Days of our Lives Recap, June 2, 2025: John dies, just as Bo wakes up

On Days of our Lives today, Monday, June 2, 2025, while one hero rises, another hero falls.

What Happened on Days of our Lives

In Bo’s hospital room, Shawn, Ciara, and Hope stood vigil at Bo’s bedside. Ciara suggested that her mother go to Chelsea’s hotel room and get some much-needed rest. Hope vowed to stay by Bo until he “opened his big, beautiful brown eyes” and met her gaze. She let her kids know there would be no argument about it. Shawn and Ciara acquiesced, and Ciara called Hope the most stubborn person she knew, minus one person.

As Hope looked back at Bo, she said they’d been in “this war” for two years. She’d talked Bo’s head off to the point where she believed he’d wake up just to tell her to shut up. Ciara asked what Hope had talked about, and Hope replied, “Everything.” She’d even resorted to waxing poetic about motorcycle crankshafts and Irish cheese – an admission that drew a chuckle from the kids. Shawn confided he’d read every book in the hospital to his dad, just as Bo had read to him as a child.

Shawn and Ciara agreed that Bo was a fantastic storyteller, and the best tales he’d ever told had been his own. Ciara wished that one day her dad could spin stories for her kids. When Bo’s eyes suddenly began twitching, the family grew excited, and Shawn raced outside to retrieve the doctor.

After the doctor examined Bo, though, she deflated the optimism by claiming she saw no change in Bo’s condition. The doctor soon left, and Hope approached Bo and pledged her certainty that Bo was trying to reach them. “What are you trying to say?” she implored.

Meanwhile, in Bo’s mind, Bo finally made it into the locked Brady Pub…only to find Kayla and Steve gone. A bartender was in their place. When Bo caught the man’s attention, he turned and smiled. “Zack?” Bo asked with astonishment. Bo wasn’t sure what was happening, as the encounter reminded him of a previous time he’d thought he’d seen Zack, when everything had been “white.” Bo only knew he wanted to hug his son.

Zack begged off the hug and cautioned his father not to get too attached. “You don’t belong here,” Zack said. Bo’s place was with Hope, Shawn, Ciara, Chelsea, and his grandkids. Bo didn’t want to miss more time with his “Tiny Man” Zack, since Zack had been taken from them too soon. Zack assured Bo he was "surrounded by love," and Grandma Caroline and Grandpa Shawn said "hi." Zack also promised it wasn’t goodbye. He’d always be with the family, and he’d be waiting when it was Bo’s time to go.

“Who says it’s not my time?” Bo asked. “We do,” came a response from behind Bo. When he turned, a vision of Hope, Shawn, and Ciara stood before him.

Back in the hospital room, Hope stated Bo had been a “rebel” his entire life, starting with his decision to join the Merchant Marines as a young man. Ciara joked that his kids hadn’t taken after him in that regard, which prompted a recollection of Shawn and Ciara’s rebellious deeds throughout the years. Hope wondered if Zack would have taken after his father. The activity on Bo’s monitor suddenly picked up.

Hope went to Bo and stroked his face. She knew it wasn’t the infection causing his responses. He was becoming more aware. She took him on another stroll down memory lane: the first time they’d met, the first time she’d ridden on his motorcycle, the time he had kidnapped her from her wedding, the time they were trapped in a hot air balloon, the first time she’d boarded the Fancy Face, and the time they sailed away into the sunset on the boat. “It has been every bit the adventure you promised me,” Hope affirmed.

In Bo's mind, Bo wondered why his family was there. They confirmed they came to bring him home. Zack suddenly reappeared before Hope and embraced her, then Ciara and Shawn. Bo snarked about them getting a hug instead of him. Hope approached and told Bo he had a decision to make, so stop being stubborn. Bo argued he couldn’t even open his eyes, despite his best efforts. “Sometimes you can give it all you’ve got, and it’s not enough,” he said.

In the hospital room, Shawn returned from a phone call with Claire, who was sorry she couldn’t make it. Hope said Bo could feel his granddaughter’s hope, along with the entire family. She sat with Bo and gave him another pep talk. They had been through too much for it to end. “We have far too many beautiful memories to make, and so many old ones to cherish, Brady,” Hope said. She remembered them all, from their first kiss at a kissing booth to their first wedding to Shawn Douglas’ birth.

Shawn wanted to hold all the memories close, even the painful ones, like losing Zack. Bo’s eyes began moving again. But just as quickly, he seemingly started flatlining. While Ciara and Bo urgently left to get help, Hope begged Bo not to go.

Back in Bo's mind, Hope chastised Bo for talking like a “quitter.” Bo was resigned to his fate. When he said he could stay with his son, Zack ordered Bo not to use him as an excuse. Bo felt that if he left, he would be letting Zack down again. Zack protested that neither Bo nor Hope had ever let him down.

“You made me feel so loved,” Zack said with conviction. The only thing Bo owed Zack was to live his life. Bo reasoned that perhaps it wasn’t up to him whether he lived or died.

Hope agreed, but she told Bo that it was up to him “to fight, to not give up until your final breath.” In no uncertain terms, she said the family had done all they could do. Now it was Bo’s turn. “You fight,” she commanded. “You fight for your family.”

Back in the hospital room, Hope stroked Bo’s cheek, and slowly, he opened his eyes. As a beaming Hope came into focus, Bo uttered his first words in two years: “Fancy Face.” Hope exuberantly kissed him and sobbed in relief and wonder. “Say it again,” she requested. "Say it again."

