Days of our Lives recap for Monday, January 30, 2023.
In today’s Days recap, Rolf arrives to deprogram Stefan, Xander makes Leo an offer he can’t refuse, Jack throws Gwen out and fires her from The Spectator and Sarah decides it’s time for divorce.
In the last Days recap, EJ and Nicole almost slept together, Sloan had a bad first meeting with Roman, Gabi played on Li’s feelings to locate Dr. Rolf, and Allie and Chanel separated.
Gwen is sitting on Alice Horton’s couch with her laptop and phone, telling Skip at The Spectator to hold the front page for an expose on the Salem PD.
She claims she’s got evidence of all kinds of bad stuff happening at the cop shop.
Just then, Jack walks in and Gwen hangs up on Skip. Gwen stands to give her father an awkward hug.
Jack says he spoke to Rafe and knows what Gwen did.
Jack asks if it’s true she helped Xander cover up the kidnappings of Bonnie and Susan.
Gwen falsely claims this is just Rafe making up a story to hide his own incompetence, but Jack doesn’t believe her.
Rafe asked Jack to talk to Gwen and convince her to cooperate with the police to build a case against Xander.
Jack doesn’t understand why his daughter is helping her ex cover up his crimes.
Gwens says Xander was desperate, to which Jack responds that Xander is always desperate.
Gwen tries to explain to Jack the circumstances that led Xander to work for Ava, ultimately kidnapping Susan and then Bonnie.
Jack still doesn’t understand why Gwen is still defending Xander.
Jack is exasperated with Gwen. She says she had nothing to do with the kidnappings, but Jack reminds her she was an accessory after the fact.
Gwen concedes it wasn’t the best judgement. Jack tells her she has a chance to make it right by going to the police and telling them everything.
Gwen refuses. She can’t do that to Xander. She would lose him.
Jack asks if she would rather lose him. Gwen asks if he’s choosing not to forgive her this time.
Jack goes through a laundry list of the times he’s forgiven Gwen and risked his marriage and his relationship with his other children to do so.
Gwen tells her father how grateful she is to be a part of his life.
Jacks says if it’s true, she’ll stop doing the terrible things she does, like weaponizing The Spectator to go after the Salem PD.
Jack doesn’t understand why Gwen goes to such lengths to help a guy who’s in love with another woman.
Gwen says Xander is her friend and he’s Jack’s friend, too. Jack says that’s true, but he won’t throw his life away for Xander.
Jack orders Gwen to go to the police right now and make a statement against Xander… or else.
Gwen reminds him she’s an adult and he can’t force her to do anything.
Jack admits it’s true and wonders if she would have turned out better if he had the chance to be a father to her when she was younger.
Jack tells Gwen if she doesn’t cooperate with the police against Xander, she’s out of his life for good.
Gwen doesn’t believe him, but Jack assures her he does.
Gwen pleads with Jack to help her like he always does, but Jack says losing Abigail has changed everything for him.
Jack wants to spend the rest of his life making Jennifer happy and honoring the legacy of their daughter.
“I can’t keep dealing with the negativity and the drama you bring,” Jack says.
Jack again demands Gwen cooperate with the police against Xander or she’ll lose her home, her job, and her father.
Xander is alone in his hotel room bed, drunk and watching a Meg Ryan movie.
There’s a knock at the door.
Xander opens the door to Leo, who takes an appreciative look up and down his favorite Scotsman.
“Is that any way to treat the guy that saved your magnificent ass?” Leo says to the disparaging look Xander is giving.
When Leo reminds Xander how he wore the muscle suit to help him, Xander drags him into the room.
Leo has a look around the squalid environment and comments that he seems to have interrupted a party. Xander asks what he wants.
Leo says he’s there to give Xander a heads-up: he’s testifying against Xander to a grand jury.
Xander is furious and backs Leo against the wall. Leo explains he didn’t want to do this, but he had no choice. It was the only way he’s staying out of prison himself.
Leo says he wanted to cooperate anonymously and Xander correctly guesses this is about Sonny.
Leo confirms it and blames it all on “that messy little queen” Will Horton.
Xander is furious that Will knows what he did. What if Will writes an expose about Xander?
“Worse yet,” Xander goes on, “turns my tragic downfall into his next flick for Peacock?”
Leo assures him Wilhelmina wasn’t snooping on Leo for a story.
Xander puts the pieces together and realizes things with Sonny blew up and that’s why Leo’s testifying.
Leo assures Xander it’s nothing personal. He just has to look out for his own interests.
Xander asks if he could offer an incentive to get Leo to not testify.
Xander snuggles up closer to Leo, take’s his hand and puts it on Xander’s chest.
Leo is stunned and asks what’s happening. Xander reminds him he’s always wanted it.
“It?” Leo asks.
Xander says Leo has always wanted to get him in bed and now’s his chance.
He offers to show Leo what he has to gain by keeping his pretty little mouth shut.
Leo jumps off the bed and asks if Xander is offering sex in exchange for not testifying to the grand jury.
Xander asks if they have a deal. Leo pauses for half a second before agreeing and asking Xander to take him now.
Xander guides Leo to the bed pushes him down… and then starts strangling him!
Leo struggles until Xander lets him go. Xander asks who Leo thinks he is to make threats against him.
He grabs Leo by the throat and says only the hope of getting Sarah back is keeping him from turning back into the worst version of himself.
Leo pulls away and runs for the door. As he leaves, Xander tells him if he helps the police, Xander will make sure Leo joins Susan in the afterlife.
A very rattled Leo leaves.
Gabi is dashing out of Li’s room at the Salem Inn, having just contacted Dr. Rolf on Li’s burner phone.
