Days of Our Lives Set Up Lani and Eli’s Exits and Added a Few More Wrinkles to Abigail’s Murder

Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI (3)

This was one of the most balanced weeks we’ve gotten in ages as the show touched on almost all its current plots. That meant we had to take the good — Lani’s dramatic confession — with the bad. I’m looking at you, Jan! 

First off, I want to note that I didn’t get to see Friday’s episode. The day’s breaking news happened at the same time it was on in my area. Fortunately, I have our wonderful recap (which is here, for those who also missed the show) to work off of and I think we should be fine. But in case I get something mixed up, please be gentle!

Second Time’s the Charm

The Big Event this week was, without a doubt, Abe and Paulina’s wedding and the ensuing fallout. Tying it to Juneteenth was a nice touch, especially as it’s such a historic moment on the show — which is kind of sad that it took so long. Abe and Paulina are only the second Black couple to marry onscreen in the show’s long history. The first was Lani and Eli just two years ago. So, yeah, using it as a celebration of love and a bit of a history lesson for the holiday was a good idea.

With that said, while it was a nice wedding, all of it felt a bit rushed. And it would have been great to see Lani unraveling a bit longer before she finally broke down. Though it would’ve been less enjoyable to keep seeing TR. I have to hand it to the man — even as an undead manifestation of guilt, he still ticks me off. That smug smile on his face as Lani confessed what she’d done to all her loved ones…

I was slightly surprised at Abe’s response. Not his unconditional support of Lani, but that he didn’t blink at Paulina’s coverup. Now, I feel like he shouldn’t have been upset because she was just being a protective mother. But with Abe declaring that he’d forgiven Paulina for lying to him and trusted her again just as she was sitting on another lie, I really thought they were setting this up for a few more bumps.

Then there was Julie’s attempt to save the day. That could have given us some wild story as we wondered who from the ceremony would break their oath of silence first. But seeing as how both Lamon Archey and Sal Stowers have decided they’re packing Lani and Eli up and leaving, this was probably the only real option we had. There aren’t many stakes in keeping a secret if the folks it affects aren’t onscreen.

Now all that’s left is to see how Lani and Eli are exiting. Together or with one of them in jail? I’d like to say they’re riding off into the sunset with the family but seeing as how one of them is exiting a few days before the other, I have my worries.

A Convenient Coincidence

The whole Eric/Nicole/Johnny/Allie meeting at the wedding was a bit contrived, but I didn’t hate it. All their reasons for being invited to the “family only” wedding made a bit of sense, and Eric and Nicole’s tension is always welcome. Plus, I loved the history callback to Nicole’s own abusive father and how Abe stepped in to try to protect her and her mother back in his cop days.

The twins, on the other hand… They’re working on my nerves. I mean, that’s kind of the point in that their competition is annoying Chanel too… but knock it off, kids. A triangle is great, but I’d like to see them go about it with a bit more subtlety than “I baked the bestest cake!” “Well, I made the coolest wedding vid!”

Then again, they haven’t exactly grown up with great role models — Allie’s dad kidnapped their mom to keep her away from Johnny’s dad… who raped Sami. I guess youth plays into it a bit here too. We may be legal adults at 18, but most of us hang on to immaturity well into our 20s. In Salem, that’s probably bumped up into their 50s.

Ah, well. Chanel, either choose one of them quick to be done with this squabbling or find someone completely new and leave them to cry to each other. Because I’m done with them.

What a Tangled Web…

We didn’t get as much of Chad’s grief this week, but it’s clear he’s going to be traumatized for a while yet. He couldn’t even go near his bedroom and just spent the night on the couch, lying awake. Though now that I think about it, shouldn’t there be plenty of other bedrooms he could have at least used instead? After a little help from EJ in pulling himself together enough to be a father again, he finally told the kids. And all I have to say is that little Charlotte’s expressions were everything for me.

From the murder mystery side, it didn’t take long for these webs of lies to expand. Leo just got Clyde involved with the Abigail coverup, and it looks like that’s going to bring EJ in. And Nancy? Please tell me this criminal mastermind didn’t just give her Abigail’s stolen bracelet. At first, Leo and Gwen just accused each other, while Lucas had Kate questioning him. Now, though, Lucas has Brady asking about falling off the wagon and Sami’s back in town to get suspicious. And Gwen, we learned this week, got help escaping from prison for the night from Ava.

A few questions, though. How can Lucas possibly think proposing to Sami’s a good idea right now? And how does one just break out, then back in to prison? Is it more of a bed and breakfast type deal? You just have to know the right person to come and go as you please?

Last week, folks started mentioning one additional suspect and, well, she’s looking quite a bit more likely after this week: Sarah. It turns out her hallucinations are still bad enough to attack people like Nicole. I’m not entirely sure why she’d have been in the DiMera mansion going after Abigail, but she’s clearly falling prey to violent delusions.

One Last Thing

Jan and Shawn continue to irritate, but I loved every look on Ciara’s face as Jan cooed over little Bo. And the whole “Shawn Christian” name was hilarious. Maybe Daniel’s the father! (For those not in the know, Shawn Christian is the name of his portrayer.) Sure, he’s dead, but the baby’s the result of Satan’s meddling, so I don’t see why he couldn’t have brought an undead Daniel back to impregnate Jan. Does it make sense? No. But what part of the devil’s storyline did?

Stray Thoughts

• Kate’s eye roll as she raised her hand to agree to keep her mouth shut was pure gold. I could just hear her in her own head. “I could not care less, but fine, if it’ll get us out of here.”

• I loved everything about Big Mama’s visit, from her telling Paulina how proud she was to her “Amen…” after Julie noted, “It doesn’t matter who pulled the trigger, the bastard got what he deserved!”

• If we’re losing Lani and Eli, maybe we could get Theo to stick around? C’mon, Days, you can’t marry Paulina and Abe and then rip away most of their family.

• If it wasn’t for preemptions, Sami nearly catching EJ and Belle making out likely wouldn’t have been the end of the week… but as far as Friday cliffhangers go, there’ve been worse ones! Hurricane Sami, indeed.

Be sure to check out our brand new photo gallery of Days of Our Lives couples to find out who’s with whom right now!