On a dramatic Friday cliffhanger episode of Days of our Lives, several bombshells were in store for the characters of Salem.

Marlena (Deidre Hall), who is now on a ventilator following surgery and in critical condition, has her family struggling to hold it together and trying to will her to return to them, and it is not a good day for the man she loves, John Black (Drake Hogestyn).  He is dealing with the double-whammy of having the love of his life unable to breathe on her own, and the news that his son, Paul (Christopher Sean) crashed through a window saving Sami (Alison Sweeney) and trying to capture Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk).  Paul was taken to surgery too, and John is just overcome with grief.

In several heartbreaking scenes, John is gut-punched sitting vigil at Marlena’s bedside.  He tells the unconscious Marlena, that Paul was taken into surgery too, but he knows he is going to make it, and breaks down.  John begs Marlena to come back to him and open her eyes.  Eric (Greg Vaughan) comes in to lend support, but at first gets his head bitten off by John, who is beyond worried for his bride, and his son.

Photo Credit: NBC

Brady (Eric Martsolf) and Belle (Martha Madison) are in Paul’s hospital room talking about what a beautiful day this was supposed to be with the long-awaited marriage of John and Marlena, and how it all went south, and how their dad is going through so much anguish right now.  As Brady exits, Belle stays in Paul’s room and goes through some insurance paperwork.  She is for the shock of her life when she finds a DNR – ‘do not resuscitate’ order that Marlena must have filed as her wishes if something were to happen to her.

At the hospital, Will (Chandler Massey) is met by Lucas (Bryan Dattiilo) and Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin).   When alone with his dad, Will reveals he has regained his memory and remembers loving his father.  Lucas is overcome and says to him that he does not care if he is the new Will, or the old Will, he’s his Will.  It was a touching moment nicely played by Bryan Dattilo and Chandler Massey.  Later, when Will tells Lucas he remembers loving Sonny, he asks his dad for advice on how to handle things with Paul when he gets out of surgery.  Having gone through something similar with Adrienne and Justin where he ended up the odd man out, Lucas tells Will it’s better that Paul knows.

Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) has also come to the hospital and tells Lucas that Bonnie Lockhart (Judi Evans) is back in town and at the Salem PD.  He decides to go see her.  Once face-to-face with the woman who derailed him back to his addiction to booze, Bonnie informs him that he is the father of her child!

Courtesy/NBC

Will is now at Paul’s hospital bedside.  When he wakes up, Will thanks him for all his heroic actions and for saving his mom.  He then breaks the news to Paul that he has regained his memory.  You can see Paul is not necessarily happy about the news and knows it could be the end of the line for their relationship.  Will admits he remembers loving Sonny.  Paul asks what it means for them.

Finally, an emotional Belle sits by Marlena’s bedside in tears.  Eric comes in and says that the specialists will do everything they can do keep their mom alive.  Belle says they can’t do that and hands Eric that DNR document.

This episode featured a heartbreaking performance by Drake Hogesytn, who has given his all throughout the recent episodes, and showed why so many fans have loved the character of John Black for so many years, and his enduring love for Marlena.  Kudos also to Martha Madison, Greg Vaughan, and the aforementioned Bryan Dattilo and Chandler Massey for their work in key scenes.

So, what did you think about the story bombshells on Friday’s episode?  What did you think of the performances?  What do you think will happen next? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.