Salem's longest night ever

Just how much can DAYS pack into one night? Will the new governor make it to inauguration? Did Eric get a new relationship and a kid all in one night? And how long will it be before someone questions Ava's sanity? Let's stay up late for this edition of DAYS Two Scoops.

I often make the mistake of assuming that soap episodes happen consecutively. But this week, episodes jumped around a bit to see what everyone was up to on Election Day. Either that, or the Kiriaikis family plans dinner parties that begin at 10 p.m., which seems like a truly non-Victor thing to do. He seems like a guy who appreciates the fine art of watching Law and Order in jammies and then getting up early before everyone takes all the cinnamon rolls.

First, let's take a peek at the DiMera mansion. My only guess is it's the CEO's job to hire a security firm, and since we've been swapping out DiMera CEOs every ten minutes lately, there just hasn't been time to get one in place. This location has overtaken the pier as the most dangerous in all of Salem. Xander grabs Susan while Ava paces in the crypt -- going completely mad.

That last point has to be the case here. When Ava's conscience is represented by a murdered rapist who advocates kidnapping, this does not represent a well woman. Plus, Ava is going a little overboard on her love for Jake and this "humiliation" on E.J.'s part. In truth, she had a rebound relationship with Jake, and E.J. ruined a half-baked plan that was in place for a few weeks. Kidnapping an innocent woman is an action more along the lines of Crazy Ava.

I wonder how Johnny's going to rationalize Ava kidnapping his grandmother. Kidding. Johnny doesn't remember he has grandmothers. Unless he needs something from them.

Anyway, Tony made a solid point about Rafe being more than willing to see Ava brought to justice. But E.J. thought it better to fight crazy with lunacy and sent up the Batsignal of DiMera goons to grab Tripp, or at least appear that he did. I'd love to see Steve ask Stephanie what she knows about doctored photos as part of his quest to find Tripp.

Stephanie should be doing nothing but work these days, now that her main client's daughter has been arrested. I could be reading too much into this, but it sounded like Shawn arrested Chanel on suspicion of murder. Does that mean that someone is dead and that the police suspect Chanel did it? OR are we looking at a Philip situation here, where someone is suspected of being dead, and if so, Chanel is the one who knows something about it?

Either way, Abe knows the whole story. Belle doesn't want to know the whole story. And there's part of the story that just got very interesting. Sloan seems to be taking this very personally. She said Stephanie "used someone I care about" to get that file. Could that someone be Chad? (Yup. Still not dropping the theory that Sloan could be Chad's half-sister.) She also seems to be deeply frustrated with Paulina. It's not hard to imagine Paulina rubbing people the wrong way. Her Price Town scheme can't have been the only time in her past she tried to crack some eggs to make an omelet. I'm excited to learn more!

Speaking of people who are upset, Rafe is going through it these days. I've never been much of a Rafe fan over the years, but he was onto the solid point -- Nicole wasn't admitting her feelings to herself, much less Rafe. After the way the two of them behaved when Rafe was dating Ava, I have little sympathy for his displeasure with this situation. But that doesn't mean he's not accurate in his assessment of it. I was relieved for both of them when Nicole finally ripped off the Band-Aid and told Rafe she wanted to be with Eric.

Also, Eric and Nicole need to take some responsibility here. They had this exact same storyline with Brady. They know how this movie could end. I buy that these two have an all-encompassing love that surpasses decades apart and even a love triangle with the big fella upstairs. But for them not to be able to control themselves enough to have two conversations is ridiculous.

Jada and Eric clearly have different perceptions of their relationship. Eric has been fairly noncommittal. Eric was super quick to offer up that he's made no promises to Jada. While that's extremely convenient for him, considering his feelings for Nicole, he's also not wrong. We haven't seen any scenes of him making any substantial commitments or promises to Jada. However, Jada has been shooing Nicole away every other day. I can see how doing this would make her feel like there's something more to this relationship for her. But these two clearly need to have a chat about exclusivity.

I've buried the lede. Jada is pregnant. We know she is because Dr. Kayla confirmed it, and Dr. Kayla is never wrong. Well, that and because Jada fainted -- the telltale sign of pregnancy on soaps. I sincerely hope there's a conversation early next week about birth control failing because an unplanned pregnancy seems ridiculous for Jada and Eric. They're both responsible adults who had not even an ounce of hypothermia when they slept together.

