Friday is here and it's a big one. The will reading is coming, Joy is back, and the DiMera siblings are literally throwing punches. I watched today's episode twice because the EJ and Kristen scenes were that good. Let's get into it.

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Alex Surprises Stephanie with Skydiving

Alex has a surprise for Stephanie, and he won't tell him what it is. He's taking the day off from Titan after a rough week, and she's free too. They end up at a skydiving facility, and Stephanie is thrilled. She hasn't been since her days as a race car driver, when her coach told the team to find their thrills outside the cockpit so they'd be calmer behind the wheel. She liked it so much she got her license.

They jump. When they land, Alex is buzzing. But it's Stephanie who says what matters: being up there with nothing but the sky and Alex, she felt present for the first time in a long time. The past and the future disappeared. Alex wants to go again immediately, but the skydiving place is already booked. They head home, and Stephanie leaves for the shooting range to meet Steve.

Then the doorbell rings. Alex opens it expecting that Stephanie forgot her keys. It's Joy Wesley.

EJ and Kristen Go to War

EJ is on his way to probate court. A codicil to Stefano's will was filed by some overseas law firm, and EJ is no longer sure he's the executor. Kristen isn't surprised. She's more interested in getting the access codes to the tunnels beneath the mansion. EJ brushes her off, saying the tunnels aren't safe. Kristen fires back: "You mean they're not safe if someone finds out what's going on down there?"

The conversation turns ugly. EJ tells Kristen to focus on helping Rachel instead of hunting for Bigfoot under the house. Kristen explodes. She slaps him. EJ doesn't hit back, but he doesn't back down either. He tells her that if she ever lays another hand on him, he won't turn the other cheek. "You do not want to go to war with me," EJ says. Kristen's answer: "Bring it on, little brother."

EJ returns from court with news. The codicil changes two huge things: Theo is now the executor of Stefano's estate, replacing EJ. And Marlena has been added to the list of beneficiaries.

Marlena Tries to Run Basic Black Without Kate

At the Pub, Marlena tells Brady that Kristen has barred her from visiting Rachel at Bayview. Brady is furious and promises to handle it. Then the conversation shifts to Basic Black. Marlena has been thinking about it and has decided she doesn't want to work with Kate. After hearing Johnny's accusations about the plagiarism scheme, she's not sure she can trust her. She still wants to accept the position, and Brady agrees to consult until they find a permanent replacement.

Marlena goes to Xander at Titan to tell him the news. Xander isn't having it. He tells her she doesn't know the first thing about fashion or running a business. Kate is an expert in both. John made the right call when he hired Kate to shepherd him through a world he didn't understand, and Xander says he's doing the same thing now. His ultimatum: work with Kate or don't do it at all.

Marlena pushes back, calls it an ultimatum, says she finds it disappointing and infuriating. Xander calls it simply stating his position. Marlena leaves with nothing resolved.

Brady and Sarah Take It Out on the Rage Room

Sarah shows up to meet Brady, late and fuming. She just ran into Xander picking a fight with Johnny in the square, right in front of Victoria. Then he had the nerve to tell Sarah that Victoria didn't miss her during their sleepover. Brady is just as angry. Kristen barred Marlena from seeing Rachel at Bayview, and he's ready to punch a hole through a wall.

Sarah asks: "Should we do something about it?"

They go back to the rage room, the place Brady took her last October when she was going through it with Xander. They grab bats and go to town on a bubble TV, a DVD player, and a VCR. Sarah is screaming Xander's name. Brady is yelling about Kristen. They destroy everything in sight.

Afterward, they're both laughing and lighter. Sarah says she feels twenty pounds lighter. Brady tells her that watching her swing that bat and take charge was "kind of a huge turn-on." Sarah's response: "Maybe you should take me back to your house so you can see how in charge I really can be."

Kristen Puts Sophia in Position

EJ spots Sophia reading in the square and goes after her. He tells her to get the hell out of Salem after her "disruptive sideshow" with the adoption. Sophia doesn't flinch. She fires back about what Kate put Johnny through during the murder trial. EJ escalates: "You don't need to be scared for me to ruin you."

Kristen shows up and steps between them. She tells EJ to leave Sophia alone, calls him out for intimidating an eighteen-year-old, and reminds him that Sophia had Rachel's back at Bayview when no one else did. EJ takes a parting shot about Rachel and Sophia exchanging straitjackets. Kristen tells him to stay away from Sophia or else. EJ: "Or else what? You'll release the Kraken?" He walks away warning Sophia: "This isn't over."

Alone with Sophia, Kristen's tone shifts. Sophia gets a little homesick talking about her family, how messy and annoying her brothers are and how much she's going to miss them. Kristen cuts through it: "You're not going soft on me now, are you?" Sophia agrees she needs to leave Salem and start over. Kristen's final words: "When the time comes to pull the trigger, so to speak, I will let you know. And Sophia — don't screw this up."

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Stefano DiMera kidnapped Marlena Evans, brainwashed her, held her on an island, faked her death, and tried to possess her soul. He was obsessed with her for the better part of four decades. She was his white queen. And now, from the grave, he's named her a beneficiary of his estate.

That detail landed at the end of today's episode almost as an afterthought. EJ comes back from probate court with two pieces of news: Theo has replaced him as executor, and Marlena has been added to the will through a codicil filed by an overseas law firm. Kristen is stunned. EJ seems more annoyed than surprised.

But think about what this actually means. Stefano spent decades trying to control Marlena through force. It never worked. She escaped every time. She fought him off, rebuilt her life, married John, and outlasted him. And Stefano's final move is to tie her to his family through money.

