On the Monday, June 29 and Tuesday, July 1 episodes of Peacock’s Days of Our Lives, Jacob Martinez was introduced in scenes as the new Javi Hernandez. The actor finally made his on-screen debut as the successor in the part to Al Calderon.

In the story on Monday, we meet nuJavi sitting at the Brady Pub when his ex Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) walks in and it turns out they both came to the pub to get a chicken soup order for Chanel, and shared how they both offered to babysit Trey while she undergoes chemo.

The two have a banal chit-chat, when things take a small turn when Leo asks Javi how things are going with his new boyfriend Gus (Michael Ocampo), since the two live and work together, but Javi ain’t playing this game, and shuts Leo down.

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JAVI REFLECTS ON HIS PAST AND LOOK TO HIS FUTURE

Later as Javi and Gus make out with each other while on duty at the hospital, Leo happens to wander by trying to have someone get him home from slipping on some slime earlier and taking a little fall at the Brady Pub. Gus offers to take him home, but Leo turns him down.

Then on today’s episode, we see Jacob Martinez getting more to say in a monologue of sorts when talking one-one-one with Gus at their place with Gabi.

Javi reflects on the difficult time he had with his mother, once she found out he was gay and how she could never accept him. He went on to say that once his mother died, he felt free. He tells Gus he feels bad that back in Texas, he always wanted to be with him. The way his life went at the time, instead he wound up having a child with Silvia, who gave birth to their beloved child, Solana, who tragically died.

Later, Gus questions Javi’s feelings for Leo. Next, Javi pulls Gus in for a kiss to show him he is all about him right now and the two head off to the bedroom.

So, what did you think of Jacob Martinez’s debut as Javi? What were your impressions? Do you like his take so far on Javi? Do you want to see Leo back with Javi, or Javi making things work with Gus, or do you care at this point at all? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.

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.

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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.

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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?

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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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