Seems like goodbye's such a hard thing to say

Who attended Stefano's funeral (and did it provide any sort of clues)? Whatever happened to Steve? Is it time for Will to let things go? Is Lexie's death being handled with dignity? Get some answers in this week's Two Scoops.

Saying goodbye was a theme for this week. We said goodbye to a body that looked like Stefano. Some people said goodbye to Lexie. (I'm still being stubborn.) And, we got the upsetting news that we may have to say goodbye to Bo. I'll tackle the backstage stuff over on my blog. For now, let's take a look at what happened on-screen.

LEXIE Lexie's death continues to be handled with such grace and dignity. The little details are even there, like showing Lexie with less make-up and looser clothes to indicate that she's getting worse. It can't be easy to make Renee Jones look anything but radiant, so good job, beauty team!

On-screen, Lexie helped E.J. plan Stefano's funeral. Not that I haven't been wrong in the past, but when she made the oh-so-right point about knowing what it's like to need forgiveness, I realized that Lexie probably did forgive her father and grew to love him despite everything he's done. It made me like Lexie even more.

JACK and JENNIFER Jack and Jen came over for a last supper with Lexie. No one spoke these exact words, but it became apparent when Jack assured Lexie that he could get her an advanced copy of his book. The irony of two journalists being at a loss for words to say to their friend was very touching.

And, just like Bope and Jarlena before them, J&J Love Factory got their assignments. They promised to make sure that Theo never forgets Lexie. It's a fitting offer, as Jack is one of the biggest kids in Salem. Something tells me that Jack and Theo had a great time killing aliens together.

SAMI, LUCAS, and WILL I love that Lucas and Sami are forming a united force behind Will. And, since Will can't seem to keep his mouth shut, he needs all the help he can get. But, I'm in complete agreement with Sami that it doesn't have to be Carrie. With Justin and E.J. both around, there's no need to pick a lawyer who makes Sami's blood boil. I love that Lucas suggested Justin. We need more Justin!

We also need a white paper or something on when it's okay for Sami to lie. Lucas told her that no one can find out that Will was the one who shot E.J. Gee, I wonder why Sami has a hard time pleasing everyone.

As for Will, I'm not entirely comfortable with the length of time Lucas allows Will to berate Sami without stepping in, but this is more on Will. Now that he has come to terms with being gay, I would think that he'd cut Sami some slack. After all, Sami had sex with a person because she was trying to convince herself not to feel what she was feeling. Weird, I can't imagine Will ever doing anything like that.

RAFE I was a little embarrassed for Rafe when he forbade E.J. from going into the mansion. I guess Rafe didn't know that Roman let Bo and Hope enter the room with Stefano's body and then proceeded to question them.

Maybe that's why Roman felt the need to hand over the case to Rafe. Boo. I was enjoying seeing Roman in action, and I think it's silly to put Rafe in charge of Stefano's investigation. Don't get me wrong; Rafe has less of a conflict than Roman. But, that's like saying that stubbing your toe is better than getting punched in the throat. Technically, yes. But both are pretty terrible.

STEFANO'S WAKE Sorry, even seeing Stefano in a casket doesn't convince me that he's dead. But the funeral did give each person a chance to have their casket confessional.

Chad was first. It's obvious that the boy needs to buy a clue when it comes to his disbelief that someone would kill Stefano. He reads the paper, right? Anyway, it's clear that Chad's tears have less to do with Stefano and more to do with Chad's life patterns of missed opportunities. Good on Casey Deidrick for bringing some depth to his character.

Next was Kate. I agreed with everything she said. Like Kate, I wonder why Stefano had to test this marriage. Sure, Kate was wrong to be unfaithful, but Stefano knew better than anyone what happens when Kate gets backed into a corner. I'm sincerely hoping that the new writers will fix this and put Kate and Stefano back together. If she's involved in the elaborate plot to help Stefano fake his own death and take down Ian, well, I would be one happy Scooper.

When Lexie's turn came, she remembered all the times she threw Stefano out of her life "for good." And, she sympathized with Stefano's need to wage war on the world to give his child something. Then, she forgave him for his part in her illness and kissed him. If she was the shooter, that would have been the moment that we all found out. Hissing a confession over a casket is pretty much soap gold. But Lexie didn't do that. So, I'm crossing her off my suspect list.

By far, Sami's chat was my favorite. She tossed her purse on top of the casket and then pondered sticking a needle in him to see if he was really dead. Ha! Good instincts, Sami!

Finally, E.J.'s talk was a little predictable. He's still upset that Stefano dumped him. The women (yup, plural) that E.J. loves hide from him. His kids go to a different house. His sister is dying. He woke up this morning with gum in his hair and tripped on a skateboard getting out of bed. And, it's all because of Stefano. Meh, I feel the same way about E.J.'s pain that I do about those people who think that they can have a tiger as a house pet. Of course it's not going to end well!

