It was the heat of the moment

Things were sizzling and scorching in Salem last week, and we're not only talking about Eric and Nicole's near brush with becoming bacon! Find out what the former flames were up to, and what burning issues they may face in this week's Two Scoops!

Well, well, well. I hate to say I was right, but. Oh, wait. I don't. And I was right about Xander. If Victor had just let me handle him like I suggested when he showed up in Salem, things wouldn't have turned out so ugly. But by "ugly," I mean fantastic. Things are a hot mess in Salem right now, and I'm not just talking about Serena (and that was meant as a compliment because Melissa Archer was playing the hell out of the crazy train again last week).

Xander pretty much did every Eric and Nicole fan a favor by trapping them in that furnace. I was feeling the heat, and I'm not only talking about the temperature. Greg Vaughan and Arianne Zucker smoldered in their scenes. They were raw and honest. This version of Eric and Nicole I could get behind, you know, under better, less life-threatening conditions, of course. I enjoyed the forgiveness, the clarity, and the connection between them. They were a photo shoot on the beach away from being the Eric and Nicole I originally fell in love with. More, please!

Then, predictably, Dr. Dan came to the rescue. I kind of figured that but was glad that Roman, Abe, John, and Brady were part of the action. It's nice to see these vet cowboys back in the saddle. But I'm getting off topic, and said topic is Dr. Dan. He's an upstanding guy, everyone, but I have to wonder -- did he really obey every traffic law because he seemed to have gotten from Chicago to Salem pretty fast. Could speeding be his flaw? Never mind, I'm sure along the way he was deputized and given a police cruiser. Again, I digress...

After an Eric and Nicole moment of truth, Dr. Dan and Nicole both had a moment of, um, clarity, too. He realized she's the (current) love of his life, and she spurted out some nonsense about Dr. Dude's the one. No, no. She's right. Dr. Dan is the one. He's the one who treated her like trash the better part of the year. He's the one who made unreasonable demands on Nicole. He's the one who outlined in detail how their relationship should go -- his terms, no exceptions. He's the one who didn't believe a word out of her mouth, even when she pledged her loyalty with tears in her eyes. He's the one who knew better than she did what was in her heart. And he's the one who cast her aside when she didn't live up to his expectations. Yep, he's the one, all right. Ugh.

So, now we have Eric, who was open and honest about his feelings; Dr. Dan, who now wants Nicole (until he doesn't again); and Nicole not knowing what she wants. Both men have caused Nicole pain, and she them, but I'm firmly on "Team Erole/Ericole" here. I feel like "Dancole's" window of opportunity closed somewhere around the first or thirtieth condescending lecture he gave her. I guess more than anything, I'm on Team Nicole and want to see her with a guy like Eric who adores her, faults and all, rather than Dr. Dan, who's love comes with endless conditions and an instruction manual larger than his ego.

Though, speaking of faults, I'm still a little disappointed in Victor. Xander has been treated like the outsider of the Kiriakis family (loved Paul Telfer's performance during that speech!) and has basically devoted his life to Victor's needs. Sure, he's a psychopathic handful, but Victor can handle him, so I'm not sure why Uncle Vic can't throw him a little TLC along with that mercy, which isn't weakness. Victor stated that the ultimate sin is to defy him, but I think he's being a little disloyal to Xander, too. Um, just don't tell him that. John Aniston was a bit menacing in those scenes, even before he took out that knife.

Still, it looks like Xander is on the prowl again. When he showed up at the police station, I literally had an "OMG!" moment. It looks like there's still some hot times in the old town to be had, and I can't wait for next week to find out what happens next, which is an amazing sign for our fair DAYS!

LOOSE ENDS: Hot damn! I love me some Zoe. See, skeptics, there was a reason I picked her as "Best New Character" during the 2014 Golden Donut Awards. She's smart, sassy, sexy, and straightforward with what she wants and doesn't want. Maybe Abigail could learn a thing or two from this bombshell.

Billy Flynn is breaking my heart with Chad's love for Abigail. He's got that layered thing mastered. I'm totally on Team Chad, but I just wish the other teams had my attention this much.

