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Days Of Our Lives’ Underwhelming Moments

Dorathy Gass

May 15, 2019

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Days of Our Lives (DOOL) has seen some pretty good times — weddings, new babies, friendships, holiday traditions, and love blossoming at every corner. Despite all of the good going on, Salemites have also fallen on hard and depressing times over the years. Viewers have seen kidnappings, the loss of children, breakups, and loved ones passing on. There have been many sad times on the soap since its inception so we’ve compiled a list of the major underwhelming moments on DOOL!

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12. Zack Brady’s Passing

It’s never easy when a character perishes, so, when a child passes on it can be that much more devastating for fans. Such was the case in 2006 when little Zack Brady got struck by a car when he wondered out searching for a cat. Even more underwhelming? His half-sister Chelsea was the one recklessly driving said vehicle that hit and ultimately caused the child’s passing.

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11. Eric and Nicole Can’t Catch A Break

Will these two ever reunite? While Nicole and Eric had a bona fide relationship way back in the late 1990s, getting back together since has been a struggle. They battled Eric being a priest to Brady running Nicole out of town to last year’s warehouse fire (where everyone thought Walker had passed away) to what they are dealing with now in Holly’s kidnapping. Every time fans think Nicole and Eric could finally have their “happily ever after,” they are let down when disaster strikes, drifting them further apart. This DOOL super couple is the ultimate Greek tragedy.

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10. Gabi Schemes Against Chad And Melanie

Gabi hasn’t been a character to always walk along the path of what is right, and she has made some really bad decisions from time to time. She hasn’t always been a schemer in Salem, which made her involvement in Melanie’s kidnapping (and being held captive) such an underwhelming storyline. Andrew was a photography assistant that Gabi hired to stalk her so that she could get the attention of Chad DiMera (Melanie’s boyfriend at the time). Sadly, Andrew ended up kidnapping Melanie and holding her hostage for a lengthy amount of time. The entire ordeal took a tremendous physiological toll on Melanie and the most saddening thing around the entire thing was that ‘friend’ Gabi knew about it, and helped Andrew hold Melanie down there longer. The moment when Gabi was in Andrew’s apartment and faked being a victim had to be one of the lowest points in the entire storyline.

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9. Bo Brady Passes Away

It’s never a good thing when a beloved character passes on, but the story around Bo Brady’s passing was not only saddening, it was also heartbreaking. When Bo silently was removed from DOOL storylines in 2012, many fans were outraged. Not only was he gone from Salem, but there was zero closure when it came to his character and relationship with Hope. When he came back in late 2015, fans rejoiced as the prodigal Brady son had finally returned with a solid explanation as to why he was gone for so long. But no sooner did he reunite with Hope, the celebration of his return transformed into a funeral when Bo passed from a brain tumor. The arc did provide closure for Bo and Hope but was devastating for DOOL fans everywhere.

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8. Marlena Loses Her Baby To SIDS

This is every parent’s worst nightmare when they bring their newborn home for the first time, and it was a subject that DOOL dived into over three decades ago. A young Marlena Evans was married to Don Craig Sr. at the time and in 1980 she gave birth to a premature baby boy, weighing only two pounds and ten ounces. Sadly, when the baby turned three months it passed due to SIDS. Marlena was devastated and Don blamed his wife for their loss. The couple could not get over the baby’s demise and eventually split. It was a very hard time in Marlena’s life, and a hard watch for many fans.

©Paul Skipper/JPI

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7. Melaswen Island

While this storyline happened well over 15 years ago, fans and soap opera enthusiast alike still bring it up. In fact, it continues to find its way on lists like ‘most outrageous soap storyline’ and so on. The reason it lands on this list is the fact that the story had so many underwhelming moments on so many levels. Every time a major DOOL character passed away that year, fans mourned the loss. It felt as if the soap was washing away all the older characters that had made the show a success to begin with. When the realization came that no one had passed, rather they were all on an island (thanks to Stefano DiMera) – well, the letdown was there as DOOL fans felt they had all been duped!

