Credit: Peacock screenshot (3)

February Sweeps has wrapped up on Days of Our Lives and, I have to say, it’s mostly been a string of successes for me! Stories have really shifted gear and the surprises and mysteries have gotten folks more invested, I feel, than they’ve been in ages. Not everything’s working, but I’ll be darned if I haven’t been enjoying watching! 

End Game?

Well, the cat’s out of the Salem PD bag! Officer Goldman’s got nothing to lose at this point now that Harris knows she’s the mole. Plus, she’s going to run straight to Clyde to let him know Stefan didn’t get the job done. But how is he going to tell Rafe that without telling him about Stefan? If he wants Stefan to work for him, he kind of has to keep mum about the whole attempted murder thing, no?

It’s not up to Harris whether or not to arrest and charge Stefan. This isn’t a matter of “pressing charges.” The only way for Stefan to keep running around is for Harris to keep his mouth shut that he was the one who tried to kill him. Twice.

Granted, in Salem, the rules don’t typically apply, but it seems like Stefan’s caught between a rock and a hard place. The maddening thing is there was no reason for him to be since he should have had so many other options than try to murder Harris! It really feels like it’s all been to maneuver him into a no-win scenario: Go to jail or have someone take him out on behalf of Clyde before he can squeal. Which leads me to my next thought. We thought we’ve been waiting for Gabi to come back all this time… but what if, instead, we’ve been waiting for Stefan’s exit?

He’s turning to EJ for help (again) next week according to spoilers, but this would be the perfect opportunity to get him out of the way, then for EJ to return to DiMera.

Heart to Heart

Now that we’re away from Paulina coughing up a storm and clutching her throat all the time, we’re getting into the good emotional beats — and it’s reuniting the family! Welcome back, Lani and Eli. If only they’re sticking around. I don’t know how long this stint is, but I doubt that they’re back for good, especially after that “Well, Eli’s could have an amazing job in DC” line. Still, what Lamon Archey shared made it clear this isn’t just some superficial visit.

So, who’s going to donate their heart? My money was on Harris, but unless Clyde finds another way to take him out, I feel like I may have to abandon Death Watch 2024 for him. Officer Goldman if she doesn’t survive this? She’s gotta have a strong heart. Or how about Stefan? Let’s just keep passing Jake’s heart around.

To Tell the Truth

I love that Theresa finally told Tate how horrible she’s been to Brady (Eric Martsolf had some great things to say about the story and working with Jamie Martin Mann), but am I the only one who thought he should stay mad at both of them for a bit? Fair or not, I think Brady and Theresa could have done with a little more time to reflect on their parenting. But I guess he’s still scared and alone and needs his parents, so I can’t blame him.  Plus, the juxtaposition between their happy reunion and EJ about to go nuclear on him was nice.

As for that… I was a whole lot more sympathetic to Holly before she woke up. I’m pretty sure she knows exactly what happened and who’s responsible and she’s just trying to save her own skin. I get it, she’s a teenager. But, come on! Tate’s about to be on the receiving end of an out of control DA’s vendetta. There’s no way EJ can get any evidence that Tate drugged Holly, but EJ’s going to be EJ and try to destroy him anyway.

Maybe once she hears this, Holly will realize saving him is more important than her own skin… but we’ll see. Then again, if this either goes too far and blows up in EJ’s face, costing him his job, or the ties to Holly’s OD go back to Stefan, it’ll give EJ even more reason to get rid of his brother so he can go back to DiMera.

Hit and Miss

Everett’s been a hit for me, which is kind of impressive since he’s a new character. But they tied him into Jada and Stephanie, giving them both some great stories as we all try to figure out what the hell’s going on. This week slowed down a bit, but they couldn’t keep up the breakneck speed of what was coming out last week, so I get it. But should Jada really interrogated him and Chad? That doesn’t feel super professional, seeing as how she’s going into it determined to nail him to the wall.

More: Deidre Hall warns of a ‘slippery slope’ with The Pawn

The Pawn stuff, on the other hand, is just getting doled out so slowly, and it feels like they just keep dancing around the same thing. “You and The Pawn killed my Catharina!” “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” “Yes, you do!” “No, I don’t!” “Yes, you do!” “OK, I do!” We finally got movement on Friday’s episode with Steve admitting what happened, and it was a nice change to see him and Konstantin yelling at each other.

But, eh. It’s just too late for me to care about a villain who’s been driving us bonkers for far too long. Konstantin’s been too much of a unctuous, smarmy, annoying creep. His line Friday about being genuinely appreciative of Steve acknowledging his pain was well done and should have hit. But it didn’t, and that’s a shame. For this story to be at all worthwhile for me, I’m going to need some revelations to shift Steve and John’s relationship in some way. There’s got to be a point to it besides learning about a dead person we never met.

A Trip Around Town

I noticed the warehouse district (or wherever Tripp and Wendy are being held) shot right away, but wasn’t sure if it was a one-off. But then we got a view of the hospital and a shot of downtown Salem at John and Marlena’s condo. And while they don’t all gel (Good lord, Salem can not be as big as that city view we got), I’m thrilled that we’re getting them.

It’s making Salem feel more real and not just the same recycled sets. I can’t imagine they’re expensive to include, and it’s just a nice little bonus. Hopefully, we’ll get to see some of the mansions next! Ooh, maybe an aerial view of the park? (Watch, after seeing that one bench for ages, it’ll look like Central Park.)

Stray Thoughts…

• So, nothing about Alice’s time capsule this week, Days? I know I mentioned timing a Horton resurgence to the 60th would be great… but let’s not wait that long to open the box.

• I’m still not entirely sure what the point of Abe still being amnesiac is at this point because he doesn’t act any different from Abe with his memories.
• I appreciated all the talk of Holly needing rehab and muscles atrophying from the coma — but then they kind of shrugged that off with EJ walking her to the table with minimum trouble.
• Wendy and Tripp’s scenes this week were actually sweet, especially him calming her down after her panic attack, but they’re still not exactly given agency in this story. And that big Valentine’s Day geocaching thing they were planning was just… something to get kidnapped from?
• Well, Sloan finally got her sexy time and suddenly she liked being a mom again! Who knew that’s all it would take?