HOLLYWOOD—Man when the NBC soap “Days of Our Lives” amps up the drama, it does it in a major way. Didn’t I tease a few weeks ago that how much fun it would be if Kristen DiMera suddenly showed up in Salem to disrupt the nuptials of John and Marlena? Well it transpired last week America! I swear I should be a soap opera writer, because my ability to peg these things either note my creative mind or how predictable the soap arena has become.

At first, it was Susan Banks who returned to town, wanting to apologize to Will, make amends with Marlena and hope to get invited to the big shindig in town. I knew once Marlena received that weird looking doll something big was about to transpire in Salem. Marlena and John’s wedding got underway, but it was a drugged party crasher that changed it all. Who was that person? It was SAMI BRADY! We’ve known for weeks that Alison Sweeney would be returning to the soap, we just didn’t know how. We now know, as Sami stumbled into the wedding warning her mother she could not marry John as her life was in danger. As Sami spiraled, she stumbled upon Susan and a bit of a catfight emerged, where we learned Kristen was posing as Susan all along.

It was utter chaos, as the audience got its first glimpse of Stacey Haiduk as Susan Banks/Kristen DiMera. I must say Haiduk did a phenomenal job, I will always hold a special torch for Eileen Davidson because of her ability to ooze sultriness to the character that is not only devious, but evil. However, Haiduk is indeed making the character her own and so far it’s working for me as a viewer. Marlena, John, Sami and Kristen traded spars, but it became apparent that Kristen has many enemies. I totally forgot about her tryst with Eric and Brady. That totally shakes things up for Eric and Jenn and Brady and Eve.

Uh, Eve you might want to be careful, Kristen is not just clever, evil, but dangerous; you have nothing on this woman and let’s be honest you might want to cut Brady loose while you can otherwise you might meet your demise. In a stunning turn of events, Kristen tossed the gun to Sami and urged her to shoot her mother if she wanted Intel about her great love. Yes, America, the rest of Salem got confirmation that EJ DiMera is not dead! This is brilliant news because if the cat is out of the bag, that means the writers are planning to bring back James Scott or recast the character in the very near future.

Oh, the news threw Sami for the biggest loop because fans have known about EJ’s survival since Kristen revealed the news back in November 2017. Kristen teased and teased which left Sami ruffled, just as Eric attempted to grapple that gun from Sami before it went off and shot Marlena. The chaos only got worse with Kristen taking Claire hostage, urging Brady to make a move and putting John in a hospital near Marlena’s bedside. I’m so happy Kristen is back because Salem needed a few feathers to be ruffled and this gives Stefan an ally.

Yeah, I don’t think he knows about big sis, but her arrival in Salem could make these two a deadly duo and with EJ very much alive and kicking that only strengthens the DiMera bond people. Kristen then took Eve hostage and blackmailed Brady to sleep with her in order to rescue his fiancé. Brady has had many women in his life lately: Kristen, Nicole, Theresa and now Eve. Each of these women tormented his soul so much to the point; I wouldn’t blame him for cutting off women for a while. We got an epic showdown between Sami and Kate where that tryst with Rafe came front-and-center, Hope aired out her grievances and Sami made threats. Sami you do realize this woman is the police commissioner right?

In other news, it looks like Will has FINALLY regained his memory. Looks like John and Marlena’s big day cause a resurgence of his memories and love for Sonny. Sonny was ecstatic with the revelation which led to the two sharing a kiss. Hmm, I wonder how Paul will respond to this bombshell. I think this will play the vital role in the departure of Paul from the series, but something tells me Paul could be caught in the crosshairs of this Kristen drama and it will not end well for him, John or Brady.

Some major relationships are being tested in Salem right now, but the next surprise has to be the eventual return of EJ DiMera. You cannot drop a bomb of that magnitude without giving the audience a return from the dead they’ve desperately wanted for years.