Days of Our Lives stuns as Marlena Evans (Diedre Hall) shocked the DiMeras when she changed her mind and abruptly showed up at Stefano DiMera‘s (Joseph Mascolo) will reading. But then Marlena didn’t even accept the chess set that the Phoenix bequeathed to her and John Black (Drake Hogestyn).
And I think that chess set is more than meets the eye. We know the late Stefano DiMera called John Black the pawn and he called Marlena of course the queen of the night. So, we have a lot to unpack about what secret might be hidden in this bequest.
The Will Reading Was Lackluster Days of Our Lives
So, after all the buildup for weeks and weeks about Stefano’s will reading, I think, you know, based on what I’m seeing on soap social media here in the comments also, fans were really let down. Because it was totally lackluster. We are in May sweeps and after all of EJ DiMera‘s (Dan Feuerriegel) plotting and planning, we got May sleeps. Because it was almost a snoozefest. We already expected that Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) was going to barge in, and she did. She made her grand entrance to announce she’s not an ex-wife. She’s a widow.
And so, Gabi claimed that she’s entitled to her late husband, Stefan DiMera’s (Brandon Barash) share of Stefano’s inheritance. Gabi has a signed affidavit from Vivian Almain’s (Louise Sorel) manservant, Ivan Marais, stating that he saw Vivian personally sign the divorce papers with Stefan’s name. So, there is some proof that Gabi and Stefan were never legally divorced.
Lexie’s Return Lacked Drama on DOOL
Some of the DiMeras groused, but honestly, the reaction was kind of eh, a shrug. And of course, we all expected some huge earth-shattering thing with Lexie Carver‘s (Nikki Crawford) resurrection. You know, maybe the DiMeras are just immune to this. Because they are known for fake deaths and resurrections.
So, when she showed up and collapsed, most of the family again was like, “Oh, it’s Lexie.” You know, the biggest reaction was from nosy Leo Stark (Greg Rikkart) who wanted to write about it and of course from Chad DiMera (Connor Floyd) because he ran to EJ asking can he do the same thing and bring back Abigail DiMera (Marci Miller) and of course EJ said that he couldn’t because it had been too long and all this. But honestly, he could have her in a person pod somewhere. We’ll see.
But the Lexie drama, to be fair, isn’t over yet because Theo Carver (Cameron Johnson) just found out that Paulina Price (Jackée Harry) already knew that Lexie was in the person pod. And Paulina just found out that Theo’s known for a couple of weeks that his mom was being brought back from the dead. But once Abe Carver (James Reynolds) finds out, Theo and Paulina both knew, there is more fallout coming. But other than the staff getting houses and a stipend, the will reading was honestly low drama. All of Stefano’s stuff is to be divided equally among the family.
Marlena’s Inheritance Was A Chess Set
And I think most fans thought Marlena’s inheritance from Stefano would be a much more grand bequest. Jewels, a tiara, something that hearkened back to the Queen of the Night days. And this did, but not in a big splashy way. I think Marlena knew that Stefano was taunting her, giving her a chessboard with a queen and a pawn among the pieces.
And it was meant for her and John both. So, Stefano thought that they would both survive him. That’s clear. So it wasn’t just a message for Marlena, but also for her late husband John. And by refusing to keep Stefano’s bequest, Marlena lost the chance to explore what was in that box. She gave it back to Theo and Marlena said, “Thanks, no thanks.” And then she up and walked out. She felt like, “Okay, I’m done with Stefano. That’s my closure.”
Days of our Lives: Other DiMeras Start Poking Around?
I think Theo or one of the other DiMeras, maybe EJ, maybe Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis), may start poking around into the chess set and discover something hidden within Marlena’s gift. Now, first off, right away, there could be a hidden compartment. The chess set isn’t only symbolic of Marlena and John’s past with Stefano on Days of our Lives.
There could be more to it. You know, there might be a real treasure in there or some sort of mystery or a secret. So, it could be Marlena’s gift contains a secret hidey-hole in the box or in one of the pieces. If Stefano was going to hide something, I bet he would conceal it inside the queen since Marlena was his queen of the night, at least in Stefano’s mind.
There Could Be Something Hidden In The Chess Set on Days
So, there could be something in there, something small like maybe a flash drive or, you know, a photo card. What do you call those little things? A little tiny memory. Those things are teeny tiny now, like pinky nail size. Or there could be a note rolled up and pushed inside it. There could even be a couple of things. One thing hidden in the queen and another thing to go with it hidden inside the little pawn piece.
But because Marlena walked away from the box and left it, somebody else might find whatever Stefano meant for her and John’s eyes only. So, it could be that Marlena’s former rival, Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk), decides to check out the chess set and she discovers something hidden. We know Kristen was hot for John and so she might be curious about what her dad left.
Days of our Lives: Stefano Playing Mind Games?
It could also be that Stefano meant the chess set as a form of psychological warfare from beyond the grave. And it may contain a secret that he wanted Marlena and John alone to know. You know, could be something that Stefano thought he could only trust Marlena with.
And don’t forget, Stefano was a master manipulator. He loved to play mind games, not just with his enemies, but also with his own family. And of course, the box startled Marlena when it revealed the queen and the pawn because Stefano tormented her and John for decades.
And somewhere hidden within the box could be a clue revealing a secret tied to Stefano and Marlena’s twisted past, maybe tied to something Stefano did to her when she was gaslit and manipulated and she doesn’t have clear memories. You know, could be information about a secret love child or a cloned embryo.
There’s been some hints recently that maybe Stefano and Marlena had a child together she doesn’t know about. Of course, that would prompt the question, who. Is there going to be a new DiMera showing up in Salem? It could be somebody already on the canvas like Chad who was born during the period where Stefano was kidnapping Marlena all the time. So she could have had a kid, Chad or somebody else.
The Chess Set Could Be Part Of A Long Revenge Game
Finally, the chess game that he left Marlena could signify some sort of proxy power play and some long revenge game that Stefano was plotting against Marlena and John and their family. Now that she refused the bequest, you know, Marlena may think she’s finally free from Stefano and all the things he tried to do, but he may have been one step ahead of her and anticipated that Marlena would refuse his gift because that seems obvious.
The box may have been bait and Stefano might have known she would refuse it and that it’d be left behind with his family. There could be some bizarre post-mortem contingency plan that Stefano set up to pull Marlena into DiMera family drama. You know, she may have to be the reluctant queen who has to play one more game to protect Salem from Stefano’s final scheme because it feels like there should be a final scheme, right?
I definitely feel like the Phoenix may have something up his dead evil sleeve when it comes to his queen of the night and the man, the pawn, all that. Given how lackluster the will reading was and really to me just totally anticlimactic, it feels like there may be another shoe to drop where Stefano is concerned.
