And then a Halo comes along

Dingdong, the creep is gone! Who killed Deimos? Should the couples keep their Halo partners? And what will become of the Kiriakis family now that he's gone? Let's discuss it all in this edition of Two Scoops.

Like any self-respecting Gen X-er, I loved the movie Clue. So this week's episodes were all kinds of up my alley. I'm a sucker for any kind of big group scene. This one had it all -- romance, comedy, confessions, great fashion, fun sets, and some stellar performances by our DAYS cast! Bravo to everyone involved with the Halo party!

In fact, I liked it so much, I think it should be mandatory that Salem take Halo at least once a month! For those two episodes, it seemed like things made sense. Truths were flying like monkeys from a castle!

Gabi and Sonny were downright hilarious stoned. Tony and I gave a hat tip to their friendship in the first installation of our summer blog series. They did not disappoint! More Gabi and Sonny all the time, please!

I was glad Gabi called J.J. out on moving on with the woman with whom he cheated. It doesn't matter if Gabi moved on with Chad in two seconds. J.J. swore his fling with Lani meant nothing, and then he got with her. That's a coincidence just too hard for Gabi to swallow. I'm with her on that.

Their banter led to the brief but surprisingly pleasant Gabi/J.J. reunion. I forgot how charming I found this pair. Gabi deserves a guy who picks her first. J.J. gets at least three times more likeable when he's with Gabi. There was something sweet and super romantic about their dance.

Lani, of course, was ticked. I really didn't understand why she ran out of the room. I thought she preferred J.J. so blitzed he can't make consenting decisions.

Of course she ran to Eli. The writing has been on the wall for these two for weeks. Still, I hope they take this slowly. More so, I hope this pairing does something for the respective characters. It's dangerous to pair two newbies together when we know little about either. Sure, they look beautiful together. I'm just not certain where that relationship will go, except on double dates with their parents. (If Abe and Val marry, Eli and Lani will be stepsiblings!)

Outside, Rafe took Hope to see the beautiful night sky in the enclosed Horton Square. Then, he proposed to her. Silly Rafe. Don't you know Brady's the only one allowed to propose in Salem? I found these two hilarious. Galen and Kristian don't get much of a chance to be silly, so it was nice to see them play some comedy. Of course, I loved Hope bringing up Deimos' part in Bo's death. That detail seems to get swept under the rug too much.

Upstairs, we got the two most anticipated reunions -- and I enjoyed them both!

Like pretty much every critical point in Chabby's relationship, Chad's waiting on Abigail to choose him. I've never blamed Chad for moving on with Gabi when he thought Abigail was dead. And I've never blamed him for not being about to trust her not to leave him again. For reasons that both are and absolutely are not her fault, she's never been able to fully commit to Chad for any real amount of time. That's got to weigh on him.

But Abigail confessed that she made a mistake, and then the floodgates opened. For some reason, Chad loves this gal to pieces. It's super sweet. Any further exploration of Gabi and Chad would just be cruel to Gabi, which is something none of us want -- me, Chad, or Abigail!

And then there was Ericole. We got another appearance from Casper the Surfing Ghost, but I didn't mind this one as much. Daniel told Nicole to get her act together and forgive Eric. Yassss, Dr. Phil Dan! Finally, Daniel scolding Nicole is actually appropriate. Sure, I wish that Nicole didn't need his permission to forgive Eric, but I'll take the progress for now!

Eric and Nicole shared a smoldering kiss, which unsettled them both. Bravo to Arianne Zucker and Greg Vaughn for playing that moment with such an intriguing blend of relief, confusion, passion, and fear. So very well done, you two! Also, if having a joint hallucination doesn't prove that Eric and Nicole are soul mates, I don't know what does.

Outside of Halo, Nicole and Abigail returned to being a tiny bit insufferable. Had Nicole not spent the better part of the last two years lashing out at any and all things related to Eric, her anger would not seem so tedious now. But I'm over seeing her throw a fit each time Eric breathes around her. She literally tried to kick him out of his own room. This storyline needs some movement.