Just then, Li emerges from the bathroom and wants to know why his wife is sneaking out “like a cat burglar.”
Gabi tells him she’s changed her mind and it’s a woman’s prerogative to do so.
Li says he doesn’t believe her. He thinks she never had any intention of getting back together with him.
Gabi scrambles for an excuse as Li demands to know why she’s there.
Li grabs Gabi and throws her onto the bed. He pulls his burner phone out of the side table drawer and asks if it’s the reason she came to his room.
Gabi pretends she’s never seen it before and doesn’t want to know what’s on it.
Li doesn’t believe her and checks the phone to see she made a call to Rolf while Li was in the shower.
Li presses gabi to admit what she did, but she just shrugs it off. Gabi tells him Dr. Rolf is on his way to Salem.
When she turns to leave, Li grabs Gabi’s arm. He doesn’t think she really wants to leave because she knows she’s wasting her time trying to get Stefan when she knows Li is where it’s at.
Gabi scoffs at this suggestion. She doesn’t think it’s a waste of time to get Stefan back to the man he was before Li and his mad scientist screwed with Stefan’s head.
Li reminds her Stefan has said over and over he doesn’t want to be deprogrammed.
“Who says I’m giving him a choice!” a flustered Gabi blurts out.
When Li asks Gabi to explain, she claims it was just a figure of speech. She’s just very determined to get Stefan deprogrammed with Rolf’s help.
Gabi storms out of the room in a huff.
Li says she shouldn’t be so sure of that and makes a call on the burner phone.
Li tells the person on the other end they need to make sure Rolf stays away from Salem… permanently.
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Stefan is still in the DiMera basement, struggling with the ropes tying him to the chair.
He’s having no luck and growls in frustration. But then he remembers he’s got his phone in his pocket.
As soon as he’s pulled it out, he drops it on the floor. Stefan tries picking it up with his feet when the phone rings.
Stefan gets one boot off and uses his toe to answer the phone. It’s a collect call from Statesville Prison.
Stefan yells through the tape covering his mouth when the operator asks if he accepts the call.
The operator can’t hear him and asks him to respond again. Stefan gets the tape loose and shouts that he accepts the call.
Stefan asks who it is and after a pause comes to the answer.
“Hello, son,” says Vivian Alamain’s (Louise Sorel) voice. “It’s your mother.”
Stefan quickly tells her about Gabi tying him up and asks Vivian to send help.
Vivian says she doesn’t have to do anything. Why should she lift a finger to help her ungrateful son?
Stefan plays on her maternal feelings, but Viv isn’t having it. Where was his concern for her when he rose from the dead?
Stefan grovels for his mother’s forgiveness for not visiting her and promises he’ll get her out of prison if she helps him now.
Vivian isn’t convinced Stefan is being honest. He admits he’s desperate but he’s telling her the truth.
Vivian says she’ll “take it under consideration.”
Stefan is pleading with Vivian to help him escape when Gabi walks in. She grabs the phone and tells Vivian Stefan was just being dramatic.
Gabi goes on to tell Vivian how Stefan took Chloe on trips to New York and Miami. Gabi knows how Vivian hates Chloe for what happened to Phillip.
Gabi even wonders if Vivian can trust that Stefan is being honest now or if it’s just the brainwashing. She promises she’ll make Stefan visit Vivian in prison as soon as he’s deprogrammed.
Gabi hangs up and reminds Stefan his “Mommie Weirdest” is Team Stabi.
“You’re insane, you know that,” Stefan says.
“I’m determined,” Gabi says. “There’s a difference.”
Stefan vows yet again no matter what Gabi does, he will not fall in love with her again.
There’s a knock at the door. It’s Rolf.
“Who’s down for a little deprogramming?” Gabi asks.
Justin and Maggie are in the Kiriakis living room, talking about Bonnie when Sarah walks in.
Sarah breaks the news she and Xander will not be staying together. Justin asks what changed her mind.
Sarah says it was probably finding her husband half-naked with Gwen.
Maggie says she can’t believe Xander would take up with “that awful Gwen” again.
Sarah admits she thought they would get together again. Maggie asks if she’s sure they are.
Sarah says Xander wanted to explain, but what did it matter? Seeing him with Gwen again reminded her she’ll never be able to trust Xander again.
Maggie still thinks Sarah’s being to rash, but Sarah says she’s not giving Xander any more chances.
Maggie reminds her Bonnie forgave Xander, so maybe Sarah can, too.
Sarah says her mind is made up. Things are over between her and Xander.
Sarah thinks they’re too different to make it work. After all, she has a moral compass and Xander does not.
Justin observes that Sarah wants Xander to be a better man, just the same as Maggie and Victor. But Justin also thinks he’ll never be able to overlook what Xander did to Bonnie and Susan.
Maggie says Xander isn’t a bad man. Justin agrees but says Xander does bad things.
Sarah asks Justin to draw up the divorce papers. He says he’ll start right away.
After Sarah leaves the room, Justin and Maggie talk about the divorce.
Maggie admits she’s not happy about it, but Sarah has to make her own decision. Maggie worries Xander will not take the news well.
Xander is back in bed drinking again when there’s another knock at the door. It’s Sarah.
She comes in and hands him an envelope. Xander asks what it is.
“Divorce papers,” Sarah says. “Our marriage is over, Xander.”
Gwen is sitting alone at a table in Horton Square when Leo walks by.
Leo tells her he’s decided not to testify against Xander because telling the truth would be hazardous to his health.
Gwen says that makes two of them. She tells Leo about Jack’s ultimatum.
Gwen chose Xander and Jack kicked her out, fired her from The Spectator and said he’s no longer her father.
At the Horton house, Jack takes the picture of him and Gwen from the mantel and drops it in the trash.
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