Days of our Lives recap for Friday, November 1, 2024: Xander asks Kristen to murder Philip

At the Salem Inn, Vivian urged Philip to get out of bed and help her prevent Xander’s efforts to give Titan to the DiMera family. “I’m having second thoughts about this,” Philip said. Worried, Vivian warned Philip not to give up his birthright to Xander. “My reluctance has nothing to do with my half-wit brother and all to do with his wife,” Philip admitted. Vivian rolled her eyes.

“The woman is paralyzed,” Philip noted. “I think Xander’s brain is paralyzed. Why would he give up Titan for a small liquid vial that may not even work?” Vivian said. Vivian argued that Sarah deserved whatever happened to her since she had chosen to marry Xander.

“You and that soft heart of yours,” Philip joked. “Not to mention that Titan belongs to you,” Vivian stressed. Philip disagreed. Vivian held up Victor’s letter as proof. “I know what you’re gonna say, that this is not only what Victor wanted, but what I’d have gotten had I not let my obsession with Chloe Lane consume me,” Philip said. “Exactly,” Vivian said.

Kristen was sipping tea in the DiMera living room when Xander strolled in. Kristen asked Xander if he had been able to force Philip to back off his injunction. Xander said no. Xander argued that Philip’s injunction would not hold up in court, but he was worried that Philip would keep the case tied up for years. “And I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sit by and see Sarah spend another one of Victoria’s birthdays in that bloody wheelchair,” Xander muttered. Kristen asked Xander what he had in mind instead.

“Simple. Philip has to die for real,” Xander said. “So your proposal to grease the wheels of justice is to kill Philip?” Kristen asked. Xander argued that even though Philip was his brother, he was a long-standing source of grief. “This is a little drastic, don’t you think? Are you really prepared to murder your brother in cold blood?” Kristen asked. “Of course not. But I’m pretty sure you are,” Xander said. Kristen laughed in disbelief.

“You do want Titan, don’t you?” Xander asked. “Yes, just as much as you want that serum. Why don’t you do the honor?” Kristen said. Xander argued that the police would blame him if anything happened to Philip. “Same is true with me, too!” Kristen countered.

With a sigh, Xander changed tactics. Xander pointed out that Kristen had asked him to kill multiple people over the years. “I’m sorry. I do want Titan, but not bad enough to kill for it,” Kristen said. “So we’re right back where we started,” Xander muttered. Kristen told Xander to find another way to stop Philip.

At the penthouse, Tate woke up in bed next to Sophia, and he smiled at her. “So, that happened,” Sophia said. Sophia asked Tate what he planned to tell his family when they realized she had slept over. Tate noted that since no one had knocked on the door, they likely had all left for the day. “So this was good timing,” Sophia said. “Definitely,” Tate whispered.

Tate started to say that he had not planned to sleep with Sophia when he had invited her over, but she interrupted to tell him that she had not expected it either. “But I’m glad it did. Are you?” Sophia asked. “I’m really glad about what happened. No regrets,” Tate said. Sophia smiled with relief. As Tate kissed Sophia, her phone beeped. Sophia checked her phone and groaned. Sophia explained that her mother had called her friend’s house, and her friend had had to cover for her.

While Sophia called her mother, Tate went to scrounge up breakfast. As Tate walked through the living room, he picked up his phone, and he saw Holly's text. By the time Sophia had talked to her mother on the phone, dressed, and joined Tate in the living room, Tate was still staring at Holly’s text. “Is something wrong?” Sophia asked. Tate pocketed his phone, and he said everything was fine. Sophia and Tate kissed goodbye, and she left.

In the Kiriakis living room, Holly sighed when she saw that Tate had not responded to her text from the previous night. Sarah entered the room, and she and Holly warmly greeted one another. Holly asked about Paris, and she gave a brief rundown of the events. Holly added that she finally understood why Nicole and Eric had lied to her and that she had forgiven them.

“That makes me so happy. And not just for their sake, but for yours,” Sarah said. Sarah reminded Holly she was there if she needed someone to talk to. Holly asked about the revelations about Fiona. “That’s awful. Xander must be a wreck over it,” Holly said. Sarah nodded yes.

“Now he’s more motivated than ever to help me walk again. He’s doing everything he can to get his hands on that serum,” Sarah said. “What serum?” Holly asked. Sarah told Holly about the serum and what Kristen had demanded for the drug. “So Xander’s really just gonna give his family business over to Kristen?” Holly asked. “He was. But then his brother showed up,” Sarah said. Sarah explained what had happened with Philip and Kristen.

