Xander and Salem need to stop meeting this way. Every time he shows up in town, he winds up back in prison. Last year, Theresa sent him there on false pretenses, but that didn’t mean he didn’t belong there after what he’d done to Nicole and Eric months before.

Well, it looks like he makes it back to prison next week as Paul Telfer’s second run on DAYS comes to an end. The October 27 issue of Soap Opera Digest confirms the exit, and it looks like Deimos brings the younger Kiriakis down. Xander was after Nicole once again and Deimos was NOT going to let that happen.

That just leaves Orpheus (George DelHoyo), the Trio’s ringleader and the one who believes he has the biggest bone to pick with the people of Salem. His vendetta goes back decades as he believes John (when it was really Roman) cost him his family. John (Drake Hogestyn) and Orpheus come face-to-face next week and the results look to be catastrophic, but then things in Salem seem calm.

Does this mean John finally puts an end to Orpheus and Salem can wake from this nightmare next week? It seems it’s the only show we’ve known now for months, after the villains arrived just after the Summer Olympics break. It feels like it’s high time to have a few “normal” weeks in Salem before the insanity of November sweeps begins.

Maybe THEN Salem will finally looking like Salem again as old faces return who we actually like. Yes, we had a few weeks that made Days of Our Lives seem like a low-budget action-adventure movie, and thanks. But, now it’s time to turn back into a soap opera. So long, Xander. See ya, Clyde. And, adios, Orpheus?

See what’s coming up next week on Days of Our Lives!