Days of Our Lives Wayback: Remember Caroline Brady

There are plenty of parents in the annals of soap opera history who possess a “do as I say, not as I do” mentality and Caroline Brady, one of Days of Our Lives most beloved characters, is a perfect example.

Family Is What You Make Of It
Caroline was the loving wife of Shawn Brady and the mother of four children: Roman, Kimberly, Kayla, and Bo. Despite the occasional battle or accusation of interference, Caroline was fiercely protective of her brood whom she loved more than life itself – she even falsely confessed to offing Marina Toscano when it appeared Kayla would be imprisoned for the crime.

But Caroline’s unconditional love was not limited to her biological offspring. She and Shawn welcomed two abandoned teenagers – Francois “Frankie” Von Leuschner and Maxwell “Max” Robbins – into their family and adopted them without hesitation.

And when John Black was revealed to not be a plastic surgery altered Roman – as had been assumed for nearly a decade – Caroline assured John that, in her heart, he was still another one of her sons.

Sins of the Mother
In 1985, swarthy Greek tycoon – and mafia don – Victor Kiriakis arrived in Salem, and it became abundantly clear that he shared a past with Caroline. It eventually transpired that the two had engaged in a passionate affair, but Caroline was determined that the truth about their dalliance would never be revealed.

When he became certain that Caroline would never leave Shawn, Victor turned to Caroline’s daughter Kimberly for comfort and set about destroying the elder Brady’s only source of income – the Brady Fishmarket – by setting up a competing business.

Whatever affection that might have lingered between the lovers soured, and Caroline did everything in her power to extricate the villain from her family’s life. When Bo caught the two of them in a particularly violent confrontation, he wrestled a gun from Victor’s bodyguard and trained it on his mother’s “attacker.” But he was stopped from pulling the trigger when Caroline shouted, “Don’t shoot him, Bo, he’s your father!”

Besting the Grim Reaper
While it was said by many that Caroline had a heart of gold, her ticker nearly gave out when her granddaughter, Sami, announced she was pregnant with a child belonging to her half-sister’s intended.

While Caroline lay…continue reading on the next page —>

Continue reading on the next page…

While Caroline lay in her hospital bed recuperating, she was nearly felled by a murder-minded Vivian Alamain, who was out to paint Dr. Carly Manning as an Angel of Mercy. A decade later, Caroline was one of eight Salemites whose deaths were staged by Andre DiMera.

Conspiracy
In 2010, Caroline admitted to Chloe Lane that she had interfered with a test that would determine if Philip Kiriakis or Daniel Jonas was the father of Chloe’s son Parker. Although she knew her actions were wrong, Caroline’s reasoning was that she did not want to see another child raised by the destructive influence wrought by the Kiriakis clan.

Water-Colored Memories
Two years later, Caroline began to have troubling memory lapses and soon exhibited all the classics signs of Alzheimer’s. She and Bo left Salem and headed to California where an experimental drug was being tested on patients in the early stages of the disease.

After much trial and error, it was discovered that Caroline was actually suffering from another ailment that mimicked Alzheimer’s and a cure was eventually administered – thanks in part to Victor – but Caroline did continue to have small memory setbacks.

Speech, Speech
When Caroline was asked to speak at her great-grandson’s wedding – to future husband Jackson “Sonny” Kiriakis  – she began by telling a story about “Robert” and “James” which initially upset the audience who feared she was having a setback.

However, what transpired was a poignant tale about a homosexual couple that Caroline and Shawn had become friendly with and whom she witnessed having to hide their sexuality and partnership to appease James’s family.

“So, when Will and Sonny came to me… I said to myself ‘hallelujah!’  Because this is a world where we can really know who our precious boys are and they can really love each other and be who they are.”

Guardian Angel
When Will flatlined in his hospital bed and it seemed that he was poised to ascend to “the other side,” a vision of Caroline halted his progress and he was guided into an ethereal replica of the Brady Pub – the successor to the Brady Fishmarket. There, Caroline informed him that it wasn’t “his time” and that he needed to return to his family.

Upon waking, Will’s story was initially dismissed as a comforting dream since his great grandmother was still alive and well. However, right outside Will’s room, Roman was in the midst of being informed that Caroline had passed away. Days of Our Lives airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.