Risin' up to the challenge of our rival

Several Salemites shined as heroes as the Trio of Terror, well, the Twosome of Terror's last games were played. But Xander isn't dead-dead, and Orpheus may not be as dead as he seems! Does Salem still have something to stress about? Don't worry about it in this week's DAYS Two Scoops!

Good news, Salemites! The town is safe again. The Trio of Terror is down. People can walk freely across town square, through the park, or across the always-foggy pier. Wait. They never stopped doing that, did they? Silly me.

So, Clyde is back in the clink. Orpheus is soap-dead. And Xander is "dead," too, and by "dead," I meant he was sent away to a Kiriakis compound in Greece on Deimos' dime. Let's start with that...

While I do think propositioning Xander to work for him then lying to the police, the he family he so wants to protect, and his alleged soul mate makes Deimos a bit shady...err...shadier, I'm kind of okay with that for selfish reasons. I like Xander, and Paul Telfer played him to petrifying perfection. Paul managed to give Xander layers, which works better for "bad guys" rather than one-dimensional mustache twirlers. Plus, I'm kind of bummed that Xander didn't have a final showdown with Theresa, and maybe we still have a shot at getting that...maybe...but more on that later.

As for Orpheus, he's, um, dead? He swallowed a boatload of pills, or as Jennifer would have put it a few months ago, "It's Saturday night, whew!" But I digress. If the sedatives didn't get him, I'm sure the diseases Marlena passed on from her bloody hands after treating J.J. and then him without wearing gloves will eventually take care of him. What is this, Mar Mar, a Civil War medicine tent? You didn't have gloves in that bag? Again, I digress...

I'm not sold that Orpheus is dead. At all. Even when we see a character die on-screen, that doesn't mean the end of them. The Big O pounding some sedatives and passing out on the floor was kind of an anticlimactic end, so that's why I don't think it is. And I'm okay with that, too. Having some bad guys roaming around out there isn't such a bad thing, especially when they make our DAYS heroes rise to the challenge, and I loved every minute of the action and adventure.

John did what John does and proved why he's still "the man." Steve wasn't a slouch and proved to be the best sidekick ever. Marlena mended the wounded, though I'm still not sure why she trusted Orpheus or didn't push the table over on him when he held her at gunpoint, but nevertheless, Mar Mar shined. A feisty Kayla told the hell out of Seth Barnes, and I couldn't have been prouder. And Hope, with Eduardo's help, defused a freaking bomb strapped to Jennifer. Those were definitely moments that make me believe DAYS is getting its groove back. Let's hope it stays that way because a lot of last week was solid. More, please!

LOOSE ENDS: Welcome back, Derrick! Congrats on your new job at the hospital. I know that you have a lot of potential to become an interesting character, but we're going to use you as a speed hump to slow down the glacial pace of Sonny and Paul's storyline. As Roman would say, "Good luck with that."

Speaking of boring love stories, all is not right between Deimos and Nicole. I know, I know. There, there, everyone.

Yes, Nicole kept things from Deimos. If you follow that "two wrongs don't make a right" logic, that bad is on her. But -- BUT -- it was totally laughable when he was lecturing on trust when moments before, he was giving Xander -- the man she's terrified of -- safe passage to Greece and a baggie of Cheerios in case he needs a snack...where Xandude will be working for Deimos! Really, Dirty D? But, yes, you're right, "truth and trust matters." Ugh.

If it's any consolation, Deimos, I'm disappointed in Nicole, too. Not for keeping things from Deimos but for putting misters before sisters and even buying that chump's magical elixir in the first place. What's her excuse to Chloe going to be? I tried to call a few times, but you didn't pick up? Yep, she did try to call, but a bestie might want to touch base with another before divulging life-changing information. Though it was a bad friend move that Chloe didn't deserve, I'm not too worried about her. Chloe has Craig and Nancy in her corner and all Deimos has is an overinflated sense of entitlement and warped logic. I'll place my money on the Wesleys.

In other returns, of a sort, Anne is back! She sauntered into the DiMera mansion after breaking down nearby on her way from the airport. Sure, the reason for her to be there was rather contrived, but Meredith Scott Lynn and Bryan Dattilo were hilarious together, so all is forgiven. From Anne's constant lust to get into the DiMera dry bar to their banter, I was a fan. I mean, Lucas basically greeted her by saying, "You're the bitch who made my sister's life a living hell," to which she replied, "Wow. Jenny from the Square." The line delivery couldn't have been better. I don't necessarily need to see them couple up, but future funny interactions would be greatly appreciated. Maybe Lucas needs an assistant, since those spreadsheets seem ultra-important as he was working on them while the town exploded.

