Report Card: Two Years Of Hope Without Bo on Days of Our Lives (DOOL)

There was a time when Bo without Hope and Hope without Bo on Days of Our Lives (DOOL) seemed blasphemous.

Sure, they had their breakups and Bo (Peter Reckell) ended up with two other women in his life–namely Billie and Carly, but you always knew they’d somehow end up back together.

Hope was even without Bo for two years and married Aiden (Daniel Cosgrove) thinking Bo didn’t want her anymore, but we knew he’d be back one day. We just didn’t realize what horror would happen when he returned.

It was Hope’s wedding night and the man she thought she married tried to strangle her with a red necktie. While Hope (Kristian Alfonso) lay passed out on her living room floor, Bo burst in and killed that man (who eventually turned out NOT to be Aiden).

Hope was traumatized but thrilled to have Bo back once he explained he never meant to leave her but was kept captive all that time.

And then she was traumatized again 24 hours later when Bo died in her arms from a brain tumor.

That was two years ago today and Hope has certainly moved on, although she’s barely seemed like Hope.

Soap Hub has to be honest. For the most part, we do not like the Hope without Bo. Her devastation caused her to shoot Stefano (Joseph Mascolo) allegedly dead in a moment of complete rage and insanity and we understood.

What we didn’t understand was Hope covering it up for nearly a year under Rafe’s (Galen Gering) prodding, and then once she did go to jail and admit guilt, she had no trouble getting off on the technicality that Shane faked that Stefano is alive in an ultra-confusing and ridiculous storyline.

In fact, while many fans do like Hope with Rafe, many do not and Soap Hub just doesn’t buy their relationship. Even without Bo, Hope has always maintained her independence and did not usually let Bo lead her around.

Their relationship was much more respectful and understanding, even when they had differences. From what we hear, Hope will be standing up to Rafe pretty soon, and yes, he will say her problem is he is not Bo. Well, he is not, and while Hope may never find another Bo, we hope she remains true to herself from here on out.

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