Some big returns should have been for a happy occasion, damn it.
Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 have some of John Black's relatives coming into Salem to celebrate his and Marlena's anniversary.
Sadly, Drake Hogestyn was too ill to work when these scenes were filmed, so these returns will be a painful reminder that we'll never have another moment with John on our screens again.
Days of Our Lives will turn 59 on November 8, which the writers also made John and Marlena's anniversary the last time they got married.
(Like most people in Salem, the pair had several weddings. I think the final count was five.)
Obviously, this was intended to be a happy occasion. Drake Hogestyn passing away wasn't on anyone's radar, but pancreatic cancer had other plans.
In honor of the big day, Belle and Paul are coming back to Salem.
Paul was there not that long ago, but Belle's been gone a while, so it'll be great to catch up with her. Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 don't say anything about Shawn, who presumably is still in rehab, but I guess we'll find out.
These scenes will be strange because of John's absence. How do you celebrate a wedding anniversary without both halves of the happy couple?
Drake's illness forced him to stop working, and John's absence will be keenly felt, making this story bittersweet.
At least we get to celebrate his and Marlena's love one more time.
It doesn't help that it's the beginning of the end for Doug.
Bill Hayes died in January 2024 at the age of 98, but because Days of Our Lives tapes so far ahead, the soap was unable to begin writing out his iconic character until now.
Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 say that Julie will take care of her beloved Doug.
I'm not sure what that means. Hayes' last appearance aired in July, so Doug's death will be off-screen, similar to what happened when Frances Reid passed away, and Alice was "upstairs" on her deathbed.
I wouldn't be able to stop crying about this even if we didn't have John's death to deal with on top of it.
Doug and Julie reminded me of my grandparents and were my favorite couple, full stop.
My heart also breaks for Susan Seaforth Hayes, who had to lose her beloved husband twice because Doug's death was filmed so long after Bill Hayes' occurred in real life.
At least this iconic character will get the sendoff he deserves, but man, it's tough when characters have to be written out because the actors die.
That's one of the things people don't realize about soap operas sometimes.
When you watch an actor play a role for years, in some way, they feel like family, and when they pass away, it is heartbreaking for the fans as well as for the people who loved them in real life.
Fortunately, Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 promise that all of this sadness is offset by more standard storylines, including love triangles and possible romances.
Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 put Tate and Johnny in similar situations. They slept with someone else and then suddenly, things changed with the person who they thought they were done with.
In Tate's case, though, he's not married and is a teenager, so it's more forgivable, even if his romp in the hay with Sophia seemed contrived.
He kept putting off sex with Holly because he wanted their first time to be special and for them not to move too fast, so why would he suddenly turn into someone who can't resist sex when a woman wants to have it with him?
I hate when Days of Our Lives does these contrived sexual escapades. I'm also not a fan of the trope in which men suddenly cannot resist sex, even if they've been doing so for months.
Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 say that Tate will be surprised by Holly's request, which I guess is understandable.
Still, it was only a few days ago that Sophia stormed off in a huff because she didn't want to be a placeholder until Tate reconciled with Holly, so he should have realized it was a possibility.
The youngest Dimera, on the other hand, has no excuse for his behavior.
He went full Dimera, raging because he believed Chanel was having an affair based on the stupidest of misunderstandings.
He not only threw a glass at the wall but also pretended to be working while really going to a bar to drown his sorrows... and ended up sleeping with a stranger.
This is especially annoying because I've waited for YEARS for Days of Our Lives to cast Joy Wesley.
Joy disappeared from Salem as a baby, making her mostly a blank slate, but she also had a fantastic backstory for a soap character: she was conceived as a bone marrow donor for her sixteen-year-old sister, and her name comes from her parents' joy that it worked.
Thus, Joy SHOULD be a troubled young woman whose mental health issues stem from her belief that her parents didn't truly want her and only saw her as a means to save Chloe's life.
Joy got into that slightly with Nancy (who is probably already gone).
However, now, Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 have her stuck in this stupid story where she's the other woman who will probably become best friends with Chanel until right before the truth comes out.
Couldn't the writers think of any other reason to bring this long-awaited character back to Salem than THAT?
Brady will spend time with both of his kids this week.
He's not my favorite character, but I'm all in on this redemption story, where he bonds with Rachel and helps Tate decide what to do about this teenage love triangle.
We need more parents guiding their children in Salem. Half the problem is that these kids are left to their own devices.
Where was Brady when Tate and Sophia were in his bedroom together?
It's even better that Brady is staying sober, though I don't trust him to stay away from Ava.
He has been stuck in an endless loop for at least a decade of dating the wrong women and then declaring he never wants to see them again when they completely ruin his life.
I'd love for Brady to break that pattern, but Dyas of Our LIves spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 don't give me much hope.
Confronting Kristen about her latest dirty trick (probably the Titan stuff) is a good start, but if he doesn't stay away from Ava, he's just trading his drunken behavior in for an addiction to women who have hurt his family in the past.
Ava is acting as a surrogate mother to Sophia, who apparently hates her real mother and avoids her as much as possible.
So what are the chances Brady WON'T cross paths with Ava again and again until they end up kissing?
I don't enjoy the fights over control of Titan/Dimera, and I'm not happy that Xander is going back to the idea of murdering people to get his way.
The premise is silly, too. A letter from Victor saying that he's sorry he didn't put Philip in his will and would have if things were different in no way makes Philip the rightful heir of anything.
Still, Louise Sorel's Vivian makes these kinds of ridiculous stories worthwhile. She's long been my favorite Days of Our Lives villain because she delivers evil with humor, class, and charm.
She and Kate hate each other, so their latest confrontation will be pure fun.
I don't quite get why Philip is suddenly loyal to Vivian when he usually can't stand her or why he dumped Chloe because she said so (if he did. That was a bit ambiguous.)
But Vivian has her own version of Dr. Rolf.
Maybe Dr. Wu can make the serum for Sarah and only give it to her if Xander cancels his deal with Kristen.
Beating Kristen at her own game would be so much fun, and Vivian being part of it would make it even better, so I hope that's what happens, even though there are no Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24 that promise it.
Clyde somehow escaped maximum security prison while being transported to court, which is bad enough.
But only in Salem would the guy who Clyde just scammed into thinking his dead wife is alive think it's a good idea to listen to the next thing Clyde has to say!
According to Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-04-24, Clyde will call Chad from wherever he's hiding out to ask for a favor.
Chad will probably do it, too. Ugh.
This story should have ended with fake Abigail in jail, and Clyde defeated again instead of going on and on.
Over to you, Days of Our Lives fanatics.
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