Surprise! (NOT!) Sarah is the latest Salemite to mistake pregnancy for the flu.

Doctors are no less immune to accidental pregnancies than anyone else, but why didn't Sarah and Xander use birth control? And why does it never occur to anyone that they might be pregnant?

Sarah's pregnancy on Days of Our Lives during the week of 2-27-23 wasn't shocking, but the aftermath was. Many fans were bracing themselves for a who's-the-daddy story, but Sarah told Rex immediately that the baby was Xander's.

Thank goodness! While it would be ridiculous for Sarah to learn she was pregnant with Rex's baby days after they slept together, reality never gets in the way on Days of Our Lives; Sarah could be confused about who the father was.

Sarah also didn't make the annoying but obvious decision to stay with Xander for the baby's sake, as so many women do on Days of Our Lives. I was worried that she might decide that since the divorce didn't go through and she was pregnant with Xander's child, she might as well stay married "for the baby's sake."

Fortunately, Sarah is stronger than that. Her decision to leave town without telling Xander she's pregnant isn't great, but at least it's not the same old thing we usually get with these accidental pregnancy stories.

Where does this story go from here? Sarah's leaving town can't be the end of it; that would be too easy.

Eventually, Xander has to find out about his baby. That's how these things go. Sarah's plan is probably to return to Salem after the baby is born and claim it's Rex's.

That's essentially what she did when she was pregnant with Eric's baby and pretended Xander was the father. Sarah herself admitted that was a disaster; let's not have a repeat.

Xander might also decide to go to Chicago to try to woo Sarah back. This stalkerish move won't win him points with Sarah, but it'll inevitably lead to the discovery that she's not romantically involved with Rex AND that she's pregnant.

Another way Xander might learn about the pregnancy is through Leo.

Jack: You can run the paper, for now, any way you wish. You have that freedom just like I did. Just know that Jennifer and I spent decades building trust with the public. I would hate to see that all wasted by turning the paper into a cheap tabloid.
Leo: Oh, please. Everyone knows tabloids sell. No one was reading your stuffy old newspaper.

• Permalink: Everyone knows tabloids sell. No one was reading your stuffy old newspaper

While I don't love the idea of Leo digging up all the dirt that's fit to print, the Lady Whistleblower column serves its purpose. Leo's already ruined Alex's chance to become the CEO of Titan (more about that in a minute!). He could easily expose Sarah's secret to embarrass her.

If he does, it'll probably be an effort to help Gwen and Xander get together that blows up in his face! Ironically, the same thing happened years ago when Jack looked into who Steve's brother was so that he could interfere with Steve and Kayla, only to find out that the mystery man was himself!

Jack and Jennifer told Julie to leave Gwen and Xander alone, threw on some leis, and left town to attend to their local paper in Boston. It felt like an ending for these two, but will they return?

I can't imagine Gwen getting to run the paper permanently when she got it via blackmailing Jennifer. Without Jennifer to keep an eye on her, Julie might disregard her wishes and go after Gwen.

Jack and Jennifer had better be back for visits regardless of what happens with the Spectator! They're a legacy couple, right up there with Steve/Kayla and John/Marlena. They can't ride off into the sunset and never be seen again.

I also wish JJ would return to Salem and work with Julie to get his father's paper back.

JJ's personality was always more suited to investigative reporting than the other things the writers had him doing, as was Nicole's. It would be awesome if the two rescued the paper, fired Leo, and continued Jack's legacy.

This is likely a pipe dream, but it's a good one!

Elsewhere, an off-screen Victor made Maggie CEO after learning from Leo that Alex slept with two women at once and contributed to the end of Allie and Chanel's marriage. What?

It's jarring, to say the least, that Victor is presumably healthy enough to travel to parts unknown by himself when John Aniston passed away after several years where he didn't do more than sit in a chair for a scene or two.

Leaving that aside, this decision makes no sense. Since when does Victor champion women's rights to the point that he'd fire Alex because he thinks his sexual exploits might appear misogynistic?

Victor's behavior is even more problematic than Alex's. He always calls women derogatory names, and he's had plenty of affairs -- and in his villain days, he attempted to rape Kimberly. People who would boycott Titan because of perceived misogyny probably have already done so.

It's great that Victor has appointed the first female CEO to counter that image, but Maggie isn't the best choice.

Maggie: Everyone says I have good instincts.
Alex: But do you have killer instincts? That's what's really needed in this business.
Maggie: How's this for killer instincts? You're fired.

• Permalink: How's this for killer instincts? You're fired.

She's undoubtedly capable despite her sweet persona. Farms and restaurants might not be the same type of business as Titan Industries. Still, she's more than proven her business acumen and determination to succeed despite the odds against her.

However, everyone knows she's Victor's wife, and many people will think she's a token woman serving as Victor's mouthpiece. She's not, so it doesn't matter what those people think. But if Victor wants to reform the company's reputation regarding feminism, this appointment is a terrible idea!

I was hoping Philip was on his way back -- that would have been a great twist. But since the ball has started rolling on revealing that he's alive, Philip could pop up later, ready to take the reins from Maggie.

I also don't like the idea of Alex's sex life being labeled as inappropriate because he slept with two women at once. It felt somewhat homophobic, which isn't Victor -- he kicked out that investor who wanted him to stop supporting Will and Sonny's wedding.

