Here you come again (Part Two)

Satan slithered back into town last September, but El Diablo met its match last week when one of Salem's most heroic heroes returned to end the Prince of Darkness' evil reign. In other words: Bo. Brady. Is. Back! Let's thank the heavens for that (and more) in this week's devil-free DAYS Two Scoops!

Prologue: Upon watching the DAYS promo for last week, I got misty-eyed. By "misty-eyed," I mean I bawled. I wasn't expecting it to hit me so hard. I even did a test. I rewatched the trailer the next day. The same outcome. Tears. Our Peter Reckell was coming home! It was just the dose of amazing news we needed right now. Let's Happy Dance then dive into this week's Two Scoops!

Last fall, the devil came to Salem, and last week was Satan's swan song, complete with a swan dive, but we'll trip into that later. But this intro can really start and stop with one word bellowed at the top of our lungs, and that word is "BO!"

Not only was Bo back, but Satan is gone! Gone for good. Okay. I know you want to, as well, so let's do another Happy Dance then settle into Two Scoops. Get up on that makeshift floor, and we'll reconvene in five.

Now. Full disclosure. Bo's return was brief. Most of his scenes were in the trailer. Still, that was more Bo than we've gotten in years and years and years, and I couldn't have been happier or more grateful. It was magic to see him again!

I'm talking happy dances and happy tears, folks. I was a mess the first two days of last week. Just that short scene -- look, really -- between Bo and Steve had me sobbing. Peter Reckell and Stephen Nichols didn't even have to be in the same frame for me to lose it. The best bud chemistry was still there. So, sorry, not sorry, John, but Bo and the Patch Man are and always will be bestie goals.

Plus, Peter still has that million-dollar sparkle and charisma to spare. In fact, I'm pretty sure Dolly Parton could have had Peter in mind when she wrote, "All you gotta do is smile that smile." I concur, Queen Dolly. Like Bo, Peter's pure white light and happiness. Welcome back, good sir!

So, after three seasons of Satan, Bo slayed the Prince of Darkness in a single spring day. That tracks. Bo's always been a hero. I guess this time a heavenly hero! So that means that Bo is really gone-gone? Like, his "Salem Death" actually stuck. I guess we'll officially have to wait until July to go Beyond Salem again to find out for sure. In the meantime, let's talk about the other Satan-sized elephant in the room.

That is, St. Luke's windows are not lucky around twenty-somethings! First, Shawn-Douglas drives his motorcycle through one. Now Tripp tosses himself out one. And seriously, Salemites!? A possessed Tripp darts toward a window, and none of you screamed, "We got a runner!" I'm disappointed. I kid. I kid.

What Tripp did was the definition of heroic and has somewhat of a larger significance. Steve's son being encouraged by John to fight Satan and brought back to life by Bo is like the trinity of senior Salem heroes passing the baton to the next generation. I think Tripp can handle the pressure. He's a legit -- as Steve might say -- "Good dude." Now if we only had Paul Narita back in town to saddle up in some heroic tights, too, but I digress.

One of the reasons to celebrate the Re-Possession storyline was its use of the cast from every generation. I'm glad that it ended that way, too. From Baby Bo to Big Boy Bo, err, Angel Bo, everybody was included. It was fantastic.

I also loved the other bookends of it, such as the endgame encounter at St. Luke's. Allifer was right when stating, "What a fitting place for the grand finale!" It was. The vintage flaming flashbacks were a nice touch, too.

Also, the crew outdid themselves. The sets looked superb! The choir loft was Gothically creepy. It was so well done, it transported one right there with the characters. The lighting was perfectly on-point, too. The shot of Tripp after he jumped was just chilling. Everything just looked amazing. Bravo, Team DAYS Crew!

Sidebar: I will take this time to make a plea. If I'm ever being choked by Satan and there's, you know, several people surrounding me, feel free to pitch in to pull El Diablo off me. I'll be eternally grateful. There will be bags of Sweet Bits as rewards. Just saying. Anyway...

The final hurrah of Satan was superb! It was time for this storyline to retreat into the depths of hell for a spell or two. And it did so perfectly. The cast were all amazing. From Lindsay Arnold as Satan to Tamara Braun and Stephen Nichols, and everyone -- and I do mean everyone -- in between, I was very proudly wearing my "I *Heart* DAYS" shirt and blue and gold face paint, and waving the foam hourglass. A celebratory limoncello for everyone!

