Fed up with EJ’s self-serving ways, Mayor Paulina reached out to a former Salem employee to take on the mantle of District Attorney on the May 20 episode of Days of Our Lives. Meanwhile, after seeing Nicole’s pain, EJ made an unexpected move that could destroy his and Sloan’s marriages.

Paulina Offers Melinda a Familiar Task

After firing EJ (Daniel Feuerriegel) for abusing his power as DA, Paulina (Jackée Harry) summoned Melinda (Tina Huang) to her office and offered her the job (her former position) as his replacement. The mayor was able to put their prior disagreements in the past, feeling that Melinda was a strong woman who was equally tough on crime. After discussing that burying the hatchet was in the best interest of Salem, the former DA agreed to take on the job once again. When the topic of Paulina running off to rescue Chanel (Raven Bowens) despite her irradiated condition came up, both women had a heartfelt talk about their kids and the fact that they would do anything for them. It was nice to see these two women agreeing and finally getting along.

However, although Sloan (Jessica Serfaty) has kept Melinda’s name out of the whole baby switch mess, the fact that she orchestrated the successful adoption and seeming “death” of EJ and Nicole’s (Arianne Zucker) baby may eventually come back to destroy her resumed career. As the baby secret starts to unravel, Melinda’s going to have to work hard to further distance herself from the situation if she wants to stay in Paulina’s good graces.

EJ Makes a Knee-Jerk Decision

After not letting on that he witnessed Nicole kissing Eric (Greg Vaughan) in the DiMera mansion’s foyer, EJ sat down with her as she was starting to sober up. She didn’t seem to remember it as he slyly probed her about what she had been doing. Nicole opened up about all the mean and nasty things Holly said to her, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for his wife. The mention of her late baby brought tears to her eyes, and after he tucked her into bed, he ran straight to Sloan’s apartment.

There, he barged in and said he was going to take Jude so he and Nicole could raise it as their own. That was at the very end of the episode, so Sloan at least has a chance to try to talk him out of it. He has yet to stop and think about the ramifications of divulging the fact that Nicole’s baby is alive. Moreover, he hasn’t considered the obvious fact that if Eric is revealed to be the father, both his and Sloan’s marriages are kaput. He wants so badly to soothe Nicole’s pain, but in the end, it’s probably going to cost him everything.

Pop Culture Reference of the Day

When Melinda expressed concern that she would be taking what EJ believes is his (the DA job), Paulina wittily retorted: “What’s he gonna do, put a horse head in your bed?” That’s a reference to the classic 1972 film, The Godfather, and in particular, the scene where movie mogul Jack Woltz (John Marley) wakes up to find the head of his prize horse in his bed, as a threat by the mafia to do their bidding.

Leo (Greg Rikaart) was talking to Tate (Leo Howard) and Holly (Ashley Puzemis) at one point, and seeing their young love made him rather sappy. He told them their being cute made him feel “verklempt,” further explaining, “That means choked up, overcome with emotion like Linda Richman used to be on SNL [Saturday Night Live]…Played hilariously by Mike Meyers.” Because of their young ages, he had to explain further it was from a recurring sketch called “Coffee Talk,” which aired in the 1990s, long before they were “twinkles in anybody’s eyes.”