Editors’ Choice
Days Of Our Lives
The aftermath of Marlena’s shooting proved to be just as gripping as the shooting itself when Belle produced her mother’s DNR document, and family members who’d been bonded by grief became divided by controversy.
In a no-win position, Belle was torn between desperately wanting her mother to survive and wanting to fulfill her final wishes, and Martha Madison portrayed her inner battle beautifully, wavering between strength and fragility, standing up to John one moment, sobbing uncontrollably the next. For his part, John reacted with shock and furor to Belle’s insistence that she had a legal obligation to present the document to Kayla, and Belle was gutted when he told her, “I have never been more disappointed in you.” Scoffing, huffing, infuriated, reeling, John demanded that Belle prove her love for her mother by forgetting that she’d ever laid eyes on the DNR.
While Eric stood by Belle, agreeing that it was incumbent upon them to honor Marlena’s choice, John managed to rally Roman to his way of thinking. Not that it would do much good, a glum John conceded, adding that if Kayla turned off Marlena’s ventilator at Belle’s behest, “As much as I love my daughter ... I will never forgive her.” Opposite this, Belle had, indeed, made her way to Kayla’s office to deliver the DNR order. Out of friendship to Marlena, Kayla offered to turn a blind eye to the document rather than follow protocol and present it to the hospital board. “You choose,” she told Belle. “Do it,” Belle replied, admitting in the next breath, “I’ve never been less sure about anything in my life.”
After the deed was done, Belle broke the news to John, who erupted in anger and accused her of choosing to kill her own mother. “I’m ashamed to call you my daughter,” he barked. But John wasn’t about to go down without a fight. He immediately sought legal counsel from Justin, even as Belle warned him that there was little Justin could do. Trying to keep it together, John told the family members that it was time to say their good-byes.
One by one, in a series of stirring bedside scenes, Marlena’s loved ones filed into her hospital room — Belle, Claire, Will, Brady, Eric. John remained cold to Belle, leaving Brady
to assure her that she had done the right thing. “The hell she did!” countered Sami, arriving in handcuffs after cajoling Rafe into springing her from the clink long enough to see her mother one last time. Eric tried to referee the sisters’ heated squabbling, and Sami went in to see Marlena, with Alison Sweeney (Sami) nailing her emotional monologue as Sami expressed her guilt and abiding love for her mom as she begged Marlena to keep fighting for her life. Then it was John’s turn, the very picture of heartbreak as he implored Marlena to come back to him.
But soon, Justin reported back to John that he had no way to delay the board’s directive to disconnect Marlena’s respirator. Kayla agreed to let the immediate family be there when it happened. In Marlena’s room, Eric led the family in prayer, and with a nod, John gave Kayla the go-ahead to proceed.
Of course, there was a fabulous twist to come — “Marlena” regained consciousness in the form of Hattie — but DAYS couldn’t have given it a better build, spotlighting the impenetrable bonds in the Brady/black clan who, in the end, put their differences aside and united in their love for Marlena.