Now, of Beelzebub's bye-bye, Bo stated Satan was gone for good. He confirmed it twice. Though it's probably best to "never say never," and this might be better printed on a T-shirt, but "I Believe in Bo!" Perhaps we'll see Satan somewhere down the line. Maybe during DAYS' 75th anniversary or in another 25 years. Perhaps. But for now, DAYS is devil free! Though, a big question remains...

What will a Satan-less Salem look like!?

This storyline has dominated the scene since last September. It's incorporated nearly all the cast. There's hardly a Salemite who was left unscathed by Lucifer. So, like a Thanos-less MCU, what's next for the DAYSverse!? Who will be the next big bad, or what will be the next all-encompassing storyline? While I have some suspicions and hopes I'll share soon, like Bo, I also believe Ron Carlivati and his crew will deliver us something big, bold, and brilliant. Stay tuned!

LOOSE ENDS:

It's official! Baby Bo is officially "Beauregard Brady Weston." I love it.

And love it or not, we finally know that Bo is a "CIN" fan. He gave Ben a heavenly thumbs-up. So, his agenda was Save Salem from Satan, prop CIN, and bring Tripp back to life. Got it!

Oh, Shawn-D. I wish Bo had taken a second to sprinkle his son with some sense. Sailor Man's heart is in the right place, but his head is in the clouds. See! That would have made Bo's sprinkling even easier, but, again, I digress.

I love Shawn-D. He's the son of two heroes, as Hope certainly knew how to save the day, too. He's a hero in his own right. Still, Shawn's big heart often lands him in this same problematic place. He wants to help everyone. He wants to please everyone. And it usually ends up making most miserable. I repeat, "Oh, Shawn-D."

Now, I'm not saying Shawn should chain Jan up in a shack in the garden like Ed in Shaun of the Dead, but maybe Jan could have stayed above the Brady Pub. Former commish Roman could have looked after her; Kate is there a lot, has spare time, and wouldn't let Jan pull stuff; and Jan could swap Statesville gossip with Clyde when she's bored, and he'd bring her a burger. Wins all around. Also, John would be more than happy to check in. I love how sassy and snarky he is when he confronts Jan. See, Shawn. Options.

Jan's been in comas more often than not. So, she has an excuse, but to avoid future buffoonery, can someone teach her about Salem's version of DoorDash!? DAYSDash? BradyPubGrub? BurgerBarn2Go?

Thankfully, Eric acted heroic, too, last week. He took Xander to task for shielding Sarah from the truth, and then told her himself. You go, Padre! This has all gone on for too long. Clean slates are needed all over Salem. If Eric can shut down another sauntering storyline, again, "You go, Padre!"

Nicole told Rafe that he has no reason to be jealous over Eric. None. She's fully committed to him. You know what that means -- someone needs to tell the Chlomeister to get the Pledge again. Booty prints don't polish themselves from conference room tables, after all.

Post-Satan Allie's life looks a lot like Pre-Devil Allie's life. She's a hot mess in the feelings department. Methinks staying single for a while to sort things out sounds like a solid idea.

Though, when someone battles Satan for you, flings themselves out a stained-glass window, dies, and comes back after you've cheated on them, and they still want to be together, well, they do get a few extra credit points, I'd suspect. Still, you can't force feels. Follow your heart, Allie.

I forgot how much I liked Johnny and Chanel together. They have a way of balancing each other out. She really does make him a better man. He needs all the help he can get. So, go on and reconcile, you two. It'll work. For a while.

I think more than a love-quad, the Johnny, Chanel, Allie, and Tripp foursome just need a new storyline to submerge themselves in. What's next for Johnny now that he's not possessed, producing, or partaking in DiMera Enterprises? Will Chanel set up that second location? Will Allie, um, do something? Will Tripp continue to be a mild-mannered doctor by day and a superhero by night? Will the twins track down Sami with the other two in tow!? Again, options.

Note: we can cross "flight" and "healing" off Tripp's Shazam-like superpowers testing list.

I'm not picking up what Lucas is putting down. Sami would not entrust Lucas or anybody to save the day other than herself. Hell, Sami usually ruins rescues by barging in gangbuster style. Broken leg or not, she would have dragged herself to Salem to save her children. Someone needs to check the DiMera wine dungeon, err, cellar and the crypt, CIN's cabin, and Stella Lombard's old pit pronto!

I agree with Julie! Yes. I wrote that. And I mean it. She's right. Abe should share his feelings with Paulina. There's never a bad time for good news, as it certainly does give one hope.

I'm honestly not sure what to make of Paulina insisting on covering for Lani. Dangerous Ray would have kept swinging and hulking out to cover his tracks had Lani not taken him down. Did the shot have to be fatal? Nope, but where's the drama in that? I feel she was pretty justified (in Soap World).

