Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI, Peacock screenshot

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Probably no one was more surprised than me to realize that somewhere along the way, I’d become invested in Days of Our Lives‘ Leo and Javi. Leo’s past is more than checkered, and even his “redemption” into a more well-rounded character treated him more as comic relief than viable leading man. But then he met Javi, and Gabi’s cousin really did bring out the best in Leo.

And maybe even more surprising is how much the viewers seem to agree, since our Facebook question asking whether folks preferred Leo with Dimitri or Javi got thousands of comments (seriously), overwhelmingly in favor of Javi. Dimitri has his fans, but he and Leo were a tumultuous fling, while Javi has been a patient, building love. And that’s why Javi’s been so darn frustrating from the moment the wedding ended!

First off, he seemed angry at Leo, of all people, that his ex showed up with a tale of woe. Then he ran off and got drunk (which, while not mature, is an understandable reaction) and just kept pushing Leo away every chance he got. He ignored Leo’s insistence that he loved Javi and wanted to be with him and only him and just kept insisting that he didn’t think Leo really knew his own mind, so Leo had to go sort this out.

By the time Javi just about forced Leo leave and go test the waters with Dimitri, I wanted to throw things at the TV. It’s like he’s daring Leo to start things back up with Dimitri.

I get it: This is a soap, and as refreshing as it was to actually allow a Salem wedding to conclude before causing problems, there was no way in hell drama wasn’t heading Leo and Javi’s way. But Javi’s reaction to all of this has been downright maddening. As Starhuny1 wrote over on Reddit, “Javi’s reaction did seem pretty over the top for his character. He’s always been one of the more reasonable, thoughtful adult-like characters.”

Exactly! So wouldn’t it make more sense for Leo, of all people, to be the more conflicted? Javi could insist he has faith in Leo, while the one caught between two men does the actual waffling. Yeah, this is a bit of a different twist on the love-triangle story, but it’s not necessarily a welcome one.

Because there’s only so long you can push someone and insist that they don’t mean what they say they mean before their resolve starts to waver. Javi already pushed Leo over to Dimtri, who has absolutely no compunction in throwing himself at his ex. If Javi doesn’t start listening to what his near-husband is saying and get out of his own head, the only one to blame when things don’t work out will be himself. And maybe Gwen. But her, we expect this from!