Sonny days, sweeping the clouds away

Sonny makes it back to Salem just in time for the Kiriakis civil war. Can he work his powers of calm to bring peace? And will he ever get to meet his cousin Tate? Let's discuss it all in this edition of Two Scoops!

Welcome back, Sonny! Gosh, it's good to see you! Perhaps I didn't realize how much I haven't connected with the new characters until Sonny -- a relatively new character himself -- returned to Salem and I felt like throwing him a hero's welcome back party. Ice sculptures included!

He's back because there needs to be some semblance of sanity on Victor's side in the Deimos battle. Brady's now otherwise occupied with Tate-gate. Justin is on his way out of the D.A.'s office. And Philip is too busy hair flipping at anyone who will act like he's not irrelevant anymore.

So, enter Sonny. He was the one who helped broker the truce between the Kiriakis and DiMera families a while ago. Maybe he can help with the Kiriakis civil war. And, if I may, I'd like to fill out his agenda with a few more items.

1. Get his Greek tush over to Gabi's apartment for the adorable Gabi/Sonny/Ari scene! I'm a total sucker for these three and their unconventional but perfect family bond. They might be my favorite on-screen "family" at the moment! 2. Call Chad! That dude needs a friend, and he's got jack no one around right now.

Sonny's return also meant an Adrienne sighting, or more importantly, an Adrienne's fabulous hair sighting. Man, that lady looks great! It's a huge miss in so many ways not to have Deimos infatuated with Adrienne instead of Nicole.

Anyway, Deimos says he's changed since his brush with death. Um, okay. Sure. The problem is, it's hard for me to get onboard with "a change" when I still don't know who this guy is to begin with. Is he an emotionally stunted 20-something who is still so heartbroken over losing the love of his life that he falls for her look-alike? Or is he the demonic monster who would slowly poison a woman to her crippling? Is he somewhere in between?

Trick question! It doesn't matter because he's already changed!

Anyway, thanks to John and Paul's pretty stellar work (if your face, Salem P.D.!), it looks like Deimos had something to do with Tate's kidnapping. It's a solid theory, since I doubt Summer the Bummer could be the sole brain trust of a criminal enterprise. (Seriously, shouldn't she know better than to shove people in hotel rooms by now? She should have headed over to Brady and Theresa's house. They've probably baby-proofed all their furniture with foam padding!)

There were a lot of "I'll kill you's" happening last week: Theresa to Summer, Brady to Deimos, Summer to Theresa. I have to wonder if one of them will come true.

I'm also wondering what to make of the whole Kayla/Steve/Fynn/Joey/Jade storyline. I'm glad that Steve and Kayla are making Joey go to a session with Marlena. Not only do I like Joey in scenes with his parents, but Joey may get the Ciara Brady treatment and be cured in one session! Still, despite that good move, something about this storyline is off. And I'm pretty sure it's the way they're writing Kayla.

First, Kayla's never met a charity case that she can't save. So I'm a little shocked that she didn't stick Jade above the pub and put her to work slinging chowder with Ma Brady. Gabi did that stint, and look how great she...um...eventually turned out!

Second, while Fynn is clearly a nice guy, he and Kayla are not going to happen. Kayla told Steve, "I can't quit you." So why are we leading poor Fynn on instead of introducing him to Chloe or Blanca?

I mention Blanca specifically because I want her away from that horrid Hernandez woman right away if not sooner. Most of the time, these delusional buttinskis are put in their place before they can do too much damage. Or at least they're sent off on cruises for eighty percent of the year. But for some reason, this character is allowed lengthy scenes where she positions Hope "Fancy Face" Williams Brady as the worst thing to happen to Rafe ever.

But at least Mama H is a martyr. Her "At least I do something right..." had me rolling my eyes so hard they almost came out of my head. I long for the days when a hangnail would keep that woman out of Salem for years.