Team Abigail is a bit wishy-washy, and Team Ben is bordering on pathetic. Points, Happy-For-A-Moment Ben was all shades of adorably hot. I'll give him that, but then it went downhill. I know Ben was perhaps trying to, uh, re-mark his territory with Abigail, but if girlfriend had done me wrong like Abigail did to him, she wouldn't be getting a key to my place, to say the least. But I finally figured out what Ben and Abigail have in common -- neither of them respect themselves. Then again, relationships have been built on less; just reference E.J., Taylor, and that damn scarf.

In a move that deserves a Limoncello toast, Stefano is back! No, like, really back. Back for good back. And I couldn't be happier. Kate keeps warning Chad that Stefano is up to something. Kate also keeps wondering why he has returned to Salem now. I'm with you, Kate! I wonder what that old sly Phoenix is up to, too, especially since he has his trusty "Abigail Deveraux" file in his clutches. He was also on the phone, discussing the Abigail situation with someone. Hmm! I'm begging the writers now -- make that someone Peter Blake. He's the original DiMera fox in the Horton henhouse. That would make sense. Still, I suspect that Stefano's need to see Chad and Abigail together doesn't solely revolve around his son's happiness. I repeat, "Hmm!"

Whoops! Chad accidentally (or not) told Sonny about Will stroking Dr. Meyer's ego. Oh, Big Willie. When Kate thinks an idea is crossing a line after admitting she's hatched some pretty line-crossing schemes, I'd take her advice. Just ask Chloe, Dr. Dan, his mom, his dad, his...okay, Will, ask anyone. I always thought cardigans were Will's best friends, but now I see it's a shovel because he keeps digging himself into a deeper hole.

Okay. I'm totally having DAYS-j vu. I could have sworn I saw a scene between Paul and Sonny a few weeks ago, and a few weeks before that, where Paul confesses his undying love to Sonny and says they should be together. Oh, wait. I did. I'm going to take a deep breath before I move on. By "deep breath," I mean a swig of Scotch.

So, I have nothing against Paul's love for Sonny. We should all be so lucky to have someone as dedicated to us, but, like an early twenty-something-year-old man's cologne at a club, it's way too much. In fact, that's really the only raging red light issue I have with Paul. No, not his cologne, I'm sure he smells like an angel dipped in chocolate. I'm talking about his stance on Sonny.

Paul's position is pretty much that he and Sonny should be together, but -- an obligatory "but" on his part -- he'll respect whatever Sonny chooses. Right. And Anne will give up wine and one-liners. Paul's subtext is he's heard Sonny's decision about ten times now, the one where Sonny states he wants to work on his marriage, but Paul will repeat said sentiments and respectful propaganda as long as Sonny chooses Paul eventually. I give Paul points for perseverance, but this one trick Sonny pony routine isn't doing such an otherwise charming character any favors. Perhaps he's never heard the "if you love something let it go, if it comes back it's yours" thingy that friends tell heartbroken friends. Instead, he's petting the rabbit a bit too hard.

To be fair, Sonny isn't doing anything to really discourage Paul. In fact, he's encouraging him a lot for a man who wants to work on his marriage. I get Sonny's frustrations with Will -- oh, boy, do I ever -- but if Will is a paranoid little shark, Sonny is adding to his frenzy by tossing Paul chum into the water. Ultimately, Sonny doesn't seem to know what he wants right now, and that's fine, but he needs to confess that during his next "Honesty Hour" and not keep coming up with reasons to see Paul behind Will's back and then accusing Will of being paranoid that Paul wants him back. That bad is on him.

In happier news, John, Paul, and Brady were total cute overload last week! I totally enjoyed their brotherly bonding, complete with apologies, coming out stories, and the baseball talk. Okay, that baseball talk, I had no ideas what those words were, but it was cute nonetheless. Go, Team Black! Tackle that baseball. Swing that stick. Go for the goal!

HOT

Eric and Nicole's smoldering chemistry (and them not smoldering), Meredith Scott Lynn's onslaught of hilarity, the legendary Thaao Penghlis's playful, teaser Tweets, and -- SPOILER ALERT -- the announcement that Martha Madison is returning to DAYS all made last week hot. So very, very hot! I have DAYS 50th fever already and just can't contain it.

NOT I'm still not sure how to process Nicole's proclamation that "It's always been Daniel." I'm chalking it up to her 104-degree temperature and sending her an ice pack, recorded conversations of Dr. Dan berating her, and a pair of Rollerblades. That should help, I hope!