And Victor wasn't concerned when Alex was sexually harassing Stephanie, which is far worse than a consensual sexual relationship that some people don't approve of.

Things have gotten crazy at Dimera Enterprises, with Gabi agreeing to stay married to Li to acquire his shares.

Did Li sign the shares over or merely pledge to do so? He keeps saying that he gave Gabi his shares, so she has to do what he wants, but if the transfer is a done deal, there's no reason she has to put up with this.

It would be smart for Li to dangle the promise of the share transfer instead, but he's not the most intelligent guy out there. He's been arrested twice in the last month, and Gabi could easily double-cross him.

When are we getting to the point where she does that? Li keeps adding other conditions to the deal, and right now, he's pushing Gabi around. That's not Gabi's style, and she'd better be biding her time before putting a huge revenge plan into place!

The silly Stefan brainwashing story took some surprising twists. Rolf's latest attempt at deprogramming him was bound to go wrong since it involved a waffle iron, crock pot, and other random kitchen implements -- did anyone else expect Stefan to lose his feelings for Chloe?

I expected a more significant twist than Brady and Eric ending up behind bars, which they richly deserved for this stupid scheme. Rafe was a total hypocrite since he didn't care when Gabi did the same thing.

Chloe: You kidnapped Stefan! Did you ask me how I felt? Did you ask him?
Brady: I was desperate!
Chloe: And look where that desperation got you.
Brady: Okay, I admit I had tunnel vision. But that's because I saw you and me at the end of the tunnel.

• Permalink: Okay, I admit I had tunnel vision. But that's because I saw you and me at the end of the...

Chloe laid into Stefan for stalking her, but Brady did the same thing. He called at least twice in one day, leaving a voicemail claiming he would respect her need for space while doing the opposite.

Chloe should have been equally angry with Brady as she was with Stefan, if not more so. He kidnapped Stefan and forced a procedure on him that Stefan didn't want. In what world is that less bad than Stefan calling her when she didn't want to hear from him?

At first, Chloe seemed to reject the idea of getting back together with Brady, but she wasn't nearly as angry as she should have been, and her main concern was Rachel not liking her.

There are more significant problems here. And since Chloe is okay with Brady doing this Li-like thing, how will she feel when she learns one day that Philip faked his death to frame Brady for a crime that didn't exist?

Meanwhile, Wendy's living situation felt like a set-up for a sitcom. Li decided he was moving in without asking her, and she invited Tripp to stay there when supposedly she's with Johnny. Meanwhile, Joey constantly pushes Tripp to date Wendy, while Wendy is forever running into Johnny and Chanel.

Joey: I hope we're not interrupting.
Johnny: Not at all. Chanel was just telling me how Allie moved to New Zealand. This isn't what it seems like.
Wendy: I know. You and Chanel are just friends. You having drinks with her doesn't mean anything more than Tripp moving in with me.

• Permalink: I know. You and Chanel are just friends. You having drinks with her doesn't mean anything...

This scenario keeps flip-flopping between ridiculous and obnoxious, with Joey's obsession with Tripp and Wendy competing with Wendy's coldness toward Johnny and Chanel for the most annoying aspect.

I also wasn't a fan of Chanel telling Johnny it was selfish for him to be upset that his twin sister left town without telling him. It's not like Allie moved to a different part of Salem or Chicago. She took her child to New Zealand and didn't bother telling Johnny first!

That's cold and doubly so when Johnny is her twin. Chanel came off as petty, complaining she was the only one with a broken heart.

Sonny's leaving town too, but at least he first said goodbye to his family. His goodbyes felt rushed; Justin and Alex got half a scene, and the purpose of Sonny's farewell dinner appeared to be for Chad and Alex to snipe at each other over Stephanie.

Stephanie, for her part, didn't seem to be able to speak without sounding flirty, and her scenes with Alex were inappropriate, considering that she decided to commit herself to Chad instead.

This Eric/Nicole/EJ nonsense isn't much better. Nicole's 25th anniversary on DAYS should have been about her, not just her relationship with Eric, even if the Jensen Ackles flashbacks were a nice touch.

More importantly, Nicole and Eric both do this thing where they move on and then change their mind when they learn the other is available. They agreed that they are bad for each other and that their attempts at romance are mostly nostalgia-driven.

Can they remember that, please? We don't need another round of them cheating on their current partners only to break up five minutes later.

While I still think EJ and Nicole are better off as friends, I was impressed with EJ's willingness to step back and let Nicole be with Eric. She'd better not break his heart later by choosing Eric after EJ gave her an out, and she rejected it!

EJ and Nicole's plan isn't great, either. Switching the spiked drinks is risky -- Stefan could change them back, or an innocent person could get drugged.

At least they're onto him. Now Nicole needs not to let Eric distract her.

Finally, the women awakened to find they were in Megan's clutches

Megan's ultimate goal is to resurrect Bo and keep him for herself. But what do the women have to do with this?

While this plot is as weird as the heaven stuff, it's also more typical of Days of Our Lives. Thanks to his obsession with Marlena, Stefano did things like this for years. Now, Megan is taking over.

What did you think, Days of Our Lives fanatics? Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!

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

Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekdays at 6 AM EST / 3 AM PST.

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.