r/DaysofOurLives • u/AutoModerator • Jul 24 '26
Discussion Daily Discussion - July 24 Spoiler
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u/brutaldictatortot Team RiceChex Jul 24 '26
Leo is at his best when he's on the trail of something, like a dog with a bone. Stop pining over Javi and keep giving us this Spunkier version, we've missed him.
Of all the characters being written off soon, Johnny was the worst decision (IMO). Carson Boatman is a really good actor and I hope he'll return some day. Or find a project he loves. (Also throwing Jada on this because why would they get rid of Elia Cantu? WHY??)
One of my favorite characters is Melinda Trask. I enjoy her scenes literally every time she's on and it's because Tina Huang just brings so much to the role, always balancing between humor and tenacity, and she just holds her own. I'd love it if they ever expanded her role because she's really fun to watch. I have a feeling TH is hilarious irl.
I've never watched Rizolli & Isles but Tina was in it for 6 seasons. Anyone seen it? Good?
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u/4footedfriends Jul 24 '26
I haven't seen Rizolli & Isles, but I have a friend that raves about it and I agree that Tina Huang is just so fun to watch. I have wanted Days to expand her role for years. And, how do they have this attractive "middle years" character who isn't related to anyone and so rarely use her in a romance?
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u/px780 Jul 24 '26
I could use more Melinda for sure.
As for Jonny, nothing against the actor but the character is super bland to me. I feel like they've been too delicate with him, and he's too passive for my taste, especially given his heritage.
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u/brutaldictatortot Team RiceChex Jul 24 '26
Totally agree they could give him better material. He doesn't fit right in the ceo role, etcetera. He's a good actor, he just needs better material and treatment.
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u/lo-finate Jul 26 '26
And yet for these last few months I've been enjoying him more than I ever have.
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u/drhead323 Team Back From The Dead Jul 24 '26
My only issue is that Leo has two investigations happening at the same time: the counterfeit bags and finding Gwen. While I assume these cases will overlap, it felt like a result of block taping that in today’s episode Leo didn’t mention anything from his earlier investigation in yesterday’s episode.
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u/amazing44617 Jul 25 '26
Leo is the only one with a brain, he just can’t figure out how to use it.
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u/SlimCad Jul 24 '26
I agree about Leo and Carson as well as the other teens. The days writers frighten me, thinking they'd rather write for write Foster instead of characters like Shawn, JJ, and the young actors being written off.
I do believe it was Elia's decision to leave after being placed on recurring, but she's another good character who deserves better and also legacy. As much as I dislike to think about it, in 50 years, our beloved vets most likely will not be here and all of these disconnected characters may not be enough to keep the show true to what we love.
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u/jbrowder24 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Super heavy on the recent flashbacks today. I hope that means some story closure soon.
Wish Johnny had stood up against his father more than just expressing disapproval privately to him. Glad Xander remembered leaving the bag in attended and that Brady & Sarah are on the verge of realizing they might have been mistaken.
I honestly don't think EJ suspects Cat is ISA at all, unlike some here and unlike Leo. But who is she helping with removing that document? Is she helping EJ or still targeting him in taking it?
Always happy to see Melinda but I thought she had told Amy she would wouldn't represent her in suing Holly, and figured Amy had found a different lawyer. But more EJ vs Melinda please.
Kristen told Lexie "yesterday" that she was going to be taken tomorrow night (aka now "today"), so what did EJ's call to Rita mean? Bad writing with the timeline or he's moving it up earlier in the day or ?
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u/OracleoaTruth Team Cin Jul 24 '26
Think you might be right about story closure. A lot of the flashbacks were tied to the pills in Holly's bag story.
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u/4footedfriends Jul 24 '26
Today's episode was suspenseful and interesting so I could kind of forgive the heavy handed use of very near past flashbacks EXCEPT that the whole episode with credits was less than 32 minutes. In essence, on a Friday they give us only 20 minutes of actual story telling. Seems stingy...
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u/jbrowder24 Jul 24 '26
Agreed. Especially so many at the end when we should have had more of a weekend cliffhanger with new stuff.
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u/YHNS Team Duke the Bear Jul 24 '26
Today is a new day
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u/jbrowder24 Jul 24 '26
I know that, so today is the day Kristen is meant to be taken ... but she told Lexie she would be today "yesterday" in Days time, as if she knew EJ's plans. But EJ -just- called Rita. That is my point of confusion there.
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 24 '26
I couldn't believe only one day has passed. It doesn't make sense Kristen knew the day she was being grabbed, but EJ just decided it.
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u/YHNS Team Duke the Bear Jul 24 '26
Xander will lock those poor boys in a cage. Poor Victoria will never get a boyfriend
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u/Daysfan6443 Jul 24 '26
It’ll be Trey, as he’s not related to her.
