Days of our Lives storylines (2000s)

Jack and Jennifer's return

In 2000 Bo traveled to Ireland where he ran into Jennifer living with Abby above a pub where she worked and Bo, Jennifer and Abby all returned to Salem. Jennifer was very quiet on what happened in Africa with Jack, only making it known that it didn't work out. While Jennifer was in Paris for Greta's coronation in 2001, Alice managed to get a hold of Jack in Italy to inform him of where Jennifer was, with the hopes of getting them to work out their difference. Jack surprised her in Paris, where the two had a heated confrontation, and they both ended up returning to Salem with the plan of figuring out a suitable custody arrangement of Abby for both of them. Eventually Jack, who secretly wanted a reconciliation, came up with the idea of the three of them all moving into a house together, and a reluctant Jennifer agreed for Abby's sake. The two spent the rest of 2001 and 2002 bickering and yet growing closer as both pursued other romances (Jennifer with Brandon Walker and Dr. Colin Murphy, Jack with Princess Greta von Amburg, Billie Reed and a small flirtation with Sami Brady) Eventually the two realized they wanted to be together, although Colin wasn't in agreement. Gone crazy, Colin told Jennifer he would kill Jack if she didn't sleep with him and a heartbroken Jennifer had no other choice. Less than a few days later, on New Year's Eve 2002, Colin was found murdered. Jack, having recently learned what Colin demanded of Jennifer, and seeing Jennifer's intensely emotional state, figured it was Jennifer who had killed Colin and confessed to protect her. After finding out that it wasn't Jennifer who had committed the crime, Jack recanted his story and the charges were dropped. Jack and Jennifer were officially back together and remarried in the summer of 2003.

Return of Tony DiMera

Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) returned to steal Marlena away from John. His motives remained unclear for many months as he put subtle plans into motion and worked at creating tension among many characters. Stefano had left him a blue key that he said would unlock the secrets to his past and future, and John and Tony spent many months racing to learn the secrets of the key first. It turns out that the key unlocked the bracelets of the Gemini Twins, mind-controlled teenage-aged pawns of Stefano. Tony's fugue states led him to a DiMera island compound on a string of islands shaped like the Gemini constellation. On the island, he used the blue key to open a box containing Stefano's diary. The diary contained all of the information pertaining to the Brady-DiMera feud, revealed that John was the son of Daphne DiMera (and therefore, Tony's half-brother), and further solidified Tony as the new antagonist of the show. He also served as a catalyst for Sami and Lucas to finally acknowledge their feelings for each other, when Sami was nearly killed by Tony when she confronted him over his helping Lexie ruining her relationship with Lexie's stepson Brandon Walker (Matt Cedeno). Finally, the new struggles against Tony resulted in the sudden, surprise revelation that John Black, rather than just just being a semi-amnesiac former mercenary, thief, and priest-turned-wealthy local businessman, was in fact Salem's resident ISA agent-in-place, and naturally his #1 assignment was to wage the ongoing battle against the DiMera clan (the exact timing of his employment by the spy agency was never revealed; it was just sprung on the audience out of the blue one day with a brief return by Shane Donovan).

The Salem Stalker

With ratings at an all time low and NBC threatening to cancel the series, James Reilly was brought back as head writer in the summer of 2003 and given carte blanche to "fix" the show. His major storyline to save Days was the ultra-controversial Salem Stalker storyline. The storyline began with the shooting of Abe Carver (James Reynolds). Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford) was killed by a brick to the head. Recovering alcoholic Maggie was bludgeoned with a liquor bottle. Caroline Brady (Peggy McCay) was poisoned at church during a memorial service, and her granddaughter Cassie (Alexis Thorpe) was stabbed to death and placed in a pinata on Thanksgiving. Roman's (Josh Taylor) throat was slashed at his wedding to Kate Roberts, and Tony DiMera was mutilated by a tiger. Tony survived the attack, but was given a lethal dose of medicine by the [...] who was revealed to be none other than Marlena Evans.

