Body & Soul is officially dead: Days of our Lives Two Scoops for the week of February 10, 2025

Greetings Days of Our Lives enthusiasts! Okay, my theory was wrong. I was sure that the Woman in White was a ghost, but she turned out to be the real Rachel Blake, alive and well. I’m glad they threw in a line of dialogue that explained she got her scars removed. I hate when details like that are glossed over when one simple line of dialogue could address it and put it to rest, so the show gets points for that.

So, Ava and Rafe are both kidnapped and tied to chairs. I’ve always wondered about TV shows and movies where someone is kidnapped and bound to a chair, does the kidnapper somehow give them a chance to go to the bathroom? That’s all I can think about when I see someone tied to a chair for weeks on end.

Jada came super close to finding the real Rafe when she went down into the tunnels beneath the DiMera mansion, but EJ was there and managed to spin a yarn to get rid of her. I was on the edge of my seat, hoping she’d find Rafe!

Kristen found Ava in the Blake House, but Rachel Blake talked her out of freeing Ava because if she did, little Rachel could be considered a kidnapping accomplice and would be taken away from her mother. Only in Salem

Jada and Shawn are finally starting to think something’s wrong with Rafe. They decided he might have issues because of the coma he was in recently. Meanwhile, EJ knocked out the real Rafe and dragged him in a body bag to the Blake House. At this point in the week, I was eagerly looking forward to the shenanigans that would ensue from it.

Johnny saw Bonnie who’s healing up rather nicely! She was still out of it from the medication but was happy to see Jell-O because the doctors unwired her jaw. However, Bonnie had a traumatic flashback when she saw the elevator that she fell into open up, and I’m glad they’re dealing with her trauma.

Leo hilariously worked on a story where Charlemagne was replaced with a duplicate. Hattie didn’t want to do it because she’d already impersonated Marlena before, and I thought this was a nice shout-out to the past.

Abe and Kate held a meeting with the Body & Soul cast and broke the news that they sold the show back to the network, and production was being transferred to Los Angeles. Anyone who wanted to move with it was more than welcome to. I must say, I know I’m in the minority of people who really enjoyed the soap-within-a-soap storyline. I found it fresh, creative, and unprecedented. This is how soaps are going to survive: by continuing to be creative and original, which is not easy for shows that have been on for decades.

Hattie planned on going with the show as did Seth, who let Kayla know that they’d be out of jobs if they stayed because the hospital was filing for bankruptcy. So, when one story ends…another begins! And, unfortunately, the network decided to dump Leo which is too bad because he could have worked remotely from Salem. It would have been funny to hear him go on every once and a while about a crazy story he concocted. Of course, with Leo being out of a job, that means New Doug is unemployed as well.

The next story that took a couple of episodes to pull together is The Horton Cabin. Tate got the keys to it from Maggie so that he and Holly could have a nice romantic Valentine’s Day. But of course, Sophia had stomach pains and Leo went to the hospital with her and Mrs. Choi. Meanwhile, New Doug was going to the cabin to retrieve a book for Julie that had a poem in it from Original Doug. Unsurprisingly, New Doug walked in on Holly in a neglige, and that’s how that story ended for the week. Watch, she’ll be pregnant soon.

The next story that was telegraphed this week was the whole adoption thing. The couple that were interested in adopting Tate and Sophia’s baby backed out. However, Sophia was able to convince her mother to let her continue with the adoption process. Of course, Johnny and Chanel want to have a baby, but Chanel learned she has to wait several months more before trying because her HGC levels are high and might indicate a tumor that was created from her prior pregnancy, which was referred to as a molar pregnancy. The week ended with the two couples bumping into each other. Tate and Sophia explained what happened, and Johnny remarked that they may have found another couple. Saw that one coming a mile away.

Meanwhile, at the Blake House, EJ almost freed Ava, but Rachel Blake convinced him not to, considering he’d stowed Rafe in another part of the house. Poor Ava. I certainly hope she has a strong bladder. This house is becoming kidnap victim central.

Philip almost needed to change his underwear when Xander popped into the room and knocked a drink out of his hand. Xander yelled that Philip hired a P.I. to dig up dirt on him. However, it turned out Philip hired the investigator to look into DiMera Enterprises. So, the brothers went back to playing nice again, and it was interesting to watch Xander try to restrain himself.

Jada found Arnold (aka ‘Rafe’) in the police commissioner’s office, relaxing and smoking a cigar. She confronted him, and when he tried to kiss her, she slapped him in the face. Good for her! Does Arnold even know the first thing about being a police officer, let alone commissioner? Primates have better manners than he does.

On Valentine’s Day, Julie had a flashback to when Doug used to have his club called Doug’s Place. New Doug brought her flowers, and she remarked that roses were Original Doug’s favorite. It’s nice to see these two bond, and hopefully, he can rectify things with the necklace before it’s too late.

But the best plot point of the week was Mrs. Choi finally coming around and agreeing to let Holly and Tate give the baby up for adoption. She did years of character growth in one month, so that’s impressive.

LOOSE ENDS

Seth told Kayla that the reason the hospital was near financial collapse was because Body & Soul was leaving, along with their funding. So, how did the hospital get so bad that they had to rely on the budget of a soap opera to sustain it? How did it function before the production came to town?

