The June 22 episode of Days of Our Lives reminded us all of why Deidre Hall is iconic in the role of Dr. Marlena Evans. Here we are 50 years later, and Marlena is still the heroine of the long-running soap opera, and Deidre remains one of the most most recognizable names in the history of soaps.

To pay tribute, and to look back at the life and times of Marlena, the story starts with Marlena flipping through a photo album of her with John (the late Drake Hogestyn) over the years. As she misses him dearly, she gets a knock on the door and its none other than John’s son, Paul Narita (Christopher Sean).

With Andrew (Colton Little) in Salem working on a case, he sits down with Marlena, who says she can’t believe its been fifty years since she first arrived in Salem! Cue: Deidre’s first scenes on DAYS when she finds Mickey Horton (the late John Clarke) playing chess against himself inside the mental institution she worked.

Courtesy/Peacock

THE FLASHBACKS OF MARLENA’S LIFE

From there, viewers definitely got the cliff notes version of the history of Marlena and entrenched within them, some of the biggest moments in Deidre’s enduring run.

Paul thinks he is looking at 70s, and early 80s Marlena while going through her scrapbook, but he is actually looking at her twin, Samantha (Andrea Hall). Cue: when Marlena confronted Samantha about impersonating her, and then later getting a call on her radio show from the Salem Strangler (Jack Coleman as Jake Kostichek) who killed Samantha thinking it was Marlena.

In the present, Belle (Martha Madison) has arrived at this time to meet up with Paul, unaware of this trip down memory lane. She wants to go over the findings in the chess board mystery Stefano willed to Marlena and John, in private with him, since Marlena previously said she wanted nothing to do with it.

Back to the history lesson, Marlena speaks highly of Don Craig and even though their marriage didn’t work out, she could find a path forward with the new love her life, Roman Brady. (Wayne Northrop however is never shown, possibly to keep the story focused on John as Roman for confusion sakes?)

Paul sees a photo of a young Carrie (Christie Clark) in the album and Marlena says she was such a godsend after losing her baby. In fact, Marlena says caring for Carrie prepared her for her having and raising her own twins, Eric and Sami. Cue: The twin visiting Marlena in the hospital.

JOHN AND MARLENA’S LOVE CONQUERED ALL

Then, in a way to get through and incorporate the wild storylines only Marlena could have been in, she tells Belle and Paul, she has been through so much in her life, how lucky she was to find John, and some of the most unbelievable experiences no one could imagine. Cue: Marlena possessed by the devil and levitating from the bed. Next, John confronting Marlena being the Salem Stalker, where she admits she killed Alice Horton, pretends she needs help, then pulls a gun on her beloved John!

The comment is made by Paul and Marlena, that she literally has been to hell and back and she could not have survived were it not for her beloved John. Cue the big emotional highpoint clips; The Pier Scene! Marlena steps out of the fog when John sees her from a distance. After believing she was dead for four years, here she was before him in one of the greatest reunions in a soap opera love story in history. What followed were other times of the life of times of Jarlena.

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MARLENA’S ‘GIFT’ FROM STEFANO HAS A NEW CLUE

When Marlena makes a brief exit to the other room, Belle fills in Paul on the chess set Stefano left her mother and the photo of the Lire. Paul said he will investigate. Marlena comes back into the room and overhears, and says to promise her if things get dangerous he will back off, she does not want anyone hurt by Stefano’s games.

As the episode comes to a conclusion, it’s just Belle and Marlena going through the photo album giggling about 70s hairstyles and all the memories. Belle speaks on the impact Marlena has had in everyone’s lives, and that she is both the heart of their family and the heart of Salem.

An end card comes up acknowledging Deidre Hall’s 50th anniversary as Marlena, and we fade to black.

So, what did you think of Marlena’s walk down memory lane? Were you happy to see the flashback clips utilized throughout? Were you touched by the scenes and the performance of Deidre Hall? Let us know what you thought of Deidre’s 50th anniversary episode via the comment section below.

The twisted topsy-turvy story of Sophia Choi has seemingly comes to an end on Days of our Lives or has it? Whatever the case, the Friday, May 1 episode of the Peacock streaming soap opera, and the episode proceeding it, gave actress Rachel Boyd a great exit story complete with Sophia writing a suicide note, that also gave DAYS a moment to end their Friday cliffhanger with a suicide prevention message. However, Sophia didn’t take her own life, it appears that Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) murdered her!

The unstable Sophia has been causing problems for everyone in Salem most notably, Rachel, Johnny, Chanel, Holly, Tate and more. So, the resolution of this story appears to be what the character deserves, but this is DAYS, and people have habit of coming back from the dead.

On Friday, after tying up Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman) in his apartment and turning on the gas, Sophia left him there to die. In the pick-up, we learn Johnny imagined the place blowing up with Chanel (Raven Bowens) inside it. When he came to in the reality of the situation, he is tied up and the gas fumes are on. Outside the apartment, Javi (Al Calderon) and another paramedic show up and he burst down the door to save Johnny.  Meanwhile, we see that Chanel is still at University hospital where she learns from Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) that she has a breast cancer malignancy.

