There were a few wrong choices today.

Lexie and Paulina's meeting showed us the first wrong choice. Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed by it. Lexie being so standoffish and combative is just not a good idea. Whether it's an actor choice or a writer choice, idk, but either way, it's not working. And I don't think it's ever going to, unless it's going to end up playing into the storyline somewhere down the line. I've never been a huge fan of Paulina but I was on her side today. But I did kind of like how it was juxtaposed against Theo confessing to Abe that Paulina knew about Lexie. That reveal could lead to something interesting happening. James Reynolds continued to do a good job though.

Anna being the one to expose Gabi's secret to Philip was the wrong choice as well. It seemed very sudden and random and not built up well at all. Tony possibly stepping in as CEO as Dimera being the thing that prompted Anna to do it wasn't a good enough reason either. Maybe if they had had a bigger part in the storyline from the very beginning, I could get behind it, but with the way the story was written, I'm not a fan of how this reveal happened. I really, really think Theo should have been the one responsible for exposing Gabi, either intentionally or unintentionally. That's where the storyline really is, plus you could get a lot more future story from that. But I did like Philip's confrontation with Gabi, and I wish it had gone on a little longer. Hopefully, the fallout of this will continue in a later episode.

As for Gwen/Xander/Gwen... ehhhh. It was ok 😂

Happy (early) 40th Anniversary, Mary Beth Evans!

Today was a love letter to Kayla, Steve, their life together and their family. It's always great to get episodes like this that pay tribute to the actor, character and their history on the show. The flashbacks only make these episodes better. I'm so glad that we got to see clips of Steve and Kayla's weddings, their time with Benjy, and Stephanie's and Joey's births. They were also really sweet and dorky throughout the episode as well. And so were Stephanie and Alex, even though I hope that the conflict for them isn't over yet and continues for a very long time. I like that Roman was included in today's episode too.

Too bad that we're not going to see Joey and Tripp though. Or Tripp and Wendy's wedding.

And welcome back, Jack! It would be nice if you got to have scenes with your son too.

I thought that he did a good job today, but having him spend most of the episode with Gwen wasn't a good idea. Regardless of Gwen, he played such a big part in Kayla and Steve's history that he should've spent more time with them. The little scene at the end was ok, but it should've gone on longer.

Xander/Gabi didn't really fit in with the rest of the episode, but I thought they both did a good job today. And I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in this storyline, especially since Gabi thinks Theo was the one that ratted her out to Philip.

On 5/20/2026 at 1:52 AM, carolineg said:

I don't think it's Nikki Crawford's fault either. It's mostly writing and the fact she's a bit miscast as Lexie or at least Renee Jones version of Lexie. She could be playing almost any other character and I would consider her very good.

I think in general that Lexie was always such a strange character to revive, especially without Renee Jones. Had they recast her back when Renee left it could've worked, but her death always seemed final to me. I don't think anyone was sitting around longing for her character to be back, especially without the OG actress. It's not like there's not enough DiMera's on the show or that Paulina / Abe had run out of storylines.

Spoiler

Since the actress has already wrapped filming it also seems like this is very much a temporary thing so it's not like they were committed in making this return work, which again, makes it even more bizarre.

57 minutes ago, te. said:

I think in general that Lexie was always such a strange character to revive, especially without Renee Jones. Had they recast her back when Renee left it could've worked, but her death always seemed final to me. I don't think anyone was sitting around longing for her character to be back, especially without the OG actress. It's not like there's not enough DiMera's on the show or that Paulina / Abe had run out of storylines.

Spoiler

Since the actress has already wrapped filming it also seems like this is very much a temporary thing so it's not like they were committed in making this return work, which again, makes it even more bizarre.

It's an odd choice of a character to bring back. Abby was the more obvious choice. Idk, I am still thinking this might be Lexie's unknown twin or the antidote/medicine doesn't work and Lexie dies again.

4 minutes ago, carolineg said:

It's an odd choice of a character to bring back. Abby was the more obvious choice. Idk, I am still thinking this might be Lexie's unknown twin or the antidote/medicine doesn't work and Lexie dies again.

I've said it before that I don't mind someone like Abby staying dead for the sake of death becoming less of a joke on the show, but then they bring back a character that so publicly died in a very final way so that argument doesn't hold water. Add that we do actually need more Hortons on the show and they've struggled pairing Chad off with anyone new. The don't want to recast argument doesn't work either now that they've recast a character that pretty much had only one portrayer during her 15-odd year run.

Again, Lexie is just a bizarre choice to bring back from the dead.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by te.

2 hours ago, te. said:

It's not like there's not enough DiMera's on the show or that Paulina / Abe had run out of storylines.

Exactly!

There was already plenty of storyline for all of these character. This didn't need to happen. Plus, Theo was a really good dynamic in the Gabi/Philip storyline, and Lexie's return pretty much derailed it for him.

4 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

There was already plenty of storyline for all of these character. This didn't need to happen. Plus, Theo was a really good dynamic in the Gabi/Philip storyline, and Lexie's return pretty much derailed it for him.

When Lexie was at her most interesting, she was clearly conflicted about being a good person vs embracing being a DiMera, but even that isn't a storyline that's necessarily restricted to her. They could certainly play up this dynamic with Chad more, especially as the recast has been successful. So it's like, what was even the purpose here?

The show has improved since the initial boring switch and certainly better than the Body & Soul days, but this still just baffles me. What's the end game here? I don't think the writers really know.

The writers are bereft of creativity. There's only so much you can blame on the taping schedule.

I'll only watch today's episode for Kayla/MBE anniversary.

10 minutes ago, te. said:

The show has improved since the initial boring switch and certainly better than the Body & Soul days, but this still just baffles me. What's the end game here? I don't think the writers really know.

Yep. Paula/Jeanne have taken us on a strange ride.

They started off really strong, got a little boring, got strong again during the build up to the 60th anniversary, and then just went on the decline post-anniversary until Noel Maxam showed up lol but there's still some work to be done

43 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Yep. Paula/Jeanne have taken us on a strange ride.

They started off really strong, got a little boring, got strong again during the build up to the 60th anniversary, and then just went on the decline post-anniversary until Noel Maxam showed up lol but there's still some work to be done

I'm honestly disappointed in Cwikly, whose last run in the headwriters seat wasn't perfect but not bad (and honestly, after Langan came across as a relief). Maxam has definitively brought a renewed energy to the show and seemingly made it more focused, but even he can't work magic on something that doesn't seem well thought out in the long-term. I just don't see an out for the Lexie story outside from "what was the point". Jackie seems to like doing the show too, so I don't think her and Abe are breaking up in the long-term realistically.