Days Of Our Lives
DAYS Recap – July 8 – July 12th
Courtesy/NBC
As Kate, Gabi and Abe keep vigil; Daniel and Kayla bring Rafe out of his coma. The doctors explain that he may have trouble distinguishing reality from how his mind interpreted what happened while he was unconscious. As Rife stirs, he dreams that the shot Sami fired to protect him was instead meant to kill him – and when he opens his eyes and sees a smiling Sami at his bedside, he gets extremely agitated. Daniel orders a confused Sami to stay away from Rafe until further notice. Daniel runs into Jennifer, who wants to know how things are going. He declines to engage, reminding her that she pushed him away because she thought it was best for JJ. He asks her to reconsider this strategy – he wants to be there for the woman he loves. But Jennifer holds her ground. When she gets a call and finds out JJ has skipped out of study hall, Jennifer is furious. She later finds JJ with Theresa in her office – and introduces herself as her new assistant – much to Jennifer and JJ’s surprise. EJ and Justin work to save their plan to topple Stefano. As the clock is running out, they fear Stefano has outmaneuvered them. But EJ and Justin finally close the deal, awarding EJ full control of DiMera Enterprises (including the mansion). Stefano arrives back in Salem, and a triumphant EJ promptly declares he is kicking his father out.
Stefano is shocked at EJ’s betrayal as his son lays out his motives for taking the company. Kristen enters to witness this confrontation. She declares her love for both men and will support the victor. Later, Stefano coolly warns EJ that one day his son will beg him to take back everything he has stolen. Kayla interrupts the confrontation between Jennifer and Theresa. She informs Jennifer that Theresa is her niece – Kimberly and Shane’s daughter, Jeannie, who now goes by her middle name. She reminds Jennifer she promised to hire her. Jennifer agrees to keep her promise, though worries the girl will be trouble. Kayla sternly reminds Theresa this job is her last chance to make a fresh start. Later, Theresa skips her human resources appointment to score some pot from JJ. While talking with Sami, Eric has another attack, but it lasts only a few minutes. Daniel arrives with news that Eric’s blood work may offer some insight into the cause of his illness. Sami demands more immediate answers. Eric gets his sister to back off, but Sami goes to Jennifer, who immediately shuts her down. Later, Sami finds herself outside Rafe’s room and decides to sneak in. Meanwhile, Eric prays Daniel will discover the truth about his illness – as a worried Kristen confronts Dr. Chyka, hoping for just the opposite.
Kristen races over to Daniel’s so she can get a copy of Eric’s test results and hopefully get Dr. Chyka to confirm that Daniel won’t be able to detect the drug they used on Eric. Daniel tries to get rid of Kristen, but she insists she wants to help him reunite with Jennifer. She eventually gets him out of the room long enough to take pictures of the test results. But just as she finishes, Daniel returns and sees her by his desk. He demands to know what she’s doing. Meanwhile, Eric and Maggie talk about his past with Nicole. Later, Nicole expresses concern for his health, but he downplays that he’s fine. When Eric is alone, he prays for answers about his illness – and is suddenly struck by a memory of the mysterious woman he was trying to help at the hotel the night he got sick. Earlier, Brady receives a reminder about his plans to adopt children with Kristen. Nicole comforts him but it’s clear he’s having a hard time getting over his ex. He later tells Maggie he fears he’s addicted to the drama of love and loss, and after she gives him some words of advice, he finally tears up the adoption papers. Despite doctor’s orders, Sami sneaks into Rafe’s room. A disoriented Rafe awakens and all is fine until she mentions having had a gun – which causes him to recall his dream of Sami shooting him. He becomes highly distressed, and Cameron has to sedate him. Meanwhile, Kate and Gabi chew Sami out, who insists she didn’t mean to upset Rafe. Cameron warns Sami if she goes near Rafe again, he’ll call the police. Later, a groggy Rafe stuns Kate by asking her why Sami tried to shoot him. EJ informs a shocked Chad that he has taken control of DiMera Enterprises from Stefano. He invites his brother to move back into the mansion, but Chad needs to think about it. Chad goes to the hospital and gives Kate the big news. Meanwhile, Sami returns home, and EJ reveals what he’s done. He’s startled when she reacts in anger!
