Days of Our Lives sees Kate Roberts’ (Lauren Koslow) son, Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier), was severely beaten by his brother Xander Cook Kiriakis (Paul Telfer). We know that this fierce mama will do anything for her children. So, will Kate push to have Xander charged with attempted murder?

Days of Our Lives: Xander’s Handiwork

Kate suspects that Xander beat up Philip so severely that he was hospitalized with internal injuries, bleeding, multiple organ failure. Come on, we all know Xander intended to kill Philip. We heard Xander tell Philip, “Nothing will save you.” And we all know he’s killed people before for less. So, it’s really just a miracle that Xander didn’t beat Philip to death in the moment and left him barely alive.

Of course, Kate freaked out when she found Philip lying on the floor covered in blood and bruises. Kate already told the cops she thinks Xander the one who beat Philip with intent to kill him. Although the cops initially hauled Xander in for questioning, they turned around and let him go.

Days of Our Lives: Will Kate Push for Attempted Murder Charges Against Xander?

But will Kate push the Salem PD to charge Xander with attempted murder? They probably could have taken DNA swabs from either his battered knuckles or swabbed the victim, Philip, and found traces of Xander’s blood in Philip’s wounds. That would be pretty clear. That would be some rock-solid evidence.

Why Xander Attacked Philip: The Versix Drug and Titan Industries

If you’re not current on Days of Our Lives recent episodes, just to catch you up, Xander confronted Philip about stealing the drug Versix that could possibly save their brother Bo Brady (Peter Reckell)’s life. Not only that, but Xander said Philip also jeopardized Titan Industries’ chances of profiting off this purchase of University Hospital because the drug was developed there. So, there were a couple of reasons that he wanted it.

Xander’s past murderous mercenary skills kicked in. He sucker punched Philip and then he repeatedly kicked him while he was down. To his credit, Philip was actually trying to impress Xander and get back in his good graces when he stole the drug. Philip just wanted to steal one dose to save Bo. He thought he would win some forgiveness from Xander, but everything went to heck because Kevin was almost caught, and it all just kind of backfired.

Xander Discovers Sarah Horton’s Deception

Of course, Xander was shocked when badly injured Philip whispered Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey)’s name. But then Philip couldn’t say more because he passed out before he could expose her duplicity.

When Xander realized Philip couldn’t say more, he left his brother there struggling to breathe. But Xander heard Philip say Sarah’s name, and that was enough. It got his wheels turning. Of course, moments later, Kate came into the Salem Inn room, found her son on the bed fighting for his life, and she immediately called for help.

Sarah Confronts Xander After Philip’s Beating

After Sarah helped treat Philip’s awful injuries at the hospital and get him stabilized, Sarah knew she had to go confront Xander. It was one thing to see Philip beaten, but then Sarah heard from police commissioner Jada Hunter (Elia Cantu) that Kate suspects that Xander was the one that beat him nearly to death and caused Philip’s life-threatening injuries.

So Sarah went home ready to chew Xander a new one. But guess what? By then he had done the math and realized Sarah’s been lying to his face for months and betrayed him by keeping Philip’s dirty forgery secret. Sarah did admit to her deception, but Xander didn’t come completely clean about beating Philip nearly to death. But he and Sarah both know he did it.

Sarah and Xander’s Explosive Breakup

By the end of their bitter war of words, Sarah demanded Xander leave the house, even though he tried to kick her out because it’s the Kiriakis mansion. He wanted to take little Victoria, but Sarah vetoed that. She told Xander (Paul Telfer) she thought his criminal days were behind him, but she’s back to seeing Xander as pretty much a thug.

Brady Black and Alex Kiriakis Suspect Xander

Meanwhile, Kate is struggling, and she’s terrified Philip will die. We saw Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) and Alex Kiriakis (Robert Scott Wilson) visit Philip. They also suspect this could have been Xander’s handiwork. Brady had a flashback to Xander threatening to beat him with a bat until he was in a wheelchair when he thought he had run over Sarah. Alex keeps hoping for the best, but he knows it really looks bad for Xander.

