DAYS Recap, April 16: Stefan Is Free, Johnny’s Terrified

On the April 16 episode of Days of our Lives, Paulina learned Chanel was missing, Ava and Harris had their own plan, Chad and Xander had some pointed questions, and more.

Ava And Harris’s Plan

Ava (Tamara Braun) and Harris (Steve Burton) packed up her stuff as he wondered how he was going to fit all of her things into his little room over The Brady Pub. Ava was glad to be moving because she hated that she was a danger to Tripp (Lucas Adams) and Wendy (Victoria Grace). They discussed how to handle the Clyde situation but they couldn’t find him anywhere, even with Harris’s police contacts.

Ava was still determined to find Gil’s little black book at The Bistro with Harris’s help. They hoped if they did what Clyde (James Read) wanted that he would come out of hiding, get sloppy, and they’d be able to finally nab him and put him back in jail.

Stefan Shocks All

In Horton Square, Nicole (Arianne Zucker) took EJ (Daniel Feuerriegel) to task for not making a true public apology for railroading Tate (Leo Howard) and forcing the teen to miss months of his life for no reason. EJ made excuses for himself and said Tate’s family was lucky to get any sort of apology from him. Clearly, his meeting with the judge about Stefan was much more important.

As EJ tried to leave, Chad (Billy Flynn) and Xander (Paul Telfer) showed up as press demanding some answers about what was really going on with Stefan. They knew someone had set Xander up to take the fall for shooting Harris and were determined to get to the bottom of things. EJ did his best to get away from them, but the reporters were relentless and wanted to know what they missed when EJ gave an early press conference with no press.

While Chad and Nicole had a chat away from EJ and Xander, Harris and Ava overheard Xander asking EJ if there was any news on who really shot Harris. As expected, EJ refused to give a straight answer. Xander asked Harris the same and even Harris refused to talk about things. He said any answers should come from Rafe (Galen Gering).

Chad finally had enough and relentlessly questioned his brother about Stefan. He did it as press, but wanted answers as a DiMera. Chad even accused EJ of nepotism. EJ pointed out that Chad covering the case was also nepotism.

Suddenly, Stefan (Brandon Barash) appeared, which meant that EJ’s plan didn’t work and Sloan did her job right. Everyone in the Square was shocked to see him, including Ava and Harris. Chad tried to get some answers out of Stefan after EJ took off in a huff.

Xander gave Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) the news when they met up at The Brady Pub, making them both more suspicious than ever that Stefan and EJ knew exactly who shot Harris. Wait till they find out that Harris also knows who pulled the trigger.

As for Nicole, she went off on Stefan for being involved with the drug ring. He told her he never intended for Holly or anyone to get hurt, but how will she feel when she learns her husband knew what was going on with Clyde, Stefan, and the drugs all along? Chad apologized to Nicole for his family’s actions.

Confusion For Paulina

Paulina (Jackee Harry) lingered in her hospital bed bored and feeling useless. She complained to Sarah about feeling out of it and off-focus. She couldn’t even watch TV. Sarah explained this was all a normal side effect of the radioactive iodine. At least the anti-nausea medication was working.

Sarah once again explained that she could be released in a few days but she’d have to take some precautions for a week before she could re-enter public life. Paulina then brought up the snowstorm. She was concerned about Johnny (Carson Boatman) and Chanel (Raven Bowens) and hoped they could still enjoy their time away. When Sarah hoped they had enough firewood, Paulina tried not to panic. Sarah also realized she put her foot in her mouth.

When Paulina read about EJ’s press conference, she was appalled to learn that he barely offered an apology to a wrongfully accused teenage boy.

Fear For Julie And Johnny

Both Johnny and Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) were alarmed when Johnny returned with firewood but without Chanel. Julie insisted she was only out there for a few minutes so she couldn’t have gone too far. Johnny tried calling her to let her know she was back, but her phone rang in the cabin, meaning she was out there in a storm without a phone.

Johnny prepared out into the snow again to find his wife. Before he could go, Paulina called. Johnny picked up and lied that Chanel was fine, she was just unavailable at the moment because she was showering. Paulina seemed satisfied so Johnny finally left to locate Chanel.

The last thing they wanted to do was alarm Paulina while she was undergoing radiation, but when she called again, Julie picked up. She had to explain to Paulina why she was at the cabin with the honeymooners but didn’t do a good job of covering the fact that Chanel had apparently disappeared.

When Paulina called again, Julie still tried to cover but was also on the phone with Johnny. Paulina heard Julie tell Johnny that she couldn’t tell her the truth in case she would panic, that was exactly what Paulina did. Paulina demanded the truth and Julie finally told her what really happened. Julie told her that there was no reason to worry — until Johnny returned to the cabin alone.

Johnny finally got on the phone with Paulina and told her the truth about what was going on. He promised to find Chanel but Paulina wasn’t so sure he could do it on her own. There was no way she could just lay there and do nothing.

Don’t forget to stream new episodes of Days of our Lives each weekday on Peacock starting at 6 AM EST.