It's time for a family meeting

How are you feeling about Ejami? What family tree would you like to see explained next? And are Gwen and Xander on an upswing? Let's talk about it all in this edition of Two Scoops!

I fully agree with my partner, Tony's, assessment of Ejami from last week. Nothing against Dan Feuerriegel, but it's hard to jump right back into Ejami. That's such a nuanced and carefully crafted power couple. It took James Scott and Ali Sweeney years to get to the point when Sami was worth everything. (Tear!) So, firing up Ejami with a new actor at this point can't help but feel anything but forced. I'm reserving judgment on Ejami for just a bit of storyline to play out.

However, stepping into E.J. DiMera: Son of Stefano was utterly splendid to watch this week. Perhaps it's Dan's effortless charisma as a baddie. Perhaps it's Thaao Penghlis and Billy Flynn's inherent welcoming charm that make "new" E.J. feel like an instant part of the family. Or perhaps it's that I've been conditioned over the years for any actor to suddenly play one of Steffie's kids! Ha! I loved the brothers DiMera this week!

And it got me what might be my favorite scene of my Scooping career. The whiteboard/chess board breakdown of the DiMera family had me cheering in my living room. A quick rundown of questions and exclamations:

Peter is out of jail! Tony has his phone number!! Wahooo!

They mentioned Steven!

Why do Gabi (Stefan) and Kate (Andre) get votes as the surviving spouses, but Sonja (Benjy) and Abe (Lexie) don't?

How is Theo old enough to vote, but Johnny isn't? The recent reshuffling of ages to put Allie (Johnny's twin) in the age bracket with Chanel and Theo seems like they'd be closer to the same age.

Questions aside, the payoff was exciting! Kate's vote to oust Jake as CEO was thrilling -- and a brilliant piece of drama. At the end of the day, I love that she sided with Chad. (At least, I hope she did.) Kate's through line has been her love for her sons. Chad may not be biological, but he's her son. There are no two ways about that.

DiMera Enterprises is in a state of chaos now. Who will climb the ladder? I can't wait to find out!

In other family news, Jack continued his campaign for Best TV Sitcom Dad as he gave speeches to both Gwen and Xander about the power of being kind. It took, too, as they softened toward each other and shared a flat-out enjoyable scene.

When Julie shook Dr. Snyder to wake him up, as Gwen and Xander sat horrified, I laughed out loud. Something about those three characters and the ridiculousness of that scene was screwball comedy.

That doesn't mean Gwen still isn't a little grating. Her justification for not calling the police was silly. I'm entirely sure an autopsy could prove Dr. Snyder had a heart attack. He'd been there to check on her before, which could explain his presence. Now that Julie's seen his face, she'll surely tell Jack when this fella's photo turns up in the Spectator as a missing person.

The plot is full of holes, but this kind of comedy stuff is another place where Paul Telfer shines. Emily O'Brien stepped right on board. Xander and Gwen -- two accomplished schemers in their own rights -- bumbling over each other to get out of a situation was so much fun to watch.

Thank the sweet soap lords Kate's blind storyline is over. I worship Lauren Koslow, but Kate's constant refrain of "Oh, who's there?" was maddening to watch. I don't like Kate even pretending to be weak. She's tough as they come. At one point this week, she said, "Don't let rejection turn you bitter." You know, she said that while pretending to be blind and just after begging a man to sleep with her. I know, I know. It was all pretend. But Kate's never been one who needs to pretend very much. She tells people to their face what she thinks of them and then leaves those poor schmucks to deal with it. Hopefully, now, that's the Kate we have back.

Paulina's secret plans for the square better be worth it because she's about to break Abe's (and thus my) heart. I haven't seen my Abe this happy in a while. And, secret aside, Auntie P is exactly the kind of gal Abe should be with. She's strong and independent. He's supportive and introspective. I love the way their energies meshed. And how fabulous did they look in their matching blue ensembles?

So, Allie's a master baker worthy of owning her own business after her first attempt at making Alice's doughnuts? I mean, sure. If men can be CEOs with no experience, I guess this is fine. Still, I keep waiting for this storyline to go somewhere.

I don't know this E.J. enough yet, but something tells me he knows about the Lumi affair and is teasing his revenge. Why else would he mention Kristen?

Rafe had a dream about kissing Nicole. This surprised him, mainly because he was in bed with Ava when it happened. I'd say that was awkward, but we're talking about the fella who currently shares custody of a stuffed cowboy bear with a woman married to an ex-priest, so...

HOTA huge congrats to Victoria Konefal and Cady McClain on their well-deserved Emmy wins! These ladies represented for Team DAYS at the Daytime Emmy Awards last weekend. Both of these ladies put their all into these roles and were a joy to watch. (Hint, hint bringing them both back wouldn't be a terrible thing!) You can read more about there wins here.

NOT:Both Brady and Philip can stop speaking for Chloe anytime now. No, Brady. Chloe doesn't need a ride to work each day. And when Philip arrived and announced it was time for Chloe's meds, I almost made a call to Nicole to go pick her bestie up and bring her back to their apartment. Also, I cringed when Philip offered Chloe a relationship at the same time he offered her a job. Dude. #MeToo -- Look into what that movement actually entailed!

LINE OF THE WEEK:Allie (about Julie and Alice's doughnuts): "If something's wrong, she'll know."

Yeah...I can think of one time she didn't.

Has there always been a DiMera logo?

What was that fabulous romper/dress situation Chanel wore? I need to know more about this.

Please, please, please let us see the bowling trio of Rafe, Lucas, and E.J.

Philip mentioned Victor was out by the pool. I miss Victor and Maggie!

Sami stealing Lucas' food was adorable.

Seriously, about Nicole picking up Chloe -- how great would it be if Parker and Holly got to live together?

E.J. addressing Jake as "Jacob" was very on-brand for E.J.

The characterization of Sami as some sort of serial cheater is severely off. If anything, Sami's main characteristic is that she's been obsessed with one man.

I want more of Bryan Dattilo's impressions of the rest of the cast. Lucas' rant about the house with his "blind mother" was magic in Bryan's capable hand.

I so enjoyed Sami's talk with Roman.

If Xander is smart enough to hypothesize that Sami and Lucas slept together, why can't he figure out Sarah might not have broken up with him? He knows that Kristen has masks and pulled this trick with Kate, too! Come on, Xanimal.

Yay for Gabi and Sami! I love that they're playing nice and that they both have a friend in the house.

That's it for this week! Tony will be back next week after he's done picking up all the daggers Kate shot Gabi and Jake at that DiMera vote. Have a great week!

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