Philip’s Critical Condition and Kate’s Quest for Justice

Philip could be touch-and-go because these internal injuries are really serious, life-threatening. Of course, Kate wants Xander punished for trying to kill her son. We know Kate would do anything to protect her children on Days of Our Lives. So, maybe Xander is formally arrested before Philip wakes up. I don’t know.

Philip’s Crimes Could Land Him in Statesville

But don’t forget, Xander can turn around and rat out Philip. So, there’s an arrest warrant waiting on him when and if he wakes up. For now, the cops have let Xander go, and they may wait until Philip wakes up to see who he says attacked him, even though everybody is very certain it’s Xander. He’s got their bruised, bloody knuckles and a history of violence, all pointing in that direction.

I personally suspect when Philip wakes up, he might argue and disagree with his mom, Kate. She’ll be out for Xander’s blood, but that could be risky for Philip. The cops don’t know he committed fraud on the encouragement of Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel), forgery, perjury, so much.

Who Else Knows About Philip’s Crimes?

Lots of people know it, and they could give testimony and probably wouldn’t lie under oath for him. They are Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein), Alex, Sarah, and Maggie Horton Kiriakis (Suzanne Rogers) as well. They are all accessories after the fact by keeping quiet and helping cover up Philip’s crime.

Heartbroken Xander Leaves Salem

So Xander is devastated about leaving his family home, leaving Victoria behind. He got in one last insult to Sarah on the way out. He said Victoria is the only thing that matters to him anymore. So, he is done with Sarah as of now. He feels her betrayal is unforgivable.

Will Philip Accuse Xander or Protect His Brother?

But will Philip wake up and point a shaky finger at Xander so Kate can push for the maximum sentence for the brute that beat her precious son? I don’t know. I kind of doubt that Philip will accuse Xander.

He might even lie and say someone broke into his room. Philip may say it was some random burglar or something. As much as Xander hates him, I feel like Philip loves Xander still. And really, this beating he gave Philip was mostly about Xander’s hurt feelings.

Bo’s Fate Could Impact Philip and Xander

Then there’s the situation with their other brother, Bo. This week, Ciara Brady (Victoria Konefal) and Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso) and everybody think Bo’s about to die. He gets last rites from a priest by the end of the week, and it still looks dire into next week. So, depending on when Philip wakes up, he and Xander may both think, “Okay, our brother Bo, is dead, dying, just about to go.” That could be another reason for them to hit pause, consider burying the hatchet.

Plus, Philip and Xander will then find out that Bo survived, but John Black (Drake Hogestyn) died a hero so that Bo could live, presuming he gets whatever is in the lab they want before it blows up. So, it may give both Philip and Xander some perspective about forgiveness.

Kate’s Impossible Choice: Justice for Philip or Protecting Xander?

Kate, though, is absolutely going to want to see Xander go to prison and pay for attacking her baby boy, Philip. Since Xander just lost his wife, he may be feeling vengeful, or he may be desperate for someone to sympathize with him and comfort him, and Philip might offer that to his brother. He really does care about him.

So, it’s going to be hard if Xander loses his freedom on top of this Sarah betrayal and walking out on her and his daughter. So that’s what Kate wants. If she has any say in it, it is that Xander loses his freedom. But if she tries that with Xander, he may promise her Philip will be in Statesville in a cell next to him for the fraud and the forgery and the perjury if Kate pushes it.

So, can Philip’s mom find a way to make Xander pay while protecting Philip? Doesn’t seem likely because lots of people know his crime, and he probably should do some time, as should Dandy Xandy. So why would Xander accept a prison sentence and let Philip go free for his crime? So as much as Kate may want to see him pay, I don’t know how she’s going to make it happen without Philip also paying.