SAMI and E.J. I don't know if Sami is less selfish around E.J. or if it's that E.J. is selfish enough for the both of them. But, Sami just seems more real around him. She's not pretending to be something she's not, nor does she care about staying in line. I like that about this pair.

I also like that Sami was genuinely sad for what E.J. was going through and apologized for being insensitive. She even declared, "Your dad is the best!" around Sydney and Johnny. I don't care if she meant it or not; the fact that she did it for her kids' and E.J.'s benefit is a step in the right direction. Add in the fact that Sami is the only one who senses that there's more going on with E.J. than Stefano's death, and I'd say we're set up for a pretty good summer* in Ejami Land.

*Note, for these two, "pretty good summer" means that I don't think anyone is going to be kidnapped or shot in the head. That's some kind of progress for them!

NICOLE My gal Nicole is really starting to irritate me. She showed up at the mansion to offer her condolences to E.J. Then, she stood over Stefano's "dead" body and proclaimed that she wanted her child to grow up to be just like E.J. For a second, I got excited when I thought that Kate had overheard the whole thing. But alas, Kate just wanted to have another "I'm not a slut, you are!" accusation contest, which is always enjoyable.

I'm starting to think that Nicole is actually using her baby as an excuse not to go back to E.J., which irritates me to no end. Nicole needs to toughen up. She's kicked a guy habit for a kid before, and she needs to do it now. Unless the writers can actually commit to E.J. and Nicole, there's no way that us Nicole fans are going to root for her to end up as E.J.'s consolation prize again.

CHAD and MELANIE Once Chad found out that Will was arrested, Chad went all Inigo Montoya on Will. Weird. Will doesn't have six fingers on his right hand.

Sorry, back on track. I can make a strong case for Chad's stress level. His mom is dead. His sister is dying. His daughter is dead. (They didn't bring that up, but I thought I'd throw it in there for history's sake.) His stepdad never loved him. And now his father, who rolled out the red carpet for him immediately, is dead too. Chad feels that his one chance at a family is gone.

And when we're feeling angry, what do we do? Yup, yell at our significant others. Melanie tried her best to keep Chad from losing his best friend too. But, Chad didn't want to hear it. In fact, the only person who wanted to hear it was Gabi, who stood there taking it all in like she was supposed to be part of their intimate conversation. (She was not, by the way.)

Still, I almost overlooked Gabi's presence because Casey Deidrick and Molly Burnett were on fire. Their chemistry was remarkable. They've managed to bring a real sense of validity to a relationship that's still fairly new. Well done, kids!

GABI I swear on my favorite pair of stilettos, if Gabi dares to throw Will under the bus to get closer to Chad, I will reach through the TV and strangle her. This little harlot needs to be put in her place. I'm only upset that Andrew's target seems to be Melanie and not Gabi.

Speaking of Andrew, Gabi "I'm desperate for some attention" Hernandez might want to realize that there's a blue-eyed hunk who is tripping over himself to be in her good graces. So what if he's a little off? I mean, surely, she can empathize with someone who stages a crime to get a date.

IAN and E.J. Ian went to extend an olive branch to E.J. At least, that's what Ian claimed. Truth be told, I wouldn't have cared if Ian showed up at the DiMera mansion, selling Girl Scout Cookies, I'm just glad that these two shared a scene. Watching two well-mannered men try to be mean was quite enjoyable. And, I like that Ian is on E.J.'s radar right now, because E.J. might be the last chap left in Salem who can actually beat Ian. #TeamElvis

MAGGIE and VICTOR I know that I should feel worse more for Maggie. But, this storyline has dragged on too long with too few scenes that I find myself thinking, "Oh yeah, are they still arguing about this?"

Yet, even if the scenes were every day, it still wouldn't change the fact that Maggie didn't even know that she had any missing eggs until last fall. Perhaps if she'd spent years scouring the globe for her long-lost kid, I'd have more sympathy for her. But, she didn't. Instead she stayed in Salem and made a happy life with Mickey.

And while we're on the topic of her past life, it might be good of Maggie to stop bringing up her sobriety while chastising Victor for mistakes he made in the past and laughing at the notion that people can actually change. Kudos to Suzanne Rogers for playing those lines with empathy, because she's the only reason that I'm not totally loathing Maggie right now.

Bottom line is that if my Magic scenes are limited to one every three weeks, I do not wish that scene to be filled with hissy fits and tears. I can supply enough of those on my own, thanks. You should see the production I put on when it's time to clean my house.

KAYLA We got some shocking news on the Johnson front. Of course, it had to be addressed eventually. I'm just shocked it took someone this ever-loving long to mention Stephanie.

