What’s In! What’s Out! DAYS OF OUR LIVES

In! DiMeras After the late Joseph Mascolo’s Stefano exited the canvas in 2016, the DiMera family slowly retreated to the shadows, but this complicated clan is suddenly showing signs of life. Chad returned from Paris in late 2019, followed by Tony and Anna in early 2020. Jake popped up last year as Stefan’s secret twin, Theo has made here-and-there visits and EJ’s recent comeback kicked off a battle royale between the brothers for control of DiMera Enterprises. The tunnels and secret rooms have been put to good use, providing the backdrop for Kristen’s hostages, Sami and Lucas’s liaison and Johnny’s re-entry. The living room got a welcome overhaul, trading out the oppressive wood paneling with lighter grays and beiges that are infinitely more inviting. Though Gabi owns the mansion, the chessboard is still in play, and Stefano’s portrait keeps a watchful eye on the action.

Out! Hortons The fact that Gwen, Xander and Jack — none of whom bears the last name Horton — are the characters featured most heavily in the show’s most beloved set says it all. The first family of Salem has been slowly thinned out over the past year, with Kristian Alfonso opting out as Hope and Melissa Reeves taking a break from Jennifer, Laura meeting her untimely end, Abigail in Boston, JJ in South Africa and Will in Arizona. Julie and Doug still reside in the family home, but their appearances are few and far between, and Suzanne Rogers’s Maggie has been off the canvas for months. There was a bright spot when Allie added Alice’s famous doughnuts to the menu at Sweet Bits, but at this point, we’re hoping that the annual ornament hanging at Christmas brings some family members home for the holidays.

In! Masks Kristen has been a master of disguise ever since she pulled her 1996 switcheroo with Susan, but in the past couple of years, she has upped her game considerably, using latex masks to carry out her nefarious plans. In 2019, she wreaked havoc for months while masquerading as Nicole in an attempt to win back Brady. Her takeaway? It worked, so try, try again. This past March, after Sarah discovered that Kristen had switched places, once again, with Susan and escaped from jail, Kristen put on a handy-dandy Sarah mask, broke up with Xander under the guise of reuniting with Rex, then secretly dumped him, too, and wheeled Sarah out of town in a steamer trunk. In April, when Kate discovered Kristen’s Susan swap, Kristen stashed her away, too, donned a Kate mask and dumped Jake. Kristen may be temporarily sidelined, but that only gives her more time to craft some new faces for her collection.

Out! ’80s Supercouples The ’80s were arguably the most fertile territory for Salem romances to blossom. Bo and Hope, Steve and Kayla, Roman and Marlena, Jack and Jennifer, Justin and Adrienne, and Shane and Kim all fell in love and put the show on the supercouple map. The pull of these popular duos kept fans invested in their stories and offspring for years. Today, however, Bo is dead, Hope is MIA, Roman is single, Marlena is happily with John, Jack is cooling his heels while Jennifer is tying up Laura’s affairs in Boston, Adrienne is dead, Justin is engaged to her look-alike, Bonnie, and Shane and Kim live out of town. Steve and Kayla are the lone representation of that era and it’s been a minute since they’ve had a story to call their own. We’re all for new romances — Ben and Ciara, and Lani and Eli are rootable, for sure — but for longtime viewers, those missing from the canvas cannot be replaced.

In! Cheaters Though they’re a soap staple, infidelity tales haven’t been a huge throughline on DAYS — until now. In a dramatic reveal set in motion by Gwen — at Jack and Jennifer’s anniversary party, no less — Jack was forced to confess to sleeping with Kate one night while Jennifer was languishing in a coma. Lonely for Eric, who was thousands of miles away in Africa, Nicole got drunk and had a one-night stand with Xander. Feeling shut out by EJ, who was recovering from near-fatal injuries, Sami got some TLC from ex-hubby Lucas — twice. All three trysts provided powerful reveals — not to mention a Daytime Emmy win for Cady McClain (Jennifer) — and set every story on a new path as the cheaters were forced to face the consequences of their actions.