Nicole never learns, does she?

She's been one of my favorite characters for years, but her self-destructive streak is sometimes too much. And her boneheaded decision to leave out the drugged sex with Eric when telling EJ was only the beginning of her stupidity.

Nicole wasn't the only one who lied for stupid reasons on Days of Our Lives during the week of 4-17-23 (I'm looking at you, Harris Michaels!), but her lie was the most frustrating.

A year or so ago, EJ cast Sami out of his life forever (or as close to forever as exists in Salem...), not because she slept with Lucas while EJ was suffering from post-resurrection illness, but because she lied about it. He understood why the affair had happened and would have forgiven her, but instead, she compounded the problem by making up stories.

Nicole knows this. She was one of EJ's primary sources of support during that time. So why the HELL would she think it's a good idea to lie to him about having sex with Eric while both of them were drugged?

It's the same damn thing, and it will end up the same: with EJ and Nicole on the outs because of her lies, even though he would have forgiven her if she'd told him the truth.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, Nicole then made the hare-brained move of whispering to Eric on the phone not to tell EJ while standing in the hallway of the Dimera mansion.

Did she WANT EJ to catch her and confront her about the lie? If not, talking about it in the hallway of a house he owns was doubly stupid, especially since she was surrounded by empty rooms she could have gone into.

Predictably, EJ overheard. His initial anger demonstrated precisely why I don't ship EJ/Nicole. He's great when things are going well, but if he thinks he's been wronged, he quickly loses his temper, turning back into the dangerous man Nicole hid her pregnancy from.

Fortunately, Tony talked him out of doing anything crazy this time. But Nicole was not so lucky; she confided in Anna, who gave her the world's worst advice.

Anna didn't think Nicole needed to tell EJ. She likened the meaningless sex Nicole and Eric had to her not sharing with Tony how much she spent on a crystal lampshade.

In no universe are these two secrets equivalent. Anna's secrets don't involve the appearance of betrayal. (Nicole didn't cheat since she and Eric were drugged against their will.)

How long has Anna or Nicole lived in Salem? Why don't either of these women realize that secrets always come to the surface, often in unnecessarily ugly ways?

It's maddening that Nicole has been written as stupid and flighty lately. This character used to be street-smart with great instincts and a sarcastic streak that rivaled Victor Kiriakis'.

She was at her best as an investigative reporter for WXIR-TV, not counting that time she had to read about Rafe's attack in the Spectator even though she was a reporter for a rival media source.

And she made sense as Sami's chief rival because both women were intelligent and sensitive but often acted out of their past pain and their fear that no one decent would ever want them.

But now, Nicole's become a stupid, flaky character whose whole world revolves around breaking up and making up with Eric. Ugh!

She has better chemistry with EJ and Rafe. Still, to the writers, neither of these men is anything more than a temporary distraction, and Nicole's well-reasoned decision to give up on Eric will undoubtedly change before too long.

This horrible writing for Nicole doesn't make for riveting storytelling. There was a time when I loved Eric and Nicole, but that ship sailed in 2014 when Eric became judgmental and nasty over the shredded documents incident that everyone would like to forget.

Ever since any story for Eric and Nicole has been a repeat of that nonsense. Eric and Nicole get back together for five to ten minutes before something happens to make Eric hate Nicole. Then he berates her endlessly while she begs for forgiveness. It's gross, annoying, and not worthy of these characters.

Non-shippers fall hard for Nicole and a different man, only for the writers to blow her new relationship up so she can run back to Eric for an episode or two before the cycle starts again. Can the writers stop toying with our feelings like that, please?

If Eric and Nicole are to be endgame, give them a decent story that doesn't involve yet another love triangle. Investing in Nicole and ANYBODY is impossible when they keep doing this.

Meanwhile, more Salemites hopped on a flight to Greece after Steve disappeared. Bo should have realized that kidnapping Kayla would only draw the entire Brady clan to his part of the world in search of her!

But while Hope was wandering Athens and dealing with the world's most incompetent police officer, Harris came face-to-face with Bo -- who convinced him not to tell Hope he was alive!

Harris: So you're going to let me go if I don't say anything about finding you?
Bo: Yeah! I mean, it's best for both of us. And if you think about it, for Hope too. She started a whole new life. She moved on with you. And she's got a good thing going with you. So why break her heart again? You get the girl, I get my new life without her. Win-win.

• Permalink: You get the girl, I get my new life without her. Win-win.

Harris's decision to listen to Bo about this was almost as stupid as Nicole's lie. Harris knows Bo is Hope's first love, and no matter what he says now, Hope'll assume that he kept Bo's existence secret so he could hold onto her.

