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Tate’s kicking and boxing away when Gwen arrives for her lesson to tell him all about her fight with Kristen and EJ’s black eye. They hit the air a bit, and Tate’s curiosity gets the better of him, so he asks what Kristen did and learns all about the Xander betrayal.

He then points out that, no-strings or not, Xander probably should have told Gwen about sleeping with her friend, too. It’s not all on Kristen! Eventually, they get to the punching bag, but that’s about when Tate wants to leave for the hospital.

Will Theo Keep Gabi’s Secret (Again)?

Gabi’s waiting in Theo’s office (in his chair, no less!) when he arrives and sighs. “What do you want?” She wants a favor! Theo’s smile at the idea is definitely not friendly as he gets into all the reasons why Gabi’s the worst.

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Her response? Theo sees the world in black and white. Was what she did really so unforgivable? (Honestly, compared to Gabi’s other misdeeds, no.) Theo’s still hurt… but he’ll hear her out. So Gabi asks Theo not to tell EJ about her using DiMera money to help Titan. Theo’s disgusted, but he won’t say a word. Now bye.

Can Alex Make This Work?

Alex and Stephanie get home seconds apart, but she’s still miffed over Joy’s “emergency.” Actually, she’s “royally pissed off!” (Do royals get angrier than us common folk?) Joy’s clearly using Kelsey to yank Alex to her side at the drop of a hat! In fact, Joy may have even given herself a flat tire!

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Alex is horrified. That’s just “crazy” talk! Oops. That word probably wasn’t a great choice, but instead of sticking around to hear how upset Stephanie is, Alex runs off for some air in the square.

That’s where Bonnie spots him, all morose and hurt and sits down for a chat. She knows he wants to make everyone happy, but it’s never going to happen. Alex has really turned his life around over this last year, though, and that’s something to be proud of. He’ll figure this out. In the meantime, it’s important to pause and cherish the happy moments. That’s where he’ll find his answers.

Can Philip Help Stephanie?

Philip shows up back at the apartment to check in on Stephanie (after stopping by the hospital and getting the latest Holly/arsenic/EJ news from Sarah), who quickly admits that everything’s wrong. They go over everything — including the shooting, since Chloe filled Philip in — and he insists that so much of what’s happened to Stephanie is his fault since he dragged her into the DiMera/Kiriakis feud.

Stephanie stops him. She’s focusing on the future and healing, not the past. On that note, she moves the conversation on to Gabi and Philip’s breakup and EJ putting the squeeze on Titan. She’ll help however she can.

Alex isn’t happy to see Philip when he gets home, but once his cousin leaves, the couple gets down to apologizing. Him for using the word “crazy” with her and Stephanie for overreacting. He also promises he doesn’t have blinders on with Joy. (And in a Soaps exclusive, Robert Scott Wilson promises Alex isn’t as naive as Stephanie thinks!)They hug and make up, neither looking certain.

Will Kristen Tell Brady the Truth?

Brady stops by the DiMera mansion to tell Kristen that Rachel’s been approved for release from Bayview. So it’s time to tell him what the heck is going on with EJ! But once again, Kristen just stonewalls him, flipping from panic to, “don’t worry about it, EJ won’t hurt our daughter” and back. It’s not reassuring. But she insists she’ll handle this and if anything changes, she’ll let Brady know. “You damn well better.”

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Next stop is Sarah and getting up to speed on the Holly drama. The treatment is already working, even without arsenic confirmation. Brady’s dumbfounded. “Arsenic poisoning. Where the hell are we, 19th century England?” (Come on, is nobody going to make an Arsenic and Old Lace reference?) In any case, searching the office was a dead end. But they already know who would have access: Hospital owner EJ. Then Sarah gets the water analysis back. There was concentrated arsenic in there, but no Coriseal. How odd. (Almost as odd as her mentioning that Nicole was in Holly’s room sitting with her daughter at that very moment.)

In the Show’s Final Moments

Gabi stops Gwen in the square to compliment her on her Gabi Chic purse. Except… wait. Gabi realizes it’s a knockoff! They’re both horrified. (Where in the Temu nonsense is this going?)

Kristen visits Theo to ask for a favor of her own, which gets another sigh from her nephew. ”What do you need?” She wants to know if EJ so much as utters Rachel’s name to him. He’s not just Theo’s “dry-witted uncle,” he’s so, so much worse; a chip off the ol’ Nono block. And when Theo insists his grandfather always put family first, Kristen lists off Stefano’s crimes against his family until she drops the bomb: It’s Stefano’s fault Lexie got a brain tumor. Nono cost Theo his mother!