Days Of Our Lives: The Best And Worst Of 2024

The lines between reality and fiction were poignantly blurred when DAYS said good-bye to Doug Williams and his late portrayer, Bill Hayes, who joined the show back in 1970. With Susan Seaforth Hayes, his real-life widow, leading the charge as Doug’s widow Julie, every scene was infused with raw, earnest emotion, from the moment Julie learned Doug had passed to taking his hand at his bedside and wailing, “How can I go on without you?” Jennifer phoned Doug’s daughter, Hope, to break the news that her father had died, a genuine moment between the two cousins — and Hope’s reaction, clutching her heart and sobbing, “Daddy” — was gut-wrenching. The intimacy and impact of the show’s depiction of Doug’s death on his loved ones and the Salem community was greatly enhanced by DAYS’s efforts to bring back special characters from yesteryear for his funeral, a list that included Stephen Schnetzer as Julie’s long-absent brother, Steven, and Maree Cheatham as her Aunt Marie. The heartfelt eulogy Julie delivered for Doug was the showpiece of the memorial; it was the same one Seaforth Hayes had recited at her beloved “Billy’s” celebration of life, with a few character tweaks. Perhaps that’s why it evoked such genuine tears from the assembled guests, including Victoria Konefal (Ciara) and Lamon Archey (Eli). The memorial ended in a song that had been near and dear to the Horton family for decades, “Always.” It was led by Gloria Loring as Liz, the old friend who once performed at Doug’s Place. Mixed into the present-day moments were touching clips from Doug’s heyday on the soap, all of which came together perfectly to honor the long beloved character’s death, making for a painful but beautiful week to be a DAYS fan.

It was cute when, in 2023, an amnesiac Abe (James Reynolds, with Lauren Koslow as Kate, l., and Judi Evans as Bonnie) became a fan of DAYS’s soap within a soap, Body and Soul. Far less cute was what that led to in 2024: a smorgasbord of different characters being sucked into a too-prominent storyline in which Abe (Salem’s former mayor) and Kate (a savvy businesswoman) purchased the rights to the just-canceled serial and brought it back to life, at which point Abe tried to hire distinguished doctors like Kayla and Marlena to play key roles. Mercifully, they declined, but a slew of Salem-ites did sign on, requiring head-scratching career shifts for, among others, gossip columnist-turned-head writer Leo, baker-turned-ingenue Chanel and corporate shark-turned-leading man Alex. A successful soap umbrella story loops in a wide array of people we care about into a common plot with high stakes and gripping drama. This one was too gimmicky — the stakes too low, the drama too flimsy — to justify its front-burning screen time. As much as we enjoy seeing our favorite players interacting in new ways, there was nothing of real consequence at play — save for Johnny sleeping with Joy after mistakenly thinking wife Chanel was hooking up with co-star Alex, which only served to undermine the integrity of one of the show’s only solid younger couples. All in all, it didn’t take long for the inside joke-y metadrama of this tale to wear out its welcome with viewers.

Xander and Sarah (Linsey Godfrey, l.) were about to leave on their honeymoon when Sarah was mowed down by a hit-and-run driver. The accident left her paralyzed, Xander out for revenge, and DAYS fans off on a wild roller coaster ride. Xander’s drunk-driving mum, Fiona (Serena Scott Thomas), was immediately revealed to viewers as the party guilty of striking Sarah, and she was desperate to keep the truth from coming out. In a clever and wicked twist, she framed her lover, Brady, for the crime. Guilt-ridden over what he thought he’d done under the influence, Brady confessed to the cops, only to be released for lack of evidence. That outraged Xander, who grew obsessed with making Brady pay with his life. It forced Sarah to do anything to keep her husband from committing murder, including lying that she recalled seeing Brady driving the car that hit her, so he’d be put safely behind bars. Luckily, Brady’s support team, led by Eric and Kristen, was just as determined to aid him. Kristen arranged for Brady’s car, key evidence, to be demolished, while Eric nudged Sarah into remembering that Fiona was the driver that hit her. All the lies and deception came to an explosive head when Sarah confronted Fiona, who tried to silence her wheelchair-bound daughter-in-law by pushing her down a flight of stairs. In a satisfying conclusion, Xander came to the rescue to save his wife and denounced Fiona, who evaded charges and skipped town, while Brady was finally exonerated.

At first, introducing Victor’s devious old “friend," Konstantin (John Kanelos, pictured with Emily O’Brien as Theresa), seemed like an interesting idea, with clear potential as a new villain. Having him finagle Victor’s will with the conniving Theresa set up a diabolical plot to steal the family fortune, and his past connection to John was intriguing. However, as things unfolded, they quickly turned sour. Konstantin’s motives for believing he deserved Victor’s fortune — he’d lent him money when Victor started his first business — were lame; ditto his convoluted side quest to control John, who he blamed for killing a not-so-dead Catharina. He wasn’t even a particularly smooth criminal (like the time he gifted Maggie with a lace tablecloth he claimed was a Greek family heirloom, but left a sale tag on it from the Salem store he brought it from). To make him seem like a genuine threat, DAYS dumbed down the usually sharp Maggie, who should have been able to spot his con from a mile away and yet somehow was continually snowed by the shyster — even with people she had far more reason to trust, like Steve and John, warning her that the guy was no good. Konstantin wasn’t an interesting or charismatic enough baddie to make up for how unpleasant it was to watch him play Maggie for a fool, and we weren’t at all sorry to see him go (courtesy of Xander’s bullet).

