“The mayor’s got connections,” Harry confided. And we know they aren’t just political ones as Paulina likely dealt with some fairly shady people running her real estate empire. But still, the actress continued, “EJ is formidable.” And going up against a DiMera like him is always worrying for not just Paulina, but the actress!

“The first time I came up against EJ,” she recalled, “I said, ‘Oh God! Am I being written off? Are y’all killing me?’ They were laughing. I said, ‘I know I’m going to lose. They’re going to find me dead.’”

Paulina didn’t wind up dead, of course, but there’s still time, and that’s still a risk any time anyone crosses the DiMeras. Yes, these days, EJ tries to moderate himself somewhat in his revenge schemes (out of self-preservation, if nothing else) but he’s still incredibly dangerous.

This time around, Harry warns that EJ is definitely going to strike back “with something” and we’re pretty sure we know what that something is: Arnold. The problem is, no matter how calculating EJ may be, Arnold is, as his one time employer himself has said, a loose cannon.

He had no problem raping Sami back during his first turn as Rafe, and while EJ has, thankfully come to understand how horrible that is, it’s been clear from every interaction with Jada that Arnold lacks even that sliver of a moral center.

He bashed Rafe over the head without thinking of the consequences, and if EJ uses Arnold to take Rafe’s place and wreak vengeance on Paulina and Jada, there’s no telling what he could decide to do at the drop of a hat. If they don’t end up dead at EJ’s hands, the risk is still very much there with Arnold.

But worries or not, neither Paulina nor her portrayer are going to shrink in the face of danger. “It’s challenging being a woman going up against a man,” Harry admitted to SOD, “but I welcome the challenge.”

And we’re sure Paulina welcomes it, too! But maybe it’s time to beef up that mayoral security, just a tad…