Days of our Lives recap for March 21, 2025: EJ quiets Rachel Blake

What you missed on Days of our Lives

In the town square, JJ ran into Rafe. Rafe confirmed that Gabi had gone back to work, despite the lateness of the day. “I think she’s mostly trying to take her mind off of things,” Rafe said. “It’s killing her. Knowing EJ is still a free man after what he did to you,” JJ said. JJ promised Rafe that he would make sure EJ paid for his crimes. With a grin, Rafe told JJ that he believed he and Jada had figured out how to take down EJ.

Doug III was scrolling through his phone in the Horton living room when he noticed Julie’s book of poetry. Doug thought about when he had read a section of it to Holly at the cabin and had then confessed his feelings for her. “Are you thinking about your grandfather?” Julie asked. Doug snapped out of his reverie. Doug III told Julie that he liked to read Doug’s notes in the book. Julie encouraged Doug to ask her a question he wished he could ask his grandfather.

“I guess if he were here, I’d ask him how to talk to girls,” Doug said. Julie smiled. “I think your grandfather would tell you, there’s lots of ways to tell a girl you love her without words. A look. A touch. Maybe humming a melody. And always dancing together,” Julie said. Julie noted that she and Doug Sr. used to dance together every Friday night. Julie told Doug about the last time she had gone to dinner at the Bistro with Doug Sr., and she asked Doug to take her there for dinner. When Doug noted that the Bistro was out of his price range, Julie insisted on paying for the meal.

At the penthouse, Holly knocked on Tate’s front door. “Is everything okay?” Tate asked. Holly explained that she had heard about Theresa’s release from prison. “She was. It was a total surprise,” Tate confirmed. “That must have been really great to see her. Figured I should come say hi. I know you said she’s cool with us being together, but I think the last time I saw her might have been prom,” Holly said. Tate chuckled. Holly held up a bag and said she had brought lemon bars.

“That’s really sweet, but, actually, she just left town,” Tate said. Tate explained that his grandmother’s leukemia had returned, and Theresa had gone to California to take care of her. Holly hugged Tate to comfort him. “Do you want to talk about it?” Holly asked. With a shrug, Tate noted that there was not much to say. “Why are you being so nice to me?” Tate asked. Holly was taken aback, and she reminded Tate that she loved him. Tate explained that when he had last seen Holly, she had been mad at him for what he had said about Doug.

Holly admitted that she had been mad. Tate agreed that Holly had the right to be mad at him. “I knew that I was picking a fight when I called the guy a thief,” Tate admitted. “Then why did you?” Holly asked. Tate confessed that he was bothered by the theft, but he mainly made the comment because he had been jealous. “It sounds dumb and immature and it is,” Tate said. Tate explained that he felt Holly was slipping away from him due to Sophia's pregnancy.

“I was afraid I was going to lose you to him,” Tate confessed. Holly reiterated that she was just friends with Doug. Tate said he understood but felt like Holly preferred to confide in Doug. “I get that, but it’s just because I need to vent sometimes,” Holly said. Tate encouraged Holly to vent to him, but Holly said she did not want to waste what little time they had together with complaints. “I know you have to be there for Sophia, but there’s always some type of crisis with the baby,” Holly said. Tate agreed that was a fair point, and he apologized. Tate promised that their life together would get better, and he updated Holly on the adoption situation. Tate explained that the last hurdle in the adoption was EJ.

Holly insisted that EJ could smooth things over. “I know he’s not everyone’s favorite person, and I’m not saying he’s mine either, but before he was briefly my stepdad, him and my mom, you know, they were on and off for a long time, so I think I’ve started to understand why he gets so many second and third and fourth chances from people,” Holly said. “Let’s just hope Mrs. Choi isn’t immune,” Tate said.

With a smirk, Tate reminded Holly of her crush on Johnny. “I can’t believe you put up with me back then,” Holly said. “What can I say? I was head over heels for you,” Tate said. Holly told Tate that she was thankful that things had changed and that they were together. Holly admitted that part of the reason she had visited was because she wanted to make sure that things were okay between her and Tate. Tate smiled, and he invited Holly to stay for dinner and a movie.

In the town square, Julie walked with Doug III and talked about how excited she was to go to the Bistro for dinner. “I haven’t had much appetite lately,” Julie said. “Well, I’m glad you’re finally feeling up to it,” Doug said. Julie admitted that she felt bad that everyone at home would have to eat leftovers. “Did I hear something about leftovers?” JJ said as he walked over. Julie invited JJ to join them for dinner.

