Days of our Lives Recap for Monday, January 20, 2025: Bonnie takes a tumble

At Paulina and Abe’s place, Chanel joined Paulina at the table and told her mother about her new plans for the bakery. When Chanel mentioned the extra time she had since quitting Body and Soul, Paulina hesitantly suggested that she could talk Chanel into “un-quitting.” While Chanel hated to leave Abe “in a lurch,” she didn’t believe seeing Johnny and Joy at work every day would be good for her. Paulina understood and stated that Abe would have to go back to “Plan A.”

Chanel raised a quizzical brow at Paulina’s response. A startled Chanel absorbed the news that her character Faith would be killed off. She lamented that she was letting her character down. Paulina offered another suggestion: Chanel could make it right for Faith and for Abe and Kate by returning to film her exit scenes.

At the Body and Soul office, Kate received a call from Abe. He informed her that Leo had identified Lady Whistleblower as Gabi’s cousin Javi. After Kate ended the call, Hattie strolled into the office clad in a hat and dark sunglasses. Hattie explained that she’d gone incognito in case Abe and Kate had wanted to keep Charlemagne’s return a secret. An exasperated Kate warned “Nora Desmond” not to get ahead of herself.

Kate told Hattie in no uncertain terms that she would not tolerate any more "diva" behavior and that Hattie would not be getting any special perks. Hattie looked at a contract Kate handed her and complained about the length of the contract and the pay she would be receiving. Kate said the offer was more than fair, as it was the same contract as Bonnie currently had. Further, Hattie should consider the contract a “probationary” one.

In Javi’s bedroom, Leo interrupted Kerry and Javi’s afterglow. Both Javi and Kerry demanded that Leo leave. Leo, undeterred, declared that he had come to expose Lady Whistleblower. Javi assumed that Leo was accusing him again and expressed confusion. Leo clarified that he knew it wasn't Javi as he glared at Kerry. When Kerry demanded Leo “march his ass” out of the room, Leo stood his ground.

Leo and Kerry traded insults until Javi interrupted them and asked for Leo to explain why he thought Kerry was Lady Whistleblower. “I don’t think she is; I know she is,” Leo affirmed. Kerry tried to convince Javi that Leo was jealous of their relationship. Leo conceded that while that was true, he had proof. He took a seat and detailed the discovery that Lady Whistleblower had a connection to Rochester. Kerry’s sweatshirt had tipped him off.

Kerry argued that just because he was from Rochester, it didn’t make him Lady Whistleblower. Leo laid out the trap he had set for Kerry with his fake possession story. “This scheming bitch walked right into it,” Leo smirked. Javi directly asked Kerry if he was Lady Whistleblower, and Kerry denied it. Someone could have easily eavesdropped on Leo’s conversation.

Leo smiled wider and claimed that Rafe had secured video of Kerry breaking into Leo’s room. Kerry started to say that he had erased the security footage and stopped himself. With a satisfied smirk, Leo announced that Kerry had gotten “played.” Kerry finally admitted that he was Lady Whistleblower and that he had broken into Leo’s room one time and planted a device on Leo’s computer that allowed him to track Leo’s every keystroke.

Leo couldn't understand why Kerry had made it so personal until Kerry reminded him that he had rejected Kerry’s advances. Kerry called the incident “humiliating” for him. Kerry also expressed anger that Leo had “destroyed” a show that he had loved with bad writing. The insult prompted another round of name-calling between Kerry and Leo. Javi put a stop to it by jumping out of bed and commanding Kerry to get out of his room and his life.

Kerry was incredulous that Javi wanted to break up with him because he’d been mean to Leo. Javi clarified that Kerry had committed crimes by breaking into Leo’s room. Even worse, Kerry had willingly let Javi take the blame for actions he had committed. Leo accused Kerry of poisoning the cupcakes as well, but Kerry denied that wrongdoing. Javi again ordered Kerry to leave.

Eventually, Kerry complied after telling Javi it was his “loss.” Once they were alone, Leo thanked Javi for standing up for him, and Javi, in turn, apologized. Leo assured Javi that he had nothing to be sorry about.

Javi confessed that Kerry was right about one thing. Javi hadn’t gotten over Leo. The two shared a kiss. Leo pulled back and asked if they should take it slow. Grinning, Javi kissed Leo again and pulled him onto the bed.

On the hospital set for Body and Soul, Bonnie asked Johnny if she could cut a line from her script. He didn’t care about losing a line since he’d “just lost the love of my life.” Johnny was annoyed but unsurprised that Bonnie already knew of his and Chanel’s problems because of gossip-monger Seth Burns. Bonnie conveyed her sympathy to Johnny and said she hoped that at least Joy and he had used protection. When Johnny confided, “It hadn’t come to that,” Bonnie was shocked that Chanel had gotten so upset.

Johnny defended Chanel’s reaction by reminding Bonnie that he had broken his wife’s trust and had told multiple lies to cover it up. He then revealed that there would be no on-set tension between Chanel and Joy because Chanel had quit. Bonnie worried about the impact on the show since Arrow and Faith were its most popular couple. Johnny indicated that Arrow would probably be getting a new love interest. As for Faith, her exit scenes would soon be filmed.