As for Paulina covering? Well. Sure. It's heroic. It stems from love. It's also so, well, unnecessary. It feels like it's a reason for Ms. P to "lie" to Abe again after Julie encouraged him to follow his heart and believe "she has nothing left to lie about." It's a clash of Abe's loves -- Paulina, Lani, and the law. Can he forgive her...again?

Speaking of that "Law," now that Eli knows the truth about the lie, we have two of Salem's people in blue on board. Mayor Abe has major suspicions. So does Steve, though he's not on the force. Rafe literally encouraged Paulina to tell the truth because he sincerely wanted to help her, indicating that he knows what's what. I'm sure Shawn would help, too. That leaves two or three background cop extras and, well, Melinda, who will surely "Trask Out" over the incident but end up settling for a lackluster deal. So, let's loop back to that above verdict of "unnecessary" and move on.

Still, I love the gang involved in this storyline, and I love that DAYS is creating a strong matriarchy to combat Salem's Kiriakis and DiMera boys' clubs. Big Mama's presence can still be felt, and I adore Paulina's love for her girls. It's very One Life to Live's Dorian Lord-esque. And that's a great thing! Perhaps if the future sees Lani looking for a new job, she could join her mother, and the Price women could go head to head in the corporate world against Titan and DiMera Enterprises.

On the topic of DiMera Enterprises, there's big news! Li Shin is back in Salem. *sigh*

Right! I buried the lede...

It's all-out war for DiMera Enterprises -- again. E.J. and Chad, the "DiMera Dynamic Duo," are faced off against Gabi and her gang. E.J. and Chad have Tony, Kate, Theo, and Johnny on their side. Gabi has Jake, Li, Steven Hawk, and a flip-flopped Peter Blake. But! There's a wild card, and it's the wildest card of them all, the Queen of Mean, Kristen!

Ms. DiMera logged on to remind the "kids" that she's still in the game. Snap! I love this. I've always wanted her to make a play for the family business. Kristen has that charming-cunning-crazy combo that comes closest to Stefano's special brand of supervillainy. This might be an amazing twist made more interesting if she takes over and hires her, uh, pals, Gwen and Ava. It'll be sort of like an anti-angel version of Charlie's Angels. Only it would be more corporate and committing crimes, not solving capers. Oh! Leo could be their "Bosley," as he loves himself some well-connected divas.

Kristen reigning over all things DiMera would also give E.J. and Chad a deeper way to bond (and later implode worse) if they built a company from scratch to rival DiMera Enterprises, especially if they brought Gabi on board to form an uneasy alliance. Yep. Lots and lots of options for the future.

HOT

Peter. Reckell. Returned. Does more need to be said!? Okay. One more word: "Epic!"

HOT, TOO

Something has to be scorching to even come close to the "HOT" that is Peter's return, so if you're placing bets for next year's Emmy winners, slide those chips toward Tamara Braun and Stephen Nichols. Their performances as Ava and Steve mourned Tripp were flawless. Tamara had me sobbing along with Ava, and when Steve cried, "My boy," I was completely gutted. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, we are lucky as DAYS fans to be spoiled by the greatest of great actors!

NOT

Folks stating "ATM machine" has the same effect on me as Paulina covering up for Lani. You don't have to add "machine," as ATM stands for "automated teller machine." Machine-machine. It's not needed.

LINE(S) OF THE WEEK

Bo: "The devil's gone, and he's not coming back."

Johnny (to Gabi): "First of all, that wasn't me. It was Satan."

EXCHANGE OF THE WEEK

Jan (spotting Marlena and running to embrace her): "Lucifer! It's been such a long time."

Marlena: "I'm not possessed anymore, Jan."

Jan: "Oh. That's a bummer. It's like the best friend I ever had. Except for Claire, of course."

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Let's give a cyber standing-O for Jacke Harry! She was on fire last week. Sal Stowers and Raven Bowens only added to the amazingness when Paulina shared scenes with her daughters. Bravo, bravo!

I had the same reaction, Eej! When the DiMera gang were video conferencing with Peter Blake, and we didn't see him, I screamed at my screen, too. Ah. Well. At least Petey Blake is remembered these days. THAT in itself is a victory. Perhaps we'll see him soon.

I got so weepy when Bo greeted Ciara by stating, "Hello there, Little One." Victoria Konefal's reaction was spot-on.

Again, Jan embracing Marlena and screaming, "Lucifer!" will never not be funny.

