Daddy dearest and mother mercy

What will E.J. do with the Jude secret? If he does come clean, is it a sure thing that he'll lose Nicole? And, even if she stays, will another secret send her packing? Let's talk all about the mamas and the papas in this week's Two Scoops.

Spoilers point to Maggie soon getting a clue, which means that this Konnie storyline is about to get spec.tac.u.lar. I mean it! Rarely on soaps does a character summon unity among the fanbase. But I think Konnie may have done so. From what I can tell, he's so universally reviled that seeing this dolt get what's coming to him could be oh-so-satisfying for everyone.

It will be even better if John has been faking the Pawn stuff this whole time! John's response to seeing that card is very similar to my own. I get a severe headache, look away, and consider pretending I'm someone else to avoid remembering what's happening. Learning that he's been faking the whole time -- or at least has gotten some help from Doc to block the card -- would be fabulous.

Additionally, I've never seen Julie be more un-Julie than when she swallowed her opinion and told Maggie she'd support Maggie. What the what? That's not Julie! It also hasn't been Maggie. In addition to her agreeing to a loveless marriage, her stance of "don't worry, we're just getting married to scam the American government" is baffling. I'm pretty sure she shouldn't be so publicly announcing they're committing a crime.

Speaking of a public mistake, Chad's story on Paulina's abuse of power needs to see the light of day. I find Paulina very hard to take in this storyline. She keeps doubling down on her quest to save her daughter. And while, sure, it's understandable for a mom to want to protect her daughter, it is beyond all sense of reason if Paulina is allowed to stay in office. She needs to lose her job for this. I just hope that smarmy pocket deputy mayor isn't still around. Just turn this job back over to Abe, and let's get on with things.

And by "things," I mean this potentially heartbreaking storyline where Johnny and Chanel's child may or may not have developmental complications thanks to radioactive granny P. This is interesting. Johnny and Chanel are in a happy, committed relationship, so of course their pregnancy drama has to involve some health scare. Because no soap character can have a normal pregnancy.

Gifted squarely in the hands of the talented Raven Bowens, I'm interested to see what the show does here. I tend to think the talk of ending the pregnancy will be short-lived. Certainly Johnny has the resources to tackle any medical need. Half his family -- including his own father -- have been brought back from the dead. Keeping the pregnancy will also extend Paulina's reflection period. Like I mentioned earlier, Paulina needs to feel some heat here. Johnny and Chanel are a great couple to continue the legacy of the next generation. And -- the most soapy reason -- aren't we all kind of curious to see what supernatural skill this kid might end up with because of the radiation exposure?

Maybe he'll be able to finally tell baby Jude who his real parents are! Oh, boy, did this storyline get good! After a drunken Leo failed at blackmail (get the money first, my dude!), he knocked over the first domino of a set we've been waiting to see fall for almost a year. Eric got confirmation that Leo was blackmailing Sloan. E.J. knows Jude is Nicole's baby. And I loved the moment that Sloan recalibrated, spun around, and hissed at E.J. that he is only half right. Now, E.J. will have to decide if he keeps that secret or risks losing Nicole to Eric.

Full stop -- that's not as easy a choice as it once appeared to be.

Sure, Nicole said she'd have gotten back together with Eric if she learned the baby was his. But that was a long time and a lot of drama ago. I say this as an Ericole fan, but the way E.J. loves Nicole is quite charming. From doting on her for her first day of work to taking care of her when she snapped and kidnapped Jude, E.J. has been there for Nicole.

Still, there are two huge E.J. secrets swirling that will most definitely blow up in his face. Even if she does forgive him for keeping her child from her, which strangely is something I can see Nicole doing, since she did that same thing to E.J, the second secret is tough, too. E.J. knew Clyde was behind the drugs and did nothing to shut it down. Not only did he knowingly railroad Tate, but he possibly could have helped avoid Holly's overdose.

The choice will be much easier for Eric. It doesn't matter if Sloan was Jude's mother or mother nature; this sociopath is a parade of red flags. She went in hard with the martyr claim (though, fair, that's about her only play right now) and recognizes human emotions just enough to expose them in her big-hearted husband, but not actually feel them herself. Eric seemed to buy a clue and call her out on the lie. But he couldn't bring himself to believe that the woman who complained about a baby getting more attention than her might be up to no good on her own. Oh, sweet, simple-minded Eric! Please wear a helmet when walking across the street.

