Not giving up today

Will Marlena survive? Does Lucas need another kid? Should Roman take his old job back and head up the Salem P.D.? Let's discuss it all in this week's Two Scoops.

I adore Belle. I really do. Martha Madison is a goddess. Belle has a real job. Shelle is still magical. However, Tink is having a bit of a rough run this time around.

Sure, there's this redonkulous narrative still going around that Sami attempted to murder Marlena. We'll get to that later. But right now, I'm a little concerned that Belle is going to fight to pull the plug on Big Mama Mar, thanks to what I'm assuming is a do not resuscitate order.

I'm not lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean pull out the ventilator a few hours after a patient was up and talking when a specialist is still on the way to the hospital to see if he can treat the infection causing the breathing problem. Yikes, Belle! At least wait until John's back from taking his shower!

Elsewhere in the hospital, we got the very strange farewell scene for Steve -- without Steve.

The behind-the-scenes stuff is not pretty. Stephen Nichols and DAYS couldn't come to a contract agreement, so they had him written off. And his exit from the show was so fast, it was easy to miss, especially since Steve wasn't even part of the scene!

Roman arrived to tell Kayla that Steve had been arrested. Apparently, the bionic eye Stefan had installed in the Patchman was also a spy camera that streamed everything Steve saw back to an app on Stefan's phone (or something like that). That's kind of a spectacular new age soap staple. It's downright brilliant on the writers' part. It leaves the door open for Steve to return. Plus, it makes me laugh that there's a DiMera tech goon somewhere who has to watch everything Steve sees to fish out the good stuff.

Kayla tells Roman that she was blackmailed into giving Stefan info on Kate and Abigail's medical records. Roman actually has good advice -- tell the Feds and do not confront Stefan.

That reminds me that, all around, Roman does not get enough credit. Since he left the Salem P.D., that place has turned into an absolute goat rodeo. Sadly, Hope and her flying monkeys couldn't find their own hourglass with both hands and a map.

Kristen ran to the DiMera mansion. You know, a place so synonymous with the DiMeras that they put their own ever-lovin' name on the place. Why no officer was sent there immediately was beyond me. But instead, Hope had to sit on a bench, talking to Eve. Then she had to get off that bench so Lani and Eli could sit there, flirt, and drink coffee. Finally, Rafe had to take Sami back to the station and handcuff her to a chair so she could sit through another round of his one-man show, "The Smuggest Man on Earth."

Police incompetence is nothing new, but Rafe's cruelty toward Sami was. He was the cop who got the call when E.J. died. He saw Sami in that park. Furthermore, he went on his own globetrotting goose chase to clear Hope's name -- and she was alive at the time! He should understand the lengths a person will go to when they love someone.

Besides, Sami has the ultimate point. A back-from-the-dead Kristen just told her that E.J. got a shot of the same back-from-the-dead juice Will got. You know, Will. The Will who's literally walking around Salem right now, alive and well.

Not only is he alive, but his memories are back! It really was only a matter of time before Wilson reunited. They're such an important couple for DAYS that it didn't make sense for them not to be together. So, I'm glad they are back on track.

I also found myself really happy for Sonny last week. There's always been something consistently likeable about him. Sure, he can be a bit self-righteous sometimes, but he's never vindictive. Being at peace is something that's important to our resident Care Bear. He needed this closure on that chapter in his life, and I'm glad he had it. I'm ready for Wilson 2.0.

It's the way it always should have been. That is...until Christopher Sean showed up with a 100-watt smile and pretty stellar acting skills. I don't think I was supposed to like Paul as much as I did. But, boy, did I ever! I really root for that guy -- instant family and all!

So, part of me cheered for Brady when he tore into Will for the way Sonny and Will have used and abused Mr. Narita. They kinda, sorta, totally have. Life dealt Paul a crap hand. And it's only made worse by the way that he's involved with people who are also exempt from blame. Will's not doing anything wrong. But Paul deserves so much better.

Speaking of people who deserve better, I had a lot of dissonance watching Abigail confront Gabi. Yes, Gabi absolutely needs to be called on the mat for her shenanigans. She's messing with three legitimately innocent people here. Abigail didn't ask to get pregnant. Chad and the baby didn't ask to be lied to.

But the fact that Abigail has grounds to scold Gabi precisely proves Gabi's whole point. The people around Abigail have a pattern of having to deal with heartache that they didn't ask for, yet somehow Abigail has a monopoly on sympathy. Gabi's a victim, too. She didn't ask to have evidence planted on her, get thrown in jail, and be beaten. I'm still uncomfortable expecting her to just shoulder shrug all of that off because Abigail said she was sorry.

