If Marlena Wasn’t In Peril…It Wouldn’t Be Days of Our Lives

Yes, it did seem like it was just months ago on Days of Our Lives when John stood by Malena’s comatose body and begged her to live with Kayla having to deliver the bad news that it was finally Marlena’s time.

And, it was months ago because that’s what DAYS does. It puts its longest-running front burner heroine in grave danger every few months.

Heck, at one point, she was in so much danger that John (Drake Hogestyn) had to save her from Satan himself (herself>) and that was quite an exorcism (when John was still a priest).

This writer began watching DAYS way back in 1982 specifically because Marlena (Deidre Hall) was in peril. The Salem Strangler was after her and cop Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop) was assigned to protect her and ended up sleeping on her apartment floor.

In fact, viewers even thought she really did die during that story and picketed the NBC Burbank studios. That’s when DAYS had to leak a spoiler before spoilers were a real thing and tell us to hold tight because Marlena wasn’t dead at all.

It was her twin sister, Samantha, who succumbed to Jake Kositchek’s (Jack Coleman) serial-killing ways and Marlena was just fine.

But WAIT! Just six months later Marlena married Roman and was kidnapped before the reception even ended by none other than Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo). It was Marlena’s first time, so to speak, as there would so many other Stefano kidnappings throughout the next few decades.

Marlena’s been presumed dead more than once — and during one of these alleged deaths, John (then Roman) fell for Diana, who was actually a young heroine at the time and not this deranged mess she is now.

Even in the past two years, Marlena had to be rescued from Bayview when Hattie left her there and took her place. And, she nearly died with Kate (Lauren Koslow) and Vivian (Louise Sorel) down in the DiMera tunnels when Abigail (Marci Miller, as Gabigail) held the women prisoner there.

Peril is what Marlena does best and she always comes out the stronger for it. Plus, she then goes to work and picks up her patient load cause that’s our Doc.

Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.