Sami’s upset about EJ destroying Stefano and not telling her ahead of time. EJ admits he was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut. Sami explodes: what she’s really angry about is that EJ has made Stefano an enemy of their family for life. EJ, equally angry, refuses to apologize and gets Sami to admit the reason she loves him is he’s ruthless and powerful. The fight ends in their making passionate love right on the couch, and EJ assures Sami he will always protect their family from Stefano. Kristen covers in front of Daniel and later emails Eric’s test results to Dr. Chyka, who assures her the masking agents have done their job – even the most brilliant toxicologist will not be able to tell what drugs she gave Eric. After Kristen receives the edited video from Sarah, she realizes she’s now ready to move ahead with her mysterious plan to destroy Marlena. Later, she surprises Eric with a visit at the rectory. Earlier, Eric tells a concerned Jennifer that Daniel is helping him get to the bottom of his illness. He thanks her for helping out his troubled cousin Theresa and makes a final pitch not to let things go unresolved with Daniel for too long. At the same time, Maggie advises Daniel to reach out to Jennifer. Jennifer and Daniel consider calling each other, but both ultimately back down. Later, Daniel gets a call from the toxicologist, who found no chemicals in Eric’s blood. Daniel knows something is still not right and is determined to find out what. Theresa reconnects with Caroline and expresses concern for her grandmother. She admits she and her new boss have not gotten off to a very good start. Later, Jennifer is upset with Theresa for not following work rules, though Theresa suspects it’s more about JJ. Jennifer makes it clear she wants Theresa to stay away from her son. Adrienne and Justin argue over his role in bringing down Stefano and also about Sonny and Will. Later, Maggie and Adrienne almost see the video of Sami and Bernardi on Adrienne’s phone when she gives the device to Parker.
Kristen tells Eric she wants a ticket to attend the school opening event. While she’s at the rectory, she gets a front row seat to what a caring and compassionate priest Eric truly is; left alone in his office, she struggles: can she do this terrible thing to this man? Will learns from Brent that he and Sonny went partying last night. Will seems fine with it, but Lucas is a bit concerned. Will’s totally aware that Sonny had a more carefree, adventurous life before finding himself in the ultimate domestic situation with Will and Arianna. Lucas is impressed with Will’s maturity. However, once he’s alone, Will isn’t quite as sure of himself as he’d like everyone else to believe. Earlier, Sonny’s with Adrienne and when she meets Brent, she lights up a bit, taken with Brent and his accomplishments. Sonny lets her know he can see through her – her low opinion of Will (and his family) comes through when she goes out of her way to engage with Brent like that. She denies but Sonny tells her to get used to how committed he is to Will. Later, Adrienne crosses with Lucas, wanting to show him a video of Arianna on her phone, but she’s foiled when the battery dies. Kate reluctantly tells Abe and Kayla how Rafe asked why Sami tried to kill him. Kayla’s annoyed to hear Kate is just now passing that along, warning that as Rafe emerges from his coma they can’t risk disorienting him. Later, Rafe begins to stir and once more has vivid memories of the nightmare he had of Sami and gets agitated, asking again: why would she try to kill him? Rafe is in such extreme distress; his monitors start to go off. Abigail walks in as Chad leaves a message for Cameron, saying they need to talk. She misinterprets at first, thinking it’s about her. She’s embarrassed when Chad informs her that he wanted to talk to Cameron about EJ’s offer to move into the mansion. Later, Abigail and Cameron both give Chad advice; and Cameron reminds Chad to get his injury checked, but Chad insists he’s fine.
What did you think of this week’s action in Salem? Share your thoughts in 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.
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.
Courtesy/Peacock
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.
If you have ever tuned-in to the soap opera genre over the last 50 years, and witnessed some of the greatest romances, drama, classic and outlandish storylines of all-time, you would have seen Deidre Hall smack dab in the middle of it as longtime Salem heroine, Dr. Marlena Evans.