Because of Billy Flynn and Camila Banus' charming natural ease with one another, I enjoy Chad and Gabi's friendship. Aside from knowing each other most of their lives, they do have a lot to bond over as adults. But for now, I hope they stay friends with a little "f" because I'm not that eager for a J.J./Gabi/Chad/soon-to-be-not-so-dead Abs love quad. Sure, the Aiden/Hope/Rafe triangle is setting the bar low, so maybe a quad would work. Maybe.

While on topic, J.J., when he was out being all heroic, went and got himself shot by Orpheus. It was a bonding moment for him and Gabi, you know, until that coma took him down. But the good news is he's slowly coming to. The bad news, he muttered some cryptic apology Jennifer overheard. He kept apologizing to Gabi, it seemed. I'm no Caroline, but I suspect he did something a little shady while he was off looking for Abigail, and that might be the straw that breaks the "J.Jabi" back, sending her for comfort in Chad's arms. Hmm...

Let's start a slow clap for the Bradster. Was picnicking where The Tot was Tatternapped really, really the perfect spot, Brady Black? I mean, really? Just wondering. Anyways...

Theresa up and told Brady that she lied about Xander attempting to rape her. His response was pretty much, "That's okay. He was going to jail anyways. You were different back then. Let's eat!" And then they had a hearty belly laugh. Theresa has changed. I think I heard that somewhere before a time or two thousand, but that was all, Brady? That's it? Okay, sure. And since Brady is high on life right now and in in a forgiving mood, it wasn't Henderson who dented your car, it was me. Sorry. I've changed, though, so all's forgiven, right, Brady B?

Okay. So. I'm scratching my head a little bit. One of Theresa's greatest enemies is Xander. He and Theresa had a few scenes together when he initially escaped, but that's about it. She's been terrified of him to the extent of sleep loss, nightmares, etc. His blood was literally boiling with revenge. Gotcha. So why is a not-so-dead Xander headed to Greece and there's a new baddie stalking Theresa? A baddie who also knows Blanca. Who? Blanca, you know, Adrianna's friend. No, not Arianna, Adrianna -- Rafe, Dario, and Gabi's mother. Right. This is already convoluted. Since the new writers have been on an upswing, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but I'm already a little worried that Theresa's imminent endgame might not be a homerun.

HOT

Hope and Jennifer's 'cuz love is the best! It's one of those foundations of DAYS that warms the hearts of longtime viewers. Within a short catch-up, they both opened up as besties would and brought out the best in each other's characters. And then Hope defused a bomb strapped to Jenny Bear. If that isn't worth matching bestie bracelets, I don't know what is.

NOT Whad da' hell? This entire "Trio of Terror" storyline has certainly had many highlights, but I still can't get behind Roman not having an integral part of it. I mean, sure, he did get to walk around the pier the other day and chat with the folks at the Kiriakis Mansion. And, right, Orpheus did give him a shout-out when he mentioned that he wished Roman had exploded at the Brady Pub. There's that. LINE OF THE WEEK: Anne (to Lucas): "Jenny."

EXCHANGE(S) OF THE WEEK: Rafe: "Do you remember what happened the last time we tried to defuse it?" Hope: "I know. It didn't end well." Rafe: "Hope, I am not the one to call when you need to defuse a bomb."

Anne: "There's a lot of crazies out there." Lucas: "There's a lot of crazies in here."

RANDOM THOUGHTS If there really is a Soap God, Kathleen Noone will be cast as Anne's mother. Yes and please!

I wanted to see if Steve was running around Salem in bare feet because that kiss Kayla planted on him surely knocked his socks off. Go get him, girl! #stayla

Was it just me, or was there something fishy about the cop Steve bumped into? I think that might come back into play.

I love that Victor loves Maggie so much, and I enjoy a nod to DAYS history as much as the next fan, but I kind of want those red shoes to be kept a Mickey and Maggie thing. In any event, I'm just glad Maggie's back on her feet. Now, can she please start making lemon bars again!?

I'm with Sonny. I think a four-year-old nun sounds hilarious.

Can I just say how much I love seeing the piers again!

Justin dashed through an exploding town and broke into a hospital that was on lockdown just to see if Adrienne was okay. As if those dimples weren't already enough, Mr. Kiriakis. You win.

If Gabi didn't already have my heart these days, she won it by replying to Chad, when asked about her brother, "Oh, I don't care what Dario has to say." Yeah, I've been a member of that club for a while, Gabs. Welcome aboard!

I think stowing Ari Grace with Blanca was a genius idea. No one remembers she's around.

Not only can Chad still tell the best stories ever, he's right -- chess does not compete with Candyland. I once tried to lobby for the chessboards at Washington Square Park to be swapped with Candyland ones, but the results were disastrous. Boo.

There were several bombs a few feet below your feet, and you couldn't sense anything? C'mon, Caroline.

PARTING THOUGHTS So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of October 24. As Laurisa will be busy next week, stirring up some spooky fun for our annual Halloween column, I'll be back to see what's hot and not in Salem. And, "That's a fact!"

As always, thanks for reading! Tony

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