6 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

And he did a very good job comforting Gabi too. I wouldn't mind something happening between them, and the effects that it could have on this messy Kiriakis family situation. 

Spoiler

Remember Gabi and Tony conspriring in the summer preview video? She may have alterior motives in seeking comfort from Xander...

 

3 hours ago, j swift said:

It is an excellent idea for a character that suffered due to lackluster casting, a poorly established motive, and no established peer group (is he a teen?)😎.  We never knew Doug³'s age.  We don't know why he doesn't speak French.  We don't know if he dropped out of High School in the US or France.  We don't know why his favorite authors are American, why he dressed like a nu-country singer, or how he knows so much about American popular culture.  

So, I hold out hope that he's an imposter, and we'll meet the actual Douglas LeClair somewhere down the road.🇫🇷

I genuinely can't remember -- did they ever say anything about Doug III having been raised in France? We know his dad went to France with Robert LeClair back in the 70s, but we don't actually know where this Doug was raised or anything, right? 

When they introduced him, it sounded like Hope's half-brother Charles was "far away" and out of touch with her and the family, but I don't think we got any specifics. This kid definitely seems American.

5 hours ago, j swift said:

It is an excellent idea for a character that suffered due to lackluster casting, a poorly established motive, and no established peer group (is he a teen?)😎.  We never knew Doug³'s age.  We don't know why he doesn't speak French.  We don't know if he dropped out of High School in the US or France.  We don't know why his favorite authors are American, why he dressed like a nu-country singer, or how he knows so much about American popular culture.  

 

1 hour ago, Michael said:

I genuinely can't remember -- did they ever say anything about Doug III having been raised in France? We know his dad went to France with Robert LeClair back in the 70s, but we don't actually know where this Doug was raised or anything, right? 

When they introduced him, it sounded like Hope's half-brother Charles was "far away" and out of touch with her and the family, but I don't think we got any specifics. This kid definitely seems American.

I'm guessing that this was another one of those typical Ron-Jamey, "Ooooh I know the history" storylines without them knowing all the details of the initial story or the characters. They did the same thing with Liz and Marie at Doug's funeral.

Which is too bad because Doug's son/whatever family he might have had was a branch of the family that should have been explored at some point over the years.

I don't remember Doug III saying anything about France, so I guess we just have to assume that Dougie/Charles moved back to the US at some point or married an American or something.

4 hours ago, j swift said:

  Hide contents

Remember Gabi and Tony conspriring in the summer preview video? She may have alterior motives in seeking comfort from Xander...

 

Spoiler

I think that's coming up next week

 

@AbcNbc247 I assumed you clocked that absurdity of the jury pool selection allowed Amy to learn that Leo has a baby that was abandoned at Safe Harbor.  And, Leo knows the mother of that baby is Amy's daughter, Sofia.

So as of 7/18/2025 here is my current understanding of who knows what?

Character	Knows Sophia Gave Birth?	Knows Leo & Javi Have the Baby?
Sophia	Yes	Yes
Leo	Yes (was told directly)	Yes
Javi	Unclear – possibly not	Yes
Amy	No (believes Sophia didn't)	Yes
Tate	No	No

 

And I am surprised nobody else is talking about the suddenness of EJ having an illegal sugar daddy to fund the hospital purchase. Despite him saying that he was using the fund from his sale of the stock after the Titan/Dimera merger.  That whole detail just popped up out of the blue, as if the audience already knew the purchase was shifty.  Despite there having never been established, the idea that the purchase was shifty.

Is the lesson learned that any Dimera transaction is shifty (except for Chad), and we should just expect that it was illegal?  Because so far, they've not provided any evidence.

 

AND- What's up with physical media? -- one way we know these episodes were tapped 18 months ago, (before current tech advances), is Cat and EJ are obsessed with thumb drives and memory cards rather than saving things to the cloud.  Are you telling me the ISA doesn't have an encrypted cloud server?

Edited July 18, 2025Jul 18 by j swift

4 minutes ago, j swift said:

@AbcNbc247 I assumed you clocked that absurdity of the jury pool selection allowed Amy to learn that Leo has a baby that was abandoned at Safe Harbor.  And, Leo knows the mother of that baby is Amy's daughter, Sofia.

So as of 7/18/2025 here is my current understanding of who knows what?

Character	Knows Sophia Gave Birth?	Knows Leo & Javi Have the Baby?
Sophia	Yes	Yes
Leo	Yes (was told directly)	Yes
Javi	Unclear – possibly not	Yes
Amy	No (believes Sophia didn't)	Yes
Tate	No	No

 

 

Hahaha yes. There really was no need for that, if you think about it.

Plus, the absurdity of Leo being a juror at the trial of a man that he sexually harassed.

2 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Leo being a juror at the trial of a man that he sexually harassed.

He also withheld knowledge that he switched the defense attorney's baby.  He fenced stolen jewelry. And he is a reporter.

But, again, the victim is acting as the attorney for his son, the defendant, so any other logical complaints must be considered against the Mt Fuji of illogical feats.

We have to file the whole thing under “fits with 60 (or at least 25) years of absurdity.” I define my fandom as not being associated with a character, writing, or production.  But, the remarkable ability to balance absurdity with human drama.   

Edited July 19, 2025Jul 19 by j swift

Leo does not know the baby is Sophia's or that she gave birth

7 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

Leo does not know the baby is Sophia's or that she gave birth

I recall Sofia telling either Javi or Leo that she's the baby's mother, in the square this week, and I remember it being Leo.  So, did that happen with Javi?

10 hours ago, j swift said:

I recall Sofia telling either Javi or Leo that she's the baby's mother, in the square this week, and I remember it being Leo.  So, did that happen with Javi?

No she said nothing of the kind. Talked about still being pregnant and due soon. She was tearful seeing the baby but only we knew why.

11 minutes ago, brisbydog said:

No she said nothing of the kind. Talked about still being pregnant and due soon. She was tearful seeing the baby but only we knew why.

Exactly.  In fact, I don't think Leo or Javi even know who Sophia is outside from her being a young pregnant girl.  She didn't give out her name or anything. 

5 hours ago, carolineg said:

Exactly.  In fact, I don't think Leo or Javi even know who Sophia is outside from her being a young pregnant girl.  She didn't give out her name or anything. 

Oh....., I don't know why I thought she told them.

But, Sofia knows Leo has the baby (her baby), correct?  Or did I misremember that whole day?

6 minutes ago, j swift said:

Oh....., I don't know why I thought she told them.

But, Sofia knows Leo has the baby (her baby), correct?  Or did I misremember that whole day?

I'm pretty sure Sofia knows Leo has her baby. He doesn't know the baby is hers. 

Here’s the corrected chart reflecting that neither Leo nor Javi knows that the baby is Sophia’s, and neither knows that Sophia gave birth:

15 minutes ago, j swift said:

Oh....., I don't know why I thought she told them.

But, Sofia knows Leo has the baby (her baby), correct?  Or did I misremember that whole day?

Sofia knows Leo/Javi have her baby.  She was telling Melinda about it on Friday?  Whenever Melinda and Sophia were in the hotel room together.

I thought I had missed something major with all the talk about Leo knowing they have Sophia's baby! 

Sophia does know, though. I mean, even if she can't be 100% sure, she knows Leo and Javi are caring for a baby boy who was left at the safe haven drop-off the same night her baby boy was born, so it's a pretty reasonable leap for her to make.