That's not generosity. That's Stefano. He understood that the things you can't take by force, you can sometimes take by gift. An inheritance creates obligation. It creates entanglement. It puts Marlena in a room with EJ, Kristen, Chad, and Tony, all of them wondering why their father left something to the woman he tormented. It forces her to decide whether to accept it or reject it, and either choice says something.

If she accepts, she's a DiMera beneficiary. She has a seat at the table she never wanted. EJ now has to share his father's estate with her. Kristen, who just barred Marlena from seeing Rachel, has to sit across from her at the reading. The family dynamics get more complicated, not less.

If she rejects it, she's turning down something Stefano specifically wanted her to have. And with Stefano, that was never safe either. His gifts always had strings. His love always had conditions. Refusing him was its own kind of provocation.

Marlena has been dreaming about Stefano for months. Last summer, she was having recurring nightmares about him. She told Kayla the dreams made her feel vulnerable. At his memorial in February, she said it felt good to finally say goodbye but wished John could have been there. She thought she was done with him.

She's not. Stefano made sure of that. He couldn't keep her in life, so he wrote her into his death. The will reading is going to put Marlena in the middle of a family that has spent decades fighting over Stefano's approval, and now she's one of them whether she likes it or not.

The man faked his own death nine times. Naming Marlena in his will might be the most Stefano thing he's ever done. He finally found the one cage she can't fight her way out of: his legacy.

Stefano once held Marlena captive on an island and convinced all of Salem she was dead. What was the name of the island? (Answer at the bottom of the email.)

Joy Drops the Baby Bomb on Alex

Today's cliffhanger lands hard on Monday. Joy Wesley (AlexAnn Hopkins) is back with a baby girl named Kelsey, and Alex is the father. Stephanie has to process the news that her new husband has a daughter he didn't know about, from a woman who left town saying she wasn't pregnant. According to CDL's weekly preview, the timing couldn't be worse. And given that Jeremy was on the phone Thursday night telling someone "I'll be there to pick you up," it looks like he may have brought Joy back to Salem deliberately to blow up Alex and Stephanie's marriage.

Kristen Gives Sophia 24 Hours

Kristen presses Sophia to move on Johnny while Chanel is away. Sophia is rattled and, based on Soap Spoiler's two-week look, likely to botch the job. The bigger worry, per Primetimer: instead of Johnny, pregnant Chanel may end up as collateral damage.

Lani May Overhear Something She Shouldn't

Lani Price-Grant (Sal Stowers) is back in Salem and already circling Kristen. CDL's preview hints she may stumble into information about the plot against Johnny.

Brady Confronts Sophia

Brady is carrying Friday's fury into Monday. Soap Dirt has him in a heated confrontation with Sophia, and more broadly defending Marlena after Kristen barred her from visiting Rachel.

May Sweeps starts Monday, and the show is stacking the deck. Here's what's coming storyline by storyline:

Alex, Stephanie, and Joy's Baby

Joy's return with baby Kelsey threatens to blow up Alex and Stephanie's marriage before the honeymoon is over. Remember Jeremy's mysterious phone call Thursday night? It looks like he brought Joy back to Salem on purpose. CDL and Soap Dirt both point to Jeremy weaponizing the reveal, and his last airdate is next Wednesday. If he's going out, he's going out swinging.

Kristen's Murder Plot Backfires

Kristen ordered Sophia to kill Johnny, but Soap Spoiler reports Sophia is too rattled to follow through. Primetimer's two-week preview tees up the bigger twist: pregnant Chanel may end up hurt instead, potentially landing in the hospital with the baby at risk. Kristen may then try to position herself as the hero.

Chanel's Mammogram Results

Chanel's breast-lump storyline continues, and both CDL and Celebrating The Soaps suggest her results may arrive this week. If the lump is malignant, she'll face an impossible choice during a high-risk pregnancy.

Lexie Wakes Up

According to Primetimer, Lexie Carver (Nikki Crawford) fully awakens this week after nearly fifteen years. Theo has been at her bedside. When Abe finds out she's alive, it changes everything about his life and his marriage to Paulina. Lani and Eli are on their way back to Salem.

Stefano's Will Is Read

The formal reading is on the calendar, and the codicil nobody saw coming is about to be opened. Theo as executor, Marlena as a beneficiary, and whatever else Stefano hid in there. CDL reports Kristen may use the will to claim legitimate control of the DiMera mansion.

AlexAnn Hopkins previewed Joy's return in a round of interviews this week. In TV Insider, Hopkins (Joy) confirmed the baby's name is Kelsey and said Joy has grown up in her year off-canvas: "She really has a sense of purpose, which is this baby." In a Soap Opera Digest piece, she described Joy as a "mama bear" who came back because Alex is the father and she wants to give her daughter a chance she never got growing up.

Michael Roark's (Jeremy) final airdate is next Wednesday, April 29. Roark joined the show in October 2025 as a Jeremy Horton recast and has been connected to Stephanie's kidnapping aftermath and his scenes with Julie. No word on whether the role will be recast. Soap Dirt floated a theory that Jeremy may stay in Salem with a new face, but nothing is confirmed. (Soap Opera Network)

Alexander Elijah Bond has taken over as young Thomas DiMera. Bond replaces Cary Christopher, who posted a touching goodbye to fans after his final taping. The recast comes as Chad returns to Salem with the kids, and Thomas is about to get a lot more screen time with the will reading and Chad's reintegration into DiMera family life. Celebrating The Soaps has the full rundown on 2026 casting changes.

Melaswen. It's "New Salem" spelled backward, because of course it is.

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