Kristen Strikes the First Blow In Her War Against EJ — and Joy Shows Up At Alex’s Door

It’s morning and Alex surprises Stephanie by taking the day off for a surprise. She finally got some sleep last night, and they both know why: That Gun! She loooves it. And she glosses over the fact that while Steve gave her a gun safe, she’s not using it.

The big surprise is skydiving (which we all know we won’t see) and we meet instructor Dave who shares a fun story about hiring Steph’s dad to catch his cheating wife. Huzzah! We catch up to them, high on the rush after it all goes down. They’re finally in a great place again and Stephanie’s feeling good, so they rush off for some adventures in the bedroom.

Xander’s Ticking Everyone Off

Xander’s pushing Victoria (played by an adorable new face!) through the square, when Johnny brings her dropped teddy bear over. They smile through some threats, which is the perfect time for Sarah to wander over. Johnny bites his tongue and leaves and Sarah congratulates her ex on intimidating the competition in front of their daughter — and adds that he’s jealous of Johnny.

After Sarah checks in with a happy Victoria, Xander continues them on their way.

Brady and Sarah Are Both Furious

Marlena joins Brady at the Pub after trying to visit Rachel, but Kristen had her barred. He. Is. Furious. “She puts so much energy into her revenge tour and none into the wellbeing of our little girl.” (You don’t know the half of it.) But he’ll take care of it. Before she leaves, she lets Brady know she’s not keen on working with scheming Kate at Basic Black, so he offers to help until she finds an alternative.

Brady fires off an angry text to Kristen, then Sarah shows up after having an angry encounter with Xander. They’re both ready to punch something, so it’s time for the break room, part two! Where they spend most of the time hitting unbreakable things. But it gets them all hot and bothered!

Marlena heads to Xander’s office to accept the Basic Back position — but only if Kate’s not a part of it. Xander tells her no, since Kate’s the expert. And it would be unethical for Marlena to not want to work with her based off of something from his therapy session…

EJ and Kristen Are Close to War

EJ’s getting all gussied up to head to the probate lawyer, but he still has time to spar with Kristen before leaving. She calls him out for walking around with his “stupid backwards Phoenix ring” — own it or take it off, coward — and demands access to the tunnels.

EJ knows just how to push her buttons, going after Kristen for blaming everyone but herself for Rachel and earning one heck of a SLAP for his effort! You know what they say, the best part of waking up is a smack across the face. Or coffee.

He tries to lower the temperature, saying he understands losing a kid since Johnny hated him for a while, but Rachel will be back soon. But then he upends that: “If you ever lay another hand on me, I will not turn the other cheek.”

Kristen and Sophia Are Ready to Strike

EJ’s on his way to the lawyer when he spots Sophia in the square and tells her off. She’s already faced down a scary DiMera, though. “I know that you’ve cultivated this really menacing aura, but I’m just not scared of you, Mr. DiMera.”

He cranks up the threats, which is when Kristen rides into the rescue. “Stay away from Sophia, or else.” EJ practically begs her to come for him, tells Sophia it’s not over, and stalks off.

Seeing Kristen and EJ makes Rachel realize how lucky she is in her own family. “I’m really gonna miss them so much.” Oh, the plan is for Sophia to leave Salem forever after Johnny’s dead. Something feels extra menacing with Kristen, though. She’ll let Sophia know when it’s time. “Don’t. Screw. This. Up.”

In the Show’s Final Moments

Marlena’s got no interest in being lectured in ethics by Xander. And he’s got no interest in taking on dead weight while Titan’s in such a precarious position. “You will do this with Kate or you won’t do it at all.” Looks like she’s picking the not at all, because Marlena walks out, infuriated!

At the Pub, EJ’s wrapped up at court and tells Johnny that he’s no longer the executor of the estate after the codicil to will was filed: Theo is. And Marlena was added to the list of beneficiaries.