Loose Ends

I tend to be more of an Ava apologist. I bought her first storyline about the abuse from her dad causing her to be such a twisted person. However, even I flinched just a bit at Ava Vitali working in Shawn Brady's pub. I mean, that one hits a little close to home. I do like her as a chef, though. And this move means that she could have more scenes with Kate -- a move I'll always support!

I'm not sure how great of a sign it is that Steph can't connect the dots as to why the dude who might have an alter is acting like a different person. Next, she's going to come across a kid with chicken pox and wonder why he's scratching his skin.

I'm not convinced Dimitri wrote that letter. Leo made the comment that the only other person who knew about "Matthew Perry" was Gwen. There's no love lost between Gwen and Leo. So, what if she did write the letter out of spite? Could she have teamed up with Megan or even Vivian to secure that Von Leuschner fortune for good?

Tripp and Wendy left Salem for an undisclosed amount of time. I feel worse for Kayla. She's already overworked at the hospital, and now she's losing a third of her staff! Also, I couldn't help but hear Wendy say she has loving and caring parents. Really? Where are these people, because the dude who shipped her to Alaska and the mom who scolded her for rudely passing out from poisoning before calling sure don't seem like caring people.

But hopefully their return home will help further Kristen and Stefan's plot to find out who really killed Li. Kristen has a lot of annoying traits, but she's probably my top draft pick when it comes to uncovering secrets. She's not one to miss clues or leave stones unturned. Plus, with Tripp and Wendy heading there, and Steve always up for a good mystery, this sets up a fun summer storyline. I don't know if Beyond Salem is still a thing, but a summer in Hong Kong to find Li sounds fun!

HOT:

Rita! Where has this magical creature been hiding? No, really, where? She's been here this whole time? Like some professional version of Dr. Rolf who can clean up DiMera messes? Was she also Kate and Sami's assistant when they ran DiMera Enterprises? Sooner than later, I'm going to need more details.

However, face value, this woman is a delight. I love how swiftly and confidently she took E.J. down a peg. And maybe the reason this dynamic worked so well for me was the prior work Dan Feuerriegel has put in to give E.J. this gear. E.J.'s interaction with Rita reminded me of his interactions with Susan. He'll tolerate her talking to him in a way no one else can because he believes it comes from a place of care.

NOT:

Alex and Kristen in bed together was gross. This is an accomplishment, considering how beautiful these actors are, but really, it's hard to overcome Kristen's icky plan to have her elementary-aged daughter catch her in bed with a new beau. I dunno, Special K, maybe consider being nice to and a decent person to your child's father to see if that would work before this plot?

LINE OF THE WEEK

Bobby/Everett: "I know Stephanie is a huge fan of yours, and I didn't want to make you out to be a quack in front of her."

Marlena: "A quack?"

Bobby/Everett: A quack.

Was Bobby/Everett out of line? Oh, yeah. He was. But much like with Rita and E.J., most people don't actually say things that shade Marlena. At least, not in a way that landed like this did. It was a shock, to say the least. Good on Blake Berris for this delivery!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

There's no way Rach3l's favorite fish isn't the piranha.

Oh, my gosh, the heart palpitations that started when Eric put Jude's pumpkin seat on a desk that was juuuuuuust wide enough to hold it?! Stop that, Eric!

"I always have a card up my sleeve." ~Kristen, while wearing a sleeveless dress.

Marlena left a whole glass of wine on the table. Sloan left about a third. What is wrong with these ladies?

I chuckled when Leo described Nicole as "one French fry short of a happy meal."

Ugh, don't make me defend Alex, Theresa, but you can't forcibly enter other people's bedrooms. Boundaries mean something.

Greg Vaughan's delivery of the line, "I would never leave you (pause) for something like that" was a brilliant piece of work.

I'm not triggered by a lot on soaps. But Holly trying to catch up on high school science almost made me break out in a sweat.

That's it for this week, DAYS fans! Tony will be back next week to hand out popcorn and see what E.J. does with that secret and how many fires he'll set along the way. It's shaping up to be a good May Sweeps!

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