Doug Williams (Bill Hayes) discovered Marlena's treachery and was stabbed to death in the cemetery. He left a note that was found by Alice Horton. Marlena confronted Alice, who was suffocated by one of her homemade donuts. She was however able to call John Black and warn him that Marlena was the killer. The storyline was extremely controversial as many of the victims were longtime fan favorites. In the midst of this, original cast member John Clarke (Mickey) left, and when the shock of the killings wore off, ratings began to fall. Faced with angry fans, the show re-hired all of the fired actors and claimed that the resurrection of all the characters had been the plan all along (though apparently none of the actors were aware of this). The victims and Marlena, who had been "killed" in a prison riot, were all found to be on an island called Melaswen, or New Salem spelled backwards. The captives ultimately were rescued from Melaswen, but Tony triggered a volcanic explosion resulting in a tidal wave. Marlena, Roman, Jack, Cassie, Victor, Caroline, and Colin were presumed dead.

The remaining islanders returned to Salem to attempt to regain the lives they had lost. Maggie found that Mickey, now played by veteran actor John Ingle, had remarried, while Abe began to suffer from migraine headaches that led to blindness. Eventually, it was revealed that the six victims were in fact being held by a very much alive Tony in a European castle. Devastated at losing her parents and her new found love with Lucas Roberts, Sami began to act out again, and disguised herself as a man named Stan (while Alison Sweeney was on maternity leave). John became addicted to pain medication.

As 2004 progressed, the slow-paced storylines continued, and ratings fell to ever new 'all-time lows.'

While Victor was presumed dead (actually bonding with old love Caroline on Melaswen), Nicole seduced Brady. Chloe was disfigured in a limo accident and faked her death rather than meet Brady without her beautiful face (something similar happened to Carrie Brady years earlier). Eventually, Nicole found out Chloe was alive and through a convoluted series of events, was mistaken for a doctor and had to perform plastic surgery on Chloe's face. Nicole permanently scarred Chloe but when Brady found Chloe, he told her the scars didn't matter(he saw past the scars).

After escaping Jan's cage, Shawn crashed his motorcycle into a wall and forgot everything that Jan had done to him and he thought the he loved Jan and not Belle. After months of being with Jan he realized that he loved Belle and drove his motorcycle into a window at the church in a failed attempt to stop the wedding of Belle Black (now played by Martha Madison) and Philip Kiriakis (played by The Real World alumnus Kyle Brandt) as his obsession with Belle caused him to stalk her and drink heavily. While Philip tolerated Shawn's obsession with his wife for the sake of Belle, Philip soon found his life irreversibly altered when Philip (who was a Marine) was sent on a mission to a war-zone which many fans assumed to be Iraq, although the war zone was never named as such. He was promptly captured and tortured by Tony, who had assembled a group of highly trained mercenaries to INFILTRATE the war zone and kidnap Philip. Meanwhile Shawn, having slept with Belle during a snowstorm shortly before Philip was deployed, was filled with guilt and decided to make amends by going over to the war zone and rescuing Philip from the encampment where Tony's army of European mercenaries were situated.

Aiding Shawn in the mission was Philip's half-nephew, Brady, his half-brothers, Lucas and Rex, and Sami, who was disguised as a male named Stan (in truth, Alison Sweeney was on maternity leave and Dan Wells was hired to play her in drag) who proceeded to play the four rescuers and Tony against each other before helping the men rescue Philip. Tony meanwhile escaped capture through the guys' attempt to bring Philip home. The guys were rejected by Philip, who opted to stay behind to help his fellow troops in combat (believing it was his military duty). It was during his first mission after his rescue that Philip lost his leg to a landmine, sending him home as a result. Although the war zone was never labeled as Iraq, many were not comfortable with the depiction of a fake war while the Iraq war was going on, where many real soldiers had suffered and died, as well as the controversy of Philip having lost his leg.

Meanwhile, Marlena discovered she was pregnant with Roman's child, though she kept this from John because he was going through withdrawal from the painkillers to which he had become addicted to while Marlena was presumed dead. However, the truth came out as John and Marlena and Roman and Kate tried to mend their troubled marriages. Roman and Kate separated, but mostly due to her constant interference in Sami's life. Marlena lost her baby after a tumble down the stairs, due to the high risk pregnancy and the stress involved in her marriage. She awoke in the hospital to find she had amnesia. John as convinced to call in a specialist named Alex North. In a twist, Alex North was played by none other than Wayne Northrop the original Roman Brady. Dr. North had been using hypnosis on Marlena and trying to help her recover her past--yet-another-retconned past in which the two of them were married.