It was 50 years on this date, June 21, 1976 that Hall first appeared on DAYS on NBC which was its home for 57 years before it moved to its current streaming platform on Peacock in September of 2022.
In Hall’s first episode she was introduced as a psychiatrist treating Mickey Horton (John Clarke) at Bayview Sanitarium after he suffered a complete mental breakdown. Mickey learned that his brother Bill Horton (Edward Mallory) was the biological son of Mike Horton (Wesley Eure) with his wife Laura (Susan Flannery) and that he had been lied to for years and years. From that moment on, the rest is television and soap opera history. Days of Our Lives put Hall front and center.
Photo: NBC
There were so many heartbreaking and shocking story twists involving the beloved Marlena. One of the first was the historic crib death of baby DJ (Don Jr.) in 1980, Marlena’s infant son with Don Craig (Jed Allan). The story had never been told on daytime television and Hall’s performances received accolades from TV critics to fans when Deidre received thousands of letters from grieving mothers who had gone through the same thing in their own lives.
DAYS also brought Deidre’s twin sister, Andrea Hall Lovell to the show as her on-screen sister Samantha, who had a grudge and even locked Marlena up in a sanitarium and took her place! Fast-forward and in 1982, DAYS launched the Salem Strangler story where everyone believed Marlena was his next victim, only it turned out to be Samatha. Jake Kositchek (played by Jack Coleman) was revealed to be the actual serial killer.
Later, Deidre would assume the role of Marlena’s look-alike, Hattie Adams in 2004, once played by her sister, Andrea. Over the years, Hattie has come back to Salem and caused trouble giving Hall a chance to play a different type of character, then the always upstanding Marlena.
Photo: JPI
THE LOVES OF MARLENA
Deidre Hall struck gold with all her leading men: from the late Jed Allan, to Wayne Northrop as Roman Brady, and of course, her enduring love story with the late John Black played by the iconic Drake Hogestyn. In fact, Marlena’s 1986 wedding to John (who was believed to be Roman at the time) remains a favorite of fans to this day.
TOP MARLENA STORYLINES OF ALL-TIME
While the list is long, here are several that were some of the memorable during Deidre’s five decades in Salem!
The Possession (1994- 1995)
Considered one of the most ambiguous, outlandish and unforgettable story arcs in soap opera history, then Days of Our Lives head writer, James Reilly went there! Marlena was possessed by the devil! That included; the demonic eyes, hissing at father John (Black) the priest, morphing into creatures, and the classic levitating in her bed! It became a cultural phenomenon and cemented Deidre Hall’s status as a daytime television legend. Just ask Ryan Gosling!
Photo:JPI
The Affair with John Black (1993)
John and Marlena’s forbidden love could not be denied and they had passionate affair, while she was still married to the real Roman. Problem was her daughter, Sami (Alison Sweeney) caught her mother having sex with John on a desk that changed Sami forever.
The Salem Stalker Mystery (2003-2004)
In a shocker, Marlena was revealed to be a serial killer who bumped off several Salem favorites residents who were all alive on the island of Melaswen (spelled “New Salem” backward). Turns out, she was manipulated and gaslighted by Andre DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) to do the “killings” and had no memory of her actions.
The Pier Scene (1991)
This remains Michael Fairman TV’s all-time favorite Deidre Hall moment, which featured some of the best acting in the storied careers of both Hall and Drake Hogestyn.
In the story, a presumed-dead Marlena returns after four years. One foggy night on the pier, John is alone, and Marlena steps out of the fog to reveal herself, and is reunited with the love of her life. You can watch it any year, any decade, and in any moment, and it will have you reaching for the hankies again and again. (best music score fo a soap scene of all-time too!)
Photo: NBC
Kristen’s Secret Room Reveal (1997)
Marlena was caught in Kristen Blake’s (Eileen Davidson) elaborate web of lies, when she was held hostage in a secret wine cellar/room until John managed to track her down, leading to an iconic on-screen reunion. The classic catfight between Hall and Eileen Davidson was one for the ages.
