The Days of Our Lives Death That We Hope Actually Sticks — and Gives Rise to a Vengeful New Stefano DiMera

Oh, the dark twists this could take.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: Two Salem women go off a cliff and… Oh, you have? Well, we suppose explosions and cliff diving aren’t exactly rarities on Days of Our Lives — nor is surviving them! And, well, we hate to, er, spoil things, but the show’s already informed us in next week’s spoilers that Ava’s survived that little accident just fine.

Well, OK, we’ve yet to see if she’ll be mentally intact, but that was more than debatable before she went off the cliff. Susan’s fate, though, is still up in the air, but there’s no reason why she couldn’t have survived too… we just really hope she didn’t.

To say fans are divided on Susan is an understatement. They either love her or they hate her and there doesn’t seem to be much in-between. She is a cartoonish character who is probably best in small doses, but at the same time, she’s also one of the few lights in EJ’s life. She’s upbeat, caring, loving and she’s got far more of a moral compass than her son ever will.

So what if she’s gone for good?

That’s not to say she’s been the only thing holding EJ back from pure villainy, but her loss, as we’ve already seen, will devastate him. It will make him go to a dark, scary place. And once he gets there, he’ll have one less light in his life to try to pull him back. So let’s keep him there!

EJ, more than any of Stefano’s sons has tried to straddle the line between light and darkness. When his dad was alive, he’d join in some truly terrible schemes, but he always seemed to pull back when he got a flash of morality.

The problem now, though, is EJ doesn’t really have these grand schemes or dark plots anymore. He just has that darkness as he tries to go about life in Salem and lead a “normal” life. But these days, rather than extra DiMera edge making him a villain, mostly it just makes him a spoiled jerk.

He may be going along with Stefan’s brainwashing, but he wasn’t the one who planned it. His insistence on overthrowing Gabi didn’t just feel like trying to get his company back in family hands, but it also had misogynistic undertones to it. And his anger at Ava for faking her marriage to Jake didn’t feel like he was upset about her conning the DiMera family, so much as being annoyed she got her way over him.

He’s not grand, ambitious and devilish. He’s just… petty.

So let’s kill Susan and keep her dead.

Let’s have the loss turn EJ into a man who does truly cling to family at all costs and not just see them as a means to an end in his business ambitions. And let’s have him start plotting revenge, taking on the world and trying to destroy his enemies, rather than just one-up them. EJ should be the one to come up with the brainwashing schemes rather than just tagging along for the ride. He should be the one directing Dr. Rolf, not Li!

Heck, maybe he could even have the doc to brainwash himself into tamping down those pesky emotions to stop the pain over losing Susan. He could willfully stomp out whatever goodness is left in him just as a way to survive!

More: Did the show just ruin two fan faves?

In short, let’s turn EJ into the new Stefano. (Though maybe a little lighter on the sci-fi stuff.) Days of Our Lives hasn’t been the same since the Phoenix has been gone and as we’ve lamented time and again, the show just cant seem to find a suitable replacement for him.

EJ’s been straddling the line for too long. It’s time for him to pick a side. And let’s be honest — he’s never been that great at walking in the light.

Days of Our Lives is now airing exclusively on Peacock. To make sure you never miss an episode, click here. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

How bad could Stefano get? Check out our photo gallery of the Phoenix’s top 10 crimes of all time!