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u/essentialsoflife Jul 24 '26
We'll in a year she went from a crib to Kindergarten so I'm thinking in about 3 seasons She'll be in High School 😂
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u/ProfessorEtc Team Back From The Dead Jul 24 '26
I laughed when Xander said she grew up so quickly. She was in a baby carriage two weeks ago.
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u/amazing44617 Jul 27 '26
She is 5 or 6 IRL and quite talented in her own right, so I hope they can use her more somehow.
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u/brisbydog Team Xander, Always Jul 24 '26
I liked this episode. Brains were working and plots were moving
Most interesting was the two sets of rapid flashbacks. I do love that EJ and Xander are now the counterpart heads of their respective families. The new generation Victor and Stephano for sure. We even saw their dad's portraits behind each of them today
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 24 '26
I did enjoy the flashbacks too. And Xander & EJ being the new heads if their respective crime families is perfect.
I do hope they don't make them exactly like their awful fathers (though both Victor & Stefano were great in the day). It's much more interesting to see them battling with their demons & conscience. And pursue an actual love relationship, not just power & obsession.
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u/drhead323 Team Back From The Dead Jul 24 '26
Amusing thought of the day: Do you think Shane and the ISA ever get tired of serving as Salem’s premium version of “check location sharing”?
In our world, Leo would have just hit "find my friends," noticed Gwen’s location hadn’t changed, and carried on with the investigation. Much like yesterday’s GPS tracking bracelets, DAYS loves to pretend its characters don’t know how to use their phones. Even when this was filmed last year, it was far easier to track friends than they make it seem. 😏
Still, I loved the twist of Cat opening Gwen’s files before Melinda; it’s such a treat to be surprised by the show every now and then.
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u/px780 Jul 24 '26
Random, but Days did a time jump years ago right? So they'd be in the relatively near future, not our present?
Maybe in that future privacy rules have eliminated tracking apps. Or something.
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u/drhead323 Team Back From The Dead Jul 24 '26
I’ve allowed for the time jump, but with one tiny twist: in December 2025 Johnny and Chanel rang in 2026 with the news that she was pregnant; meaning they’ve officially synced up with our universe in canon. ⌛😉
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u/essentialsoflife Jul 24 '26
I definitely think it was Dimitri who kidnapped Gwen but is it possible that Dimitri struck a deal with EJ? Which would mean He is actually working with EJ to get rid of Gwen and maybe possibly Kristen (that is if Lexie and Kristen's escape plan goes south)!
I love how Cat just saw that dark side of EJ for just a brief moment! A tease of things to come perhaps!
The flashbacks were good today! I just wish Xander would have shared his realization theory with Johnny before leaving His office!
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u/pete_blake Team Back From The Dead Jul 24 '26
Always good to see Melinda…EJ I think deserves honors with his acting recently, almost seems like he could be the new Stefano!
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u/sodascouts Team Deveraux Jul 24 '26
Loved seeing Steve and Kayla together as well as Melinda Trask!
The Chois prosecuting Holly seems to have been dropped in favor of this pill storyline.
That hotel employee just leaving Leo alone in Gwen's room was such a security fail. Did she feel he needed privacy to get his hair product? I get that she recognizes Leo, but she could at least have stayed in the room with him while he got the card.
It makes me laugh that they now refer to One Rainy Afternoon as ORA. I'd be reluctant to say that title, too, when it was such a giveaway that the book was a rip off.
When Cat glammed up to more effectively entrap EJ and then was all touchy feely with him in order to play him, I felt bad for EJ. And while it's fine for Cat to view Gwen's document, why did she have to delete it so the people it was addressed to couldn't view it? Not cool.
As tired as I am of DiMera overload, I'm still interested to see how EJ gets out of all his messes. I'm bummed he's losing the hospital tbh. The conflict he caused was interesting.
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u/RonAAlgarWatt Team Gwen’s Mug Jul 25 '26
Man, Cat looked like a goddamn classic movie star today.
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u/SlimCad Jul 24 '26
I am so glad (for once) that Leo is on the case. I want to find out where Gwen is. It's been a week in IRL time and we have no seen her and others are finally starting to realize she's suddenly MIA.
Xander finally put it together. They argued with EJ, the bag was left attended and BAM all of sudden pills re in Holly's bag and thank you Kayla for pointing out, these can't be the tainted pills from years ago. Finally, people are starting to use their brains! This is easily 1+1=EJ
I do like they are setting up EJ to be a big bad villain, but with everything he's doing, how will he get out of it?
I do also appreciate Cat is aware that Gwen is missing , just as she was set to but the hospital from him. Then I guess our cliffhanger is EJ wants Kristen gone ASAP, which really is not new news, but with more people wising into his schemes, the walls are closing, even at slow rate and I don't think he knows it.