For the record, Abigail's apology is really not enough. I think Abigail knows that, too, as she's said as much from time to time. Ideally, she'd give Gabi some space. But this is Salem, and that would be logical and boring. So instead, I wish Abigail, Gabi, and Chad would team up to take on Stefan!

And Gabi's so close! I was worried Dr. Laura would reappear to protect Abigail when Gabi was yelling at her. But instead, Abigail held it together, and Gabi went upstairs with Gabby's wig.

And there it is. That's the key to taking down Stefan. He's obsessed with a woman who isn't real and a kid that isn't his. Both Kate and Gabi know about it. I want to see them figure out a way to use that to pull the rug out from under that dude.

The Kate angle was one I didn't see coming. I was surprised he worked with Kate to get Ted to back off. I will not stand for Kate feeding Stefan dirt on Chad. Katie's too seasoned a schemer to let that happen.

LOOSE ENDS: The situations between Gabi/Lani/Eli and Chad/Abigail/Stefan are sooo not the same thing. Abigail didn't choose to sleep with Stefan. Eli chose to sleep with Lani, and then the two of them chose to lie about the baby. Try again, Gabbers.

"When it comes to Kristen DiMera, anything is possible" Right, Hope. Except drugging Sami. There's no way Kristen can be blamed if you've already got Sami on the hook.

I mentioned that Abigial's apology really wasn't enough. Chad and Abigail both said they want to help Gabi. There's a doctor on the DiMera payroll who transplanted a fetus from Theresa and into Kristen. You're telling me neither of you can dig into the Rolodex to see if there's a fertility specialist who could help Gabi? Just putting that out there.

The most interesting thing about Lani or Eli is their respective family trees. So, unless they're interacting with those families, I don't find either of them especially compelling to watch. Thus, a romantic pair between the two is soap Ambien for me.

I perked up momentarily when Eli asked Lani what she was doing with his notes. For a second, I thought DAYS was going to give Lani a scheming streak. But, nope, it was just an excuse for them to flirt. I settled back into my pillow for the rest of the scenes.

Bonnie announced she's the mother of Lucas' child. I have so many questions, but I can't hear any of them over Allie screaming, "No! NO! He's already got another kid! Put me in a storyline first!"

HOT: Lucas! We got to see Lucas! First, it's awesome that he showed up at the hospital to support Will. Second, the scene where Will told Lucas that he got all of his memories back made me smile. For all his schemes and imperfections, Lucas does love Will to pieces. The guy literally went to jail for him. (Wonder if Will remembers that?!) So, it was sweet to see Lucas hug Will, and even sweeter that Lucas said it didn't matter what Will he had, as long as Will was alive and happy. Good on you, Lucas!

NOT: I'm pretty sure there's a rule that you're not to upset people who are lying in hospital beds. So why John thought it would be great to lie to Marlena about how she got shot baffles me. There was no mention of Sami standing in between Marlena and the gun when Kristen pointed it at Marlena. There was no mention of Sami being drugged. There was no mention of how Eric grabbed the gun, causing it to go off. Nope, just this revisionist history of Sami shooting Marlena.

Thanks to a lot of commercials, I know about the NBC app. You can watch DAYS anytime! This is convenient for me because I'm headed to Salem to make John watch the wedding episode again.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Stefan: "I was under the impression you were dead" Kristen: "That happens a lot with this family."

Line of the Weak: Lani (holding up Kristen's stiletto high heel) "She can't get very far without this." Right. For sure. Women are always faster with high heels on. Good thinking, Lani!

RANDOM THOUGHTS: It's kind of funny that Viv's photo is on the mantel at the DiMera mansion

"Serious spy face" ranks way under "mom voice," but just ahead of "side-eye."

Chad took Thomas to the lake. They swam and grilled. Then Chad came home and put on his suit at the end of the day because that man has standards, I tell you!

Legal question: We know the tunnels under the DiMera mansion lead all over Salem. Are those considered DiMera property?

Medical question: Kayla ordered an emergency endoscopy for Paul, which seems like an odd thing to order when you have trauma from falling out a window. I guess she needs a scan of his upper digestive system for internal bleeding? Any medical peeps out there know why?

I'm shocked that Abigail has time for movie nights, considering she's single-parenting.

Did they mention the dude Will slept with in L.A. before Paul?

Why has no one called Tori to tell her about Paul?

I don't know, Stefan. "Relocated permanently" sounds a lot like "dead."

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