Of the four soaps left on the air, there wasn’t one that gave us a consistently good year in 2023. Days of Our Lives definitely had its moments that kept us tuning in but there were also clunker storylines, missed opportunities, and quite a few things that made us go ‘hmmmm…’

Here we highlight what DAYS did right and what it did wrong while giving honorable mentions to the good and the bad that was the year that just passed.

What Went Right On Days of Our Lives

DAYS had a tumultuous year both on-screen and off with a sexual harassment scandal that rocked the soap and television world, resulting in the firing of co-executive producer Albert Alaar. That, coupled with a writer’s strike that plagued soaps and Hollywood for months, there was more bad than good on the 58-year-old soap this past year.

Thankfully, DAYS chose to reunite Johnny (Carson Boatman) and Chanel (Raven Bowens), one of the most refreshingly mature young couples we’ve seen on soaps in ages. The chemistry is there, the characters truly care about one another, and are always open and honest (except when he’s possessed by the devil). And, now they have teenage angst thrown into the midst as Holly Jonas (Ashley Puzemis) crushes on Johnny while he only thinks of her as a little sister.

That brings us to Holly and Tate (Jaime Martin Mann), who have introduced a new teen scene to Salem. Both are realistic teens who actually speak like teens, which is a breath of fresh air to see on soaps. Tate is dealing with parents who were never really together and still don’t get along.

Meanwhile, Holly is dealing with near neglect as her mom Nicole (Arianne Zucker) mourns the baby she believes died. Holly’s loneliness has led her to drinking and drugs, which also rings true to life. Hopefully, DAYS will add more members to its teen scene. Sydney DiMera, where are you?

DAYS also used its vets in 2023 and they never failed to entertain us. Sure, Marlena, Kate, and Kayla’s hokey trip through heaven and purgatory was a bit much, but Deidre Hall, Lauren Koslow, and Mary Beth Evans rescued this plot involving longtime Salem heroines who died and miraculously came back to live due to cryogenic freezing. Sudre, it was ridiculous, but sometimes ridiculous is what this soap does best.

Honorable Mentions Of The Things We Loved

The Salem Ladies Are Dead plot gave birth to Megan Hathaway DiMera (Miranda Wilson) getting a second lease on soap life and it was delicious. Watching this villainess from the 80s plan and plot while learning what happened to her for the last 35 or so years was nothing short of a delight.

Then there was Megan’s son. While they might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Megan’s son Dimitri (Peter Porte) and his hilariously villainous love affair with Diane Colville’s (Judith Chapman) son Leo (Greg Rikaart), never failed to make us laugh. While we still have Leo, Dimitri is now stuck in a maximum security prison in Nevada, but hopefully, his situation will change in 2024.

What Went Wrong On Days of Our Lives

DAYS had the perfect opportunity to give fans everything they had been waiting for since 2015 with the resurrection of the beloved hero whom Hope held out for, Bo Brady. In 2022, it righted the wrong of killing off Bo when we learned that Megan had him cryogenically frozen for years. Then, it landed Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso at the same time again and, this time, for a longer stay on the main show now that Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem was no more.

Instead of giving Bo and Hope their happily ever after, the show barely gave them scenes together at all. And the bulk of scenes we did get where Bo and Hope finally celebrated their love like they did for decades? It was a dream. As far as we know now, Bo is still in a coma in Greece, Hope is there by his side, and there are no official plans to bring them back again and truly reunite what is possibly the most popular couple in DAYS history. What a way to squander a comeback.

Then, there’s the baby switch from hell and not the hell that Marlena sometimes brings with devil possession. This is soap opera plot hole hell where a promising new female character compromised her independent self to hold onto a man by stealing a baby for him. Sloan (Jessica Serfaty) knows what she did was wrong but she is so desperate to keep sad sack clueless Eric (Greg Vaughan) that she has now convinced herself she has a right to this child.

Let’s not forget that this story officially makes Eric the dumbest man on soaps as he doesn’t at all question where this baby came from and why he has not seen one legal document making him Jude’s dad (which he is). Add in the many DNA mixups and EJ (Daniel Feuerriegel) just taking it at face value that Nicole’s baby died when everyone knows baby and DNA switches are de rigueur in Salem, and this story needs to end with speed.

Honorable Mentions Of The Things We Hated

There were quite a few more things in Salem that just didn’t work in 2023, including the Chad (Billy Flynn) and Stephanie (Abigail Klein) pairing (which seems to be over) and Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) keeping Xander (Paul Telfer) from his baby for no apparent reason when she always knew he does less-than-good things. We still have no idea why Victor’s (John Aniston) death had to lead to a con man making Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) look like a fool.

And the DiMera mansion? For a while, it was just a place where brothers Stefan (Brandon Barash) and EJ tried to one-up each other for no real reason, culminating into tricking a precocious little girl into making a video that looked like her mother abused her. Just ew.

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