EJ turned the tables on Ava, while Belle came to Chanel's rescue, and Nicole and Eric's future may be linked to Jada after this week's Days of Our Lives.

Our TV Fanatics and MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum members, Jack and Christine, are joined by Days fan, Kate, to debate EJ besting Ava, if Nicole and Rafe are doomed, if Leo needs a friend, the best type of villains and more!

What did you think of the twist of EJ abducting Tripp after Ava kidnapped Susan? Who will win this game of villainy one-upmanship?

Jack: I could do without this entire storyline, but did Ava really think EJ would cave to her demands rather than fight back? She needs to stop listening to Charlie's ghost or whatever he's supposed to be. Until she does that, she's doomed.

EJ will end up winning in the end because he's not beholden to an evil spirit or hallucination, whichever one Charlie is, that doesn't have Ava's best interest in mind at all.

Kate: Honestly, Ava deserved it. She listened to the devil on her shoulder and acted like an idiot. Did she expect EJ to be easy?

Christine: I've grown to love Ava, and I was so disappointed she allowed Charlie's spirit (if that's what this is) to get her to do something so reckless. She's normally smarter than this.

However, I loved how EJ came back at her with a vengeance instead of cowering to her demands. EJ can be ruthless, especially when it comes to the people he loves. I don't see how Ava gets out of this well at all.

Is Sarah and Xander's marriage over once she learns he helped kidnap Susan and Bonnie? (Assuming the truth comes out, which it almost always does.)

Jack: You'd think so, but probably they'll go around in circles about this for a while, and then Sarah will take Xander back, especially if Gwen closes in on him.

Kate: I don't know to be honest. They are one of those couples that always get back together eventually, but since Sarah came back and they got married, I haven't been enjoying them much, so I don't mind either way this goes.

Christine: Xander and Sarah have been one of the most entertaining couples in Salem, so I'll be very upset if this silly storyline tanks them.

I keep hoping that even if Ava goes down for this, Xander will somehow wiggle away. But as much as I love Xander, he's not all the bright, so the odds aren't in his favor.

Do you prefer villains who are crazy or evil (like Jan Spears or Orpheus) or just out for themselves (like Sloane)?

Jack: I prefer villains who have a sympathetic motivation for their actions. Orpheus is my favorite because his pain over his wife's death is sympathetic (even if it is a bit ridiculous after four decades.)

Stefano's love of his family always made his evil actions understandable.

When Nicole and Sami have been villains, it's because of their desire for love and their feelings of low self-worth.

Sloan has no such motive. Kristen doesn't either. Those two are examples of villains I can't stand even though one of them fits the crazy mold and the other is just out for themselves.

Kate: I definitely prefer Jan or Orpheus. They're funny, smart, twisted, and interesting. They're bad, but you almost want to root for them.

Sloane just doesn't have as much to her. She's a semi-boring villain.

Christine: I get tired of all the craziness after a while. Sometimes I just enjoy a villain like Sloane, who is greedy and out for herself.

Was Leo honestly looking for a friend in Sonny, or does he have ulterior motives?

Jack: I think Leo was sincere for once, though he probably wouldn't mind if Sonny dumped him for Will.

The last time I felt any sympathy for him was when he was so desperate to be John's son and crushed to learn his evil mother had lied about that too, and this struck me as similar.

Kate: I hope Leo didn't have ulterior motives. I don't think he did, as he just got his life back on track. I hope he'd wait until he was more stable (financially and otherwise) before getting himself into trouble.

Also, I'd love to see Leo have more friends other than just Gwen.

Christine: I do think Leo was hoping to make a friend. I think Leo had a lousy childhood with parents that didn't love or accept him, and it led him down this path.

If John had been Leo's father, I think Leo would have worked to turn his life around. But getting a real job and real friends who aren't borderline criminals could give Leo an incentive to get his life on track.

As Chanel's attorney, should Belle have asked Chanel for her side of the story before allowing her to be taken to jail?

Jack: Of course, she should have! How does she expect to defend her without knowing what's going on? Her excuse that she didn't want to be "prejudiced" while looking at the cops' evidence made no sense.

Kate: I get why she didn't. Belle needs to be totally convincing for this to go well, so knowing anything either than 'Chanel is innocent' could challenge her ability to persuade.

Though once more evidence is brought out to Belle by Trask or someone else, she'll probably be asking Chanel more questions.