At the police station, a frustrated Kristen agreed to Jada’s immunity offer for Rachel Blake. “I will have her tell you everything she knows. Happy now?” Kristen grumbled. Kristen refused to have her mother sign the agreement until a DiMera lawyer reviewed it. “It’s not a negotiation. You’re not going to get a better offer,” Jada said. Kristen clarified that she wanted to make sure that the document reflected the deal accurately as discussed.

“We both want this to be done by the book, don’t we?” Kristen asked. Jada agreed, but she reminded Kristen that if the document was not signed before the police had gathered enough evidence in the case, both EJ and Rachel would go to prison.

After Kristen left, Rafe stopped by Jada’s office to invite her out for dinner. Jada declined because she was hesitant to leave. “Kristen was just here, and I secured Rachel Blake’s testimony,” Jada said. “Sounds like our friend EJ is in big trouble,” Rafe said. Jada confessed that she had been confident that Kristen would accept the deal because Kristen was desperate to save her mother. Rafe asked Jada if Kristen was certain that Rachel would testify.

“I don’t see why she wouldn’t. Kristen just had to get over her loyalty to EJ, but now that she’s on board, I consider it a done deal,” Jada said. “So you’re just waiting for her to come back with a signature?” Rafe asked. With a nod, Jada said that Melinda needed to review the agreement before Rachel could sign it.

As Jada continued to work, Rafe smiled and noted that he was happy to see things get back to normal after Arnold had screwed up their lives. “So, you’re not just sitting here with me because, I don’t know, you missed your office?” Jada asked. Rafe said he had not forgotten how he had left the job. “This way, I get to be the scrappy private investigator who is engaged to the ruthless and yet oh-so-gorgeous police commissioner. And I could not be happier,” Rafe said. “Likewise,” Jada replied. Rafe told Jada that the only thing that could make him happier was if they could marry.

“I hate that that loser [Arnold] ruined [your wedding day],” Rafe said. “Well, the fact that you weren’t there, that day was already ruined,” Jada said. Rafe noticed that Jada’s ring was missing, and she admitted that she had thrown it at Arnold. “I think that creep still has it,” Jada said. Jada apologized for losing Rafe’s family heirloom, but he told her not to worry. “With any luck, we’ll find Feniger and the ring. And if we don’t, oh well. I’ll get you a new one. The important thing is that I’m going to make you Mrs. Rafe Hernandez,” Rafe said.

In the Bistro, Kristen met up with Melinda. “What’s so urgent?” Melinda asked. Kristen handed Melinda the immunity agreement. “Is my mother protected as Jada promised me?” Kristen asked. Melinda admitted she had been skeptical of the DA’s work, but that the agreement appeared solid. “This is a great deal for your mother and a hard break for EJ,” Melinda said. Kristen groaned. Melinda encouraged Kristen to make Rachel sign the deal.

When Julie walked into the Bistro with Doug and JJ, she saw her necklace around Melinda’s neck. “My god,” Julie exclaimed. Julie marched over and confronted Melinda about the jewelry as Doug hung back a few feet. Kristen slipped out of the restaurant as Julie continued to ask Melinda where she had obtained her diamond necklace.

“Why are you so interested in my necklace?” Melinda asked. “Because it is my grandmother’s necklace. Alice Horton’s, stolen from the Horton house the day of my husband’s memorial,” Julie said. Melinda told Julie that she was mistaken, but Julie persisted in demanding that Melinda return the necklace. Melinda refused. “The former District Attorney of Salem is a thief?” Julie said. Julie asked JJ to arrest Melinda.

“You can’t just go around arresting people for wearing a necklace that looks like your grandmother’s,” Melinda said. “It is my grandmother’s!” Julie insisted. Melinda argued that it was silly to accuse her of wearing stolen property around town. “Can you tell us who sold it to you? When did you buy it?” JJ asked. Frustrated, Melinda asked JJ if he intended to interrogate her in the middle of the restaurant. “I’m just trying to figure this out,” JJ said. Melinda explained that she had legally purchased the necklace from a jeweler.

“Julie, did you ever end up reporting the necklace stolen?” JJ asked. Julie admitted that she had not filed a report because she had thought someone in the family had taken the jewels. “But I know better now. So no, I did not file a police report,” Julie admitted. Melinda asked the group to let her finish her drink alone. JJ offered to escort Julie to the police station to file a report. “Yes. I want to do that more than anything. But first,” Julie said through gritted teeth. Julie took out her phone and took a picture of Melinda in the necklace. Julie marched out with JJ. Doug lingered behind, and Melinda stared at him.