“The idea that Xander’s gonna give up the entire Titan empire for a serum that may or may not work, it just feels like a bad move to me. And honestly, given our history with Kristen, I think anybody could see why I wouldn’t trust her,” Sarah said. “But what if the serum really did work, and you missed your chance to take it?” Holly countered. With a shrug, Sarah noted that she had been adjusting to life in a wheelchair.

“I’m just grateful for any day that I get to spend with my husband and my daughter and people I care about like you,” Sarah said. “You have such a great attitude,” Holly said. Sarah noted that she wanted to stay positive if she could. Sarah admitted that her biggest worry was Xander. “He really is willing to give anything for me to walk again, just getting his hands on that serum,” Sarah said.

After Sarah checked on Victoria, she returned to the living room and saw Holly staring at her phone. Holly explained that she was waiting for a text. “You don’t need to hear about my Tate drama,” Holly said. “It’s a welcome distraction as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with alcoholic mothers-in-law,” Sarah said. Holly told Sarah about what had happened between her and Tate. “I said and did some things I regret. And Tate and I ended up breaking up,” Holly said. Sarah noted that Maggie had told her.

“Anyway, Grandma, she encouraged me to reach out to Tate last night. So I texted him and asked him if he wanted to talk,” Holly said. Holly told Sarah that Tate had not responded, and that she was worried he would never respond. “Maybe he didn’t see the text. You want to try calling him?” Sarah asked. Holly admitted she had gone to Tate’s house, but he had not answered the door.

“Maybe he just doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore,” Holly said. Sarah advised Holly not to jump to conclusions. “I’m sure that he’s gonna be open to talking to you and trying to work things out,” Sarah said. As Holly wished aloud for Tate to respond, her phone beeped with a text message from him.

At the penthouse, Tate thought about when Holly had been nice to him before she had snooped in Brady’s room. Holly knocked on the door. Tate invited Holly in, and he apologized for not responding to her text sooner. “It’s okay. I take it you were busy then?” Holly asked. Tate averted his eyes, and he took a deep breath. “There’s something that I need to tell you,” Tate said.

On the Body & Soul set at the hospital, Johnny asked Chanel if they could start over. Kate interrupted to introduce Johnny and Chanel to the new cast member, Joy. Johnny avoided eye contact. “Actually, we’ve already met,” Joy said. “I’m sorry, have we?” Johnny stammered. Joy clarified that she meant she and Chanel had met. “Nice to see you again,” Chanel said. Chanel complimented Joy on her performance in the audition.

“Are you on the show too?” Joy asked Johnny. Kate noted that Johnny was one of the directors. Johnny and Joy shook hands as if they had never met. Joy thanked Chanel for the warm welcome. “Considering I’m here to steal your man,” Joy joked. Johnny forced a laugh. Chanel asked Joy if she wanted to run lines, but Kate asked Chanel if she could accompany her back to the office for a wardrobe fitting.

“Can we wait a second on that? Chanel and I were kind of in the middle of something,” Johnny said. Kate noted they were on a tight schedule, and she needed to review the wardrobe with Chanel immediately. “If you do have free time, maybe you could show Joy around, though,” Kate said. With a nod, Kate walked out with Chanel.

When Kate and Chanel arrived at the Body & Soul offices, they chatted while they waited for wardrobe to arrive. “I heard about what happened at Johnny’s birthday party. I am so sorry,” Kate said. Chanel grunted. “So you heard my husband accused me of having an affair with Alex,” Chanel said. Kate nodded yes. Kate informed Chanel that she had considered firing both Alex and Stephanie over the incident.

“Really?” Chanel asked. “Yes. But I decided to give them a second chance. And I’m hoping maybe you can give Johnny the same,” Kate said. Suspicious, Chanel asked Kate if she had made the request to keep drama on the set to a minimum. “Partly. But I also have a soft spot for Johnny,” Kate admitted. Kate noted that Johnny had been a sweet boy. “Well, that sweet boy called me a cheating slut,” Chanel muttered. Kate agreed that Johnny’s accusation had been horrible and that Chanel’s anger was justified.

“I don’t mean this as any excuse for his behavior or disrespect, but in my experience, men have a tendency to let their jealousy just overwhelm them,” Kate advised. “I can only imagine how Stefano behaved when he was jealous,” Chanel said with a raised eyebrow. Kate smirked and clarified that she had been thinking about her son Philip’s jealousy.