It should be noted that Maison Blanche, Queen of the Night, Possession, Aremid and Lady in a Cage were all a part of classic DAYS storyline and all featured Hall at the epicenter of it from 1993-1996.
THE RECENT YEARS OF MARLENA
In recent years, DAYS brought back the possession 2.0 storyline under then head writer Ron Carlivati in 2021 where the devil leapt back in Marlena after taking advantage of a frail Doug Williams (the late Bill Hayes)
In 2025, viewers watched the end of the love story of John and Marlena, as John succumbed to injuries sustained in an explosion saving a vial of medication needed to bring Bo (Peter Reckell) back to life. Marlena has been a widow on-screen since June of 2025 as Hall as portrayed the good doctor struggling with her grief and to move on with her life since his death.
Photo: JPI
One story that never goes away is Stefano DiMera’s (the late Joe Mascolo) obsession with Marlena, his “Queen of the Night.” Even in death, Stefano is toying with her from the great beyond with the mysterious chess set and the missing “pawn,” that he had gifted John and Marlena in his will. The mystery is currently unfolding on all-new episodes of Days of Our Lives.
Tune-in to Days of our Lives on the Monday, June 22 episode as Marlena looks back at her 50 years in Salem.
Share your congratulations to Deidre Hall for this incredible 50-year milestone as Dr. Marlena Evans on Days of Our Lives in the comment section. Then let us know, what is your all-time favorite storyline or moment in the life of Marlena over the past 5 decades? And, just for kicks, and to celebrate this amazing milestone, here is Marlena levitating below circa Christmas Eve 1994.
Days Of Our Lives
Al Calderon Reflects on ‘Major Chapters’ Coming to an End on ‘Days of Our Lives’ and ‘Brilliant Minds’
It’s been a bittersweet time for Al Calderon. The talented actor/singer/songwriter has watched from his vantage point to roles he loved so much come to their conclusion for different reasons.
In a heartfelt message posted to his Instagram story on Saturday, Calderon took a moment to share how grateful he was for the opportunity to play Javi Hernandez on Days of Our Lives, and nurse Nico Silva this year on NBC’s second season of Brilliant Minds. Currently, Brilliant Minds has two more episodes that will air on June 24 and the series finale on July 1.
Calderon expressed, “As I sit here reflecting on this lovely Saturday afternoon over the last two years of my life, I have two major chapters closing that have been part of my life every day for the last two years. We have Brilliant Minds. Our last episodes are wrapping up, and then my last scenes aired yesterday as me as Javi on Days of Our Lives.
Photo: JPI
“I’m just unbelievably grateful for the chance and the opportunity to be a part of something so much larger than me,” continued Al. “I (will) love Days of Our Lives forever, my family. Thank you for supporting me and supporting my decision to take the leap of faith and believe in myself and, and tell other stories. You know, it’s never goodbye. It’s always ‘see you later’ to me and just leaving with love and leading with love.”
Al concluded with a special mention to some very important people, the fans: “Thank you to the fans and the support from everyone, the lovely messages. So this next chapter, hopefully it’s not a dragon, hopefully it’s a gold coin.”
Photo: NBC
Calderon’s journey on-screen on Days of Our Lives began in October of 2024 and concluded this month. In one of his last appearances Javi was asking a favor from Gabi (Cherie Jimenez) before bumping into his ex, Leo (Greg Rikaart). In story, Javi has a new romance with Gus (Michael Ocampo), while fighting his feelings for Leo. The role of Javi will be played starting on June 30 by Jacob Martinez who takes over the role.
NBC decided to cancel the Brilliant Minds, after it split up the airing of its second season which began in the fall of September of 2025 and the back-half started airing after a long break this past May. Calderon joined the medical drama staring Zachary Quinto for the new season, which sadly was its last.
So, will you miss Al on Days of Our Lives and Brilliant Minds as his time on-screen has come to an end? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
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