Listen, her absence would do wonders for a lot of people, especially Blanca. I really enjoyed Gabi and Blanca's scene! I almost wanted Gabi to offer up that extra bedroom in her apartment so the two of them could be roomies! Then, we could learn a little more about Blanca -- the woman who is clearly running from something -- and hear less from Blanca -- Mama H's distraction squeak toy for her grown son. Oh, and points to Blanca for quickly realizing that she has no chance with Rafe. I think she got the hint when he took a bomb for another woman. That's not a sarcastic comment. There are other characters who would have missed it! Good on you, Blanca! LOOSE ENDS Claire decided that she's going to forgo college so she could stay on the show after Belle and Shawn leave pursue a career in music. Gotta say, I believe in this kid. If I were Shelle, I'd be proud of the strong daughter I raised and worry a little less about packing list spreadsheets. Considering both of them started their "real" careers later in life, I would think they'd be a little less freaked out that Claire wants to make her dream happen a different way.

So, Philip's a bit of a prick now, huh? It's almost like he didn't raise Claire for the first two years of her life, or that he's not Shawn's uncle. I don't like how this storyline is ignoring so much character history.

Poor Dario is soooo in the friend zone. I'm not sure how he's going to crawl out of it, regardless of the Deimos situation. But I still like that he's working for her. Nicole's spent too much of her life chasing the guy. It's nice to see one follow her around for a change.

According to Eddie, the best way to prove to your ex that you're a responsible family man is to take a job requiring you to work nights and weekends, serving booze to strangers and flirting with them for tips. Solid advice, my man.

Um, Ciara, Hope went away with Aiden because you gave her the thumbs-up. Where was this Rafe support when you had your chance?

Aiden appears to be heading toward taking over the Salem D.A.'s office. Good move. Justin needs to not be a twerp. And Aiden can handle those duties well. Plus, Salem is going to need a lawyer when Belle leaves, so Justin can go back to that role.

HOT

Yes! Brady finally did it! He hugged Theresa and admitted that he was wrong about Summer from the beginning! Yes, you were, sir! I mean, that's probably little consolation to Theresa, since her son is still missing. But it meant something to me. And I'm sure that counts for so, so much.

NOT: I understand that soaps, as a genre, constantly have to redeem characters. And I'm not even mad at Aiden for trying to save his son. That's his kid. I get it. However, there's just no need or use for redeeming Chase. We don't have anything invested in this character. He's a prima donna frustrated by how people treat him now, and the show -- specifically Ciara -- needs to cut him loose. We don't need to see her run into him and have to listen to his pity party.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Gabi (to Mama H) "My father was a hired assassin. My brother is a cop. I did time in prison for killing a man. I don't think we're ever going to be normal" Thank you, Gabi! My throat was starting to hurt from yelling that at the TV.

HONORABLE MENTION: Victor (to Deimos): "I don't take calls from people who are dead to me." If you need me, I'll be setting this line as my outgoing voicemail message.

RANDOM THOUGHTS I kinda feel like Andre should have thought ahead to seal off any secret tunnels. Maybe the guy's lost a step!

Did they mean to dress Maggie like Colonel Sanders? I do love that the gold-rimmed stemware is everywhere in Salem. The Hernandi need a bigger kitchen table.

Brady has no opinion on cheese? Mama H turned down chocolate? What's the world coming to?!

Dario lost points with me for taking Nicole to a shooting range. But at least he didn't suggest she shave him.

It's too bad we didn't get to see Shawn telling Ciara about Hope. Oh, I forgot. They only share scenes in dream sequences. Carry on.

Mama H and Blanca fail the Bechdel test. So. Hard.

I'm fascinated by Dario's facial hair. It's so perfect, it's almost like he's an animated character.

It hurts my eyes to look at the tablecloth next to the wallpaper at TBD. My brain can't process that much pattern. This could also be my lack of sleep.

Anyone care that Hope and Aiden are still legally married?

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