“[Philip] went down this rabbit hole of just delusion. He almost completely lost his sanity. And Brady almost lost his freedom. You know, I guess my point is that Johnny, he let his jealousy get the better of him for sure. And he consequently hurt you really badly. But he did not go to the crazy extremes that my son did,” Kate said. Kate asked Chanel if it was possible for her to forgive Johnny for the sake of set harmony.

“Our show hasn’t even aired yet, and we’ve had more than our share of scandals. It’s crazy. The last thing I need is another person storming through that door with yet another problem,” Kate said. Right on cue, Xander marched into the office. “Kate! You need to tell that idiot son of yours that if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stop trying to kill my deal,” Xander growled. Confused, Kate asked Xander what he was talking about. Xander told Kate about Philip’s letter and the injunction. Kate was surprised to hear that Philip was in town.

“I know you’re busy with your little soap opera, but that wouldn’t stop you from having a hand in producing this drama. And certainly, Philip doesn’t have the brains or the guts to make a move like this alone,” Xander said. “This is the first time I’m hearing any of this, all right?” Kate said. With a sigh, Xander noted that he did not care who had masterminded the plan. Xander ordered Kate to make Philip back off.

At the hospital, Johnny and Joy talked quietly in a corner. “So, weird coincidence, huh?” Joy said. Joy noted that she had not known about Johnny’s affiliation with the soap opera when she had met him in the bar. “I had no idea you were even auditioning for it. Why didn’t you mention that when we met?” Johnny countered. Joy explained she had not wanted to jinx her chances of booking the job by talking about it.

When Joy mentioned that she was discreet enough not to mention their connection to their boss or another actor, Johnny grimaced. “She’s not just one of the other actors. That’s my wife,” Johnny said. Surprised, Joy noted that she would not have been so nice to Chanel if she had known that Chanel was the cheater. “Actually, she didn’t cheat on me. It turns out I just made a really big mistake,” Johnny confessed. Joy raised an eyebrow. Johnny explained about the surprise party and the mistaken identity of the woman who had slept with Alex.

“My jealousy just got the better of me, and I jumped to the wrong conclusion,” Johnny said. “So your wife never cheated on you?” Joy asked. When Johnny said no, Joy noted that it was a good thing that Johnny had not confronted his wife about the affair. “Actually, I did. And I didn’t let her get a word in to explain the situation until after I had already said some horrible and nasty things to her,” Johnny admitted. Johnny noted that he had been asking his wife for forgiveness when Joy and Kate had arrived.

“Well, I guess if you figured this out sooner, you probably wouldn’t have come back to my hotel room with me,” Joy said. Johnny asked Joy if they could pretend their night together had never happened. Joy agreed that was for the best. “You didn’t tell anyone, right?” Johnny asked. “No. I mean my mom did find your wedding ring, but you don’t have to worry. I didn’t tell her your name or anything about you,” Joy said. Johnny sighed with relief. “I appreciate your discretion. My wife can’t find out about this,” Johnny said. Joy nodded in agreement.

“Don’t worry. What happened between us the other night will stay our little secret,” Joy said. Johnny saw Chanel round the corner, and he called out to her. “Didn’t realize you two were married to each other,” Joy said. “I think that’s because Kate is trying to keep all personal relationships between cast and crew kind of quiet,” Chanel said. Joy said she understood.

“You know, this guy really loves you. All we did was talk about you while you were checking out your new wardrobe,” Joy said with a chuckle. Joy thanked Johnny for the tour, and she left. Johnny asked Chanel about the fitting. “[It was] great. I also had a long talk with Kate. And Johnny, I decided to forgive you,” Chanel said. Johnny’s eyes went wide. “You have no idea how happy this makes me,” Johnny said. Chanel cautioned Johnny not to get excited because he was on probation.

Kate approached the door to Philip’s room at the Salem Inn. “So this is the second time that Philip has shown up in Salem without informing his mother. Let’s see how he feels about me showing up without announcing myself,” Kate said. Kate used a key card to open the door. “Guess who!” Kate yelled. Vivian stepped out of the shadows, and Kate narrowed her eyes.

At the Kiriakis mansion, Xander stared at Victor’s portrait. “Let’s hope your ex-wife can talk your stupid son Philip out of blocking my deal. Because if Kate can’t stop him, and Kristen won’t, then I may just have to kill the son-of-a-bitch myself,” Xander said as Philip walked into the room.