SALEM CELEBRATES AS EJ DIMERA TAKES A BULLET — AND THE SHOOTER MAY BECOME A FOLK HERO!

EJ DiMera was shot in the most dramatic fashion possible—standing in front of his father’s portrait, gloating about his latest sins! It couldn’t have been more perfectly staged if the shooter had planned it. And the fallout? Pure soap gold.

Let’s talk about what happened: EJ was having one of his typical megalomaniacal moments, bragging to Stefano’s portrait about his latest misdeeds like some cartoon villain, when BAM! A bullet cut him down mid-gloat. Poetic justice, anyone?

What makes this shooting especially juicy is that half of Salem had murder on their minds—and guns in their hands—just moments before the trigger was pulled. The episode practically gave us a montage of potential shooters fondling their firearms while fantasizing about taking EJ down. Talk about setting up a classic whodunit!

CHAD’S DEVASTATING DISCOVERY REOPENS OLD WOUNDS

If finding your brother bleeding out on the floor wasn’t traumatic enough, consider the gut-wrenching parallels for Chad DiMera. This isn’t his first rodeo when it comes to discovering a loved one’s body. The poor man already found his beloved Abigail murdered in their bedroom—a wound that’s barely scabbed over.

Finding EJ in a pool of blood has to be triggering some serious PTSD. The similarities are haunting—another family member, another violent attack, another moment where Chad feels powerless to save someone he loves. Is it any wonder he’s falling apart?

Cat Greene has stepped up to comfort Chad during this crisis, but is this the kind of shared trauma that brings people closer or drives them apart? Something tells me we’re about to see their relationship tested in ways neither expected. Will Chad lean on Cat, or will this new trauma send him spiraling away from everyone trying to help him?

A TOWN FULL OF SUSPECTS WITH MOTIVES GALORE

Let’s be real—it would be easier to count the people in Salem who didn’t want EJ dead! The man has more enemies than a politician at a truth-telling convention.

The episode cleverly showed multiple characters with both motive and means. Was it Johnny DiMera, finally snapping after years of his father’s manipulation? Was it Roman Brady, defending his family from EJ’s latest scheme? Could it have been Gabi Hernandez, getting revenge for all the DiMera plots against her? Or maybe it was someone completely unexpected, waiting in the wings for the perfect moment to strike?

And that missing gun from Roman’s lockbox? The one Johnny took the key for? That’s a smoking gun clue if I’ve ever seen one! But is it too obvious? The writers could be laying a trail of breadcrumbs leading us straight to a red herring.

JOHNNY DIMERA’S IMPOSSIBLE POSITION

Poor Johnny! Hating your father is one thing—seeing him shot is something else entirely. Chanel is rightfully worried about how her husband will handle this crisis. Will Johnny’s anger dissolve into grief? Or—and this is where it gets really interesting—could he be struggling with guilt because he pulled the trigger?

The emotional tug-of-war playing out on Johnny’s face as he processes the news tells us everything. No matter how much you hate someone, when that someone is your father and he’s fighting for his life, complicated feelings are bound to surface. This shooting could be the catalyst that either heals the father-son relationship or destroys it forever.

Chanel finds herself in the difficult position of supporting a husband who might secretly be relieved that his father was shot—or worse, might be responsible. Talk about marriage stress!

THE UNEXPECTED HERO THEORY

Here’s where things get really interesting. What if the shooter is someone completely out of left field? Someone we haven’t even considered yet?

Could it be a character returning to Salem for revenge? A minor character who’s been silently observing EJ’s misdeeds? Or maybe someone being manipulated by a bigger villain behind the scenes? (The DiMeras don’t have a monopoly on puppet-mastering in Salem, after all.)

This twist could reshape multiple storylines at once. Imagine if it turned out to be someone tied to Stefano’s past, coming to settle an old score with the son who’s been trying so hard to fill his father’s shoes? Or what if it’s connected to one of EJ’s forgotten schemes that’s finally come home to roost?

SALEM DIVIDED: JUSTICE OR CRIME?

Here’s the most fascinating part of this whole drama: Salem might actually side with the shooter! When news of EJ’s shooting spreads through town, don’t expect to see universal condemnation.

For every DiMera loyalist demanding justice, there will be three people quietly raising a glass to whoever pulled the trigger. EJ has ruined so many lives, crushed so many dreams, and manipulated so many people that a significant portion of Salem views this shooting as karma finally catching up to him.

This moral ambiguity creates the perfect storm for drama. Will someone step forward to confess, believing their actions were justified? Will others work to protect the shooter, creating an underground resistance against DiMera retribution? Could we see Salem divided into pro-DiMera and pro-shooter factions, with families and friendships torn apart by divided loyalties?

One thing’s for sure—EJ’s shooting isn’t just about a bullet and a body. It’s about a town finally saying “enough” to years of DiMera tyranny. Whether this becomes a revolution or just another chapter in Salem’s ongoing drama remains to be seen.

But I, for one, can’t wait to watch it unfold.

Will the shooter be caught? Will EJ survive? And if he does, will he emerge changed or more vengeful than ever? Stay tuned, soap fans. This is just the beginning of what promises to be Salem’s most explosive storyline in years!