In her mind, Harris did a Li Shin, resorting to unethical and potentially illegal behavior to score romantic points. That won't go over well.

Harris can get partial credit for hinting that there was a good surprise for Hope in store at Victor's childhood home, but it isn't enough. He tried to play both sides by listening to Bo's nonsense, then dropping hints.

He didn't tell Hope directly, even after his conscience got the better of him.

Does anyone remember how angry Hope was that Aiden lied about the timing of his brainwashing by Andre? It was a lie that ultimately didn't matter, and many Salemites have done far worse, but it ended any chance Aiden had of reconciling with Hope, and he left town in disgrace.

Harris' mistake wasn't much better, so Hope can hardly be expected to react more positively this time.

To be fair, Harris likely realizes he's lost Hope forever. He mumbled his goodbyes as she left; he seemed to expect her to return arm-in-arm with Bo.

That'll take some doing, but if anyone can get through to Bo, it's Hope. His insistence that he's a Kiriakis and never fit in with the Bradys might crumble when he talks with his Fancy Face.

Still,  Harris' behavior was as egregiously stupid as Nicole's. Almost everyone is skeptical about his claims to have broken free of Megan's programming after the ECT session. Lying to Hope makes it look like that skepticism was warranted.

And why did he take Megan's call? IS he still working for her in some capacity?

Hope's not the only one Bo has to worry about. Andrew learned that Bo took Kayla; half of Salem may want to travel to Greece in search of them.

And now that Stephanie and Chad found Kayla, they will probably join forces to trap him and bring him home so he can get some help.

The Bo/Hope cliffhanger is the best part of this story -- most fans tuned in because they want  Bo and Hope together, not for the entertainment value of Bo acting like a Dimera goon.

With only a few episodes to go before Kristian Alfonso and Peter Reckell wrap up their guest appearance, Bo needs to get his memories back STAT!

Hope's the most logical person to get through to him; it could be similar to when Steve thought he was someone else until Kayla took him to the bungalow they'd once shared.

Back in Salem, the aftermath of the tainted biscuits was the week's biggest story. Talia's trick put the police commissioner and district attorney in the hospital, making this case an extremely high priority.

Talia was giving off super-obvious signals of her guilt. Still, Jada was distracted by Chanel's insistence that they arrest Sloan without any evidence whatsoever that she was involved in this incident.

Doesn't Chanel remember how Sloan wanted her thrown in jail even though the available evidence suggested self-defense? If Jada could lock up Sloan on Chanel's say-so, nothing would stop Sloan from getting Chanel re-arrested based on nothing but her claim that Chanel had committed a crime.

Chanel needs to chill out and let the police do their job. I hope this doesn't end with her apologizing to Sloan when the truth comes out; even though Sloan is innocent this time, she's done plenty of inappropriate things to mess with Chanel.

Jada shouldn't have to be the one to arrest her sister, either. The Salem PD desperately needs more cops if the only available detective is the top suspect's sister!

As predicted, Rafe's inebriated behavior toward Jada was swept under the rug. In a way, that's fair -- if Nicole and Eric shouldn't be held accountable for their infidelity because they were drugged, then how is Rafe responsible for his behavior toward Jada? Yet drunk and drugged people can't be absolved of crimes against others because of their intoxication.

It would have been interesting if Rafe had gotten in trouble and had to prove that he had been drugged against his will and had no control over his behavior. But this storyline was quickly squashed in favor of Rafe promising Abe he wouldn't date Jada now that he was sober.

Wendy had the most ridiculous reaction of all.

It was obvious that Johnny and Chanel were high, but Wendy was oblivious and ended her relationship with Johnny. If she finds out the biscuits were drugged, she will feel stupid about her angry response, but will we repeat the Devil destroying Johnny and Chanel's marriage?

And the whole thing is needlessly complicated by Wendy running off to Seattle to spend time with Tripp.

When Wendy first arrived in Salem, she was desperate to prove she could do IT work despite her father and brother's cultural beliefs about women. But now that she has the job she wanted, she's never there. If she makes it to the office, it's only so she can spy on Li for her own purposes -- she never works.

How can she prove herself this way?

Finally, Stefan and Gabi are free to be together -- for now.

Gabi's drugged behavior woke Li up to the realization that she would never fall hard for him the way she had for Stefan.

But how long will he continue to act maturely about it?

Li can't be trusted, and Melinda is floating around, nursing unrequited feelings for Stefan and all too happy to cash in the favor he owes her when the time is right. Will these two cross paths to cause trouble for Stefan and Gabi?

Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts.

Don't forget to check back on Sunday for the latest Days of Our Lives Round Table discussion.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.