Fans of Days of our Lives have taken comfort in the fact that characters often come back from the dead. “Many die in Salem but few are buried,” goes the saying.

Viewers have willingly suspended belief as it means that loved ones will be reunited on-screen after characters do the Lazarus bit. However, Deidre Hall, beloved as Marlena Evans, John’s wife, was tasked with playing the final scenes between the supercouple as the show wrote in the real-life passing of John’s portrayer, Drake Hogestyn.

“Gosh, I could stay here like this forever with you,” Marlena warmly told John before he took a turn for the worse. In flashback scenes, we witnessed in Hall’s performances that Marlena’s love for John has never wavered.

Honoring John’s past as the man known as the Pawn, who wore bandages in his early days when the character debuted nearly 40 years ago, the show wrapped a stand-in up in gauze so that Marlena could say goodbye to John in the hospital. Had the show opted to kill John off-screen, viewers, whether they learned of Hogestyn’s real-life passing or not, might have felt that someday the character would return. Days knew it had to show his death on-screen.

“The day that you stole my heart, that was when my life began,” a loving Marlena told John. Hall had her character hold back her pain so that Marlena could make her husband feel loved in what turned out to be his final moments.

There was a lot of expository information to get out as the show had Marlena take a walk down memory lane with John and go over the highlights of their life together. Hall didn’t make her memories sound like a recap, but rather a part of the journey that led to their great love story. “It didn’t matter how many identities you had,” Marlena lovingly said.

Instead of delving into histrionics (which would have been totally understandable), Hall had Marlena maintain both her grace and her deep love for John in these heartbreaking scenes.

“I always knew exactly who you were. You were the man that saved my life,” she told him. “You were the man that protected me, even during my darkest hours. You are the strongest, the kindest, the gentlest man I have ever known. You are…you will always be the great love of my life.”

When John managed to whisper through his bandages that he was still here, we saw Marlena’s face light up. She was hopeful that things would take a turn for the better. Alas, they did not when John’s injuries caught up with him. Marlena breathed with John, hoping to get his condition to stabilize. This wouldn’t be the first time one of them willed the other back to life, but, alas, it would be the last.

Marlena thanked Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans) for calling the priest, stoically saying that it was the right time. “John, I love you so,” Marlena said.  Her face brightened when John returned the sentiment.

Hall had Marlena dig deep and draw on reserves of strength to alleviate John’s pain. “If you need to go, it’s okay,” she said. “You have given us all the love we will ever, ever need.”

It was a testament to John and Marlena’s love story that she was strong enough to tell him it was okay for him to go. “You can rest now,” Marlena added. With Marlena by his side, John passed away.

While death may end a life, it does not end a relationship. We saw in the following episode that John and Marlena’s love will continue on in her heart. We also witnessed Marlena’s physical pain over losing her great love.

She found on her phone one final gift from John: a voicemail message that he left for her as he was trying to make his way back to her side. Hall had Marlena briefly hesitate before pressing the keys that played John’s final words. “I love you, Doc,” the message read, causing Marlena to cry out in grief.

She played it two more times as Marlena let her deep loss wash over her. “I love you, too,” she responded to John’s last message.

Days of our Lives, Weekdays, Peacock