The Salem teenagers

The show continued on with plotlines that focused upon new teenage characters including Belle Black (originally Kirsten Storms, then briefly Charity Rahmer, now played by Martha Madison), Brady Black (Kyle Lowder), Shawn-Douglas Brady (Jason Cook, currently, Brandon Beemer), and Philip Kiriakis (originated by Brandon Tyler, then almost immediately recast with Jay Kenneth Johnson, then by Kyle Brandt, formerly of MTV's The Real World; now Jay Kenneth Johnson has come back to the role). They were soon joined by Cassie (Alexis Thorpe) and Rex (Eric Winter), who were ultimately revealed to be the offspring of Kate and Roman, who Marlena gave birth to while she was believed to be dead, and Mimi Lockhart (Farah Fath), Belle's best friend, whose father lost his job and abandoned his family.

The main storyline of the time involved the very popular relationship between Shawn and Belle, who vowed to remain virgins until they married and exchanged "purity rings" as a sign of love. (The motives for this wasn't to promote abstinence but a plot concession brought AbOUT due to the fact that actress Kirsten Storms had a multiple picture TV-movie deal with Disney at the time she was hired to play Belle, which included a "morals clause" preventing her from taking any roles which involved her playing sexually ACTIVE characters).

The other big teen stories of the time were Brady and Philip's rivalry over Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin), daughter of conniving Nancy and Dr. Craig Wesley (Patrika Darbo and Kevin Spirtas). Chloe initially wore all black ensembles and big glasses. After many taunts as "Ghoul Girl" she shocked the students at the Last Blast Dance by throwing off her cloak to reveal a sexy red dress. Philip had originally dated her only as a prank (he planned to dump her and break her heart), but he soon fell in love with her. Brady was alienated from his family because of his hatred of Marlena, and confided in Chloe. Eventually Brady and Chloe became a couple, but his grandfather, Victor, felt that Chloe was not good enough for him and got her an overseas job singing opera.

By the summer and fall of 2005, the soap brought back some of its fan favorites from the 1980s and 1990s including former Salem teenagers Austin Peck (Austin Reed), Billy Warlock (Frankie Brady) and Christie Clark (Carrie Brady). However, some of these returns did not have the anticipated effect. While Austin and Frankie were GeneRally liked by fans again, Carrie (who had been extremely popular before while her sister Sami had been generally disliked by fans) was now largely disliked by fans, most of whom had grown to love Sami due to the character's fiestiness, complexity, and Alison Sweeney's often vulnerable performance. All three characters have since been re-written off the show.

Death of Zack Brady

Chelsea was a key figure in a major plot line that opened 2006, as she accidentally killed Bo and Hope's little boy Zack while playing with her cell phone behind the wheel of Bo's SUV. Matters grew even worse when Hope found out that Bo had not only lied to cover up what Chelsea did (when Billie insisted on taking the fall, Bo let her), he also had just that night signed a new temporary driver's license to Chelsea, then handed her the keys to his truck. He believed that he was actually responsible for Zack's death, and Hope agreed, throwing him out of their house.

In an attempt to protect herself, Chelsea did everything she could to drive a wedge between Bo and Hope and push her father closer to Billie, all in the hopes that Bo would defend Chelsea at her impending trial. Her scheming drove Hope into the arms of Patrick Lockhart and Bo temporarily back to Billie. The trial hinged on a critical piece of damning evidence: video footage from a convenience store surveillance camera of Chelsea behind the wheel of the SUV. When this footage went missing, Chelsea was let off with a paltry sentence of community service. Hope Was furious and filed for divorce from Bo, whom she believed stole the evidence to protect his daughter. Patrick returned to Salem, where he returned to his old life. He grew closer to Billie Reed and to Hope Brady, both of whom trusted him, but Bo Brady did not. He and Billie briefly hooked up, but they both seem interested in others, namely Bo & Jennifer.

