This episode was a wild mix of birthday surprises, shady break-ins, and old wounds resurfacing.
We start off with Marlena chatting with Tate, gently nudging him about Sophia’s past feelings for him. But Tate quickly shuts that down, insisting they’re just friends—nothing more. That said, he’s in the middle of setting up a surprise birthday party for her, so clearly, there’s something there… even if he won’t admit it.
Sophia walks in, lights up at the surprise, and throws her arms around Tate in a happy hug. But while she’s all smiles, Tate looks… uncomfortable. And things don’t get any smoother. As he’s singing for her and getting the birthday cake ready, he suddenly feels dizzy and slumps into a chair. Something’s clearly not right with him.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Salem, Xander is having a heated moment of his own. When Alex suggests giving Philip another shot, Xander snaps. He’s tired of people using Victor as an excuse for forgiving Philip, and he’s definitely not ready to let go of Philip’s past betrayal.
Then we jump into a high-stakes break-in: Kevin sneaks into Dr. Russell’s lab while Philip is distracted on the phone. At the same time, Steve and Shawn are lurking behind a dumpster outside. They pull off a classic spy move—cutting the CCTV feed and looping fake footage—so they can slip inside unnoticed.
Inside, Kevin is busy grabbing drug vials—specifically Versavix, the mystery drug everyone wants their hands on. He’s filling up containers when he abruptly hangs up on Philip. But when Steve and Shawn make it into the lab, Kevin is already gone. Steve hears a noise and finds the emergency exit slightly open. Shawn realizes Versavix has vanished.
Knowing they’re too late, the two decide to leave before things get worse. Outside, Kevin is hiding near that same dumpster, panicking with the stolen vials in hand. He tries calling Philip again but gets no answer—because Philip is too busy having a heart-to-heart with Xander. He tells Xander he misses working with him and wants to rebuild what they had. But Xander’s not budging—he’s still too hurt. Philip throws in the towel and walks off, admitting they’re stuck with each other anyway.
Back at Kayla’s office, Steve and Shawn report the bad news: someone beat them to the drug. They don’t know who yet—but we do.
Finally, in a tense ending, Kevin finds out that Dr. Russell, the owner of the lab, left his conference early and is headed back to the lab that night. Which means Kevin could be caught red-handed unless he makes his next move fast.