With that snark out of the way, and acknowledging my sincere love for Ericole, I really, truly, madly love the show giving Eric a child. Please let this one survive! At the risk of sounding all House of the Dragon-y, Rex and Eric are the only ones with a traditional shot at carrying on the Brady name in future generations. Plus, Eric's felt like the most Brady-ish of the Brady kids. Working behind the bar at the pub doesn't hurt. I want that blue-collar Brady-ness to pass onto a generation that's currently lost on characters like Allie and Johnny.

Speaking of Johnny, he and Wendy looped in Anna (yes, always yes) to help track down Ned Grainger: DiMera Ranger and get info on where Rolf is. Ned balks a bit when Anna calls, making me wonder -- why isn't it an emergency to find Rolf? No one wants to casually catch up with that dude. Anyway, they all find out Rolf is in Jakarta. I wonder if it looks like the DiMera island this time of year? Hmm...perhaps we shall soon find out.

Mark another one down in the "Win" column for the Chloemeister. While Stefan continues his harassment pursuit, Chloe pumped the brakes at each turn. I can see how Brady dumping her out of nowhere would send her spiraling. Accepting kisses from a handsome man is fine. I'm just glad she realized that they should probably start with a cup of coffee, not a trip to Paris, for their first date.

Furthermore, Chloe very much should get away. She should go see her son! Or check in on Nancy in NYC! How about a girls' trip to see Joy?

Hat tip to Chad for having an honest conversation with Stephanie about his feelings. Also, for all his faults, Alex hasn't been misleading with any of his sentiments toward Stephanie, either. See how that works, Eric?

HOT At first, I thought...no...they're not really going to... and then they did! We got a glorious flashback to the DAYS pilot from 57 years ago! We got to see Tom and Alice in their glorious human forms. We got to see Mickey (hey, Mickey!) before his silver-haired glory. This was an exquisite use of history and a proper way to mark an anniversary. Whoever wrote this part should get a double doughnut basket as a thank you!

NOT: I'll take the hardest of all passes on Sonny and Leo. It was just a few weeks ago when Sonny wanted to save Craig -- a man he barely knows -- from the horror that is Leo Stark. The fact that Sonny's that hard up for company that he's willing to have a meal with Leo is silly. He knows Chad was working for Paulina's campaign. Why not call up Chad for dinner to celebrate?

Additionally, despite the huge talent that is Greg Rikaart, Leo can't just have a few lines in one scene about needing a friend for that to negate what we've seen for years. Name one friend Leo hasn't betrayed. There isn't one. And this makes me very nervous, not just for Sonny, but for Paulina, too.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Allie (as justification for why Henry should have a sibling): "As bad as things got between Johnny and me growing up, the good times 100% made up for it."

Okay, I know we all forget about Sydney, but that was a direct shot, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Hang on a hot second. Has it really been eleven years of Magic? Congrats, you two!

Alex and Sonny doing yoga together cracked me right up. I can't say enough good things about the Sonny/Alex dynamic.

Is Henry's nickname really "Hen"? Oh, Allie...

Leave it to Julie to put tissue paper in a package she's stealing!

Love the new not-Chez Rouge set!

"How 'bout them Cubs?" is a rich line to try weeks after the World Series ended.

Shawn arresting Chanel while wearing an "I Voted" sticker was funny for some reason.

What movies do you think Victor and Justin were arguing over watching?

This just in -- death hasn't mellowed Charlie. He's still an ass.

I love Abe, but announcing his plans to abandon his post during his victory speech seems like something he should have made clear before this election. People didn't vote for the deputy mayor, my man. They voted for you! Talk about a scandal!

These episodes were still ones taped before the Peacock move was announced, but the fact that the Election Day episode actually aired on Election Day reminds me of a scheduling benefit we'll get forever. Those special episode days will always air on the days the writers intended. Never again will breaking news preempt our beloved DAYS schedule.

Say what you will about Susan. She sure has manners to refer to him as "Mr. Clown". Giving the title of the Ringmaster to Mr. Clown's boss was just delightful, too.

Who else wanted to say, "The call is coming from inside the building!" each time Ava called E.J. from the crypt?

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