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Xander Kiriakis has never hesitated to push the envelope, and in classic Days of Our Lives fashion, he's again in over his head in a story of lies, ambition, and lethal consequences.
A veteran bad boy with a guilty conscience, Xander has played villain and romantic antihero more times than audiences can count. But lately, he's positioned himself squarely at the center of the soap's most explosive corporate and family showdown.
Throughout the past few months, Days fans have witnessed Xander achieve new career highs through his partnership with Philip Kiriakis to consolidate Titan Industries with DiMera Enterprises.
It seemed to be a power play aimed at finally giving Xander the respect and legitimacy he's been gunning for all this time, especially after last year's bombshell revelation that Victor Kiriakis was his father.
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But Salem is never short on its surprises, and now Xander's hard-won gains are threatened on all fronts.
Vivian Alamain is back and is determined to bring him down. Someone is keeping a vital secret from him about Victor's will, and his political alliance with Philip may be even weaker than he realizes on Days of Our Lives.
Current plot dynamics involving Xander Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives
Xander and Philip's acquisition of DiMera Enterprises could not have happened at a better time. EJ DiMera was in a coma, and Kristen was busy dealing with her issues, so the Kiriakis cousins were able to seize the opportunity and merge their family business with their arch-nemesis.
But while it made them bosses in the business, it also made them big targets, particularly for Vivian Alamain.
Vivian's premature release from prison caused eyebrows to rise, and her appearance in Salem already caused havoc in her wake. She's not satisfied with the corporate setup and has been particularly critical of Xander.
She feels that she deserves a larger stake in Titan, and if she cannot have it, she's quite happy to use intimidation, or worse, to impose it on her.
There is additional speculation that Vivian might even be the one responsible for EJ's shooting, which was around the time that she came back.
With her history, the timing is nothing but suspicious. Aided by the subtext tension is Philip's enormous secret that he is keeping from Xander.
The letter that promised Xander a share of Titan, supposedly written by Victor, was a forgery.
Philip, Sarah Horton, and Alex Kiriakis are in on the secret, but they have opted not to let Xander in on the truth. If that ruse comes out, it will blow the business between the two cousins and send Xander on his way.
In the meantime, Gabi Hernandez's company, Gabi Chic, will be next if corporate politics catches up with her.
Now that Gabi has started dating JJ Deveraux and she herself is being investigated as the prime suspect for EJ's shooting, she might not be in a position to ward off a hostile takeover.
Whether Xander and Philip target her company or not, it might just add to another layer of chaos in an already volatile situation on Days of Our Lives.
More about Xander Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives
Xander Kiriakis has had one of the most conflicted storylines on Days of Our Lives since his entry in 2015.
Xander was initially brought into existence as a dangerous smuggler and hard-case enforcement enforcer and engaged in quite a few off-the-books projects, such as diamond smuggling and attempted murder.
He's a villain and hero throughout the years, and usually at once. His fling with Sarah Horton portrayed him more humanely, as did his friendship with Maggie Horton.
Being revealed in 2023 as Victor Kiriakis's actual biological son deepened his character. That development rewrote his motives: Xander was no longer a thug struggling to win table scraps; he was an heir deserving his rightful place at the table.
Beneath his crime background, however, a large number of fans have come to support Xander. Paul Telfer can navigate the tightrope between the charm and threat of his character, transforming Xander from a straightforward villain into a cult antihero figure.
Fans can watch Days of Our Lives on Peacock.