LINE OF THE WEEK Anne (to Theresa, regarding Tate's sleep arrangements): "You can empty out a dresser drawer and stick him in there." 2015 SUMMER SERIES DAYS is all about traditions, and so are Laurisa and I. We'll be teaming up again this year to present our annual DAYS Two Scoops Summer Series. We started with a "Summer of Sinners" followed by "Summer Lovin'" and this year -- well, I can't give it away just yet, but we hope it will be a dreamy time had by all as DAYS marches to the fiftieth anniversary! Be sure to check Soap Central on July 1 when our newest summer series debuts!

RANDOM THOUGHTS OMG! Anne has a sister. I kind of have to meet her.

I can't help it. I was a total sucker for Eric and Theresa's scenes. I like their relationship.

Xander's Dr. Dude impression was all shades of hilarious! I want Paul Telfer to watch DAYS with me and do that imitation during all of Dr. Dan's scenes. Though his throat may dry out from keeping up with all of Dr. Dan's airtime.

If Mar Mar really wants to keep Serena away from Eric, maybe she should borrow Kate's brownie recipe next time they bump into each other.

Is it too much to ask for the return of the Brady/Horton Fourth of July picnic? Probably. So, it appeared that someone was watching J.J. through a window. I wonder who that could be.

John and Marlena had a brief scene and acknowledged they still love each other. I think this sentence was longer than the scene. Sorry, DAYS circa 1986 to the early 2000s.

Was Abigail wearing one of Jack's old shirts and a necklace for the better part of last week?

Thank the soap gods for re-casted best friends! I am enjoying Daphne a billion times more than Marybeth. She's not a Paige-obsessed, judgmental buzz kill. Daphne even wanted to go to a party while Marybeth would have judged people who go to parties. Cheers to progress!

Anne's greeting to Brady was a blast!

I hope when Stefano said, "I am not visiting. I am back. For good," he really meant it.

Aww! The look on John's face while he was watching Brady and Paul talk was all shades of priceless proud papa.

And proud papa John is funny! He said of Theresa, "A tranquilizer gun couldn't mellow her."

Hello, why didn't Nicole get a nice, cooling fan in her hospital room like Eric did?

Speaking of Eric, when he asked of Serena, "Why is she still here!?," I kind of wondered the same thing.

On topic, I adore Melissa Archer and hope they pull a Josh Taylor or Tamara Braun and bring her back as a better different character in the not-so-distant future. Sarah Horton, anyone?

I still enjoy the twinkle of delight in Stefano's eyes when he's causing mischief.

I laughed out loud at the nonchalant way Anne said, "I hope there wasn't another pileup on the freeway."

When John suggested that he talk to Eric, and Roman talk to Nicole to eliminate potential conflicts of interest, I kind of cracked up. Roman and Nicole's one-night stand seems to be the only kept secret in Salem. I guess that one is for the best, eh? When Serena spoke of her lawyer, she said "her" or "she." Am I the only one who wants to see Attorney Carrie Brady-Reed walk into that room!?

I knew Mad World has a Houston division because Sheryl works there, but I never knew about Seattle.

It was probably a good idea for Eric to "Yes, ma'am" Maxine.

I was really hoping Brady would bring adorable little Tater Tot in to see Nicole.

I'm still super sad that Brendan Coughlin is out as T. Like, I'm denying it. That said, Anne and T should have met for a May/December romance. That would have been a zillion times the fun and a zillion times less ick than J.J. and Eve.

I giggled when Eric watched Brady and Theresa leave his hospital room to pick up Tater because only in Salem could your stepbrother and first cousin walk out to claim their baby, and no one would blink an eye. What a twisted bunch of family trees.

Regarding family trees, I'm sure Paige's new app, Instant Connections, can cause some head-scratching for several Salemites who seem to be related to half the town. I hope they have a global option. Perhaps most should try Bay City or Sunset Beach.

Um, yes! Yes. Oh, yes. Auntie Anne should totally move into the mansion with Theresa and Tater Tot. Granted, there is a potential for laughter overload watching John Aniston, Meredith Scott Lynn, and Jen Lilley share scenes. I'd risk it, though.

PARTING THOUGHTS So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of June 29! I'm off to sit in Hope's back yard with potato salad, a corn hole set, and desperate hopes that all the Bradys and Hortons will gather there again to picnic for July Fourth! Laurisa will be manning the Two Scoops barbeque in the meantime, and "That's a fact!"

As always, thanks for reading! Tony

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