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Thursday, September 8, 2022: Today on Days of Our Lives, EJ spars with Johnny over Ava, Kristen pushes Rolf ahead of schedule and Li has a stunning proposition for Gabi. 

As we get into Salem, Gabi’s on the phone with Will, relieved to hear the good news about Sonny. EJ then barges in to needle her. “I’ve just stopped by to tell you, you’ve made a major mistake.” He’s convinced that Ava is her ticket out of the CEO seat and hiring the unstable woman is going to backfire. He still doesn’t believe the marriage was real and doesn’t think Gabi does either.

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Oh well, Gabi shrugs, “I didn’t lose my job, you lost your son. Well played, EJ.” Gabi, EJ fires back, will never be a true DiMera, so stay out of family business. After he leaves, Li shows up and makes excuses about where he’s been and is less-than-pleased to hear Ava was actually hired.

At the DiMera mansion, Ava’s going through her DiMera Enterprises welcome packet when Johnny checks in to see how she’s doing. She says EJ’s betrayal of his son is worse than what he did to her, then tells Johnny she doesn’t want to make their relationship worse. Johnny assures her it’s all EJ’s fault, not hers and he’ll never let his dad treat her like that again. Ava offers to move out so he can patch things up with EJ, but Johnny puts a stop to that talk. He then offers to hold a service for Jake in the family crypt. “You mean, maybe it would help me lay his ghost to rest,” Ava notes.

As she touchingly thanks Johnny for thinking of it, EJ walks in and starts another fight with his son, before saying he came to have a talk with Johnny’s aunt. Ava sends her protector off, assuring him she can take care of herself. He wants to talk about her, her “state of mind, how you’re using my son.” He’s just kind to her, nothing more, Ava says. EJ brings up her “hallucination” again and says he’s going to prove she’s unstable. And the next time she sees Jake, she’s out of DiMera and into Bayview “with all the other loonies.”

Ava tells him he can just go, but he counters that it’s guilt that’s making her see Jake. She’s using his death for her gain. She’ll see him again, sooner or later, then he tells her to say hi to Jake the next time she sees him.

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In the town square, Chloe calls Rafe to check where Leo is, and thanks him for the security detail. Kristen shows up to tell Chloe that she knocked off work early and that’s not cool, and Chloe fires back that it was Brady’s choice so he could fight her for custody of Rachel. The two then get into who knows Brady better, and Kristen says her hatred of Chloe is just to protect her daughter. Chloe scoffs at the “violent sociopath,” then storms off.

Back home, Brady arrives, and Chloe admits she let slip to Kristen that she’s testifying against her. They talk about how well Rachel’s handling everything, but Brady can see how much it hurts her. He then reluctantly admits she’s still mad at Chloe. Brady then tells Chloe Belle’s theory that Kristen threatening her was calculated to put a wedge between Chloe, Brady and Rachel. Chloe doesn’t think she should testify — it’s better for Rachel that way, as would be shared custody, Kristen or not.

In the lab, Li pays Dr. Rolf a visit, then spots Stefan unhooked from the machines and panics that he’s dead. He’s not, Rolf says, he’s still working on the brainwashing. Li tells him to hurry up and Rolf gets back to work pointing Stefan to Chloe. Just then, Kristen storms in and demands her brother be woken up. “Right now.”

Rolf says he can’t be sure the conditioning is finished, but Kristen doesn’t care. Nor does she care whether Li is there to agree or not. Stefan slowly comes to, and Kristen and Rolf tell him to find the woman he loves: Chloe. Stefan remembers waking up before and remembers he’d been “dead” for four years. He seems unsure, though, about Chloe being his love, but Kristen reassures him she is.

She gives him one of Jake’s suits to change into, but Rolf still doubts he’s been brainwashed successfully. Whatever, Kristen tells him, she’s sure everything’s fine. He walks in, dressed and ready to go, but when Rolf and Kristen mention Chloe, it takes a few beats for Stefan to remember her. Kristen sends him off to her room at the Salem Inn to “show her how much you love her.” Rolf’s final protest is silenced by Kristen.

Tony serves Anna a dry martini as they both drink up and dread the evening’s family dinner. Anna notes that EJ has a tough time “bouncing back when things don’t go his way.” Tony says it’s a bit more than not going his way, Johnny defied his dad twice in public. When Tony mentions Ava may not be competent to sit on the board, Anna brings up Kristen’s… volatility.

Johnny walks in and Anna hopes he’s not traumatized by his father. “He seems have a hard time remembering that he can’t just steamroll over me.” Before Tony can get into what happened, Johnny mentions the memorial service for Jake, and Tony promises they’d both be there. The whole family is invited, Johnny says, including Gabi. She agrees to go, but she hasn’t been to the DiMera crypt since Stefan died. She wants Li to go with her.

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In the show’s last few minutes, Brady and Chloe bask in the afterglow of sex when Kristen shows up at the door, annoyed to see Brady. EJ questions Johnny’s decision to plan a memorial and says he’s concerned about Ava — and her dragging Johnny down with her. Ava walks into the DiMera crypt and sees Stefan, dressed in Jake’s suit, and Li gets down on one knee and proposes to a shocked Gabi!

Next on Days of Our Lives: Ava has an upsetting encounter in the DiMera crypt, and Kristen’s behaving oddly — even for her!

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Catch up with everything you need to know about EJ in our photo gallery of Stefano’s (sometimes) favorite son.