Days of our Lives Recap for Wednesday, January 22, 2025: Alex and Stephanie confess their feelings

In the park, a masked figure set Bonnie’s headshot against a brick wall and put a red X over her face.

At the Brady Pub, Kate argued with Seth Burns over the phone about Bonnie’s accident. Kate promised Seth that the insurance would pay for the hospital’s potential liability. She went back and forth with him about the safety protocols until she got fed up and told him that if he still wanted a part on the show, she was ending the conversation. After Kate hung up, Joy approached her and asked what the problem had been. Kate stunned Joy with the news that Bonnie had almost died after plunging down the elevator shaft.

Kate sat at a table with Joy and updated her on the accident, which had occurred after the protective mat had been removed from the elevator. Joy worried for Alex, and Kate snarked that at least Alex and Joy hadn't been careless on a set where a stunt had just been performed. Joy didn’t think Bonnie was to blame. “Then who is?” Kate challenged.

Joy suggested that Kate was “victim-blaming.” Kate insisted Bonnie had some culpability, but she wanted to know what Joy believed. When Joy blamed Chanel, Kate called it “a bit of a stretch.” Chanel had suddenly quit, Joy reminded Kate, which had prompted the need for a hasty rewrite and a quickly put-together stunt. If not for Chanel, there would have been no empty elevator shaft.

Kate contested that Chanel would be the last person to whom anyone would point the finger. She wondered about the real source of Joy’s ire. Joy conceded that she was angry with Chanel after Chanel had hit her “for real” during their scene. Kate was caught off-guard by the revelation, but Joy assured her that she wouldn’t file an HR complaint. Joy was just tired of taking the brunt of Chanel’s abuse for the end of Chanel and Johnny’s marriage.

Joy added that she wasn’t even interested in Johnny. She was seeing Alex. Kate assured Joy that she had no problem with the relationship as Joy’s boss, but she wanted to give Joy advice as a friend: be wary of potential on-set tension if a break-up happened. Joy pledged that Alex, and she would remain “total pros” if they did end things. But Alex had been the only person who remained kind and supportive to Joy since she had come to town.

“I’ve never felt safer with anyone than I do with him,” Joy confided. Kate understood Joy’s warm feelings for Alex, but she still warned, “A heart is most vulnerable when it’s worn on its sleeve, so protect it.” Joy thanked Kate for the advice and stated that she wanted to check on Bonnie and Alex.

At the hospital, Stephanie told Alex about her break-up with Philip. She was vague on the details, only stating that Philip had reminded her of why they had broken up in the first place. Alex offered his sympathy, but Stephanie was glad it had ended before she had gotten in too deep. She started to say she never would have gotten involved with Philip if not for something. When Alex pressed her for a response, she declared, “You.”

Alex wondered what he had to do with Stephanie’s decision to date Philip. She tried to blow it off and leave, but he asked her to be honest with him. She confessed that she hadn’t been ready to end things with Alex. He confided that he hadn’t wanted to end their involvement either. Stephanie asked Alex why he hadn’t said anything sooner, and Alex thought it was the same reason Stephanie hadn’t spoken up.

Both Stephanie and Alex agreed that they had held back because they believed the other was moving on. Stephanie mentioned when she had seen Alex leave with Joy on New Year’s Eve. She had assumed they were hooking up, so it had been easier to do the same with Philip. Alex hesitantly admitted that he had hooked up with Joy that night.

Alex quickly added that Joy and he had only slept together one time, and only because both of them had been upset. Stephanie marveled at how the misunderstandings between Alex and her had led them to other people. She asked if Alex was still seeing Joy. Alex said that while Joy and he had been spending more time together, he would have “slowed it down” immediately if he had known Stephanie’s true feelings. He just didn’t know if Stephanie and he could even be a couple since they were both employed by Body and Soul.

Stephanie got a look and suggested, “What if I wasn’t?” She elaborated that she would quit her job as the show’s publicist. Alex protested the idea, as he didn’t want Stephanie to sacrifice her career for him. Stephanie reasoned that she had plenty of other clients, and the show could afford to lose her far more than it could afford to lose Alex and his popular character. Alex was touched that Stephanie would quit the show for him but remained resistant to the idea.

