Ava and EJ were at a standoff until Steve and Kayla got into costume in Seattle. Nicole broke up with Rafe. Eric and Jada dealt with some surprising news, while Sloan revealed why she was seeking revenge against Paulina and Chanel.

Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Monica from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate the twists between EJ and Ava, Eric sharing the pregnancy news, Kayla's Philadelphia accent, Brady's advice, and more!

Which twist surprised you most? EJ kidnapping Tripp instead of paying the ransom, Ava confronting EJ face to face, or Steve rescuing Tripp?

Monica: I was surprised by how quickly Steve (and Kayla!) rescued Tripp, but I'm sure the EJ/Ava drama is far from over. It was fun to see a new set in the biker bar!

Steve and Kayla's costumes were funny but not as hilarious as Kayla's "Philadelphia" accent. As a Philly girl myself, I can tell you no one here talks like that!

Jack: I can't say any of this was particularly surprising. Ava confronting EJ face-to-face was an idiotic thing to do, so in that sense, it was surprising.

I wish Ava would stop listening to Charlie's ghost. Then we might have a more reasonable story.

Christine: Ava going directly to EJ surprised me. I'm enjoying that Ava is smart but a little unhinged, while EJ is smart and ruthless. You really don't know what each of them is about to do next.

Did Eric have the right to share the news of Jada's pregnancy with Rafe? Is this comeuppance for all of the times Jada told Rafe about Nicole and Eric?

Monica: Eric probably should have kept that news to himself, but the tension of his and Rafe's conversation was so heavy that it makes sense that he blurted it out.

I'm enjoying the political references that keep popping up in the writing on Days. Eric told Jada, "It's your body and your choice," and I cheered! Also, did you notice Jada's pretty purple manicure??

Jack: Jada's pregnancy is her business to share or not, even if Eric is the father. I wouldn't call it comeuppance because it wasn't like Eric shared it to get back at her for her big mouth, but it definitely felt like karma.

Christine: Between Eric and Nicole, half of Salem will know she's pregnant before she's had any time to process this.

Eric shouldn't have shared this news with anyone, especially not Jada's boss!

And now I need to go back and check out Jada's nails.

Rate Nicole and Rafe's breakup from a 1 (I hated it) to a 10 (that was fantastic soap drama.)

Monica: Their breakup was inevitable, of course, but I was pretty bored with the storyline. Good guy, Rafe, did manage to get in some zingers: "Marriage is just a game to you!"

The whole cover-shoot premise to bring Nicole and Eric together was lazy writing and has been done before on Days.

Jack: How about -2000? I am so angry and disappointed. Nicole and Rafe could have and should have been a great couple, but the writers decided that she and Eric are each other's "true love." Then they didn't even write it properly.

We had months of the entire town telling Nicole how she "really" felt, including Rafe. After the 95th time Rafe refused to believe that Nicole felt the way she said she felt, she decided she would go along with everyone's opinion and be in love with Eric.

Now Rafe is acting as abusively toward her as Eric did in the past, and viewers are expected to root for him to keep being nasty to her.

This is yet another story where Nicole is everyone's punching bag, this time complete with a contrived romance based on feelings she was told to feel rather than feelings that she genuinely felt. Ugh.

Christine: Eric was Nicole's first love, and I don't think they've ever gotten over one another. Their divorce was a mess on both sides.

Nicole and Rafe were good friends, but I never felt any real romance between them. It felt like Rafe was a place filler from the start, whether Nicole did it intentionally or not.

I've never been Rafe's biggest fan, but I thought he had every right to be furious with Nicole, and I did enjoy him not holding back, so I'll give this story a 6.

Brady gave Nicole a complete pass on ending her marriage with Rafe for Eric. He even went so far as to say she did Rafe a favor when she broke up with him and Ava. What's your take on Brady's point of view?

Monica: Brady's one to talk! He probably wishes he could end things so easily with Kristin so he could be with Chloe.

Jack: Brady jumps from one "love of his life" to another and is currently allowing Kristen to blackmail him into replacing Chloe with her, so he's not an expert on love.

This is more of the writers thinking that if we have everyone say that Eric is Nicole's true love, viewers will believe it.

Brady is also not being a real friend. Real friends don't tell you you're right, no matter what.

Christine: Wow. I seem to recall Brady threatening and blackmailing Nicole when she left him for Eric, so his reaction was pretty hypocritical.

And the crack about Ava bothered me. Ava and Rafe seemed good together, and Rafe lied to her and cheated on her. No one deserves that.

Chanel's secret was revealed, and it's directly connected to Sloane? Do you think Chanel should have stood trial for the woman's death?

Monica: I'm pretty tired of the long-game mystery revenge plot! It dragged on forever with Gwen. At least we got the reveal a little sooner this time, but it hardly makes sense!

First of all, why doesn't Sloan have an English accent? How were only the campus police involved in the death of Dr. Bedford's wife?