Kidding! I'm talking about Steve's absence. Sure, Kayla's first reason was pretty weak sauce. I'm just so sure that Steve started craving adventure and joined the ISA because his "mundane" life of transporting something as valuable as medicine all over a third world country was a total snooze fest.

But eventually we got a reason that made sense. Kayla said that they've both changed in the fifteen years that they were apart. He's just not the man that she wants to be with now. I'll totally buy that. Kayla switched careers and cites, and raised a daughter in that timeframe. All those are big-time life events that probably would alter a person.

My only complaint is, why the need for the ugly breakup? There's no reason that Steve and Kayla couldn't have split civilly and still have friendly calls. You know, and leave it open for Steve to come back if he ever wanted. We all know that Stephen Nichols is otherwise busy right now, so why not at least let the character have a little dignity?

ABE The show is hinting at an Abe/Kayla pairing in the future. While I wish that they'd wait until after Lexie's actually gone to suggest a mate for Abe, I don't hate this idea at all. In fact, I really like it.

Kayla loves Lexie, so it would be very respectful of Lexie's memory. Yet, Kayla and Abe haven't been involved in too many stories together that it would feel incestuous if they got involved. Plus, both Kayla and Abe would be single parents. The blending of the families would open up great possibilities down the line for when Theo and Joey appear as teenagers.

And, if it keeps James Reynolds and Mary Beth Evans on my screen, it's okay by me!

LOOSE ENDS: E.J. had to throw his gloves away at a very specific time. He didn't want to be fashionably late! Walka-walka-walka!

Madison suggested that they postpone the wedding because she thinks that Brady may be back on drugs. I suggest that Brady start having scenes with someone else right now. Someone is going to have to comfort him when Madison accuses him of not being trustworthy, like she wasn't the one who lied to him for months.

Bo and Hope returned to Marlena for therapy because Bo couldn't figure out a way to ask Hope if she'd slept with John (again) while brainwashed. And, Hope didn't find it necessary to just come right out and tell her husband that she hadn't slept with John. This could quite possibly have been the easiest money Marlena ever made.

In the same room where Stefano was shot, E.J. gave Lexie a box with DiMera family photos. Lexie encouraged him to forget all that biology nonsense. E.J. restated Stefano's position, but Lexie still didn't care. I agree with Lexie. I'm glad that E.J. broke into the mansion to steal those ridiculous papers that say he's not Stefano's son. I hope we never hear from those papers again.

Will and E.J. had some back and forth about who is going to blackmail whom with what. Quite honestly, I don't care as long as these two keep sharing scenes and develop more of the cool Jedi/Padwan relationship.

HOT: In one of the most touching scenes I can remember, Lexie and Abe told Theo that Stefano was gone. Then, with an innocence only allotted to children, Theo deduced that his nonno just left early to get things ready for Lexie. And, he was glad that neither of them would be alone. Oh, goodness! The tears!

NOT: Considering the level of forgiveness that Roman has allotted these two jackasses over the years, John and Marlena's arrogant behavior and personal attack on Roman (when he was just doing his job!) were completely uncalled for. Roman was absolutely right that they need to get over themselves. I loved that he fired back at them that it's hard for him to do his job when people he love keep lying to his face! Right on, Roman!

LINE OF THE WEEK: Victor: "We both took some measure of pride in the fact that we were ruthless, callous, pitiless." Maggie: "This is a good argument, Victor. Now I really do want to come back to you."

I repeat, with banter like this, why are these two on so infrequently?

RANDOM THOUGHTS: I like that Sami insisted on making Will a sandwich. Such a mom thing to do!

Bo clearly wasn't ready for that picture that's on the suspect board. Some joker probably took it on three instead of waiting for one, two, three, and then clicking.

I wonder if Mel is giving Gabi some leeway out of respect for Arianna.

I love how Lexie said that Stefano went to "a place where he can be happy and safe" rather than "heaven."

I forgot that Kayla and Jennifer were in-laws.

I wonder if Lucas and Officer Kent could be a couple. They have a lot in common. They both stand in the background while other people have scenes around them. Between you and me, I'm waiting for the day when Kent shows up at the pub in street clothes for a beer after work and is a total knockout.

And that's it for now, DAYS fans. I'm off for a couple of weeks. Tony's been gracious enough to cover for me while I go investigate just what type of meeting is taking Justin so dang long!

Some parting questions: How awkward do you think it was for Sami, Rafe, Lucas, and E.J. to be in the same room? Did Marlena purposely avoid telling Will that she was at the mansion and her fingerprints were on the gun too? In a town where one doctor can be an obstetrician/oncologist/surgeon, should we be splitting hairs over a corporate vs. criminal attorney? And, who else would watch a show where E.J., Cameron, and Chad all try to help Abe raise Theo?

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