Stephanie reinforced how much she missed Alex. She considered her choice more than worth the risk. Alex missed Stephanie, too, but he still worried about the ramifications for them if things didn’t work out and the ramifications for the show. Stephanie believed she couldn’t fix the problems with the show, and those problems were beginning to overwhelm her. Plus, they were keeping her from being with Alex.

Stephanie wanted to take a chance, but her conversation with Alex was interrupted when Joy rushed up — flowers in hand — and hugged him. She asked about Bonnie and asked Alex to accompany her to Bonnie’s room. When Joy turned and asked Stephanie if she would like to visit Bonnie as well, Stephanie begged off and claimed she needed to get back to work. Alex and Joy left for Bonnie’s room, and Stephanie and he exchanged a glance as he followed behind Joy.

Later, Joy expressed her shock over Bonnie’s condition after Alex, and she returned from seeing Bonnie. Joy admitted that she only liked working with Bonnie and Alex on-set, and with Bonnie’s accident, she only had Alex. She declared that she couldn’t have gotten through recent hardships without Alex and hugged him. He looked uncomfortable and uncertain.

In another part of the hospital, Abe met with Kayla in her office. He asked how Bonnie was doing. While Kayla couldn’t give him details, she assured Abe that Bonnie’s long-term prognosis was good. Bonnie just wouldn’t be able to return to work anytime soon. “I’m royally screwed,” Abe said with a sigh.

Abe shouldered responsibility for the accident and complained that Leo was MIA just as the show needed “all hands on deck.” Abe lamented how he couldn’t afford to sacrifice another production day. Kayla wished she could help. “Maybe you can,” a grinning Abe replied. When he suggested Kayla fill in for Bonnie to play the role of Kassandra, Kayla immediately balked and reminded Abe that she’d already rejected the idea.

Abe, in turn, reminded Kayla of her great performance when she had gone undercover with Steve. In that situation, Kaya’s life had depended on it, she defended. And the cast and crew of Body and Soul’s livelihoods depended on it in the present, Abe retorted. Abe pleaded with Kayla and affirmed that the show couldn’t take another hit. Kayla seemed to soften until she bluntly stated, “Hard pass.”

Unrelenting, Abe cajoled Kayla about her knowledge of “industry lingo” and about her childhood dreams of becoming a TV star. Kayla insisted that she couldn’t abandon her patients. They’d launch an immediate search for a more permanent recast, Abe assured. Kayla said she might be terrible. “You’ll hit it out of the park,” Abe countered.

Later, Kayla left Steve a message concerning her “interesting news.” She spotted Stephanie in the hospital waiting room. Noticing that Stephanie seemed lost in thought, Kayla approached and asked her daughter what was wrong. Stephanie attributed her mood to the goings-on with Body and Soul. Kayla assumed Stephanie hadn’t heard the latest news in that regard.

“You’re looking at the latest, most reluctant cast member,” Kayla sheepishly added. She filled Stephanie in on Abe’s guilt trip but admitted that she looked forward to working with her “girl” during production. With a faltering smile, Stephanie agreed that would be “great.”

Back at the pub, Kate and Abe commiserated over their tough day. Abe reported that while Bonnie would be okay, she would be out of work indefinitely. He reassured Kate that he’d already secured an emergency recast: Kayla.

In the hospital corridor, Jada called JJ and asked him to take the lead on Rachel’s disappearance since she had her hands full with Bonnie’s case. Jada informed JJ that Justin believed the fall was no accident. Jada herself found the text Bonnie had been sent suspicious. Just then, she received a text from Javi about Lady Whistleblower. After she read the message, Jada told JJ that she had her first suspect.

Later, Jada met with Kerry in the interrogation room at the police station. Kerry was dressed in similar attire as the mystery figure in the park. He demanded to know why he had been brought in for questioning. Jada informed him that there had been another “incident” on set at Body and Soul. Kerry scoffed and called the production “cursed.”