Courtesy/Peacock

Sophia, who has just written the suicide note, which is part of the plot that Kristen set for her, is confronted by her mother. Eventually, after hearing Jada (Elia Cantu) and Brady (Eric Martsolf), she sneaks out her bedroom window. Next, she runs into Tate (Leo Howard) and Holly (Ashley Puzemis) at Horton Town Square. Holly goes in on Sophia: “We all know you shouldn’t have been let out of Bayview, you crazy bitch! Part of me wishes you really were dead!” Sophia calls her former friend horrible, blows her and Tate a kiss, and the makes her exit.

At this point, Sophia had been off her medication which would have helped balance her out, but she continues to be a deeply troubled teenager. Kristen had a concocted a plot to bring Sophia down once and for all for having her young daughter, Rachel, while in Bayview together, running drugs fo her to Holly. Viewers will recall the pills were actually Sophia’s own antipsychotic medication, which she had previously been swapped for Holly’s skin supplements. Rachel was unaware she was acting as a drug courier. That sets the stage for Kristen’s ultimate act of revenge.

In the final moments of the episode, Sophia had met up with Kristen on the bridge in the evening. She takes the gun out of her purse that Kristen gave her to kill Johnny, and throws it in the river, making Kristen believe she shot him, when instead she chose to gas him. Perhaps, believing someone would find him, since he is raising her child?

Courtesy/Peacock

Next, Sophia demands Kristen’s promised payment, for faking her suicide and so she can head to Paris to start a new life. Kristen directs Sophia to throw her shoes in the water, and get her fingerprints on the railing. With her back to Kristen, she is double crossed when Kristen picks up a rock, bashed Sophia in the head and had her male cronies toss the young teen into the river below. “I told you revenge was sweet,” announced Kristen!

Following the streaming of the pivotal episodes the official Days of our Lives Instagram account posted some behind the scenes photos of Stacy Haiduk and Rachel Boyd (you can see it below) which says, “Things took a dark turn at the pier for Sophia and Kristen, but behind the scenes, Rachel and Stacy kept the mood a little lighter. Continue watching the drama unfold, only on Peacock.”

If as it appears to be that Rachel Boyd has exited DAYS, she definitely went out delivering some haunting performances.  However, the just released Days of our Lives promo for the week of May 4, 2026, shows Kristen being visited by a bloodied Sophia. Is she hallucinating or did the girl survive?

Share your thoughts on Kristen’s plot to kill Sophia, and what you thought of the plot twist and the performances of Rachel Boyd leading up to it via the comment section below. But first, check out the promo for next week on DAYS.

 

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The final few moments of the Thursday, April 30 episode of Days of our Lives, will pave the way, to what just may be the end of Sophia Choi’s (Rachel Boyd) life, but not as you may think!

After an unhinged Sophia paid a visit to Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman), maced him in the eyes, knocked him out and then tied up to a chair, now conscious, she lets him know that she holds him responsible for all the trouble and trauma she has gone through from adopting her child, and her being sent to a mental institution.

So instead of the unregistered gun Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) gave her to finish off Johnny, Sophia sets up a plan to light candle, use nail polish remover and turn on the gas on the stove to ultimately create a mass explosion, which although Johnny pleaded to her not to that to all the innocent people inside his apartment building, she doesn’t seem to care.

Photo: JPI

FIERY FACE OFF

The plan was supposed to be, after she takes care of Johnny she will toss the gun in the Salem River, then focus on payback to Holly Jonas before leaving town to start a new life.

Now, Sophia makes her exit, leaving Johnny to be a few moments away from an explosion or gas inhalation, when Chanel (Raven Bowens) comes home after awaiting the results of her mammogram. She sees Johnny tied up, as he panics and tells her to put out the flame on the candle, things go awry, and a fire has begun and everything may go up in flames with Johnny and Chanel inside.

Photo: JPI

A BROKEN SOPHIA

Back in her room, Sophia breaks down after reading the social media comments about her, she planted, and then starts writing a suicide or farewell note which says. “I’m tired of begging for forgiveness for my mistakes. All I wanted was to move forward, to be loved and understood. But it’s clear that I was never going to get that. Holly Jonas said that I was dead to her. So, as her former BFF, I’m going to make her dream a reality.”

Photo: JPI

A DEADLY TRAP

Now, the fate of Johnny, Chanel and Sophia will be revealed on tomorrow’s May 1st cliffhanger, which may be the end of Sophia when she crosses paths with Kirsten at the bridge near the river. We do know Rachel Boyd is no longer appearing in the show credits section and is now off contract with the soap.

So, what did you think of the climatic final moments of DAYS? What did you think of the performance of Rachel Boyd as Sophia Choi? Let us know via the comment section.