The day we have all dreaded since Bill Hayes’ death is coming.
This is the week that Hayes’ alter ego, Doug Williams, is going to pass away in his sleep.
Worse, Days of Our Lives spoilers during the week of 11-25-24 say that he will leave this world during the Thanksgiving Day episode, making it hard to be excited about the holiday show.
Doug’s Death Hits Hard… And It’s Not The Only One
Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-25-24 are doubly heartbreaking because on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), Doug passes away, and on Friday, Marlena shares news about John.
As we know, that’s the beginning of the end for him, too, because Drake Hogestyn passed away in September.
Normally, it would take another year or so before John was written out, but because Hogestyn’s cancer was so aggressive that he’d been too ill to work for 9 months, executive producer Ken Corday made the heartbreaking decision to write John’s death before the actor passed.
That meant Hogestyn was able to have input into how his TV self would pass away.
It’s heartbreakingly beautiful that Days of Our Lives was able to give him that and respected him so much that the showrunners were willing to do so.
Still, it’s depressing and cruel for the audience to be hit with these two huge losses back-to-back. At least it’ll be a few months before John is officially declared dead, but still.
Doug’s sendoff will undoubtedly be beautiful, but I hate that it’s happening on Thanksgiving almost as much as I hate that it’s happening at all.
John Aniston passed away on Veteran’s Day in 2022, so November is already a sad month for longtime Days of Our Lives fans.
Doug’s death will be even harder to bear.
Bill and Susan Seaforth Hayes made soap history in the 1970s by being one of the first soap couples to fall in love in real life. They were a fixture on Days of Our Lives for over half a century and married in real life for longer than I’ve been alive.
The only soap death that rocked my world this much was MacDonald Carey’s death, which became Tom Horton’s in 1994. This is unsurprising because Doug and Julie seemed like the next generation’s Tom and Alice.
They also reminded me of my real grandparents, who are long gone, so losing Doug is like losing another one of them.
The good news is that the entire week won’t be depressing. The Kiriakis Thanksgiving will take place starting on Tuesday, so at least we get SOME celebrating before the saddest Thanksgiving ever.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t have let Doug’s death air the day after Thanksgiving so that we could at least have a happy holiday, but at least the family will all be together.
Doug’s Death Will Usher In Lots Of Big Returns
I’m not sure when all of Julie’s huge family is returning to Salem, but Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 11-25-24 promise that Jack and Jennifer will make an appearance.
I love Cady McClain, but I’m thrilled that Melissa Reeves is back this time.
She originated the role, so she’s the one who should be there for Julie in the aftermath of Doug’s death and cling to her husband and her remaining child.
Melissa Reeves probably has lots of memories of Bill Hayes, too, making her the right person to play Jennifer’s response to his passing.
She told a few stories about him when he first passed, so most of Jennifer’s grief here will likely be the actress’ real grief combined with the script’s demands.
Days of Our Lives Spoilers During The Week Of 11-25-24 Promise It Won’t All Be Depressing
While the world’s saddest Thanksgiving will overshadow the holiday itself, there’s plenty of other stuff going on in Salem.
There’s more fallout from the Body and Soul nonsense to come, especially Johnny’s one-night stand with Joy.
I know cheating stories are a soap staple, but why did we need to do this with Johnny and Chanel?
It took this couple a year to get back together after the Devil made Johnny break up with Chanel. (I’m SO glad stupid stories like that one are on their way out!)
They survived Chanel’s inability to choose between Johnny and Allie and Wendy’s inability to choose between Johnny and Tripp.
They slowly made their way back to each other while Chanel debated whether she wanted to risk Johnny breaking her heart again.
So couldn’t they have some other story besides their marriage imploding for no good reason?
It doesn’t help that Joy is so likable.
She’s a legacy character who deserves a better story than this trope-filled one where she becomes best friends with the woman whose husband she secretly slept with.
Days of Our Lives Spoilers During The Week of 11-25-24 Have Sarah Finally Coming Home
Sarah going from completely paralyzed to being able to walk with the aid of a cane and supports to hold onto is silly, but we’ll go with it.
In real life, she’d need physical therapy after feeling began to return to her legs before she could even dream of walking again, but in real life, there also isn’t a magic serum that repairs spinal damage and reverses paralysis.
The important thing is that Sarah is home from the hospital. That’ll give her and Xander a chance to have some alone time.
I’m not sure what their story will be beyond that. Days of Our Lives spoilers during the week of 11-25-24 don’t give many clues.
I’m glad Sarah will be there when the news of Doug’s death spreads. Julie will need all the support she can get.
There is also some movement on the Rafe front, with Jada caught between Rafe’s plans and Paulina’s demands.
I hope that Jada is allowed to hire JJ back as a cop, as she’s short-staffed, and he has great detective skills.
Over to you, Days of Our Lives fanatics.
Which of these Days of Our Lives spoilers during the week of 11-25-24 look best to you?
Hit the comments and let us know!
Days of Our Lives airs exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c
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