Did Johnny Really Shoot EJ? Days of our Lives Two Scoops for the week of April 28, 2025

Greetings! The big news of the week on Days of Our Lives was EJ possibly remembering that Johnny shot him, so I’ll break the whole scenario down here. Leo has been tasked by Chad to uncover who shot EJ. He made a list of suspects with Gabi being first, followed by Rafe, Ava, Kristen, and Johnny, but he remarked that, “My money is still on Gabi.” Roman doesn’t even fall on Leo’s radar in that regard, but we know he was up to something and had taken his gun out for some reason.

Let’s try to rule out who probably didn’t do it. Rafe was the one who put the small camera in EJ’s living room, so it’s highly unlikely that he would have videotaped himself committing attempted murder. As they’ve established, the DiMeras may fight, but they protect their own when necessary. Kristen’s not going to kill her brother, especially because she knows she would definitely lose custody of Rachel if she did, and he also may know where her mother is being held.

I think Roman, Kate, and Ava are all red herrings. Ava skipped town and is now in a monastery somewhere. It’s too obvious, and she’s another one who wouldn’t outright shoot someone unless it was self-defense. I could see Kate and Roman doing it, and both have been acting suspicious. The writers might be trying to make us believe they’re red herrings only to have one of them turn out to be the shooter.

And then there’s Johnny. He was so angry after learning about what EJ did to Sami that the likelihood he’s the shooter is in the 90th percentile. EJ fell asleep with his head on Belle’s shoulder and had a dream that he took the flash drive out of the camera, Johnny showed up with the gun, EJ turned around and asked what he was doing. Then Johnny seemingly shot him.

Initially, the scene seemed like it was a memory, and when EJ snapped out of it, he told Belle he had a bad dream. So we don’t know if that was an actual memory or just what it was…a dream. Let’s not forget that around that time, or so we’re led to believe, Gabi was outside the French doors peering in, gun in hand. She certainly had means, motive, and opportunity.

But here’s how I think the scenario likely played out: Gabi was a witness to what went down. Johnny showed up just as EJ found Rafe’s camera and clandestinely pocketed the memory card. But in my version, EJ talked Johnny out of shooting him. What we saw in the supposed flashback was EJ’s mind meshing his last memory with the notion of Johnny shooting him.

Johnny then left, and someone else came in to shoot EJ. The young man ran to Roman, told him what he almost did, apologized, and gave the gun back. That’s why we saw Roman put it away and he’s been tight-lipped about things. This would mean that the shooter is still out there. Perhaps Gabi ran in afterwards and did the deed.

A possible alternate scenario is that it was indeed Johnny who shot him. Gabi witnessed it, but chose not to say anything because of her disdain for EJ. Johnny then left and went to Roman, as I described above. Except this time, he copped to the shooting, and Roman is helping him cover it up. And if he is the shooter, that would explain why he suddenly thinks he’s just as bad as his father.

Although it seems like the story is being dragged out, they’ve been setting things up nicely, getting conversations (or opinions) like this article going in fan circles. Keeping viewers guessing makes them come back for more, so the mystery should take as long as it needs to.

LOOSE ENDS

Johnny was being very selfish when he told Tate and Sophia that he and Chanel would not be adopting their baby after all. Chanel even said to Paulina at one point that Johnny was worried about becoming like his father, but his unilaterally making the decision not to adopt was actually very much like EJ. (See the Reaction of the Week for more details)

By indulging in his own self-pity, he’s affecting a lot of lives and perhaps trashed his marriage in the process. If he changes his mind, is he going to come crawling back to Chanel, Tate, Sophia, and even Amy, and beg forgiveness? Like Tate said to him (after decking him!), it isn’t like he’s changing his mind about buying something; it’s a human life they’re dealing with.

But I think this will open up a rich storyline for Tate and Sophia. First of all, she almost fainted and Sarah told her she needed to be bedridden for most of the rest of her term, and can’t even go to the prom. So you know, Tate’s going to bring the prom to her, and they’ll probably have a sweet, slow dance in her house that ends in a kiss.

Moving forward, they will start to fall for each other as they warm up to the concept of raising a child together. It might not be what each envisioned for their future, but if they get their families to help with child care, they can accomplish whatever they set their minds to.

Amy seemed to have warmed up from her ice queen ways and gave Sophia a meaningful hug. She needs to be one to lead the charge and say, “Yes, we can do this. With our families combined, there won’t be an issue with raising this child. Sure, your college plans may be altered or on hold, but together we got this.”

Elsewhere, Holly said something that I was thinking when she told New Doug that she should just tell Maggie that he needs to stay at their house. She explained that Maggie would just be very understanding about it, and that’s what I was thinking. Maggie’s always very reasonable and level-headed, so that one’s a no-brainer.

EXTRA SCOOPS

NICE

Julie and Maggie had a sweet conversation that ended with them telling each other they loved one another. These are the matriarchs who are holding their crazy families together, and it’s always nice when they catch up and support each other.