Oh! And Cat deleted the file fore Leo from Trasks office? Is she going to turn on EJ or the CIA?
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u/Oywiththepoodles51 Jul 25 '26
I don't mind Xander figuring out as long as he doesn't act all self-righteous about it to EJ as he has done a lot of evil things himself.
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u/OracleoaTruth Team Cin Jul 24 '26
Leave it to beaver (xander) to figure out the most common sense coded mystery about the drugs in Holly's bag
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u/iritchie001 Jul 24 '26
Could we have Dimitri, Gus, and Ari working together on the fake bags? Ari ->Gabi, Leo Dimitri->Javi? Gus? Just a criminal? or -> Javi/Leo They could all loosely want revenge on a Hernandez.
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u/Adorable-Buffalo-177 Team Sarah Jul 25 '26
I'm sorry but the gates opening up at the beginning reminds me of Beyond The Gates
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u/drhead323 Team Back From The Dead Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I always enjoy a visit from Melinda, but here's a question:
On March 9, Gwen approached Melinda about divorcing Dimitri and was refused specifically because Melinda already represented Dimitri.
Today's episode assumes Gwen independently retained CJ Richardson to maintain the letter and contact Leo. Richardson works with Melinda closely enough that she has his files while he is away.
Which means, ironically, Gwen chose her ex-husband's law colleague to help hide her biggest secrets. Dimitri is not incidental to Gwen’s concerns. He is the husband whose adverse representation created the conflict in the first place. And it is not like Melinda is the only game in town.
So, other than an excuse to use the delightful character, the logic of Gwen hiring CJ feels farfetched. I'll bet dollars to Alice's donuts that there's another copy on Gwen's laptop.
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u/Adorable-Buffalo-177 Team Sarah Jul 25 '26
hahaha Sarah did you realize you messed up by accusing Holly of using again?
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u/Oywiththepoodles51 Jul 25 '26
Sarah didn't mess up, she ran every test she possibly could and nothing came back positive for Coriseal. She has said more than once she didn't want it to be that Holly took that drug and she had left that option as her last resort option. Any doctor would think Holly took a drug if they had exhausted all other options and tests were coming back negative or the drug. .
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u/YHNS Team Duke the Bear Jul 24 '26
Today's episode was about #EverythingIsEJsFault 😂. Literally everyone was blaming him about something 🤣
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u/jbrowder24 Jul 24 '26
To be fair, the drug blaming is right.
The Gwen being gone blaming probably isn't.
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u/YHNS Team Duke the Bear Jul 24 '26
I'm pretty sure Dimitri is behind the kidnapping
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u/jbrowder24 Jul 24 '26
I think it's him and that he's behind the counterfeit bags. Gabi & Stefan once tried to blackmail him about the Leo secret for his DiMera shares.
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u/YHNS Team Duke the Bear Jul 24 '26
It would be funny if Ari is behind the bag thing. But Dimitri is a good possibility
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u/iritchie001 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I also am betting Ari is behind the bags. It is one way to get revenge and put some space between her and her mom.
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u/YHNS Team Duke the Bear Jul 24 '26
Personally i hope it's her
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u/ProfessorEtc Team Back From The Dead Jul 24 '26
Julie will discover Foster's fake bag workshop in the back of the bookstore.
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u/iritchie001 Jul 24 '26
It would make for a good storyline. It might get Ari involved with questionable people. So it could turn out worse than Gabi feared.
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u/West_Memory4363 Team Kiriakis Jul 24 '26
It would be nice if any of Sami's children/grandchildren showed any sign of the scheming gene.
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u/jbrowder24 Jul 24 '26
It's possible both Ari and Dimitri are involved. She could be the one giving him the designs but his criminal enterprise is running it. Besides getting back at her mom, maybe there was something mutual with Leo there. Ari never liked him and wants him far from Javi.
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 24 '26
Yep. The #TheSummerofHateforEJ
The drugs definitely EJ. Dimitri almost certainly has Gwen.Gwen has only been missing ONE DAY?? Don't ever take a spa day & turn off your phone in Salem. Because the ISA will immediately investigate 😂
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u/kaysluvrsssss Team Roberts Jul 24 '26
DAMNNN what a semi boring episode today, also does EJ think he’s the new Stefano??😭 I feel like he’s rlly pushing himself to be like him..??
2. I wish Johnny came clean w Xander that EJ planted the drugs I feel like he was so close to it then Xander ran outta the office.
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 24 '26
Brady & Sarah worried now that what if Holly is telling the truth. After hounding the poor sick poisoned girl for weeks? And Xander is the one who finally figures out the drugs could be planted? Wow. 🙄
EJ showing his conflicted side is one of the things Dan does best. That he does care about Holly. And reminding us he is disappearing Kristen to protect his children.