Christine: Belle did have a point. If she can view the evidence first and then hear Chanel's story, it will give her a clearer understanding of how much the DA doesn't know.

But she'll need to hear Chanel's story soon, hopefully before her bail hearing.

Were Nicole and Rafe doomed from the start? Have Nicole and Eric always been the inevitable pairing?

Jack: They didn't have to be, but the writers have chosen to make it that way. Nicole and Rafe could have had a strong relationship, given their history and friendship, but the writers' obsession with Eric and Nicole ruined that.

They never gave Nicole and Rafe a relationship beyond some off-screen dates at an arcade and shared love of a teddy bear. They had sex, got together, and were never shown together again until it was time for Rafe to be jealous.

Kate: Nicole and Eric were inevitable, however unfortunate. Though I don't particularly enjoy either character, so I can't bring myself to care either way.

I only enjoy Nicole when she's with Chloe and I kind of hate Eric. I wasn't expecting this storyline to make me be on Rafe's side, so that's something, I guess.

Christine: Nicole and Eric were one another's first loves, and on soaps, that's a big deal. So yes, Rafe and Nicole were doomed the moment Eric came back to town.

And I'll admit that I've never been Rafe's biggest fan, and I hated the way he and Nicole treated Ava. But even I feel bad for the way Nicole has been gaslighting him.

Jada is pregnant, and we can assume the father is Eric. What do you think happens next?

Jack: Eric will likely decide he can't break up with Jada when she's carrying his baby, leaving Nicole out in the cold since she already broke up with Rafe.

Alternatively, this could bring Eric and Sarah closer together because Sarah sees taking care of Eric and Jada's baby as making up for the baby that she gave Eric dying.

Kate: Ooh, I don't know. Considering what Steve mentioned about how this is a new environment for her, I don't think she should have the baby (unless maybe she adopts it out, but that's a whole other thing).

Jada needs to focus on herself and finding stability in a new town, but since that new town is Salem, I doubt she'll get any peace.

Christine: Ugh. What a mess. And didn't we just go through this with Sarah and Eric a few years back? Doesn't anyone, man or woman, know how to use effective birth control in Salem?

If Jada chooses to have this child, there's no reason for her and Eric to be together romantically. They've only been dating for a few weeks. They can find a way to co-parent while leading separate lives instead of feeling stuck with one another due to these circumstances.

What disappointed you the most this week in Salem?

Jack: I'm so angry that the writers threw Nicole/Rafe under the bus to create a story for Nicole/Eric. There was no need to revisit this pairing again, whatsoever, and their reconciliation wasn't anything romantic or passionate.

The entire town has been telling Nicole what she feels, and she finally got tired of arguing and decided she felt the way she'd been told to feel. Also, what the heck was this BS with Chanel?

Even after her arrest, we have zero clues as to what her secret is! Do the writers even know? Or are they dragging it out because they have no idea?

Sloane having the governor-elect's daughter arrested publicly for murder would have been a stronger story if they had given us any idea of what Chanel did. Then we could feel sympathy (or not) for Chanel.

Instead, Paulina has two daughters in jail for killing someone, and we don't even know what the second one did or who is behind this.

We also had an awful lot of Trask violating Chanel's rights and Belle doing nothing about it. Ugh.

Kate: I felt bad for Maggie. She was basically deserted on her Anniversary and is desperate to have her family all back together, but it just isn't working.

Christine: I was really disappointed in Sarah. She should have insisted Eric leave the room before talking to Jada about those test results.

Also, I was hoping we'd get some great flashbacks to when Maggie and Victor first got together or got married, but we got nothing.

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline on this week's Days of Our Lives?

Jack: I loved the flashbacks to the pilot! Julie and Doug's reminiscences were perfect, and it also set them up to be this generation's Tom and Alice.

Although I hate this stupid Chanel story (see above), I thought Raven Bowens did amazing work showing Chanel's distress and shock over having been arrested.

Kate: Oddly enough, Bonnie. She's grown on me. Bonnie was great in those scenes for the Anniversary and the shed. I also loved EJ besting Ava.

Christine: EJ being EJ. He's not a guy you want to mess with because he always finds a way to get what he wants. I also enjoyed Alex trying to teach Sonny how to do yoga, and Leo and Sonny's pseudo-date was both fun and insightful.

But the flashbacks to the pilot episode of Days were a real treat! I hope we get more of that in the future.

Now it's your turn, Days fans. Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button down below to give us your answers to our round table questions. Then check out Jack Ori's Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic. 

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.