“Look, considering you let me sit here and endure Julie’s wrath and you didn’t say a single thing, the least you can do is buy me another drink,” Melinda said. “I don’t exactly have any money,” Doug said. Melinda nodded and noted that she had forgotten that Doug was broke. “Listen, kid. Let’s just hope that Julie’s police report gets thrown in a dusty drawer and forgotten about like other reported thefts. Honestly, it doesn’t look like she has any proof,” Melinda said with a shrug. Melinda added that if the police focused on her, she would be forced to tell them that Doug was the thief.

When Rafe returned to Jada’s office after fixing two cups of coffee, she excitedly told him that Kristen had called. “Melinda read over the immunity agreement and gave her go go-ahead. Kristen’s on her way to the DiMera estate to have her sign it now,” Jada said.

In the DiMera living room, EJ realized that Kristen had negotiated an immunity deal for her mother in exchange for Rachel’s testimony against him. “If I tell the cops what I know, then they won’t send me away. It’s not [Kristen’s] fault that she’s responsible for me,” Rachel Blake said. With a deep sigh, EJ thanked Rachel for having warned him. EJ walked over to the safe and he removed the syringe.

“You won’t be testifying against anyone. You see, once I inject you with this serum, you won’t remember seeing me or Rafe at that dusty old house of yours. In fact, you won’t remember much of anything,” EJ said as he approached Rachel. With a furrowed brow, Rachel guessed that was the serum that EJ had used on Rafe to make him forget. “And now I’m not going to remember either,” Rachel stammered. EJ argued that since Rachel intended to testify to the police, he was left with no choice but to silence her. Rachel turned to run, but EJ grabbed her.

“I won’t say anything! I promise!” Rachel cried out. “Well, it can’t hurt to be sure,” EJ said as he flipped the cap off of the syringe. EJ injected Rachel with the serum. “Ordinarily, I’d have had Dr. Rolf calibrate the amount so your memory loss would be limited to Rafe’s visit to Aremid, but I’m afraid time is of the essence, so I had to give you a full dose,” EJ said. “You spineless, soulless, self-serving snake,” Rachel hissed. EJ asked Rachel if that was all she wanted him to tell Kristen.

“Who’s Kristen?” Rachel said. “That was fast,” EJ said. A dazed Rachel looked around the living room, and EJ called her by her name. “Who’s Rachel Blake? And who are you?” Rachel asked. EJ assured Rachel she was safe. When Rachel called EJ by his name, he became suspicious. “How did you know my name?” EJ asked. Rachel appeared to shake, and she denied the accusation. EJ leaned in close and he muttered, “Your pupils aren’t dilated.”

Rachel dropped the act and said, “Are they supposed to be?” With a shrug, Rachel noted it appeared that his serum had not worked. “I remember your name. In fact, I remember all kinds of things,” Rachel said. EJ’s eyes went wide as he stared at the empty syringe, bewildered. “I don’t understand. I gave you a full dose of CRS-17. You should be a blithering idiot,” EJ said. Rachel explained that she had been watching EJ.

“I saw you take the syringe out of the safe the other day. You really should be careful what you say to your father. He’s not very good at keeping secrets,” Rachel said. “You’ve been spying on me,” EJ grumbled. Rachel told EJ that when she realized that EJ wanted to erase her memories, she had gone into the safe and replaced the syringe with a placebo. With a grin, Rachel noted that she would be able to testify against EJ.

“Well, well, Mother Blake, it appears I underestimated you. But no matter. I’ll simply move on to plan B. After all, I am my father’s son. Now, how did you put it earlier? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” EJ said as he loomed over Rachel.

At the police station, Julie gave JJ details about the night the necklace was stolen. “Did anyone talk about the necklace after you left the house? Anywhere someone would have heard you?” JJ asked. Julie thought for a moment and said no. “How on earth did Melinda Trask get her hands on it?” Julie wondered aloud.

When Kristen returned home, EJ was alone in the living room and noticed Rachel’s shawl on the couch. She asked about it. EJ said he did not know where Rachel Blake had gone. “What do you mean gone?” Kristen asked. “I mean she left the house, she didn’t say where she was headed. She probably just needed a change of scenery,” EJ said. EJ assured Kristen that it was fine. Kristen sneered at EJ, “Damn you.” Kristen demanded to see her mother.

“I suggest you calm down. After all, it isn’t helpful to get hysterical is it? Especially in a crisis situation where there is really no solution at all,” EJ said. EJ walked out. Kristen pulled Rachel’s gun out of her purse. “Like hell, there is nothing I can do about it,” Kristen whispered.

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