Patrick soon went to a place called Morgan Island and ran into Hope who had recently lost her son Zack. He comforted her and the two soon made love. While on the island Patrick admitted that he had been to the island before and that he had fallen in love with a woman named Alma Delgado and the two had plans to elope/wed and have a family. She was mysteriously gunned down before the two of them managed to run away. Patrick always felt guilty and that it was because of his dealings with the mob that had resulted in Alma's death. But with a letter found by Hope from Alma to Patrick it revealed that it was Alma's own mob dealings that had ended her life.

After returning to Salem Patrick Lockhart really wanted Hope and tried to manipulate her into divorcing her husband. After Hope found out that she was pregnant Patrick bribed her doctor into changing test results to show that he was the father when Bo really was.

Even with the test changes, Bo and Hope began to grow closer so Patrick tried to get Hope to go away with him. Hope soon learned that Patrick was working with EJ Wells and had committed many terrible crimes including being the gloved hand and the [...] of officer Eve Michaels. Soon after, Patrick kidnapped Hope and took her to an abandoned warehouse where he told her that he had only got close to her on Morgan Island because he was ordered to and that now he had been ordered by EJ to kill her. Bo soon found them and when Patrick tried to leave with Hope, her water broke. Hope then delivered a baby girl that Patrick finally admitted was Bo's. Patrick is currently sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Shawn, Belle, Phillip, and Mimi

In the meantime, Kate Roberts and Victor Kiriakis discovered baby Claire's true paternity: Shawn-Douglas Brady was her father. Neither Belle nor Shawn remembered having [...] during a traumatic barn fire. This was revealed soon after an organ transplant which saved Claire's life. Phillip was, mysteriously, not a match, but her godfather Shawn was, as was the late Zack Brady. Bo and Hope tearfully allowed Zack's organs to be donated, and it saved Claire's life. Soon, the truth of Claire's paternity spread to Mimi's mother Bonnie, and then to Mimi. About to be married to Shawn, Mimi swore she would tell her husband-to-be the truth but never mustered the courage, too afraid of losing him to his first love, Belle.

For months, the truth was hidden until Belle and Mimi agreed at the same time to undergo IVF to conceive babies. A mysterious figure wearing a black leather glove ensured that Belle's egg would be fertilized with Shawn's sperm, and Mimi's with Phillip's. Later, another switch in the lab tipped off a nurse, and soon the truth of the switched sperm was out to everyone, but not before Belle was impregnated with her egg and a surrogate carried Mimi's.

With this new connection between them, Belle and Shawn wrestled with their true feelings for each other, and Belle hoped she could somehow reconcile with Shawn. Both marriages would fall apart when the truth of Claire's paternity was revealed (thanks to Chelsea anonymously giving them the paternity results) and then confirmed when Mimi admitted the truth. Shawn immediately left Mimi for keeping the truth from him and filed for custody of Claire; Phillip vowed to hold his family and marriage together. Rocked from this new stress between them all, Belle would lose her (and Shawn's) baby. Ultimately, she blamed Phillip; he had reluctantly agreed to a procedure that saved her life by aborting the baby, but he went against her wishes. Belle moved out of their apartment, and a crushed Phillip left town, realizing she would certainly try to get back together with Shawn. However, Shawn had agreed with Phillip that Belle's life had to be saved, and after seeing how well he cared for Claire, he gave up his pursuit of custody. Belle was crushed by this news, thinking Shawn no longer wanted her or Claire.

Shawn was dating a former hooker named Willow and worked for EJ Wells for a short period of time, and Belle was trying to figure out if Shawn could truly fit to be a father for Claire. Meanwhile, Mimi had to find work at Chez Rouge. She and Phillip gave up their rights to the baby their surrogate was carrying, but Mimi's mother Bonnie was trying to broker a deal so she can keep the baby. Because the baby is technically a Kiriakis heir, the opportunistic Bonnie sees dollar signs in the future and she has even gone as far as to steal money from her elder son Patrick to pay the surrogate to keep the baby. Also, Philip had gone missing.

