Brandon Barash Confirms Days Return

That's good. I didn't mind him in the role at all.

Are Chad and Abigail leaving again?

They've never known what to do with these characters after they're together; that's why we have the rinse and repeat format of constantly breaking up characters, only to put them back together ad nauseam.

I get the impression, based on the terms Kate Mansi has returned to the show the last couple of years, not on contract, but strictly recurring, and often on a short term basis, that she may not be interested in sticking around Days long term. I'm not entirely sure Billy's heart is in it nearly as much as it used to be. I've seen comments about how he seems to be kind of phony it in more than he used to, and I don't think they're entirely wrong in that observation; that they're giving him much to prove otherwise.

I was wondering when they were bringing Stefan back; it seems like it was ages ago word came out that he'd be back eventually - stupid production lag.... I wasn't watching last time he was on, so I'm only familiar with the character before the recast, but I always heard good things about him after the change was made.
I suspect he'll be the new Stefano host, perhaps permanently; which I don't think would be a bad thing. I was wondering if they were going to go that route for a while now, since obviously they weren't going to make it permanent with Steve; then they have Stevano plotting some contingency with Rolph - which they may have been meant to allude to the self-destruct feature, but I think that was a red herring - and now the Stefan actor is teasing the character's identity.

I hope that doesn't mean Chad and Abigail will be broken up!

I'd be ok with Abigail leaving to visit JJ or family or whatever. I like Chad and Abigail as a couple but also independently. I think they are interesting characters on their own. Chad has a lot to do without Abigail but I do love their relationship. For all the nonsense they have gone through with the mind control, split personalities, etc, they have done a good job at building them as a "super couple" which I like. I can't really think of any of the younger couples in recent memory who have gained that status. I just really like Billy Flynn as an actor. I think he's very relatable in the role and down to earth. Natural. I know a lot of people on other boards have said his "stuttering" over lines or whatever is an acting choice he makes and it's obnoxious but I actually find it makes Chad more like a real person. no one in real life ever speaks without pausing or making mistakes unless they are reading a speech!

Regarding super couples, they have never been able to make Brady, Eric, or Nicole stick with anyone long enough to make them a super couple. I don't think Eric and Nicole are a super couple at all. Maybe Brady and Nicole together would be but they haven't been together very long ever in their relationship. They are much better as friends. I think Brady and Theresa had the chance to become a super couple but then Jen Lilley left the show and they INSIST on pairing him with Kristen which I cannot stand!!!

I'm so glad Kate came back. It wasn't that I disliked... the actor who's name I've since forgotten, but she was just too vanilla.

I will be a Broe fan to the day I die. I know they get (and probably deserve) some flack for all the singing they did back in the day (as a theatre/musical nerd, I didn't mind too much, though sometimes it was weird), but Brady's a completely different character/actor now and I don't think would be nearly as much their dynamic now.
I agree about Nicole and Brady being better as friends. I could never get on board with them as a couple. I can't even remember what the exact reasons were for her going after Brady; I think it was back somewhere around the time she was married to Victor and/or tried to kill Victor, but it was all a big contrivance because she and Kyle Lowder were together at the time. It just never made sense coming off of that, no matter how many times they keep trying to put them back together who since recasting Brady.

I briefly dug the nostalgia factor in putting Eric and Nicole back together, but now I'm completely indifferent to them. I was a little disappointed they never allowed him to go back to being a priest; it was so predictable, even before Kristen screwed him over, that they were never going to keep him a priest long term. It was obvious they were going to find someway of undoing that and that it was just a temporary barrier between him and Nicole or any other love interest.