Outside the Brady Pub, Alex met with Joy to pick her up for work. Joy was nervous because Abe had asked to speak with her. She worried he would fire her. Later, Alex and a still-fretting Joy arrived on set. Joy forced a smile when Abe approached them. He needed to discuss Alex and Joy “hooking up.”

Joy and Alex nervously asked if Abe had a problem with their hook-up. Abe caught them off-guard by simply replying that it could be “hot.” When he added that the fans would eventually accept it, Alex and Joy realized that Abe was referencing their characters. Abe confirmed that Arrow and Regan would become a couple. Joy hopefully asked if that meant she wasn’t getting fired.

While Abe didn’t like how Johnny and Joy had hurt Chanel, he realized that the show needed to go on. Alex made a comment about his and Joy’s “real-life” chemistry, which prompted Abe to ask if they were seeing each other romantically. Joy stammered that she hadn’t said anything because of Abe’s reaction to Alex and Stephanie’s relationship. Abe considered that situation different because of the “power imbalance” between Alex and Stephanie. He asked for clarification on the duo’s personal relationship.

They stumbled for a response, so Abe smiled and said he would give them time to figure it out. When Abe left, Alex and Joy concurred that they should define their relationship more clearly. Joy admitted that she hadn’t wanted to pressure Alex because of his break-up with Stephanie. Alex reasoned that since Stephanie had moved on, so should he. Joy and Alex agreed that they liked spending time with each other.

Alex settled on “complicated” for his and Joy’s relationship. Joy watched as Johnny and Chanel bumped into each other and agreed with Alex’s assessment. When Joy approached her, Chanel reacted with hostility and proclaimed she was only there to finish Faith’s scenes. Johnny tried to express gratitude for Chanel’s willingness to work her final day, but Chanel angrily reiterated that her gesture was for Abe’s benefit. She was still happy that Abe had granted her request to be let out of her contract.

Later, Johnny called action for Chanel’s final scene, which began with a confrontation with Joy’s character Regan. In the scene, “Arrow” and “Regan” marveled over the sonogram picture of their child. Chanel (as “Faith”) stormed up to them and began insinuating that “Regan” was trying to pass “Arrow” off as the father of someone else’s baby. “Regan” needled “Faith” about how enthusiastic “Arrow” had been on the night they had conceived the child. “Faith” reared back and slapped “Regan” hard across the face.

Joy visibly reacted to the slap, and Johnny promptly stopped the scene. Joy protested that Chanel hitting her had not been in the script. Chanel was unrepentant. Joy refused to leave until she could witness the death scene for Chanel’s character, which she believed she would “enjoy.”

After the scenes were shot, Johnny accompanied Joy back to the pub. He apologized for Chanel’s actions. Joy said she was glad it had happened because she could stop feeling guilty. She and Chanel were even.

Later, Abe arrived home, and Paulina and he discussed Chanel’s exit from the show. Abe got a call from Leo, who told Abe that Javi wasn’t Lady Whistleblower after all. Soon thereafter, Chanel came back after shooting her last scene. Paulina asked how she was doing, and Chanel expressed how relieved she was that it was all over and she could put it behind her. Paulina and Abe comforted her.

Abe stepped aside and called Kate to inform her about Leo’s Lady Whistleblower revelation.

Kate brought Hattie on set, where Bonnie was busy rehearsing her lines. Hattie and Bonnie squealed with joy when they saw each other and likened themselves to “Thelma and Louise.” Kate put a damper on the reunion by ordering the women to rehearse their upcoming scenes together. She wanted to ensure that the new arrangement would not go sideways.

For the scene, Kate instructed Hattie to lie on a gurney with a sheet over her body. Hattie complained that her big re-entrance was supposed to come when she crashed a wedding. An annoyed Kate informed Hattie that the scene they were going to film would be a flashback revealing how “Charlemagne” had survived. Hattie then fussed over the sheet, to Kate’s increasing frustration.

When Kate finally started the scene, Bonnie’s character stood over the bed where Hattie lay and launched into a monologue about her complicated history with “Charlemagne.” After “Cassandra” declared that she would comfort the husband of “Charlemagne,” Hattie popped up from the bed and exclaimed, “Over my undead body!” Kate stopped the scene.

Hattie pouted that Bonnie had all of the lines in the scene, and that’s why she had added the last part. Kate sternly reminded Hattie of her contractual obligation to complete the scenes as they were. The warning compelled Hattie to finish the rehearsal without further incident.

Kate and Hattie remained behind in the room after the scenes. Kate updated Hattie on the call she had gotten from Abe confirming the identity of Lady Whistleblower. Hattie was pleased by the development and hoped that Lady Whistleblower would also confess to poisoning the cupcakes. Kate said their suspect had claimed his innocence in the poisoning incident, but she didn’t believe him. Because of the optimistic turn of events, Hattie raised her hands and dramatically ended her curse on Body and Soul.

Meanwhile, out in the corridor, Bonnie was on the phone with Justin, gushing about the great day she’d had. They exchanged declarations of love, and then Bonnie ended the call as she approached the elevator. Bonnie was still smiling happily at her phone when she stepped inside…and seemingly plummeted. An alarmed Alex saw Bonnie and called out to her, only to be answered by her scream.

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