I did enjoy all the specific London references in Chanel's explanation to Ally -- The Bedford's Bayswater flat, Chancery Lane, the Thames, etc.

Jack: Chanel was the victim here. She was groomed by a sexual predator, and then the wife of said predator tried to attack her on a rooftop.

Chanel is now being punished for an "affair" that was not consensual (when will DAYS ever learn about power dynamics>) and for daring to defend herself instead of allowing herself to be killed for the "crime" of being coerced into sex.

The only reason she should have gone to trial with this was so that the professor and his wife's misdeeds could have been exposed, and then Sloan wouldn't be able to weaponize the legal system to punish her parents' victim.

I don't understand why Paulina didn't 1) hire a lawyer for Chanel and 2) want the surveillance video that would prove Chanel acted in self-defense to come out.

Sloan is the one who belongs in jail, and I don't understand why Paulina isn't reporting her for extortion and her admission that she's only trying to press charges to get revenge.

If Paulina can't think to do these basic things, I have serious doubts about her ability to govern the state.

Christine: Chanel should have come forward and had proper counsel at the time. In trying to hide everything, Paulina just made everyone's lives more difficult in the long term.

Chanel sounded young and naive. She believed every word about the professor's marriage being loveless and essentially over. She didn't believe she was hurting anyone. She didn't even know enough to ask for counsel before giving a statement.

I'm sure the professor had coerced several of his female students into bed over the years. He sounded far too practiced at this game for it to be his first. That likely would have come out during a proper investigation and then Sloan would have a better understanding about who her parents really were.

Your turn, Days fans. Do you consider Chanel a victim or a home wrecker?

Which possible new couple are you most interested in seeing more of? Stephanie and Alex or Wendy and Johnny?

Monica: I like the idea of Wendy and Johnny getting together, but the flirting between them was so cringy this week. Johnny coming out of the shower all wet and only in a towel and Wendy lifting her shirt so he could secure the wire was all so awkward.

Also, have you seen pictures of downtown Jakarta? It's all modern skyscrapers! I wonder how Wendy and Johnny got such a rustic hotel room.

Stephanie and Alex have better chemistry, even though their puppet show for Henry was pretty lame. Henry, on the other hand, was adorable!

Does Alex need glasses or not? There's no rhyme or reason to when he's wearing them, and he needs to stop chewing on them. Yuck!

Jack: Wendy and Johnny! They have a lot of chemistry, are already involved in an adventure, and don't have the baggage of one person being pushy to the point of harassment.

Christine: I want to like them both but this week made that difficult. Alex and Stephanie's puppet show was cringe-worthy. It really turned me off of this couple.

And Johnny and Wendy were so awkward in Jakarta I wished they could get separate rooms.

What disappointed you the most this week in Salem?

Monica: I hated that Bonnie and Susan could hear each others' thoughts. It was weird, and their facial expressions didn't match the dialogue either. The line where Bonnie said (thought?), "I don't need to hear a supernatural soap opera digest recap" was funny, I'll admit.

Jack: That Chanel being groomed and coerced into sex is written as a consensual affair, with only Allie pointing out it wasn't.

We also have the predator's daughter using the court system against Chanel and Trask being all too happy to violate Chanel's rights every chance she gets so she can get revenge for Paulina making her cut a deal with Lani. It's all sorts of gross.

A runner-up is this awful Rafe/Nicole/Eric story, which is another excuse to write everyone hating and abusing Nicole.

Steve and Kayla's adventure should have taken more than two minutes to resolve, and Johnny and Wendy shouldn't have so quickly fallen victim to Rolf's syringe.

Finally, this goofy Susan/Bonnie kidnapping thing. The creepy clown costume is bad enough. Now we have telepathy.

Christine: Kayla dressing trashy and attempting a Philly accent was just horrible.

And EJ not paying the ransom for his mother and then getting revenge. I fear something horrible will happen to Susan, and if that occurs, EJ might really turn into a monster.

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

Monica: Leo had a ton of great lines. I'm not usually a fan, but he slayed me this week! His self-help book is called "Stop Kvetching and Get a Life!" And Leo's complaint that he seems always to be the "schlimazel" lately is pretty accurate! That's Yiddish for a person who's consistently unlucky.

And his reference to Barbra Streisand's underground mall -- don't get me started! Good job, writers!

Gwen's first day on the job as a reporter for the Spectator also sent me! I'd like that job, please -- set up my laptop at the pub, have a glass of wine, and ask a few people some questions.

Jack: I continued to be impressed by Raven Bowens' acting and enjoyed her explaining her story to Allie.

Christine: Sonny and Leo have become my new favorite pair of friends. I don't want any romance between them, but I love how their friendship is growing.

Ava and EJ and scarily well-matched, and it was fun getting Tony and Anna into the mix. And I even enjoyed Rafe calling Nicole out on marrying him while she knew she still had strong feelings for Eric. Galen Gehring nailed those scenes.

It's your turn, Days fans. Hit the SHOW COMMENTS button to tell 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.