Days of Our Lives Spoilers for the Week of 1-05-26 Suggest 2026 Will Be Memorable For All The Wrong Reasons

It’s a new year in Salem, but it probably won’t be nearly as happy as Julie wants it to be.

In some ways, that makes sense. What’s a soap without drama?

Still, Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 1-05-26 suggest that some people’s New Year will get off to a miserable start, and one story in particular is more annoying than anything else.

Xander’s Bad Behavior Doesn’t Make Him and Sarah a Rootable Endgame

Xarah fans aren’t going to be happy that Brady and Sarah kiss again at their New Year’s celebration on Days of Our Lives during the week of 1-05-26.

I prefer Brady and Sarah, but all of these manipulations suggest they’re nothing more than a bump in the road to Xarah 3.0 (or is it 4.0? I’ve lost track of how many times this couple has gone in circles.)

Days of Our Lives always does this with my favorite couples.

They FINALLY get together, but it’s only to cause drama for a more popular pairing.

And in this case, making Xander the bad guy makes it even harder to root for him and Sarah to find their way back to each other despite how obvious it is that they’re end game.

On Days of Our Lives during the week of 1-05-26, Xander decides to fire Brady, and it’s most likely because Brady and Sarah are dating.

This is what we’re supposed to want? The abusive, controlling man getting his way and his victim forgiving him for ruining her more healthy relationship?

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This is almost as problematic as EJ raping Sami and that being the catalyst to “true love.”

The more Xander acts like this, the harder it is to want him ever to be in Sarah’s life again at all, even though he is the father of her baby.

Abuse is not love, and it is mind-boggling that the same show that did such a great job of showing Stephanie’s trauma as a domestic violence survivor can make Sarah’s “soul mate” so abusive that the relationship makes zero sense.

Sarah Will Find Love With Brady… Then Leave Him Later

Making Sarah and Brady a temporary obstacle to Sarah and Xander is bad enough — it’s hard to invest in a couple that isn’t given a real story because they’re just a plot point.

But it’s obvious where this is going: Sarah and Brady falling hard for each other, then Sarah realizing Xander is her true love, and Brady either returning to drugs and alcohol or to Kristen, his other addiction.

But for now, Brady looks way better than Xander — and there may be a silver lining to this story.

Months ago, Brady told Gabi that he didn’t want to work for Basic Black anymore but didn’t know what he wanted to do instead.

This was a far more interesting story for Brady, but unfortunately, it was abruptly dropped.

However, if Xander fires Brady for spurious reasons, that frees Brady to figure out what his life purpose is, reviving that forgotten arc.

Meanwhile, Kristen’s Decision Gets More Complicated…

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Kristen’s decision about Peter’s future is one of her strongest arcs in years, so let’s hope it doesn’t get silly or unrealistic now.

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 1-05-26 show Peter suddenly grabbing Kristen’s arm.

This is not just a reflex — it’s too strong for that, and it occurs when Kristen is not touching that arm.

Kristen had said she would leave it up to God whether Peter lived, so it’s not clear what this development means.

If Peter awakens, it seems that is evidence that he is supposed to live and that Kristen made the right decision.

However, if Peter awakens angry at Kristen and accuses her of betraying him and wanting him dead, that’s going to cause her heartache.

I’m not saying that Kristen should have pulled the plug in order to prevent this — EJ’s idea was gross, and I’m glad that the other DiMeras eventually realized it was wrong to cut Kristen out of the decision when she’s the actual next-of-kin.

However, Kristen already feels guilty about hitting Peter to stop him from hurting anyone, and if he turns around and makes her his worst enemy, that will break her.

Additionally, I don’t trust Days of Our Lives with these types of stories.

The show’s usual pattern is to start a realistic medical story and then turn it into supernatural nonsense or doppelganger silliness, and the way Peter grabs Kristen’s arm looks like more of the same.

That said, Peter is an interesting villain. He has a real psychological need that isn’t being met, and he deserves better than to be easily disposed of after a two-day appearance, 27 years after he was last seen.

I’m wishy-washy about this story because it could cross the line into unbelievable nonsense, and that would be so disappointing considering how well it’s working as a vehicle for turning Kristen into a gray character rather than a pure villain.

Meanwhile, What The Heck Is This Monkey Wrench In Javi and Leo’s Marriage?

I was relieved that Javi and Leo made it through their wedding before Dmitri showed up, but the marriage isn’t legal, so Dmitri’s return is obviously to cause drama for the married-but-not-married couple.

I’d like to have faith that DAYS isn’t going to break Leo and Javi up before the ink isn’t even dry on their marriage certificate, but you never know with this soap.

The only good news here is that Javi and Leo get the upper hand over Dmitri later in the week, so it’s likely that Dmitri’s efforts at breaking them up will fail — at least for now.

There is zero reason for this story, and even less for Leo to have any interest in Dmitri beyond flaunting his happiness and showing Dmitri what he threw away.

This storyline would be annoying with any couple, but it’s doubly so with the only gay couple currently on-screen.

The idea that Leo would work through all his self-doubt to immediately wonder if he married the wrong guy when his loser ex shows up reinforces stereotypes about gay men that don’t need to be reinforced, plus it’s the same problem as Sarah/Xander: mistreatment being framed as desirable.

Hopefully, Leo and Javi end up stronger than ever at the end of this.

Meanwhile, Theo will wake up, while Johnny and Chanel continue to have problems over Johnny’s attitude toward Chanel’s pregnancy. It’ll be interesting to find out where these stories go.

What do you think about how Days of Our Lives is launching its 2026 stories?
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If you enjoyed this article, check out our other soap opera coverage. You might also like our recent article about the Rachel Black story on Days of Our Lives.

These stories will air on Days of Our Lives during the week of 1-05-26, so be sure to watch daily to see how they turn out! New episodes drop on Peacock on weekday mornings at 6/5c.

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