Days of our Lives recap for Monday, March 17, 2025: EJ's dark deed catches up with him as Johnny wishes his father dead

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At the DiMera mansion, EJ apologized to Chanel for what had happened with Sophia’s mother. Just as he mentioned how upset Johnny was with him, Johnny stormed into the room and punched EJ in the face. “You son of a bitch! I know what you did!” Johnny yelled at his father. EJ recovered from the blow and assumed Johnny was angry about the Arnold situation. Johnny angrily corrected his father: it wasn’t about what Arnold had done to Sami; it’s what EJ had done to her.

Chanel tried to hold Johnny back and asked him what he had meant. Johnny said she should ask EJ, but EJ claimed he was just as “clueless” as Chanel. “Mom, Lucas, cabin,” Johnny stated, with ice in his voice. “Do you want to take it from there?” EJ could only respond by sinking into a chair. Johnny said he would fill in the blanks and approached his father.

As he stared EJ down, Johnny recounted the story Kate had told him about the fateful night at the cabin when Lucas had been hurt and Sami had gone searching for help. Sami had found only EJ and had begged and pleaded for his help. “And he agreed…if my mom would have sex with him," Johnny said. Chanel gasped, while EJ withered under his son’s glare.

EJ rose with hesitation and assured Johnny that Sami and he had “put this behind us a long time ago.” Johnny spat back that he hadn’t and never would. “While you were forcing yourself on my mother, she wasn’t saying no. But she was thinking it – screaming it – in her head,” Johnny raged. He wouldn’t let EJ interrupt him, and continued, “Maybe she dissociated, went someplace else,” as rape victims often did to “survive.”

Eye-to-eye with EJ, Johnny challenged his father and asked if he had been “into it, soaking in every second.” He wondered if EJ ever played the moment back, with a smile on his face. EJ said Kate had “no right” to tell Johnny, and Johnny retorted, “What about my mom’s right not to be sexually assaulted?” EJ believed Kate only told Johnny to cause pain, but Johnny said he had a right to know because what EJ had done affected him the most. Turning briefly to Chanel, Johnny offered, “I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.”

“After my mother agreed to have sex with this bastard in order to save Lucas’ life, she got pregnant.” Chanel’s eyes widened, and Johnny affirmed with disdain, “The only reason I exist is because my father raped my mother.”

Johnny recalled how people had looked down on Sami and called her “a slut and a whore” because her twins had different fathers. He pondered what “Grandma Susan” would think when she discovered “her precious Elvis is a rapist.” EJ recoiled at his irate son’s words, and Chanel asked if Johnny’s entire family had known. Johnny said his family had made “a pact” never to tell him the truth. When EJ tried to defend that they’d made the agreement to protect Johnny, the young DiMera lashed out, “They did it to protect me; you did it to protect yourself.”

“You are my son,” EJ emotionally pleaded. “I am a lie,” Johnny replied. “I didn’t come from love….I’m here because a monster viciously violated an innocent woman.” EJ argued there was “a spark” between Sami and himself that she had “refused to acknowledge.” He quickly realized his poor choice of words when Johnny supplied, “So it’s her fault?” EJ stammered that there was more to the story because Stefano had ordered him to “impregnate” a Brady, so the baby’s stem cells could save Stefano’s life.

Johnny sarcastically asked his father if he was trying to paint himself as the “hero” of the tale and blasted EJ for trying to shift the blame onto Stefano and anyone else but himself. EJ cried he was only trying to make Johnny “understand.” Johnny pledged, “I don’t, and I never will.”

EJ backtracked and said he didn’t mean to insinuate he was blaming anyone else, as he knew what he had done was “wrong.” “It was depraved,” Johnny amended. He believed EJ had never wanted him and that neither he nor his mother were people to EJ. Instead, “We were just things for you to use and throw away.” EJ protested, but Johnny interjected that “Uncle Chad” had warned him to take his family and get as "far away" from the DiMeras as he could. He wished he would have listened.

But wherever Johnny went, he would never be able to escape the reality that he was “a product” of EJ’s crime. He reminded his father that rape was not about sex but about power and control. EJ had tried to control Johnny for his entire life, including when Chanel was pregnant. He harshly invoked EJ’s words about the potential perils of a compromised pregnancy diminishing the “DiMera legacy.” Johnny compared EJ to Stefano and the patriarch’s need to control.

Johnny vowed that EJ would never control him or his future child. Johnny didn’t want EJ anywhere near his child’s life. “That DiMera legacy you’re always crowing on about – it is pain; it is violence; it is cruelty. And we want nothing to do with that,” Johnny made clear. When EJ appealed to his son not to say those words, Johnny challenged, “How does it feel to not be able to pin me down and take what you want?” EJ begged Johnny to tell him how he could make it right.

“You can’t,” Johnny sadly replied. He was supposed to be able to trust and rely on his father, who had kept such a horrible secret from him his entire life. EJ insisted he wasn’t “that man” anymore and that he had never wanted Johnny to see him that way. He affirmed that “a part” of him had always regretted what had happened. “Only a part of you?” Johnny asked.

EJ firmly said “yes,” because “if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have had you.” Johnny, EJ, and Chanel all teared up as EJ fiercely affirmed his love for his son and asked for forgiveness. Johnny’s face hardened again, and he responded, “I’ll never forgive you. I can’t even look at you.” He requested that EJ leave, but when EJ didn’t move, Johnny screamed, “Go!”

