Xander Kiriakis Said He Was a New Man…Then Salem Gave Him Kristen DiMera, a Sling, and Five Reasons to Lose His Temper on DAYS

XANDER KIRIAKIS IS THE NEW MAN NOBODY IN SALEM BELIEVES YET

TL;DR: Xander Kiriakis is trying to be a new man on Days of Our Lives and he has been doing a reasonable job of it right up until the moment Salem handed him a bug in his office, a sling on his arm, Kristen DiMera in his bed, Gwen furious in the hallway, and Sarah through the wall. The pressure cooker has a timer and it is running.

The New Man and His Very Bad Week

Xander Kiriakis has been trying. That is the thing that makes this so delicious and so uncomfortable. He has been genuinely, sincerely trying to be a different version of himself, the kind of man who holds his temper, who does not reach for the nuclear option the moment someone crosses him, who builds something instead of burning it down. Salem has seen this particular redemption arc start and stall more times than we can count, but this time it looked like it might actually hold.

Then Gabi DiMera happened.

Not in a small way, either. Gabi seduced Xander as part of Tony DiMera’s plot to destroy the Titan-DiMera merger, and she bugged his office while she was at it. Two separate acts of targeted manipulation against the same man, both designed to bring down the company he had spent years building. The new Xander did not explode when the truth started spreading. He held the grudge instead.

That is actually impressive restraint from a man with his track record. It is also, knowing this town and knowing this man, a very loud ticking clock.

Is Salem’s newest reformed bad boy the most tested man in the city right now? Send your hottest takes to [email protected] and we might publish them!

The Women Circling the Kiriakis Mansion

Here is where the pressure cooker gets truly interesting. The professional betrayal is one thing. The personal situation Xander is currently navigating is something else entirely.

Kristen DiMera is sleeping with him. She is also, in the same breath, trying to seduce him into agreeing to kill EJ DiMera. Xander does not feel good about any part of this arrangement and keeps showing up for it anyway, which is either a character flaw or a very human response to chaos, depending on how charitable you are feeling about the man today.

Gwen Rizczech has a passionate arrangement with Xander and is furious about Kristen. Gwen finding out her lover has been visiting Kristen’s bed is the kind of news that lands hard even when nothing between them was exclusive, and Gwen’s version of fury is not the kind that comes with a cooling off period.

And then there is Sarah Horton, living under the same roof at the Kiriakis mansion, who has been acknowledging hard truths with Xander this week. That phrase is doing a tremendous amount of work. Hard truths between these two have historically led to either a declaration or a detonation, and the new Xander is not supposed to detonate anymore.

Three women. One Kiriakis mansion. One man who made a sincere promise to himself that he was going to be different this time. Salem has heard that promise before.

The Professional Fire That Will Not Go Out

Xander is currently walking around with a sling on his arm, which tells us the new man already had at least one moment this week where the old instincts won. A physical altercation connected to the Titan situation is the reasonable read, because Philip Kiriakis finding out Gabi sabotaged everything is the kind of news that does not stay in a boardroom.

Titan is in financial chaos and the trail leads directly back to the bug in Xander’s office. Maggie Kiriakis is separately furious at him for his role in the Bonnie book trap that came at Johnny DiMera’s expense. The Kiriakis estate is on the line. And the new Xander Kiriakis has a very high threshold. Salem is doing its level best to find it.

How Long Does the New Man Hold

Xander Kiriakis has earned the right to be furious about what Gabi did. He has earned the right to be frustrated about Kristen, about Gwen, about the Titan mess that is not entirely his fault, about the sling, about all of it. The remarkable thing is that he has been absorbing blow after blow and the explosion has not come yet.

Salem does not reward patience. It rewards escalation. And the thing about a pressure cooker is not whether it goes off. It is only ever a question of when.

Is Xander Kiriakis holding it together or is he one bad conversation away from losing the new man entirely? Sound off below because Salem has never made redemption easy!

WATCH THIS: Do you want more Xander & Kristen?

@soapoperamag We Need MORE Sexy Time Between #KristenDiMera and #XanderKiriakis on DAYS! One night was a TEASER. We are formally demanding the SEQUEL. Hit play because Salem's most dangerous duo needs ENCORE energy! #DOOL #DAYS #DaysofOurLives ♬ original sound – Soap Opera Magazine