Watch out, Salem! Hurricane Sami may have been temporarily taken out of Salem, but two returns will turn the town upside down anyway.

Carson Boatman is finally debuting as an aged Johnny Dimera on Days of Our Lives during the week of 8-16-21. Johnny was last seen as a wide-eyed pre-teen who didn't understand why people hated his family... but with Sami and EJ as parents, could he have grown up to be anything but a troublemaker?

And if that wasn't enough, veteran actress Marla Gibbs is going to make her Salem debut as Paulina's mother... and she and Paulina have a doozy of a secret to keep!

Most fans are probably more excited by Johnny's return. After all, it made no sense for Sami and Allie to move back to Salem while Allie's twin was missing in action.

With Sami and EJ on the outs, it wouldn't be surprising if the twins took different sides on Sami's marriage. After all, Lucas is Allie's biological father, so she might prefer her parents to be back together, while Johnny might be strongly in favor of a reconciliation with his dad!

Of course, this is all a moot point until Sami is found and safely returned to wreak more havoc in Salem.

Will Johnny turn out to have anything to do with this kidnapping?

The spoiler video doesn't give us a single clue, instead focusing on what is likely a dream sequence in which Allie is sleeping with both Chanel and Tripp. According to other spoilers, Chanel will meet and feel attracted to Johnny, which could set up a rivalry between the twins despite Allie's claim to only have feelings for Tripp.

Meanwhile, judging from other clips in the spoiler video, Paulina won't be any too happy that her mother, Olivia, is on her doorstep, and the two will butt heads over whether or not to undo a lie they've been telling Lani since childhood: Paulina is Lani's mother!

This storyline reunites former 227 co-stars Jackee Harry and Marla Gibbs -- the latter of whom has been a superstar for at least five decades and is still going strong at the age of 90. And even more importantly, it promises a ton of drama for both Lani and Abe, as Abe most likely is not Lani's biological father after all.

In addition to these highly anticipated returns, somebody is leaving Salem on Days of Our Lives during the week of 8-16-21. Read on to check out all the spoilers, including that one.

Ciara and Ben have a joyous reunion.

It's already begun, though, of course first, they have to get Shawn to put his gun away.

Hopefully, there will be more to this reunion than scene after scene of these two lying in bed professing their undying love to each other.

Also, they need to get back to town and get Allie and Claire out of their legal predicament. Just saying.

Xander makes a big sacrifice for Gwen.

Ugh. Xander already jumped in to take responsibility for Gwen's illegal activities with Snyder.

Most likely, he's headed to jail over it, which will surely make Gwen fall in love with him.

These two are filler at best. Nothing is interesting about their relationship, and Xander could have a more compelling storyline than this. Like, I don't know... discovering Sarah was kidnapped and rushing off to find her.

Paulina and Olivia  (Paulina's mother) have a heated conversation about the past.

I'm looking forward to this. Sparks should fly between strong-willed Paulina and her mother.

It's too bad Tamara isn't in town too. I'd be interested in how she reacts to Olivia, as she is very different than Paulina.

Either way, I'm glad that Lani has some sort of relationship with her grandmother, at least judging from the spoiler video, though Paulina and Olivia's secret might blow that up altogether.

Rafe consoles a devastated Nicole.

I thought we did this already.

And hopefully, "console" isn't code for having grief sex, especially not so soon after Nicole jumped into bed with Xander because she was depressed about Eric staying in Africa.

I ship Rafe/Nicole hard, but they deserve a better beginning than that!

EJ gets a surprise visit from his son, Johnny.

I seriously can't wait for this!

I'm curious as to whether Johnny will be a troublemaker or if he's going to be the "good twin."

Allie is a mixed bag which seems sweet and innocent but can turn on the Sami-like manipulation in a heartbeat -- how will Johnny complement her?

Olivia tries to prevent Paulina from revealing the truth to Lani.

Paulina is in a no-win situation with this.

Lani already thinks her "aunt" is a liar who isn't worth her time and is determined to stop Abe from forgiving Paulina's last scheme too.

If she finds out Paulina has been lying to her for her entire life, she'll want even less to do with her. But how can Lani ever trust Paulina if Paulina is continuing to keep a major secret from her?

Allie relays her concerns about Sami to John and Marlena.

Allie's right to be worried, of course. Sami isn't like Paulina, flitting in and out of people's lives as she sees fit.

Plus, Allie just spent a night in jail, and there is no way in hell that Sami would have just let that go!

Hopefully, John and Marlena will realize this and not dismiss Allie's concerns as an overreaction.

Claire is presented with an exciting opportunity.

Claire is going to leave Salem to pursue a job offer that comes out of the blue.

Ugh. This is better than yet another kidnapping or murder, but these random job offers out of the blue always feel so contrived.

There's really no good reason for Claire to leave Salem now, though I wouldn't blame her for feeling purposeless now that she's finished helping get Ben and Ciara back together.

EJ asks Chad to help convince Johnny to work at DiMera.

I'm surprised Johnny doesn't want to work at the family business, but this could be a compelling story.

Maybe Johnny will be some kind of artist or otherwise be uninterested in the career path he's been groomed for his whole life.

Chad hates EJ, though, so I don't know why he'd help him.

Ben surprises Ciara with an impromptu wedding!

These impromptu weddings are so silly.

You need a marriage license to get married, and if you want anyone else at your ceremony, you have to give them notice.

Of course, there were only three guests at Ciara's aborted wedding to Theo, so they might as well use the church for the purpose it was reserved for.

Claire bids farewell to Salem.

Theo is also supposed to leave... will they go off into the sunset together?

Claire is leaving to pursue a job opportunity, but the reality is that Days of Our Lives uses Africa as a black hole for characters to disappear into, never to be heard from again.

I'll be sad to say goodbye to Claire, though. Isabel Durant has been one of the best recasts thus far and her version of Claire has been fun.

Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics!

What are you most looking forward to on Days of Our Lives during the week of 8-16-21? Are you glad to say hello to Johnny and Olivia? And are you sad to say goodbye to Claire?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!

Looking to chat about already-aired episodes of Days of Our Lives? Check out the latest Days of Our Lives reviews and Days of Our Lives Round Table discussions.

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Allie happily reunites with her twin brother, Johnny.

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.