Leo’s Awful Reunion With His Mom on The June 25 Days of Our Lives Explains A Lot
Leo visited his mother, Diana, in prison on the June 25 episode of Days of Our Lives, and it went even worse than he imagined. Plus, something devastating might be wrong with Chanel.
Leo Had a Mom-mentary Lapse of Reason
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Poor Leo (Greg Rikaart). Once a weasely schemer, helping Nicole (Arianne Zucker) deliver her baby had a profound effect on him, and ever since then, he’s gradually tried to improve himself and shed his duplicitous ways. To that end, after seeking therapy with Marlena (Deidre Hall), he decided to pay his wayward mother a visit in prison.
Judith Chapman returned playing Diana Colville so wicked even Cruella de Vil could learn a thing or two from her. It was almost heartbreaking to see Leo — who suddenly seemed like a scared, yet determined kid — hold his notes and try to read her his innermost feelings. But she wouldn’t have any of it and laid into him with such vicious language we’re surprised he didn’t just burst into tears right then and there.
It was even more heartbreaking when he revealed that his father would abuse him, and she did nothing to protect him. Leo tearfully explained to Diana that when he was getting a beating from his old man at age 9, “He hit me so hard. I begged you to make him stop,” adding that her reply was, “You told me to suck it up, to be a man. So that’s what I did.”
He stated that after he killed his father to protect both of them, she blamed him for everything. Upon seeing Diana’s malicious verbal thrashing, it’s no wonder Leo grew up to be an untrustworthy schemer. She told him it wasn’t her fault he turned out the way he did, calling him “single, friendless, disloyal, unloving, [and] unloved.” She also said he was wasting her time, but Leo stood up for himself, declaring, “This [visit] was for me. Not for you.” Rather than apologize to him, she stated she was bored and told him not to visit her again.
Points go to Rikaart for tugging at our heartstrings and helping us understand his character on a deeper level. Points also go to Chapman, who literally reeked of evil and was so nasty that it was almost difficult to watch.
Chanel Had a Scary Moment
Johnny (Carson Boatman) and Chanel (Raven Bowens) were happily getting ready to leave town for LA, but paid Dr. Greene (Jonah Robinson) a visit first. After an exam, he explained that two “soft markers” were detected that might not mean anything but could conversely be indicators for a congenital heart abnormality in the fetus. He further stated that there was no way of knowing whether or not the radiation she was exposed to had any part in causing this condition. Keeping the diagnosis and their worry under wraps, they visited with Paulina for dinner.
However, Chanel felt her stomach growling, at first thinking she was hungry, then winced in incredible pain, leaving us on a cliffhanger. While Dr. Greene stated that he was sending them to a facility in Los Angeles, the city where the couple is moving to, she may end up hospitalized in Salem, which would put the kibosh on their plans and be an excuse to keep the characters in town.
If something happens and she loses the baby, that will surely put a huge strain on their marriage. Either way, they’re a pretty solid couple, so it will be nice if they can face the odds together, united in strength, and overcome whatever may happen next. (Learn about when Johnny proposed to Chanel.)
Pop Culture Reference of the Day
We were treated to two historical references in this episode: First, Kate (Lauren Koslow) explained to Lucas (Bryan Dattilo) that Harris (Steve Burton) left Ava (Tamara Braun) to follow a lead on Megan (Miranda Wilson). Lucas stated that was a good thing, but Kate countered, “Well, knowing Megan, he has a better chance of finding Amelia Earhart.” Earhart was a pilot who attempted to become the first female to fly around the globe, but in 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Two years later, she was declared dead even though the mystery of what truly happened to her has never been solved.
Second, after his awful visit with his mother, Leo was walking and muttered to himself, “Wait until Dr. Evans gets a load of that Hindenburg disaster of a visit.” The Hindenburg was the world’s largest dirigible, known today as a blimp, that caught fire in 1937, killing 36 of the 97 people on board, and was one of the biggest disasters of its time. The airship was filled with hydrogen, and the explosion was believed to be caused by “a discharge of atmospheric electricity in the vicinity of a hydrogen gas leak from the airship,” according to Britannica.