Julie’s been reeling from Original Doug’s death and New Doug’s treachery. Maggie’s being told about things, like Philip’s forged letter, after the fact, and has been having to pick up the pieces and give great advice to people like Sarah. We need more of these two together.

NAUGHTY

Surprisingly, everyone this week, EJ and Kristen included, was on their best behavior. Okay, yeah, Johnny was being selfish, making decisions for Chanel, and Tate punched Johnny in the head. But overall, everyone was pretty good. Therefore, the only person I can declare as naughty would be whoever shot EJ.

LINE(S) OF THE WEEK

Regarding EJ, Chanel said, “It’s not like I wanted him dead or anything,” and Johnny replied, “I did.”

Philip found New Doug in the house, and Doug told him the whole story of why he was staying there. Doug asked him if he was going to tell Maggie, and Philip answered, “I probably should, considering Maggie just gave me a lecture about telling the truth. But I’m moving out so it’s not like I’m gonna be running into her a lot. I won’t lie for you, but I won’t go out of my way to tell my family about their secret house guest either.” That was very nice of Philip.

Philip also told him, “No matter how hard you try to keep a secret, it always has a way of coming out.” Truer soap words were never spoken. It wouldn’t be an issue if these people would just learn to shut their traps!

Chad and Leo were sitting at the Pub talking and Chad complimented him on how many views his article had gotten. Leo responded, “Maybe your brother should get shot more often…" Then reflected for a second and added, "Too soon?” Chad answered, “Yeah, too soon.”

Leo was interrogating Gabi and kept trying to say the plural version of ‘Person of Interest.’ He would start to say it and question himself: “Persons…People? Of interest.” Both ‘persons’ and ‘people’ of interest are correct, with ‘persons’ being used in formal situations like legal documents.

During the conversation, he said, “And by the by, you did almost crash into me in the town square the other night when you were racing around like an unhinged wildebeest, if memory serves, which it must because you refused to go on record. You did say about the aforementioned Mr. DiMera, ‘That bastard deserves a one-way ticket to hell. You hate him, hate him, and he’s a bitch-ass clown who needed to pay.’ ”

Paulina went to the DiMera mansion and asked Johnny if he slept there. He said he did and slept on the couch and she said that it couldn’t have been too comfortable, and he agreed. Then she said, “You know Johnny, I think I have the perfect solution for you: Stop sulking, clean yourself up, and get your narrow behind back over to my place and make things right with your wife!” Johnny was shocked.

Leo arrived home and Gabi was sitting there and asked what he was doing there. He replied, “Amnesia much? I live here.”

As the two were parting ways, she referred to him as, “Once a thief, always a thief.” She walked away and he muttered, “Once a bitch, always a bitch.”

Sarah advised Xander to ease Philip out of Titan/DiMera. But he said he didn’t want to, “Except maybe down an elevator shaft from the top floor.” She lovingly smacked him on the head and he revised his comment stating, “Okay, maybe the second floor. I just want him to suffer. He deserves it after everything he did to me.”

Javi tried to get Gabi to calm down while she was verbally thrashing Philip in the office. She kicked him out, and Philip stated, “You’re a real people person aren’t you?”

REACTION OF THE WEEK

Chanel was talking about Johnny to Paulina and said, “What he did was controlling and cruel and exactly like EJ.” The look on the mayor’s face was priceless. I don’t think she was expecting Chanel to say that.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

So, I was pleasantly surprised when a new character appeared on the show. Kayla spoke to Dr. Jeffrey Russell, who is working on something to counteract sepsis, and hoped he could use his potential cure on a dying Bo. As soon as I saw him and heard his voice I realized it was Michael Dietz who played Joe Scanlon on General Hospital! You remember, he was part of the Eckert clan that was introduced in the early 90s and forgotten about a year or two later. Glad he’s still acting and moving in soapy circles! (BTW, he's got a hairstyle just like mine, except I'm blonde.)

Although I didn’t do last week’s Days of Our Lives Two Scoops, I’m going to quote Alex by saying, “I still can’t believe Vivian told Xander the truth.” It makes no sense except to illustrate that she’s full of schadenfreude - she enjoys seeing other people’s pain. Perhaps she’s loaded because of all her previous schemes and didn’t really need the money, but it seemed like the payout would have been substantial.

PARTING THOUGHTS

The murder mystery is moving along nicely, and having Leo on the case means he might look under a stone that no one else has. I like when he referred to Kristen and Ava as “Those two fiendish femme fatales.”

The hunt for John is not moving along much, and that needs to come back to the forefront once EJ’s shooter is revealed. Bo is dying, but considering we know Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso are returning, I’m fairly confident he’ll be cured. The story of Shawn and Steve teaming up to steal the serum from Dr. Russell is just filler until Bo finally returns. But if they do succeed, and it cures Bo, Shawn’s conscience will breathe a sigh of relief. He’s still beating himself up for shooting his old man, and needs a good pick-me-up.

OUTRO

Join me next time, DOOL-ers, when I prove Occam’s razor is not a male grooming device.

Days of Our Lives can be found on the Peacock app.