Currently, Shawn and Belle are trying to work things out and Mimi is pursuing a relationship with Maxwell Brady. This happened after the two went to Georgia to search for Philip and wound up getting imprisoned together in a church basement (they would later be found and rescued by Abby Deveraux). Meanwhile, Victor Kiriakis is hosting a mysterious man with bandages covering his face. This mysterious character is believed to be Philip.

Sami, Carrie, Lucas, Austin, and EJ

In 2005, Carrie Brady and Austin Reed both returned to Salem with their own companies in the hopes of finding financial success, and quickly rediscovered their feelings for each other. Jealous of her sister, Sami hid the fact that Carrie was CEO of High Style, the company Austin was preparing to acquire via a hostile takeover. Carrie discovered it was Austin who stole her company and was furious, ending up in the arms of Lucas. Sami took the opportunity to move in on Austin and they became a couple.

Neither coupling seemed entirely stable as Austin tried to win Carrie back and she seemed torn between the two half brothers. Sami was paranoid she would lose Austin, so she blackmailed Lexie Carver, ordering her to ensure Carrie would not choose Austin; otherwise, Sami would reveal the truth of Lexie's infidelity with Tek Kramer to her husband Abe. Lexie complied. Carrie was one of her patients, so Lexie made up a story, telling her that she and Austin could never conceive a baby without a high chance it would have serious birth defects. This revelation crushed Carrie's hopes that she and Austin could have a family together. She shunned Austin, never telling him why. When she soon found out she was pregnant with Lucas' baby, she married him as quickly as possible.

A new character, British race car driver EJ Wells (played by ex-All My Children star James Scott), arrived in Salem and moved into the same building as the two couples. The handsome and charming EJ immediately sparked up a friendship with Sami and found himself involved with both couples' lives. It was then that the aforementioned "gloved one" would begin to play a part in the lives of Sami, Carrie, Lucas, Austin, and Lexie (though it is not known yet whether it is the same person from the Shawn/Belle/Phillip/Mimi storyline).

Sami began to receive cryptic notes from the "gloved one", stating that she would lose everyone she cared about if she didn't cooperate. The notes continued through to her wedding day, when another note stated that if she married Austin, her lies would be told. She stood up Austin at the altar, later telling him she knew he really loved Carrie and that he should be with her instead. It was then that EJ decided to make a romantic play for Sami.

Things only became more complicated when Carrie discovered she was never actually pregnant, the result of a false positive test. Carrie only married Lucas because she thought she was pregnant with his baby, but without this real tie to him, she found herself back in the arms of Austin. Lucas walked in on Carrie and Austin making love and he left her in disgust. Carrie and Austin began making plans to leave Salem together just as another note arrived at Sami's apartment: this one revealed all and was read by Lucas, Carrie, and Austin. They were shocked by how low Sami could go. Sami's son Will, already disappointed with her for leaving Austin at the altar, moved out with Lucas. Carrie and Austin quickly got married by a Justice of the Peace and left for Switzerland.

Patch and Kayla, Jack and Jennifer reunited

At some nearby hospice, the terminally ill Jack Deveraux discovered his long-dead brother Steve "Patch" Johnson was, in fact, alive. Jack urged his amnesiac brother to return to Salem to reunite with his wife Kayla and daughter Stephanie. Steve agreed to go meet these people that he didn't know under the stipulation that Jack would go with him.

Dr. Kayla Brady Johnson returned to Salem, still grieving her late husband after all these years, just in time for Jennifer's wedding to Frankie Brady. Jack interrupted the ceremony, shocking everyone in attendance including his wife Jennifer and daughter Abby. Outside the church, Kayla fainted at the sight of her long-lost husband Steve, and she soon hoped to discover their love together. Unfortunately, he admitted not knowing her, but she vowed to help him remember. Steve found himself pressured by the new responsibilities of being a husband and father and went back to Cincinnati. He would return to Salem to try again with Kayla, but ended up starting a relationship with Billie Reed. Eventually, Kayla took Steve on a short trip away from Salem to a hotel they stayed at years before. During their stay, Steve suffered sudden flashbacks and regained all of his memory with Kayla.