Jada told Kerry about Bonnie’s fall. Kerry snidely offered that it sounded more like a production problem. He didn’t know what it had to do with him. “That’s what I’m here to find out,” Jada stated. She updated Kerry on the text Bonnie had received -- from an unknown person -- instructing her to use the elevator to go to the first floor. Kerry stressed that he only had a problem with Leo, not with Bonnie...aside from her “over-the-top” acting.

Jada asked about the poisoned cupcakes, and Kerry accused Jada of fishing for a crime to pin on him. He said she had nothing and announced he was leaving. Jada commanded him to sit back down, as only she would determine when Kerry could leave. Jada threatened Kerry with a breaking and entering charge. Kerry kept his cool and argued that Leo could have invited Kerry to his room. When Kerry had allegedly admitted to the crime, he had just been “acting tough” for Leo and Javi’s benefit.

When Kerry again reminded Jada that she had no evidence, she let him go with a warning: “Don’t leave town.” She then called in a background check on Kerry. Jada made another call to Justin and pledged to the lawyer that she would find out who was responsible for Bonnie’s fall.

In Javi’s bedroom, Javi roused and noticed Leo on his laptop. He tried to distract Leo with kisses, but Leo was focused on Lady Whistleblower’s latest column. The gossip columnist had vowed to make Leo pay. Just as Javi assured Leo that Kerry couldn’t hurt them anymore, Kerry walked into the room, pointed a gun at Leo and Javi, and fired. Leo jerked awake from the dream as Javi entered the bedroom and asked him what was wrong.

While Javi brought him coffee in bed, Leo opened up about the nightmare he’d had in which Kerry had “chosen violence.” Javi reminded Leo that the entire situation was Kerry’s fault. When he added that he’d texted Jada, Leo wondered if Kerry would get into legal trouble. Javi shrugged that it wasn’t his problem and kissed Leo.

Javi reasoned that if he and Leo wanted to protect themselves from “real-world Kerry,” they should stay in bed all day. Leo reminded him that they both had work. Leo especially needed to report to set in case something else had “blown up in the last 12 hours.” Leo deserved a day off, Javi chided. Leo said some things were more important than work and agreed to Javi’s suggestion with a kiss.

Leo pulled back and confided that he was still worried that he and Javi were moving too quickly. While he was usually good at “separating the sexy stuff from the mushy stuff,” with Javi, it felt different. Javi admitted that it felt different with Leo, too. If he had rushed with anyone, it had been with Kerry. He hadn’t been able to get Leo off his mind.

Even when Javi had been angry with Leo, he had missed him. Leo smiled at Javi’s confession. Later, Javi joined Leo at the breakfast table. Leo had decided to get some work done on his laptop. He mused to Javi about his plans for Bonnie’s character Kassandra. As he rambled on, he stopped himself and asked if he was boring Javi. “Not in the least,” Javi responded with a grin.

Leo asked Javi if he wanted to go through a scene together. Javi complied and followed Leo’s instructions to go to the nearby pan of eggs and pretend he had been burned by the pan. Javi made a spectacle of the scene and jokingly asked Leo if he had been terrible. Leo approached Javi and — with another kiss — assured him he had done perfectly. Just then, Kerry strolled through the doorway.

Leo jumped back and begged Kerry not to shoot. Kerry smirked and assured Leo that they weren’t in “Pineview.” Kerry wasn’t willing to “throw my life away” for Leo or Javi. He had come to return Javi’s key and to take back his sweatshirt. Javi threw the shirt at him and asked him to leave.

Kerry wished that Leo and Javi “live unhappily ever after.” Before he left, he made an offhand reference to Bonnie but wouldn’t clarify what he meant. Javi and Leo expressed confusion at the remark.

Leo got on his computer and reacted with astonishment as he read a story about Bonnie’s accident. While he hoped Bonnie would be okay, he was worried about the effect on his scripts. “Who will come between Alex and Joy now?” he pondered.

Meanwhile, the mystery person attached Bonnie’s crossed-out photo to a bulletin board. The person’s gloved hand then reached for a picture of Alex.

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