I won't look a gift-Bo in the mouth, but I greedily wished he'd given us a heavenly update on Zach, Shawn and Caroline, and Isabella, to name a few. In my head, he's at heaven's version of the Brady Pub with them, Lexie, Tom, and Alice.

I laughed so hard when Ciara asked Tripp, "You brought a baseball bat!?" His reply was funny, too.

Kayla swooning over Baby Bo was adorable, as was Steve's reaction to the name.

I also loved when "Shelle" shared their story of Claire learning to walk. That hit me in the feels. I'll always recall her toddling around with RoboJohn. They were a cute hoot. Aw. I miss Claire Bear.

As if I couldn't adore James Reynolds and Sal Stowers more, I watched this. Elton sang, "And can you feel the love tonight?" Yes. Yes, we can.

Speaking of Sal, applause, applause! Her entire "I killed my father" scene was spectacular.

She's always gorgeous and glam, but Susan Seaforth Hayes look extra radiant last week!

I kind of unintentionally cracked up when Marlena warned Satan not to harm Eric. Like, mess with the rest, but not her golden child. Fair, Doc. We love Eric, too.

No offense to Ben, but I'm glad Ciara (and White Light Bo) got to be the hero who saved Baby Bo. Just another reminder that Ciara is a badass and now a mama bear badass. So, nope. Don't mess with her, evil Salemites. You've been warned.

Hope's absence was super felt last week. Kayla talked to her. There's that Fancy Faced nugget, I guess. Though only a month and half-ish until we get a Hope fix. So, that balances out, right? Maybe.

Heather Lindell is hilarious. I died when Jan was sharing her baby name ideas with John (and his reactions were equally hilarious). "Britney Spears Brady" and, if it's a boy, "Lucifer." Ha! John was not as amused.

I love when DiMera drama means bringing up family members like Peter and Steven. Something tells me that sooner or later, one or both are going to visit Salem. Or maybe beyond Salem? Hmm.

How comfy did Nicole's robe look!? I want to "Easy Like Sunday Morning" Lionel Richie-style in that robe while reading and sipping tea. And since Tripp is the hero du jour, maybe once he's done laying around, he could drop off some Sweet Bits to snack on. Thanks, Dude Doc Johnson!

Also in "robe fashion," Allie in her pink robe reminded me of Samantha Evans. Twins with that look don't fare well in Salem, Li'l Al. Consider yourself warned!

I really enjoy Ciara and Tripp's friendship.

Li stated Gabi successfully closed a deal on a firm called Pinehurst. This would be a good way to bring back a character we haven't seen in a while. Maybe even someone like Stephanie. Again, "Hmm."

Paulina and Lani's hug was precious.

The twins' hug was also pretty precious. I'd like to see more mending fences and less bickering between the two.

Eli eyeing up Abe's "good" Jell-O was hysterical. I adore Lamon Archey's comedic chops.

"Just stay cool, Mama" also cracked me up.

Damn! Mar came in hot when confronting Shawn-D. Not to be a DAYS conspiracy theorist, but I think Marlena can't help but throw a little shade at everything Hope related after the second Princess Gina saga. There was a chill there, even after Doc learned the truth. Does that extend to Shawn, or is Marlena just bothered that Belle's bothered by his choices? A threepeat, "Hmm!"

So, we learned a little more about Jan. Her mother's name was Gertrude. Gertie was a horrible person who's dead. Though, if she's "Salem dead," we still might get to meet her.

I vote that "Gertrude" is an alias used by someone like Megan Hathaway, and she's not so dead-dead. Another World alum Kim Rhodes would be a solid recast. Just putting that out there.

Did anyone else's inner tween chuckle when "up the old choir loft" was uttered?

Does anyone else suspect that Rafe and Nicole have a little bathroom fetish? First his tub. Now her shower. You do you, "Nafe."

I'm with Paulina. If you give someone a delicious chocolate croissant, don't expect a reply until it's entirely devoured, situation be damned. Pastries first. Putting out fires second.

I think I found a DAYS "Easter Egg!" I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but did anyone else notice the little candle in a cage on the end table behind Jan's shoulder during Friday's episode as she was talking to Shawn!? That was sort of brilliant. #LoveCage

PARTING THOUGHTS

So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's it for May 23. Do you believe Bo? Did Satan say a final farewell to Salem!? If so, what big storyline would you like to see moving forward? While you ponder, Laurisa will be back next week with an action-packed Two Scoops to wrap up Sweeps! As always, thank you for reading, and "That's a fact."

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.