Chad didn't come home just to say hello. He's been stewing about Stephanie's kidnapping and the pod the police found in EJ's lab. He asks EJ point-blank: who was in it? Was it Abigail? EJ is wounded that Chad would even think that, but Chad lays it out — Abby's body was not in her grave, EJ has lied about resurrections before, and Chad knows his brother has had a hard time staying away from his wife. EJ denies it with everything he has. He says his feelings for Abigail are long gone and the pod was an experiment in progress, nothing more. Then he tells Chad something that lands: "Just like our father did, I love you with all my heart, Chad. You are the best of us. Always were, always will be." Chad leaves unconvinced. And minutes later, Theo comes running up from the tunnels with thennews about Lexie.

There's a moment in today's episode where Leo and Gwen are sitting in the Salem Inn, drinking in the middle of the afternoon, and Gwen says something that stops the conversation cold. She tells Leo that getting her revenge, getting her fortune, getting everything she ever wanted doesn't feel the way she thought it would. "It doesn't mean anything if you don't have somebody you love to share it with." And Leo, who never met a sincere moment he couldn't deflect with a joke, says he wants to needlepoint it onto a pillow. Then they both go quiet and raise a glass to loneliness.

I've been waiting for this scene for months.

Leo Stark and Gwen Rizchech have one of the strangest friendships in Days history. They've lied to each other, schemed with each other, betrayed each other, and somehow kept circling back. Gwen married Dimitri partly to hurt Leo. Leo fell for Dimitri knowing it would destroy Gwen. They've said unforgivable things. And yet here they are, neighbors at the Salem Inn, sharing a bottle and telling each other the truth about how empty it all feels.

What makes them work is that they're the same person from different angles. Both spent most of their lives convinced they were unlovable. Both overcompensate with bravado and sharp tongues. Both finally found somebody who actually loved them back, and both found ways to blow it up. Gwen pushed Dimitri away until he became the thing she was afraid of. Leo chose Javi, then lost him by taking too long to say so.

Greg Rikaart and Emily O'Brien have a chemistry that the show doesn't always know what to do with. When they're scheming, it's fun. When they're fighting, it's electric. But when they're honest with each other, like today, it becomes something rare on daytime. Two people who know each other's worst qualities sitting in a room and choosing not to be alone.

The show has tried to make Leo work in a lot of configurations. He was a villain. He was comic relief. He was Dimitri's love interest, then Javi's, then caught between the two. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. But Leo is always at his best when he has Gwen to bounce off of. She doesn't let him hide behind the jokes. He doesn't let her pretend she's above it all. They call each other on their nonsense in real time, and somehow that makes both of them more human.

Today felt like the start of something. Cat joined them for drinks at the end, and for a few minutes it looked like a new crew was forming. Three people who've all been through it, none of them where they expected to be, choosing to sit together anyway. I hope the show leans into this. Leo and Gwen apart are two characters searching for a storyline. Leo and Gwen together are a storyline.

Gabi's fashion brand is called Gabby Chic — spelled with a Y, not an I. Why? (Answer at the bottom of the email.)

Marlena Presses Xander

Xander has been suspicious about EJ's activities since Friday, when he overheard a phone call about security codes and the tunnels. Now Marlena is the one asking questions. She already knows about Lexie from Theo's confession last week. What's unclear is whether she's approaching Xander as a therapist or as someone who has her own reasons to want EJ's secrets out in the open. Either way, Xander is not someone who keeps information to himself when there's leverage to be gained.

Kristen and Lani Reconnect

Lani just got back to Salem yesterday, and her first catch-up is with Kristen. These two have a complicated history. Kristen was Lani's confidante during some of her darkest moments, but Kristen's recent behavior has been erratic at best. Does Lani know anything about what Kristen has been up to? And how much does Kristen know about Eli and Lani's sudden return?

Kate Doubles Down With Roman

Kate tells Roman another lie. This almost certainly ties back to the plagiarism setup. Johnny already told Roman that Kate and Xander orchestrated the Bonnie manuscript trap, and Kate denied everything, but Roman didn't look convinced. Whatever she's telling him tomorrow, she's still trying to keep that lid on. The question is how long Roman buys it, because Roman is patient but not stupid.

Johnny Steps Up for Chanel

Johnny isn't going to sit back when it comes to Chanel's health. We know from earlier spoilers that Chanel's breast lump becomes a real storyline this week, with Sarah getting involved. Johnny taking an active role suggests the lump is serious enough that it's no longer something Chanel can brush off.