How does Jada not realize that smoking a cigar is out of character for Rafe? His demeanor, mannerisms, and even speech patterns are completely different, and she should have caught on by now. But perhaps his keeping her at arm’s length has prevented her from fully seeing some of these telling idiosyncrasies.

EXTRA SCOOPS

HOT

Alex and Stephanie are continuing to climb the Hot List charts. It’s kind of sad to see Joy being left out in the cold, but perhaps she’ll want revenge and will try to break the two up.

NOT

It looks like Tate and Holly’s time together might be coming to an end.

LINE(S) OF THE WEEK

EJ lied to Jada about why he supposedly hired Rafe, stating, “Jada, I’m going to level with you here. I asked Rafe to investigate because I was suspicious of the Keystone Cops’ astoundingly improved confidence after you were put in charge.” In the 1920s, there was a series of short comedy films about the hilariously incompetent police force called the Keystone Cops.

Seth talked about Salem and stated, “The psycho per capita rate is one of the highest in the nation.”

When everyone from Body & Soul was gathered for the meeting, Leo expressed his dismay that they all thought he wrote the terrible script that was poisoned, saying, “My stories are so much better, not to mention they’re non-toxic.”

Hattie had decided almost immediately to go with the show to California. She tried convincing Bonnie to go with her, saying, “I mean, you know, just the two of us out there in La-La-Land. You know, we’d be like…like Laverne and Shirley go to California.” In the sixth season of the classic Happy Days spinoff Laverne & Shirley, the women and some friends and family move from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Burbank. Many consider that the moment when the show jumped the shark.

Leo was telling New Doug that even though he lost his job, he still had free room and board at Julie’s, to which Doug replied, “Yeah.” Then Leo remarked, “As young as you are, that was the ‘yeah’ of the middle-aged man who just lost his son’s college tuition at a craps table.”

Leo paid New Doug who was worried that the writer couldn’t afford it, now that he’s unemployed. Leo told him to consider it a severance pay, adding, “Besides, I’m gonna need a tax write-off now that I no longer have any income.” New Doug asked, “Is that how tax write-offs work?” and Leo replied, “I don’t have the slightest idea.”

Seth and Leo had a nice parting conversation, and Seth sincerely complimented Leo’s writing and told him he should be ready to accept his Daytime Emmy. You could tell Leo had another moment of thought, after which he said to himself, “Maybe I don’t suck.“ That right there is a good example of how he’s growing as a character and building his self-esteem.

Rachel Blake told EJ, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” I always thought this was a quote from a Sherlock Holmes novel, but it turns out it’s a popular misquote of Mark Twain. Several newspapers kept reporting his death, and his response was, “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” and through the years, the phrase evolved into the one we’re all familiar with.

Fake Rafe yelled at some cops who witnessed Jada slapping him: “What are you gawking at? Get back to work, you Mooks!” Not even one cop noticed Rafe’s use of different lingo.

Shawn told Jada that Belle and EJ slept together, and Jada hilariously responded, “Again!?!”

New Doug called Leo ‘Mr. Stark,’ and I wondered how long it would take the writers to finally make this reference: Leo said, “Mr. Stark. Do I look like a Marvel character? Which I’m glad I’m not because I would be schvitzing up a storm if I was wearing that clunky metal getup. So, do me a favor. Call me Leo.”

Julie stated, “Not all the days of our lives bring us red roses.” Very meta.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Hattie ordering Leo around while he was trying to write, made them seem like an old married couple.

Abe and Kate weren’t happy that they had to pull the plug on B&S although Kate admitted she was more in it for the money while Abe was in it for the creativity. I hope these two collaborate on a different project in the future. They work well together.

Last time I wondered why Mr. X, aka Whitley, had head shots of everybody that all conveniently seemed like the same photographer made them. But when Leo was looking at one of Alex, I facepalmed because I realized, duh, the show would have had their own cast photos made with varying shots.

Rachel Boyd took over the part of Sophia, and it seemed like a seamless transition. She did a good job and after her first few scenes, she became the character for me.

I thought it was hilarious that Leo didn’t want New Doug to tell anyone he had been magnanimous because he wanted to uphold his reputation as a cheap curmudgeon.

I found it interesting when Philip told Xander that most of the DiMeras can’t stand each other, but they’ve all been through the wringer, which Xander called, “Trauma bonding.” Philip then explained that they’ll double-cross one another but they won’t break ranks and will remain loyal. I thought that was a nice breakdown of the DiMera family.

Xander listed off the DiMera shareholders: Tony, Chad, Stefan, Johnny, Sydney, Theo, and Stephen Hawk. It was cool to see them all mentioned, especially since many haven’t been on the canvas for a while. Does this mean some of them might return soon?

Sarah told Philip she would continue keeping his secret. It’s an interesting use of the classic soap opera secret because it’s helping the brothers remain somewhat amicable. You know when it finally comes out - because they can’t stop talking about it out loud! - the kid gloves will be off, and Xander will crush Philip like a grape on the freeway.

PARTING THOUGHTS

I’m sad to see Body & Soul officially taken off life support. I’m curious if Joy, who probably feels bad about the way things turned out, might become a schemer and start plotting against Alex and Stephanie. She could be a villain in the making!

OUTRO

That’s it for this week, DOOL-ers! Join me again next time!

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