On the Thursday, June 25, 2026, episode of Days of our Lives, EJ panicked after Rita delivered big news, Holly had a crazed theory, and Ari lost it on Gabi.
Kristen Needs Help
Kristen slithered into Xander’s office, thinking he called her over for a little fun, but that was not what he wanted at all. Instead, Xander wanted information about EJ and DiMera Enterprises. Kristen quickly knew that Xander’s inquiries into a DiMera Pharmaceutical drug had something to do with Sarah.
Xander convinced Kristen that hurting EJ was more important than being jealous of Sarah. Kristen wanted something in return for her help and asked Xander to protect her from EJ. She needed him neutralized, even if Xander refused to kill him. Xander realized that Kristen was tru
Holly Has a Big Problem
At the hospital, Sarah informed Brady and Tate that Holly was being admitted for observation. Just then, she received a text with Holly’s blood test results. Tate was immediately alarmed by the look on Sarah’s face. She asked him if he and the other kids had taken anything while at the cabin. Tate said, of course not, so Sarah rushed off to talk to Holly after seeing coriseal in her blood.
Sarah found Holly sleepy and groggy, but told her that a narcotic had been found in her system. Holly couldn’t imagine how it got there and swore to Sarah that she had not been doing drugs. Holly said she’d call her mother and tell her what was going on, while Sarah questioned Tate.
Brady was alarmed to hear that Holly’s bloodwork showed coriseal, which confused Tate. He didn’t remember Holly taking anything except her antidepressant. Sarah told Tate about the mysterious deaths that seemed to be caused by coriseal.
Tate kept insisting that there was no way that Holly was taking drugs, but Brady wasn’t so sure. Tate very logically reasoned that after taking laced drugs in high school and then being drugged by Sophia, why would Holly voluntarily take anything now?
After Tate went to visit with Holly, Sarah started to break down and questioned her medical skills. None of this made sense and she felt compelled to figure out what was going on with her niece.
In Holly’s room, Tate assured his girlfriend that this was not history repeating itself. Sophia couldn’t be drugging her this time because she was dead. “But what if she’s not?” Holly asked. Holly theorized that Sophia could have climbed out of the water on Smith Island and tried to poison her.
In the waiting room, Brady received a call from Steve telling him Liam’s money came from Gabi, so it had nothing to do with drugs. Brady knew he needed answers from EJ about the coriseal. But he also had to meet Kristen at Bayview to break the news about Sophia to Rachel, so he left. That’s when Xander appeared and Sarah broke down in his arms.
EJ’s Arsenic Issue
Rita came sauntering into the DiMera living room to listen to EJ’s horrible news. He’d discovered that Kristen had enlisted Sophia Choi to murder his son. Rita was shocked, but not obviously so. She thought that sounded a bridge too far for Kristen.
Rita then had an unusual emotional reaction to the idea that Johnny was nearly killed by his own aunt. EJ and Rita both decided that Kristen deserved payback. However, EJ wanted to let her sweat for a while. Rita thought that was all well and good because they had another issue to deal with.
It turned out that Johnny had been looking into some things at DiMera Pharmaceuticals. He was asking about a batch of coriseal they destroyed because it was contaminated with arsenic. Johnny also found that there were files missing from that time. EJ immediately began to freak and worried about what could come of Johnny’s poking around.
Rita soon informed EJ that the head of pharmaceuticals had buried the contaminated batch. “On Smith Island, to be precise,” Rita said.
Confrontation in Horton Town Square
Gabi was horrified to see Liam kissing Ari in the square. She thought she had gotten rid of this young man and paid a lot of money to do so. She asked him what he was thinking about by returning to Salem, so Ari demanded to know what her mother was talking about.
Gabi stood there silent, so Ari figured out that Liam had left town because of her mother. Aaron watched the whole scene from afar as Ari went off on Gabi for running Liam out of town. Gabi finally admitted that she paid Liam to get out of Salem so her daughter wouldn’t have a criminal in her life. Gabi said she stood by that decision.
Liam stepped in and asked Ari not be mad at Gabi, but Gabi still got on his case for being in Salem. Ari explained that Liam was checking on her because he thought she was in the hospital, but it was Holly who was sick. Gabi thought that was a great way to change the subject, but Ari announced she would not be coming home. She then told Liam and Gabi to both “get out of my face.”
As Ari walked off with Aaron, Gabi started shouting at Liam in Spanish. Liam grew sick of Gabi and told her that her issues with Ari were not his problem. Liam walked away, but not before catching Kristen’s eye. She asked Gabi why he looked so familiar, so Gabi told her that it was the guy who helped keep her hostage in the crypt.
Outside The Brady Pub, Aaron tried his best to reason with Ari. He defended Gabi and told her that her mother’s actions were only because she loved her. Aaron said that he’d do anything to have his mother disrespect his boundaries right now.
Could Sophia still be alive? What do you think EJ will do to Kristen? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Edited by Hope Campbell