Days Of Our Lives
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: John Does His Final Act of Heroism to Give Bo a Chance at Life; Stephen Nichols & Mary Beth Evans Break Our Hearts
In one of the finest episodes of Days of our Lives in a long time, the series legacy heroes, John Black and Bo Brady, are both at a crossroads.
By the end of the Friday May 23rd cliffhanger, their two lives hang in the balance, and in what had been promised by head writers, Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford, and executive producer, Ken Corday, the soap opera would craft an exit befitting the legacy of John and its portrayer the late Drake Hogestyn. The story perfectly intersects the lives of Bo (Peter Reckell) and John and their best friend, Steve, played heartbreakingly by Stephen Nichols.
As it begins, Hope (Kristian Alfonso) is at Bo’s bedside wishing him happy 40th wedding anniversary as this was the date that they got married in 1985, and we flashback to their London wedding ceremony. In the present, Bo has been given his last rites. Ciara (the returning Victoria Konefal) arrives to be with her mother and father, and sits at Bo’s bedside remembering special moments with her dad when she was growing up (which included flashbacks of a young Ciara played by Lauren Bowles).
Courtesy/Peacock
KAYLA INFORMS MARLENA OF JOHN’S NEW MISSION TO SAVE BO
Meanwhile, Marlena (Deidre Hall) visits Kayla’s (Mary Beth Evans) office at the hospital and Kayla learns that John didn’t return home and go directly to see Marlena. He made a pit stop to help Steve in their quest to get the drug to save Bo. Kayla explains the situation to Marlena and how they just need a single dose of the medication and all they went through, and then Kayla says to Marlena that they both know how Bo is like a brother to both men. Next, we get a flashback of Bo telling his sister, that she can always count on him.
In the present, with tears in her eyes, Kayla recalls the countless times that Bo, John and Steve have stepped up and saved them. Kayla worries this time Bo won’t be able to be saved in time and she will lose her brother. Kayla reassures Marlena that John will finish his mission with Steve and be back to her in no time.
Photo: JPI
BO TRAVELS TO SALEM IN HIS MIND
Back in Bo’s hospital room (which is unclear where he is exactly), while Ciara remembers moments in her life with her dad, Bo is transported to Horton Town Square and eventually to the Brady Pub, where he sees Steve and Kayla holding hands and talking, but he is locked out of the pub and can’t get to them – which is the analogy that Bo is trying to get home to those he loved, but he’s still unable to wake up out of his coma as death looms.
Photo: NBC
DISABLING THE SECURITY SYSTEM
Now outside in an alley, Dr. Russell (Michael Dietz) meets John who begins to help Steve and Shawn (Brandon Beemer) to try to trick the security system of the meth lab so they can get inside and look for a vial of Versavix. Suddenly, Hope (Kristian Alfonso) has joined them just in time when they learn that there is a two-part security system. Hope cuts the wires and disables one system and John disables the other. Next, John, Hope and Dr. Russell enter the lab. Hope asked Dr. Russell to come with them to identify and locate the drug.
Photo: JPI
IN THE WAREHOUSE LAB
There is a person in an unresponsive state on the floor which could be Asher. Hope, John and Dr. Russell try to get in and get out but no such luck. Russell spots the Versavix, but Asher jumps up and attacks Dr. Russell from behind. Hope grabs the drugs as Asher gets into a fight with the doctor and suddenly smoke is filling up the lab. As Asher pulls a knife to kill Russell, John saves the day as he get into a fight with Asher, as Hope gets Dr. Russell out. When she tries to go back, the warehouse is now engulfed in flames.
Later, the firefighters arrive and say they found one survivor and wheel out a badly burned John, who has in his hand the vial of Versavix to save Bo! Shawn gives it to Hope to hurry and rescue his dad.
Photo: JPI
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LIVES ON THE LINE
At University Hospital, Kayla tells Marlena that there was an explosion and John has been seriously injured. Hope and Shawn arrive in Bo’s room and tell Ciara they have secured the drug, Hope tells Bo to fight, and how fitting would it be for him to awake with this being their 40th wedding anniversary? Next, Hope, Ciara and Shawn recite the Lord’s prayer as Bo is being administered the sepsis drug as one last ditch effort to save his life.
Courtesy/Peacock
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL WAITING AREA
In the moment of the episode, Steve tells Dr Russell the man who attacked him is dead and shared that John not only saved Dr Russell’s life but also his life’s work. In a surprise move, Steve hands the doctor all of the vials of the drug. An emotional Steve says, John protected them with his body. Steve tells Dr. Russell that he must continue his life-saving work, especially because John put his life on the line for it. Once alone, Steve breaks down in tears. He is wracked with guilt over John’s condition and the thought of losing his best friend.
Courtesy/Peacock
Marlena is now John’s beside. Steve enters the room and stands by Marlena’s side. Then, in a perfect moment, Steve says that Stefano DiMera may have called himself the Phoenix, but he had nothing on John Black. Then, DAYS flashes back to John’s origin story, his many identities, the moment he looks at himself in the mirror and calls himself “John Black” – all from the decades of scenes featuring Drake Hogestyn.
