Days of our Lives spoilers for Thursday, August 21 prove that truth is a rare commodity in Salem. Kristen and Marlena put protecting Rachel over… pretty much anything else, while Sarah urges Sophia to come clean about her own lies.

Kristen Pleads With EJ

As Soap Hub predicted back on August 13, EJ’s (Dan Feuerriegel) shooter, the “she” his conscious mind wouldn’t allow him to recall, is… Rachel (Alice Halsey). Considering it’s not even the brat’s first attempt at murder—she was a party to killing Ava (Tamara Braun) so her Mommy and Daddy could reunite and live happily ever after—no one should really be surprised. Yet, Kristen (Stacy Gaiduk) still is.

She intends to protect her little darling from the consequences of this action, the same way she protected her from all the previous ones ( without realizing that perhaps rewarding Rachel’s bad behavior might lead to even more bad behavior; that’s just an old wives’ tale). Kristen begs EJ not to use Rachel to save Johnny (Carson Boatman). Surely, her daughter is much more important than his son, and EJ should realize that!

Meanwhile, Marlena (Deidre Hall) tries to keep Rachel safe. But we can only hope she chooses to do it in a more psychologically healthy way.

Do the Right Thing

Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) told Sophia (Rachel Boyd) the truth when she explained that she can’t divulge Sophia’s private medical information… unless she believes Sophia is about to harm herself or someone else. But Sarah also thinks it would be good for Sophia to unburden herself and share her secret with her family, and with Tate (Leo Howard), who is also suffering. Brady (Eric Martsolf) tries to comfort his son, but Tate won’t rest until he meets his daughter. Which is where Sophia’s honesty would come in handy.

Justice Be Served

Leo (Greg Rikaart) is in charge of the jury deliberation for Johnny’s trial. Johnny is doomed. As is the justice system.