Days of Our Lives hints that Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) may be the one to catch Joy Wesley (AlexAnn Hopkins) in the lie when she sees her standing and walking around her and Alex Kiriakis‘s (Robert Scott Wilson) apartment.
But if she catches her, it’ll be Stephanie’s word against Joy’s. And I bet Stephanie is going to need some evidence to prove it to Alex and everybody else.
Days of Our Lives: Stephanie Suspected Joy from the Start
If you recall, Stephanie thought from the very beginning that all of this was suspicious. After she heard that Joy’s surgery was a success, it really seemed strange to Stephanie. So, she asked her mom, Dr. Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans), who confirmed that complications and lower body paralysis after spinal stenosis surgery are rare.
So Stephanie was asking her mom if Joy could be faking it. But then Kayla assured Stephanie that paralysis is hard to fake, and so she felt bad for that even crossing her mind. But Kayla did admit that spinal imaging cannot always see inflammation. So, they can’t really prove that she’s paralyzed or not.
And it was clear from the get-go that Joy was running a con, trying to stay close to Alex. And Stephanie is one hundred percent right about the fakery. We saw Joy stand up to get her cell phone that she threw across her hospital room. And then Joy had her doctor dad, Craig Wesley (Kevin Spirtas), send muscle relaxers so that Joy could trick the nerve test. It appears she got away with that.
Joy Moves In with Alex on DOOL
But the time has come for her to leave the hospital, and Joy is going to be staying with Alex at his place. That way, Joy can be with Kelsey Kiriakis (Lena and Mira Chase) while she supposedly looks for her own wheelchair-accessible apartment. Of course, we know Joy has no intention of moving out once she is in Alex’s apartment. And Joy basically feels like she has slid in and taken Stephanie’s place.
The most shocking thing of all was that when Joy asked Alex about staying at his place, he ran it past Stephanie first, and she gave the plan the green light. And I think she’s being optimistic, thinking it won’t last forever. But with Alex’s wife staying right across the hall, we also know Stephanie is going to be keeping a close eye on Joy. And in Joy’s mind, she’s going to be playing house with Alex. And this is one step closer to making him her man and stealing him from Stephanie. But one step could be the thing that costs Joy everything if Stephanie sees her take it.
Joy’s Scheme Starts to Fall Apart on Days
It’s going to be hard for Joy to keep fooling Alex and Stephanie about her paralysis, especially when she’s just hanging around the house. You know, if Joy taps her toes to a song or she has a twitch, Alex will notice. Plus, Joy has got to keep fooling her doctors, Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) and Kayla Brady, plus her physical therapist, and now her new exercise therapist, Tate Donovan Black (Leo Howard). So, Joy is going to be working overtime to keep the scam up.
Later this week, Kayla gives Joy some discharge orders that concern Joy. So, I wonder if Kayla is going to push Joy to find an independent living arrangement as soon as possible. Kayla may even make it clear to Joy that her living in Stephanie’s apartment is not a long-term arrangement for her.
Days of Our Lives: Stephanie at the Door
Later this week, Joy is all settled in at Alex’s place, but Kelsey is crying and she won’t stop. And since Stephanie lives across the hall, she hears the nonstop fussing and knocks on the apartment door. She’s worried about Joy and the baby. And Stephanie’s calling out to Joy, asking if everything is okay.
Meanwhile, with Alex gone and Joy alone with Kelsey, she is frustrated, and Joy stands up to check on Kelsey. Right as Joy gets up out of her wheelchair, Stephanie is reaching for the door handle.
Stephanie May Bust Joy on DOOL
So, if Stephanie opens the door and sees Joy standing up, that is huge. If Stephanie catches Joy in her lie, that would be amazing. But she may lie to Stephanie and say she was so desperate to get to Kelsey that she tried to stand. We could see Joy collapse to the floor and act all dramatic, like the soap actress she was on Body and Soul. She could cry and do a whole tragic scene.
If Stephanie sees Joy on her feet, even for a moment, though, all of Stephanie’s suspicions about Joy faking it and wanting Alex all to herself are going to kick back into high gear. But I think Stephanie will need solid proof that Joy is faking her paralysis, because I’m sure if Steph tells Alex, then Joy will lie. She’ll deny it and remind Alex that she had medical tests done on Days of our Lives.
Days of Our Lives: Stephanie’s Nanny Cam Plan
So I’m thinking that maybe Stephanie is going to sneak a nanny cam into her former apartment. That way she can record Joy and look for suspicious behavior. And if Stephanie nails Joy, then she’ll have video proof to show Alex. I know Stephanie would love to expose Joy. If Stephanie can prove that Joy’s been a lying, scheming, obsessed monster this whole time, that would be great.
We may also see some of her family members getting involved, because it seemed strange to Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier) and others that none of Joy’s family has come to Salem while she’s been having this medical crisis. And Stephanie may find this odd as well. She might reach out to Joy’s sister, Chloe Lane (Nadia Bjorlin).
DOOL: Stephanie and Chloe’s Wild Backstory
However, that might be awkward because Stephanie has kind of a wild backstory with Chloe. Longtime fans may recall that back in 2010, Stephanie was living with her boyfriend, Nathan Horton (Mark Hapka). And Stephanie thought Nathan still had feelings for his ex, Melanie Jonas (Molly Burnett). And at the time, Melanie was married to Philip. And then Stephanie found out Philip cheated on Melanie with Chloe.
So then, Stephanie found out that Chloe was pregnant, and Stephanie convinced a friend of hers to hack into the hospital records and look at Chloe’s paternity test results. It turned out Philip was the one who got Chloe pregnant with her son, Parker Jonas (Christian Ganiere).
But at the time, Stephanie kept quiet because she didn’t want Melanie to dump Philip and for Melanie to get back with Nathan. But when the truth came out, Stephanie lost Nathan anyway. He broke up with Stephanie for knowing the truth and keeping it hidden.
Days of our Lives: Stephanie Reaches Out to Chloe?
Long story short, Chloe and Stephanie aren’t exactly besties who brunch together, and they have not had any on-screen interactions since then that I can recall. So, it would be weird for Chloe to suddenly hear from Stephanie. But she could also call to ask why Chloe and their parents, Craig and Nancy Wesley (Patrika Darbo), haven’t come to visit Joy while she was having surgery and was hospitalized. I think those are fair questions to ask. Stephanie might even be able to convince Philip or Alex to reach out to Chloe or to Joy’s family.
Will Alex Believe Stephanie on Days?
The fact that Joy says she doesn’t want to involve her family is also really, really suspicious. But Stephanie could convince Alex or Philip that setting up a surprise visit from Joy’s family could lift her spirits and do her some good. And if Stephanie sees Joy standing and simply tells Alex, you would hope that he would believe his wife Stephanie. But since Joy might freak out and collapse and then rant about Stephanie breaking the ten-foot rule, Alex may have to side with Joy.
This is all just so very messy. And in the end, I think Alex is going to have to see Joy’s fakery for himself. He’s already known that Stephanie feels like Joy hasn’t been honest about her intentions with him beyond co-parenting. So, we’ll see if Stephanie stashes a nanny cam in the apartment and gets some very solid proof against Joy.
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