Back in the present, John whispers, “I love you, Doc.” First, Marlena is overjoyed to hear his voice, but it soon becomes life-altering as John’s heart monitor flatlines. Kayla runs in and says he’s coding. Steve tries to get Marlena out of the room, but she calls out to her husband that she is right here with him.
While everyone was excellent in the episode, nothing was more gut-wrenching than Stephen Nichols performance as Steve breaks down after John saved the day for Bo, as well as Mary Beth Evans remembering what the love of her brother Bo means to her. It looks like in the coming two weeks viewers will be reaching for the hankies more often than not. Stay tuned.
So, what did you think of how John was a hero one last time in order to save Bo and others with a life-saving drug? What was your favorite moment from the episode? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
I didn’t love it. I would’ve preferred a stand alone story for Drake. Something focused on John and his family instead of another couple’s return.
Your reply is the first, and it’s negative. Congratulations.
Loved it all except the meth lab scenes, which seemed rushed with bad direction and editing.
I like how Bo’s return and John’s departure are intertwined, it’s true to character and soap opera.
I’m looking forward to all the returns focusing on John. And hopefully, I see less ship wars. Days is an ensemble. No character and couple should be isolated. Hand over your soap fan card if you think otherwise.
Stop the jealousy.
I agree with much of what you’ve stated. But I’m not understanding the “jealousy.”
And for the record, you started off with a “negative” comment yourself.
Many John and Jarlena fans are upset that Bo has returned and John is departing, that their storylines are intertwined.
My previous post was positive followed by a negative, and is positive overall.
Days did a good job, but it could’ve been better. The heart of the story excelled and will be a must to watch this week.
Most ridiculous part of the episode?
Hope somehow being able to get from Bo’s hospital facility “somewhere in Europe” to a meth lab in Salem within minutes. And then back again, with Shawn along for the ride.
When did Salem get Starfleet transporter beams??
I started watching Days back in 1975 and watched it faithfully until it switched to peacock station. My husband and I are on social security now and we are lucky to be able to afford just the basic cable stations we are offered. It’s really hard for me to hear all the things that are happening to the Horton’s,the Black’s and everyone else and not being able to watch it. They all became my family for an hour each day Monday through Friday,at 12:30 to 1:30 each day. I wish it never moved to peacock at all.
Streaming is cheaper than cable. You don’t need cable to stream, you only need internet service. If you don’t fully understand streaming, reach out to someone who can help you.
True on the low cost of streaming but my internet connection is 100 a month
Alana Larson must have internet service to be able to log on to Michael Fairman’s site.
Or at least a data plan on her smartphone.
If it didn’t move to Peacock, it would’ve been cancelled outright.
I understand fixed incomes aren’t easy, but there’s usually a promo out there to get the commercial version for a reasonable rate. Someone can gift it to you as well for a birthday or Christmas.
I am a longbtome viewer and this was an incredible episode of Days. The actors were extraordinary and the way they intertwined John and Bo’s storyline and making John the ultimate hero one last time was so meaningful and appreciated. This honored the legacy of Johm always being the hero and helping others. All these Days legends uniting to save Bo was brilliant.
I agree 100%. All these negative comments are making me sick
How long are they gonna drag John’s death out
Well they tape about 9 months in advance ; and also changed a couple of the head writers since Drake’s death in real life!! So there were alot of time related delays!! I think they did justice to the character and now comes “tearful” good-bye scenes with close friends and family members!! I’ve stocked up on my Kleenex supply !!!
I really agree with you! Well said! I love Days and think the new writers are doing a great job! It’s good to see the past characters again. I will really miss John as he was one of my favorites. I’m anxious to see what happens in Salem in the future. ❤️
I realize that Days is taped a year in advance, however with the death of Drake l did not feel it was respectful to Drake and his family for it to take so long to honor his memory. I feel one special episode could have been taped and inserted dedicated to his memory instead of a long drawn out storyline.
BS!
That couldn’t work. Say that you rush one episode within a month. Then, do you suddenly go back to having everyone think John is alive for the next 8 months?
I’ve been watching days of our lives since I was in hight school in the 70. I would come home and watch it with my grandmother and mom. Once I got married I got my husband hooked. We got peacock station just to watch Days of Our Lives. My children make fun of us say we talk about the characters like if they were people we know. Lol
More casting news from Days of Our Lives, and for now, the soap opera seems to be breaking their new additions to Salem via their Instagram account. Now comes word and picture on August 24, that General Hospital and The Young and the Restless alum Brytni Sarpy has joined DAYS!
The Peacock soap opera’s Instagram account, showed a photo of Sarpy standing in front of her dressing room in the hallways of Days of Our Lives’ studios. The caption read, “Someone new is checking into Salem… Welcome Brytni Sarpy to the Days of our Lives family! Stay tuned.”
The casting of Sarpy comes on the heels of the announcement of Sydney Malakeh coming to the show in September, and earlier this year General Hospital favorite, Sofia Mattsson (ex-Sasha Gilmore, GH) joining the show in a mystery role when she began taping back around the end of March of this year. Now Sarpy is the “mystery role” category too!