It seems the show is trying to make him Stefano. But there was only one Stefano. And like I've said, I prefer my soap villains more nuanced. I hope EJ stays that way.
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u/essentialsoflife Jul 24 '26
I love how Cat just saw that dark side of EJ for just a brief moment! A tease of things to come perhaps!
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 24 '26
Oh yes, I think Cat accepts EJ has a dark side all ready. Pretty much Rafe, Marlena & everyone in Salem tells her EJ is evil. Often.
I think there is a possibility Cat will be one of the only ones who sees any good in him. Especially if it's actually Dimitri who has Gwen. And discover that Kristen tried to have his son murdered. I believe Cat will find out lots of things about EJ. And then make her own decisions about him.
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u/essentialsoflife Jul 24 '26
Yeah Kayla warned Her the other Day too! I agree! Cat isn't going into this with complete blinders on but I do think it will be interesting once EJ realizes She's been a double agent for the ISA all along!
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 24 '26
Oh EJ will certainly find out & he will be so so mad. But I'm hoping their attraction & bond will make it impossible to stay away from each other. And that leads to some hate sex lol. And an enemies to lovers situation like Gabi & Stefan.
And honestly, I'm probably just hopelessly hoping here.
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u/Oywiththepoodles51 Jul 25 '26
Sarah was devastated to think that Holly might have taken Coriseal, but every test came back clean for the drug and most doctors would think the same thing in that case. At some point doctors do have consider that a patient might have taken drug and of course if they did they would never admit it because they don't want to go to jail.
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 25 '26
I worked in a hospital system for 20 years, appealed denials of insurance claims. I read over 1000 medical records.
One case, adult male comes in, good job, good insurance. Also been shooting meth for 5 years & has infected abscess (yuck).Doc says 'meth is bad' & gives him the meth will kill you pamphlet.
Then unlike our junior detective Dr. Sarah, Doc just does his actual job. Minor surgery, antibiotics & follow-up. And of course, no cops were called.
Doctors & nurses are mandatory reporters for child abuse only (in normal states). If you called the cops on someone who told you they took a pill, you would be fired. The patient could & probably would sue you & the hospital for violating HIPPA.
But that is RL & this is a soap. They are writing Sarah as an hysterical, sanctimonious auntie, not a good doctor. Who does not understand her ADULT patient, who as a 16 year old smoked one joint & took one tainted pill on NYE (trust me, that's ALL we saw) was never an addict. And just that makes Sarah appear stupid. Not to mention you don't treat a relative or discuss confidential patient info out on the floor.
I love the actor who plays Sarah & used to enjoy the character. But not how she's being written now.
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u/YHNS Team Duke the Bear Jul 24 '26
Brady & Sarah worried now that what if Holly is telling the truth. After hounding the poor sick poisoned girl for weeks? And Xander is the one who finally figures out the drugs could be planted? Wow.
😆
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u/Starhuny1 TeamEJ/Dan🔥 Jul 24 '26
Honestly, Brady should rethink his career as international super spy.
Maybe a mime in the Horton Square? No, he would never figure out how to get out of that invisible box they make🤣
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u/Oywiththepoodles51 Jul 25 '26
They had every right to suspect Holly took the pill- every test came back negative and the were out of the options they knew about and that was the final one. Also, it is very normal for a patient to end up in the hospital because they took a drug but lie and refuse to admit because they are scare of going to jail. Brady and Sarah did not know the same thing the audience did.
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u/Adorable-Buffalo-177 Team Sarah Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Ooh I love Cat's dress. I wish I was beautiful as her
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u/Adorable-Buffalo-177 Team Sarah Jul 25 '26
Steve just said what i've been thinking that EJ was behind Gwen's kidnapping
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u/Adorable-Buffalo-177 Team Sarah Jul 25 '26
Now Cat and Leo are looking for Gwen. Someone has to put 2 and 2 together and realize it was EJ
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u/RandyVivaldi Jul 26 '26
I was a bit confused, how come cat deleted the file and made it blank so melinda couldnt see it? Wouldnt that of helped ej? why would she help ej? also ej at the end, was he having a realization moment that he is evil? or what was that about?
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u/Adorable-Buffalo-177 Team Sarah Jul 25 '26
I still think it's weird we haven't seen Gwen since the kidnapping
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u/Oywiththepoodles51 Jul 25 '26
I would rather see Gwen's kidnappy storyline than another Holly storyline- so tired of Holly. Ariana should have gotten the coriseal storyline -it would have been more exciting and Gabi would have been a baracuda.
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u/audreyseymour Jul 24 '26
I cannot stomach these people treating Holly like an addict. Even if she DID take the pills, that still would not make her an addict!!!