Meanwhile, thanks to help from Frankie, Jack was cured of his illness thanks to an experimental [...] treatment. He felt very awkward stepping in between Frankie and Jennifer, but Abby was very hopeful her parents would get back together. Soon, Jack and Jennifer became embroiled in the mystery of the [...] of Officer Eve Michaels, a crooked cop at the Salem PD. And just as abruptly as they got back together, both Jack and Jennifer were soon gone to London. This left Frankie pretty much alone, and he soon returned to Washington, D.C.

Steve "Patch" Johnson fights for his memory

In Steve's absence from Salem, he was held by the DiMera's who tortured and brainwashed him into being one of their soldiers. As Steve began to realize this, he tried to resist and to kill the man who was controlling him: Stefano's son, EJ Wells. This proved difficult and EJ managed to force Steve into kidnapping John Black so that he could steal his kidney and, later, to go to Tinda Lao to kill Bo and keep Shawn from signing a statement against EJ. Steve began pushing Kayla away to protect her and went in and out of mental hospitals where he was still at the mercy of EJ and his agents. Steve remained in a 'Mental Home" for a while. A corrupt doctor, under the order's of EJ, tortured him, so Steve couldn't get back to Normal. Eventually, Steve' sister Adrienne, came into the picture, and helped him remember. Later, Steve helped Hope Brady get out of the DiMera house, while she was taking Santo's letters to learn more about the feud between the Bradys and the DiMeras, by telling Stefano DiMera that they were having an affair. Stefano believed it and let Steve and Hope leave. Steve has been involved in helping end the vendetta including assisting in faking Stefano's death, but when Andre killed Benjy, Steve became out of control. He kidnapped Stefano and demanded Andre bring Roman Brady, Andre's hostage, to the television stations where he was holding Stefano. Andre did as Steve said and released Roman. Realizing Steve was out of his mind with grief, Stefano dropped all charges against Steve for the kidnapping doing so to honor Benjy's memory.

The Brady/DiMera feud

John was shot and was in a coma for a few months. That is how the main plot opens for 2007. For decades now, the DiMera family has wreaked havoc on the citizens of Salem. But, it has been recently revealed that the DiMera and Brady feud extends several decades into the past, far across the Atlantic Ocean, to the country of Ireland.

The only true way to understand who Santo DiMera was, is by sifting through the romantic and haunting words that were written in letters to his one true love, Colleen Brady. According to the letters, over 50 years ago, an injured Santo was brought to Colleen's church and awakened to the sight of a young novitiate, Colleen, and was instantly smitten, with no hope for his heart’s recovery. Although their disparate clans would never permit such a union to flourish, especially since Colleen was preparing to become a nun and Santo was married with a child, this couple shared the kind of star-crossed love that never dies. Santo believed that theirs was a meeting of divine purpose.

This forbidden love affair originated in Galway, Ireland, survived six decades, and lives on today in Salem - in the form of the Brady/DiMera feud. Andre and Stefano DiMera have stepped up their tradition of plotting revenge against the Brady family.

Santo and Colleen Letters

Letter #1 Colleen's request for a silk handkerchief.

Letter #2 Santo believes there is a divine purpose in their meeting.

Letter #3 Santo, Colleen, and Sister Rose go on a picnic.

Letter #4 Temptation threatens Colleen's pledge of fealty to God and the Church.

Letter #5 Santo is left breathless by Colleen's natural beauty.

Letter #6 Colleen struggles with the memory of their kiss.

Letter #7 Colleen saves Stefano from falling to his death.

Letter #8 Santo credits Colleen to making him whole.

Letter #9 Colleen accepts a forbidden invitation.

Letter #10 Colleen begs God's forgiveness for asking Shawn to lie.

Letter #11 Did Colleen choose to live for herself?

Letter #12 Colleen admits the kiss changed her life forever.

Letter #13 Prisoners of love.

Letter #14 Colleen has no escape from sinful desires.

Letter #15 A world of possibilities terrifies Colleen.

Letter #16 Colleen is ignited with passion.

Letter #17 A proposal of marriage.

Letter #18 Santo is asked to wait one more day for an answer.

