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And so it all finally comes to an end, leaving us to wonder what’s next for these poor actors, cut adrift from their jobs. No, I’m not talking about Days of Our Lives, of course, but Body and Soul. Luckily, the show hasn’t wasted any time letting us know where most of the folks caught up in it are heading. Plus, Rachel talked two DiMeras into going along with her brand of lunacy, which means EJ and Kristen’s futures are in deep trouble!

Baby Switch

I’m actually shocked at how fast the show jumped to Johnny and Chanel adopting Tate and Sophia’s baby. (Also, yes, the new Sophia began airing, played by Rachel Boyd!)  The four of them running into each other on Wednesday felt so forced, we all knew right away that that’s where it was going. But Days of Our Lives did not waste any time in getting there!

Friday ended with Johnny and Chanel deciding getting pregnant was risky, so why not adopt Tate’s kid! We all know it won’t end there, though, because, as I talked about earlier in the week, there’s no way the DiMeras are a family that Amy will be remotely OK with adopting her grandchild. Greed, world domination, random acts of villainy, pansexuality, demonic possession — yeah, this isn’t happening without a whole lot of drama and heartache.

Just Go With It

As ludicrous as it is that folks keep finding Ava and leaving her in Rachel’s clutches, I kind of love how she just talks everyone out of saving the poor woman. I figured Kristen would find her eventually, but hadn’t expected EJ to drag Rafe to the house and end up in on it, too. Not that things can get much worse for him, as far as criminal activities go, so sure, why not leave Ava? What’s another decade tacked on to his eventual sentence?

I mean, there has to be some kind of punishment in store for him here, despite his attempts to be a “good” villain and not let Arnold assault Jada or Rachel kill Ava or Rafe. Come on.

I’m curious how Brady’s going to find Ava. Likely, now that Steve’s involved, he’ll manage to use ISA resources to magically clean up her voicemail and lead Brady straight to Aremid. Rafe may still be stuck there since Ava doesn’t actually know about him, but once she’s free, little Rachel is going bye-bye for a while… Grandma Rachel is right in that. But what she fails to mention in telling everyone that her granddaughter is a little kidnapping criminal who will be torn away from her family if the authorities get wind of it, is that she’s the one who pushed the ten-year-old into it!

The DiMeras Are Back!

As for where this is all heading (besides, somehow, EJ getting shot), I’ve a feeling this is the start of a DiMera resurgence. We know Tony and Anna will be back. Plus, there has been so much talk about Peter Blake, there’s no way he won’t be returning, especially with his and Kristen’s mom back on the canvas. And then, the other day, Philip and Xander mentioned Steven Hawk who, if I’m being honest, I forgot even existed! (And if you did, too, here’s a refresher on him and his dad, Benjy.)

I know there are folks who sometimes feel like the DiMeras have taken over the show, but at this point, the family has been around for over four decades and lately they’ve just felt hollowed out. It’s mostly just Kristen and EJ. Johnny’s been doing his own Body and Soul thing (that’s finally over), Chad’s been mostly MIA since the Faux Abigail story wrapped (though he always shares beautiful scenes with Julie) and no one else is around.

So if we are getting a DiMera resurgence, I’m excited to see who’s coming back and where it’s going.

Canceled! Kind Of

Yes, it’s true! Body and Soul is over! But the repercussions aren’t. Because the show had sucked a lot of folks into it, who are kind of left dangling without the soap. Stephanie still has her PR job and plenty of other clients (in theory) to fall back on, Chanel can go back to the bakery, and Alex, we’re guessing, is heading back to Titan. Kate and Abe are going to need new pet projects, though, Johnny’s back to being jobless and Joy… who knows?

Also, I have to say: I’m seeing a number of folks talking about how Joy’s crazy and obsessed with Alex and they’ve hardly been together, but that’s not what I’m getting at all. For one thing, Alex is just coming across scummy again. But for another, Joy’s handling this remarkably well. She’s hurt, she’s been through a lot since she got to town and she found someone who didn’t judge her, who she liked and who she thought liked her.

They’ve been together for a month, so just sleeping together or not, if they’ve been spending time together, it’s understandable that she would develop real feelings and think things are about to move forward. I don’t see anything obsessive or unbalanced in her behavior. In fact, she was the adult who ended things because Alex wouldn’t. But yeah, that kind of thing hurts, as I’m guessing a lot of us know from real life.

Anyway, that’s my Joy rant. Let’s see where she lands before we start jumping to: She’s going to go crazy stalker on Alex.

As for Abe and Kate, I think it’s obvious where these two are headed. Body and Soul was somehow keeping the hospital afloat. The producers just got a massive cash influx from selling the show to the network, so… They’re going to buy the hospital, get it out of debt and set about on their new project. I’m not sure where it could go storyline wise, but it would keep them very much involved in everyone’s lives. (So long as they don’t treat hiring doctors with the same flippancy they treated hiring “actors.”)

Stray Thoughts…

• They are really setting Xander up to get hit hard when he finally learns of Philip’s lies and betrayal. I appreciated his noting of how the Kiriakises aren’t as dysfunctional as the DiMeras, but somehow they never manage to close ranks as well.

• I get why Salem University Hospital is going bankrupt. There’s no way they can afford the insurance after all the accidents, deaths, poisonings, DNA switches, baby swaps and general malfeasance that goes on in it.
• Seth wins the week. His response to Johnny trying to keep Bonnie from signing the waiver for her fall was a perfectly nonplussed shrug. “And you and I were poisoned. Things happen in this town. The psycho per capita rate is the highest in the nation.” That place sounds more dangerous than Gotham City.
• I appreciated Brady’s self-awareness about his own track-record in love (and particularly with Kristen) when talking to Belle about shacking up with EJ.

More: Check out our preview gallery for next week [Photos]

• Arnold forcing himself on Jada was disgusting. But man, that slap was satisfying.
• Wayne Northrop’s son, Hank, is joining the show!