Having Chad and his children move into the Horton house after the murder of his wife, Abigail, paved the way for one of Salem’s most unique and touching friendships: Chad and Julie. The bond between the two characters, enhanced by the lovely chemistry between actors Billy Flynn and Susan Seaforth Hayes, began after the lonely widower had lost his way while trying to cope with his grief, and Julie and her late husband, Doug, provided the port in a storm he so desperately needed. Once he settled in, Julie slowly emerged as Chad’s trusted confidante, the person he shared his feelings and problems with. Julie offered Chad warmth and compassion along with sage and straightforward advice. When Cat arrived on the scene appearing to be Abigail, Julie urged Chad to open his heart to the potential miracle. And when Cat turned out to be an imposter, Julie was by Chad’s side helping him pick up the pieces and move on. Chad, in turn, has been there for Julie too, both physically and emotionally. He ushered her to safety when their home was set on fire and encouraged her efforts to restore it. Their support for one another has been unwavering and heartfelt, and their bond has been one of the show’s most pleasant surprises. Any episode that includes a Julie and Chad heart-to-heart and ends with a warm hug between the pair is sure to put a smile on viewers’ faces. And it’s a testament to the fact that true friendship can develop anytime between any two people, who genuinely care for each other.

Daytime fans wait months for big storyline payoffs, those moments where a couple reconciles, a baby is reunited with its parents, or a major lie is exposed. So when all three happened for Nicole and were wrapped up in nanosecond, viewers understandably felt shortchanged. Nicole (Arianne Zucker) had been consumed with grief after being told her newborn son had died. She struggled to cope with the loss and move on, unaware that it was all a lie: Melinda had arranged for Sloan and Eric (Greg Vaughan, r.) to adopt the baby boy, knowing he was the biological child of Eric and not Nicole’s husband, EJ (Dan Feuerriegel). Sloan went along with the ruse, as did Leo, who kept mum to extort money from Sloan. When the truth finally unraveled and Nicole and Eric learned that little Jude was their son, they ditched their respective spouses and reunited, then quickly skedaddled out of Salem. On paper, this was a fairy-tale ending. In execution, the speedy resolution to the story deprived "Ericole" fans — who had waited for decades to finally see the couple solidly together with the child they'd dreamed of sharing — of a proper return on their investment.

For years, Xander was considered the black sheep of the Kiriakis clan, not only because of his nefarious evildoings but because he rarely measured up to Victor's expectations. So it was quite a shock when, after Victor's untimely death in 2023, a new will surfaced revealing that Xander was his son and would inherit the bulk of the Kiriakis fortune. It appeared that Paul Telfer, who for nearly 10 years has navigated Xander's complicated journey well, would have a meaty story to play — but it would have to wait, because thanks to some finagling from Konstantin and Theresa, Alex was named Victor's mystery son and primary heir. Things came to a delicious head this summer: At the double wedding of Xander/Sarah and Alex/Theresa, Fiona revealed the paternity truth, crushing Alex, who came to the brutal realization that his bride had duped him to get her hands on “his” fortune. It was the perfect comeuppance after months of Alex throwing his weight and money around and disrespecting his real dad, Justin. Meanwhile, Xander’s world was completely upended, too. Suddenly, the “nephew” Victor had treated as a lowly henchman his entire life rose to top dog. Not only did Xander inherit millions, but he was thrust to the helm at Titan. Yet this triumph was tinged with anger and confusion, since he would never be able to confront Victor or understand why his father hadn’t claimed him as his own.

One of the biggest attention-getters of the DAYS year was its misguided decision to burn down the Horton house. Soap opera fans bond with characters they’ve known for decades — and they also feel connected to the homes their favorite couples and families live in. Nostalgia is the bread and butter feeding viewers’ loyalty to their daily viewing habit, which is why there was such outcry over the show so cavalierly torching its most iconic set, a sentimental mainstay since the show debuted in 1965. After an act of arson reduced the house to ashes, it wasn’t the mystery of who did it and why that got fans talking; instead, there was impassioned viewer discourse about how painful it was to watch the walls of the late Tom and Alice’s home go up in flames. Seeing Julie return to the scene of the crime to find it reduced to a mass of rubble only twisted the knife further. The house was rebuilt (with changes, of course), and yes, Alice’s chair and the Horton Christmas ornaments miraculously survived intact, but that doesn’t erase what a misstep it was to torch the set in the first place. The new incarnation of the Horton house will never mean to fans what the original does.