Letter #19 Colleen sends her answer.

Letter #20 The answer to Santo's prayers.

Letter #21 The family reaction.

Letter #22 Santo pleads to meet Colleen in person.

Letter #23 Colleen's letter to Mr.DiMera.

Andre returns and the "death" of John Black

John and Marlena tracked Stefano to an oxygen tent in an Italian hospital to learn that Stefano was EJ's father. A few months later, EJ brought ailing Stefano to Salem for a clandestine kidney transplant, but it didn't do the trick. Stefano needed stem cells, and set his sights on pregnant Sami as his donor. Despite EJ and Sami's efforts to put an end to the Brady/DiMera feud, Stefano warned that this is impossible, until all wrongs between the two families have been righted. Mistaking Sami for Colleen Brady, who was taken from his father Santo DiMera, Stefano cryptically refers her to Grandpa Shawn; he knew the true roots of the feud. According to Stefano, the only way to end hostilities would be for Sami to marry EJ, and raise her child as a DiMera. But that's not what Sami had in mind. Doug and Julie helped translate the letters.

A crazed Tony, locked up his sister Lexie, in a tunnel, after John was shot, by the gloved one. While searching for clues, Bo and Hope found the presumed dead Lexie Carver inside a tunnel leading to the DiMera Mansion from Doug's Place. They also discovered a bomb in a music box which exploded but did not kill anyone. Later, it was discovered that Tony wasn't Tony, but was Andre, pretending to be Tony. Tony has been locked away on an island for over twenty years. Andre went into [...] mode and continued on with the feud, using disguises like dressing up as a clown and an old lady. Andre took out part of Benjy's liver and threw him in a dumpster. Benjy was barely alive when found, and was hospitalized, and saved. Andre then stabbed Roman and Steve, locked Lucas in a meat truck, locked Shawn and Belle in the Brady's Pub freezer, multiple attacks to EJ and Sami, and went into hiding with the help of Rolf. Andre kidnapped Kate to lure in Roman. The Brady's and others set up a fake funeral of Stefano, while Stefano is knocked out, so Andre will come out of the shadows. At the funeral, Benjy Hawk fires shots at Stefano's chest, but Stefano is wearing a bullet proof vest, and this wakes up Stefano, but the funeral is still carried on. Andre appears dressed up, and is driving around with a hearse. Lurking in the shadows, Andre sets up recordings of his laughs. Andre takes off with a hurt Roman, and Roman is buried alive inside a coffin. Bo keeps on after Andre, but an explosion occurs, keeping Bo away. Lucas and EJ are then held hostage. Sami arrives, and has to choose who will get shot. Sami misfires the gun, and accidentally shoots Lucas in the leg. A distracted Andre gets beaten down, but still continues chaos for Sami and then escapes.

Abe, Bo, and Steve kept searching for Roman. Steve and Abe find a spot where they think Roman might be and start digging. Instead of finding Roman, they find a dead Benjy Hawk, who was murdered by Andre. Roman is barely alive gasping for air in the coffin, when Andre digs him back up, only to strap a bomb to him, brings him to the Brady Pub, and taunts Sami and EJ, while the bomb counts down. The bomb doesn't go off, and Andre sees Stefano on TV being held hostage by Steve, and goes to the TV station, with a barely alive Roman, still held captive. Hope tries to take down Andre, but instead is held captive. Andre takes Hope on top of the building, leaning on the ledge. Bo fires with a direct shot at Andre, knocking Andre off the building, saving Hope. Andre, in critical condition was taken to the hospital. Grandpa Shawn, goes into the hospital room, and debates on unplugging Andre's life support. Andre unplugs it himself, because he doesn't want to live anymore with the feud going on. Stefano of course, thinks Shawn did it, but no evidence proved it, and Shawn is left alone.

Shortly after emerging from the coma, John was at the police station to confront EJ Wells when he was arrested. But of course, nothing was proved about EJ. John was the victim of a hit and run set up by Andre and a convict. It was unknown who did it or why, and Stefano kept referring to what happened as John being "struck down by an unknown assailant." John was rushed to the hospital and into surgery, but had suffered massive internal injuries, and Marlena and his loved ones were crushed to learn he would not survive. John passed away in the hospital surrounded by friends and family, with Marlena urging him to "rest" and telling him, "I'll see you in forever." John died peacefully in Marlena's arms.

