Days of our Lives Comings & Goings: John Black’s Funeral Brings Big Salem Returns

Days of our Lives fans, I hope that you have had your box of tissues handy because losing John Black (Drake Hogestyn) this week really, really hit hard. And I felt like it was a cruel twist by the writers to have Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans) tell the family that John was making progress and would likely survive.

That happened on Friday. And then on Monday, John’s health took a rapid turn for the worst and he died in Marlena Evans’ (Deidre Hall) arms. And this week and next week, we’re going to see more big returns to Salem as mourners show up to memorialize super spy John, who of course was a devoted family man, a good friend, and a true hero.

Days of Our Lives Comings and Goings: Who Returns to Salem for John Black’s Funeral?

In today’s comings and goings update, we’re going to talk about who is headed to Salem to mourn the loss of John. Already, we’ve seen a few people that showed up to rally around Marlena after John was injured in the explosion and things look bad and then look good and then, of course, came out awful. First, we had Carrie Brady and of course, Paul Narita (Christopher Sean) has been part of the find John Black story for a while. He was also there at his dad’s bedside.

We have seen some really sweet classic footage of Christy Clark as young Carrie who was raised by John during the time he thought he was Roman Brady (Josh Taylor) and her mom Anna DiMera (Leann Hunley) wasn’t always around.

So Marlena and John were like parents to her. Look for more of Carrie Brady this week as she consoles Marlena and helps prepare for John’s funeral. Plus, Paul was there helping search for John alongside his fiance, Andrew. And Paul was also there to make sure John made it back to Salem after that ISA mission went off the rails.

Bo Brady’s Return and Upcoming Wedding Plans in Days of Our Lives

But then Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols) called John to tell him about the Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) crisis and the Versix and the expertise they needed for their little heist at the meth lab. And that’s when John swerved and made a detour before coming home. And of course, the lab explosion gave John his fatal wounds, but he saved the Versix and that saved Bo. So, as John was dying on Monday, Shawn Brady (Brandon Beemer) get the terrible news about John’s death.

And Bo finds out all of them are going to pack off back home to Salem to say their sad goodbyes. And speaking of Paul his fiance Andrew is in Salem very soon. So, look for scenes with Colton Little. And then once he’s back, Paul and Andrew decide they are going to stick with their upcoming wedding plans. They think John would want that. I agree.

Shane Donovan, Theresa Donovan, and the Horton Family Return to Days of Our Lives

We’ve also heard whispers that Charles Shaughnessy is back. And of course, he plays Shane Donovan who is the chief of the ISA and very close to John and has been for a long time. So, Shane could come to Salem not only to say goodbye to John, but also to attend his son Andrew’s wedding to Paul.

And given the wedding spoilers, I have to wonder if we might get Emily O’Brien back for an episode or two as Theresa Donovan for her brother Andrew’s wedding and John’s funeral. They mentioned the other day that Andrew and Theresa’s mom’s cancer was better. So that kind of clears the path. Maybe we will see Theresa and she can have a little visit with her son Tate Black (Leo Howard). So, we’ll see.

We’ve also already seen Chandler Massey back as Will Horton. John and Marlena’s firstborn grandson, but we do not know whether we’re going to see his husband Sonny Kiriakis (Zach Tinker) back in Salem. And if you remember, Sonny was last played by Zack Tinker. But you know who is in town just in time to mourn John. It’s going she’s already in town and things take a turn.

She’s very upset about it. But the daughter that Will, Sonny, and Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) share is Ariana Horton (Marissa Reyes). And of course she arrived shortly after her great-grandfather John was hospitalized. She came back right during the time of the explosion and everything. But again, no word yet on whether her dad Sonny will join them for the sad Days of our Lives funeral.

Sami Brady, Anna DiMera, and Other Days of Our Lives Characters Return for John Black’s Memorial

And of course, we keep hearing about Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) and Sydney DiMera trying to catch a flight back to Salem. I do expect Allison Sweeney, but we will have to wait and see if she shows up with Sydney, who has not been seen in forever. And if Sami does bring Sydney, is she going to be a soras’d teen? Maybe. We’ll also have Leann Hunley and Thaao Penghlis back this week as Anna DiMera and Tony DiMera. They are back to attend the service and may stay a little while.

Tony and John, of course, go way, way back. So, it’ll be sad to see Anna and her husband saying goodbye to their longtime friend, John. And did I mention keeping tissues on hand? You will definitely need them. I already did on Monday. And honestly, knowing what was ahead and with all the flashback footage, I have been dipping into my tissue box kind of all of last week as well. And I’m confident the next two I’m going to need to get a bigger box.

Jack and Jennifer Deveraux Return Amidst Family Drama in Days of Our Lives

So other returns this week include Matthew Ashford and Missy Reeves back as Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford) and Jennifer Deveraux (Cady McClain). They are on hand to support Marlena and her family and say goodbye to John. But Cat Greene (AnnaLynne McCord) may be less than happy to see Abigail Deveraux’s (Marci Miller) parents back in Salem. Once Jennifer finds out Chad DiMera (Billy Flynn) took Cat out on a date and that they’ve become fast friends, Jen is going to totally lose it.

Possible Surprise Returns: Dick Van Dyke and Madame Vivien Alamain on Days of Our Lives

And two others that we wonder if we might see for John’s funeral are his father and someone else close to him. So it would absolutely be great to see Dick Van Dyke back as Timothy Robicheaux, John’s dad even if it’s just for one episode. You know, if you recall, Drake Hogestyn and Van Dyke were gym buddies, and he asked Drake if there were any roles for old guys on Days of Our Lives.

And Drake asked and got him a part and then was quite surprised knowing that they had cast his friend as John’s dad, Timothy. So hopefully we will see the tireless 99 year-old actor Dick Van Dyke back on set for the funeral. Also, we have to wonder if Madame Vivien Alamain (Louise Sorel) is going to sneak back into Salem to mourn the passing of her Alamain nephew this month.

A Sad Farewell to John Black and Drake Hogestyn on Days of Our Lives

Expect a sad sad funeral, very sad funeral as we say goodbye to John with some tributes to of course the real life loss of Drake Hogestyn who passed away last September. It’s going to be a big memorial for John Black. And we don’t know, I think, all of the returns. I’m expecting that they may pull out some surprises that they’ve kept hidden. It’s hard to keep a lot of things hidden because they shoot so far ahead and word leaks out.

People make comments. There’s social media post things come out. So, we’ll see. We may have some surprising comings and goings for the funeral. But this, I think, is going to be one of the saddest days in Salem that we’ve seen since we had to say farewell to Doug Williams after we lost Bill Hayes last January.

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