In addition, the Days of Our Lives social team dropped a video ditty of the cast spoofing Love Island, where Sarpy appears as the new “bombshell” of the villa. Other cast members such as Rob Scott Wilson (Alex), Abigail Klein (Abigail), Casey Moss (JJ), Sal Stowers (Lani), Paul Telfer (Xander) and Linsey Godfrey (Sarah) pop-up in it too, among others.
Photo: JPI
SOAP HOPPING
Soap fans first met Sarpy when she played Valerie Spencer, the niece of Luke (Anthony Geary) and Bobbie Spencer (Jackie Zeman) on General Hospital back in 2015. She made her final appearance on the series back in 2019 to join the cast of The Young and the Restless in the role of Elena Dawson.
Elena was introduced as a love interest for Devon Winters (Bryton James). She later cheated on him with his cousin Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic). Elena began to be back-burned by 2023 with Sarpy’s last on-screen appearance in Genoa City in November of 2024.
Due to Days of Our Lives nearly year in advance tape schedule, viewers will have to wait till sometime in the early summer of 2027 to see Brytni’s arrival in Salem.
So, happy to see Brytni Sarpy has landed another soap role? Now that she is at DAYS, who you think she might be playing and paired with? Put on your casting director hats and let us know via the comment section.
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Days Of Our Lives
Sydney Malakeh Joins the Cast of ‘Days of Our Lives’ in Mystery Role: Who Do You Think She’s Playing?
There’s a new gal coming to Salem, or is she new and a recast? That’s what inquiring minds from Days of Our Lives fans have been trying to figure out since the Peacock soap opera dropped an Instagram video heralding actress‘ Sydney Malakeh‘s arrival in Salem.
The soap did confirm that viewers will first see Malakeh on the September 9 episode. In the video, Malakeh is seen going set to set from her dressing room and in to the halls of Days of Our Lives studios.
What we do know id that Sydney has been acting professionally for 6 years and had appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Apple TV’s Shrinking and the HBO Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Plenty of Malakeh’s DAYS castmates jumped into the comment thread with positive emojis symbols or written excitement including: Paul Telfer (Xander), Linsey Godfrey (Sarah), Sal Stowers (Lani), Conner Floyd (Chad), Eric Martsolf (Brady) and Christie Clark (Carrie) and more now that fans will finally see her on-air. Since Days of Our Lives tapes 10-11 months in advance, Sydney would have started taping the show sometime back in 2025.
DAYS fans think perhaps because the actress’ name is Sydney that she might be playing the grown-up daughter of Sami and EJ. That character hasn’t bee on the canvas since 2021.
So, who do you think Sydney Malakeh might be playing on Days of Our Lives? Drop your casting director thoughts via the comment section below.
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Days Of Our Lives
Peacock Hikes Subscription Rates for Fourth Time in Four Years; ‘Days of Our Lives’ Fans Sound Off
While recently the streaming service Peacock reported turning a profit for its first time since its infancy, now comes word that the company is raising their prices for all customers, and in some cases it stared today on August 18.
The news of the subscription rate increases marks the fourth time the NBCUniversal streaming platform has done so in four years. So, on August 18, Peacock is increasing the prices for new or returning subscribers and customers, while current subscribers will see the rate increase on or after September 17 depending on their billing cycle when they initially signed up.
Here is the new pricing to follow along: Peacock Premium (which includes ads) will be $12.99/month, up two dollars from $10.99; Peacock Premium Plus will be $19.99/month, up three dollars increase from $16.99; and the Peacock Select tier (which includes current and past seasons of NBC and Bravo shows but excludes movies, live sports and Peacock originals) will increase a dollar from $7.99 to $8.99/month.
Photo: JPI
SUBSCRIBERS CONTINUE TO PAY MORE ACROSS THE STREAMER LANDSCAPE
It was back in June that the streamer reported that aid subscribers were up to 48 million adding a 2 million net gain during Q2 in of 2026. The subscription price hikes are rampant now in the entertainment streaming industry where over the last two years for example, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV, Paramount+ have all raised their fees to consumers.
Peacock’s tier-levels feature not only Days of Our Lives, but reality hits such as The Traitors and Love Island USA, Bravo series, and a vault of Saturday Night Live, Law & Order, The Real Housewives franchise, and Below Deck episodes as well. Pecock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers have access to sports and live events, as well.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES SUBSCRIBERS HAD A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR PEACOCK
As Days of Our Lives fans know, the soap opera moved from NBC to the streamer back in September of 2022 after 57 years on broadcast television. When the news hit X on the price increase, DAYS fans had a lot to say about it. Here are just a few of the comments below:
“I can’t believe Peacock and can’t come to a deal with Cordya to air old episodes of #Days. That alone would bring a ton of subscribers,” to If Peacock actually cared about #Days of Our Lives, gave the show the budget it needs for better sets, cameras, background actors and enough time to tell proper stories, I wouldn’t mind paying more. If the money actually showed on screen, the higher price would be worth it,” to “I will continue to pay for a Peacock subscription as long as #Days is on it, but did we know there was another price increase coming?” and more.
So, what do you think of the new price hike increase to watch Days of Our Lives and your other favorite shows and events on Peacock? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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