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Days Of Our Lives: Unexpected Plot Twists

Dorathy Gass

February 24, 2020

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The strongest soap writers can help transition the end of a storyline into a brand new one, and this is where plot twists can change the game for any daytime drama. While there are times that Days of Our Lives (DOOL) has been known to stretch reality when it comes to their stories, there’s no denying they have had some pretty incredible plot twists over the years. Below is an overview of some unexpected plot twists in DOOL’s recent history.

12. Steve Is Stefano

When Steve Johnson was written out of storylines in late August 2018, most DOOL fans weren’t too pleased. Then, when new broke via social media that actor Stephen Nichols was set to return to the daytime drama in late 2019, audiences were over the moon, as we would finally all be seeing the Steve and Kayla reunion we were all hoping for. That is until Days viewers realized that Nichols had really returned to play Stefano DiMera, parading around as “Patch.” #MindBlown

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11. Maggie Caused The Accident

When Will Horton ended up in jail after the time jump in Salem, most fans knew that he was either innocent of the charges laid on him, or it was all a huge misunderstanding. But, when the truth was told (to audiences only) that Maggie was really behind the car accident that resulted in Adrienne Kiriakis’ passing, everyone was completely taken aback. Not only did a drunk Maggie cause Adrienne’s demise, but also her own granddaughter’s life as well.

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10. Baby Swap, Circa 2020

Speaking of, there have been a ton of baby swaps in soaps over the years, and Salem has had its fair share. As unbelievable as these storylines tend to be, when it was revealed in early 2020 that Kristen and Brady’s baby did not pass on, but was actually switched for Eric and Sarah’s baby, fans were on the edge of their seats. For months (technically over a year if you consider the time jump) a storyline revolved around Sarah keeping Eric in the dark about Baby Mickey, so it was a huge plot twist to find out that Mickey wasn’t even their child.

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9. Hattie Saves Marlena, Sort Of

It’s more than odd to think that Marlena not only has a twin sister (Samantha) but also a doppelganger in Hattie Adams. Over the years Hattie has proven to be a thorn in Evans’ side, that is until August 2018. John was desperate to stop Marlena’s kids from pulling the life support system on their mom. While it was in her living will that she wanted to pass away with dignity, Black wasn’t ready to give up on Marlena just yet. In a dramatic moment, the kids ended up winning the battle around Marlena’s life, and pulled the plug to their mom’s life support. Everyone waited with bated breath, and while Marlena was on her last leg, her heart kept beating, despite no support system. How could this be? The old switcheroo happened, with a little help from Roman and Kate, and in the end, Marlena ended up waking up from her coma. So, is some ways, Hattie jumping in to “play” Marlena that day truly saved Evans’ life!

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8. Rex, You ARE The Father!

Some fans may have had an inkling that little baby Emily was not Bonnie’s child back in 2018, when the con artist tried to pawn the baby off as Lucas’ to escape prison time. All arrows were pointing to Mimi as the mom, but fans were completely blown out of the water when she stated that Rex was the father, especially since he was with Sarah Horton at the time!

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7. Patch Is Comes Back To Life

Back in 1990, DOOL fans were devastated when one of the most popular characters on the show, Steve Johnson, passed away. A boat explosion left Steve in a coma and then a scheming Lawrence Alamain poisoned Steve’s IV, causing his demise. There was a tease that he may return at some point since audiences saw his casket was replaced before burial, but the plot twist that brought him back was unbelievable. Almost 16 years later Steve’s brother Jack would find him suffering from amnesia. It was somehow linked back to Stefano DiMera, but if Alamain was the reason behind Steve’s passing — how on earth did he become a pawn for DiMera? Makes no sense, but somehow back in 2006, all fans cared about was that Steve was back in Salem!

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6. Summer’s Link To Salem

This certainly was an overall storyline that had many twists and turns. Beloved Dr. Daniel Jonas passed away due to a drunk driving accident on New Year’s Eve 2016. Everyone mourned: Salem residents and DOOL fans alike. But, before Daniel left this earth, he gave his BFF his heart. Once Brady had Daniel’s heart, he began having these weird dreams about a woman. Many began to wonder if the woman one of Daniel’s exes. In the end, the lady turned out to be Summer Wilson, who is Daniel’s half-sister and Maggie’s daughter. Now, who saw that coming?

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5. Roman Brady is John Black

Much like any other soap opera, DOOL loves to change things up a lot! In 1985, John Black returned to Salem and, at that point in time, it was determined he was really Roman Brady. John lived for years, raising Roman’s kids, loving Roman’s wife, taking care of his home, and basically living Roman’s life. With that said, in 1992 a plot twist came that revealed John Black was actually Forrest Alamain, not Roman Brady. The good news was that the real Roman Brady entered the picture; however, the bad news was that many more plot twists would arise around John’s past in the years to come.

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4. Aiden Returns!

Aiden Jennings was a good guy who turned very bad. Initially, he helped Hope Brady get over Bo abandoning her, but things turned very wrong after their November 2015 wedding. Thankfully Bo showed up for their honeymoon and saved Hope before Aiden could end her life; however, Aiden would return months later (after his so-called passing) and claim the man she married was an imposter. It was so unbelievable that even Hope herself struggled with the concept. Even worse, Aiden would eventually become just as slimy as his slimeball imposter was.

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3. Chloe’s Baby

When Chloe Lane announced she was having a baby in the summer of 2016, no one could have predicted the plot twist that would occur. It seemed like a standard hiding-the-child’s-true-paternity storyline, but this turned out to be anything but that. DOOL fans were shocked to their very core when it was revealed that the baby was not Deimos’ but rather Daniel and Nicole’s child and Chloe was the surrogate mom. Talk about unbelievable plot twists!

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2. The Phoenix Rises

Hope and Rafe spent a good chunk of 2016 trying to cover up the fact that the beautiful cop shot Salem’s enemy #1. She would finally get nailed for being behind DiMera’s demise; however, what happened next was incredibly unbelievable. Not only did Stefano trap Hope into shooting him, as it seemed he was ill and wanted out of his misery, but the three shots also didn’t end him after all. While the plot holes in this storyline were over-the-top, the silver lining was that the Phoenix ended up outwitting his enemies in the long run and escaping them once again. This made an incredible tribute to not only an iconic character like Stefano DiMera, but also the legendary actor Joseph Mascolo, who played him and passed away in late 2016.

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1. Melaswen Island

A legendary plot twist that will forever be ingrained in DOOL fans’ minds is that of Melaswen Island. In 2003, Days audiences were quite saddened as they watched their favorite characters get picked off one by one by a serial killer who was stalking the town. Enter, plot twist number one — it turned out to be Marlena! No, it couldn’t be! Actually, it wasn’t. The second plot twist lead us to believe it was Stefano! The idea that he was able to (logistically) kidnap all these characters and hide them on a remote island (New Salem spelled backward — Melaswen) was simply outrageous! Yes, unbelievable, but also quite memorable!

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.