As for Abigail, she has zero right to go all, "You made your choice, Chad" on Chad. Nope. No way, sister. Abigail can't have it both ways. She can't be the one who walks out and the victim who was left behind. This farce she has going with Dario (who, for the record, I believe would move mountains to make her happy) makes her all the more unsympathetic. I still fully support her apprehension to stay with a man she didn't think was completely into her. But I'm not on board with her playing the passive victim at the same time.

I do like the pact Gabi, Chad, and Abigail made to stick together during questioning. I didn't see it as Chad wanting his cake and eating it too. I saw it more as three friends who don't want to see each other get into trouble. This triangle has maintained a strangely believable level of civility among all parties. I think this pact is a continuation of that.

So, speaking of questioning, which hero dropped the house on the wicked witch of Salem? I need to start planning a parade for that person! Part of me is hoping that it isn't one of the core cast. I don't want Raines prosecuting any of them "to the fullest extent of the law." Plus, I'm not sure any of them actually did it. There was a lot of blood on Deimos. Shouldn't there be blood on whoever killed him and their respective Halo snuggle buddy?

The good news about Halo is that is doesn't make you forget forever. (It's not like hypothermia or anything.) Pieces of the night are coming back to different characters, one at a time. I suspect one of them may remember seeing that waiter who was also drugged or someone else enter the house.

But, here are the things we do know about Deimos's death:

• He was killed in the conservatory(?) with the knife and then moved to the window seat. (I howled when Deimos fell out Clue-style onto Gabi.) That sounds like a two-person job.
• There's an hour unaccounted for -- for both the audience and the characters.
• He stole the amulet from Sonny but didn't have the amulet on him when his body was found.

There's a drug ring without a leader. There's also a slew of chickens thrilled they're not going to be fried and served in a bucket. Tell me I'm not the only one who thought he looked like Col. Sanders in that "disguise"?

Who I wish killed Deimos: Furious that his money train ended when Deimos got ousted from Titan, Xander returned to Salem to seek revenge on his uncle. The news that Xander killed Deimos endears him enough to Victor to keep Xander around.

Who I think killed Deimos (at the moment): Abigail snapped and killed Deimos. She, of course, has an easy defense = hallucinogenic drugs + mental illness + big-time bad guy. A sober Dario returned home, saw it, and covered for her. We've seen him move dead bodies for women before. I'd also believe him cleaning her up and returning her to her bed so that she would never know. Down the line, Dario could tell Gabi what he did, bringing her pact with Chad and Abigail into question. If Dario and Abigail are married, he can't testify against her. Right now, that seems to have the most promise. But I reserve the right to be wrong. That happens a lot.

LOOSE ENDS: Theo went to find Claire at work and dump her. Man, this guy is a prize. Seriously, as long as these two are over, I'm okay with it. I really hope that Tripp runs into "selfish brat" Claire when she's volunteering at the hospital.

As for Tripp, I had a very smart coworker (brilliant, actually, because she watches DAYS) point out that Tripp's willingness to believe Jade might not have so much to do with Jade's manipulation skills as it does with Tripp's desperation to have some sort of explanation. That outlook makes me feel better. Jade isn't so much calling the shots with Tripp as she is benefiting from Tripp's urgency to get to the bottom of Steve's (noble) lie. Hyper focus on uncovering the truth is a Johnson man trait.

But that still doesn't mean that I have any sympathy for Jade. And my patience with Joey is dwindling. The only way out of this is for Joey to come clean with Tripp. That takes away Jade's power, the blinders will come off Tripp, and we can all move on with our lives. Oh, and Ava can come back from the dead so Joey doesn't really have to go through life as a murderer. Ugh, I had to give Jade credit when she pointed out Kayla's hypocrisy for admonishing the sex tape but overlooking murder.

