Is it weird that I’m loving Xander and Philip Kiriakis banter on Days of Our Lives? The brothers may be at odds, and Philip is fresh out of the hospital after Xander beat him within an inch of his life, but now that they’re forced to work together to protect the business, they’re giving us comedy gold.
Poor Xander (Paul Telfer, fresh off of his Daytime Emmy nomination, I might add). Ok, maybe not poor Xander. He’s a challenging guy to feel sympathy for after all he’s done, but maybe that’s why it was so funny to see him walk into work after a very trying evening to find his brother, Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) posted up at his desk at Titan DiMera.
Philip, in the interest of keeping things at the family business moving smoothly, explained that he needed to be at work so that people are able to see the brothers working together. Not only will it build confidence, but it will (hopefully) help to make people forget about the accusations that Xander was the one who beat Philip into a bloody pulp. (Except…that’s exactly what happened, and then Philip awoke from his coma to find Xander about to smother him with a pillow, but that’s for another time)
Of course, this is the absolute worst time for Philip to have this gem of an idea, because Xander just spent the night not sleeping with Gwen (Emily O’Brien) despite really wanting to.
On that note, Philip quickly tells his grumpy brother that he signed him up for anger management classes through Titan DiMera’s human resources department. To deal with his nasty temper, obviously. Things go from bad to worse when Johnny (Carson Boatman) arrives and Philip tells Xander that they’re going to film a video statement to show everyone that they’re right as rain.
Xander wants no part of any of this. He’s already having a very bad day, and it’s gone from bad to worse as he deals with the oddly chipper Philip, who proceeds to do his prescribed yoga stretches in the middle of the office to help him heal from the beating he took. He really digs in, prodding and provoking Xander the whole time, until Johnny suggests that the first step is to make it look more convincing that they’re not going to kill each other.
Now, this whole exchange was playful for an audience that knows Xander hates Philip for staking a claim in what Xander believes is his sole birthright. Philip would rather that Xander quit outright, but if he’s to get his share of the family fortune, then they need to present a united front. And that’s where the comedy gold comes in, because the more these two brothers try to pretend they don’t hate each other, the funnier it gets, and I am absolutely here for it.
Days of Our Lives streams weekdays on Peacock.