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©Paul Skipper/jpistudios.com

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6. Theresa Leaves Town

Brady and Theresa had gone through and overcame a lot in 2016, building a lovely relationship and family with Tate. Sadly, that all crumbled within mere months. Theresa was finally at a point where she was happy, so watching her leave Salem and saying goodbye to her little boy as she pretended to hate her family life was heartbreaking to watch. Trying to turn Brady off, Theresa acted as if she had gone back to drugs, but the real reason was to protect the ones she loved against El Fideo and bring him down. Seeing Theresa leave the two most important people in her life back in her hometown all in the name of love was an underwhelming moment that many fans won’t soon forget.

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5. Summer Leaves Town

Another Salemite left town in 2016, and this was an underwhelming moment on another level. At the beginning of the New Year, after so much thought, effort, and DOOL screen time, a new character, Summer Townsend, burst onto the scene with ties to Maggie Horton and a deceased Daniel Jonas. These were two people that could link Summer to the little town for good and offer her roots. But just as abruptly as she came into Salem, mere months later, she fled. Summer wasn’t given a proper storyline or exit, which was sad because this character had so much potential.

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4. Lexie And Her Involvement In The Baby Switch

Rewind a few years to 2000, couples and BFFs, Abe and Lexie Carver and Bo and Hope Brady, welcomed new additions into their families. Abe and Lexie were over the moon to adopt a sweet little boy since they experienced such difficulty expanding their family in the past. However, while they thought they were adopting a teenage girl’s child, it turned out that Lexie’s dad, Stefano, orchestrated a baby switch. Hope and Bo received the girl’s infant (who ended up having fetal alcohol syndrome), while the Carvers got the Brady baby. Lexie had always been a stand-up character that fought for good, but when the news hit that the babies had been switched, she did everything she could to keep Zack Brady away from his bio parents. Saddening that a righteous character would turn so manipulative, especially when it came to her best friends.

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3. Nicole Loses Her Baby

While there was a time when Nicole Walker was viewed as nothing short of a gold-digger, as DOOL fans have come to learn over the years, she is someone that has been through a great deal in her life and simply wants her happily ever after. Sadly, Nicole struggles when it comes to happiness. Back in 2008, a brief affair turned into a relationship when E.J. DiMera hooked up with Nicole, resulting in expecting a baby. E.J. was elated by the news and instantly asked Nicole to move in with him. As her journey progressed, in November of that year, she went into premature labor and lost their baby girl. It was at that point in time that the doctor also relayed even more awful news: she would never, ever, be able to carry a child to full term.

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2. Eric And Jenn’s Night Before His Sentencing

Eric Brady and Jennifer Horton bonding through addiction was a low point for both characters back in 2016, and a hard watch for many fans. Their dysfunctional relationship all came to a climax the night before Eric was sentenced for his DUI accident, one that cost Dr. Daniel Jonas his life. Locked up in a seedy hotel room, Eric drank himself into a stupor. Jenn popped pills like they were M&Ms and they would end up together in bed. The two were so out of it they could barely remember what they did the night before, and Eric was late for his sentencing hearing. It was underwhelming to see these two incredible characters fall so low in their lives, but that is what addiction does.

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1. Kayla Returns To Salem… Without Steve

Kayla and Patch are undoubtedly one of the greatest daytime super couples of all time. That’s why when Kayla strolled back into town in 2011, without Steve, this left fans with some eyebrows raised. The couple spent close to 16 years apart because Kayla thought Steve had passed and he had amnesia, so when they were reunited in 2006, one would think they would not want to waste any more time. Apparently, she and Steve had been fighting for months on end before she headed back to town, as he longed for the adventurous life that the ISA brought.

Dorathy Gass

Dorathy Gass is an avid fan of daytime drama and has been watching Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and Young and the Restless for over two decades now. As a full-time freelance writer, she gets to combine her love of soap operas and writing through her Fame 10 articles. Also a mother of two busy girls and a mommy blogger, she's been published multiple times over in Huffington Post Parents and Scary Mommy.