Two months later, John was back, resurrected by Stefano. John returned without any memory of his former self or his life with Marlena. Marlena injected Stefano with a [...] that rendered him comatose in an act of revenge for his nefarious obsession with her family and for taking John away from her. John would learn to cope without his memories and would soon learn the true identity of his parents, Colleen Brady and Santo DiMera. With Stefano lying in a catatonic state, John assumed his role as the DiMera heir and moved into Stefano’s mansion.

John’s new life remained a stark contrast to his former life despite the tireless efforts of Marlena to bring back the old John Black. Marlena employed Rolf, the loyal DiMera servant, in her quest to repair the memory disc while John dismissed "Doc" and initiated a feud with Phillip Kiriakis and a romantic affair with Ava Vitali. Ava’s legal troubles caught up with her and she left John just as Stefano began to awake from his coma.

Shawn Sr.'s Death & Bo's Health Crisis

Before heading with many of the Brady clan and friends to Ireland, Bo received terrible health news from Kayla and Lexie, the new Chief-of-Staff. Not wanting to upset his family, Bo kept the news to himself and flew to Ireland with his father and everyone else to learn that Colleen Brady was alive. Shawn Senior and his sister had an emotional reunion and later reveals that John Black is really her and Santo’s love-child, Ryan Brady. Colleen succumbs to her illnesses and dies in John’s arms.

Everyone boards the plane ready to head back to Salem when Steve spots a mysterious woman (Ava) tampering with the jet. John is forced to pilot the sabotaged plane and everyone fears the worst as it is going down. Knowing that his prognosis is bad and he is going to die, Bo finally tells Hope that he’s dying and uses his Oxygen mask to save others. Shawn Senior, in a brave act of heroism, regains consciousness and takes off his mask and gives it to an unconscious Bo. When John is able to safely land the plan everyone is saddened to learn that Shawn Sr. is dead; Bo blames himself.

Bo is admitted into the hospital for more tests as he and Caroline mourn the loss of Shawn Sr. Lexie reveals that Bo’s pancreas is failing. Although Bo does not have cancer in his pancreas (unlike his half-sister Isabella who died from pancreatic cancer), Lexie is unsure of what is wrong with Bo. Victor vows to do everything he can to save his son and brings Dr. Daniel Jonas to Salem to help. Bo draws strength from his Caroline, Shawn-D, Chelsea, Victor, Phillip, Kayla and Hope, who urges him to hold on until Kayla, Daniel and Lexie can unlock the mystery of his illness. The doctors discover he needs a transplant and that Chelsea is the only suitable donor but she is out drinking herself into a stupor under the weight of possibly loosing her dad.

Daniel works hard to get Chelsea sober and prepared for surgery, eventually saving Bo’s life. The situation helps bring Bo and Chelsea closer but both she and Bo are haunted by the consequences: Chelsea cannot have children as a result of a complication in the procedure. Shawn Douglas and Belle leave Salem shortly after Bo’s recovery for a sailing trip around the world while Chelsea’s crush on Daniel intensifies and she breaks up with Nick. The ordeal brings Victor and Caroline closer together and the rest of the Bradys move on from the trauma of Spring, 2008 as Kayla gives birth to a pre-mature boy and Bo gets involved with his brother Phillip’s feud against John Black.

The Hospital Lockdown (2008)

In August 2008, Stefano did awake from the coma and set his revenge sights on Marlena. He orchestrated a dramatic hostage situation where Tony, Anna, John, Marlena, Steve, Kayla, Baby Joe, Sami, EJ, Lucas, and Chloe were trapped on the 7th floor of the hospital. Everyone survived, but the police were unable to have enough proof to charge Stefano. So, he returned to the DiMera mansion, where he set about securing all of the DiMera assets. He had to fight his half-brother John and his children at different times, but he insisted that the DiMera name and DiMera family would remain strong.

See also

• List of Days of our Lives cast members
• List of Days of our Lives characters