EJ obliged and walked out, with a final look at his son. Chanel approached Johnny and comforted him. Johnny didn’t know how to process everything, especially how to feel about himself. He only knew one thing at the moment: “I hate him.” Johnny added, with venom, “If I had a gun right now, I swear to God I’d kill him.”

In the corridor, EJ crumpled against the stairs and sobbed.

In Horton Town Square, Paulina expressed her disappointment with Belle over the phone. After she ended the call, Rafe and Jada walked up and greeted the mayor. Paulina told them about Belle recusing herself from EJ’s case and then lamented how anyone who associated with EJ ended up as “collateral damage.” The couple joined Paulina at her table, and she filled them in on the chaos of the adoption meeting. Jada felt terrible that she had unknowingly made things more difficult for Johnny and Chanel by crashing the meeting.

Paulina laid the blame for the debacle squarely on EJ. She would help rectify the situation by reinstating Jada as police commissioner. Rafe and Jada shared big smiles at the news. Later, the couple stepped away and took a private moment to celebrate Jada’s reinstatement. She wanted to begin work immediately on proving EJ’s guilt and wondered if Ava could be of assistance in that goal.

Jada believed that based on what Ava had said, the Woman in White may have been keeping Rafe prisoner at Aremid as well, at EJ’s behest. Therefore, Rachel Sr. could be “the key” to bringing down EJ. Rafe didn’t think anyone at the DiMera household would talk. Jada proclaimed, “We’ll go to Aremid.”

At the Bistro, Ava approached Melinda as the lawyer browsed a menu. Ava initially refused to serve Melinda because Melinda had acted as Kristen’s attorney. Melinda pleaded her case: as the DiMera Enterprises counsel, she was obligated to act on Kristen’s behalf, since Kristen was the CEO. Ava eventually relented and asked Melinda how she wanted her martini.

Later, as Melinda enjoyed her drink, she took note of the bandage on Ava’s hand. Ava explained the injury had been at Rachel Blake’s hands. She also confided to Melinda that she’d again been pressured to keep quiet for Brady’s sake. Ava wished she had “protection” against Rachel. The admission prompted Melinda to reach into her bag, discreetly pull out a gun, and slide it over (bound in a napkin) to Ava.

Melinda said she’d gotten the gun after her ordeal with Connie Vininski. She felt safer since Connie was locked up, but Kristen’s “deranged” mother was still running loose. Melinda urged Ava to take the offering. When Ava left the table, she slipped the gun into her own tote bag.

At John and Marlena’s place, Belle thought back to her angry encounter with EJ. She put on a smile when Brady arrived unexpectedly with his daughter Rachel. The little girl exclaimed she was having “a sleepover” and ran into her room. Once they were alone, Brady updated his sister on Kristen’s current living situation with her unstable mother. He didn’t want Rachel under the same roof as her volatile grandmother, so Kristen had agreed to let Brady take Rachel for the night.

Brady ranted about the crazy women in his life and shocked Belle by revealing that Kristen’s mother had attacked Ava with a knife. Brady further admitted that he had once again compelled Ava to keep quiet. He wasn’t confident they had a future after the latest disastrous incident. Brady took comfort in the prospect of EJ at least paying for what he had done to Ava and to Rafe. Belle sheepishly admitted that she would not be prosecuting EJ, and Brady correctly guessed it was because she had resumed her personal relationship with the DiMera.

Belle beat herself up for failing to extricate herself from EJ and moaned that she couldn’t help herself. Brady cracked that the DA needed “DA,” or "DiMera Anonymous." Their light moment grew more serious when they turned the talk to John and his whereabouts. Belle and Brady both felt confident that Marlena and Steve would find answers.

Just then, Rachel reentered the room and asked if “Grandpa John” could read her a story. As Belle exchanged a glance with her brother, she suggested that she step in for John. She settled down with Rachel and began reading the girl’s favorite book.

At Aremid, Rachel Sr. entered a dark attic and sorted through the contents of a chest. She suddenly smiled and declared, “Just what I was looking for.” Kristen arrived and interrupted her mother’s search. She wanted to know why Rachel had returned to Aremid and why the woman was wandering around in a dusty attic. Specifically, Kristen demanded her mother tell her why she was rummaging in the old chest.

Rachel claimed the chest was only full of “memorabilia,” but Kristen wasn’t having the explanation. Reluctantly, Rachel pulled out the item she had been hiding behind her back: a gun. Kristen was taken aback and commanded her mother to confess her plans for the gun. Kristen attempted to make her mother understand that the extreme actions were not helping her. Rachel made the case that she could use the gun on Ava in “self-defense.”

Kristen chastised her mother, telling her in no uncertain terms that the dream of Kristen being a family with Brady should be abandoned. When she ordered her mother to hand over the gun, Rachel complied. Kristen put the gun into her coat just as Rafe and Jada arrived on the scene. The duo wanted Rachel to reveal what she knew about EJ and his involvement in Rafe’s captivity.

Rachel wouldn’t give up any information, so Kristen suggested the cops leave her alone unless they had a warrant. Jada gladly informed Kristen that she had been reinstated as police commissioner and that the conversation would be continued another time. Rafe and Jada left, and Jada concurred with Rafe that Rachel definitely knew something incriminating.

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