Finally, Tate and Sophia Clash

Tate and Sophia have a major confrontation. These two have been on a collision course since Sophia started working with Kristen, and Tate has been quietly gathering evidence. Could this be the moment he plays his hand?

Conner Floyd's first scenes were deliberately thrown opposite Deidre Hall. In a TV Insider interview tied to today's debut, Floyd revealed the show paired him with Marlena right out of the gate to see if he could hold his own. "They threw me in there with her. I think it was kind of to see if I can hang, and she's incredible." Based on today's episode, he can hang.

Tributes for Patrick Muldoon continued through Monday. Lisa Rinna posted a throwback photo with Muldoon on her Instagram Stories. Deidre Hall, Christie Clark, and Alison Sweeney all shared memories via Soap Opera Digest. The consistent theme: Muldoon was warm on set and loyal to the Days family long after he left the role.

The Stefano will reading is coming this week. Cat is coordinating the logistics, Tony is expected back from his trip, and EJ told Chad today that Dimitri has already skipped town after passing along word to Megan. The only confirmed heirs are Stefano's children, but given this family, expect surprises. Chad asked about Megan today, and EJ noted the ISA and FBI would be at the front gate if she actually showed up.

May Sweeps preview is taking shape. Early spoilers suggest Lexie will officially wake up, bringing major consequences for Abe and Paulina. Chad may take Belle Black on a date while dealing with jealousy over Cat and EJ. And Steve may come to regret teaching Stephanie to use a gun.

May sweeps starts April 30, and Celebrity Dirty Laundry just published a rundown of what's coming. Here's what we know so far.

Kristen Sends Sophia After Johnny — but Chanel Pays the Price

Kristen's revenge against EJ goes further than anyone expected. She's reportedly using Sophia Choi as a hitwoman, with Johnny as the intended target. But Chanel is the one who ends up in the most danger, and while she survives, there are real questions about her baby. If Johnny loses the baby because of Kristen's plot, he could go to a very dark place. CDL is floating a "sinister DiMera transformation," which would be a huge turn for a character who's mostly stayed on the right side of the family line. On top of all that, Kristen risks losing Lani as a friend once the truth comes out, and EJ's reaction won't be gentle if he discovers she orchestrated the whole thing.

Stefano's Will Reading

We already know the will reading is coming this week. But CDL flags it as a major sweeps event, which means whatever's in that will is going to shake things up beyond just the inheritance. If other sources are right that Vivian Alamain may have tampered with it, the DiMera power structure could look very different by the end of May.

Chad Takes Belle on a Date

Chad is trying to honor his custody agreement with Thomas by staying out of romantic entanglements. That's not going to last. He'll reportedly take Belle Black on a date as a distraction, all while watching Cat and EJ grow closer. New actor, new love interest, new jealousy — a lot of emotional ground to cover in sweeps.

Philip Learns the Truth About Gabi

This one has been building for months. Philip will reportedly find out that Gabi helped sabotage the merger and put Titan in a bad spot. The cover-up may hurt worse than the betrayal itself. Gabi has been lying to Philip's face for a while, and Philip does not handle deception well.

Lexie Officially Wakes Up

After today's arm movement, this was a matter of when, not if. Lexie wakes up during sweeps, and the real fallout lands on Abe. He's reportedly furious that Paulina and Theo kept the secret about EJ's resurrection experiment instead of telling him. That fight could split the family for a while.

Joy's Baby Blows Up Alex and Stephanie's Marriage

Joy Wesley arrives in Salem with a baby she's been hiding — Alex's baby. Stephanie has already said motherhood may not be for her, and that apparently extends to being a stepmom. CDL suggests she may move out and push for a separation while she figures out what she wants. The open question is whether Joy will try to use the baby to pull Alex away from Stephanie entirely.

Stephanie Learns to Shoot a Gun

This one's a wildcard. Stephanie reportedly starts firearms training as a way to feel like she can protect herself. It could tie into the Kristen/Sophia danger, or it could just be Stephanie processing everything falling apart at once. Either way, Stephanie with a gun feels like a setup for something bigger.

If you enjoyed today's Dispatch, send it to a fellow fan. The more of us, the better the conversation.

The brand was originally named after Gabi's alter personality, "Gabby," during her DID (dissociative identity disorder) storyline. The name stuck even after Gabi integrated her personalities, and now it's just the name of the company.