Days of our Lives fans were introduced on the Monday, September 14 episode to Dante Vitali in the form of actor Franco LoPresti, and reintroduced to Sydney DiMera as now played by Sydney Malakeh. 

The DAYS writers connected the story by having them as major participants in a high stakes poker game in Monte Carlo where Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) with Gabi (Cherie Jimenez) by his side, are trying to win enough money to save Titan Industries and the Kiriakis legacy.

When we first meet Sydney she is in front of a mirror putting on her lipstick as she puts the finishing touches on her look for the evening, when she receives a call from her grandmother, Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall). 

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POKER FACE

Later, Sydney shows up at the poker game with Dante Vitali, who introduces himself as Sami Brady’s fiancé. Philip explains that he has his own connections to Sami and would prefer his presence in the game be kept under wraps. Dante tells Philip he does not keep secrets from Sami.

Gabi asked Dante about his connection to Ava Vitali, to which Dante shared that although they shared the same last name, they were not close. Gabi says that’s good because Ava is “bonkers.” Dante did not appreciate Gabi disparaging Ava in that manner.

Philip is shocked that Sydney is such a poker player. Then we get the backstory on how she learned a lot from her grandfather, Roman Brady, and when she went to school, she played poker to beat the mean girls and realized she was quite good at it.

In the end, after throwing one guy out named “Otto”, who was “cheating” in the game, Dante offered two additional hands to Philip with a new deck. Dante asks,“Winner take all?” Philip says, “Works for me.” Eventually, Philip won the hand, but alone with Gabi told her he did not win enough to save Titan.

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DID MARLENA GIVE BIRTH TO STEFANO’S SON?

As all this is going down, in Salem, Marlena is wistful worried that there is something she has blocked out in her memories from her time being kidnapped by Stefano. She tells this to a concerned Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes).

Meanwhile, Belle (Martha Madison), Chad (Conner Floyd) and EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) have all made it to Italy, and find hidden in a replicate chess set, just like Stefano willed to John and Marlena, a photo of Stefano with a young boy dated 1992 with whom they believe is “Dominic Marino.”

At the end of the episode, Dante shows up to a room with the mystery person wearing Stefano’s ring. He assures the person that no matter how many chips Philip won, he would not be able to save Titan and the Kiriakis mansion. Then, Dante utters, “Well, played, Dom.”

So, what’s going on here? Is Dante a bad guy? Is Sydney a schemer? Did Marlena have Stefano’s son, named Dominic Marino, but blocked the whole thing out for decades? And, what were your first impressions of the highly-anticipated debuts of Franco LoPresti and Sydney Malakeh? Weigh-in via the comment section. But first, in case you missed, check out this week’s promo for Days of our Lives below.

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‘Last Week Tonight’ host, John Oliver wrapped his three-episode run on Days of Our Lives on the Friday, August 14 episode of the Peacock streaming soap opera, where viewers learned the fate of his character, the Salem chief water inspector, Devlin St. John.

Oliver got all of wishes granted and got to revel in some soap tropes on Friday’s episode which included: a slapping fest, a mind-erasing drug and case of amnesia, and exiting through a Days of our Lives staple … the cryogenic chamber! This leaves the door open for Devlin St. John return down the line, since many characters come back to life from years on end in the said chamber.

Here’s what went down! In the pick-up from Oliver’s cliffhanger earlier in the week, Devlin St. John was drugged by EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) and Rita Lesley (Maggie Carney). Now Rita prepared a syringe filled with CRS-17 to wipe out the last 24 hours of his memory, so the water inspector would get out of EJ’s way. However, there was a twist!

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DEVLIN ST. JOHN MUST BE DEALT WITH

Before the drug took its full effect, a dazed Devlin woke up very disoriented, believing he had been ‘compromised.’ Next, we get (as previewed), the showdown between Devlin and EJ, where Devlin stands up to EJ telling him he will not allow him to “gut” his brain, and calling him a “budget Bond villain!” In return, EJ calls Devlin a “sanctimonious little parasite,” which leads to St.John slapping EJ and vice-versa.

From there, things take an even more over-the-top soap turn. After his 24-hour amnesia took effect, Devlin managed still hear incriminating intel within the DiMera mansion. Rita realizes she must get rid of St. John for good, but she has developed feelings for him in short order. Rita admits she has developed a crush on the chief water inspector, so she cannot bring himself to kill him.

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JOHN OLIVER TO ADDRESS DAYS AND GH ROLES ON SUNDAY’S LAST WEEK TONIGHT?

However, next Rita has Devlin in a wheelchair and brings him into EJ’s underground cryogenic chamber. Once he is physically in the chamber, she kisses him on the lips, before she shoves him into the chamber with her parting words, “All you need is faith that you’ll return one day.”

Thus ends the soap opera journey of John Oliver from his three-day guest stint in July on General Hospital in the role of Z, the head of the WSB, to his campy role with the wig he brought to set as Devlin St. John on DAYS. It was back in March, Oliver revealed his list of requirements to any soap opera that would have him: a soapy name, a dramatic close-up and tag, slapping, and a juicy storyline.

Hopefully, Oliver will finally talk about his experiences on Days of Our Lives and General Hospital on this Sunday’s episode of ‘Last Week Tonight on HBO which should be a must-see.

So, what did you think of how John Oliver’s Devlin St. John was written out of Days of Our Lives? How did you like his run on DAYS as compared to GH? Both very different, for sure. Let us know via the comment section below.

On the Monday, June 29 and Tuesday, July 1 episodes of Peacock’s Days of Our Lives, Jacob Martinez was introduced in scenes as the new Javi Hernandez. The actor finally made his on-screen debut as the successor in the part to Al Calderon.

In the story on Monday, we meet nuJavi sitting at the Brady Pub when his ex Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) walks in and it turns out they both came to the pub to get a chicken soup order for Chanel, and shared how they both offered to babysit Trey while she undergoes chemo.

The two have a banal chit-chat, when things take a small turn when Leo asks Javi how things are going with his new boyfriend Gus (Michael Ocampo), since the two live and work together, but Javi ain’t playing this game, and shuts Leo down.

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JAVI REFLECTS ON HIS PAST AND LOOK TO HIS FUTURE

Later as Javi and Gus make out with each other while on duty at the hospital, Leo happens to wander by trying to have someone get him home from slipping on some slime earlier and taking a little fall at the Brady Pub. Gus offers to take him home, but Leo turns him down.

Then on today’s episode, we see Jacob Martinez getting more to say in a monologue of sorts when talking one-one-one with Gus at their place with Gabi.

Javi reflects on the difficult time he had with his mother, once she found out he was gay and how she could never accept him. He went on to say that once his mother died, he felt free. He tells Gus he feels bad that back in Texas, he always wanted to be with him. The way his life went at the time, instead he wound up having a child with Silvia, who gave birth to their beloved child, Solana, who tragically died.

Later, Gus questions Javi’s feelings for Leo. Next, Javi pulls Gus in for a kiss to show him he is all about him right now and the two head off to the bedroom.

So, what did you think of Jacob Martinez’s debut as Javi? What were your impressions? Do you like his take so far on Javi? Do you want to see Leo back with Javi, or Javi making things work with Gus, or do you care at this point at all? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.