Of all the counselors Jade could have picked, she chose the one who had an illegal sex tape made of him. Eric gets a lot of points for keeping his cool with Jade. He gave her great advice too. I hope Nicole was paying attention when he said that the love of a man shouldn't determine a woman's worth.

Angelica is a piece of work, and I'm not totally mad at it. She's the catalyst for finally giving Jennifer good material! Storylines surrounding The Spectator and Jennifer as a professional are my favorite use of Jenny Bear. Remember how great the Drew stuff was during the prison break?! Add in the feisty Adrienne side of things, and I'm ready to see more!

Just like Jennifer, I also never tire of seeing Marlena in her professional space. Doc came in to shrink J.J. While she's in there, maybe she can also adjust his fun-o-meter so he does more dancing with Gabi again!

HOT: I hope Alex North and Madison James made a seat at their table in...um...wherever they are. Deimos needs a place at the table for horrible roles given to good actors.

I'd be happy to see Vincent get another chance. It's not his fault. He gave it everything he had, and a proud card-carrying member of the soap opera family deserves a lot better than this. But Deimos? Wahoo! I'm so glad he's dead! Better yet, we saw the body! I know that's not foolproof, but it's an important item off the checklist.

To further solidify his exit, I want Victor to uncover information proving Deimos actually isn't his brother. Deimos' mother could have easily lied to Victor's dad to extort money. Furthermore, Helena wasn't killed but faked her death because she was actually pregnant with a third man's child! That child ended up to be Paul Mendez (Nicole's father), which would explain why Nicole looks exactly like Helena. There we go -- no reason for us to ever hear from Deimos again! (Until the Alex North Memorial Awards...)

NOT: I'm worried about Lexie and Abe's son, not to mention Celeste and Stefano's grandson, becoming a bit of a vapid character. Quick, name something that motivates Theo or something he aspires to do. It's hard, right? Things seem to just happen to him rather than him doing things. I want better for him. He's an important character.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Halo Sonny (to Gabi and J.J.): "You are so screwing up this party, and for no reason! So you know what you need to do? Kiss up and make it!" (to J.J.) "Now is the time, you great man, to come to the aid of the party!" I want both of these sayings on T-shirts.

RANDOM THOUGHTS Okay, Julie does get points for giving the party direction, "Be lavish when pouring the Champagne." I can respect that.

What ever happened to that foundation Chad set up in Abigail's memory to help kids born with aplastic anemia?

For real, what in the world is a "residence for young people"? An orphanage? Dorms? Halfway house for teens? Are Eric, Abigail, and Dario going to get kicked out if they're not "young" enough?

I wonder what would happen if Holly: Oracular Babe held the cursed amulet. It would be a battle of cosmic proportions -- a good vs. evil clash for the ages!

Paul gets over weird illnesses freakishly fast.

Props to my gal Gabi for calling out the party on its lack of snacks. I'm with you, girl!

How is Jade not facing any charges? Surely Abe and Hope weren't that preoccupied with disciplining their kids that they didn't realize Jade broke the law.

I'm all sorts of in love with Abigail's dress. I would wear it with Gabi's awesome blue shoes.

I loved diagramming sentences too, Hope!

The DiMera family lawyer must be very busy. Technically, Abigail and Chad's marriage ended the first time when her death certificate showed up. Then when she appeared alive, the lawyer probably had to invalidate the death, thus reinstating the marriage. Now there's a divorce to process again!

I'm still shocked that Holly went to foster care and not to Melanie or Maggie.

Paul and Sonny are a bit like Maggie and Victor -- one is always reminding the other one not to be so harsh when it comes to business.

Lani and Eli have got to be thinking, "What the hell? We have no connection to Deimos. Why'd we let these jerks pull us into this?"

Just in case you needed another reason to love Jimmy Fallon, here he is doing an impromptu interview with the lovely Bill Hayes.

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