Through the Good, the Bo and the Xander, Days of Our Lives Hit Us *Hard* — and Though John Is Dying, There May Still Be a Twist to Come

For better or worse, daytime soaps often like to make the bold, usually overblown claim that after some big event, “Nothing will ever be the same again!” But this week on Days of Our Lives truly felt like a gamechanger, from Xander and Sarah to Bo and John. And that’s not just from a storyline perspective, but a storytelling one, as well.

Holding Out for Some Heroes

Let’s start with the week’s big end of week story — or should I say stories? John and Bo. I was a bit worried about having a John stand-in, with that hooded figure feeling a bit hokey, but they made use of him the best they could. It gave John a chance to not just save Bo’s life, but save all the sepsis drug so that he could save everyone it might help someday.

And while I’m glad they wove Bo flashbacks in through the episode, the way they handled John’s flashbacks as he started to code and die were just brilliant. Flashing through all his different identities, his early days trying to figure out who he was, speeding up and speeding up before the heartbeat started and then slowed and John whispered out to Marlena that he loved her one last time.

Beautifully done. And for Steve to be there with Marlena, holding her as Kayla tried to bring John back, let us see all four of them together for one last time. With that said, now that we’ve gotten spoilers for next week, it looks like John may still hold on long enough for his loved ones to say farewell, though that doesn’t guarantee he’d be conscious.

And that leads us into Bo. Again, I was a bit worried when he popped into Salem, but tying that into what was going on around him, and being “locked out” of his loved ones as he started to die was surprisingly clever. Will the Versavix be enough to save him on its own at this point? I’m not sure, since they’ve pointed out a few times that organ failure is inevitable with advanced sepsis.

And that may bring us back to the idea that perhaps John’s organs will be used to save him. There’s a reason, I’m sure, that we didn’t end with Bo opening his eyes and pulling through. (Well, besides needing a good cliffhanger for Friday.)

No Turning Back

I’m not mincing words about Xander. It feels like he’s lost all the growth he’s made over the years and is back to square one, but somehow… worse. We never really saw him kill or maim anyone before, we just knew about it and mostly just saw him kidnap and threaten folks. But Monday’s beating of Philip was brutal. I don’t like what’s become of Xander — but the performances we’ve gotten out of this were incredible.

And Xander and Sarah’s confrontation on Wednesday was pure, brilliant soap opera. I was on edge the whole time, and was even a little worried for Sarah. Paul Telfer clearly remembers how to make Xander terrifying, and the coldness he infused in almost every word and movement was chilling. But there were still moments where you could see heartbreak, too, as he realized he was losing everything he loved.

But Sarah didn’t back down and when it came to Victoria, she eviscerated Xander so thoroughly that he backed down. That doesn’t mean it’s over for their battle over their daughter, I’m sure. I fully expect Xander to come back swinging, especially since his response to Sarah telling him she’ll always love him was to tell her that Victoria was the only one who mattered to him now. But it’s clear that Sarah’s mama bear instincts are a match for her husband, even at his most violent.

With that said, Sarah was insufferable for months over keeping Philip’s secret, and while this confrontation was mostly an excuse for her to say, “I was right! I was right! I did the right thing,” I don’t entirely buy it. Xander snarling at her that her choice to lie to him made this happen and made things worse wasn’t fair — only Xander  was responsible for his monstrous actions — but there was a kernel of truth there about Sarah’s choices.

Realistically, Xander’s been edging this way for some time now, with murder attempts on Philip and Brady, so to keep doing that with little to no consequences but, “Oh well, that’s our Xander!” has pushed the bounds of credibility. I don’t know where they’re going now, though it’s tough to see a path forward for Sarah and Xander. But man, it’s made for good soap.

Stray Thoughts…

• I’m confused about where Bo is. I know they said they moved him out of isolation… but wasn’t he in Europe? Is he back in Salem? Hope and Shawn just jumped between his hospital room and Salem in minutes.
• Well, Arianna’s got a fake ID — not a total surprise, and is definitely running away from something. But we figured that already with how desperate she was to return to Salem. If only Marlena isn’t about to be crushed by John’s death, she could have definitely figured out what.

• I kind of love how after Philip was beaten, everyone was like: “So Xander did it, right?”
• I knew it! I was confused at first about the sudden Paulina/Abe move, but yeah, it’s Johnny and Chanel’s place now, which is long overdue.
• The Sip and Paint was cute — and it broke up the tenseness of Xander and Sarah’s fight nicely.