At the hospital, Steve expressed his relief at how well John seemed to be doing. Kayla attributed the turnaround to John’s “fighting spirit.” Steve still beat himself up for getting John hurt. Kayla urged him not to blame himself. John was on the road to recovery, and because of his and Steve’s heroism, Bo had a shot at life as well. Kayla cautioned that there could still be complications with the drug, though.

Steve was hopeful that Bo would pull through, even though he had not received the drug sooner. He lightly suggested that when John fully improved, they should pay a visit to Bo and urge him to stop “laying on his butt all day.” Kayla hoped she could be there when her brother finally woke up.

In John’s hospital room, Marlena admitted to a conscious John that she could stay with him in their moment “forever.” When she referenced being back in their bed at home, John hoarsely mumbled, “I wish,” which brought a smile to Marlena’s face. She fished out a coin from her pocket and explained that Belle had left it. During a previous time, John had been in the hospital, Belle had dreamed of her father holding a coin in his palm. Since then, the coin has become a symbol of how John would always come back to them.

Marlena fondly remembered sitting with a hospitalized John then and opening his hand to find a coin inside. She gently placed Belle’s coin atop John’s bandaged hand. His fingers closed around it, and he affirmed, “I’m still here.” Marlena talked about the long life they’d had together and how it had been marked by many separations. She realized how difficult it must have been for John when he believed she had died and he’d have to “carry on alone” without her.

“I was lost,” John confessed. “My life began when I met you.” Marlene tearfully concurred: “The day you stole my heart, that was when my life began.” Marlena mulled over a hospital file with the name “John Black” on it and reminded John of his various identities through the years, starting with The Pawn. She recalled a time when she had even believed John was Stefano.

“It didn’t matter how many identities you had,” Marlena confided, “I always knew exactly who you were. You were the man that saved my life. You were the man that protected me, even during my darkest hours.” She whispered, “You are the strongest, the gentlest, the kindest man I have ever known. You are -- you always will be -- the great love of my life.”

Later, Marlena was joined by Kayla and Steve. Kayla ordered another morphine drip for John to manage his pain. John gave a gesture of acknowledgement to Steve as Kayla jokingly warned her husband to “behave himself.” Steve apologized for the circumstances of John’s hospitalization. “No regrets,” John firmly stated.

Steve updated John on Rafe’s departure from their agency, and he said he’d need John back soon to “put the 'Black' back in Black Patch.” Steve marveled that it had been a decade since they’d become partners. He flashed back to the moment John had officially decided to team up with “Old Dead Eye," along with John’s idea to name their newly minted PI agency Black Patch. “You came up with the best handle,” Steve added, his smile faltering.

Kayla and Steve filled John in on Bo’s improvement, and Kayla wisecracked that next they’d have to erect a statue of John in the middle of Horton Town Square. Marlena grew emotional as she proudly stated that nothing made John happier than being with his friends and family. As affirmation, she remembered when John had introduced a young Brady to his baby sister, Belle: the first time their family had truly been together as one. “I know the kids and I have always been your first priority,” she said meaningfully to John.

Marlena chided that John might not be safe with her at home, though. She remembered one honeymoon when she had accidentally injured him, but they’d ended up laughing together. But as Marlena was caught up in her memory, John suddenly began groaning and gasping for air. “Can’t breathe,” he wheezed. An alarmed Kayla rushed to consult with John’s pulmonologist

John visibly struggled as Steve looked on helplessly. When Kayla returned, she revealed that the pulmonologist had confirmed John’s lungs were regressing rapidly. Kayla stressed that John’s injuries were catching up with him. Marlena cried, "Please, God, help him,” then took John’s hand and guided him through breathing exercises. Marlena reiterated that John’s wishes were to fight until the very end; Steve believed his buddy was honoring those wishes.

When Steve brokenly asked Kayla what they could do. Kayla, shaken, confirmed the worst: all they could do now was make John “comfortable.” She wasn't telling Marlena to give up hope, but she suggested Marlena get a priest. A shell-shocked Marlena absorbed the turn of events.

Later, Marlena thanked Kayla and Steve for contacting the priest. It’s what John would want. When the couple asked Marlena what else they could do, Marlena requested a private moment with John. Kayla and Steve both approached John and told him they loved him before granting Marlena’s request.

Outside John’s room, a frantic Steve implored Kayla to give him hope. He would “go to the ends of the Earth” to find a cure for John. Kayla teared up as she reiterated the harsh truth: all they could do was wait. It was just a matter of time. Steve, overwhelmed with grief, sobbed in Kayla’s arms. “Please help him,” he managed through his tears.

Once alone, Marlena professed her love for John, “Love you too, Doc,” he responded, which elicited a pained smile from Marlena. Marlena commended John for putting up such a brave fight. She knew he was fighting for their family and was worried for them, but she assured John that he would always be with them, no matter what. Marlena understood that John was suffering and that he wanted to rest.

Summoning up her courage, Marlena told John, “If you need to go now, it’s okay.” With a gentle touch, she repeated, “It’s okay.” Marlena crawled into the bed and cuddled up with her husband. She silently cried on his shoulder as memories of their love story through the years flashed by.

All the while, John’s recitation of his wedding vows served as a backdrop to the memories. “I fell in love with you the first moment I laid eyes on you,” he had begun. “...I can promise I will love you until the day I die…I am going to love you, to make your cares my cares; I’m going to make your sorrows my sorrows; And by damn, I’m going to make your triumphs my triumphs. And I’m going to grow old with you, in love and joy.”

When John's voice reached the last line of his vow – “Until death parts us” – the beeping on his monitor grew monotone. Marlena closed her eyes in acknowledgement and hugged John tighter as her tears flowed freely.

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